This letter was sent to me -- and has been published in some local newspapers. It's pathetic how this woman was apparently mistreated when her wallet was stolen from the Children's Play Area near Penny's in the Orland Park Shopping Mall. (One of the advantages of all the huge retail magnets we have here that NO ONE in government is willing ot talk about. But why should they. We're a "Happy Talk" community and rated among -- dropping almost off -- the top 100 communities according to Money Magazine. Doesn't everyone read Money Magazine?
LETTER:
On April 30, my wallet was stolen from the children's play area of Orland Square Mall.
I contacted mall security and they told me I had to contact Orland Park police to file a report. I asked if the area was under video surveillance and security told me no.
Once OP police arrived I was given a report number. I told the officer that the girl walked through JC Penny's, and I could identify her. He told me there was nothing he could do, and that I should check the women's restroom garbage cans for my wallet. Then I proceeded to beg a manager in Penny's to let me view their video cameras so I could identify the girl and see what car she got into. The manager said it happened on mall property and not in their store, so the camera can't be reviewed -- even though the play area is just outside Penny's.
So, basically, video cameras are for the benefit of the store and not ours, the shoppers' sake. At almost 38 weeks pregnant, I felt totally violated and helpless because nobody was willing to help.
I write this letter to inform all of you that we are not safe or protected at Orland Mall and probably at most stores we frequent. This will happen again, and I'm sure these crimes go unreported. The children's area should also be under video surveillance. What if a child is abducted????
Please pass this around to ANYONE you know that shops there. Thanks for helping spread the word!!
Eileen
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Obama rose on the ashes of Jack Ryan's political career
A look back at recent history. How luck and chance plays a major role in individual's careers:
The rise of Barack Obama to become the Democratic candidate for United States President has a direct local angle that today touches on the Orland Park area that goes far beyond his political upbringing on Chicago's South Side. It has a lot to do with an individual who today plays an enormous role in forging the public opinions of the people of Orland Park through his weekly newspaper, the Orland Park Prairie. And it all happened in a very short period of time.
By all measures, Jack Ryan should have won the November 2004 election for the U.S. Senate to succeed retiring Senator Peter Fitzgerald.
In March 2004, Ryan won the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate. Barack Obama, an Illinois State Senator with a controversial career -- he won his state senate seat by successfully removing his more popular rival, incumbent Alice Palmer from the ballot -- won the Democratic primary, defeating State Comptroller Dan Hynes, the son of 19th Ward Chicago powerhouse Tom Hynes.
Ryan, Harvard LAW graduate and MBA who went into medical mal-pacrtice and a partnership at the prestigious Goldmann Sachs investment firm, used his money and his political clout with the backing of the then ruling Republican National organization, to position himself for a sure win in the fall election. But three months later, Ryan was forced to resign when details of his messy divorce from Hollywood actress Jeri Ryan splashed across the front pages of newspapers across the country. The role the media played inf orcing the disclosure of the details of his divorce, and the impact of the hugely negative media coverage is believed to be one reason why Ryan expanded from law and finance to include launching a new community newspaper that he promised area politicians would not focus on controversial issues and instead would focus on positive community news.
Ironically, it was the persistance of the news media that sunk Ryan's candidacy. (Ryan had argued he would not release details of his divorce saying it would injure his son, Alex. But later, when the details were released, the focus was not on Alex but rather on the sensational side of a collapsing relationship with his ex-wife.) Had they not sued, Ryan might still be in politics and not newspaper publishing.
It took Ryan several more weeks to formally withdraw and by the end of July. With only 86 days left to the November election, the Illinois GOP could not find a credible replacement. They reached out to many high profile name candidates, including former Chicago Bear's Coach Mike Ditka, whos aid no. And they settled on the bombastic Alan Keyes, a carpertbagger who had not lived in Illinois at all, but who had a strong Republican dimplomatic career.
Keyes had no chance, and Obama easily defeated him.
Obama's mentor is Illinois Senate President Emil Jones who helped him organize the support to run for the U.S. Senate seat when no one else at the time thought it possible for a Democrat to win. That summer, to strengthen his candidacy as Ryan's was embroiled in controversy and was characterized in negative media headlines that focused on the sex scandal involving his ex-wife, Obama was invited to give the keynote speech at the July 2004 Democratic Primary convention where John Kerry won the party's nomination for president.
The point is, Barack Obama is now the Democratic candidate for president in a large part because of Jack Ryan's personal political tragedy; and the Orland Park Prairie was created, also, in a large part because of Ryan's experience with the biased and negative mainstream mainly downtown news media (print, radio and TV) ... in a way, supporters of Obama should thank Ryan and Orland Park residents should thank him too. The OPP is a great Good News community newspaper. We don't have enough of them. (Does every paper have to expose government corruption, waste and mismanagement?)
-- Ray Hanania
www.TheMediaOasis.com
The rise of Barack Obama to become the Democratic candidate for United States President has a direct local angle that today touches on the Orland Park area that goes far beyond his political upbringing on Chicago's South Side. It has a lot to do with an individual who today plays an enormous role in forging the public opinions of the people of Orland Park through his weekly newspaper, the Orland Park Prairie. And it all happened in a very short period of time.
By all measures, Jack Ryan should have won the November 2004 election for the U.S. Senate to succeed retiring Senator Peter Fitzgerald.
In March 2004, Ryan won the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate. Barack Obama, an Illinois State Senator with a controversial career -- he won his state senate seat by successfully removing his more popular rival, incumbent Alice Palmer from the ballot -- won the Democratic primary, defeating State Comptroller Dan Hynes, the son of 19th Ward Chicago powerhouse Tom Hynes.
Ryan, Harvard LAW graduate and MBA who went into medical mal-pacrtice and a partnership at the prestigious Goldmann Sachs investment firm, used his money and his political clout with the backing of the then ruling Republican National organization, to position himself for a sure win in the fall election. But three months later, Ryan was forced to resign when details of his messy divorce from Hollywood actress Jeri Ryan splashed across the front pages of newspapers across the country. The role the media played inf orcing the disclosure of the details of his divorce, and the impact of the hugely negative media coverage is believed to be one reason why Ryan expanded from law and finance to include launching a new community newspaper that he promised area politicians would not focus on controversial issues and instead would focus on positive community news.
Ironically, it was the persistance of the news media that sunk Ryan's candidacy. (Ryan had argued he would not release details of his divorce saying it would injure his son, Alex. But later, when the details were released, the focus was not on Alex but rather on the sensational side of a collapsing relationship with his ex-wife.) Had they not sued, Ryan might still be in politics and not newspaper publishing.
It took Ryan several more weeks to formally withdraw and by the end of July. With only 86 days left to the November election, the Illinois GOP could not find a credible replacement. They reached out to many high profile name candidates, including former Chicago Bear's Coach Mike Ditka, whos aid no. And they settled on the bombastic Alan Keyes, a carpertbagger who had not lived in Illinois at all, but who had a strong Republican dimplomatic career.
Keyes had no chance, and Obama easily defeated him.
