A Chicago Blog

Archpundit writes:

Jeremiah Wright criticized America for not being inclusive and metaphorically said God should damn America. Rod Parsley, John Hagee, Falwell, Robertson and many other right wing preachers say literally God damned America for being tolerant and sent hurricanes or terrorists. Which is worse?

Wright’s “God Damn America” is at least the moral equivalent to the inflammatory rhetoric of John Hagee et al, but the point is that if John McCain were a twenty-year devotee of Mr. Hagee or Mr. Falwell, you bet the press would be all over him about it. Just because the Obama campaign would like this to go away does not mean that it will, or that it should.

This the third installment in my series on David Frum’s Comeback. I should have finished this book by now because it is a really quick and easy read. But I’ve been sidetracked lately and haven’t been able to put as much time in as I would have liked.

So far I’ve been a little disappointed at the lack of revelation in this book. But Frum surprised me on pages 57 and 58. Here he talks extensively about term limits. Republicans were once advocates of term limits, but lost the faith after a court defeat and thei own ascendancy to power in congress. Frum argues convincingly that this was a mistake and that conservatives should champion a constitutional amendment limiting terms for Congress AND the Supreme Court.

He is spot on here. The failure of conservatives is intimately linked to their losing credibility as the party AGAINST government. Frum writes on page 58: “Our party, the party of the great American middle, should be the party that reminds America’s increasingly self-perpetuating political elites for whom they work and whose values and interests they must honor.”

Indeed.

Work has kept me on the road this week, so I haven’t been blogging much. But I’m back, so let the fun begin. Just so you know it’s not all fun and games out on the road here are some pictures of the crew hard at work.

Read the rest of this entry »

Rick Pearson isn’t the worst reporter at the Tribune.  But his coverage of Foster’s victory over Oberweis in the 14th is a little incomplete. It certainly paints  a bleak picture for Illinois Republicans, but that part is indisputable.  However, Pearson didn’t provide enough context about how having  successful presidential campaign machine in Illinois impacts a special election, where the name of the game is organization.

In a general election when turnout is balanced, the effects of these Obama “coattails” is likely to be considerably watered down. And if Hillary is the candidate, it could be eliminated altogether.

No kidding. And it’s not just the academics any more. AP is reporting explosives were found on the UC Davis Campus. It’s rather coincidental isn’t it? A bomb goes off this morning in NYC and a student is taken into custody in California. Good thing Chicago-area campus culture is more reasonable than California’s … oh wait … I forgot about Bill Ayers! Run for cover everyone!

The Chicago Sun-Times shocked everyone by endorsing the Republican, Jim Oberweis, for Congress. They should be applauded for it. Not because Oberweis is a Republican, or because he is conservative, but because they were willing to cross party lines to endorse who they felt was the most prepared for the job. In an age of skepticism about the integrity of major newspapers, the Sun-Times has shown a surprising amount of it.

The money quote: “Was Foster truly the best the Democratic Party could offer? This is a man — though obviously kind and thoughtful — who might have been wise to start out small, perhaps with a run for his local school board.”

Ouch!

From this morning’s Tribune:

The Daley family’s parish priest in Bridgeport, Rev. Dan Brandt, lovingly compared Sorich to Jesus Christ as both had troubles with the law.

“People often say, what would Jesus do?” he said, loyal not only to his faith but to the 11th Ward’s place at the head of Chicago Way. “I put a twist on it and say, ‘What would I do for Jesus?’ With whom Robert has a lot in common as far as legal problems … [The Lord] was a convicted felon. And Robert was convicted, and so he may have a lot in common with Jesus.”

When the parish priest does right by the patronage boss to protect the mayor who gets endorsed by that great reformer Sir Barack of O’bama, that’s the Chicago Way.

Kass points out that not only is corruption the Chicago way, but so are taxes. He quotes Cook County Commissioner Deborah Sims who say “This country was built on taxes.” Sims, trying to one-up herself also claims there are “not that many political hacks in Cook County.” Wow!

BackyardConservative gives a ringing endorsement of Monopoly. In principle, I agree. Trouble is I suck at Monopoly. I’ll bet Anne is one of those people who always lands on Boardwalk. Risk, the game of world domination, now that’s a game I can win!

I must say that, as an ex-smoker, I have found the smoking ban beneficial to my personal needs. I am no longer tempted to light up every time I walk into a smoky bar because there are no more smoky bars. That said, I’m still a staunch supporter of smoker’s rights and business owners rights. I personally would enjoy the world a lot better if it didn’t have any stupid people in it, but I certainly don’t support depriving stupid people of their rights. We just have to learn to live with the consequences of a free society.

Rich Miller is linking to news that Illinois’ smoking ban is now being challenged as unenforceable and unconstitutional. This will be interesting to watch, though I don’t expect the courts to be sympathetic. After all, black robes seem to be highly correlated with paternalism.

I love it when the Washington Post exposes its biases. Juliet Eilperin has an article today on The Heartland Institute’s climate change conference in NYC. Heartland is cited as “a free-market think tank funded by energy and health-care corporations as well as conservative foundations and individuals …” She doesn’t mention that energy companies give less than five percent of their budget, nowhere near enough to fund a conference like this. Eilperin goes on to quote Frank O’Connell of Clean Air Watch but she doesn’t mention who funds him. Apparently, it’s not any of the reader’s concern. Does he get any grants from environmental organizations? Does he lobby for alternative energy? We aren’t told and apparently WaPo doesn’t care.