Thursday, September 30, 2004
Tax dollars at work! I hate the public sector. Hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it. I hate it even though so many of my customers are public sector entities. The public sector is held hostage by political factions like teachers unions (who seem to like opposing any school-reform proposal that doesn't have exorbitant pay raises as its centerpiece), and somehow your dollars don't go as far as they do in private schools.
Just this morning, I stumbled upon this tale of a Glenbrook North student who was expelled from school because the school district believes he should attend Niles North High School. You see, his father moved to Skokie when his parents divorced and sold their house. The kid's mother moved to her sister's condo in Glenview with the son, who has attended Glenbrook school since 3rd grade. At any rate, the school district doesn't think his living in a condominium satisfies residency requirements.
Sad story, but I literally jumped out of my chair when I led the last paragraph:
Hales said District 225 needs to ensure its students are eligible to receive an education that now costs more than $15,000 per student per year. According to district policy, proving where a student lives is a burden that falls on the student's family.
Hold on, Dr. Hales. It costs $15,000 to educate each GBN student each year? I want my (property tax) money back.
It's been more than 11 years since I graduated from Carmel, but back then, tuition was slightly under $3,000 a year, and the school would make up the difference of what it would cost through fundraisers. So it cost $3,500 per student.
I don't know what Carmel costs these days, but I looked up Loyola Academy in Wilmette.
Tuition for the 2004-2005 school year is $9100 exclusive of books and transportation.
So you could send each student to Loyola Academy AND give them a $6,000 check each year.
Makes me feel good when I look at my property tax bill!
Wrists now slit: I am without speech.
Why was I set to jump off a bridge yesterday? No, Barack Obama will not be successful in forcing me to jump off a bridge. Truth be told, he seems like a decent guy, just misguided in policy. (The smugness of some of his supporters is a bit annoying, though).
No, I am instead ordered to keep away from sharp objects because of events at Wrigley Field the past 2 days.
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
In case you thought the terrorists could not possibly take over a plane again, read this story from Women's Wall Street: http://www.womenswallstreet.com/WWS/article_landing.aspx?titleid=1&articleid=711.
Not only it is extremely well-written, but it illustrates an important point: the terrorists are not done yet and are not past using past (you also could argue proven) methods of making American lives miserable. Even a dry run, which this story apparently describes, can drive everyone crazy.
What is more irritating however, is the authorities' reaction. Yes, they let them all go. And there is no evidence that any part of their stories were true. As a defender of the First Amendment and the rest of the Bill of Rights, I am pleased the new airline security agents aren't hastling everyone that looks somewhat suspicious before they get on a plane. But sometimes I wonder, what is the point of the increased security when it does not keep us safe from situations like the one in this story. What are we going to do when (and as much as we don't want to believe it, I think it's accurate to say "when") this happens again? How can we effectively protect ourselves from this kind of thing?
Not only it is extremely well-written, but it illustrates an important point: the terrorists are not done yet and are not past using past (you also could argue proven) methods of making American lives miserable. Even a dry run, which this story apparently describes, can drive everyone crazy.
What is more irritating however, is the authorities' reaction. Yes, they let them all go. And there is no evidence that any part of their stories were true. As a defender of the First Amendment and the rest of the Bill of Rights, I am pleased the new airline security agents aren't hastling everyone that looks somewhat suspicious before they get on a plane. But sometimes I wonder, what is the point of the increased security when it does not keep us safe from situations like the one in this story. What are we going to do when (and as much as we don't want to believe it, I think it's accurate to say "when") this happens again? How can we effectively protect ourselves from this kind of thing?
Now TJ, there's no reason to blow things out of proportion. You can't help it the Illinois GOP is in disarray. You can't help it the candidate the people elected decided hiding was the best policy and dared the press to reveal his big secret.
I have never really been able to get behind Keyes. I think most of that is due to the whole carpet-bagging thing. I didn't like it when Hillary Clinton ran for Senate in New York and I don't like it now. It just seems like it's breaking the rules, even though it isn't. And I tend to side with most of the GOP in this state in saying that moderation would be better in the long run, not extremism.
I have never really been able to get behind Keyes. I think most of that is due to the whole carpet-bagging thing. I didn't like it when Hillary Clinton ran for Senate in New York and I don't like it now. It just seems like it's breaking the rules, even though it isn't. And I tend to side with most of the GOP in this state in saying that moderation would be better in the long run, not extremism.
If you're looking for me: I'd suggest you look for me on a window ledge somewhere, or looking for a cocktail of Vodka and Vicodin, or looking for razor blades with which to slit my wrists.
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
On second thought... Disregard my last post. I will explain why I find myself completely unable to support Alan Keyes for U.S. Senate. The worse this campaign gets, the harder it is for me to just shrug and say nothing.
As I said, I went into the Keyes office a couple of times to assist the campaign in building its database, and at the time I had every intention of continuing my service to Keyes' campaign. I even allowed a campaign staffer to sign my name to a letter that went out to former Jack Ryan volunteers urging them to support Alan Keyes and even volunteer for him.
