City, County, State and Federal "Take it and Like It." South Side Parade, Progressive Government and All of Us

President Obama and the Lawn Rangers

Mayor Rahm Emanuel's administration indicated this week that it doesn't think the group trying to resurrect the South Side Irish Parade, shut down three years ago because of drunken violence, is prepared to pull it off Chicago Tribune

You set your watch by our elected officials - Gay marriage introduced - 'kill the parade where the breeders live . . .they also object to abortion . . .and are racist . . .and pay taxes.'


One Parade in the City of Chicago, one only, is a 'drunken' monstrosity. That is the South Side St. Patrick's Day Parade. Only one parade in the City of Chicago is bad and all others are good, no matter what.

In the past ten years, the South Side St. Patrick's Day Parade in the Beverly, Morgan Park, and Mount Greenwood neighborhoods has morphed into the South Side Chirish Parade thanks to the news media. Not only has the name been changed but the very location - a Catholic conglomeration of Catholic Parishes, schools and a university - has been tagged as intrinsically racist and bigoted.

Phil Kadner of the Sun Times Group wrote an article immediately after the 2008 Parade in which he attempted to mislead readers with a real stretcher that the genesis of the parade was no more than white flight Irish Catholic racism.

According to neighborhood legend, the South Side Irish Parade was launched by two families that fondly recalled the original St. Patrick's Day Parade on 79th Street.

It seems to me it really grew in popularity about the time the Daley clan was out of power, Harold Washington was mayor, and the Irish of the 19th Ward decided to secede from Chicago.

The parade was begun long before Harold Washington decided to run for Mayor of Chicago and really took off in popularity when Mayor Jane Byrne pulled Chicago Police Department security to punish the striking firefighters who live in this Ward. Like this year, only the South Side St. Patrick's Day enjoys no official support and the media does as it is told.

Sadly, Alderman Matt O'Shea finds himself opposing a neighborhood event that at one time needed to shore up security denied by the Mayor with private volunteers and could have used his skills and leadership. When Mayor Byrne tried to kill the Parade as a message to city workers, Alderman Mike Sheahan led the neighborhood keeping the Parade safe and sober without Chicago Police. The Parade was even more community minded than years previous. Politicians and news creatures broke their knee-caps crawling to and from this very Catholic community event every year subsequent.

Every politician from Mayor Washington to Governor Blagojevich participated in this 'drunken and racist' event. President Obama, while running for State and U.S. Senate made sure he was given proper place in the march route down Western Ave., as did Bill Clinton, Jerry Brown, Al Gore and even Pat Buchanan.

The South Side St. Patrick's Day Parade stands a good chance of being aborted by Rahm Emanuel. Security is the issue. Curbing drunken behavior and white ethnic Catholic racist highjinx that never happened at any past parade in this neighborhood will be Emanuel's meme. Parade Denied. Like the Obama HHS Choice Mandate, this is Progressive government writ large. Take it and like it and vote Democratic this March!

James "Skinny" Sheahan, brother of Alderman and Sheriff Mike Sheahan, provided leadership and is to be commended, whether the Parade marches on or not.

Sheahan demands 100% community intolerance of public consumpstrion of beer and booze. We don't want this neighborhood to be like Wrigleyville on a home game.

Every Cubs home game is a mini-south side Chi-rish Bacchanalia, but it is sanctioned and supported by Annie Sather's Cinnabon Alderman and Mayor alike.

The South Side St. Patrick's Day Parade was made into a political football by the 19th Ward Alderman, the news media, and the Mayor of Chicago. Football is a one tough game.

The Parade was brought back for the very same reasons the parade was begun - to celebrate the identity - Faith, Family and Friendship -of the Irish Catholics who live here. No other reason. The bar owners are hardly a powerful lobby and many are barely scratching out a living thanks to City, County and State taxes and regulations and the always one-way relationship with elected officials - take it and like it and buy some tickets.

Opposition to the parade is sometimes genuine. I live three short blocks west of the parade route. The north side and suburban fern-bar buses drop off revelers from outside of the neighborhood right in front of my house at 7AM on parade days and do not pick up the disoriented and tummysick youngsters until 7PM.

I end up picking up few empties from my lawn, but that is about it. I have helped a few mopes, who missed the pick-up back to Bucktown and River North, call for cabs, or Mommy. Not exactly a Gethsemane.

If the Parade is killed it will be an act of the usual politically correct and very Progressive hypocrisy that controls the public debate - Take it and Like It!

Writing in this morning's Wall Street Journal about the Obama Choice Mandate -pills, abortifacients and rubbers for all of God's Children no matter what God says -the author writes a summary of Progressive Government -

So here we are, with the government demanding that the church hold up its end of a Faustian bargain that was supposed to permit it to perform limitless acts of virtue. Instead, what the government believes the deal is about, more than anything else, is compliance.

Politically bloodless liberals would respond that, net-net, government forcings do much social good despite breaking a few eggs, such as the Catholic Church's First Amendment sensibilities. That is one view. But the depth of anger among Catholics over this suggests they recognize more is at stake here than political results. They are right. The question raised by the Catholic Church's battle with ObamaCare is whether anyone can remain free of a U.S. government determined to do what it wants to do, at whatever cost. .

WSJColumnist Dan Henninger on the Catholic church and government

This is the secularist Progressive Seamless Garment -ObamaCare, Gay Marriage, No School Vouchers, Abortion and more taxes for the middle class have the South Side St. Patrick's Day to be a litmus test.

If we need to sacrifice the South Side St. Patrick's Day Parade to let the Catholic homophobic breeders and racists and drunks know -what's what - so be it.

Greg Harris introduced the Religious Liberty & Gay Marriage legislation in Springfield only yesterday, in order to allow the lame duck Democrats to high speed rail another bill that will be signed by the always compliant Progressive stooge governor. Take it and like it.