Obama's mentor is Illinois Senate President Emil Jones who helped him organize the support to run for the U.S. Senate seat when no one else at the time thought it possible for a Democrat to win. That summer, to strengthen his candidacy as Ryan's was embroiled in controversy and was characterized in negative media headlines that focused on the sex scandal involving his ex-wife, Obama was invited to give the keynote speech at the July 2004 Democratic Primary convention where John Kerry won the party's nomination for president.
The point is, Barack Obama is now the Democratic candidate for president in a large part because of Jack Ryan's personal political tragedy; and the Orland Park Prairie was created, also, in a large part because of Ryan's experience with the biased and negative mainstream mainly downtown news media (print, radio and TV) ... in a way, supporters of Obama should thank Ryan and Orland Park residents should thank him too. The OPP is a great Good News community newspaper. We don't have enough of them. (Does every paper have to expose government corruption, waste and mismanagement?)
-- Ray Hanania
www.TheMediaOasis.com
LongHorn Steakhouse: Highly recommended Orland Restaurant
I used to go to the Texas Roadhouse but the wait was always long, it was too far to drive, and sometimes the food was inconsistent. Now, there's a new cowboy in town, pardner ... Longhorn Steahouse at 15531 S. LaGrange Road, Orland Park (708) 403-2206. This is their second location, the other in at 95th and Pulaski in Oak Lawn, Orland Park's older community sibling. The Porterhouse was phenomenal, a bit pricey, but great. And best of all the wait-staff was very attentive. They didn't bother me but where there when I needed something which means they were monitoring their customers well and only coming up when it looked like they need something or they were doing routine check-ins. I hate checkins that happen too often and constantly interrupt the dinner, but I love it when they watch and can tell if a customer needs something. Kara was the best!
There are a lot of new restaurants in Orland. Not all are that great. But this one deserves your attention.
-- Ray Hanania
www.TheMediaOasis.com
There are a lot of new restaurants in Orland. Not all are that great. But this one deserves your attention.
-- Ray Hanania
www.TheMediaOasis.com
Friday, August 29, 2008
Obama supporters gather in Orland Park Sunday Aug 31, 2008 1 PM Starbucks Coffee
The Obamanites are organizing a walk for Obama this Sunday August 31, at "Starbucks." If course, there are three starbucks between 131st and 159th on LaGrange Road ... so you might want to double check which one. Here's the info:
Ray Hanania
========= ========
"The change we need doesn't come from Washington. Change comes to Washington. Change happens because the American people demand it—because they rise up and insist on new ideas and new leadership, a new politics for a new time. America, this is one of those moments."
-- Barack Obama in last night's acceptance speech
Are you ready to take up Barack's challenge?
This weekend, the Obama campaign has organized a huge Weekend of Action to register and mobilize hundreds of thousands of voters. There's an event happening near you—can you join in?
What: Walk for Change in Orland Park! Where: Starbucks Coffee (in Orland Park)
When: Sunday, Aug. 31, 2008, at 1:00 PM
Click here to RSVP:
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=14360&id=13644-8592777-plt4v5x&t=15
Or, if that one doesn't work for you, click here to find another event (they're happening all weekend):
http://pol.moveon.org/event/events/?action_id=133&search_zip=60462&id=13644-8592777-plt4v5x&t=1
If we each spend some time this weekend talking to potential Obama voters about the opportunity we have to change America, we can make a huge difference.
If you haven't volunteered before, don't worry—it's as simple as knocking on a door or picking up a phone. And you'll get all the materials and help you need at your local Weekend of Action event.
If you've already signed up for an event, thank you. If not, can you be there to help kick off our campaign to elect Obama? Just click here to RSVP:
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=14360&id=13644-8592777-plt4v5x&t=17
Thanks for all you do.
–Adam, Anna, Patrick S., and the rest of the team
Want to support our work? We're entirely funded by our 3.2 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way.
Chip in here.
Ray Hanania
========= ========
"The change we need doesn't come from Washington. Change comes to Washington. Change happens because the American people demand it—because they rise up and insist on new ideas and new leadership, a new politics for a new time. America, this is one of those moments."
-- Barack Obama in last night's acceptance speech
Are you ready to take up Barack's challenge?
This weekend, the Obama campaign has organized a huge Weekend of Action to register and mobilize hundreds of thousands of voters. There's an event happening near you—can you join in?
What: Walk for Change in Orland Park! Where: Starbucks Coffee (in Orland Park)
When: Sunday, Aug. 31, 2008, at 1:00 PM
Click here to RSVP:
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=14360&id=13644-8592777-plt4v5x&t=15
Or, if that one doesn't work for you, click here to find another event (they're happening all weekend):
http://pol.moveon.org/event/events/?action_id=133&search_zip=60462&id=13644-8592777-plt4v5x&t=1
If we each spend some time this weekend talking to potential Obama voters about the opportunity we have to change America, we can make a huge difference.
If you haven't volunteered before, don't worry—it's as simple as knocking on a door or picking up a phone. And you'll get all the materials and help you need at your local Weekend of Action event.
If you've already signed up for an event, thank you. If not, can you be there to help kick off our campaign to elect Obama? Just click here to RSVP:
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=14360&id=13644-8592777-plt4v5x&t=17
Thanks for all you do.
–Adam, Anna, Patrick S., and the rest of the team
Want to support our work? We're entirely funded by our 3.2 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way.
Chip in here.
A Gold Medal Olympic Vacation Competition column
August 29, 2008 Southwest News-Herald - City & Suburban
A Gold Medal Olympic Vacation Competition
By RAY HANANIA
The competition for the Gold Medal was Olympic. Not in Beijing, but on the beaches of Punta Cana, where I spent a week researching Cuban cigars and teaching my son the basics of how to survive in the real world.
Every morning, I would get to the beach at 6:30 in a fierce race with teams representing Russia, China, Italy, France and Spain and a field of 130 others. There were only 10 perfect palm tree covered “cabanas” on the beach, and you had to get there early to claim one.
What’s the point of going to a beautiful paradise beach if you are going to schelp in at 11 and plop down on a towel in the sand?
I can report that I’ve won the competition every morning. Boo-rah for the American team! Well, I guess I’m considered about as American as Yao Ming. (OK. He’s an exception, a Chinese-born athlete who plays for the Houston Rockets basketball team. In the Olympics, he plays for China.) Did you ever notice that when mentioning American athletes of certain ethnic and racial backgrounds, they always mention their race but never the ethnicity of “Americans” like Michael Phelps?
Anyway, back to my own Olympic Gold Medal competition in Punta Cana at the Bavara Princess Beach.
There’s an art to securing lounge chairs and a cabana. It’s the same no matter where you go in the Caribbean, except that the world has changed. Dramatically. It used to be that places like this were filled with arrogant and obnoxious American tourists.
Well, that’s changed. Today, the resorts in the Caribbean are filled with Europeans, Russians and Asians enjoying the fact that President Bush screwed up our economy with the stupid Iraq war. (OK, that’s my last political reference. Just kidding.) Our dollar is worth less than a “peso” and I don’t care what Central American country you visit. It buys nothing.
But I wouldn’t let that deter me. I rushed out, research in hand, and made my way in a 3,600-foot dash for the beach. And every morning, beat the Russian by a nose (that’s where being Arab comes in handy, I guess). And the French, the Chinese and the guy with the full body tatoo.
