Castro temporarily relinquishes power to brother during surgery

Well, it's probably too soon to say "Farewell, Fidel," but the Cuban dictator is undergoing intestinal surgery and he temporarily relinquished power to his brother, Raul this evening.

The island country Castro took over in 1959 had one of the highest standard of livings in Latin America. Castro's dictator predecessor Fulgencio Batista led a prosperous nation; Castro's Cuba is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere.

Technorati tags: cuba Fidel Castro cubano breaking news

Mel Gibson in alcohol rehab

I hope that Mel Gibson gets the help he needs. Bill Zwecker of CBS 2 Chicago reports tonight that the famed actor-director has been admitted to a rehab clinic.

Actor Mel Gibson has entered rehab following his arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, his publicist has confirmed.

Gibson's publicist, Alan Nierob, tells CBS 2's Bill Zwecker that Gibson has entered a rehab facility at an undisclosed location.

Gibson has apologized for what he said were "despicable" statements he made to the deputies who arrested him early Friday morning on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu.

An official police report on Gibson's arrest on drunken driving charges substantiates claims that he made anti-Semitic remarks and threatened a deputy, a law enforcement official said Monday.

Perhaps the facility can cure Gibson of his problems with the bottle. But I hope he doesn't come out of the clinic blaming what he said on the booze. I won't believe him.

Technorati tags: Mel Gibson anti-Semitism movies entertainment chicago illinois dui substance abuse rehab

Hotter than a distance runner's armpit out there

And I should know about how hot a distance runner's armpit should be, as I ran 12 miles in 96 F (36 C) heat this afternoon.

The National Weather Service has declared a heat emergency in much of the Midwest.

It actually wasn't that bad. I ran ten miles on July 17 with much more difficulty. However, in addition to being one degree less today, it was 97 on the 17th, it seemed less humid.

Once again, I have to add this disclaimer: Just because I did it, doesn't mean you should.

Technorati tags: running Training Fitness Exercise heat

Suburban Beirut: "Civilians" with anti-aircraft weapons

Either this group of Lebanese "civilians" are hunting for pterydactyls, or they hope to shoot down an Israeli jet.

Of course these suburban Beirut residents view their work as self defense, but they obviously don't care if their fellow suburbanites are killed by retaliatory Israeli Defense Force strikes. In the generally agreed upon rules of warfare, the men pictured are legitimate military targets. And if an IDF bombing strike destroys them and some nearby houses, who is to blame?

The picture, and the below excerpt, comes from Australia's Sunday Herald Sun:

This is the picture that damns Hezbollah. It is one of several, smuggled from behind Lebanon's battle lines, showing that Hezbollah is waging war amid suburbia.

The images, obtained exclusively by the Sunday Herald Sun, show Hezbollah using high-density residential areas as launch pads for rockets and heavy-calibre weapons.

Dressed in civilian clothing so they can quickly disappear, the militants carrying automatic assault rifles and ride in on trucks mounted with cannon.

The photographs, from the Christian area of Wadi Chahrour in the east of Beirut, were taken by a visiting journalist and smuggled out by a friend.

Technorati tags: Israel ישראל الإسلام Lebanon Beirut Hisbollah روت‎

Mel Gibson: Drunk and pissed

Of course if you're a British reader of this blog, you'll view that as a redundancy. "Pissed" in British slang means drunk, the informal meaning of the same word in American English refers to anger.

Mel was in California last weekend when he was arrested for drunk driving. He then went on a bizarre anti-Semitic verbal rampage.

Gibson's public image has taken a hit, and it's doubtful it will ever recover. As Gibson's primary audience has evolved from fans of action films to conservative Christians--many of whom, particularly Baptists, view Jews quite favorably--nagging doubts about Gibson's true feelings probably will never dissipate among these newer fans.

Worse: Mel's father has been making anti-Semitic comments for years.

Drunk driving arrests bring out the worst in people. If Gibson's handlers want to spin Mel out of this mess, perhaps they can allude to the similarly bizarre behavior of two famous Chicago Mikes: Ditka and the late Royko, who embarrassed themselves after they were busted by police for driving under the influence.

On the other hand, Ditka and Royko didn't cross the line into bigotry as Gibson did.

(Yes, Mike Royko did make some anti-gay comments in his tirade, but since Royko at that time had been writing columns that some viewed as "gay-bashing," the legendary columnist's public persona hadn't been altered much. Besides, when Royko was arrested, his career was heading downhill. Years of boozing took its toll, and he was no longer writng great columns on a regular basis.)

The Gibson directed Apocolypto, a Mayan epic, is scheduled for release on December 8.

We should have a good idea how much damage has been self-inflicted on Gibson's career after that date.

Technorati tags: Mel Gibson Apocalypto anti-Semitism movies entertainment chicago illinois dui

Latest from the The League of Villains: Ahmadinejad awards Chavez

Three months ago on Marathon Pundit, I remarked that Iran was cozying up to anti-American and pariah states such as Venezuela, Sudan, and Cuba, forming a League of Villains.

Another League of Villains was formed by King Goobot to oppose Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius.

On Sunday in Tehran one villain recognized another. President Mahmud Ahmadinejad of Iran awarded in Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez its highest honor, the Order of the Islamic Republic of Iran, First Grade.

From the Tehran Times:

During the ceremony at the University of Tehran, Ahmadinejad said the Middle East should free itself from the West's tyranny, adding that the West imposed the Zionists on Middle Eastern nations for two reasons: because of World War II and because their ancestors used to live in Palestine over 2,500 years ago.

"If such a rule is applicable, shouldn't all the world's borders be changed? Who were the inhabitants of the United States some 250 years ago?" he asked.

A bit more from the same article:

The award was bestowed upon the Venezuelan president to honor his valuable and brave efforts to establish a justice-based peace, his stance against the hegemonic system, and his support for endeavors to maintain the freedom and independence of the Venezuelan nation.

Related posts: This can't be good...Sudanese president in Iran

League of Villains update: Senior Iranian and Cuban meet

The League of Villains and China: the Left's great red hope against the USA

Technorati tags: Iran Farsi iranian ايران League of Villains chavez venezuela news Ahmadinejad Israel ישראל Middle East

CAIR calls for end of Israeli "terror," but silent on Hezbollah missiles

The Israeli air-strike that led to the deaths of at least 56 Lebanese drew the ire of CAIR, the Council on American Islamic Relations today.

From a CAIR press release:

A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group today said the Bush administration and the international community must act to stop Israel's campaign of "terror" in Southern Lebanon.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) issued that call after an Israeli air strike killed at least 57 civilians in the town of Qana, the site of a similar massacre of civilians by Israel a decade ago. (In 1996, an Israeli air strike on a United Nations compound in Qana killed more than 100 civilians who had sought shelter there.) Lebanese officials said the majority of the dead in today's attack were children. Hundreds of Lebanese civilians have been killed in previous Israeli attacks.

For much of July, Hezbollah has been firing missiles into northern Israel. The rockets aren't that accurate, which of course means that the intent of the terror group can only be to kill civilians.

To my knowledge, outside of broad calls for a cease fire, CAIR has not--in specific language--ask that Hezbollah stop firing missiles into Israel.

Technorati tags: Qana CAIR Muslim Israel ישראל الإسلام Islam Muslim Lebanon

Mayor Daley to veto "big box" ordinance?

Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley just might veto the "big box living wage" ordinance. If he does, it'll be his first veto in his 17 years as mayor.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Mayor Daley didn't reveal if he will veto the city's new big-box ordinance Saturday, but he said the fight over the controversial "living-wage" law will continue.

"I've got time. We'll see. You'll see," Daley said.

The City Council voted Wednesday 35-14 in favor of requiring Wal-Mart and other retail giants to pay their employees a "living wage" of at least $10 an hour and $3 in benefits by 2010.

Daley said the ordinance would be most detrimental to the city's minorities because it could drive away businesses and jobs for teenagers

Technorati tags: Wal-Mart Chicago Illinois business retail politics Illinois Politics big box Unions Labor Daley

Marathon Pundit goes to Washington: Dorothy's ruby slippers

The famed ruby slippers, or one of the pairs (there were several used during the filming of The Wizard of Oz, are on display in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

The original star-spangled banner, that is, the one that inspired Francis Key to write the lyrics of what later became our national anthem, is currently being restored, but is still on display there.

Absolutely no pictures or videotaping of the banner is permitted. Which is why there's a picture of the slippers, instead of the famous flag.

Earlier this month, Little Marathon Pundit and I traveled to our nation's capital. Scroll down for more pictures and entries.

Technorati tags: Smithsonian Judy Garland Wizard of Oz Washington photos history movies

Blogroll additon: Anti-CAIR

CAIR, the Coucil for American Islamic Relations, fashions itself along the lines of an NAACP for Muslims.

Here's what the senior senator of my home state, Democrat Dick Durbin, said about them:

[CAIR is] unusual in its extreme rhetoric and its associations with groups that are suspect.

His fellow Democrat, Chuck Schumer added:

"We know [CAIR] has ties to terrorism."

It came to my attention earlier today that Anti-CAIR, a site run by Andy Whitehead, is not on my blogroll. It is now.

Mr. Whitehead was sued by CAIR more allegedly committing libel against the group. The case was dismissed with prejudice by a judge in Washington. "With prejudice" means the plaintiff, in this case CAIR, can never sue Whitehead for the statements in the original suit in any court.

From Robert Spencer's Jihad Watch on March 30:

$1.35 million libel suit filed by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) against Andrew Whitehead of Anti-CAIR (ACAIR), who called CAIR a "terrorist front organization," that was "founded by Hamas supporters," and was working to "make radical Islam the dominant religion in the United States," has been dismissed with prejudice. According to ACAIR’s Mr. Whitehead, who posts at www.anti-cair-net.org, "a mutually agreeable settlement."

Terms of the settlement are confidential. However, no apology was issued, no retraction or corrections made, and the statements that triggered CAIR’s suit remain on the ACAIR website.

More details on the dismissal can be found here.

Technorati tags: CAIR Islam Muslim Religion law

Israelis kill Islamic Jihad terrormaster

There is good news in the Holy Land tonight, as the Israeli Defense Forces killed thug Hani Awijan--leader of the Islamic Jihad--in the West Bank city of Nablus.

According to AP, Islamic Jihad was responsible for all 12 Palestianian suicide attacks in the last 17 months.

Good night and good riddance.

Technorati tags: Islamic Jihad Muslims Terrorism Israel ישראל Middle East

Mr. Right's latest photo caption with Hillary Clinton

Mr. Right, metaphorically speaking of course, busts Hillary Clinton in the chops with his latest photo caption contest.

My entry is somewhat obscure, which gurantees me either greatness or failure. We'll see which wins out.

Technorati tags: Hillary HILLARY CLINTON humor Jokes funny humour

Reinstate Klocek petition gets 1500th signature

Brian E. Vinson today become the 1500th signee of the Reinstate Thomas Klocek at DePaul petition. The goal of the Scholars for Peace in the Middle East is to have 2000 signatures to present to Chicago's DePaul University, asking the school to re-hire the man who taught there for 15 years.

Click here to add your name.

Technorati tags: Illinois Chicago DePaul Academic freedom Free Speech Thomas Klocek Middle East Catholic

Hate crime in Seattle--One dead, five wounded in synagogue shooting

Yesterday's Seattle synagogue murder rampage is so blatantly a hate-crime that there is no way the media can overlook the obvious.

From AP:

A lone gunman burst into a Jewish organization in downtown Seattle on Friday, killing one woman and wounding five others in what authorities were calling a hate crime.

Police said the gunman had been arrested without a struggle inside the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, where the shooting took place, and was being questioned by police.

The gunman is a U.S. citizen, and police said initial contacts with him by phone while he was inside the building indicated that he was a Muslim.

The incident reminds me, and Michelle Malkin as well, of the July 4, 2002 El Al ticket booth shooting at LAX that left three dead.

Technorati tags: Seattle LAX hate crime Israel لبنان ישראל

Chicago White Sox are in trouble

The world champion Chicago White Sox have been playing terrible baseball since the all-star break. Having been swept by their rivals the Minnesota Twins, the Sox crawl into a weekend series against Baltimore with no momentum--except that of heading backwards.

There is still a lot of baseball to be played, but the way the Sox are playing, it could be a painful two months for the South Siders.

As for the White Sox-Orioles series, tonight fellow White Sox fan McKreck of Occidentality will be live blogging the game. The game starts at 7:05pm central time.

Let's home he's not doing this without the accompaniment of loved ones.

UPDATE 10:45PM CDT: With some 9th inning heroics--a grand slam by sub Ross Gload, the White Sox pulled off a rare July win over the Orioles, with a 6-4 win. Occidentalty has a run-down on his blog.

Technorati tags: Baseball MLB White Sox sports Chicago White Sox Chicago Illinois Baltimore Orioles

Hezbollah rocket hits Israeli hospital

I'm sure the Hezballoh terrorists are all broken up about hitting an Israeli hospital with one of their missiles--no one was killed or injured in that strike.

Technorati tags: Israel لبنان ישראל Hezbollah

Chicago Tribune: "Big box" legally suspect

All of the hooting and hollering, not to mention the threats made against Chicago alderman made by unions may not matter at all once the courts get involved in the Chicago "big box living wage" ordinance.

The bill cleared the Chicago City Council by a 35-14 vote on Wednesday.

From the Tribune, free registration may be required:

Before the Chicago City Council voted to pass the "big-box" living-wage ordinance, the city Law Department advised that there would be "significant risk" of a court overturning the law.

Legal opionions are all over the map on this issue. Supporters of the bill obviously don't agree with the city Law Department.

I feel compelled to conclude with my comment from my "big box" post from yesterday:

Sure it'd be illegal, but it would be a fair ending to this tale if the 35 alderman who voted for the "big box" wage bill were forced to pay the legal bills resulting from "big box" out of their own salaries. After all, they just voted themselves a raise.

Technorati tags: Wal-Mart Chicago Illinois business retail politics Illinois Politics big box law

Washington's National Zoo: They've got pandas there

Two weeks ago Little Marathon Pundit and I traveled to Washington DC.

On a drizzly Wednesday, we visited the National Zoo, located in fashionable Northwest Washington.

Although there is a lot of construction going on in the zoo--the Asian Trail exhibit is being built--it's still a great urban zoo.

Yes, we saw the giant pandas. All three of them. Unlike the San Diego Zoo, the panda area at the National Zoo is much more conducive to actually seing the pandas. But like the world-famous zoo, there are usually lines to see the pandas, and on a busy day, such as on a weekend day with good weather, visitors to zoo may go home disappointed because they didn't see those adorable black-and-whites.

Related posts: Pictures from DC, first entry is CAIR's headquarters

Marathon Pundit in Washington, then and now

Technorati tags: Washington photos blog Weblogs panda national zoo

"Unfire" Ward Churchill?

Pirate Ballerina is keeping on top of what he's calling the "Unfire Ward Churchill" petition.

I support Ward Churchill's upcoming dismissal from the University of Colorado. Not because of his repulsive comments about the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks, but because of his long history of academic misconduct.

In the post below, there's a petition in support of the reinstatement of fired DePaul Professor Thomas Klocek. In my opinion, Klocek was fired for what he said during a discussion inside a DePaul University cafeteria on September 15, 2004.

Some group called Teachers for a Democratic Society, not to be confused with the radical Students for a Democratic Society, has posted online the signers of a petition in support of keeping Ward Churchill employed as a professor at CU.

Oh, Students for a Democratic Society will be in town next week for their annual convention. The University of Illinois at Chicago is hosting them.

Some of the names I've noticed that I've blogged about:

Bill Ayers is a former Students for a Democratic Society member, who left the group in the late 1960s to form the domestic terrorist group, the Weather Underground. He's a tenured education professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Didn't I just mention that school?

His wife, Bernardine Dohrn signed it too. She's a tenured law professor at Northwestern University. Her membership in the Weather Underground caused the New York Bar Association to deny her a license to practice law in that state. She never did get a law license, but that didn't prevent her from becoming a tenured law professor at Northwestern.

According to Indian Country, Ward Churchill claimed in 1987 to have been a bomb-making instructor for the Weather Underground.

Three people from DePaul University signed the petition.

Ann Russo a professor with the school's Women's and Gender Studies Department, Nicole Perez, a DePaul graduate assistant who is a staffer with the DePaul Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, Questioning, and Allies office...

... And Dr. Harvette Grey, the woman who invited Ward Churchill to DePaul for that disastrous paid speaking appearance at the school's Lincoln Park campus last fall.

DePaul's mistreatment of members of the DePaul Conservative Alliance, who tried to protest Churchill's appearance there, came to the attention of FIRE, the Foundation for Individual Rights for Education.

I've reviewed the Reinstate Klocek petition several times, and I've not noticed the signatures of Russo, Perez, or Grey. Other DePaul professors have signed it.

Yet I'm sure Russo, Perez, and Grey wholeheartedly support free speech. As do Ayers and Dohrn.

Technorati tags: Northwestern UIC Colorado Terrorism SDS Bill Ayers Bernardine Dohrn Ward Churchill Illinois Chicago DePaul Academic freedom Free Speech Thomas Klocek

This afternoon: Marathon Pundit to be guest on Constitutional Public Radio

Join the CPR chatroom!! I'm there!!!

This post will remain on top all day. Scroll down for newer posts.

Later today I'll be appearing on Andrea Shea-King and Mark Vance's Constitutional Public Radio show, which broadcasts on WWBC-AM 1510 on Florida's Space Coast. You can listen in via the internet if you don't live in the area.

My segment is scheduled to air live at 4:05pm Eastern Time (3:05pm Chicago Time).

Topics? My blog and I guess, how I blog, as well as DePaul/Klocek, Wal-Mart, and who knows what else.

Thanks Dave of Third Wave Dave being my point-man in getting me on the air and into your homes and workplaces.

UPDATE 2:45PM CDT: Just got back from my 14-mile run. Also, here is the petition to sign to reinstate Thomas Klocek at DePaul.

Technorati tags: Florida space coast radio blog Wal-Mart

Chicago alderman inside their boxes: Thinking of themselves

While yesterday's passing of Chicago's "big box" living wage ordinance was the major local news story--and it's gotten pretty heavy play nationally--one story got buried. Chicago's alderman voted themselves pay raise for themselves yesterday, (free registration may be required to access the link).

As for the "big box" bill, the unions no longer bother denying that they've threatened to run opponents against the soon-to-be-a-little wealthier aldercreatures if they voted "wrong" on "big box."

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Aldermen had made commitments to organized labor months ago. They were not about to renege -- and test labor's threat to run candidates against sitting aldermen.

Today's John Kass column in the Chicago Tribune is a work of brilliance. Here is an excerpt, and yes, free registration may be required:

As public policy, the big-box ordinance is certainly unconstitutional. It is an insidious attempt by Chicago politicians to squeeze businesses that hoped to open new markets--particularly underserved minority neighborhoods--while providing tax revenue and thousands of desperately needed jobs to unskilled workers, many of them black and Latino.