I thought Keyes was committed to limiting the power and scope of our bloated federal government. I thought he'd be as vocal as Jack Ryan in explaining how liberal policies haven't helped lower classes over the last 70 years. (Ryan's strength was in articulating in a very compelling and intelligent way how the poor and minorities would benefit from implementing conservative policy.) Keyes supposedly is committed to fiscal responsibilty to the taxpayer (keeping government spending under control and keeping taxes as low as possible), but he hasn't been too vocal about it.
I thought Keyes would be vocal about reforming education. No dice there.
I thought Keyes would be resolute in his support of President Bush's policy against terrorism and his policy in the Middle East. Keyes has been relatively mum on this issue.
Unfortunately, all Keyes has talked about is abortion and gay marriage. I'm pro-life, and I felt it was important to have a pro-life nominee to oppose Obama once Ryan stepped aside. Keyes' position on abortion is completely correct, and simple. But his rhetoric is way too hot that it turns off pro-choice Republicans and independents, who might otherwise be inclined to vote for Keyes. (I'll elaborate later.)
Like Keyes, I oppose gay marriage and support a federal amendment stripping the power of granting same-sex marriages to the states. The reasons I have in opposing gay marriage are a bit more practical. I truly believe polygamy laws will be the next thing to be challenge, as will laws prohibiting inter-relational marriage and incest. Consenting adults, remember? Next will be the age of legal consent, and so on. The other problem that could arise from gay marriage is people entering into a marriage for the sake of passing significant assets without tax implications. For example, if I owned a business and died tomorrow, my wife would inherit it without any estate tax obligations. If I died and a child were to inherit it, the child would have estate tax obligations. At any rate, Keyes has used the issue of gay marriage as an opportunity to deride the gay lifestyle.
I'm not ready to opine whether homosexuality is learned behavior or natural, and a lot of that would dictate my opinion of the morality of it, I suppose. (Wouldn't Darwinists argue that homosexuality would have disappeared over the last 10,000 years as a result of natural selection?) But the gay lifestyle has little effect on my life. No one has tried to recruit me to the other team, and such efforts would be futile anyway.
At any rate, I shunned the Keyes campaign once he spoke out about Mary Cheney being a "selfish hedonist" during the Republican Convention. Keyes had no business consenting to an interview with Michelangelo Signorlie, a reporter for a gay publication who loves to paint conservatives as bigots. And while Keyes did not bring up Vice President Cheney's daughter, he could have said that he would prefer not to talk about the Vice President's family. (By the way, no one said a peep about the Kerry campaign suggesting that Mary Cheney was conceived expressly for the purpose of Dick Cheney avoiding the draft, but that's another story for another day.)
Anyway, that comment, a day after Keyes accused conservative columnist John Kass of being a Democratic operative, ended my stint as a Keyes volunteer. I thought I'd vote for him through gritted teeth, though.
But now comes this report out of Quincy, where Keyes campaigned over the weekend. Being in Wisconsin and Minnesota over the weekend, I just heard about it:
Keyes later led the crowd in a series of chants where they answered his questions with the refrain "Obama been lyin'."
I won't vote for Barack Obama. He and I are miles apart on almost every issue, so I want to do what I can for him to lose this race and for someone who represents my values and ideology to join the U.S. Senate.
Jerry Kohn, you have my vote!
Oh, and since gay sex has dominated this senate race, Mr. Keyes now has some more interesting questions to answer. His daughter (a campaign staffer, by the way) enjoys the company of women probably a little too much for her father's tastes. You can read more here.
At any rate, Keyes' campaign is a disaster, and it's a shame. I would have loved to see the seat stay Republican, whether the Senator was Ryan, McKenna, Oberweis, Wright, Rauschenberger, Borling, Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald, Edgar, Thompson, or (of course) Ditka.
Thursday, September 23, 2004
Good "Stuff:" Looks like a great piece in Stuff magazine, but as a married man I don't know if I could buy an issue and with a straight face tell my wife that I bought it to read an article.
That said, nice scenery on the page! Nothing like taking a little edge off serial murder with some skin.
That said, nice scenery on the page! Nothing like taking a little edge off serial murder with some skin.
Oh, and since the name came up... I will not post anything about the Alan Keyes campaign until after the polls close Nov. 2.
When I volunteered for Jack Ryan, I was fortunate to meet some great people, including current Keyes staffers like Bill Pascoe, Dan Proft, Jeff Davis and Jeremy Rose. When Keyes announced he was going to replace Ryan, I did go in to help out a couple times. During the final week in August, it became apparent to me that my time was better spent elsewhere.
By the way... Since I linked to his blog, Tom Cross is the House Minority Leader in the Illinois House, and he's spearheading the House Republican Organization's efforts to regain control of the house, or at least steal a few seats from the Dems.