They were right behind me and there was no courtesy “good mornings” or “hellos.” In any language. We were all there for one purpose. Keep our wives from screaming at us when we didn’t get the best spots.
There is an art to saving seats. You reserve them at 6:30 a.m. and don’t get back until around 11 after breakfast so you have a lot of faith that despite the tourists (any ethnicity), they will be there when you return.
You keep the towels from the day before and lay them on the lounge chair, stretched out and tucked in the niche in the back of the head rest and push that down to “lock it in.” 50 Points!
Then, you put a book you’ve either already read and don’t care if it’s stolen, or one no one will touch. I had Chelsea Handler’s book (Chelsea Lately) and made sure the cover faced out every morning. (Actually, Chelsea’s book is hilarious but none of the foreigners could figure out who she was, so it was a safe bet not to get stolen.) 25.35 points.
Then, to play to the sympathy of the crowd, I put my son’s little sand buckets and shovels on the chair. 19.15 points.
Boo-Rah.
This happened every morning like clockwork, and as I said, representing the American team, WE WON. 94.5 points. (If I can add right.)
No one said hi. Mainly because we couldn’t speak anyone else’s language, I think. But still. The first morning I tried and said, “Isn’t it like a vacation? Your wife makes you run out at 6:30 to grab a lounge chair, too?” And the guy walking fast next to me — 25 mph — just grunted with a Spanish accent. That’s when I knew the competition was real.
And all of the men sat out there looking at each other. Until exactly 7:22 a.m. when the tall, blond haired Swedish woman jogged past.
Topless.
Slowly.
Priceless!
A Gold Medal Olympic Vacation Competition
By RAY HANANIA
The competition for the Gold Medal was Olympic. Not in Beijing, but on the beaches of Punta Cana, where I spent a week researching Cuban cigars and teaching my son the basics of how to survive in the real world.
Every morning, I would get to the beach at 6:30 in a fierce race with teams representing Russia, China, Italy, France and Spain and a field of 130 others. There were only 10 perfect palm tree covered “cabanas” on the beach, and you had to get there early to claim one.
What’s the point of going to a beautiful paradise beach if you are going to schelp in at 11 and plop down on a towel in the sand?
I can report that I’ve won the competition every morning. Boo-rah for the American team! Well, I guess I’m considered about as American as Yao Ming. (OK. He’s an exception, a Chinese-born athlete who plays for the Houston Rockets basketball team. In the Olympics, he plays for China.) Did you ever notice that when mentioning American athletes of certain ethnic and racial backgrounds, they always mention their race but never the ethnicity of “Americans” like Michael Phelps?
Anyway, back to my own Olympic Gold Medal competition in Punta Cana at the Bavara Princess Beach.
There’s an art to securing lounge chairs and a cabana. It’s the same no matter where you go in the Caribbean, except that the world has changed. Dramatically. It used to be that places like this were filled with arrogant and obnoxious American tourists.
Well, that’s changed. Today, the resorts in the Caribbean are filled with Europeans, Russians and Asians enjoying the fact that President Bush screwed up our economy with the stupid Iraq war. (OK, that’s my last political reference. Just kidding.) Our dollar is worth less than a “peso” and I don’t care what Central American country you visit. It buys nothing.
But I wouldn’t let that deter me. I rushed out, research in hand, and made my way in a 3,600-foot dash for the beach. And every morning, beat the Russian by a nose (that’s where being Arab comes in handy, I guess). And the French, the Chinese and the guy with the full body tatoo.
They were right behind me and there was no courtesy “good mornings” or “hellos.” In any language. We were all there for one purpose. Keep our wives from screaming at us when we didn’t get the best spots.
There is an art to saving seats. You reserve them at 6:30 a.m. and don’t get back until around 11 after breakfast so you have a lot of faith that despite the tourists (any ethnicity), they will be there when you return.
You keep the towels from the day before and lay them on the lounge chair, stretched out and tucked in the niche in the back of the head rest and push that down to “lock it in.” 50 Points!
Then, you put a book you’ve either already read and don’t care if it’s stolen, or one no one will touch. I had Chelsea Handler’s book (Chelsea Lately) and made sure the cover faced out every morning. (Actually, Chelsea’s book is hilarious but none of the foreigners could figure out who she was, so it was a safe bet not to get stolen.) 25.35 points.Then, to play to the sympathy of the crowd, I put my son’s little sand buckets and shovels on the chair. 19.15 points.
Boo-Rah.
This happened every morning like clockwork, and as I said, representing the American team, WE WON. 94.5 points. (If I can add right.)
No one said hi. Mainly because we couldn’t speak anyone else’s language, I think. But still. The first morning I tried and said, “Isn’t it like a vacation? Your wife makes you run out at 6:30 to grab a lounge chair, too?” And the guy walking fast next to me — 25 mph — just grunted with a Spanish accent. That’s when I knew the competition was real.
And all of the men sat out there looking at each other. Until exactly 7:22 a.m. when the tall, blond haired Swedish woman jogged past.
Topless.
Slowly.
Priceless!
-- Ray Hanania
http://www.themediaoasis.com/
http://www.themediaoasis.com/
Thursday, August 28, 2008
T. Boone Pickens can go to HELL! And take his crappy energy plan with him
Many people may have forgotten that T. Boone Pickens, the billionaire oilman who made his fortune as a robber baron ripping of the public with his oil industry profiteering, was in fact the sleazy financier of the even sleazier Swift Boat attack ads against John Kerry, who should have won the 2004 presidential election, saving this country from four more years of George W. Bush.
The Swift Boat campaign was based on lies, exaggerations and a terrible disrespect to Kerry, a Vietnam era hero who served frontline in the heart of the Vietnam War when he was called to duty, while Chicken Goegre Bush hid in the ranks among the reserves, a place where many clout-heavy silver-spoon fed children hid to avoid frontline military service.
The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, an odious insidious campaign of lies, broadcast TV advertisements funded by Pickens to muddy up Kerry. The ads were pernicious because they distorted and confused the issues involving Kerry's heroic service in order to undermine his campaign, while they ignored the FACT that Bush was a coward who avoided frontline military service during the heat of the Vietnam War.
Ironically, Pickens NEVER served in the military defending this country, as far as my research shows. And -- the billionaire sleazebag oil tycoon won't answer any of my telephone calls to his companies.
So who do you think was schmoozing his way along the floor of the Democratic National Convention in Denver? T. Boone Pickens. the loser! And he had the gall to go up to Kerry and introduce himself.
Pickens vowed to give $1 million to anyone who could prove one thing inaccurate in the ads, credited in part with destroying Kerry's presidential quest. But the truth is you can take the truth and twist it around so badly that it can look bad ... to say that Kerry did not fight on the frontlines while the coward Bush hid -- he didn't even show up for much of his reserve service because he was tapped by daddie to campaign for another congressional pal. LOSER!
Now Pickens wants us to believe that he cares about America. That he has a plan to help save this country from the energy debacle that his industry helped create and is destroying today with outrageous oil prices.