"I've got these white liberals telling me what's good for my community. But this big-box thing will cost black people jobs," Ald. Ike Carothers (29th) told me during Wednesday's pontifications.

"If I put out a notice that there were 500 jobs waiting in my ward--what Wal-Mart was offering for each store--you'd see a line of people from my ward all the way to Mississippi. People want jobs. That's it."

Eventually, Wednesday's histrionics will cost taxpayers even more money, once lawyers start generating billable hours. Ultimately, the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, requiring equal protection under the law, should trump the council's economic populism.

Sure it'd be illegal, but it would be a fair ending to this tale if the 35 alderman who voted for the "big box" wage bill were forced to pay the legal bills resulting from "big box" out of their own salaries. After all, they just voted themselves a raise.

Technorati tags: Wal-Mart Chicago Illinois business retail politics Illinois Politics big box Unions Labor John Kass law 14th Amendment white liberals

DePaul DeTritus

For the year-and-a-half lifespan of this blog, I've had many posts on the shenanigans at Chicago's DePaul University, America's largest Catholic university. Foremost among the DePaul stories I've blogged about are the Thomas Klocek free speech struggle. as well as DePaul Assistant Professor of Political Science Norman G. Finkelstein, a holocaust-minimizer, as well as the shoddy treatment the DePaul Conservative Alliance has received from the DePaul administration.

I've only blogged once about DePaul Professor of Law M. Cherif Bassiouni once. It was an important post. Bassiouni wrote an op-ed with the goal of blunting criticism of Islam for that nasty habit of pronouncing death sentences for those who leave the faith. Bassiouni claims, sort of, that killing apostates is not a capital offense in Islam.

Well it certainly is, Jihad Watch's Robert Spencer answers back, and Bassiouni knows it, according to Spencer in his post.

Earlier this month the role of CAIR in the dismissal of Thomas Klocek became public.

Christina Abraham, CAIR Chicago's civil rights coordinator, told filmmaker Grant Crowell the group recommended to DePaul that the university fire Klocek after he got in a heated out-of-classroom discussion with some DePaul Muslim students. The students told CAIR Klocek threw papers at them and that they felt physically threatened by the sixty year-old. Klocek was fired by DePaul, but without the due process rights that even adjunct professors such as Klocek are entitled to, according to DePaul's guidelines.

Christina Abraham is a DePaul law student. Professor Bassiouni has ties to CAIR, serving in the role of a guest speaker at CAIR events in Michigan, Illinois, and California.

Some more DePaul detritus:

DePaul University Professor of Islamic Studies Aminah McCloud appeared in a recent CAIR testimonial film. In the book The Professors: The 101 Most Dangerous Academics in America by David Horowitz, Professor McCloud was given the "honor" of being among the 101.

Thomas Ryan in FrontPage Magazine wrote about McCloud last year:

McCloud teaches the courses "Islam in the United States," which has as its objective to leave students with a basic understanding of the history of the contemporary communities of Muslims in the United States; and "Islam in Global Contexts," which attempts to provide "an overview of the worldview of Islam with a focus on its historical development in major parts of the world." One of the books McCloud uses as a required reading for both of these courses is Seyyed Hossein Nasr's book The Heart Of Islam: Enduring Values for Humanity. An apologist's view of Islam, the text habitually conceals the darker sides of fundamentalist Islam. In the book Nasr writes, "When some people attack Islam for inciting struggle in the name of justice, they forget the Boston Tea Party and the American Revolution." In this rudimentary and erroneous observation, Nasr is equating terrorist attacks and suicide bombings enacted on innocent civilians to throwing tea into the Boston Harbor.

To view and sign the Reinstate Thomas Klocek Petition, click here, then sign. Let DePaul University know how you feel.

Technorati tags: Illinois Chicago DePaul Academic freedom Free Speech Thomas Klocek Middle East Catholic Bassiouni CAIR norman finkelstein

Mr. Right's photo caption contests goes polar

Mr. Right (thanks for the link) has another fun photo caption contest up, this one features a zoo favorite, the lovable polar bear.

Technorati tags: humor Jokes funny humour zoo

Prairie coneflowers in Illinois

And whoever said good pictures can't be taken with camera phones needs to take a look at this one. I took it this afternoon on my Motorola V3 RAZR in the Linne Woods Forest Preserve in Morton Grove. The only thing wrong with the picture is the invasive plant Queen Anne's lace in the corner.

Good blogging tip: Carry a camera phone or a digital phone (but keep both away from water, including rain), whenever you can. You never know what bloggable thing you may encounter. Oh, but don't break the law either, and you know what I mean....

Technorati tags: coneflower wildflowers illinois photos nature motorola RAZR

Anti-jobs "big box"ordinance passes Chicago City Council

Longtime Chicago Tribune sports columnist Bob Verdi often calls Chicago, in a play on words of Carl Sandburg's description of the town, the "City of broad shoulders and narrow trophy cases."

Now that the "living wage" ordinance focusing only on "big box" retailers such as Target and Wal-Mart has passed the Chicago City Council, the city's new moniker may end up being the "City of broad shoulders and empty storefronts."

A test case for my theory is the boondoggle known as the Gateway Shopping Center in Joe Moore's 49th Ward. Moore, the anti-foie gras zealot, was the main sponsor of the bill.

The bill passed the council by a surprisingly large margin, a veto-proof 35-14. However, Mayor Richard Daley could still veto the bill, forcing big labor to worry about a few defections as the Council attempts to override Daley's first veto in his 17 years as mayor.

It's easy to view Wal-Mart, Target, and Home Depot as the losers today. The real losers are the people who won't have jobs in the stores that won't be opening in Chicago. The "big boxes" have plans to put stores in the underserved areas of the city, with no viable retail presence there for the "big boxes" to displace.

Chicago will continue to tax revenue to the suburbs and the web. It's an old article, but in 2004 Crain's Chicago Business reported:

MetroEdge calculates that city dwellers spent $32 billion on retail goods in 2003, but only $25.5 billion of that amount was spent in the city. The remainder was spent elsewhere — anywhere from the suburbs to the Internet. The size of the gap is debatable; MetroEdge's sales estimates don't exactly match what the state reports. But what's beyond question is that the city of Chicago is understored.

Liberal activists, columnists, and bloggers are claiming Wal-Mart and Target are bluffing when the retail behemoths state they'll cut back or cancel their expansion moves into the Second City. My hunch is they're not. Look for Wal-Mart to create a "big box" necklace along the borders of America's third most-populous city if the "big box" ordinance stands.

The sales tax in Chicago for most goods is 9 percent, with 2.25 percent of each sale going into city coffers. If it's not sold in the city, the city collects nothing.

Chicago's first Wal-Mart will open next month on the impoverished West Side, employing about 450 people. Wal-Mart has told Chicago leaders that the retailer has plans--or had plans, I should say, to open 10 or 20 stores in the city. You do the math.

On the positive side, Wal-Mart Watch, the Service Employees International Union funded group, is looking to hire a press secretary. So a Wal-Mart opponent has one job to offer.

For more read Crazy Politico's Rantings, Bankrollers come first in Chicago, and McHenry County Blogs, Using government to do what unions can't.

Technorati tags: Wal-Mart Chicago Illinois business retail politics Illinois Politics big box Unions Labor Joe Moore Target Home Depot big labor SEIU Wal-Mart Watch Carl Sandburg

Review: Ted Kennedy's children's book, "My Senator and Me"

In preparation for our recent trip to Washington, Little Marathon Pundit rode her bike to the Morton Grove Public Library, checking out several books about our nation's capital.

One of those books was the recently published My Senator and Me, A Dog's Eye View of Washington, written by Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

It's a children's book written from the perspective of Kennedy's Portuguese Water Dog, Splash. Yes, the dog's name really is Splash, and pundits have made wisecracks about the name in reference to that 1969 driving incident, but in fairness to Splash, the wet-nosed one was named that before Kennedy bought him.

As the dog explains:

I know a lot about the Senate because I work there too, always at the side of my Senator. His name is Edward M. Kennedy. My name is Splash. Let me explain....

The only way to become a Senator is to be elected by the people of your home state.

(My note: Having a multi-millionaire father and a brother in the White House helps a bit, as Kennedy learned in 1962.)

Sadly, conflict invades Splash's world, as the canine tells the reader after what seems to be good news arrives at Kennedy's office.

"The Senate has voted to approve our education bill!" one staff member says. "Our bill will make schools safer, let them hire more teachers, and even put a computer in every classroom!"

But the House of Representatives passed a different education bill," says another staff member. This is a problem."

"Well there is no time to lose, says the Senator. "We need to meet with the members of the House immediately and work out the differences between the two bills. The schoolchildren are counting on us!"

Splash doesn't go into any detail on what else is in his Senator's bill. Knowing Kennedy, it's a safe assumption that school vouchers or merit pay for teachers are not in Kennedy's legislation.

Spoiler alert:

A conference between the House and Senate members to work out the differences between the bill takes place. It goes on and on...and an agreement on the bill is finally reached after Splash barks a couple of times.

The vote on the bill takes place, which is somewhat distressing to Splash, since dogs aren't allowed on the Senate floor.

One nugget of agreed-upon-truth is uttered by the dog, who writes:

I've seen plenty of Senators, and they don't behave any better that I do.

Do you really need to be told if the bill is approved by the Senate?
On the positive side, the artwork is superb, the illustrator for "My Senator and Me" is Caldecott Medal winning artist David Small. The dog appears pretty cute, and Small honestly draws Kennedy in all his girth, with the Senator's jowls prominently outlining his face.

Technorati tags: Kennedy Congress Massachusetts books childrens books dog books

Medved on Israel's right to exist

If you have a liberal friend who you may feel is tottering to the other side, turn that person on to Michael Medved's talk radio show. Medved is a former liberal. In addition, he doesn's possess the baggage of someone like Rush Limbaugh or Bill O'Reilly, and the tone of Medved's show is not confrontational. Medved regularly accepts calls from those who oppose his views, and Medved doesn't berate those callers, but shoots them down in calm responses doused in common sense.

Medved has a good eye for stories, he was the first radio talker to interview fired DePaul professor Thomas Klocek on the air.

"Does Israel have a right to exist?," Medved asks in today's Townhall.com

For those who instinctively resist any comparison of Israel’s "right to exist" with that of the United States, the crucial difference must be one of longevity: America has now enjoyed 230 years of prosperous independence, while Israel has yet to reach its sixtieth birthday. Yet other nations (Slovakia? Turkmenistan? Namibia?) have come into being far more recently than Israel, without endless public challenges to their legitimacy. Montenegro, for instance, just joined the family of nations a few months ago—despite the fact that more that 45% of the citizens of the new country voted against its independence.

Here is another paragraph I like:

Mark Twain visited the Holy Land in 1867, shortly before the commencement of modern Jewish resettlement, and described it as "a desolate country whose soil is rich enough, but is given over wholly to weeds—a silent, mournful expanse… A desolation is here that not even imagination can grace with the pomp of life and action." According to the careful population figures of the Ottoman Empire, in 1882 (at the very beginning of the modern, organized Jewish immigration back to the ancestral home), the total population of land between the Jordan and the Sea was less than 250,000 – in an area that today supports ten million people, Israelis and Palestinians.

Technorati tags: Israel ישראל Middle East Mark Twain Michael Medved current affairs Jews

Big day for "big box" ordinance in Chicago

In two months, Chicago's first Wal-Mart will open, 450 people will be employed by the West Side store. But later today, a vote in Chicago's City Council might ensure that this will be the only Chicago Wal-Mart for the foreseeable future.

This Chicago Tribune editorial (free registration required) closely matches my opinion on this event:

Chicagoans without jobs flooded Wal-Mart with applications for those 450 openings. The lucky ones will be going to work Sept. 19. The unsuccessful Wal-Mart applicants had better hope their aldermen focus on how to keep more new jobs like these coming to town--rather than on how to shunt them to suburbia at the behest of organized labor.

I took this picture outside a storefront near the still under-construction Niles Wal-Mart on Golf Road.

If a majority of Chicago's 50 alderman for the "living wage" big box ordinance later today, signs like the one above probably won't be seen in Chicago for a long time.

And by the way, just how many job offers do the United Food and Commercial Workers and the Service Employees International Union hand out?

Technorati tags: Wal-Mart Chicago Illinois business retail politics Illinois Politics big box Unions Labor SEIU UFCW

Christian mouthpiece for Iranian gov't writes Pope denouncing Israel

Hoo boy, another crappy article from the Tehran Times!

Here is today's entry:

Jonathan Betkellia, who represents Iran’s Assyrian and Chaldean Christians in the Majlis, has written a letter to Pope Benedict XVI denouncing Israel’s brutal attacks on the Lebanese nation, a report released by the Majlis media department said on Tuesday.

Betkellia, who is also the director of the Asian branch of the World Union of Assyrians, called for efforts to relieve the Lebanese nation from the Zionist assaults.

"Jesus Christ has said share your neighbor’s sorrow and pain … today, the Zionist regime has launched barbaric attacks on Lebanon following the massacre it carried out in Gaza. By bombing a land which has suffered long years of war, Israel has caused insecurity, destruction and massacre in Lebanon."

Iran's constitution sets aside a few parliamentary seats for non-Muslims. That same constitution, a blueprint for a lazy-susan system of Islamofacism, also proscribes the death penalty for Muslims who change religions--even to Christianity, something left out of Betkillia's letter.

Of course, that letter may have been written for him, with the "suggestion" that he sign his name to it.

Technorati tags: iran خبر Persian Israel ישראל الإسلام Islam Muslim Pope Benedict XVI Lebanon

Arrest made in Indiana sniper case

From ABC 7 Chicago:

An arrest was made Tuesday in a series of sniper shootings in Indiana. One person was killed and another wounded in four sniper attacks on drivers on interstates 65 and 69 on Sunday. Now, 17-year-old Zachariah Blanton is charged with murder.

Indiana State Police were joined by the governor of Indiana to announce the arrest Tuesday afternoon. Those shootings happened Sunday in Seymour and Muncie, and put the region on high alert.

Zack Blanton is a shot-putter on his high school track team. Now, he is charged with firing a different kind of shot. Detectives say last weekend Blanton was with some friends hunting deer on property his family owns in southern Indiana. They say the teenager left the posse in a red pickup truck, and then committed the sniper attacks that killed one man, wounded another and shot up several vehicles.

It's believed the Hammond shooting earlier today is a copycat crime, which sounds harmless, but the nut shot at a passing car.

Technorati tags: Indiana crime current events law

Marathon Pundit in Washington: Then and now

I posted the first photo a couple of weeks ago here. It was taken in 1971 on the southeast corner of the Capitol building. Two weeks ago, the second picture was taken by my cousin Kate. There's a new Capitol visitor's center being built, so we were unable to access the same corner, Kate took this photo on the northwest end.

Technorati tags: Washington Congress photos blog Weblogs

Indiana sniper attacks

For the second time in three days, a sniper attack has occurred in Indiana. No one was injured in today's shooting in Hammond, near Chicago, although the passenger window was smashed.

Clearly the intent to kill was there.

In Seymour, Indiana near downstate Bloomington, one person was killed and another wounded by a sniper on Sunday. And there are reports of sniper attacks near Muncie, in the central part of the state.

I hope I'm wrong, but these attacks will probably continue.

Technorati tags: Indiana Indiana snipers crime News criminal

News from CENTCOM: Raid in Balad

CENTCOM sent me this press release a few minute ago.

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition forces killed one terrorist, wounded another and detained one associate during a raid north of Balad on the morning of June 24.

Reliable intelligence indicates that the targeted terrorists were associated with numerous senior al-Qaida in Iraq members including two local Emirs. The group is also reported to be tied to another recently captured individual who had previously led the overall network and has since admitted to countless attacks on Iraqi civilians.

While the troops were moving to the target area they encountered two armed terrorists who attempted to engage the ground force. The ground force immediately engaged the terrorists killing one and wounding the other. The wounded terrorist was provided immediate first aid on site.

Multiple men fled the immediate target area upon arrival of the assault force. The ground force then quickly contained and secured the target area.

The troops pursued and ultimately detained another suspect.

Technorati tags: Terrorism War on Terror Iraq War on Terror al qaeda

African-Americans oppose "big box," plus interesting editing

Fran Spielman writes about Chicago's "big box" ordinance, and notes something that even supporters of "living wages" agree on. African Americans oppose this bill:

Dr. Leon Finney of the Metropolitan Apostolic Community Church said recent polls commissioned by black ministers show voters in African-American wards oppose the big-box ordinance by 70-to-80 percent margins.

Finney scoffed at the threat by union leaders to finance candidates against incumbent aldermen who oppose the ordinance.

"Since when do we know that the labor unions have been able to elect anybody to office? . . . If an alderman decides to vote the interests of their people, they should be punished?'' Finney said.

Spielman's article was picked up by the affiliated Daily Southtown. Here's that first excerpted paragraph from the Southtown:

Leon Finney of the Metropolitan Apostolic Community Church said recent polls commissioned by black ministers show that voters in majority black wards overwhelmingly oppose the big-box ordinance.

Maybe I'm being a bit picky, but since the Sun-Times version of that paragraph is--at least to me--more effective in communicating the strong opposition of blacks to the "big box" ordinance, was the person who edited Spielman's Daily Southtown version of her article trying to diminish the punchiness of Fran's point?

More details on opposition to "big box" in the African American community in this May Marathon Pundit post, Chicago's "big box" anti-jobs ordinance.

Technorati tags: Wal-Mart Chicago Illinois business retail politics Illinois Politics big box Unions Labor Daley Black

Asia nuke watch: Don't forget about Pakistan

Although Pakistan is ruled by friendly-to-the-US Pervez Musharraf, a coup led by Muslim extremists could put Pakistan's nuclear arsenal into the hands of al-Qaeda supporters.

After all, General Musharraf became President Muhsarraf in a coup, albeit a bloodless one. Coups are common in Pakistan.

Britain's Guardian paper has a story that may not get the attention it deserves.

Pakistan appears to have embarked on a dramatic expansion of its nuclear arsenal with the construction of a new heavy water reactor capable of producing enough plutonium for up to 50 warheads a year, according to a report released yesterday by a US thinktank.

The report by the Institute for Science and International Security (Isis), is largely based on commercially available satellite images showing a large building site at a nuclear production complex at Khushab, in Pakistani Punjab. Isis, a non-governmental nuclear watchdog, estimates that the huge rectangular building under construction and the circular structure inside it almost certainly represent the early stages of a 1,000MW reactor capable of generating more than 200kg (440lbs) of weapons-grade plutonium per year. When completed it would be 20 times the size of the existing reactor at Khushab.

The Khushab complex uses deuterium oxide, known as heavy water because of its chemical similarity to water, to produce plutonium and tritium, which is used as a booster in nuclear fission weapons.

50 warheads a year. The war between Israel and Hezbollah has grabbed the headlines, but this is a story to keep an eye on.