I'm a bit more conservative than Cross, but he appears to be a straight-shooter, which at this point is almost more important than ideology. Even more than that, he appears willing to work with all Republicans, although he has remained tepid on Alan Keyes. The way things are going there, who can blame him?
These are my kind of students! I didn't expect to find this on the Tom Cross weblog, but Cross staffers found this story out of Jacksonville, and I have to spend some time commending the college students mentioned on their innovation, skill and ingenuity.
If they get expelled from JU and wind up at Indiana University, I'll be happy to recommend them to the Rush Committee at the Chi Phi Fraternity.
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Journalists doing some good: There is an interesting piece in Stuff magazine this month. Reporters investigated a string of deaths in LaCrosse, Wis., that authorities ruled accidental. The journalists uncovered that a there might be a serial killer on the lose up there and even tracked down a potential suspect. I always enjoy when reporters manage to find something detectives could not. The story said authorities had not heard of the person.
You can check out a snippet of the story here: http://www.stuffmagazine.com/articles/html/article_817.html
As a member of the media, it is always good to find something the professional investigators know nothing about. Some may view that as a case of lazy investigating by police, but I prefer to call it extra effort by the media. Sometimes a large pack of reporters is much better at uncovering information than a small group of detectives. The lure of fame and bright lights can be much more enticing for those who have information.
But in an age when people find it hard to believe what reporters print or broadcast, it's nice to see examples of good journalism out there.
You can check out a snippet of the story here: http://www.stuffmagazine.com/articles/html/article_817.html
As a member of the media, it is always good to find something the professional investigators know nothing about. Some may view that as a case of lazy investigating by police, but I prefer to call it extra effort by the media. Sometimes a large pack of reporters is much better at uncovering information than a small group of detectives. The lure of fame and bright lights can be much more enticing for those who have information.
But in an age when people find it hard to believe what reporters print or broadcast, it's nice to see examples of good journalism out there.
Finally some Cubs fan frustration: Browny, you have finally realized what all us non-Cub fans already know -- the Cubs will not win the world series with this team. If they were going to do it they would have done it last year. I'll admit, the Cubs are a dangerous team, especially in the playoffs. They clearly have the best starting pitching in baseball, but they cannot score runs and they have NO bullpen. They beat the Pirates 1-0 today because the Bucs walked in the winning run. Granted, those are the games the White Sox lose on a regular basis, but the Cub should be destroying the Pirates at this point in the season. The Pirates gave up two months ago and have not had anything to play for since May. They are putting a minor league team on the field against Cubs lineup filled with All Stars.
They may get in the playoffs. But are they going to get anywhere? Probably not. And all the Cub fans will go on thinking they will have a chance next year and the same thing will happen. They just don't have all the right pieces.
They may get in the playoffs. But are they going to get anywhere? Probably not. And all the Cub fans will go on thinking they will have a chance next year and the same thing will happen. They just don't have all the right pieces.
Bitterness? You want Bitterness? How about the way the Cubs went through the season as if they worked at the Secretary of State's office, unconcerned about the task at hand, overconcerned about petty matters. Yet here they are now, in position to win the wild card. And now, now, they are sort of playing like their hair's on fire. Sort of, because you watch a game like yesterday's at Pittsburgh, and you wonder if Salomon Torres just gave the game to the Cubs because he likes Moises Alou and Sammy Sosa (one guy who needs a road map to run the bases, and another who is still drying out from the 'roids).
This isn't the biggest chance to win a World Series in a generation, or anything, is it? Do they realize they can own this city with a world title? Right now, Oliver Perez is apparently looking like Sandy Koufax tonight on a night the Cubs really need to record a W.
Anyway, they have about a 3-year window with this group. Last year was year one. Next year is year three. If Hendry is even better than I thought, maybe there are a couple more seasons.
Derrick, you ignorant slut, Mallory's playcalling was for the birds, but he found some guys who could play. He realized that HS recruiting, for all the bullshit out there these days (and 99 percent of all the garbage out there on HS basketball and football players is just that, bullshit), is a crapshoot. He knew that he'd need to find 30 top quality guys who are capable of playing D-I football and who have a chance to improve. They might not have the glossy recruiting brochure, or a highlight tape with glitzy effects and music (which brings up another question: who thinks Bobby Bowden, Joe Paterno and Nick Saban are going to be wowed by a highlight tape to the tunes of the latest R&B or rap song?), they might not come from some of the top national HS programs, they might not have all the recruiting gurus (I'm tired of those guys) salivating over them. But they can play, and given a chance to play in some real games, they will improve.
Mallory would be infuriating because of his horrible offensive play-calling. He was a defensive-minded guy. Nothing wrong with that. It did hurt him later on that Alex Smith was chronically injured -- Smith played through most of those injuries but wasn't near 100 percent.
