Abraham Lincoln on Clark Street in Chicago

My guess, and it's only a guess, is that Chicago has a dozen Abraham Lincoln statues on public display within its city limits. The newest one is pictured on the left, it can be found on the corner of Ridge Boulevard and Clark Street in Senn Park. Although no contemporary accounts of this story exists, according to Peter Krenz, son of an owner of a farm on this corner, Lincoln spoke to local supporters at the Seven Mile House on this spot in 1860--Clark Street on what is now Chicago's North Side was then known as Green Bay Road.

Related posts:

• Stephen A. Douglas Tomb in Chicago
• Southern Illinois town honors its Lincoln--Douglas Debate
• Thirty hours in Lincoln's Springfield, Illinois
• Book review: Andrew Ferguson's "Land of Lincoln: Adventures in Abe's America"

Wesley the whacko

Retired General Wesley Clark, former supreme NATO commander, appeared on CBS' Face The Nation yesterday, where he denigrated John McCain's military experience--although the onetime Democratic presidential candidate did admit the Arizona senator was a war hero--and he went on to tout Barack Obama's judgement.

Clark, whose 2004 campaign included Michael Moore as one of his prominent supporters, has precious little good judgement of his own.

He was the commander of NATO forces during the Kosovo conflict, and during a fog of war moment, just may have come close to starting World War III. A sober-minded British general talked some sense into Clark, and the Third World War was avoided.

In the picture is judgement-man Clark in 1994. Then a lieutenant general, Clark is smiling after exchanging hats with Serbian general Ratko (What a name!) Mladic. He was indicted for various war crimes, including genocide, a year later. Mladic is now a fugitive.

Wesley Clark has judgement--bad judgement.

Technorati tags: politics news Democrats Obama politics Barack Obama McCain John McCain Republican Ратко Младић Република Српска Kosovo Serbia Wesley Clark

Heckles from the left field stands getting louder for Obama

What is Barack Obama and his Cult of Change going to do about these valid criticisms? Blaming them on some mysterious Republican fear machine won't work, because these come from the left side of the political aisle.

First, from NPR's "normally liberal Scott Simon" comes a stinging rebuke of Obama's decision not to accept public financing for the general election campaign.

Speaking of NPR, two years ago, Obama appeared on All Things Considered and said:

The whole issue of money is one I'm constantly struggling with, because my preferance would be that we've got public financing of campaigns and nobody has to raise any money whatsoever. Source: Lisa Rogak's Barack Obama In His Own Words.

Of course one could argue that since Obama raised all the avaiable money out there, that it's impossible for other candidates to get some of their own.

Then there is Obama's flip flop on the Foreign Intellegence Surveillance Act, from Miles Mogulescu in the Huffington Post:

When Barack Obama was on The Daily Show recently, Jon Stewart ended the program with the question, "I wonder when he'll break our hearts?" The answer should not come as a surprise to any mature progressive -- soon. With Obama's announced intention to vote for the FISA bill which will legalize much of George Bush's illegal wiretapping policies (My note: think about what this guy wrote), our hearts may be broken even sooner than expected.

Unpaid and unofficial Obama campaign staffer Keith Olbermann defended this reversal last week, which drew the ire of the Democratic netroots.

Obama hasn't been called on the carpet for his gun control flip flop by the Left--yet.

Technorati tags: law legal 2nd Amendment gun control gun rights Flip flop FISA campaign finance

Payback: White Sox sweep Cubs on South Side

Last weekend, the Chicago White Sox traveled north on the Red Line (metaphorically speaking, of course) for a three game series against the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs swept the Sox.

A few minutes ago, the White Sox evened the score by completing a three game sweep against the Cubs on Chicago's South Side in front of a national television audience. Three home runs, one each by Carlos Quentin, Brian Anderson, and a two-run shot by Jim Thome, provided the offense--putting the Sox on top tonight 5-1.

Sox lefty Mark Buehrle pitched seven innings for the win, the Cubs could only score one unearned run. Fellow left-hander Sean Marshall got the loss.

Jon Miller and Joe Morgan, ESPN's play-by-play crew, seemed genuinely excited by the contest, which was much more competive than the final score indicated.

Both Chicago teams lead their divisions.

Technorati tags: illinois baseball mlb Cubs chicago cubs sports Chicago White Sox white sox ESPN Mark Buehrle Jim Thome Brian Anderson Carlos Quentin

My Mississippi Manifest Destiny: Vicksburg Battlefield, Part Three, Illinois Memorial

Modeled after the Panthenon, the most impressive of the state memorials within the Vicksburg National Military Park honors the Illinois soldiers who took part in the campaign to capture the "Gibraltar of the Confederacy."

Leading up to the monument are 47 steps, one for each day of the siege.

Engraved inside the dome the names of each of the 36,325 Illinoisans who participated in this key battle.

Here's what Marlo Carter Fitzpatrick wrote about the memorial in Mississippi Off The Beaten Path:

Of the thousands of names listed, two are of particular interest. Fred Grant, the general's twelve-year-old son, is listed as his aide. Also listed is Albert D. Cashire, who served throughout the Vicksburg campaign. When Cahsire was hospitalized years later he was discovered to be a she--an immigrant named Jennie Hodgers, who had masqueraded as a man for nearly half a century.

Click here for Colonel Austin Bay's post on Vicksburg and the 26th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment.

Next: The USS Cairo

Related post: Glenn & Helen podcast with Austin and Annabelle Bay

Technorati tags: history Americana byways travel travel blog history photography photos Mississippi Vicksburg Civil War Illinois Ulysses Grant women soldiers