Technorati tags: Pakistan nukes اسلامی nuclear punjab news current events

More on Chicago's "big box" ordinance

It's no surprise that unions are playing hardball with Chicago's 50 alderman as Wednesday vote on the "big box living wage" bill comes to a vote, according to CBS 2 Chicago.

Ordinance opponent Hermene Hartmann said in a Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce press conference today, "They're telling aldermen they're going to vote them out with their troops, and they're going to dry up their financial resources."

Which of course is consistent with comments made last month by Alderman Bernard Stone:

The unions have backed aldermen against the wall. They've threatened to fund opponents against them and to solicit opponents to run against" (those who dare to oppose the big-box ordinance).

Mayor Richard Daley also opposes the "big box" bill.

More from CBS 2 Chicago:

Mayor Daley called the big box ordinance a form of racial discrimination against inner city areas.

"When they come into the inner city, they're going to blanket that out," Daley said. “No, no, no. That's what redlining is."

The mayor says no one complained when Wal-Marts were being built in the suburbs and that inner-city residents deserve jobs and shopping choices, too.

It'll be an interesting day in Chicago on Wednesday.

Related posts: Ald. Joe Moore, retail genius

Wal to Wal Chicago blogging

Wal-Mart scorecard: Niles 2, Chicago 1

Technorati tags: Wal-Mart Chicago Illinois business retail politics Illinois Politics big box Unions Labor Daley africanamerican

Actual Tehran Times headline: "Condi, warrior princess, comes to town"

The Tehran Times newspaper is always good for a few laughs.

Yes, the headline for the story in the paper about her visit to Israel really is, Condi, warrior princess, comes to town.

Here is a representative paragraph from this execrable article.

The actions of the Bush administration have shown that the attack on Lebanon and the Hezbollah resistance movement was premeditated. Otherwise, there would have been no justification for such an all-out offensive in response to the capture of two soldiers

Technorati tags: iran Condoleezza Rice خبر Persian Israel Hezbollah journalism

Coming Thursday: Marathon Pundit to be guest on Constitutional Public Radio

A big thanks to Third Wave Dave for arranging my appearance on Andrea Shea-King and Mark Vance's Constitutional Public Radio. CPR is broadcast on AM 1510 WWBC on Florida's vibrant Space Coast. If you're not Jeannie, Major Nelson or Dr. Bellows, or you don't live there, you can listen in via the internet.

My segment is scheduled to air live at 4:05pm Eastern Time (3:05pm Chicago Time). Again, that's on Thursday, July 27.

For certain, DePaul, Thomas Klocek, and CAIR will be topics that will be discussed. A lot can happen in four days, so it's a tough guess to say for certain what else might come up, but I imagine Pajamas Media will be another point of conversation.

Technorati tags: Florida DePaul Thomas Klocek Pajamas Media CAIR space coast Chicago radio

Ald. Joe Moore, retail genius

On Wednesday a vote is scheduled to take place in Chicago's City Council on the Chicago "Big Box Living Wage" ordinance.

Ald. Joe Moore, a two-year opponent of Wal-Mart and other "big box" stores, is the sponsor of the ordinance.

Supporters of the bill include the usual suspects: unions and the far left. Opponents include business leaders, as well as African-American community and church leaders.

Before becoming an alderman, Moore was an attorney for the City. He has no experience in retail.

Yesterday morning, I drove down Howard street to take a look at the Gateway Shopping Center, a project that was built at the inspiration of Alderman Moore, who helped grease things along by using the power of eminent domain to get the place built.

Driving west on Howard from Sheridan Road, I notice quite a few empty store fronts on Howard east of Gateway. West of Gateway too.

Arriving at the shopping center, I noticed, it does look pretty nice. A non-big box discounter, probably not union, Marshall's is there. Grocer Dominick's has a store, and yes, they're union.

But among the smaller units there, set aside for specialty outlets, about one-third sit empty. Gateway opened in 2000.

Now that "expert" in retail, Joe Moore, wants to tell the rest of Chicago how retail businesses should operate in the City.

For those readers living outside of Chicago, a quick lesson in how things are done in the Second City is needed. There's a "gentleman's agreement" among the Chicago's fifty alderman that the council member representing the ward, using--or shall I say, abusing zoning laws, exerts enormous power on what is built---or not built--in their ward.

Oh, the picture was taken Sunday morning in front of one of the many vacant store lots at Gateway. Call the number listed if you need retail space in Chicago's Rogers Park community.

Thanks for the link:

Rogers Park Bench

Technorati tags: Wal-Mart Chicago Illinois business retail politics Target Home Depot Illinois Politics Joe Moore big box

Huh?

I believe the maker of this sign, which reads "Permitted walk/runs are prohibited from using this path; please remain on the lakefront trail," meant to say "Walk/runs with permits are prohibited..."

I took this photo this morning in Chicago's Lincoln Park, near Addison.

Technorati tags: humor Jokes funny Illinois Chicago

The anti-Israeli Jews deck of 52 (plus two jokers)

I found this in my e-mail box this morning. It's the 54 top anti-Israeli Jews. DePaul's Norman Finkelstein is the jack of hearts.

Noam Chomsky, Amy Goodman, Mark LeVine, and Bobby Fischer also made the deck.

Click here for to see all 54.

Technorati tags: ישראל Politics Israel Jews humor Jokes funny DePaul

Illinois Democratic candidates roll call: Where is Alexi, the boy-banker?

Wandering around the web is a pretty good exercise for bloggers to find stories.

Last night I found my self on the official web site of the Illinois Democratic Party, www.ildems.com.

I checked on the candidate page. The Democrat's candidate for governor, Rod Blagojevich is there, as is his running mate, Pat Quinn. For attorney general, Lisa Madigan....Jesse White, for secretary of state, Dan Hynes, comptroller....

Gee, someone is missing! Where is the Democrats' candidate for state treasurer, Alexi Giannoulias?

Could it be Alexi was accidentally omitted by a careless Illinois Democratic Party webmaster?

Or did he drop out of the race? I was out of town last week, so I might have missed something....

No, he's still running. In fact, Friday Alexi Giannoulias was campaigning in downstate Quincy, Illinois, as the Quincy Herald-Whig (cool name, isn't it?) reports.

There's been an ethical cloud surrounding Giannoulias since for the last few months.

From Crain's Chicago Business, March 13:

But there are a few other things voters might want to know before putting a 29-year-old Democrat who never has held government office in charge of investing $7 billion of your money each year.

Like how Broadway Bank financed property used for a gun store so notorious that it was sued by Mayor Richard M. Daley and finally shut down by federal authorities. Or how the bank lent money to a crime figure convicted of running a national prostitution ring to buy land in Florida. Not to mention the Texas lawsuit that contends Mr. Giannoulias and the bank "extorted" a nearly $100,000 loan fee. And the $5,000 campaign donation Mr. Giannoulias returned after revelations that the donor bought a fleet of gambling boats from a group including indicted Washington, D.C., lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Abramoff? Isn't he that corrupt Republican guy?

Via Rich Miller's Capitol Fax, here is an excerpt from a Chicago Tribune editorial a month later:

Let’s get this straight. Voters are supposed to be impressed by Giannoulias’ experience at the bank. Yet his defense here is that he was clueless as to what his bank was doing?

And he wants to take control of the entire state treasury?

Giannoulias was asked if it was acceptable for a state treasurer to lend money to crime figures. His response to Tribune reporter David Jackson: The treasurer should work to get "the best rate of return for taxpayers to create jobs."

What, no questions asked?

Actually, it seems understandable that the Illinois Democratic Party "forgot" to list the boy-banker from its list of candidates for statewide office.

For those living outside Illinois, you're probably wondering how Alexi won the nomination to run as the Democratic candidate for state Treasurer? Paul Mangieri was the candidate endorsed by the state party.

However, St. Barack, also known as Illinois Senator Barack Obama, stepped in and endorsed Giannoulias. It was the only endorsement Obama made in an Illinois contested primary race.

From ABC 7 Chicago in February:

Obama is the narrator in a new TV spot that launches a million-dollar-plus statewide ad campaign, financed in large part by Giannoulias's wealthy family which owns the Broadway Bank in Chicago, where Alexi's a vice president and contributes a lot of money to a lot of candidates, including Obama.

"The treasurer's job is a financial job. He's the candidate who has financial experience," said Senator Barack Obama, (D)-Illinois.

"When he told me he would be endorsing my candidacy, I promised I would never waver in my inherent desire to help people at every level have better lives," said Alexi Giannoulias, (D)-candidate for state treasurer.

The commercial, in which Obama calls Giannoulias "One of the most outstanding young men I could ever hope to meet" is still viewable on Alexi's web site.

A lot of questions need to be answered. The ones Alexi need to answer are pretty clear. The Illinois Democratic Party has to answer if it's just an oversight that Giannoulias was "disappeared" from the listing of Democratic statewide candidates on the official party web site.

And Obama needs to answer why he chose to endorse the boy-banker to shepherd $7 billion dollars in state funds?

Was there a quid-pro-quo?

Oh, a personal note to Senator Obama: With your connections, can you please get Alexi up on that site?

Technorati tags: Giannoulias Obama Politics Current Affairs Illinois Politics Illinois crime Democrats Abramoff Banking Chicago

Pajamas Media suberb coverage of the Israel-Hezbollah war

Sometimes it pays to beat your own chest, as Roger L. Simon did when he sent me an e-mail about yesterday's Pajamas Media press release.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., July 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Pajamas Media (PJM) is providing special extended coverage of the Middle East War in conjunction with its new initiative called Politics Central. Within the PJM Network of 90 bloggers are several in theater commenting on the war between Hamas, Hezbolla and Israel from a first hand perspective. Pajamas has also been providing a real time and continuous chronology of news events via its global editors and contributors. Within PJM's new Politics Central initiative, PJM is distributing exclusive podcast interviews that are longer and more in depth than typical cable news organizations are able to provide.

Continuous Real Time Middle East Chronology via International Editors and Contributors

With full-time editors in Sydney, Barcelona and Los Angeles working with contributing bloggers worldwide in such places as Tel Aviv, Haifa, Baghdad and Washington, Pajamas Media has been offering round-the-clock battlefield reporting in tandem with the most thoughtful commentary from the global blogosphere and traditional sources. Under the guidance of Editor-in-Chief Gerard Van der Leun in Seattle, Pajamas Media mixes the best news and views from on-the-scene citizen journalists with seasoned professionals in an unprecedented manner.

A literal living chronology of the ongoing Israel-Hezbollah War has been created and made available on the Pajamas Media front page (http://www.pajamasmedia.com). "This chronology's intention is to give the public moment-to-moment access to the vicissitudes of the war and ultimately to provide historians with a record of the evolving struggle," says Pajamas' CEO Roger L. Simon.

Podcast Interviews with Middle Eastern Bloggers and Citizens

In the early stages of the war, PJM wanted direct and exclusive coverage from the Middle East. With this Politics Central readers could actually hear what was going on from the people on the ground themselves.

"When we discovered a seventeen-year old -- Eugene -- blogging from a bunker in Haifa ('Live from an Israeli Bunker' @ http://www.israelibunker.blogspot.com), we jumped at the opportunity to do a podcast interview with him," said Simon. After Simon's podcast with Eugene was published on the Pajamas Media site, the young man from Haifa was immediately interviewed by the Washington Post, CNN and NBC, creating a virtual blog firestorm.

Pajamas Media's Politics Central is now planning other podcasts from the Middle East to appear in the next few days. Some of these will feature Arab bloggers talking with Israeli bloggers.

Exclusive Podcast Interviews of Government and Political Representatives

"We are increasing our podcast program overall," states Simon. "We had recently published podcast interviews focusing on US issues with Senator Rick Santorum and through Instapundit's Glenn and Helen Show, with Senator John McCain. When the Middle East conflict started to expand we wanted to get access to an Israeli official. We weren't sure we could, but we tried and were able to land an interview with the Israeli US Ambassador Daniel Ayalon. Our interview lasted 14 minutes compared to cable news organizations of perhaps 3- 4 minutes. This flexible timeframe is one of our advantages compared to the more sound bite oriented mainstream media approach."

Technorati tags: podcasts Podcast Podcasting iPod blog Santorum McCain Arizona ישראל Politics Hizbullah lebanon Israel World War III

Wal to Wal Chicago blogging

Former Illinois State Representative Cal Skinner has his take on Wal-Mart. He focuses on the short-sightedness of Chicago's public officials in regards to the retail giant.

So, imposing restrictions on a private enterprise like Wal-Mart, compelling it not to build new stores in Chicago hurts not only:

· the residents who might get the jobs,
· the city that will not get the sales tax,
· the schools which will not get the property tax, but it also hurts
· the CTA

And, it increases the pressure on Chicago politicians to raid the revenue sources of the suburbs--still again--in order to feed the seeming insatiable financial appetite of the Chicago Transit Authority.

Cal also refers to John Kass' Friday Chicago Tribune column about Wal-Mart. Kass' beat is local politics, not business, but Wal-Mart's opponents, mostly unions, have made Wal-Mart a major political issue in the Second City. Next Wednesday, a vote is scheduled by Chicago's City Council on a "living wage" ordinance for "big box" stores. The bill's sponsor, Joe "No Foie Gras for Me" Moore drafted it with Wal-Mart in mind. The way the bill is written, the "living wage" requirement will only apply to Wal-Mart, Target, and Home Depot. Using Moore's logic, all other retailers in Chicago are free to pay their workers "unlivable wages."

From Kass's column, free registration may be required:

Politics abhors a vacuum. And what's filling it is organized labor. The labor unions are reasserting themselves, committing money and political workers to the election of labor-friendly aldermen. Included in this new effort is a new wrinkle: aldermanic schools, where candidates can learn how to win.

You might call it the Academy of You Want to Be an Alderman? But I'd call it the Institute of Do You Wanna Stay in Office?

"We're supporting the living-wage ordinance very strongly. Some aldermen are saying, `Hey, they're threatening us.' We're not. But isn't this how politics works?" Tom Balanoff asked. He's president of Service Employees International Union Local 1, one of the most influential labor leaders in the state, with some 32,000 workers.

"We're using the aldermanic schools to help get our members active, to teach them how politics impacts their lives," Balanoff told me. "Quite frankly, there haven't been a lot of serious aldermanic races lately, and some aldermen don't take seriously the concerns of unions. I think they'll start taking things seriously."

SEIU is the primary funding source for the Wal-Mart Watch, an anti Wal-Mart web site. Alderman Joe Moore is a recent winner of Wal-Mart Watch's "Person of the Week" honor.

That honor was not overlooked by a resident of his ward, blogger Thomas Westgard, who added this comment on the thread dedicated to Moore's Person of the Week award:

Joe Moore is off-base with his Wal-Mart activities. He's been allowing himself to be used by national Democrats to throw these trial balloons up, Wal-Mart being one, his foie gras ban for another. These are distractions, as far as I'm concerned.

The problem is that he's been neglecting the basics at home. He screwed over a local group that was trying to provide local job training, dropped the ball on a threatened landfill on our lakefront, and uses his membership on the City's healthcare committee to accomplish jack squat. This ward is federally recognized as "medically underserved," and we have some of the least access to medical care in the City.

(My note...which is amazing, since Moore's ward is one of the most densely populated sections of Chicago.)

If Joe wants to fight with Wal-Mart, let him go ahead and do so, but he should tend to matters at home first. I keep a running watch on him and his crew at my blog.

But he's kept Chicago, except for one store, Wal-Mart free.

Technorati tags: Wal-Mart Chicago Illinois business retail politics Target Home Depot Illinois Politics Joe Moore SEIU Wal-Mart Watch

Pam's Ode to Entitlement

A voice of sanity from New England, Pam of Blogmeister USA has written a parody song, "Ode to Entitlement."

Technorati tags: Humor Conservative Politics Funny

Klocek petition update

The Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (SPME) petition to reinstate Professor Thomas Klocek at DePaul continues to draw signatures, reaching the milestone of 1300 today. The broad range of respondents includes:

Cambridge University Professor David Abulafia, who says, "These are the methods of the Spanish Inquisition. Others can say whether they breach the US Constitution, but I am sure they do."

USN Lieutenant Haakon B. Dahl, who says, "Busted. Put him back, or accept the label of cowards."

Harvard Assistant Professor Selwyn Oskowitz, MD., who says, "The university is one sided in its action to appease one sector who were also not academic in what they pronounced.:

DePaul University Professor Morry Fiddler , who says, "If I'm not there for a colleague, then who will be there for me?"

DePaul Alumn Jennifer Moore, who says, "Professor Thomas Klocek was one of my favorite faculty members…The punishment he has gone through already is unjustified but in the eyes of those that know him will not damage this great educator's credibility."

New York University Associate Professor Dov Fried, who says, "As Joseph Welch said…Have you no sense of decency?"

Writer Paul Bogdanor "What kind of university fires Thomas Klocek (who defends Israel) while continuing to employ Norman G. Finkelstein (who defends Hezbollah and al-Qaeda)? "

And finally, Loyola student Jerome Bartholomew, who says, "Hey DePaul! God called, he wants his university back!"

Technorati tags: Illinois Chicago DePaul Academic freedom Free Speech Thomas Klocek Middle East Catholic

Gay Games marathon gets last minute course change

Hmmm...I'm not sure what these people are thinking. July days in Chicago tend to be hot and humid, and the organizers of the Gay Games are only now figuring that out? Actually, the weather forecast for tomorrow is somewhat favorable for the marathoners.

This press release discusses the course change. The Gay Games Marathon will take place Saturday morning.

The Saturday 22 July 2006 Gay Games marathon route has changed to more adequately ensure the safety of the athletes. The Marathon will start and finish at the lakefront just north of 31st street beach, just south of McCormick Place. The course will take the runners south on lakefront trails to 49th street and then back north near the start locations. Marathon runners will run four loops of the lakefront course. Half-Marathon runners will run two loops. The course will no longer go north to Fullerton as planned.

Four loops? Bohr-ing!!!

More....

"Changing to a shorter looped course will help ensure the safety of the runners," said Nancy Harris, Logistics Director. "Last weekend's extreme heat led us to re-evaluate the longer course and conclude that for athlete safety we need to position water and relief stations much closer together than traditionally provided in a marathon. The new course ensures that marathon runners will always be much closer to trained volunteers and medics so that any health-related issues may be handled immediately." The decision was made in cooperation with City of Chicago officials.

The high tomorrow is forecast to be 79 degrees. By the time most of the runners finish, about 10am, the high of the day will not have been reached. Besides, it's always a little cooler near Lake Michigan in the summer. So I'm not sure why they changed the course.

Will the new course be accurate? USA Track & Field is the organization that certifies courses as complying to the distance promised, which is 26.2 miles for a marathon, 13.1 miles for the half-marathon.

To a person, runners ask of two things from a race organizer: Plenty of refreshment stops (it looks like the Gay Games is covered here) and an accurate course. I'm not so sure that the latter will fulfill expectations.