My point is, you need to be aggressive, but you can't always swing for the fences. Randle El was a major coup for Cameron in his first recruiting season. Unfortunately, after the first season or two recruiting, Cameron was not getting the top guys but he was still focused on getting them. Again, let some of those guys go to the Miamis and the Floridas and the Michiagns of the world. It's a crapshoot; they might not be anything, anyway. Cameron's downfall was a shorthanded and undersized defense, and that's why they couldn't get to a bowl game Randle El's junior and senior year.
Give Cameron credit for trying to change the perception of IU football. But he also came in post-Gary Barnett. The Big Ten changed once he came and brought Northwestern to a Rose Bowl. If NU can talk bowl games consistently (and they've been to 4 since the Rose Bowl), why can't Minnesota? Why can't Illinois? Why can't Purdue? Why can't Iowa? Why can't Michigan State? Those 5 programs have a richer tradition and more football-mad alums than IU and they made some good coaching changes (Ron Turner's honeymoon has long been over, but he had a great program 3 years ago).
Rome wasn't built in a day, Derrick. IU football isn't Rome and never has been Rome, but Mallory had at least made them respectable. DiNardo has a good chance to do the same.
Hockey's a great sport, but the NHL sucks. It's a great sport to watch in person, with the electricity of the crowd, the speed of the game, the violence (which, actually is just as intense if not more so than the NFL), and even, yes, the fights.
Scoring is a combination of skill and luck, which makes it maddening at time to watch, but the skill level it takes to play hockey is amazing. The conditioning. The stick-handling. The strength, the speed, the quickness. Everything. It's a wonderful sport. But I can't keep track of all the player movement, and I can't get excited about a Tampa Bay-Carolina or a Phoenix-Anaheim hockey game. It's a winter sport. Meant to be played in cold climates by Canadians, northerners, and the occassional Russkie.
Sadly, hockey has no idea how to make the sport relevant again. How can you enjoy following the Blackhawks when you have only road games on TV (in turn almost guaranteeing that the locals will see the Hawks lose more than they win)? How can you follow hockey nationally when ESPN treats the game like fly-fishing -- programming to show when there's no NFL, college basketball, NBA or baseball to put on.
It's a mismanaged sport. Who cares. It'll be gone this winter!
Feel free to lock them out: I'm not interested in hockey, I was never really interested in hockey. I have been to a Hawks playoff game (they beat the 'lanche when I was there for Game 3 of the 1996 first round). But is there really a reason to like hockey? I am learning to appreciate and handle soccer, which many believe is boring. But I really have no desire to even try and like hockey.
The NHL prides itself on its violence, but football is better at being violent. The NFL is violent without letting its players commit crimes on the field. And the NFL does not stand around and let players beat each other with fists. For some reason the NHL thinks that is what draws fans.
I tried to watch some of the World Cup of Hockey, but with the US team exiting in the semifinals, I just turned it off. There just seems to be no order to hockey, but maybe that is because I am ignorant of it. It seems goals many times are scored by dumb luck, not skill. The playoffs are interesting to read about in the paper, but I just can't stomach watching a hockey game on TV. It just doesn't fit me.
The NHL prides itself on its violence, but football is better at being violent. The NFL is violent without letting its players commit crimes on the field. And the NFL does not stand around and let players beat each other with fists. For some reason the NHL thinks that is what draws fans.
I tried to watch some of the World Cup of Hockey, but with the US team exiting in the semifinals, I just turned it off. There just seems to be no order to hockey, but maybe that is because I am ignorant of it. It seems goals many times are scored by dumb luck, not skill. The playoffs are interesting to read about in the paper, but I just can't stomach watching a hockey game on TV. It just doesn't fit me.
These are Days? Browny, you can go on all you want about the "Glory Days" with Bill Mallory. He may have been a good coach in the 1980s and early 90s, but that was when my father was filling my head with stories of Terry Bradshaw, Franko Harris, Dan Marino, and Tony Dorsett, who ruled Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania during the 70s and 80s. When we made it to Chicago, I have some vague memories of the "great" Vaughn Dunbar, but have no recollection of Anthony Thompson, except through research of Hoosier archives.
You're right, a bowl bid is better than none and Mallory made it to several. But the only memories I have of him were you, me and Max sitting in the stands watching them get pumelled by [insert Big Ten team here] and calling the plays from the stands. Remember when we called the first two series perfectly? And I finally said, "If we know what they are going to run, you know [insert Big Ten team here] does." I also remember a 4th and inches when we were down a lot-a little and Mallory decided to punt. It just wasn't entertaining football.
The most memorable games during the Mallory era that I remember were loses. The loss to Northwestern in 1994 at Homecoming when we were 5-1, which started NU's run to the 1996 Rose Bowl. The loss to Penn State later in 1994 that because Mallory kept his starters in against Paterno's 4th string cost the Nittany Lions the national championship. And the loss to Ohio State in 1996 where more OSU fans showed up than IU fans. It turned out to be the Buckeyes Rose Bowl clincher, which temporarily saved John Cooper's job. The most impressive thing about that team was they didn't let the mob of fans tear down both goal posts.
