Walkin' Dan? Not a Fan.

“It’s a long, long way to go. His body’s tired, but not his soul. He’s a winner walkin’ home." -A Winner Walkin' Home: The Ballad of Dan Walker

My Dad always said, " The only people to smoke a corncob pipe were Dugout Doug MacArthur, Walkin' Dan Walker and Granny Clampett; two were creeps and one a pretend Hillbilly."

Image and Substance matter.  A man in work clothes should be doing tough manual labor, otherwise it is only make-believe dress-up time.

The late Dan Walker was the very model of modern preening politician of both political parties. Props and sound bytes and compelling narratives turned Walker into the Populist Progressive Democrat, now all the rage. Dan Walker set the table for  political grifters like Forrest Claypool, Mike Quigley, Jan Schakowsky, Rod Blagojevich, and GOP darlings like Bruce Rauner, Aaron Schock and Senator Marque Kirque. These types who " . . .shout and scream, I'll kill the king, I'll rail at all his servants" and drink deeply from the public trough. Colorful Populists  have never been my cup of strychnine.

Dan Walker belongs to the ages.

The ages had their advent when Dan Walker put on his costume instead of his daily wear.



Image and substance?  They only match up when deeds glue them together,

Dan Walker was a talented man, a WASP princeling, an Annapolis 'ring-knocker' and shameless opportunist who litigated against organized labor as counsel for Montgomery Ward, or smeared cops with broadest of social engineering brushes, or used First American Savings and Loan as his personal piggy bank with equal relish and entitlement.

Dan Walker donned blue denin, work-boots, clenched a foot-long corn cob pipe in his magnificently maintained teeth, grew his hair to Bobby Kennedy lengths, tied a Howdy Doody bandanna around his windpipe and gave the people of Illinois their first taste of  political bullshit - and they swallowed it ever since 1972.

1972 marked the end of the Democratic Party when it was high jacked by Abner Mikva, Patricia Harris, Bill Singer and America's foremost grifter adept - Jesse Jackson.  Cook County delegates elected by the people of Cook County were uncommitted to any candidate.  George McGovern and Patricia Harris encouraged the looting of delegates, which also set the table Michael Shakman's destruction of the Cook County Democratic Party and his reaping of millions of dollars through Shakman Decrees.Walker wrote the script for every grifter who wanted a place at the public trough with words like Reform, Machine, Boss and Change.  Richard J. Daley was a competent, hard-wrking, ruthless and loyal public servant and he never heard the iron bars close his day. Walker has and so have many other Populist Reformer Firebrand Change Agents.

Dan Walker's costumed jaunt of 1,197 miles trough Illinois resonated with Illini who read little, but pray " They are All Crooks!" like it was the Memorare.  Folks narrowly gave Walker his opportunities and have continued to swallow tons of bullshit, organic, whole, and very Green. One term and everything was changed by Magic Dan Walker.

I never acquired the taste.

Dan Walker belongs to the ages . . .and that ain't necessarily a good thing.

Lists and Polls are for Donkeys -Jean Shepherd Pray for Us!

"I was new to New York, and I suddenly became aware that New York is almost entirely a city that really does run on lists.  . . . has it occurred to you that these lists are compiled by mortals and that they are human just like you are and, in fact, they have many more axes to grind than you?" Jean Shepherd Not on the Top Ten Famous Guys List

If it is not on the list it does not exist?  I once asked a used book store clerk on Milwaukee Ave.  in the Wicker neighborhood for a copy of J.P. Donleavy's brilliant The Compleat Unexpurgated Code. The tatooed twenty something with multiple piercings sneered,  "Ginger Man?  You mean Ginger Man?" I assured the fiery hipstress," No, this is a work of non-fiction Humor. " She checked the publication directory and the screen of computer and assured me " Jay Pee Donnelly wrote fiction. He ain't on the list."

He is.  J. P. Donleavy wrote fiction and non-fiction. In the ironic patois of the trendy and Kathleen Sebelius, "Whatever."