Chicago has an unhappy history with marathon course that are tinkered with at the last minute, as participants in the defunct Lakeshore Marathon discovered last year. Those runners had to contend with an extra mile added to an already long race.

Technorati tags: Gay GLBT Marathon running Run Gay Games Illinois Chicago metblogs sport marathon

Ill. Gov. Blagojevich's office hides new subpoenas

The mandate we claim today from the people of Illinois and for the people of Illinois is simple and clear -- no more business as usual. Governor Rod Blagojevich from his 2003 inauguration address.

Blagojevich, metaphorically speaking, was pointing his finger at his predecessor, Republican George Ryan.

Could it be, however, that Blago meant that corruption in Illinois would get worse under his watch?

From today's Chicago Sun-Times:

Gov. Blagojevich's administration has been hit with new subpoenas in a federal probe of its hiring practices but is concealing them from its own department heads and voters as election season heats up.

After the new subpoenas began arriving in late June, the governor's top lawyer, William Quinlan, sent internal memos asking agency chiefs and other top officials for lists of all human resources employees and computer equipment they used. He also ordered them to preserve a wide range of computer backup devices that "must not be deleted, overwritten, destroyed or modified in any manner."

But the June 28 memos made no mention of the subpoenas, even though both sets of documents asked for similar information. The Chicago Sun-Times reviewed language in the subpoenas and obtained copies of the memos from sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Chicago Democrat is up for re-election this year; he's referred to as "Public Official A" in legal documents generated by the office of US Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald. Not good.

I guess "no more business as usual" meant to Blagojevich that his pals, not George Ryan's, would benefit from the largesse of Illinois government.

Technorati tags: Blagojevich Elections illinois politics Politics corruption Democrats Patrick Fitzgerald

More missiles hit Haifa

Missiles launched by the terrorist group Hezbollah, 11 of them, hit Haifa today.

Of course much of the world expects the Israelis to sit back see its citizens injured or killed by the rockets.

Technorati tags: Israel لبنان ישראל Hezbollah Haifa Lebanon

The Right sucks: The intellectual bankruptcy of the Left

Many of the problems of the Left come from the lack of original ideas liberals have. This problem is noticeable by a quick look at the post-Stuart Smalley career of Al Franken. His Air America radio show was originally titled "The O'Franken Factor," meant as a jab at the popular Fox News TV show "The O'Reilly Factor," hosted by conservative Bill O'Reilly. In a wisecrack against O'Reilly's employer, Fox News, whose slogan is "Fair and Balanced," O'Franken, I mean, Franken wrote a book called, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right. Another Franken book is Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot.

Lesser known Clint Wills edited a book called The I Hate Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, Sean Hannity. . . Reader: The Hideous Truth About America's Ugliest Conservatives.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't conservatives supposed to be the meanies?

Even my favorite university, DePaul, gets into the act. Holocaust-minimizer Norman G. Finkelstein has based much of his out-of-the-classroom career picking fights with noted author and law professor Alan M. Dershowitz. Although Dersh is not a conservative, his stances on Israel, the War on Terror, and Iran are on the right side of the aisle. Finkelstein's latest book is Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History, one of Dershowitz' best-known books is Chutzpah.

And now, these tactics--even with their spotty level of success, have slithered into the playbook of organized labor in their jihad against Wal-Mart.

Last week, Wal-Mart rolled out a new web site, PaidCritics. The site lambastes the seemingly agenda-free critics of the retail giant--PaidCritics launched last week. Just a few days later, the United Food and Commercial Union funded WakeUpWal-Mart.com, put this site on line, A Bunch of Greedy Right Wing Liars who Work for Wal-Mart.com

Will they ever learn?

Technorati tags: DePaul Wal-Mart business retail politics Society union Labor UFCW Wake Up Wal-Mart

News from CENTCOM: Operation Gaugamela in Iraq

The news is of course dominated by the ongoing struggle in Israel and Lebanon, but our troops in Iraq are still tracking down terrorists, as this press release from CENTCOM reports:

KIRKUK, Iraq (July 20, 2006) – Thursday morning, Soldiers from the 2nd Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division and Bastogne Soldiers of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division simultaneously surrounded and entered the cities of Hawija and Riyadh, just west of Kirkuk, searching for suspected al-Qaeda terrorists as combined Operation Gaugamela (gaw'guh-MEE-luh), gets underway.

The ongoing operation, requested by local Sunni Arab leaders, follows a series of terror attacks in the area, and comes as there are reports indicating the presence of al-Qaeda terror cells in the area. In the past five weeks, 31 Iraqi soldiers have been killed in terrorist attacks in the region and just three days ago six policemen were killed in Hawija.

In Hawija, Bastogne Soldiers and Iraqi Security Forces surrounded the city, blocking off escape routes, as another combined force air assaulted into the market in the heart of the city. The units are cordoning off the area and searching for terrorist forces. Meanwhile, Iraqi Security and Coalition Forces surrounded the village of Riyadh, approximately 10 miles away, and are also searching that city.

Operation Gaugamela is named for the battle in which Alexander drove the Persian army from the city of Gaugamela.

Hmmm...named after a battle in which Persians were defeated. Although the mullahs in Iran despise the pre-Islamic heritage of their nation, I'm hoping the irony of the name of the operation isn't lost on them.

Technorati tags: Terrorism War on Terror Iraq War on Terror Alexander the Great al qaeda

The unkindest cut: Drunk Latvian cuts off own penis

Mrs. Marathon Pundit is from Latvia, and I've been there twice. The worst hangover in my life occurred after an all-night drinking bash there. I'm pictured with some other Latvians a few years ago in front of some soon-to-be empty bottles of the local brew, Aldaris.

This drinking bash ended quietly. I think. Unlike the one reported on by News.com Australia.

A man who cut off his own penis in a drunken bet had it stitched back on by Latvian doctors, the first such operation in the country's history.

While strongly under the influence of alcohol, the 30-year-old made a bet with his friend for 1000 lats ($1800 US) that he would cut off his penis, according to a Latvian public television report.

He was taken to hospital with severe bleeding yesterday.

"We have had a few cases with penis traumas, when it was half-cut or damaged, but this is the first time that it was totally cut off - and brought to hospital in a plastic bag," said microsurgeon Aivars Tihonovs from Gailezers hospital in the Latvian capital, Riga.

More...

Doctors said that it would take four or five days to assess if the operation was successful. It would take about half a year to be sure that the man's penis was functioning properly.

Curiously, the article did not report on whether the injured man collected on his bet.

Technorati tags: Latvia Latvija drunk alcohol drinking

Obama will be Harkin's featured speaker at annual steak fry

Speculation is rife that Senator Barack Obama's (D-Ill) decision to accept his Senator's Tom Harkin's (D-Iowa) invitation to be the headline speaker at his annual steak fry in September is the first step in an Obama run for the presidency in 2008.

From AP:

"I think his standing has risen rapidly," Harkin said Thursday in an interview with The Associated Press.

The Illinois senator dismissed suggestions that the Iowa speech was tied to presidential ambitions.

"This is simply me accepting an invitation from Senator Harkin and hopefully an opportunity to assist other congressional candidates," Obama told reporters.

More...

Previous speakers include President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore and Democratic strategist James Carville.

Although Obama is viewed as the Democrat's man of the future, I'm unaware of any major bills--or minor--that he's sponsored which have become law in the 18 months he's been the junior senator from Illinois. True, life is tougher when your party is out of power, but Obama needs to work at being a senator.

Technorati tags: Obama Harkin Iowa illinois politics 2008 Democrats

Pictures from DC, first entry is CAIR's headquarters

I just returned from Wal-Mart where I picked up my five packets of photos from last week's trip to Washington.

Tying this into my prior post, I'm starting off with a picture I took of CAIR's headquarters on New Jersey Avenue.

The building is located just two blocks from the O'Neill House Office Building. The security presence around Capitol Hill is massive, the War on Terror has tranformed the Hill--surely CAIR's staffers have noticed the changes. But despite their phony fatwa, CAIR remains an apologist for Islamic terror.

The 400 block of New Jersey Avenue SE is a dismal street of aging three flats; CAIR's building is clearly the newest structure on that block. Location, not glamor, must have been the deciding factor for CAIR to put down stakes there.

Take a look at the white speck on the lower left side of CAIR's office. That's a security camera. CAIR realizes we live in a dangerous world.

Technorati tags: CAIR Terrorism Islam Washington Congress photos War on Terror

Thomas Klocek press release

Grant Crowell of Walking Eagle Productions has put together the below press release. Be sure to click through the link to PRWeb, as Grant has some links to videos he's made about Professor Thomas Klocek's free speech struggle with DePaul University. The Chicago college prides itself as the nation's largest Catholic college.

Donations to Thomas Klocek's legal fund are being accepted, information on how to contribute can be found in the bottom third of the press release.

What's Ward Churchill got to do with this sad story? The likely soon-be-fired Colorado professor, was an invited paid speaker at DePaul several months after DePaul fired Klocek. In DePaul-think, it's Churchill, yes, Klocek, no.

The Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (SPME) petition to reinstate Thomas Klocek, the Roman Catholic faculty member who was suspended without a hearing by DePaul University for an on-campus argument with students on Middle East issues. The petition has already amassed over 1,200 signatures in just three weeks, and organizers are calling for more professors and teachers everywhere to sign it to reach their goal of 2,000. The petition, which can be viewed and signed at http://www.spme.net/cgi-bin/display_petitions.cgi?ID=3 calls for his complete reinstatement without prejudice or penalty.

Chicago, IL (PRWEB) July 20, 2006 -- Responding to what has been condemned as a violation of academic freedom, professors, scholars, and students worldwide signed a petition by The Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (SPME) to reinstate Professor Thomas Klocek to his teaching position at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois.

Titled "A Petition to Reinstate Professor Thomas Klocek to DePaul University With No Prejudice or Penalty," the petition is to be delivered to DePaul's president and Dean upon its goal of 2,000 signatures. As of this announcement, SPME needs 742 more signatures to reach its goal. Supporters can fill out the Klocek petition on SPME's Web site at www.spme.net.

DEPAUL'S ALLEGED VIOLATIONS OF ACADEMIC FREEDOM

In an interview with Walking Eagle Productions, a documentary film company covering the DePaul controversy, Klocek said that he was suspended by DePaul administration and ultimately lost his position and teaching benefits after engaging in an out-of-class argument with pro-Palestinian students at a student activities fair on campus.

Klocek shared that he served 14 years a part-time adjunct professor in DePaul's School of New Learning and that he was considered a popular professor, with large class enrollments and received excellent student reviews, with no prior complaints about Klocek's behavior. But after engaging in heated discussion with two Muslim student groups at a Student Involvement Fair on DePaul's campus, the student groups Students for Justice in Palestine (SPJ) and United Muslims Moving Ahead (UMMA) went to the administration to call for Klocek's firing. Both groups were backed by CAIR (Council on American Islamic Relations) Chicago, and other local Muslim advocate groups, some of whom called for even harsher punishment.

Klocek said that although no 3rd party witnesses were provided by the offended parties, DePaul's Dean of the School of New Learning, Susanne Dumbleton, had him suspended without any hearing, and held his insurance benefits in jeopardy. Once Klocek was removed from his teaching position, Dumbleton then publicly castigated Klocek in DePaul's student newspaper, The DePaulia, stating that Klocek was being punished by the DePaul Administration for expressing what she deemed to be Klocek's "erroneous assertions" to the Muslim student groups.

Christina Abraham, Civil Rights Coordinator for CAIR's Chicago branch office, granted an interview to Walking Eagle Productions to explain their reasons for filing the original complaint to DePaul on behalf of the student groups. Abraham stated that she believed all of the student group's allegations, and that they were serious enough to demand Klocek's immediate firing.

First Amendment groups, such as the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), protested DePaul's actions. FIRE's then-president David French stated in its own press release that Klocek's suspension violated DePaul's policies guaranteeing academic freedom as well as its contractual promise of due process "because his statements were allegedly offensive."

"While DePaul may now argue that the issue is one of professionalism, its public statements at the time of Klocek's punishment make it clear that Klocek's real crime was offending students during an out-of-class discussion of a controversial and emotional topic." said French. "Academic freedom cannot survive when professors who engage in debate on controversial topics are subject to administrative punishment without even the most cursory due process."

A PEACE ORGANIZATION RALLIES FOR ACADEMIC FREEDOM

How did Scholars for Peace in the Middle East become involved in Klocek's defense?

"SPME is an academic community of scholars." explains SPME President Dr. Beck, in an interview with Walking Eagle Productions. "And as such, we're trying to support another scholar on what we see as a violation of his academic freedom and due process. The goal is to raise awareness among faculty members that we may not be as safe as we think we are, and to get him reinstated without penalty."

Klocek is undeterred and confident that true scholars will rise above such divisiveness, and support the petition on behalf of him. "The issue of free speech and academic freedom," says Klocek, "extends to all faculty members, part- and full-time, non-tenured and tenured alike."

While the petition is open for everyone to sign, SPME is especially encouraging signatures from professors. SPME however, has expressed the important role students can play in circulating their petition professors in their own schools and classes, or contacting professors who remain active during the summer in online forums and web blogs.

CONTRIBUTIONS FOR KLOCEK NEEDED

A fund has also been created to assist Klocek law counsel with legal expenses. Contributions may be sent to the following address:

Thomas Klocek Legal Defense Fund
c/o Cole Taylor Bank
P.O. Box 88481
Chicago Il 60680

ABOUT SPME

Scholars for Peace in the Middle East is an independent, faculty-driven, not-for-profit [501 (C) (3), "big-tent" grassroots community of scholars with well over 6000 academics and members, dedicated to peace in the Middle East consistent both with Israel's right to exist as a sovereign Jewish state within safe and secure borders. Full information can be read at http://www.spme.net/aboutus.html

For Further Information Contact, Dr. Edward S. Beck, President, 717.576.5038

Technorati tags: Illinois Chicago DePaul Academic freedom Free Speech Thomas Klocek Middle East Catholic Muslims Ward Churchill CAIR

Steven Plaut from Haifa on the September 10 syndrome in Israel

Very good friend-of-the-blog Dr. Steven Plaut is still writing from Haifa, even though Katyusha missiles are landing just a few blocks from his home.

And it's a good thing he's pounding away at his keyboard. Here's an excerpt from his Jewish Press article.

Ever since that withdrawal (from southern Lebanon), the Israeli Left had been patting itself on its collective back, insisting that the unilateral retreat had not only worked but could serve as a role model for Gaza and the West Bank.

The abandonment of Gush Katif in the Gaza Strip was largely based on that notion, as is Prime Minister Olmert's current plan for "contraction" in the West Bank. After all, the retreat from Lebanon had "worked" in the sense that the Lebanese border seemed to be "relatively" tranquil, with a death toll below what it had been when the Israeli army was still on the ground in Lebanon.

Six years have passed since the retreat from southern Lebanon. The attitude of the Israeli chattering classes toward that "success" is illustrative of what I call the September 10th Syndrome. On September 10, 2001, there were many public figures in the U.S. convinced that there was no chance terrorists could or would strike America. Their conclusion, to quote Mark Twain, was just a little premature.

Israel has suffered from a mass infestation of September 10th Syndrome ever since the capitulation to Hizbullah in 2000. But in recent days it's become clear that there can be something even worse than such an affliction – namely, suffering from September 10th Syndrome on September 12, i.e., not even realizing how wrong one had been even after events should have removed all doubt.

Technorati tags: Israel World War III Jews ישראל Politics Hizbullah lebanon

I stand with Israel

Thank you Jack Lewis for e-mailing me the HTML code for my new right-corner banner. By clicking on Jack's link on this post, it'll direct you to his post where you can get the code for your blog.

Remember what Judy Baar Topinka, the Republican candidate for Governor of Illinois said on Monday:

When Israel is attacked, we are attacked.

Technorati tags: Israel Politics republican لبنان ישראל Topinka Hezbollah

Wal-Mart opponents suffer Maryland setback

Even though I was in Maryland last week, I had nothing to do with this news from the Old Line State.

From Reuters:

In a victory for Wal-Mart Stores Inc., a federal judge on Wednesday struck down a new Maryland law that required the giant retailer to provide health insurance for its employees in the state.

Shares of Wal-Mart rose $1.00, or 2.3 percent to $44.17 on news of the ruling, on the New York Stock Exchange shortly before the market closed.

U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz in Baltimore ruled that a 1974 federal law trumped the Maryland state law, which had been backed by labor groups.

The state legislature in January overrode a veto by Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich to approve a law requiring companies with more than 10,000 employees to spend at least 8 percent of their payroll on health benefits. Alternatively, big employers could pay the balance into a state low-income health insurance fund, according to the law.

Read my post below--especially if you're a Chicago alderman. There is a higher authority in this world than Chicago's city council chambers.

Technorati tags: Wal-Mart Chicago Illinois business retail politics Society

Chicago's goofy alderman go after "big box" stores, big restaurant chains

The business of America is business. Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States.

And I guess the business of Chicago is stifling big business. Big business provides the most jobs, and the most sales tax revenue. (In Illinois, a portion of the sales tax revenue reverts back to the municipality where the sale was made.)

Alderman Joe "No Foie Gras for Me" Moore sponsored a bill that will mandate that the largest store chains, "big boxes" such as Wal-Mart, Target, and Home Depot pay a higher hourly wage than other stores.

"Big Box" Target is rethinking opening new store in Chicago, as Crain's Chicago Business reports:

Target Corp. is halting plans for new stores in Chicago in response to a proposed city law that would set minimum wage and benefit levels for employees of big-box retailers.

The decision by the Minneapolis-based discount chain represents a setback for at least two high-profile retail projects in the city that were to be anchored by a Target, one on the Wilson Yard site in Uptown and another next to Interstate 57 in Morgan Park. Target told the developers of both projects last week that it won’t open stores if the law passes.

If Target pulls out, "we’d be at ground zero," says Arturo Sneider, a partner at California-based Primestor Development Inc., which is building the 443,000-square-foot Morgan Park project. "I don't even want to think about it."

Morgan Park (the proposed store is on the poorer eastern end of the neighborhood) and Uptown are low income areas lacking in jobs and decent places to shop.

Then there is trans fat. Trans fat is bad for you. I recommend you eat very little of the stuff. But I believe the consumer should be the arbiter if trans fat should pass through its lips, not the government.

Three weeks ago, Alderman Ed Burke proposed that Chicago ban trans fat from all restaurants in the city.

Now Burke is narrowing his focus, to the big fast food chains. From this morning's Chicago Sun-Times:

The Illinois Restaurant Association had complained that the original version would have been a costly burden for "Mom and Pop and ethnic" establishments.

"They use a limited amount of partially hydrogenated cooking oil. They cannot afford the more expensive oil," restaurant association President Colleen McShane told the Chicago Sun-Times on the day the all-inclusive trans-fat ban was introduced.

Now, most Chicago restaurants -- already facing bans on smoking and foie gras -- would be off the hook. Only places like McDonald's, Burger King and Kentucky Fried Chicken would be saddled with any added cost.