IU needs more than 1 or 2 good players to win some games. And they will never get them unless they can recruit. And they can't recruit because they never win any games. It seems to be a vicious circle, unless you find some unknown players that turn out good. Antawn Randall El (spelled wrong) filled that void, but ended up not saving the program because his coach forget you need to play defense as well as offense to win games in the Big Ten.
So keep talking about the "good old days" and I'll keep wondering why they want to make improvements to Memorial Stadium when Bloomington South likely could put up a fight against some of the teams they have put on the field lately.
But I continue to hope, just like all the Cubs fans out there...
You're right, a bowl bid is better than none and Mallory made it to several. But the only memories I have of him were you, me and Max sitting in the stands watching them get pumelled by [insert Big Ten team here] and calling the plays from the stands. Remember when we called the first two series perfectly? And I finally said, "If we know what they are going to run, you know [insert Big Ten team here] does." I also remember a 4th and inches when we were down a lot-a little and Mallory decided to punt. It just wasn't entertaining football.
The most memorable games during the Mallory era that I remember were loses. The loss to Northwestern in 1994 at Homecoming when we were 5-1, which started NU's run to the 1996 Rose Bowl. The loss to Penn State later in 1994 that because Mallory kept his starters in against Paterno's 4th string cost the Nittany Lions the national championship. And the loss to Ohio State in 1996 where more OSU fans showed up than IU fans. It turned out to be the Buckeyes Rose Bowl clincher, which temporarily saved John Cooper's job. The most impressive thing about that team was they didn't let the mob of fans tear down both goal posts.
IU needs more than 1 or 2 good players to win some games. And they will never get them unless they can recruit. And they can't recruit because they never win any games. It seems to be a vicious circle, unless you find some unknown players that turn out good. Antawn Randall El (spelled wrong) filled that void, but ended up not saving the program because his coach forget you need to play defense as well as offense to win games in the Big Ten.
So keep talking about the "good old days" and I'll keep wondering why they want to make improvements to Memorial Stadium when Bloomington South likely could put up a fight against some of the teams they have put on the field lately.
But I continue to hope, just like all the Cubs fans out there...
Hockey doesn't suck... But the NHL and the Blackhawks do. Therefore, my slightly-more-than-casual interest in hockey has dwindled to zero. My Canadian customers and our two Canadian sales reps have gone on and on about the Hockey World Cup two weeks ago, and I was only aware that it was going on because of their national pride. Anyway, pro hockey sucks as it has overexpanded, largely abandoned Canada (only Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal have franchises these days), and become too sterilized. I'll still go to an occassional Wolves game, but the last Blackhawks game I went to in January was absolutely depressing. The Hawks beat Calgary, and there were far fewer than the announced 10,000 fans in attendance. Capacity at the United Center is 22,000, remember.
Anyway, the hockey lockout bothers me less than the housefly that was swirling around my desk this afternoon. But now comes a story that 50 locked out players were going to form a 6-team 4-on-4 league, the Original Stars Hockey League, and start play with franchises named Toronto, Detroit, Montreal, Boston, New York and Chicago. Get it? The Original Six.
So now I'm interested. How cool would it be for maybe a team made up of ex-Hawks like Chris Chelios, Tony Amonte, Jeremy Roenick and Ed Belfour comprising the Chicago team? They could play in Rosemont, or at the UIC Pavillion, or at Lake Forest College. Who cares? They'd draw all kinds of fans, and Bill Wirtz wouldn't be happy. But then, the Toronto Sun pours ice water on my hopes!
Not so fast. The place-names are meaningless. "It's just a name," Gumbley said. "It's just easier for fan recognition. The teams themselves will be named after corporate sponsors."There are no U.S. teams, if you can call them that. The Toronto games would be at the Ricoh Coliseum. Cities with major junior tenants, Ottawa, London, Kitchener and Peterborough and Halifax, as well as Quebec City, Winnipeg, Vancouver and didn't you just know, Hamilton, would be hosts of games. Your town could be put on the list. It's all very fluid.
OK, well it's a good deal for Canadians, and I guess that's the way it should be.
But now comes word that some preseason games won't happen, or that the preseason has been suspended. Actually, nobody seems to know what is up.
It actually sounds like it was too good to be true:
The first few games, however, were marked by little intensity and no hitting or defense. The league has not said how long the regular season will last.
Toronto beat Detroit 16-13 in the opener Friday night in Barrie and Boston defeated Montreal 14-11 in Brampton on Monday night. A crowd of 2,176 showed for the game in Barrie, with only a few hundred paying fans Monday.
Oh well. I guess there's still the chance of Chelios skating for the Wolves this year, right?
You can't fight City Hall? A mini-drama brewed in Chicago all summer pitting the Cubs and Tribune Co. against Mayor Daley and Buildings Commissioner Stan Kaderbek. If you missed it earlier this year, there were a series of reports of concrete falling from the upper deck into the terrace section. After much hand-wringing and at least two independent engineering inspections (at two different points in the season), Wrigley has added protective netting to catch any concrete fragments from pelting fans in the terrace seats, but it has also remained open.