Consult -

The New York Times Book of Lists
Forbes List of Richest People ( World, Nation & etc.)
10 Best Mexican Recipes
!0  Best Mexican Restaurants
10 Best Mexican Bandits
10 Best Muslim Comics
10 Best Forrest Claypool Salaries

Yep, Lists - Capitalists, Communists, Journalists, Franz Liszt and Socialists -all kinds O lists. From Noah to the Southern Poverty Law Center, list makers jot down names and doom others. Lists; they are not on the lists!!!!!  Power mad creeps tend to love mking lists and cehcking them twice -Marc Antony, Santa, the IHSA, Stalin, Mao, Al Hitler, Organizing for America and Nielsons.

Who cares?  Rather, let's make this a declarative sentence;  its seems to me- Who cares most about lists would be people who do not get out much, don't read much, don't know much, and rarely contribute much.
I can name twenty great eating stops within a mile of Leo High School that would never be listed by professional Wicker Park liberals on the staffs of Chicago, or Chicagoist. . . , but Im not gonna.

I have yet to eat at a restaurant gushed over by Chicago Magazine, placed on a list in Chicagoist, or hit upon by dint of a second hand reader of lists. Seek and you shall find. Like Cliffs Notes, so-called educated and cultivated folks do not bother to read the urban, suburban, or rural landscapes in full and opt to be spoon-fed verities concerning where eat, what to think, what to read, what to believe, and whom to love.


One the most literate and under-read writers, was the disc-jockey Jean Shepherd. Shepherd is now only recognized as the author of Christmas Story.  I read my first Jean Shepherd tome, while a freshman at Loyola.  I read Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories, the Hammond genius's collection of eight great short stories that introduced me to Scut Farkas, the Old Man, Schwartz and Flick long before my bride and I caught the Holiday movie as it played in Kankakee, IL at the Meadowview Theatre.  The creator of those wonderful people from Hohman ( Hammond) Indiana living in the actual Hessville neighborhood along Kennedy Avenue had been a disc jockey in New York City which is the national shrine of all lists.  Mr. Shepherd, like your humble correspondent, had a cordial hatred of lists. In fact he concocted a hoax born of this passion.  Jean Shepherd created a besst-seller, without writing a jot - I Libertine!




People listened to his radio show and began to talk about the book that never was.  It became a best-seller, because people who made lists said so.  People who live by lists believe anything e.g. Toni Preckwinkle, Sheila Simon, Mike Quigley, Forrest Claypool, Pat Quinn, Bruce Rauner, Marque Kirque, Judy Baar Topinka were all given birth by procreative act of making lists.  People accept comedy from Tyler Perry.  Religion from Jim Wall, Thought from Bill Moyer, and Happiness from Dan Savage.  No legislation comes to Gov. Pat Quinns desk without having passed the smell test of Paul Simon Institute polling.

A poll does exactly the same thing as a pole, though they differ.



O, List to the lay of this bold Irish Harper . . .

Angry Illinois Voters? Name One. Really.

Absolutely the Best Side of Carol Marin! Fabulous!

I only know of one really angry voter and this guy lived in Griffith, Indiana. This guy lived along Broad Street, just east of Cline Ave. and a 9 Iron shot south of Ridge Avenue, regularly painted his adobe white garage with aquamarine green paint - "Crooked Bastards! Snake Politicians! Die You Elected Scum!" or "Scum Sucking Leeches! Politicians! Die!"


No doubt this gent did wonders for his neighbors' property values.

He was genuinely non-partisan, but the Town of Griffith generally ignored this rock-ribbed sweetheart's fulminations. Occasionally, a new slap of aquamarine would specifically indict some scallywag, but primarily this Angry Citizen painted with a very broad brush.

Politico.com and other dedicated pundits are trying kick up some sand and interest in the Illinois Primary as some kind of bell weather for the general elections,"Widespread voter anger and unrest are confronting the Illinois political establishment as the state hurtles toward its first-in-the-nation primaries Tuesday."

Mercy Sakes! Speaking of which, Marque Kirque gets the lion's share of attention as he is running against three Democratic candidates without a Chinaman's Chance of winning - Alexi Giannoulias, Cheryl Jackson, and Dave Hoffmann.

I like Alexi Giannoulias, but he is colaterally damaged by the frags from Blago and the Rezko-shrapnel still wizzing around President Obama. Hoffman has a voice that sounds like steam escaping from a spilt pipe and Cheryl Jackson is not related to the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

Carol Marin is a self-promoting Multi- Pay envelope News Icon and she shows her best side in the photo above from Politico.