Of course, that may mean fewer of these establishments will set up shop in Chicago.

Technorati tags: Wal-Mart Joe Moore Chicago Illinois business retail politics Society Target trans fat restaurants

Chicago cops squelch free speech rights of Christian activists at Gay Games

Chicago's playing host to the quadrennial Gay Games celebration. Groups not affiliated with Gay Games Chicago are choosing different ways to observe Gay Games Week in the Second City. Repent America, for one.

The below press release was e-mailed to me late last night.

REPENT AMERICA (RA) is an evangelistic organization based in the birthplace of America freedom, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. RA members came to Chicago for the Gay Games because "sin destroys lives, families, communities, and nations." They saw an opportunity to share the good news of Jesus who wants people to repent because "the truth is that God has put in the Bible clear prohibitions against homosexual behavior." RA's method is to engage people in conversations and pass out literature in public venues under the protection of the First Amendment of the US Constitution. However, on Sunday afternoon July 16, in Gateway Park across from the entrance to Navy Pier, Chicago Police officers handcuffed and arrested three of the RA volunteers and yelled profanities saying that "no one wants to hear your G** D*** B*** S***"

Today, RA filed an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, demanding that Metropolitan Pier & Exposition Authority (MPEA) allow the evangelists to share their message at Gateway Park. After the case was assigned to Senior Judge Milton Shadur and then in his absence temporarily reassigned to Judge Virginia Kendall for emergency adjudication, the MPEA agreed to allow the evangelists immediate access to Gateway Park and not have the Chicago Police charge them with trespass. Therefore, they'll return to the park on Wednesday, July 19 in the afternoon.

Clear Violation of Free Speech

"We've been down this road before. The local mayor (My note, Richard M. Daley), wants to curry favor with homosexual activists and sends the message that First Amendment goes out the window for opposing viewpoints," said Michael Marcavage, director of Repent America.

"Thankfully the first amendment still allows us to deliver a warning and a message of hope to people who are going the wrong direction and have the desire to have their deep wounds healed."

Courts Regularly Support Repent America's Free Speech Rights

Earlier this year, a federal district court judge in Pennsylvania ruled that actions designed to prevent RA from preaching and evangelizing near a homosexual event in a Pennsylvania city park were unconstitutional restrictions of free speech.

In February 2005, a Philadelphia Judge dismissed all charges against 11 Christians who were arrested in 2004 for ministering on public sidewalks at the pro-homosexual "Outfest" taking place in Philadelphia. The judge ruled that peaceful expressive activities like those of the Christian evangelists, all members of the group Repent America, are fully protected by the First Amendment.

"This emergency injunction is for everyone that loves gay men or women or values free speech. Repent America loves gays passionately enough to devote their lives to telling them there is a better way. Here you have a group that says Jesus heals, Jesus can take away the pain, and Jesus can give you life and life more abundantly. How can gays make informed decisions about their lives if the police won't allow them to have information about alternatives?" said attorney John Mauck, of Mauck & Baker, who is representing Repent America. "The lawsuit we filed this morning will continue against Chicago for the false arrest of the evangelists."

Contacts for Media:

Michael Marcavage, director of Repent America 800-373-7368 x 5
John Mauck, Mauck & Baker, Attorney for Repent America 312-853-8709
Tom Ciesielka, TC Public Relations 312-422-1333

Maybe you don't agree with Repent America's message, but they clearly have First Amendment rights to express themselves in a lawful manner.

In related news, On the same day, other Christian activists had a better, if not lonely time of it up in suburban Crystal Lake, for the Gay Games rowing competition. Those preaching the Word were shunted off to the side into--I'm not making this up--a 1st Amendment Participation Area.

From Cal Skinner's McHenry County Blog:

Using signs that surely had been used before, the Christians I saw and talked with were not the Fred Phelps types. They were not spewing hate. They were preaching love and redemption.

Techorati tags: Christianity Christian Religion Gays Chicago Gay Games Crystal Lake Religion First Amendment Free Speech

The Gay Games come to Chicago

I don't get worked up about the Gay Games either way. I'm troubled over the state subsidies it's receiving (Hat tip Cal Skinner), and since previous Gay Games have lost money, I think fiscally-challenged Illinois should be wary of sinking cash into a financial sink-hole.

Last weekend the Gay Games opening ceremony took place at Chicago's Soldier Field. As an amateur athlete, I think it's great others are utilizing their spare time engaging in sports and keeping fit.

However....

The Gay Games have a marathon. I was seriously toying with the idea of entering--that'd make for some interesting blog entries--but they want a whopping $250 to sign up. The Chicago Marathon charges only $80 dollars, and for that price I'd become a Gay Games athlete.

I brought up my concerns to the organizers a few months ago--Nancy Harris replied:

The $250 registration is higher than other Marathons - that is true. But that fee is for more than just participation in the Marathon it includes the full, week long Gay Games experience.

Registration for the Gay Games comes in two parts – the base registration and the sport registration. The base registration of $175 allows you to participate in as many sports and cultural events as you would like and includes:

Participation in Opening Ceremony at Soldier Field

Participation in Closing Ceremony at Wrigley Field

Gay Games VII Participation Medal

Free spectator access to many events

Free Week-Long Transit Pass

Gay Games VII Program Guide

Gay Games VII Souvenir Bag

Collectible Participant ID

Discounts at area merchants

Special online giveaways through 2006

Each sport then carries its own fee ranging from $35 to $124. The fee structure has been designed to fairly represent the costs of managing each sport or cultural event. In the case of the marathon the sport fee is $75.

$75 plus $175 equals $250. The marathon will take place on Saturday, without me in it.

I'm very familiar with the basics of the course--Chicago's lakefront paths--so the participants will benefit from a flat and fast runway to the finish line at 26.2 miles. Good luck, and hydrate well, runners.

Technorati tags: Gay GLBT Marathon running Run Gay Games Illinois Chicago metblogs sport

Chicago pro-Israel rally: Topinka stands up for the Jewish state

Republican candidate for Illinois governor Judy Baar Topinka had this to say at a pro-Israel rally in Chicago yesterday:

When Israel is attacked, we are attacked.

Her Democratic opponent, incumbent Rod Blagojevich, was not at the rally, which shouldn't be a surprise. Last year, Blago appointed a senior member of the notorious anti-Semitic Nation of Islam to the state's hate crime panel. Four Jewish members of the panel did the honorable thing and resigned in protest.

Technorati tags: Israel World War III Blagojevich Elections Topinka anti-Semitism Jews ישראל illinois politics Politics

Study: Most Chicago immigration rally marchers in May were US citizens

Somehow this does not surprise me. From the Chicago Sun-Times:

University of Illinois at Chicago researchers put a face Monday on the more than 400,000 people who hit the streets for May's immigration march: Most participants were male U.S. citizens of Mexican descent -- age 30 or younger -- who spoke English.

That portrait emerged two days before what Latino organizers hope will be another massive display to convince Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform.

The UIC researchers randomly selected 410 people and quizzed them during the May march from Union Park to Grant Park.

Nearly 75 percent of those marchers were U.S. citizens, and 66 percent of those citizens said they vote, according to the survey by UIC's Immigrant Mobilization Project. That seems to blunt a perception that it was mostly illegal immigrants participating in the march in a show of force.

There is a similar rally in Chicago tomorrow. It will probably be "Second verse, same as the first."

Technorati tags: Chicago Immigration politics Current Affairs UIC

Wal-Mart donated $245 million to charity last year

With much of it ending up on the local level, Wal-Mart donated in cash, or in-kind, $245 million to charity in 2005, $38 million more than in 2004.

For that year, Forbes Magazine (see the slide show) Wal-Mart was ranked as the most generous corporate giver.

They don't seem so greedy to me.

Hat tip to Chris Abraham of Edelman.

Technorati tags: Wal-Mart business retail Society Charity Charities

Middle East tourism may receive fatal blow

Thousands of tourists in Lebanon are fleeing the nation as a war has come to their vacation spot.

Countless times over, a voice, or maybe voices, are being heard in each of their heads. Perhaps it's a mother (most likely), father, spouse, or close friend, but I bet each received this admonition from that person:

What do you mean you're going to Lebanon for vacation? It's a dangerous part of the world, are you nuts?

Well, fewer mothers and the like will be warning their kids not to vacation in Lebanon. That's because they'll decide on their own to stay away. And it won't just be Lebanon. The shadow of the 1997 tourist massacre in Luxor Egypt still hovers over that nation.

Jordan? Dozens were killed in a series of hotel bombings late last year. This Washington Post (free registration may be required) article from two days ago touted Jordan as an excellent travel spot for Christians seeking a religiously significant destination. Christians won't be flocking there now.

West of Jordan, Israel, because of its spiritual importance, will continue to attract religious pilgrims--but there will be fewer of them.

All through the Middle East, the stay-away will lead to hotels and restaurants closing, jobs lost, and a continuing decline of the economies throughout that unhappy corner of the planet.

Two things can happen--decent people will rise up and no longer look the other way at the terrorists living amongst them, or more young males, as well as a few females, will drift to Islamic extremism.

Technorati tags: Religion Islam Muslims Lebanon Israel Middle East Egypt Tourism Travel Holiday Vacation مصر لبنان ישראל

Mr. Right's Supreme photo caption contest

The Supremes, but not Diana Ross' old band, are the subject of Mr. Right's latest caption contest. Enter here.

Technorati tags: humor Jokes SCOTUS Supreme Court funny

Reinstate Prof. Klocek at DePaul petition: 759 signatures to go, UPDATED!

Click here to read, then sign, the Reinstate Thomas Klocek petition, courtesy of the Scholars for Peace in the Middle East:

Here is the petition, once again:

A Petition to Reinstate Professor Thomas Klocek to DePaul University With No Prejudice or Penalty

To: Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider, C.M., Ed.D., President and Susanne M. Dumbleton, Ph.D., Dean of the School for New Learning, DePaul University

We, the undersigned faculty members from around the world, stand solidly with Professor Thomas Klocek, a Roman Catholic, who was dismissed by DePaul University for allegedly offending Muslim students when discussing Christian interests in Israel, disputing that Israeli treatment of Palestinians was akin to the Nazi treatment of the Jews and then terminating the discussion when it appeared that the students were more interested in Israel-bashing than discussing the issues.

We believe this case sheds serious questions on the commitment to academic freedom and civility in academic discussion with this egregious termination. We further believe that this action by administration has separated DePaul from the academic community.

It is our understanding that Prof. Klocek alleges:

1) He was never allowed to meet with his accusers.

2) He was never presented with a written list of the complaints or charges against him.

3) He was suspended by the Dean of the School for New Learning in clear violation of the University's own stated Faculty Handbook procedures.

4) He was never given a hearing.

5) A vote by the DePaul Faculty Council affirmed that the same rules that apply for a formal academic hearing apply to all professors, full-time and adjuncts alike.

As a result, we believe that Professor Klocek, a faculty member with a 15-year history of excellent evaluations and no prior complaints, was dismissed without due process and should be reinstated without penalty or prejudice and with back pay, restitution of benefits and compensation for his legal and other expenses incurred as a result of his being improperly terminated.

The goal of SPME is to have 2,000 signatures on the petition. As of this writing, there are 1,241. Click here and sign the petition, and e-mail this Marathon Pundit link to those who you believe support Klocek's cause as well as free speech in academia.

Related posts:

CAIR-Chicago recommended that DePaul fire Klocek

One year anniversary of the Thomas Klocek press conference at DePaul

UPDATE July 18, 8:25AM CDT: Thanks for the link, Jay at Living Catholicism.

DePaul alumnus Jennifer Moore had this to say when signing the petition:

Professor Thomas Klocek was one of my favorite faculty members. I always remember him being available to listen to his students. He deserves the same due process. The punishment he has gone through already is unjustified but in the eyes of those that know him will not damage this great educator's credibility.

Technorati tags: Illinois Chicago DePaul Academic freedom Free Speech Thomas Klocek Israel Middle East Catholic ישראל Muslims Jews

Pajamas Media Politics Central: Beta now, better letter

Roger L. Simon e-mailed me that Pajamas Media's Politics Central is up and running in a beta version. Well, it looks pretty good to me even as an unfinished project.

There's a John McCain interview/podcast from Glenn Reynolds and Dr. Helen Smith, one with Tammy Bruce and Rick Santorum, and yet another with Roger L. Simon and Israel's Ambassador to the US, Daniel Ayalon.

Technorati tags: podcasts Podcast Podcasting iPod blog Santorum Pennsylvania McCain Arizona Israel ישראל

Alive and kicking....

Well, it's still 97 degrees (36.1 Celsius) here in Illinois, but I did finish my 10 mile run, with just a bit of light-headness to show for it.

Disclaimer: Even experienced runners have to be very careful on days like this one. I carried water with me, and ran on a mostly shaded route. And I'm slowly drinking water now.

Technorati tags: running Training Fitness Exercise heat

My last post ever?

Well, this could be my last posting. It's 97 degrees in Morton Grove, Illinois, and I'm going to run 10 miles. If I make it back, you'll here about it here first.

Technorati tags: running Training Fitness Exercise heat

Lebanon: Failed state

Crossposted on Pajamas Media.

It'll take me a little bit to ease back into blogging on a regular basis after a sort-of-absence while I was vacationing in Washington.

But I want to address the fighting, or should I say, the war, along the Lebanese-Israeli border.

While watching Fox News Dayside, one of the guests mentioned that the terrorist forces of Hezbollah are stronger than the armed forces of the government of Lebanon.

That's the problem here. (Yeah, I know about the "root causes," the Balfour Declaration, the 1948 partions, the the Six Day War, the Lebanese Civil War..., but I'd like to keep this post under 500 paragraphs.)

Lebanon, in short, is not a true nation-state, it does not have control of its borders (does anyone seriously think Hezbollah manufactures those missiles they're firing into Israel?)--and it appears powerless in preventing Hezbollah (its flag is pictured above) from operating within.

Let's turn things around a bit: Say, the Aryan Nation gang sets up base north of the Canadian border in Alberta and they kidnap a couple of US Border Patrol agents.
Of course, the American goverment will contact the Canadian ambassador in Washington, and tell that diplomat to find those agents and send them back back to the States unharmed.

If the Canadian government is unable or unwilling to do anything to compel the Aryan Nation to surrender the agents, and the Aryans start firing missiles into Billings, the US Military response would be quite similar to that of the Israelis.

Luckily for the United States, Canada is not a failed state. Lebanon is.

Technorati tags: لبنان Lebanon Israel Terrorism حزب الله‬ Hezbollah Terrorism World War III

Here's a site with some teeth: Paid Critics.com

While I was in Washington, blogging only occasionally, I was informed by Chris Abraham of Edelman that a new site is up, Paid Critics.com.

The site exposes the paid critics of Wal-Mart.

For instance, Wal-Mart Watch is funded by the Service Employees International Union; Wake Up Wal-Mart is funded by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union.

The former's involvement is a little bizarre. SEIU mostly represents government workers and health care employees--not retail workers. Staunchly Democratic, they're one of the most politically active unions--the union's purple and gold T-shirts are a common site at most Democratic political rallies.

This is what I don't like about SEIU: From the outside, it clearly appears to me that the union, via its public service workers, is government lobbying for more government (electing Democrats).

Hypothetical question: Could someone be pulling SEIU's strings in their battle against Wal-Mart? Is there a quid pro quo?

The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union doesn't escape criticism from me this afternoon. This comes from Paid Critics.com:

A document obtained by paidcritics.com shows that Wake-Up Wal-Mart is so desperate to lure supporters that it is offering a "Free Happy Hour" to winners of a Missouri union local's "Picket Line Participation Contest!" UFCW Local 655 is exhorting members to "see the evils of Wal-Mart" (about that "partnership" again?), as they ponder "Where in the world would you like a free happy hour?"

Looks like only UFCW members are eligible. So much for "Americans joining together in common purpose."

Apparently when Wake-Up Wal-Mart calls itself a social movement and vows to give Americans the tools to empower themselves, it is defining social movement" as Happy Hour and "tools" as free drinks (all paid for with mandatory dues, of course).

Free booze to picket Wal-Mart? Very responsible. Be careful on the drive home, or better yet, appoint a designated driver.

Of course, buying a few kegs of beer for union members to tap into at a union hall is a favorite "tool" of unions before--and after--a political rally is a time-tested tactic of organized labor to attract troops to participate in the front lines of this "social movement."

An aside: Mrs. Marathon Pundit just called me from the Niles Wal-Mart, she dropped off our film-rolls from the trip to Washington.

Technorati tags: Wal-Mart Labor union SEIU UFCW Missouri alcohol

Somewhere in Wisconsin...

Blogging on my Treo 650 with Mrs. Marathon Pundit behind the wheel on Interstate 94.

Back to regular blogging on Monday. While I was away, the world went to hell.

On our way home

Blogging from Baltimore, Maryland on my Treo 650, awaiting my (delayed) airTran flight to Milwaukee.

Today Little Marathon Pundit and I walked thru the hallways of the Smithsonian National Musuem of National History in Washington.

It's a good compromise choice if you're with a large group and can't come to an agreement on which museum to attend.

The museum has on display such modern cultural icons such as the "Archie Bunker" from the 1970s TV show "All in the Family," Dorothy's ruby slippers from the classic film "The Wizard of Oz," original "Muppets" puppets, as well as a whole bunch of other similar items.

The original "Star Bangled Banner" from Ft. McHenry, the one that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the lyrics of our national anthem, can be seen too, although the flag is being restored.

There is an extensive exhibit dedicated to the nation's 43 presidents, as well as a similar tribute to America's first ladies.

That exhibit has many gowns on display worn by them.

Monica Lewinsky's infamous stained blue dress in not included within the collection, however.

From there we headed to Ford's Theater, which of course is where John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln.

Across the street from the theater is the house where the great president died. The house, and of course the theater, are open to the public.

Less than a block away there is an ESPN Zone and a Hard Rock Café, just like in the old days.

Rumor of attack in Lebanon on Chomsky greatly exaggerated?

Blogging from Gaithersburg, MD.

I'm not sure what to think of this report, but as far as I know Noam Chomsky has been in Lebanon recently.

From Boston Indymedia:

There are several web pages reporting that Noam Chomsky was the guest of a Hezbollah training camp when it was obliterated by Israeli jets retaliating for Hezbollah Islamofascist terror.

Anyone know if Chomsky is still alive?

When I get back to Chicago tonight, I'll see what else I can find.

Hat tip to Dr. Steven Plaut in Israel.

UPDATE: July 17, 12:45AM. He was interviewed Saturday night by some show called Democracy Now! Yes, greatly exaggerated.

Technorati tags: Noam Chomsky Chomsky Israel Politics Lebanon News rumors

Mt. Vernon today

Blogging from Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Little Marathon Pundit and I will be crossing the Potomac for a visit to Mt. Vernon, followed by a family gathering in Alexandria, Virginia--where we may see some of Old Town Alexandria.