We don't need you Pickens. If you have anything to say, the American people don't need to hear it. Your conduct during the campaign was disgraceful, pathetic and shameful. You are a disgrace. And anything you have to say is not worth hearing.
The Swift Boat campaign was based on lies, exaggerations and a terrible disrespect to Kerry, a Vietnam era hero who served frontline in the heart of the Vietnam War when he was called to duty, while Chicken Goegre Bush hid in the ranks among the reserves, a place where many clout-heavy silver-spoon fed children hid to avoid frontline military service.
The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, an odious insidious campaign of lies, broadcast TV advertisements funded by Pickens to muddy up Kerry. The ads were pernicious because they distorted and confused the issues involving Kerry's heroic service in order to undermine his campaign, while they ignored the FACT that Bush was a coward who avoided frontline military service during the heat of the Vietnam War.
Ironically, Pickens NEVER served in the military defending this country, as far as my research shows. And -- the billionaire sleazebag oil tycoon won't answer any of my telephone calls to his companies.
So who do you think was schmoozing his way along the floor of the Democratic National Convention in Denver? T. Boone Pickens. the loser! And he had the gall to go up to Kerry and introduce himself.
Pickens vowed to give $1 million to anyone who could prove one thing inaccurate in the ads, credited in part with destroying Kerry's presidential quest. But the truth is you can take the truth and twist it around so badly that it can look bad ... to say that Kerry did not fight on the frontlines while the coward Bush hid -- he didn't even show up for much of his reserve service because he was tapped by daddie to campaign for another congressional pal. LOSER!
Now Pickens wants us to believe that he cares about America. That he has a plan to help save this country from the energy debacle that his industry helped create and is destroying today with outrageous oil prices.
We don't need you Pickens. If you have anything to say, the American people don't need to hear it. Your conduct during the campaign was disgraceful, pathetic and shameful. You are a disgrace. And anything you have to say is not worth hearing.
Obama-mania: Is it going a little too far? Author argues Babe Ruth was African American
CHICAGO Media Advisory: Omaha resident J. Anderson Cross Offers New Evidence Babe Ruth Was the First African-American Baseball Player in New Book to Be Released in September, In Time for Last Game at Yankee Stadium. ** Chicago event on schedule below in town Sep 10-15
WHO: J. Anderson Cross, author of The Bambino Secret, reveals Babe Ruth's biggest secret.
WHAT: Babe Ruth's legacy in Yankee Stadium will be celebrated for the last time in September 2008 as the famous baseball stadium closes its doors forever. It may come as a surprise, however, to learn that one of AmericaÕs greatest heroes carried a long-held secret. He was part blackÑthus invalidating Jackie Robinson as the first African-American major league baseball player. At least that's the theory behind J. Anderson CrossÕ upcoming The Bambino Secret (September 2008).
"Babe Ruth played baseball during a time when African-Americans were not allowed to play sports," says Cross. "There is no way the American public would have accepted him during that time period if they knew he was part black. The Yankee team businessmen knew this. They also knew they needed Babe Ruth and would have done anything to make sure that he continued to play the game."
"Considerable research was involved while writing this book," says Cross. "I traveled across the country to local historical societies, searched through numerous slave records and sought information from sources that I couldn"t have found in any library or through Internet research. I was in Abingdon, Virginia when I found the key link in a local handwritten journal entitled Colored Marriages from 1853 to 1859."
WHERE/ WHEN: Book launch events at the following Chicago venue:
Wednesday, September 10, 7 p.m.: The Book StallÑWinnetka, IL; 811 Elm Street; Winnetka, IL 60093; Contact: Jean, 847.446.8880
INTERVIEW IDEAS:
* Behind the Scenes: What led Cross to the theory that Babe Ruth was part African-American.
* The Art of Fiction: Why he chose to write a historical novel about his research.
* Yankee Stadium closes::What should go in the museum that it will become.
* All things baseball: Where baseball would be if the BambinoÕs secret had gotten out.
MEDIA OPPS:
* An advanced copy of the book
* A photocopy of the missing link: Why Cross thinks that Babe Ruth was part African-American.
For more information, visit www.thebambinosecret.com.To schedule an interview or to receive media information contact Jordan Bucher at 512.363.5756 or jordan@prbythebook.com.
WHO: J. Anderson Cross, author of The Bambino Secret, reveals Babe Ruth's biggest secret.
WHAT: Babe Ruth's legacy in Yankee Stadium will be celebrated for the last time in September 2008 as the famous baseball stadium closes its doors forever. It may come as a surprise, however, to learn that one of AmericaÕs greatest heroes carried a long-held secret. He was part blackÑthus invalidating Jackie Robinson as the first African-American major league baseball player. At least that's the theory behind J. Anderson CrossÕ upcoming The Bambino Secret (September 2008).
"Babe Ruth played baseball during a time when African-Americans were not allowed to play sports," says Cross. "There is no way the American public would have accepted him during that time period if they knew he was part black. The Yankee team businessmen knew this. They also knew they needed Babe Ruth and would have done anything to make sure that he continued to play the game."
"Considerable research was involved while writing this book," says Cross. "I traveled across the country to local historical societies, searched through numerous slave records and sought information from sources that I couldn"t have found in any library or through Internet research. I was in Abingdon, Virginia when I found the key link in a local handwritten journal entitled Colored Marriages from 1853 to 1859."
WHERE/ WHEN: Book launch events at the following Chicago venue:
Wednesday, September 10, 7 p.m.: The Book StallÑWinnetka, IL; 811 Elm Street; Winnetka, IL 60093; Contact: Jean, 847.446.8880
INTERVIEW IDEAS:
* Behind the Scenes: What led Cross to the theory that Babe Ruth was part African-American.
* The Art of Fiction: Why he chose to write a historical novel about his research.
* Yankee Stadium closes::What should go in the museum that it will become.
* All things baseball: Where baseball would be if the BambinoÕs secret had gotten out.
MEDIA OPPS:
* An advanced copy of the book
* A photocopy of the missing link: Why Cross thinks that Babe Ruth was part African-American.
For more information, visit www.thebambinosecret.com.To schedule an interview or to receive media information contact Jordan Bucher at 512.363.5756 or jordan@prbythebook.com.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
We paid $75,000 to learn what?
The Village of Orland Park paid $75,000, according to published reports, to Vandewalle and Associates of Madison, Wisconsin, to study ways to help the village establish itself as "an anchor in the Southwest suburbs" and to make the village "stronger economically." The contract was awarded in February, just under seven months ago.
Vandewalle spokesman Scott Harrington outlined suggestions at a meeting of the village board last week including to increase employment, improve retail, keep Orland Park residents from leaving to shop in other suburbs, increase transportation and cram more people in smaller parcels of land.
Just what we need.
His suggestions, according to the media, include:
Adding more weekend and night service to the Metra system. Wow. That's been something Orland Park residents have been asking to have for more than 25 years. That's not something many trustees can control, except, maybe, one. How about this? Give transportation discounts to people who live in Orland Park. I don't think the other suburbs would like that, but at least, that's a better suggestion and more achievable than increasing weekend and night service on Metra -- and that is using the term "service" loosely.