Voter Anger? I work in the black community and live in a Close-Knit Ethnic ( Catholic) neighborhood. No anger. No spittle. No marches. No nothing.

People will vote their hearts and minds tomorrow and that makes political weasels wet their britches.

Illinois Denied FEMA Aid for Torando Devastated Towns - Thanks, Obama, Durbin and Quinn!

Washington Illinois Denied FEMA aid - You Didn't Bill That!

The Illinois GOP is a congress of losers - has been so ever since Honest Abe's funeral and always will be. The reason for this being, the Illinois GOP is deathly afraid mopes, stooges, mealy mouthed creeps and grifters.

When Bill Brady allowed Roe & Roeper to bully him into turning over his taxes on demand, in last Guv-Go-Around, he was toast. Brady allowed others to define him and his candidacy.  Just the other day Roe and Roeper pulled billionaire Bruce's flannel lined, relaxed-fit Carhartt britches over the minimum wage nonsense.The FEMA story is tailor-made to nail Pat Quinn's purple tie to the donkies who work for him - they screwed up the FEMA application:

Damage was assessed from Dec. 2 to Dec. 6 and an application was sent by the state of Illinois to the federal government asking for public assistance in effected communities.
Washington Mayor Gary Manier said in the month that’s passed since that assessment, the perception of damage has only escalated.
“Unfortunately, sometimes you have to turn these applications in earlier than before you’ve done due diligence to the entire process and know what your numbers really are,” Manier said Thursday. “Debris removal is probably one of the biggest as far as man-hours and taking debris to the landfill. Everything comes at a cost.
“There’s a lot of unknown costs. We’ve got a little bit better understanding of what we’re going to be facing in the spring, in the next six months or even a year or two out. … It’s an ongoing learning experience for all of us.”
The preliminary damage assessment conducted jointly by federal and state emergency management agencies was $6.1 million in costs in nine counties affected by the storms, far short of the threshold for federal assistance in Illinois of $17.8 million, but an appeal could include costs that weren’t on the original application.

Read more: http://www.mortontimesnews.com/article/20140109/NEWS/140109188/1001/NEWS#ixzz2q673gwDa

Instead, Rauner and the three other'victims' for Governor will mouse out answers prefabbed at Trib Tower and WTTW about Wage and Income Inequality and 'Aren't You Ashamed to be You?'

I have yet to read or hear of one GOP gubernatorial hopeful raise the issue of FEMA's repeated denials of disaster relief aide to Illinois.

• The White House is stuffed with Illinois (read Hyde Park) career grifters, as is the Federal Government itself.

• Senator Dithering Dick Durbin and his stooge GOP lap-dog Marque Kirque are all fired up to rename the ATF Federal Building the Eliot Ness Building - We have waited far too long! -, but they can not get FEMA to come up with the trump to help Washington, Illinois.

• The most unqualified man to ever occupy the White House, Barack H. Obama, spends more time in his native Hawaii, than he does in the Land of Lincoln and writes idiotic Executive Orders to make sure abortion and Trojans are keeping women healthy quicker than 10:30 Mass at Sacred Heart.

• Governor Pat Quinn found his brief case Betsy and a puppy, Rosie, but remains the most inconsequential person in Illinois History.

Worse than my bullets above remains the Illinois GOP.  The only shots they manage to fire are aimed directly at their own toes.

Rauner, Rutherford, Bill 'Loser' Brady, and Dillard are as much the reason for the Illinois Endless Season of Stupid.

O'Donnell Abu! Delaware Outsider Clocks Mike Castle! Chicago- R. Emmett Tyrrell Might Do Just That . . . Not to Mike Castle Of Course -O'Donnell Did

. . .On with O'Donnell then! Fight the good fight again!
Sons of TyrConnell are valiant and true!
Make the proud Saxon feel Erin's avenging steel!
Strike! For your Country! O'Donnell abu!

O'Donnell Abu (The Clan Connell War Song)(M.J.McAnn cir. 1843)

Great tune! And now the tune-up!


One of Rich Miller's Sock Puppets at Capitol Fax Blog reacted to the news that R. Emmett Tyrrell, founder and editor-in-chief of The American Spectator, a West Side Chicago native and Fenwick Alumnus, stated his interest in running for Mayor Chicago.