Heading home tomorrow.

Washington day three

Blogging from a pool party in Kensington, Maryland on my Treo 650.

I had that blog-related meeting and lunch earlier today in downtown Washington.


Afterwards, I visited the beautiful and new Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian. The building is stunning, but the museum is heavy on open space, restaurants, and gift stores. The modest museum at the Little Big Horn battlefield site in Montana iis much better.

So the new museum in
Washington should be called, "The Gift Stores and Restaurants of the American Indian, with a Few Museum Exhibits."

The National Zoo and the Air & Space Museum

Blogging on from Gaithersburg, Maryland on my Treo 650.

Little Marathon Pundit and I had an all-Smithsonian day. We visited the National Zoo and saw all three pandas, including the cub, up pretty close.

Then we hopped on the subway and made our way to the Air & Space Museum, Little Marathon Pundit insisted on changing into a camoflauge outfit so she could fit in with the surroundings.

Tomorrow is somewhat open, but I'm meeting with someone tomorrow on blog-related business.

Day two in Washington

Blogging from Gaithersburg, MD on my Treo 650.

Little Marathon and I did the trolley tour thing thru downtown Washington.

We saw all the usual sites, but to catch the subway out to Maryland, we traveled thru Washington's avenue of special interests, K Street.

On my way to Washington

I'm blogging on my Treo 650, waiting to board my flight--I'm at Gen. Mitchell Airport in Milwaukee.

Pajamas Media Blog Week in Review follow up

I usually write about my spin on Pajamas Media Blog Week in Review, but my trip upcoming trip to Washington has me a bit preoccupied.

Congress' immigration "listening tour" is the first topic, and the panelists, Tammy Bruce, Eric Umansky, and Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit view it as what's called in Chicago a "dog and pony show."

All image, no action.

Tammy decries the media behemoths such as Viacom taking many media voices and transforming them into a few. As a blogger, I don't view that as a bad thing, and Eric as well as moderator Austin Bay agree: If Viacom and Disney underreport or don't report a story, that leaves a lot of opportunity for the blogosphere.

North Korea and their missiles is the final topic....Do you think that'll be a topic for the next Pajamas Blog Week in Review?

Another good Podcast, one that was once again produced by Ed Driscoll.

Technorati tags: podcasts Podcast Podcasting iPod blog North Korea Media Immigration

The "Old Gray Lady" is a little grayer: Pam from Blogmeister USA reports

The nickname for the New York Times is "The Old Gray Lady." Last month the New York Times published secret details of how the CIA and the Treasury Department were tracking financial information from the SWIFT banking consortium in order to monitor terror-related transactions.

Of course, unlike its tabloid competitor the New York Daily News, apparently the New York Times is unaware we're at war. Michael Goodwin of the News says we're involved in fighting World War III--the Old Gray Lady must be senile.

Monday evening there was a protest against the New York Times for its SWIFT reporting. Pam of Blogmeister USA was there, and she took her digital camera with her. Visit her blog for some great photos and some excellent on-the-scene reporting.

Yes, Kathleen Parker, bloggers do write their own stuff.

Technorati tags: New York Times NYT SWIFT New York Manhattan Media War on Terror photos New York Daily News

Carnival of Wal-Mart is here

Starling Hunter of The Business of America is Business has put down stakes for the Carnival of Wal-Mart. Hunter has been gracious enought to include my most recent story about the retail giant.

Technorati tags: Wal-Mart business retail politics Society blogging

Marathon Pundit goes to Washington

Yes, that's me when I was nine. The photograph was taken by my Uncle Bill in 1971, who I'll see later this week.

It was an exciting day, as we saw President Nixon waving to the crowd of tourists from his limo en route to a meeting at the Capitol building. No one in our group had any idea he was going to be there. To this day, it marks the only time I've seen an in-office president in person. (Later in life, before they were elected president, I saw the first President Bush and later, Bill Clinton.)

Tomorrow Little Marathon Pundit and I fly out to Washington (actually Baltimore), for a few days of mostly sightseeing and the like.

Little Marathon Pundit is nine.

I plan have an updated version of the photograph taken, as the Beatles did with their "Red" and "Blue" albums.

The Beatles in their later photo had more hair, as for myself....

Technorati tags: Washington Travel Photos Vacation Family

Beslan terrorist killed

The world is a better place this morning after hearing this news from southern Russia:

Chechen rebel leader Shamil Basayev - dubbed the Beast of Beslan - has been killed by Russia's security forces. The radical Islamic leader was behind the Beslan school siege in which hundreds of people, mostly children, were killed. Basayev, 41, together with other Chechen fighters, was killed in Ingushetia, a region neighboring Chechnya, in an operation by Russian special forces, Russia said.

President Vladimir Putin said Basayev's killing was "deserved retribution".

"This is deserved retribution against the bandits for our children in Beslan, in Budennovsk, for all these acts of terror they committed in Moscow and other Russian regions, including Ingushetia and Chechnya," Mr Putin said.

The Beslan atrocity inspired this op-ed by al-Arabiya General Manager Abdel Rahman al-Rashed, A Wake-up Call : Almost all terrorists are Muslims...

Technorati tags: Beslan Russia Terrorism al-arabiya Россия news

CAIR regarding Sears Tower plotters: "Refrain from calling them Muslims"

Part time human resource consultants (see the post two down from this one) CAIR, also advises the mainstream media on what to call terrorism suspects, as Aaron Hanscom writes in today's FrontPage Magazine:

Planning to murder innocent Americans in the name of radical Islam doesn't necessarily make one a Muslim terrorist. At least that was the opinion expressed by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) after last month's arrests of seven black men in Miami for plotting to blow up the Sears Tower and the FBI headquarters in Miami.

"Given that the reported beliefs of this bizarre group have nothing to do with Islam, we ask members of the media to refrain from calling them Muslims," read a statement from Ahmed Bedier, Director of CAIR Florida chapter.

In fact, the men arrested were members of the "Seas of David" religious group, an Islamic sect that follows the tenets of the Moorish Science Temple of America. According to The Daily Telegraph, the Moorish Temple believes that all black people are born as Muslims and descended from the Moors. The Nation of Islam evolved from the Moorish Temple, which was founded in 1913 by Noble Drew Ali. Ali worked as a circus magician before "We study Allah and the worship of the regular Bible."

More...

CAIR, a supposedly moderate Muslim civil-rights group, has a history of making apologies for radical Islam. After the September 11 attacks, CAIR representatives often refused to blame Osama bin Laden because it would "simplify the situation." CAIR even looks out for Islamic radicals on "24," had to read a disclaimer before an episode that noted its terrorists were Muslims in order to appease CAIR, which felt that the show could "cast a shadow of suspicion over ordinary American Muslims and could increase Islamophobic stereotyping and bias." CAIR would have more success in that department if its own member weren't supporters of terrorism themselves. Ghassan Elashi, the founder of the Texas chapter of CAIR, was convicted of supporting Hamas in 2005.

Unfortunately in regards to the cause of honest public discourse, the mainstream media pretty much bows down to CAIR's demands. And the MSM continues to lose audience, one person at a time....and big media barons can't figure out why.

Technorati tags: Chicago Muslims Illinois CAIR Florida Sears Tower Terrorism Hamas Islam Media

Giuliani and McCain coming to Illinois to campaign for Topinka

The motives of Rudy Giulian and John McCain for coming to the Land of Lincoln may be self-serving, but good news continues to come Judy Baar Topinka's way.

Last week President Bush was the featured speaker at at $500-a-plate fundraiser for Judy Baar Topinka, the Republican candidate for governor of Illinois.

A week before, US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald took the unusual step announcing to the media that the administration of incumbent Democrat Rod Blagojevich, is under investigation for "very serious allegations of endemic hiring fraud."

Blagojevich is hoping stay in place for another four years, but despite his massive political war chest,his opponent has an excellent chance to become the first Republican to win a high-profile office in Illinois since 1998.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani will appear at a southwest-suburban Chicago campaign event on Tuesday. On Saturday, Senator John McCain of Arizona will appear at a similar event in the Metro East area near St. Louis. Both men are possible 2008 Republican candidates for president.

So yes, they are selling themselves as well as Judy. But their campaigning with her, not from her.

Technorati tags: illinois politics judy baar topinka Politics Republicans elections Illinois Blagojevich Corruption Governor Democrats Illinois McCain Giuliani

I don't CAIR for their methods

Dr. Daniel Pipes has an excellent follow-up to my Marathon Pundit post about CAIR advising DePaul University to fire Professor Thomas Klocek over a heated discussion he had about Middle Eastern politics with a few Muslim students in 2004.

The video is here, it takes a while to download.

Here's what Pipes extracted from Grant Crowell's videotaped interview with Christina Abraham, CAIR-Chicago's civil rights coordinator and a DePaul University law student:

"We were very concerned with the situation and we did request that he be terminated." She went on to say (about 1/6th of the way in) that CAIR-Chicago suggested to DePaul that "if the investigation were to have shown that he did make these statements that and he did act this way towards the students, yes, we did suggest that they should terminate him."

Christina apparently believes in the rights of some people over the rights others.

In his same weblog entry, Pipes notes the "interest" CAIR has in the blogosphere, linking to this Little Green Footballs post:

The Council on American-Islamic Relations has begun filing complaints with the FBI about comments on this blog and others (not front page posts). I know this because I’ve spoken with two different agents recently about LGF comments that were reported to the FBI by CAIR.

Just thought you might like to know too. The premier Islamist front group is starting to go after the blogosphere, using the tools provided by our own society.

As for CAIR calling the FBI about some blog comments they didn't like, I'm not surprised. What's sad is that government resources are being wasted on such frivolous nonsense.

If CAIR notices that a commentator on a blog post makes an overtly racist or violent statement, all they have to do is to notify the blogger via e-mail. If the comment is truly objectionable, then a responsible blogger will delete it--no need to contact the FBI.

But CAIR doesn't care to do things that way.

Technorati tags: DePaul Free Speech Academic freedom Chicago catholic education Klocek Muslims Thomas Klocek Illinois CAIR israel ישראל Daniel Pipes

Wal-Mart scorecard: Niles 2, Chicago 1

Niles, Illinois is a village of 30,000 people located on the northern border of Chicago, a city that has a little bit under 3 million residents.

This afternoon I took this photo of an under-construction Wal-Mart on Golf Road near the Golf Mill Shopping Plaza.

This store will be the second Wal-Mart for Niles.

To the south, Chicago's first Wal-Mart should be welcoming customers through its doors sometime next month.

That's right, Chicago, which has almost 100 times the population of Niles will have double the Wal-Marts of Chicago.

Why is that?

Alderman "No Foie Gras for Me" Joe Moore, whose ward isn't too far from the original Niles Wal-Mart, is a big part of the answer. Moore has been on the anti-Wal-Mart bandwagon since at least 2004.

Moore tried to push a "Living Wage" ordinance that would only apply to "big box" retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target that was opposed almost unanimously by Chicago business leaders. An amended version was proposed late last month that seems to be more palatable to those interests.

Meanwhile, the jobs Wal-Mart provides, as well as the sales tax revenue, flows to the suburbs.

Chicago will see its first Wal-Mart open soon. The suburbs that surround Chicago have 18.

More Wal-Mart: On The Borderline in northern Wisconsin has a Wal-Mart post about a local high school district ordering gobs of goods from Wal-Mart--I guess years of NEA complaining about Wal-Mart hasn't effected buying decisions there. (Hat tip to Marshall Manson of Edelman on that one.)

Previously on Marathon Pundit:

Chicago's "big box" anti-jobs ordinance

Chicago alderman accuses unions of strong-arming colleagues over "big box" ordinance

Technorati tags: Wal-Mart Joe Moore Niles Chicago Illinois business retail politics Society blogging

NYC tunnel terror scheme similar to plotline in book by Chicago author

Mai Martinez of CBS 2 Chicago interviewed Chicago author Brad Thor, whose most recent novel, Takedown, has a storyline that has been seemingly pinched from the news stories about an al-Qaeda linked group that wanted to paralzye the nation's financial system by blowing up New York City transit tunnels.

But Thor's book was published two months ago.

From CBS 2 Chicago:

According to authorities, the plan was to blow up underwater transit tunnels in hopes of flooding New York’s financial district. It’s a plot eerily similar to one in the book "Take Down" written by Chicago author Brad Thor.

"It's amazing to see basically the plot of my new thriller unfolding in New York," Thor said.

Thor researches homeland security not only for his novels, but also for his work with the department. Thor believes New York City’s tunnels are especially vulnerable.

"We can't search every single person that uses rapid transit. We can't search every single car that uses a tunnel, and that's the problem --especially if you have two or three waves of attackers coming in," Thor said.

Technorati tags: books Writing New York Terrorism War on Terror Chicago

Mr. Right's latest photo caption contest with the Little Big Man

With apologies to Dustin Hoffman, star of the 1970 classic film Little Big Man, Mr. Right's most recent photo caption contests stars legendary golfer, the Dear Leader Kim Jong Il.

Enter the contest here.

Technorati tags: North Korea Kim Jong Il Norks humor Entertainment humour Jokes

First Hillary, now Biden: Dems dis Indian-Americans

From CNN in 2004:

During an event (in Missouri) for Senate candidate Nancy Farmer, (Hillary) Clinton introduced a quote from Gandhi by saying, "He ran a gas station down in St. Louis."

From AP yesterday:

Facing criticism, potential 2008 presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden has been forced to explain his recent remark that "you cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent."

There is a difference, however. Hillary immediately backed off her lame-brained comment. Biden told MSNBC yesterday about his observation, "It was meant as a compliment."
Technorati tags: Hillary Biden Delaware India भारत politics Current Affairs

Wis. golf novice hits two holes-in-one, nine off Kim Jong Il's record

Pat at Brainster had a post about a suburban Milwaukee man who hit two holes-in-one in one round of golf. The up-till-now struggling golfer had a go at 18-holes just 25 times, never breaking 100.

From the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:

On June 24, (Sanjay) Kuttemperoor made two holes-in-one in a five-hole span at Treetops Resort in Treetops Village, Mich. He used his Callaway 8-iron on both shots.

Lloyds of London set the odds for such a feat at 67 million to 1. Based on those odds, a golfer would have to play a round of golf 365 days a year for 183,561 years to accomplish it.

Kuttemperoor did it in, oh, about 35 minutes.

But Kuttemperoor's feat pales in the shadow of the golfing prowess of North Korea's "Dear Leader," Kim Jong Il.

From CNN in 2004:

North Korean publications describe Kim Jong Il as a renaissance man who has flown fighter aircraft, written operas and shot 11 holes-in-one in his first try at golf.

That's why I don't golf--I can't bear to live in the shadow of Kim's greatness.

Technorati tags: North Korea golf Kim Jong Il Norks sports Michigan

Blago blogging from Reverse Spin

My good friend Dan Curry has a series of fantastic posts on the man who Patrick "Fitzmas" Fitzgerald's office calls as "Public Official A," Rod Blagojevich, embattled Democratic Governor of Illinois.

Read here.

Technorati tags: illinois politics democrats corruption elections Fitzmas Patrick Fitzgerald Blagojevich

Bush appears at Chicago Topinka fundraiser

President Bush spent a day-and-a-half in Chicago for various meetings (including a dinner with Mayor Richard Daley last night), as well as a fund raiser for Judy Baar Topinka, the Illinois Republican Party's nominee for governor this afternoon.

This morning a local reporter (media reports aren't saying who it was, and I didn't get a good look at the guy when Fox News showed him) asked the president about that comment from an April George Will column:

Topinka says Karl Rove urged her to run, hoping to offset in Illinois a probable gubernatorial loss in New York. Would she like President Bush to campaign for her? An aide says not exactly: "We just want him to raise money." Topinka does not demur as the aide adds: "Late at night." Pause. "In an undisclosed location."

Here's Bush's take on those comments, from the Chicago Sun-Times:

"I'm not offended," Bush said. "First of all, am I offended that you read the person's remarks to me? No, I'm not offended at you reading that at all. Nor am I offended at what the person said.

"I think it's going to be a pretty successful fund-raiser. And I -- we --- will hold the House and the Senate. And I've spent a lot of time on the road. I like campaigning. And I'm proud she invited me."

Topinka is outspoken and often speaks before thinking, saying things she in jest that are taken seriously. It's just natural that her staff behaves in a similar fashion, taking cues from her boss.

In short, no big deal.

UPDATE 9:20pm CDT: Lorie Byrd at the new Townhall has an article about Democratic talking points being spread around about other Midwestern politicians running from Bush.

Hat tip Pat at Brainster.

Technorati tags: illinois politics judy baar topinka democrats Politics Republicans elections Bush Chicago Illinois

A.J. punches his way into baseball's All-Star Game

Chicago White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski, thanks to Internet voting, secured the 32nd and final American League roster spot for next week's Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Pittsburgh.

On the National League side, Nomar Garciaparra of the Los Angeles Dodger won the same honor for the "Senior Circuit."

Two months ago in front of a national audience, Pierzynski was punched in the jaw by Chicago Cubs catcher Michael Barrett, after a Pierzynski slide into home plate, hence the drive to "punch" A.J. into the big game. Barrett received a ten-day "vacation" from the Commissioner of Baseball for his pugilistic exhibition.

Regarding A.J., this comes from the Chicago Sun-Times:

Not only was Pierzynski thankful, actually addressing the crowd at U.S. Cellular Field before taking the field, but he also felt a bit vindicated.

Rightfully so, considering the two previous votes he had earned were finishing top 10 in GQ magazine as one of the most hated players in sports and finishing first in a Sports Illustrated player poll asking which player ''you would most like to see get hit by a pitch.''

''It's a little vindication for all the bad stuff that certain people have written about me,'' Pierzynski said. ''I just got to thank the fans that voted, and also the [public relations] department for getting it out there. They did a great job, coming up with a good slogan and everything. I can't thank them enough. It was a little nerve-racking there in the end, but it was fun. It was nice to know there's some support for me out there.''

Previously on Marathon Pundit:

"Punch" A.J. Pierzynski into Baseball's All Star Game

Chicago Crosstown Classic: Cub fans pelt field with garbage after Pierzynski homer

Technorati tags: Baseball MLB White Sox Cubs sports Chicago White Sox Pierzynski Pittsburgh

A year after 7/7 bombings, FBI breaks up NYC tunnel plot

Once again, here is another reminder that we are at war.

From AP:

Authorities have disrupted planning by foreign terrorists for an attack on New York City tunnels, two law enforcement officials said Friday.

FBI agents monitoring Internet chat rooms used by extremists learned in recent months of the plot to strike a blow at the city's economy by destroying vital transportation networks, one official said.

Lebanese authorities, acting on a U.S. request, have arrested one of the alleged plotters, identified as Amir Andalousli, the other official said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is still under way.

Of course, today is the first anniversary of the 7/7 London bus bombings.