He also suggested that the popular holiday trolley become permanent. I like that idea. The trolley system during Christmas is a blast. It's more fun and safer than the rides at Great America.
Another is to create more office space to increase employment opportunities. Ah, creating more offices doesn't mean more jobs. Have you seen how many commercial stores are empty these days? It's not new, though. Several members of the Orland Park Area Chamber of Commerce have been telling us the same thing for years. And for free.
A survey showed that more than 50 percent of out-of-town shopping by Orland Parker residents is in Oakbrook. I could have told him that for free, too. It's something we have heard over and over again from our village officials -- not so free either. Now, I'd pay $75,000 to find out how many village officials and employees are related or are eighbors or are close friends or church associates, or union pals. And, how many of them get their own vehicles and do they use them for personal use or just business?
The consultant suggested that much of that draw was to Oakbrook anchor stores like Nordstrom, Crate & Barrel and Von Maur. Harrington suggested trying to bring some of these companies into the village "to cut down on the overall number of people who leave the village for their shopping needs." He said we should add more "high end" stores to our existing retail inventory.
We've already tried that. We already know that.
I decided to do my own consulting service study. For free. I asked about 15 people if they travel to Oakbrook to shop. They all said yes. I asked them why? Was it because of Nordstrom, Crate & Barrel or Von Maur?
The worst suggestion was to change the very substantive housing environment that makes Orland Park so attractive. Instead of building big homes with large lots, build smaller homes on smaller lots. How did the newspapers report his suggestion? Create "a more neo-traditional neighborhood design" that would "include a more robust mix of small lot sizes with a high density for young professionals with no kids or seniors."
What does a "robust mix of small lot sizes with high density" mean?
In Chicago, they call that a ghetto. Or, to be more generous, it's the reason why many of us left Chicago. Vandewalle's suggestion basically is to bring back the era of Chicago "gangways?"
He also said Orland could create more cultural venues like museums, galleries, cafes and nightlife scenes. We have the Plaza Cafe. Oops! The village is going to shut that down. Maybe we can take the Sprint store and put seats on the sidewalk where salesmen and sell cell phones.
None of these ideas are worth the $75,000 the village spent. I would have hoped that a consultant paid that much money in so little time would have come up with some more original ideas, like maybe build a super-speed rail transportation system to take people from one Star Bucks to another. There are three on LaGrange Road between 131st Street and 159th Street.
A museum? Does Orland Park need a museum? Oh, how about a Green Museum to display all the varieties of weeds that can be grown naturally without chemical fertilizers that do not require watering or lawn mowing. The village maintenance people are busy caring for all the homes the village bought to mow the lawns at the Award Winning Police Station. We have to plant weeds there.
Oh. I have another suggestion. Why not award another $75,000 contract to make a list of all the ideas we've already discussed int he past. That would be redundant.
Or better yet, why not dump the consultants and ask the people int he village what they think. There's an original idea for you. How about eliminate some of the worthless rhetoric that fills the village newsletter and replace it with a survey the residents can fill out.
There's an idea worth $75,000 and you can have it for free.
But that would mean the village officials would have to care about what the people in Orland Park think.
I do give Vandewalle credit. They haven't donated any money to many Illinois candidates since the beginning of the decade to Corinne Wood and Paul Vallas. And they still got the contract? Wow!
Ray Hanania
http://www.themediaoasis.com/
Vandewalle spokesman Scott Harrington outlined suggestions at a meeting of the village board last week including to increase employment, improve retail, keep Orland Park residents from leaving to shop in other suburbs, increase transportation and cram more people in smaller parcels of land.
Just what we need.
His suggestions, according to the media, include:
Adding more weekend and night service to the Metra system. Wow. That's been something Orland Park residents have been asking to have for more than 25 years. That's not something many trustees can control, except, maybe, one. How about this? Give transportation discounts to people who live in Orland Park. I don't think the other suburbs would like that, but at least, that's a better suggestion and more achievable than increasing weekend and night service on Metra -- and that is using the term "service" loosely.
He also suggested that the popular holiday trolley become permanent. I like that idea. The trolley system during Christmas is a blast. It's more fun and safer than the rides at Great America.
Another is to create more office space to increase employment opportunities. Ah, creating more offices doesn't mean more jobs. Have you seen how many commercial stores are empty these days? It's not new, though. Several members of the Orland Park Area Chamber of Commerce have been telling us the same thing for years. And for free.
A survey showed that more than 50 percent of out-of-town shopping by Orland Parker residents is in Oakbrook. I could have told him that for free, too. It's something we have heard over and over again from our village officials -- not so free either. Now, I'd pay $75,000 to find out how many village officials and employees are related or are eighbors or are close friends or church associates, or union pals. And, how many of them get their own vehicles and do they use them for personal use or just business?
The consultant suggested that much of that draw was to Oakbrook anchor stores like Nordstrom, Crate & Barrel and Von Maur. Harrington suggested trying to bring some of these companies into the village "to cut down on the overall number of people who leave the village for their shopping needs." He said we should add more "high end" stores to our existing retail inventory.
We've already tried that. We already know that.
I decided to do my own consulting service study. For free. I asked about 15 people if they travel to Oakbrook to shop. They all said yes. I asked them why? Was it because of Nordstrom, Crate & Barrel or Von Maur?
The truth is most people said they liked Oakbrook's outdoor atmosphere. It's huge and a clear landmark that can be seen from 30,000 feet from a plane outside O'Hare Airport. The truth is they like it. And people sometimes want to see something different than from what they see every day.
What does a "robust mix of small lot sizes with high density" mean?
In Chicago, they call that a ghetto. Or, to be more generous, it's the reason why many of us left Chicago. Vandewalle's suggestion basically is to bring back the era of Chicago "gangways?"
He also said Orland could create more cultural venues like museums, galleries, cafes and nightlife scenes. We have the Plaza Cafe. Oops! The village is going to shut that down. Maybe we can take the Sprint store and put seats on the sidewalk where salesmen and sell cell phones.
None of these ideas are worth the $75,000 the village spent. I would have hoped that a consultant paid that much money in so little time would have come up with some more original ideas, like maybe build a super-speed rail transportation system to take people from one Star Bucks to another. There are three on LaGrange Road between 131st Street and 159th Street.
A museum? Does Orland Park need a museum? Oh, how about a Green Museum to display all the varieties of weeds that can be grown naturally without chemical fertilizers that do not require watering or lawn mowing. The village maintenance people are busy caring for all the homes the village bought to mow the lawns at the Award Winning Police Station. We have to plant weeds there.
Oh. I have another suggestion. Why not award another $75,000 contract to make a list of all the ideas we've already discussed int he past. That would be redundant.
Or better yet, why not dump the consultants and ask the people int he village what they think. There's an original idea for you. How about eliminate some of the worthless rhetoric that fills the village newsletter and replace it with a survey the residents can fill out.
There's an idea worth $75,000 and you can have it for free.
But that would mean the village officials would have to care about what the people in Orland Park think.
I do give Vandewalle credit. They haven't donated any money to many Illinois candidates since the beginning of the decade to Corinne Wood and Paul Vallas. And they still got the contract? Wow!