The sniping from Andy MacPhail and Richard Daley was entertaining. "We're confident that the city has concluded that no newspaper is being printed at Wrigley Field," MacPhail said. "The Cubs should get a team," said Sox fan Daley. (I must point out that the Cubs have been more successful as of late, and are still in the playoff chase this season.)
The buildings commissioner also shut down WGN-TV's project of replacing a satellite dish because of a technicality in its building permit, and the Tribune Co. filed a Freedom of Information Act request for inspection records of city hall. Obviously both sides say those were coincidental and independent incidents. The city says rules are rules, and they stumbled upon the satellite dish irregularity in the course of business. The Tribune said it acted on a tip from someone about code violations at city hall, and with the deadly fire at the Cook County Building less than a year ago, there is a definite interest in finding out if other public buildings are up to code...
What started this war? Was it John Kass' columns regularly hammering away at Daley's administration? Was it the Tribune's strong opposition to the rebuilding of Soldier Field and the coverage of Mayor Daley's surprise midnight demolition of Meigs Field? Or the Trib's critique of Daley's Milennium Park project? Maybe the city just started paying closer attention to Wrigley Field after the Cubs started negotiating with the city to get approval for some major renovations three years ago.
At any rate, it was a battle of cliches: You can't fight City Hall vs. Don't go to war with someone who buys ink by the barrel (and also owns a 50,000 megawatt AM radio station, a baseball team that attracts nearly 3 million to Chicago every summer and a TV station that has a worldwide reach). Interesting battle, especially considering Daley has no opponents, especially since the Governor's mansion is Ald. Dick Mell's son-in-law (don't let petty disagreements over casinos in Chicago fool you; they are on the same page on most things). Daley's power might be at its height.
Anyway, now comes the story about Kaderbek's Buildings Department. Apparently, they had a 19-year-old and a 23-year-old in $50K-a-year inspectors' positions. Problem is, you need a minimum 6 years experience as a journeyman carpenter. Now, more people are resigning as it looks like some unions had some say who got inspectors' jobs and who didn't.
So much for acting tough around Wrigley Field. Sorry, Mayor Daley. You lose this round.
Somehow, I'm not sympathetic... OK, 260-some people were invited to be in Oprah's studio audience after writing a sob story of how they need a new car. Every single audience member received a brand new Pontiac G6, a $30,000 car, and Pontiac even paid sales tax and vehicle registration. Not bad, eh?
Well, some people are now crying about the burden of taxes! Oh, the horror!
And to think, the higher the tax, the better the Democrat. Aren't Democrats for the poor? Yes, that's why the North Shore helped give Barack Obama the Democratic nomination for Senate, and that's why the North Shore gave us Sidney Yates and Jan Schachowsky.
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
On "Rathergate"... Derrick, don't count on your profession cleaning up its act any time soon. Take a look at Jim Romenesko's blog at Poynter, and see the shockingly blase attitude among journalists who write into the letters section:
From Emerson College journalism professor Donna Halper:
Okay fine, he made a serious error in judgement, but hey, this ain't Watergate, this ain't the worst thing that ever happened [sic]. I find it more puzzling that few journalists attack the very pronounced right-wing bias of a network like Fox, which any media critic will admit is far from "fair and balanced" and, to cite one recent example, treated the Swift Boat claims as true for far too long.But that having been said, why are we obsessing about Rather? The Washington Post did a front page story yesterday about how over 1800 protesters (and a few non-protesters who were caught up by the police erroneously) were held incommunicado for 48 hours with no phone call and no access to lawyers. Whether one is right wing or left wing, this is the kind of story the media should have been all over -- I mean, they were THERE yet when the police and the mayor said everything was fine and the streets were safe, nobody checked it out to see if people were being deprived of their civil liberties. And how come Iraq and Afghanistan are not at the top of people's minds -- could it be because we are busy covering Mr. Rather (and previously whether Mr. Kerry deserved his medals) instead of stories that affect the lives of Americans?
I have a few issues with her letter, as she finds it disgusting what the Swift Boat Vets did, but doesn't say a damn thing about Texans for Truth (the people behind the memos). She says no media type attack the bias of Fox News, which proves she must be living in a broom closet. And then she says this front page story in the Washington Post ... repeat after me FRONT PAGE STORY WASHINGTON POST... is evidence of media covering police brutality up. (perhaps much like this story). And Iraq, Afghanistan and the threat of terrorism NOT at the top of people's minds? Where has she been?
Anyway, her attitude is simple: to hell with a major fraud by what used to be the gold standard of television news (a year after we discovered Jayson Blair, who perpetuated the most major fraud in journalistic history at what used to be the gold standard of journalism, period.)