Technorati tags: London Terrorism UK New York War on Terror

DePaul's Norman Finkelstein vents on Klocek and Irshad Manji, "a Salman Rushdie wannabe"

Grant Crowell, the northwest suburban Chicago documentary filmmaker and business man, is a busy person these days. While chasing the elusive Ward Churchill, Crowell also keeps DePaul University on his radar. Speaking from my own experience, as with Ward Churchill, there is plenty of material to comb through when fixing your journalistic sight on DePaul.

In June, Grant Crowell sent Professor Finkelstein an e-mail, Finkelstein wrote back. And a disturbingly entertaining mini-series of electronic exchanges resulted.

Arguably DePaul's best-known professor, Norman G. Finkelstein is on the political science faculty at DePaul.

He's intellectually cozy with such discredited holocaust-deniers such as David Irving. (Irving is discredited as a historian, his holocaust-denial credentials are still pretty solid.)

Here's what Alan Dershowitz wrote about Finkelstein last year in Jbooks.com (click the link to find the footnotes):

Finkelstein has said that he "can't imagine why Israel's apologists would be offended by a comparison with the Gestapo" and asserted that Israel's human rights record is "interchangeable with Iraq's" when it was ruled by Saddam Hussein. He has said that most alleged Holocaust survivors -- including Elie Wiesel --have fabricated their past, are "bogus," and that those seeking reparations are "cheats" and "greedy." Because of my support of Israel, he has compared me to "Adolf Eichman [sic]," and accused me of expressing "Nazi moral judgments." When challenged to defend his frequent comparison between Jews and Nazis, he has responded, "Nazis never like to hear they're being Nazis." He is a popular speaker among German neo-Nazis; one, Ingrid Rimland, whose husband, the notorious Ernst Zuendel, wrote The Hitler We Loved And Why, even referred to him admiringly as the "Jewish David Irving" ("Judischer David Irving")-- a reference to the British Holocaust denier and Hitler admirer. The comparison is apt because Finkelstein has reportedly praised the Holocaust-denying Irving as "a good historian!" and as having "made an indispensable contribution to our knowledge of World War II."

Naturally, Finkelstein's opinion of Dershowitz is unfavorable, but "Fink" has chosen to piggyback onto "Dersh's" fame by choosing Beyond Chutzpah as the title of his latest book, a dig at Dershowitz' best-selling Chutzpah.

About those e-mails:

What does Finkelstein think of the Thomas Klocek free speech case? Well, read for yourself here on the C-Spot blog, but nothing original is the short answer--Norman thinks that Klocek should've followed the grievance procedure at DePaul. Finkelstein doesn't seem to be aware of is the the DePaul administration "kept moving the goal posts" on the Klocek.

I haven't met Finkelstein, but based on his writing style and insulting word choices (he called Crowell "an imbecile") he has to be--even lowering the bar considering he's an an academic--one arrogant son-of-a-bitch.

It's not jusk Klocek they corresponded about, there's also "the Muslim Refusenik," Irshad Manji. This is from her web site:

Recently, I asked you to put your names on a petition to support the 12 signatories of the Manifesto Against a New Totalitarianism. The manifesto signatories included me, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Taslima Nasrin and Salman Rushdie. I explained that we received a serious death threat from the British-based Islamic website ummah.com, and that your signatures of solidarity with us would show that we are not afraid to defy Islamist radicals. Some 2000 of you signed - and the number is still growing!

Only one person emailed a disconcerting message. A gentleman named Norman Finkelstein wrote to say, "Is there a petition supporting the death threats?" Maybe he's just a researcher.

Or maybe he's an assistant professor of political science at a large, Midwestern university.

Here's an excerpt from a June 22 e-mail to Finkelstein:

Norman, I don't know if you're capable of really being honest of where you personally stand on this, but now I doubt it really matters. At least try being honest about this, since it doesn't involve Klocek but your direct name: Did you send in an e-mail to the Islamic feminist author Israd Manji, asking if there was a petition to support death threats against her person and her fellow free-thinking Islamist scholars? Your name is right up in there in the site saying you did.

http://www.muslim-refusenik.com/petition.html

I hope you'll at least consider it important enough to your reputation to clarify whether or not you sent such am e-mail and were serious, or if that was just your idea of a joke. Obviously they're suggesting that you align yourself with religious supremacist groups who believe in the brutal murder of independent thinkers in the name of Islam, which many would considered to be very defamatory if it were false. If you value your credibility as an anti-totalitarian protestor, you would do well to clear that matter up with them. And somehow, Norman, I doubt going through DePaul's grievance process will make you look any better on this one.

You have a good day and enjoy your freedom in America. (And for now, at DePaul.)

Finkelstein's response on the Manji question (I omitted the non-relevant portion for the sake of brevity, but this link has the entire e-mail, along with all of the others).

Regarding Martyr #2 Irshad Manji:

(1) Manji claims she was the object of a serious death threat;
(2) People who are the objects of serious death threats go to a law enforcement agency; they don't organize petitions;
(3) I've received many death threats. I consider them unserious and ignore them. Professor Said was the object of a serious death threat. He didn't ask friends to sign a petition stating: "Please do not kill Professor Said." He went to the FBI. A rational person would understand how preposterous Manji's latest stunt is; it seems you don't;
(4) The only one who organizes petitions for alleged death threats are desperate publicity-seekers and Salman Rushdie wannabes (photo-op #1 on Manji's website);
(5) Were you not an imbecile but a rational human being you'd understand what my point was: The only rational basis for a petition against a death threat is a petition for a death threat. But alas you can't understand this because in your demented universe Manji is an "Islamic feminist author," "free-thinking Islamist" and on and on. Did you happen to read the Times op-ed by this moral paragon titled "How I learned to love the wall" Oh, such courage - braving those alleged death threats as she sings the praises of Israel's little ghetto. I didn't know that "left-leaning libertarians" favored caging in human beings. Live and learn, I suppose.

I'm half-way through reading Manji's The Trouble with Islam : A Muslim's Call for Reform in Her Faith, and I just got to the part about her visit to Israel.

As for that New York Times op-ed, here it is, judge for yourself if Manji praises "Israel's little ghetto."

As I blogged here, I was at Irshad's April presentation at a synagogue in Northfield, Illinois. There were two uniformed police officers in the audience. Were they dupes for Manji's publicity campaign? That thought didn't occur to me.

However, I felt more comfortable they--and likely some undercover officers--were there.

For a jihadist-bomber, there aren't many targets as enticing as a Muslim-lesbian critic of Islam speaking at a synagogue in one of Chicago's wealthiest suburbs.

Technorati tags: DePaul Free Speech Academic freedom Chicago Klocek Muslims Thomas Klocek Illinois israel ישראל norman finkelstein Irshad Manji Dershowitz books salman rushdie

Mayor Daley's patronage chief found guilty of fraud

There is very bad news this evening for the Cook County Regular Democratic Organization, known outside of Illinois as "The Machine." The handing out of jobs in exchange for political work is a key cog of The Machine. Family ties and political donations get job-hunters special-notice when the "Help Wanted" signs appear on the door of Chicago's City Hall, too.

From CBS 2 Chicago:

A former top aide to Mayor Richard M. Daley and three other onetime city workers were convicted on Thursday in a scheme to load the city payroll with campaign workers in defiance of a federal court order.

Jurors deliberated for three and a half days in the five-week trial before convicting Robert Sorich, Daley's 43-year-old former patronage chief, of two counts of mail fraud. Jurors acquitted him of two additional mail fraud counts.

More....

The case strikes at the city's century-old patronage tradition, the heart of the "Chicago Machine" of yesteryear, in which ward bosses and others could maintain hordes of precinct captains by putting them on the city payroll. Prosecutors say the "patronage armies" based in city departments rather than wards represent an updated version of the system.

Turning out votes and lots of them for Democrats in Chicago and Cook County is what makes Illinois a deep blue state--forty percent of Illinoisans live in Cook.

Without the promise of jobs and promotions, the incentive for Cook County precinct captains isn't as strong, now that the patronage system has taken a severe hit.

Make no mistake, Illinois is not going to turn into the Kansas of the Great Lakes as far as Republicanism, but the playing field for Land of Lincoln Republicans got a little more favorable.

And the magic of "Fitzmas" runs both ways, as Democrats are learning. The office that prosecuted Sorich was the U.S. Attorney for Northern Illinois, which is headed by Patrick Fitzgerald, of "PlameGate" fame.

Technorati tags: Daley Illinois Politics corruption Democrats Republicans Chicago

CAIR shows what it cares about

When CAIR is not whispering in the ears of the administration of DePaul University--scroll down for that--it organizes rallies against abduction of hostages in the Holy Land...by Israel, as Joe Kaufman in Front Page Magazine writes today.

Incredible as it seems, two "moderate" American Muslim groups, International ANSWER, and other radicals are protesting in the nation's capital today against the Middle Eastern "hostage-taking"...of Israel.

Two Sundays ago, Israeli Defense Force Corporal Gilad Shalit was kidnapped by Palestinian terrorists from Hamas, the Popular Resistance Committees (reportedly a Hamas front), and a little known group called the Army of Islam. Since that time, the Israeli government has made it its mission to do what it takes to get Shalit back, whether by diplomacy or force. The United States government has said that Israel has every right to defend herself. However, two prominent American Muslim groups – the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Muslim American Society (MAS) – have been outspoken for the other side. They have chosen to condemn the victims and overlook Palestinian terrorism.

More from FrontPage...

CAIR, it should be noted, is not an unbiased source. The group, itself, was the byproduct of a Hamas front, the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP).

Technorati tags: DePaul Muslims CAIR israel ישראל Shalit Hamas Terrorism Palestine International ANSWER

NORKs threatening more missile launches

Yesterday the United Nations Security Council, in an emergency secret session, met to discuss the North Korean missile crisis.

Amazingly, North Korea remains undeterred. Shocking!

From AP:

The Bush administration today dismissed North Korea's threat to test-fire more missiles and pressed for international efforts to get the secretive communist regime to "cease and desist" such actions.

"We're certainly not going to overreact ... to these wild statements out of Pyongyang and North Korea," said Undersecretary R. Nicholas Burns. "We've seen them before."

The North Korean Foreign Ministry, in a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency, insisted that the communist state had the right to missile tests and argued the weapons were needed for defense.

Not true on the last one. When thinking of Kim Jong-Il and missiles, also think about Argentina's Leopoldo Galtieri and the Falkland Islands.

Actually, maybe it is true. This will allow Kim to be defended--from his own people.

For a while.

Technorati tags: North Korea Military Bush history United Nations

Welcome American Thinker readers

Scroll down for today's posts on the Thomas Klocek free speech struggle with DePaul University.

And don't forget to sign the petition!

Technorati tags: American Thinker petitions new media Weblogs

Please sign the "Reinstate Thomas Klocek" petition

Oh, since there are a lot of new people coming to Marathon Pundit this evening, here's the Reinstate Thomas Klocek petition, put online by the Scholars for Peace in the Middle East:

To: Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider, C.M., Ed.D., President and Susanne M. Dumbleton, Ph.D., Dean of the School for New Learning, DePaul University

We, the undersigned faculty members from around the world, stand solidly with Professor Thomas Klocek, a Roman Catholic, who was dismissed by DePaul University for allegedly offending Muslim students when discussing Christian interests in Israel, disputing that Israeli treatment of Palestinians was akin to the Nazi treatment of the Jews and then terminating the discussion when it appeared that the students were more interested in Israel-bashing than discussing the issues.

We believe this case sheds serious questions on the commitment to academic freedom and civility in academic discussion with this egregious termination. We further believe that this action by administration has separated DePaul from the academic community.

It is our understanding that Prof. Klocek alleges:

1) He was never allowed to meet with his accusers.

2) He was never presented with a written list of the complaints or charges against him.

3) He was suspended by the Dean of the School for New Learning in clear violation of the University's own stated Faculty Handbook procedures.

4) He was never given a hearing.

5) A vote by the DePaul Faculty Council affirmed that the same rules that apply for a formal academic hearing apply to all professors, full-time and adjuncts alike.

As a result, we believe that Professor Klocek, a faculty member with a 15-year history of excellent evaluations and no prior complaints, was dismissed without due process and should be reinstated without penalty or prejudice and with back pay, restitution of benefits and compensation for his legal and other expenses incurred as a result of his being improperly terminated.

Click here to sign, so the petitioners reach their goal of 2,000 signatures. They only need 820 more to reach that modest goal.

Technorati tags: Illinois Chicago DePaul Academic freedom Free Speech Thomas Klocek Israel Middle East Catholic

Welcome Little Green Footballs readers

The complete Klocek post is two down from this one. Thanks for the link, LGF, and for those who want to visit that site, click here.

Technorati tags: Little Green Footballs lgf blogging CAIR journalism

Pipes on the Catholic Church's chilly relationship with Muslims

Well, it looks like the Catholic Church, especially rank-and-file priests, are beginning to stand up to radical Islam, according to Daniel Pipes in his latest column.

The far-left leadership at DePaul University, as the below post points out, so far hasn't caught on to this trend. DePaul's president is the Reverend Dennis Holtschneider, a Vincentian priest. DePaul may be taking advice from CAIR, a self-styled Muslim civil-rights group with a questionable reputation and alleged ties to extremists.

"Enough now with this turning the other cheek! It's our duty to protect ourselves." Thus spoke Monsignor Velasio De Paolis, secretary of the Vatican's supreme court, referring to Muslims. Explaining his apparent rejection of Jesus' admonition to his followers to "turn the other cheek," De Paolis noted that "The West has had relations with the Arab countries for half a century -- and has not been able to get the slightest concession on human rights."

De Paolis is hardly alone in his thinking; indeed, the Catholic Church is undergoing a dramatic shift from a decades-old policy to protect Catholics living under Muslim rule. The old methods of quiet diplomacy and muted appeasement have clearly failed. The estimated 40 million Christians in Dar al-Islam (my note, Arabic for the "Land of Islam), notes the Barnabas Fund's Patrick Sookhdeo, increasingly find themselves an embattled minority facing economic decline, dwindling rights, and physical jeopardy. Most of them, he goes on, are despised and distrusted second-class citizens, facing discrimination in education, jobs, and the courts.

More...

The Danish cartoons crisis offered a typical example of Catholic disillusionment. Church leaders initially criticized the publication of the Muhammad cartoons. But when Muslims responded by murdering Catholic priests in Turkey and Nigeria, not to speak of scores of Christians killed during five days of riots in Nigeria, the Church responded with warnings to Muslims. "If we tell our people they have no right to offend, we have to tell the others they have no right to destroy us, " said Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican's Secretary of State. "We must always stress our demand for reciprocity in political contacts with authorities in Islamic countries and, even more, in cultural contacts," added Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, its foreign minister.

Obtaining the same rights for Christians in Islamdom that Muslims enjoy in Christendom has become the key to the Vatican's diplomacy toward Muslims. This balanced, serious approach marks a profound improvement in understanding that could have implications well beyond the Church, given how many lay politicians heed its leadership in inter-faith matters. Should Western states also promote the principle of reciprocity, the results should indeed be interesting.

Technorati tags: DePaul Chicago Catholic Muslims Illinois CAIR Catholic Church Islam الإسلام Daniel Pipes

CAIR-Chicago recommended that DePaul fire Klocek

Documentary filmmaker Grant Crowell recently met with Christina Abraham, a DePaul University law student and CAIR-Chicago's Civil Rights Coordinator. The video of that interview, courtesy of Pirate Ballerina, is available here.

CAIR is an acronym for the Council on American Islamic Relations.

The video takes a while to download, but it's worth the wait.

Abraham pretty much falls in line with the same story that the two DePaul Muslim student groups, United Muslims Moving Ahead and Students for Justice in Palestine have stuck to, that Klocek yelled, threatened, threw papers around, made an obscene gesture (Klocek says he flicked his thumb under his chin), and the CAIR rep quoted Klocek as saying "Maybe not all terrorists are Muslims, but all terrorist are Muslims," while participating in a spirited debate on Israeli-Palestinian politics.

Regarding the terrorist comment, "That is not true," according to Ms. Abraham, "in addition to being racist."

In fact, Klocek was only restating what Abdel Rahman al-Rashed, General Manager of the al-Arabiya television network, wrote in an article that appeared about a week before the September 15, 2004 cafeteria encounter that led to Klocek's dismissal.

It is a certain fact that not all Muslims are terrorists, but it is equally certain, and exceptionally painful, that almost all terrorists are Muslims.

No one called al-Rashed a racist.

Abraham dropped a bombshell, that CAIR Chicago suggested to DePaul "if the investigation were to have shown that (Klocek) did make these statements that and he did act this way towards the students, yes, we did suggest that they should terminate him."

Abraham of course, says she is a strong supporter of free speech on campus.

Klocek is pro-Israel--which shockingly, Abraham claims that is the "majority opinion" on college campuses in regards to Middle Eastern politics.

Huh?

CAIR fashions itself as a civil rights organization along the lines of the NAACP. I'm a bit naive, but if it's common for such groups to recommend that private organizations such as DePaul fire employees--and in turn, destroying their livelihood, well, that just stinks out loud.

Klocek was fired without receiving a hearing from DePaul, and he was not allowed to confront his accusers.

Here's more on CAIR, courtesy of Daniel Pipes' web site, CAIR Accepted as "Mainstream."

Here is FIRE's file on the Klocek case, DePaul University: Professor Suspended for Expression Without Due Process.

Technorati tags: DePaul Free Speech Academic freedom Chicago catholic education Klocek Muslims Thomas Klocek Illinois CAIR israel ישראל

NORKs fire another missile

The impoverished nation of North Korea showed the world how tough it is by test-firing a seventh missile today.

Technorati tags: north-korea korea korea News

More North Korea...a CNN Presents documentary

I just got finished watching a very well-done CNN Presents documentary from late-2005, Undercover in the Secret State.

I'm sure they'll run it again, if you catch it on your TV screen, watch it, tape it, or TiVo it.

You'll see a nation where ordinary citizens, including children, are gathered to watch the execution of North Koreans who've smuggled people out of the country into China.. Kids are beggars--or thieves--in the streets. And where a woman dead on the street gathers no notice from passerbys

But a few brave dissidents are trying to make a difference for their fellow North Koreans, including a brave filmmaker, "Mr. Park."

Technorati tags: north-korea korea CNN Media television

Cindy Sheehan group to lead fasts and "rolling fasts"

It looks like the bizarre Cindy Sheehan-led group will begin its hunger strike at midnight in front of the White House--after a barbecue.

From AP:

Star Hollywood actor-activists including Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon and anti-war campaigners led by bereaved mother Cindy Sheehan plan to launch a hunger strike, demanding the immediate return of US troops from Iraq.

As Americans get set to fire up barbecues in patriotic celebration of US Independence Day on July 4, anti-war protestors planned to savor a last meal outside the White House, before embarking on a 'Troops Home Fast' at midnight.

"We've marched, held vigils, lobbied Congress, camped out at Bush's ranch, we've even gone to jail, now it's time to do more," said Sheehan, who emerged as an anti-war icon after losing her 24-year-old son Casey in Iraq.