Ray Hanania
http://www.themediaoasis.com/
Illinois Attorney General slams two Orland Park auto dealers
MADIGAN FILES SUIT AGAINST CHICAGOLAND AUTO DEALERS
Chicago - Attorney General Lisa Madigan today filed a lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court against two Orland Park auto dealers for deceptive sales and advertising practices.
The complaint, which names Orland Park Nissan and Infiniti of Orland Park as defendants, alleges that the dealers sent direct mail advertisements in April 2007 to Chicago area consumers describing an “exclusive credit amnesty event” and urging consumers to call the dealers to arrange a private appointment. The mailer indicated that targeted consumers may have filed bankruptcy in the past but that the “amnesty” would enable consumers to qualify for an affordable auto loan no matter their credit rating. The envelope containing the direct mailer claimed that “important vehicle recall information” was enclosed and that the consumers’ response was required. However, no recall by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration existed and the mailer didn’t contain recall information.
“These deceptive mailers purposely and unfairly targeted consumers who may have struggled at one time to manage their finances,” Attorney General Madigan said. “This lawsuit should send the message to auto dealers that my office won’t tolerate using deceptive marketing practices to lure unsuspecting consumers into risky loans.”
The Attorney General’s office has received 26 complaints against Orland Park Nissan and Infiniti of Orland Park, both of which are located at 8550 W. 159th St. in Orland Park. The Better Business Bureau also received 18 complaints against the auto dealers.
Attorney General Madigan’s complaint alleges that the deceptive mailer violates the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, the Loan Advertising to Bankrupts Act, the Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the Illinois Administrative Rules on Motor Vehicle Advertising.
The Attorney General’s lawsuit asks the court to prohibit the auto dealers from violating these consumer protection laws, including offering incentives and free prizes, using the term “recall” in advertisements, offering coupons with sales agreements and advertising that a loan would be made to a consumer who has declared bankruptcy. The suit also seeks restitution for consumers and asks the court to assess civil penalties of $50,000 per violation, an additional $50,000 statutory civil penalty and a $10,000 civil penalty for each violation committed against a person over 65 years of age. Madigan’s suit also asks the court to order the defendants to pay the costs of the investigation and court proceedings.
Assistant Attorney General Cecilia Abundis is handling the case for Attorney General Madigan’s Consumer Fraud Bureau.
Consumers who believe they have been the victim of consumer fraud can download a complaint form at www.IllinoisAttorneyGeneral.gov/consumers or call the Attorney General’s Consumer Fraud Hotline at one of the following numbers:
Chicago 1-800-386-5438
Springfield 1-800-243-0618
Carbondale 1-800-243-0607
Spanish-language Hotline: 1-866-310-8398
end
Chicago - Attorney General Lisa Madigan today filed a lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court against two Orland Park auto dealers for deceptive sales and advertising practices.
The complaint, which names Orland Park Nissan and Infiniti of Orland Park as defendants, alleges that the dealers sent direct mail advertisements in April 2007 to Chicago area consumers describing an “exclusive credit amnesty event” and urging consumers to call the dealers to arrange a private appointment. The mailer indicated that targeted consumers may have filed bankruptcy in the past but that the “amnesty” would enable consumers to qualify for an affordable auto loan no matter their credit rating. The envelope containing the direct mailer claimed that “important vehicle recall information” was enclosed and that the consumers’ response was required. However, no recall by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration existed and the mailer didn’t contain recall information.
“These deceptive mailers purposely and unfairly targeted consumers who may have struggled at one time to manage their finances,” Attorney General Madigan said. “This lawsuit should send the message to auto dealers that my office won’t tolerate using deceptive marketing practices to lure unsuspecting consumers into risky loans.”
The Attorney General’s office has received 26 complaints against Orland Park Nissan and Infiniti of Orland Park, both of which are located at 8550 W. 159th St. in Orland Park. The Better Business Bureau also received 18 complaints against the auto dealers.
Attorney General Madigan’s complaint alleges that the deceptive mailer violates the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, the Loan Advertising to Bankrupts Act, the Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the Illinois Administrative Rules on Motor Vehicle Advertising.
The Attorney General’s lawsuit asks the court to prohibit the auto dealers from violating these consumer protection laws, including offering incentives and free prizes, using the term “recall” in advertisements, offering coupons with sales agreements and advertising that a loan would be made to a consumer who has declared bankruptcy. The suit also seeks restitution for consumers and asks the court to assess civil penalties of $50,000 per violation, an additional $50,000 statutory civil penalty and a $10,000 civil penalty for each violation committed against a person over 65 years of age. Madigan’s suit also asks the court to order the defendants to pay the costs of the investigation and court proceedings.
Assistant Attorney General Cecilia Abundis is handling the case for Attorney General Madigan’s Consumer Fraud Bureau.
Consumers who believe they have been the victim of consumer fraud can download a complaint form at www.IllinoisAttorneyGeneral.gov/consumers or call the Attorney General’s Consumer Fraud Hotline at one of the following numbers:
Chicago 1-800-386-5438
Springfield 1-800-243-0618
Carbondale 1-800-243-0607
Spanish-language Hotline: 1-866-310-8398
end
Illinois Attorney General sues local car dealerships
MADIGAN FILES SUIT AGAINST CHICAGOLAND AUTO DEALERS
Chicago - Attorney General Lisa Madigan today filed a lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court against two Orland Park auto dealers for deceptive sales and advertising practices.
The complaint, which names Orland Park Nissan and Infiniti of Orland Park as defendants, alleges that the dealers sent direct mail advertisements in April 2007 to Chicago area consumers describing an “exclusive credit amnesty event” and urging consumers to call the dealers to arrange a private appointment. The mailer indicated that targeted consumers may have filed bankruptcy in the past but that the “amnesty” would enable consumers to qualify for an affordable auto loan no matter their credit rating. The envelope containing the direct mailer claimed that “important vehicle recall information” was enclosed and that the consumers’ response was required. However, no recall by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration existed and the mailer didn’t contain recall information.
“These deceptive mailers purposely and unfairly targeted consumers who may have struggled at one time to manage their finances,” Attorney General Madigan said. “This lawsuit should send the message to auto dealers that my office won’t tolerate using deceptive marketing practices to lure unsuspecting consumers into risky loans.”
The Attorney General’s office has received 26 complaints against Orland Park Nissan and Infiniti of Orland Park, both of which are located at 8550 W. 159th St. in Orland Park. The Better Business Bureau also received 18 complaints against the auto dealers.
Attorney General Madigan’s complaint alleges that the deceptive mailer violates the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, the Loan Advertising to Bankrupts Act, the Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the Illinois Administrative Rules on Motor Vehicle Advertising.
The Attorney General’s lawsuit asks the court to prohibit the auto dealers from violating these consumer protection laws, including offering incentives and free prizes, using the term “recall” in advertisements, offering coupons with sales agreements and advertising that a loan would be made to a consumer who has declared bankruptcy. The suit also seeks restitution for consumers and asks the court to assess civil penalties of $50,000 per violation, an additional $50,000 statutory civil penalty and a $10,000 civil penalty for each violation committed against a person over 65 years of age. Madigan’s suit also asks the court to order the defendants to pay the costs of the investigation and court proceedings.