And then consider the dispatch from Bill Hendricks:
Wonder if the same source that told President Bush there was WMD in Iraq also provided Dan Rather with the disputed National Guard documents. Thankfully it's unlikely that several hundred American soldiers and thousands of others will die before we know whether the Rather documents were forged.
Again, ho hum CBS, but shame on the president for having faulty intelligence on Saddam Hussein (I'd suggest you read this thoughtful letter to National Review writer Jonah Goldberg).
If you believe that Iraq was the biggest crime the U.S. ever committed and Bush is a draft-dodging cocaine-using chickenhawk war monger, does the CBS blunder change your opinion of Bush? Probably not (although I'd argue many of those adjectives used to describe Bush are based on out-and-out lies or exaggerations. But can't even the most vitriolic Bush hater accept that Dan Rather seriously wounded his credibility and in turn the credibility of CBS News, television news, and journalism at large?
Unfortunately, we're seeing that the mainstream media is blinded by its own biases and unable to admit even the most obvious, colossal blunder.
No need to be bitter... The Kentucky game was a downer, but football was never IU's game anyway. It never will be. Foolish minds like my own didn't realize how good we had it with Bill Mallory.
After the long dry spell, I think we now know that there's no shame going to the Peach Bowl, the Independence Bowl or the Liberty Bowl when you are a basketball school. Mallory was a master of finding diamonds in the rough (Anthony Thompson) and turning them into something special. Adewale Ogunleye only got 1 year with Mallory and he never can say enough about him.
Despite the loss to Kentucky, DiNardo will be good for the program. He preaches good defense, and he doesn't constantly swing for the fences when recruiting as Cam Cameron did.
I didn't dislike Cam Cameron, and I actually think his aggressiveness was a good thing. The problem is you can't put all your eggs in the top-shelf recruits. He was wooing some good ones, and had a bunch of great ones to put IU on their short list (Quincy Wilson and Jarrett Payton, for instance). But if they consider Indiana and go to Florida, or they don't consider Indiana and go to Florida, you're essentially stuck with the same thing.
Thursday, September 16, 2004
It's time to talk about sports...
Football season always breathes some new life into my soul. Usually by the start of training camp, and certainly by the beginning of the regular season, I am tired of baseball and ready for something new. Maybe it is the violence, or the spectacle of 11 men working together and pounding the crap out of each other for one goal. Either way, football is truly the great American game.
Indiana football is not a tribute to the sport. The fan's chanting of "Wait 'till basketball season!" while watching our Hoosiers being pumelled by Michigan is a perfect example. Hoosier fans worry more about the season that begins in mid-October and ends in early April -- college basketball season. And we have 5 national championships to remind us how important it is.
But this year IU has thrown me a curve. Our upset road win against the thought-to-be-mighty Oregon ducks has given me some hope. Could IU get to a bowl game for the first time since the 1993-94 season? (We lost that game to Virginia Tech by the way.) A win in the border war against Kentucky would validate my excitement.
It is hard to describe how bitter I am toward IU football. They have 1 Rose Bowl appearance. Northwestern has more, Illinois has more, everyone in the Big Ten has more than that. They have less than 10 bowl appearances ALL-TIME. And with the Big Ten fielding 7 or 8 teams every year that could beat 90 percent of the teams in college football over the last few years, IU has never had much of a chance. They even had Antwan Randal El (spelled wrong) at Quarterback for 4 years and could not get in a bowl game. The man was arguably the best offensive player in college football history and he could not get IU to a winning record. That is how difficult IU football has it.
But this year, things are different. IU finally got the big win. They finally have some confidence. And they are on a roll. If they beat UK, that leaves only 3 more wins to finish above .500, something that has not happened since 1994. With that comes bowl eligibility and some respect. It's about time IU football fans had something to chant other than "Wait 'till basketball season!"
Football season always breathes some new life into my soul. Usually by the start of training camp, and certainly by the beginning of the regular season, I am tired of baseball and ready for something new. Maybe it is the violence, or the spectacle of 11 men working together and pounding the crap out of each other for one goal. Either way, football is truly the great American game.
Indiana football is not a tribute to the sport. The fan's chanting of "Wait 'till basketball season!" while watching our Hoosiers being pumelled by Michigan is a perfect example. Hoosier fans worry more about the season that begins in mid-October and ends in early April -- college basketball season. And we have 5 national championships to remind us how important it is.
But this year IU has thrown me a curve. Our upset road win against the thought-to-be-mighty Oregon ducks has given me some hope. Could IU get to a bowl game for the first time since the 1993-94 season? (We lost that game to Virginia Tech by the way.) A win in the border war against Kentucky would validate my excitement.
It is hard to describe how bitter I am toward IU football. They have 1 Rose Bowl appearance. Northwestern has more, Illinois has more, everyone in the Big Ten has more than that. They have less than 10 bowl appearances ALL-TIME. And with the Big Ten fielding 7 or 8 teams every year that could beat 90 percent of the teams in college football over the last few years, IU has never had much of a chance. They even had Antwan Randal El (spelled wrong) at Quarterback for 4 years and could not get in a bowl game. The man was arguably the best offensive player in college football history and he could not get IU to a winning record. That is how difficult IU football has it.