Some, including Sheehan, will make a go of it in making this a true hunger-strike.

More from AP:

Other supporters, including Penn, Sarandon, novelist Alice Walker and actor Danny Glover will join a 'rolling" fast, a relay in which 2,700 activists pledge to refuse food for at least 24 hours, and then hand over to a comrade.

Of course today's news has been dominated by reports that North Korea test fired six missiles in a move that can only be called militarily provocative.

North Korea can get some missiles into the air, but can't feed it's own people. Reportedly in the 1990s, 2 million North Koreans died during a famine. That type of "rolling fast" gets little attention from people like Cindy Sheehan. To them, it's President Bush, not Kim Jong Il of North Korea, who is evil.

Technorati tags: North Korea Cindy Sheehan Susan Sarandon Danny Glover Alice Walker Alice Walker Sean Penn

NORKs test fire missiles with mixed results

The desperately poor nation of North Korea, which in this nighttime satellite photo, shows a nation that chooses to literally live in the dark ages, test fired some military missiles earlier today.

From AP:

A defiant North Korea test-fired a long-range missile Wednesday that may be capable of reaching America, but it failed seconds after launch, U.S. officials said. The North also tested four of shorter range in an exercise the White House termed "a provocation" but not an immediate threat.

The audacious military tests by isolated communist nation came despite stern warnings from the United States and Japan -- and carried out as the U.S. celebrated the Fourth of July and launched the space shuttle.

None of the missiles made it as far as Japan. The Japanese government said all landed in the Sea of Japan between Japan and the Korean Peninsula.

Former Army Reserve Officer and Pajamas Blogger Austin Bay has an excellent analysis of this breaking news.

I'm watching CNN now, Gordon Chang, author of Nuclear Showdown : North Korea Takes On the World, does not put much stock in the speculation that the NORKs test fired the missiles today to make a statement on America's Independence Day, or to coincide with today's Space Shuttle launch. Chang's take is that the North Koreans were working towards these launches anyway, but thinks the successful summit between President Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi last week could've been the impetus for today's tests.

Technorati tags: North Korea Japan Koizumi Nippon Military Bush

Tense Israel marks 30th anniversary of successful Entebbe raid

Yes, today is America's birthday. But 30 years ago, on the day of our bicentennial, something very notable happened in Idi Amin's Uganda.

From AP:

Israel, awaiting word of the fate of a captured soldier, marked the 30th anniversary Tuesday of its dramatic rescue of dozens of hostages from hijacked plane in the African nation of Uganda.

In the Entebbe raid on July 4, 1976, Israeli commandos and paratroopers carried out the hastily planned military operation in 99 minutes, whisking more than 100 hostages out of a terminal at Uganda's international airport and into waiting Hercules military aircraft.

For some Israelis, the anniversary brought back memories of a seemingly lost era of daring, successful Israeli military operations. For others, it served as a continuing warning to Israel's enemies.

"The Entebbe anniversary shows the seriousness with which we attach to freeing our hostages," said Mark Regev, spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry. "I think people holding Israeli hostages today should understand that we will do everything we can to bring about the liberation of hostages and, of course, punish those involved in hostage taking."

Now that's the way to handle a hostage situation.

Technorati tags: israel ישראל terrorism intifada July 4

Happy Independence Day

Let's hear it for America's 230th birthday. Have a great July 4th!

Review: Latest Johnny Cash CD, "Personal File"

I blogged about Johnny Cash's Personal File when I heard news about its release a few months ago.

Thanks to the film Walk the Line, the Man in Black is black-hot again. So it's natural to assume that this Sony release is an attempt by the label and the Cash estate to rake in easy bucks on the wave of Cash's renewed popularity.

I don't believe that's the case, late in his life, Cash's career was on an upswing thanks to the Rick Rubin-produced American Recordings.

However, with "Personal File," those expecting to hear finely-tuned production gems with horns such as "Ring of Fire" may be disappointed with this release. These home-studio sessions, recorded between 1973 and 1982, sound professional-produced--because they were, but it's just Johnny and an acoustic guitar. So if you like the "American Recordings," as well as the outtake edition of those sessions, Unearthed , then this album is for you.

"Personal File" is a two-CD set. The first CD is dominated by songs that influenced Cash while he was growing up in Arkansas, such as "When I Stop Dreaming," written by the Louvin Brothers, "Drink to Me with Thine Own Eyes," was sung by Cash at a graduation ceremony while he was still in high school. "Far Away Places" was sung as a child, as Cash explains as he introduces the song, at what may have been his first public performance--a talent show in Blytheville, Arkansas. He received two votes.

Many of the songs on both discs have spoken-word introductions, such as what Cash did on Ride This Train. Like the characters from that concept album, Cash had a compelling life story, so the introductions are not intrusions.

The latter part of disc one has several Cash-penned tunes, as well a couple of covers from later artists such as Doug Kershaw and John Prine.

Disc two consists of religious songs. Cash recorded several gospel albums, but he had to be free of Sam Phillips' Sun Records to do that. Christianity played a big role in the Man in Black's personal and professional life. As for the latter, one of Cash's most popular "secular" albums, Live at San Quentin had three overtly religious songs among the mix of tunes.

Because of the recent hub-bub/furor over The DaVinci Code book and movie, the song "If Jesus Loved a Woman," quickly grabs the listener's attention. Spoiler alert: The woman was Mary Magdalene.

Two Cash-written songs stand out: My favorite is "A Half a Mile a Day," about the slow-but steady destination to heaven, and "Over the Next Hill (We'll be Home). Home means one place in Christianity.

A couple notes--Johnny Cash's American V: A Hundred Highways is set to be released today.

And here's a July 4th present from Lucky Dawg News, Johnny Cash's Ragged Old Flag.

Next review: Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint's The River in Reverse

Technorati tags: Johnny Cash Country Music July 4 music Entertainment gospel Christian

"Punch" A.J. Pierzynski into Baseball's All Star Game

Okay, GQ Magazine recently listed Chicago White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski number 9 on its list of most-hated athletes.

But Major League Baseball's All-Star game is supposed to for the best players, regardless of likeability. And A.J., who most recently was in the news for getting punched by Cubs catcher Michael Barrett, is having a great season, batting .326.

I'm listening to the White Sox post-game radio show, and Sox marketing boss Brooks Boyer is talking about the team's campaign to get A.J. chosen for the final American League roster spot for next week's game.

Follow the link and "Punch A.J."

Technorati tags: Baseball MLB White Sox Cubs sports Chicago White Sox Pierzynski

San Diego's Mt. Soledad cross safe for now

Our man in California, Third Wave Dave, informs me that Associate Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy has issued a stay in the case involving the cross on top of City of San Diego owned land on top of Mt. Soledad.

A cross of some sort has been on top of that mountain for almost one-hundred years.

From the San Diego Union-Tribune:

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy's order freezes a court ruling in which the city of San Diego had to remove the controversial cross by Aug. 1 or be fined $5,000 a day. Kennedy granted a stay in the case without comment.

Attorneys involved in the case differed over what Kennedy's action means.

James McElroy, the lawyer for an atheist who has been trying to get the cross removed since 1989, said Monday's action is a procedural step by Kennedy and is primarily a "hold-in-place" order.

Kennedy did not rule on the merits of the request by cross supporters seeking a delay in enforcing the order to remove the cross or pay a daily fine, McElroy said. A ruling on that could come within a week or 10 days, he said.

Like it or not, the Christian heritage in San Diego is deep. As with many California coastal communities, it was founded by Father Junipero Serra, a Spanish priest.

When I was in San Diego last year, I saw the cross from my rental car, and mistakenly thought it was a monument to Father Serra.

In short, I didn't view the cross as a call for conversion to Christianity.

Technorati tags: San Diego News California SCOTUS Religion history

Mr. Right's photo caption contests turns Japanese

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and President George W. Bush visited Elvis Presley's Graceland Mansion last week.

And that supplied the pic for Mr. Right's (thanks for the link) latest photo caption contest.

Click here to check out the contest.

Technorati tags: Japan Koizumi Nippon
humor Rock Music Entertainment

Anti-gay marriage amendment may not make it to Illinois ballot

The Illinois State Board of Elections random check of petitions supporting an anti-gay marriage amendment to the Illinois constitution has discovered that there may not be enough valid signatures on the documents for the measure to make it on the Illinois ballot.

Illinois law already bans same-sex marriage, but the Illinois Family Institute, the catalyst behind the Illinois petition drive, is fearful that the law could be ruled unconstitutional.

Whether the amendment proposal makes it on the Illinois ballot shouldn't effect the increasingly interesting Illinois governor's race: The incumbent, Democrat Rod Blagojevich, and his Republican challenger, State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka, both oppose gay marriage but support civil unions between gay couples.

Either way the Illinois Family Institute will try to get involved in the campaign process some way. During the spring primary season, the IFI was involved in a vile smear campaign against Topinka because of her views on civil unions and her appearances at the Chicago Gay Pride Parade.

Technorati tags: illinois Politics Culture glbt gay marriage
Illinois Family Institute Blagojevich Judy Baar Topinka governor

Lieberman will run as independent if he loses Conn. Dem primary

Joe Lieberman's biggest problem as he runs for re-election this year is that he's a hawk on the Iraq war. Another stumbling block for him is that Republicans like me like Joe. Like Andrew Johnson during the Civil War, he's a War Democrat who finds himself outside the mainstream of his party.

Lieberman faces a tough primary challenge from Ned Lamont. If Lieberman loses to Lamont, he'll run anyway in November, in his words, as "a petitioning Democratic candidate on the November ballot." In other words, he'll run as an independent.

It could be a very interesting November.

Technorati tags: Lieberman Connecticut Andrew Johnson politics Democrats Senate

Lame rock concert turns into anti-Bush rally

Chicago's House of Blues played host to cult-act Ministry Saturday and Sunday. Ministry's best known song is "Everyday (is Halloween)," and that's only because the song was used in a beer commercial, I think for Old Style Light, in the 1980s.

Ministry is led by BDS-sufferer Al Jourgensen. They're a hard group to label musically, but goth and industrial seem to feet the bill for the one-time Chicago based band.

Here's an excerpt of an unfavorable review of Saturday's gig by Bob Gendron of the Chicago Tribune--free registration required:

With goofy images of a cowboyed-up President Bush and the message "Our Texas Heritage" projected against a large white backdrop, Ministry plunged full bore into "SenorPeligro," the condemning visuals leaving nothing to the imagination.

The frenetic song was the second of nine consecutive opening shots Ministry fired at Bush's administration and wartime actions during the first of a two-night stand Saturday at the House of Blues, the group's thematic approach decidedly similar to a visceral concert it played in town at the Vic in October 2004. But this time around, the results weren't as convincing.

Ministry comptroller Al Jourgensen has built a career on savaging Bush presidents. Adorned in all-black outfit complete with protective arm pads, he got his kicks mocking the current leader of the free world on "The Great Satan" and "Rio Grande Blood."

Encouraging the packed audience to participate in the political protest, Jourgensen frequently interacted with fans via hand gestures and clownish facial expressions. Yet despite his spirited animation, the former Chicagoan has lost a step, age lessening his physical movement and rowdiness. The 47-year-old strapped on a guitar just twice during the 90-minute show, and rather than scamper around, primarily pointed at soloing band members and let prerecorded samples do the heavy lifting. Jourgensen also had trouble singing above the din, the relentless barrage of blinding beats and speed-metal riffs rendering many of his distortion-filtered verses unintelligible.

In short, Ministry's leader Jourgensen didn't sing well, didn't move around well, played his guitar on just two songs, and even his Bush Derangement Syndrome act wasn't very good.

Moron Jourgensen, from Stuff Magazine in 2003:

What's your most memorable drug experience?

Tripping with Timothy Leary and shooting heroin with William Burroughs. Burroughs doesn't live on this planet. Basically, we talked about eradicating the raccoons from his petunia garden. We finally decided on dosing them with methadone. That slowed them down enough for Bill to take out his .38 and scare them away.

Since it appears that Jourgensen's musical career is winding down, what could be Al's next move?

In this article, Jourgensen, who holds a master's degree in history, it's mentioned that the Ministry leader hopes to become a university professor.

Given the current state of Moonbat-ism in academia, Jourgensen will fit right in.

Technorati tags: BDS bush derangement syndrome Al Jourgensen Chicago metroblogging Bush music politics drug abuse

Beatles "reunion" very inclusive, but no Pete Best

Also posted at Pajamas Media.

The extended family of the Fab Four doesn't get together very often--especially in public--but such an event occurred Friday night at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas.

The opening night of the new Cirque du Soleil show "Love" was the occasion that brought Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney to the theatre that previously hosted the Siegried & Roy show. The new "Love" show features the acrobatic troupe performing to Beatles music.

Ringo and Paul being together is not big news, with the exception of one 1970 shouting match that led McCartney to kick the affable Richard Starkey out of his home, the two have always gotten along, and have played on each other's solo albums.

It's the other guests that makes this an intriguing story. And yes, they got together for a post-show bash.

John Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono was in attendance. Despite denials on both sides, Paul and Yoko don't like each other. Cynthia Lennon, John's first wife was also there, along with Julian, the only child from their marriage. After her 1968 divorce from John, Cynthia was cut off from Beatle-dom, and Julian was essentially cut off from John. (Yoko got the blame for that--although even while he was married to "Cyn," John was by all accounts an absentee father to Julian.)

Who else? John Eastman, brother of Paul's late wife Linda Eastman--and the man who tried in 1969 to have the Eastman family manage the Beatles--was at Paul's side that night. (The three other Beatles preferred Allen Klein.) Acclaimed music producer Peter Asher, brother of Paul's onetime fiance Jane Asher--was there.

George Harrison's widow, Olivia, and Ringo's wife Barbara Bach were on hand, too, as well as former Apple mates Neil Aspinall and Jonathan Clyde. Legendary sitar musician Ravi Shankar, a mentor to George, made it into the "Love" fest.

Here are the rest of the famous guests, courtesy of Fox News.com

After all, one of his heroes, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, had been in the audience along with actress Helen Mirren and husband, director Taylor Hackford, plus Edgar Winter, Sheila E. and Colin Hay (all touring with Ringo in his band), Electric Light Orchestra guru Jeff Lynne, songwriter Stephen Bishop, producer Russ Titelman, Barbara Orbison (widow of Roy), Little Steven van Zandt with wife, Maureen, actor Jason Patric, director Gus van Sant and, improbably, billionaire Ron Burkle.

Oh, the Hendersons were also there, late of Pablo Fanques Fair....(Just kidding on that last one.)

But no Pete Best. Ringo's predecessor as Bealtes' drummer, Best was fired by his bandmates in the summer of 1962--but the dirty work was carried out by manager Brian Epstein. Pete, who still lives in Liverpool, has not layed eyes on a live Beatle--or former Beatle--since shortly before that fateful meeting with Epstein.

C'mon Paul, the "Love" party would've been the perfect occasion to "Get Back" with Pete.

Technorati tags: Beatles Rock Music Entertainment Las Vegas Cirque du Soleil Pete Best Paul McCartney

Blago blogging: Illinois' vulnerable incumbent governor

Democrat Rod Blagojevich's successful 2002 campaign for governor was built on the promise of ending "business as usual" in Illinois. His predecessor, Republican George Ryan chose not to run for re-election that year. Various scandals dominated Ryan's single term as chief executive of the nation's fifth-most populous state. The Democrats were handed a golden opportunity win back the governor's office after 26 years of Republican rule.

After three-and-a-half years as governor, Illinoisans are figuring out that Blago's promise of ending "business as usual" meant that the Land of Lincoln would become more corrupt. Luckily, residents of Illinois can do something about it: Blagojevich is up for re-election in four months.

Very bad news hit Blagojevich recently.

From today's Chicago Tribune--free registration may be required:

Nearly two years ago, Gov. Rod Blagojevich's inspector general issued a searing confidential rebuke that called the governor's patronage office "the real machine driving hiring" in one state agency for jobs that were supposed to be free of political influence.

The investigation concluded "the governor's office improperly exercised a great deal, if not all, control over the hiring" at the Illinois Department of Employment Security since shortly after the Democratic governor took office in January 2003.

The report said Blagojevich's patronage office--known formally as the governor's Office of Intergovernmental Affairs--played a key role with compliant agency officials in subverting state laws that give veterans a preference in getting state employment and ban political considerations in hiring for most state jobs.

"This effort reflects not merely an ignorance of the law, but complete and utter contempt for the law," wrote Zaldwaynaka "Z." Scott, who served as Blagojevich's first executive inspector general under an ethics law he signed. Scott, who left the post to join a private law firm last year, said she could not comment on her report.

And from the Daily Herald, which describes the unwelcome "Fitzmas" present that was dropped on the governor's doorstep late last week:

Back in October 1998, then-U.S. Attorney Scott Lassar took the extraordinary step of announcing that Republican governor candidate George Ryan was not a target of his just-begun probe into license-selling in the secretary of state's office.

Ryan's reprieve, however temporary, deflated the campaign of Democrat Glenn Poshard and paved the way for Ryan's narrow victory.

Nearly eight years later, current U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald's decision to send a letter confirming a widespread criminal probe into hiring fraud allegations in Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration could have the exact opposite effect on the governor's race, political analysts say. The major development comes little more than four months before Blagojevich stands for re-election against Republican Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka.

"This does the inverse (of Ryan-Poshard). This gives Topinka something very tangible to point to," said Cindi Canary, director of the nonpartisan Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, who adds that Fitzgerald tends to "build his investigations and work on his own time. He's not particularly concerned with the calendar of the election cycle."

Blagojevich has a ton of money in his political fund, his Republican opponent has very little, although President Bush is coming to Chicago Friday for a Topinka fundraiser.

A few months ago, despite the drip-drip-drip of assorted charges of corruption against the Blagovevich administration, Rod's odds of winning a second-term looked darn good.

Now the momentum is swinging towards Topinka.

Technorati tags: illinois politics judy baar topinka democrats Politics Republicans corruption elections Fitzmas Patrick Fitzgerald

Roger Ebert has emergency surgery

Pulitzer Prize winning film critic Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times and the television show "Ebert and Roeper" underwent emergency cancer surgery earlier today.

From the Sun-Times web site:

Chicago Sun-Times movie critic Roger Ebert was in serious condition at Northwestern Memorial Hospital Sunday following an emergency operation to repair complications from an earlier cancer surgery.

Ebert's vital signs appeared to be good after the hours-long operation, said Sun-Times columnist Richard Roeper, co-host of the "Ebert & Roeper" movie review show.

On June 16, Ebert underwent surgery to remove a cancerous growth on his salivary gland. Around 8 p.m. Saturday, a blood vessel burst near the site of the operation.

Ebert, 64, has had four cancer surgeries, including two on his salivary gland in 2003.

Here's hoping for a quick recovery for Roger.

Technorati tags: Roger Ebert Movies Television News Chicago Newspapers Journalism