Assistant Attorney General Cecilia Abundis is handling the case for Attorney General Madigan’s Consumer Fraud Bureau.
Consumers who believe they have been the victim of consumer fraud can download a complaint form at www.IllinoisAttorneyGeneral.gov/consumers or call the Attorney General’s Consumer Fraud Hotline at one of the following numbers:
Chicago 1-800-386-5438
Springfield 1-800-243-0618
Carbondale 1-800-243-0607
Spanish-language Hotline: 1-866-310-8398
end
Chicago - Attorney General Lisa Madigan today filed a lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court against two Orland Park auto dealers for deceptive sales and advertising practices.
The complaint, which names Orland Park Nissan and Infiniti of Orland Park as defendants, alleges that the dealers sent direct mail advertisements in April 2007 to Chicago area consumers describing an “exclusive credit amnesty event” and urging consumers to call the dealers to arrange a private appointment. The mailer indicated that targeted consumers may have filed bankruptcy in the past but that the “amnesty” would enable consumers to qualify for an affordable auto loan no matter their credit rating. The envelope containing the direct mailer claimed that “important vehicle recall information” was enclosed and that the consumers’ response was required. However, no recall by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration existed and the mailer didn’t contain recall information.
“These deceptive mailers purposely and unfairly targeted consumers who may have struggled at one time to manage their finances,” Attorney General Madigan said. “This lawsuit should send the message to auto dealers that my office won’t tolerate using deceptive marketing practices to lure unsuspecting consumers into risky loans.”
The Attorney General’s office has received 26 complaints against Orland Park Nissan and Infiniti of Orland Park, both of which are located at 8550 W. 159th St. in Orland Park. The Better Business Bureau also received 18 complaints against the auto dealers.
Attorney General Madigan’s complaint alleges that the deceptive mailer violates the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, the Loan Advertising to Bankrupts Act, the Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the Illinois Administrative Rules on Motor Vehicle Advertising.
The Attorney General’s lawsuit asks the court to prohibit the auto dealers from violating these consumer protection laws, including offering incentives and free prizes, using the term “recall” in advertisements, offering coupons with sales agreements and advertising that a loan would be made to a consumer who has declared bankruptcy. The suit also seeks restitution for consumers and asks the court to assess civil penalties of $50,000 per violation, an additional $50,000 statutory civil penalty and a $10,000 civil penalty for each violation committed against a person over 65 years of age. Madigan’s suit also asks the court to order the defendants to pay the costs of the investigation and court proceedings.
Assistant Attorney General Cecilia Abundis is handling the case for Attorney General Madigan’s Consumer Fraud Bureau.
Consumers who believe they have been the victim of consumer fraud can download a complaint form at www.IllinoisAttorneyGeneral.gov/consumers or call the Attorney General’s Consumer Fraud Hotline at one of the following numbers:
Chicago 1-800-386-5438
Springfield 1-800-243-0618
Carbondale 1-800-243-0607
Spanish-language Hotline: 1-866-310-8398
end
Battle on to succeed Barack Obama -- still wistful thinking
The fight is already brewing to replace U.S. Senator Barack Obama in the Senate IF he wins the Democratic race this November. Gov. Rod Blagojevich would most likely be the person to name the successor, who would then seek election in a special election bid.
My choice for a successor is Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. He has proven himself to be independent, concerned about people not politics, and very talented. His speech to the Democratic National Convention was overshadowed only by the Clinto-Obama battle which despite the hopefuly media pundits is still pitched and energized.
Ray Hanania
www.TheMediaOasis.com
NATIONAL JOURNAL
Illinois Dems Keep Quiet On Possible Senate Vacancy
by Ben Schneider
Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2008
The next junior senator from Illinois might have been walking in their midst this morning, but attendees at the state delegation's breakfast meeting were careful not to put the cart before the horse.
Lawmakers, candidates and other home state colleagues of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois were in agreement about the agenda -- put Obama in the White House first, and then talk in earnest about a possible successor. "There are people who are out there that are looking for that appointment," said Rep. Dan Lipinski, noting that a vacant Senate seat would be chosen by Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich. He quickly said he was not among them.
"I think it's best not to really talk about it," Lipinski said. "We know this isn't going to be an easy election."
While they might be skittish or superstitious, there is a long political tradition that names of potential candidates tend to float well ahead of an actual vacancy, and this case is no exception.
Among those mentioned as possible candidates are Reps. Jan Schakowsky, Jesse Jackson Jr. and Luis Gutierrez and Illinois Veterans Affairs Director Tammy Duckworth, who fell just short in a bid for a House seat in 2006. Blagojevich, a former member of Congress, is also mentioned, and he wouldn't be the first governor to appoint himself to the Senate.
Jackson is a co-chairman of Obama's campaign. He could not only replace Obama in the Illinois delegation, but as the only black member of the Senate, a factor that might play into the governor's decision.
Duckworth, a disabled veteran of the Iraq war is a moderate. Blagojevich has not only mentioned her as a possible successor to Obama but is sponsoring a reception for her tonight in Denver.
But while others might be floating her name as a trial balloon, Duckworth is not yet on board, choosing to keep her focus on getting a Democrat elected president, albeit one that might create a job opening for her. "We have a long 70 days in front of us," she said this morning.
Gutierrez and Schakowsky both said they would be honored to serve in the Senate, but also played down interest in the post. "I didn't wake up this morning thinking about it," Gutierrez said.
Jill Morgenthaler, who is running for a House seat, said it didn't matter to her who got the Senate job if Obama moved to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., "as long as it's a Democrat."
My choice for a successor is Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. He has proven himself to be independent, concerned about people not politics, and very talented. His speech to the Democratic National Convention was overshadowed only by the Clinto-Obama battle which despite the hopefuly media pundits is still pitched and energized.
Ray Hanania
www.TheMediaOasis.com
NATIONAL JOURNAL
Illinois Dems Keep Quiet On Possible Senate Vacancy
by Ben Schneider
Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2008
The next junior senator from Illinois might have been walking in their midst this morning, but attendees at the state delegation's breakfast meeting were careful not to put the cart before the horse.
Lawmakers, candidates and other home state colleagues of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois were in agreement about the agenda -- put Obama in the White House first, and then talk in earnest about a possible successor. "There are people who are out there that are looking for that appointment," said Rep. Dan Lipinski, noting that a vacant Senate seat would be chosen by Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich. He quickly said he was not among them.
"I think it's best not to really talk about it," Lipinski said. "We know this isn't going to be an easy election."
While they might be skittish or superstitious, there is a long political tradition that names of potential candidates tend to float well ahead of an actual vacancy, and this case is no exception.
Among those mentioned as possible candidates are Reps. Jan Schakowsky, Jesse Jackson Jr. and Luis Gutierrez and Illinois Veterans Affairs Director Tammy Duckworth, who fell just short in a bid for a House seat in 2006. Blagojevich, a former member of Congress, is also mentioned, and he wouldn't be the first governor to appoint himself to the Senate.
Jackson is a co-chairman of Obama's campaign. He could not only replace Obama in the Illinois delegation, but as the only black member of the Senate, a factor that might play into the governor's decision.