- IrishPirate - Tuesday, Sep 14, 10 @ 12:33 pm:

Tyrrell is thinking of running?

Pat Hickey’s hands must be sweaty and I bet his heart skipped a beat. Alan Keyes isn’t available?

If Vdrolyak runs I imagine Hickey might not even be able to type because of all the excitement. The word “vapors” comes to mind.

Does “R Emmett’The Clown’ Tyrrell even live in Chicago?

In some cases people seem to forget that you have to actually live in Chicago or at least be a “resident” of Chicago for one year prior to the election. I’ve seen reports touting candidates who live and are registered in the suburbs.

http://thecapitolfaxblog.com/2010/09/14/daley-retirementpalooza-continues-unabated/#comments

Sweaty hands? Well, IP Old Son, this 19th Ward Democrat has ice water in his political veins. Guys call and ask, "Want Yard Sign?" Sure put 'em over there. Get excited about elected officials? Please. I get excited when they change the deli counter at County Fair and at Calabria Imports, but excited about candidates? No, Sock Puppet, I am much older than six years of age. Little kids get loopy about colored balloons and buttons. I vote or help only good girls and boys.

Kelly Burke, Johnny O'Sullivan, Dan Lipinski, Bridgey Gainer, Mary Flowers, Paul "The Wall" Vallas, Ray Wardingly, Ed Maloney, Kathy Meany, Alexi Giannoulias, Pat Quinn, Terry Peterson, Tommy Dart, & etc.

Tommy Dart is a gent! He's broke, Tapioca( an homage to Mike Houlihan's Epic Comedy), bereft of funds, short on dough-ray-me, but very good guys are putting the idiot-stick on the money rake handle. You know, the reaaacccchhhh extenders that painters use. Shortly, Tom Dart will have more Hundos and Grants up around his knees than people living on 107th & Troy had flood waters in their basements.

Rahmbo is the media darling. He needed to buy off opponents when he ran for congress and import talent to ring door bells. But, he is really smart . . .the media keep saying that.

Meeks is not Gay Friendly.

La Pappas runs like a baton-twirling deer!

Terry Peterson is the guy to watch. Powerful folks were holding fund-raisers for Terry years ago and I went to them. If I had Terry's money, I'd throw mine away. More importantly, Terry Peterson knows government and he knows politics and that is what has been sadly missing from the Mayor's Office for decades.

Nah, Bob Tyrrell will enter the lists and challenge the Pie-Chart Dopes like Ralphie Martire who has bankrupted every branch of government that gives him time and money.

Rich Miller's political clearing house, Capitol Fax Blog, is a juicy, snark permitted, closed club of full agreement. The Miller Sock Puppets like Irish Pirate and my personal favorite Skeeter seem like government employed operatives with dogs in the fight. Could be. Who cares? It is a Democratic Club aad very Clubby - CFB blinks and flinches every time SEIU lifts its chubby arm.

Now, the news this AM tells us about the "clowns" and "outsiders" and "scary people" who still manage to win by huge margins, because voters are sick to death of Closed Clubs - GOP and Democrat.

This babe O'Donnell had the world on her back in her busines and still clobber GOP Marque Kirque Look-alike - Mike Castle:

DOVER and WILMINGTON, Del. -- Conservative activist Christine O'Donnell scored an upset victory in Delaware's Republican Senate primary on Tuesday, defeating longtime congressman Mike Castle 53 percent to 47 percent.

O'Donnell's surprising win marked yet another triumph for the Tea Party movement and may have ended the Republican Party's hopes of regaining control of the Senate in November. Polls have shown O'Donnell trailing far behind Democratic nominee Chris Coons, the New Castle county executive.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the people of Delaware have spoken: No more politics as usual," O'Donnell told an ecstatic crowd of campaign volunteers at her election night celebration in Dover. "Don't ever underestimate the power of ‘We The People.'"

In her victory speech, a beaming O'Donnell called for Republican Party unity, but she did not mention Castle by name.

Asked by RealClearPolitics while leaving the stage on Tuesday night whether Castle had called her to concede, O'Donnell said, "No, not yet."

What a Pound Off! We have plenty of similar Pound Offs in Illinois Public life - snark permitted.