But this year, things are different. IU finally got the big win. They finally have some confidence. And they are on a roll. If they beat UK, that leaves only 3 more wins to finish above .500, something that has not happened since 1994. With that comes bowl eligibility and some respect. It's about time IU football fans had something to chant other than "Wait 'till basketball season!"
Saturday, September 11, 2004
As my official entrance into the Lake Affected blog spot, I must express my concern over the 60 Minutes story on George W. Bush's military record.
I am more worried about the assault on the media's credibility at this point than I am about the accuracy of the story. It seems to me that even if CBS is right, and the documents are authentic, many people will write off the story because there have been so many distortions and mistakes by journalists in the past few years.
I am a member of the print media and it is becoming increasingly difficult for members of the public to trust us to print the truth. Every journalist I know takes accuracy VERY seriously and when we make a mistake we are quick to correct it.
But it seems now that many members of the public dismiss a story if there is even a hint of inaccuracy. It seems journalists are becoming part of the he-said, she-said game. One outlet will print or broadcast one thing, someone will deny it, and the public is left in the middle, wondering who to believe.
This story only illustrates the point. Instead of wondering whether the president actually did run into problems during his national guard service, many people are focusing on CBS and whether they were duped or fabricated the story.
If they did make it up, I have no sympathy for the reporters. If they were duped, everyone needs to determine where the problems are in authenticating this kind of stuff.
But there is a bigger issue here. I have always thought journalists have a huge responsibility in American society. Not only are we mentioned specifically in the U.S. Constitution, but everyone depends on us to watch over the government and give truthful information.
I am afraid that trust is eroding and I don't know if we can get it back. Every time a journalist publishes a fair and accurate account, there is one that conjures a story and says it's true.
The fourth estate must wake up before we lose all our readers, viewers and listeners. If we cannot be trusted, the people we are expected to watch over win.
I am more worried about the assault on the media's credibility at this point than I am about the accuracy of the story. It seems to me that even if CBS is right, and the documents are authentic, many people will write off the story because there have been so many distortions and mistakes by journalists in the past few years.
I am a member of the print media and it is becoming increasingly difficult for members of the public to trust us to print the truth. Every journalist I know takes accuracy VERY seriously and when we make a mistake we are quick to correct it.
But it seems now that many members of the public dismiss a story if there is even a hint of inaccuracy. It seems journalists are becoming part of the he-said, she-said game. One outlet will print or broadcast one thing, someone will deny it, and the public is left in the middle, wondering who to believe.
This story only illustrates the point. Instead of wondering whether the president actually did run into problems during his national guard service, many people are focusing on CBS and whether they were duped or fabricated the story.
If they did make it up, I have no sympathy for the reporters. If they were duped, everyone needs to determine where the problems are in authenticating this kind of stuff.
But there is a bigger issue here. I have always thought journalists have a huge responsibility in American society. Not only are we mentioned specifically in the U.S. Constitution, but everyone depends on us to watch over the government and give truthful information.
I am afraid that trust is eroding and I don't know if we can get it back. Every time a journalist publishes a fair and accurate account, there is one that conjures a story and says it's true.
The fourth estate must wake up before we lose all our readers, viewers and listeners. If we cannot be trusted, the people we are expected to watch over win.
Friday, September 10, 2004
OUCH! The story that was going to stop George Bush's momentum apparently is blowing up in the face of the DNC and John Kerry, not to mention Dan Rather, CBS News and 60 Minutes. On 60 Minutes yesterday, Rather reported that former Texas Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes helped Bush into the National Guard as a favor to the older George Bush, who was a Congressman at the time. They also released some memos from Texas Air National Guard Lt. Col. Jerry Killian that claimed Bush fell well short of standards, never showed for duty, never took a physical, etc.
Well, it turns out those memos are fake. CBS is still investigating it, but Powerline blog has excellent coverage. I reproduced one of the memos exactly on Microsoft Word myself. It took all of 2 minutes. This Sun-Times story is a nice round-up.
Who's behind this? Possibly the DNC, because Terry McAulliffe isn't shy about basking in this crap. I know this is a little far-fetched, but CBS was obviously reckless, and Dan Rather has spoken out about his dislike of Bush, so he probably has malicious intent. These forgeries are not even written in military style, and simple research can confirm this. Bush is a public official, but he's being smeared by people with 1) reckless disregard for the truth; and 2) malicious intent. Could Bush file a libel suit against 60 Minutes and Danny Boy? Certainly would be entertaining, right?
Thursday, September 09, 2004
I thought the NFL kicks off tonight: But Trent Green and Priest Holmes ran all over the Lions this afternoon at Ford Field. The Lions managed only a field goal and safety. 26-5, wow!
This can't possibly be a baseball score, can it, Jason?
This can't possibly be a baseball score, can it, Jason?