Duckworth, a disabled veteran of the Iraq war is a moderate. Blagojevich has not only mentioned her as a possible successor to Obama but is sponsoring a reception for her tonight in Denver.
But while others might be floating her name as a trial balloon, Duckworth is not yet on board, choosing to keep her focus on getting a Democrat elected president, albeit one that might create a job opening for her. "We have a long 70 days in front of us," she said this morning.
Gutierrez and Schakowsky both said they would be honored to serve in the Senate, but also played down interest in the post. "I didn't wake up this morning thinking about it," Gutierrez said.
Jill Morgenthaler, who is running for a House seat, said it didn't matter to her who got the Senate job if Obama moved to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., "as long as it's a Democrat."
Hillary Clinton: Americans not big on quitting. So why quit?
Click Comic Strip above to view larger image
Hillary Clinton's Democratic National Convention Speech
Ray Hanania's World Comic Strip
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Hillary Clinton's Democratic National Convention Speech
Ray Hanania's World Comic Strip
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
"And on that path to freedom, Harriet Tubman had one piece of advice. If you hear the dogs, keep going. If you see the torches in the woods, keep going. If they're shouting after you, keep going. Don't ever stop. Keep going. If you want a taste of freedom, keep going. Even in the darkest of moments, ordinary Americans have found the faith to keep going. I've seen it in you. I've seen it in our teachers and firefighters, nurses and police officers, small business owners and union workers, the men and women of our military — you always keep going.
"We are Americans. We're not big on quitting."
Hillary Clinton's powerful convention speech: "Keep going ... we're not big on quitting."
Click Comic Strip to view larger image
Hillary Clinton’s powerful convention speech, "keep going"
By Ray Hanania
All Barack Obama and Joe Biden could do Tuesday was sit back and envy the charisma and power displayed by Hillary Clinton, probably one of the best qualified candidates for president in America today.
Clinton’s speech was the most inspiring and moving I have heard. Imagine having someone like that leading this country? Someone who isn’t afraid to take on challenges and doesn’t waffle on issues or run from past associations?
Every politician has enemies and haters and Hillary Clinton is no different, but she has the strength and the determination and even more importantly the guts and courage to do what this country needs.
Obama missed his chance to make his ticket the most powerful this country has ever seen. So far, Obama has been full of talk and rhythmic cadence in his speeches but words are not enough.
Hillary Clinton’s words not only resonated with America, many people in the convention probably were sitting there thinking, "Oh my God. What have we lost?"
The dream of an Obama-Clinton ticket would have sealed the deal and raised the rest of America to a confidence level that would lead this country though a badly needed reorganization, reassessment and refocus.
Obama-Clinton could have reversed the economy, stopped the bleeding of building debt, restored world confidence in this great nation and motivated Americans to go back out and fight to create new jobs and restore this nation’s wealth.
Obama-Clinton could have overcome the difficult challenge of bringing the crooked health insurers into line to force them to cover the 47 million Americans who, thanks to the lying cheating and deceitful companies like Humana and Blue Cross, have no health insurance. More than 47 million Americans have been denied coverage not only because they can’t afford coverage but because these health robber barons refuse to acknowledge the public’s health needs and reject the "risky."
Obama-Clinton could have restored America’s sagging and weak image abroad. America is the leader of the free world that has not been leading under the incompetent and self-serving administration of President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. They would have ended the illegal war in Iraq and refocused this country’s defenses in the right direction in Afghanistan.
America is fighting a war in Iraq to protect oil company interests and contracts for Halliburton and KBR and other companies tied to Dick Cheney, and they are negligent of the need to fight the real war on terrorism in Afghanistan, where our troops need more support and assets and soldiers.
Osama Bin Laden remains on the loose not because of his cunning but because of the ignorance and the pathetic mishandling of this country by Bush-Cheney and his "Axis of Evil" cabinet.
Obama-Clinton could have swept the elections this November and guaranteed eight years of solid leadership. And a retiring President Obama in 2016 could have passed the batton of leadership to the vice president, Hillary Clinton, and insured that as we embarked into the middle of a new century, we would have another great president leading us until 2024.
Vice President and then President Hillary Clinton would have put the last nail in the coffin of the gender gap and the sexist bias that still exists in this country against women, Americans who often shoulder more of the burden for less than their male counterparts.
And while Hillary Clinton did the honorable thing to urge her supporters to through themselves on their swords to help the weak Barack Obama, whose speeches appeal with wishful talk but lacks the tactical and strategic solutions to achieve his carefully crafted speeches.
The truth is her quote of Harriet Tubman only motivates her supporters to stand more firm and demand that this country be respected. That we are not to be ignored an disrespected and that we Americans have a right to insist not on good but to demand the best.
Hillary Clinton said:
By Ray Hanania
All Barack Obama and Joe Biden could do Tuesday was sit back and envy the charisma and power displayed by Hillary Clinton, probably one of the best qualified candidates for president in America today.
Clinton’s speech was the most inspiring and moving I have heard. Imagine having someone like that leading this country? Someone who isn’t afraid to take on challenges and doesn’t waffle on issues or run from past associations?
Every politician has enemies and haters and Hillary Clinton is no different, but she has the strength and the determination and even more importantly the guts and courage to do what this country needs.
Obama missed his chance to make his ticket the most powerful this country has ever seen. So far, Obama has been full of talk and rhythmic cadence in his speeches but words are not enough.
Hillary Clinton’s words not only resonated with America, many people in the convention probably were sitting there thinking, "Oh my God. What have we lost?"
The dream of an Obama-Clinton ticket would have sealed the deal and raised the rest of America to a confidence level that would lead this country though a badly needed reorganization, reassessment and refocus.
Obama-Clinton could have reversed the economy, stopped the bleeding of building debt, restored world confidence in this great nation and motivated Americans to go back out and fight to create new jobs and restore this nation’s wealth.
Obama-Clinton could have overcome the difficult challenge of bringing the crooked health insurers into line to force them to cover the 47 million Americans who, thanks to the lying cheating and deceitful companies like Humana and Blue Cross, have no health insurance. More than 47 million Americans have been denied coverage not only because they can’t afford coverage but because these health robber barons refuse to acknowledge the public’s health needs and reject the "risky."
Obama-Clinton could have restored America’s sagging and weak image abroad. America is the leader of the free world that has not been leading under the incompetent and self-serving administration of President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. They would have ended the illegal war in Iraq and refocused this country’s defenses in the right direction in Afghanistan.
America is fighting a war in Iraq to protect oil company interests and contracts for Halliburton and KBR and other companies tied to Dick Cheney, and they are negligent of the need to fight the real war on terrorism in Afghanistan, where our troops need more support and assets and soldiers.
Osama Bin Laden remains on the loose not because of his cunning but because of the ignorance and the pathetic mishandling of this country by Bush-Cheney and his "Axis of Evil" cabinet.
Obama-Clinton could have swept the elections this November and guaranteed eight years of solid leadership. And a retiring President Obama in 2016 could have passed the batton of leadership to the vice president, Hillary Clinton, and insured that as we embarked into the middle of a new century, we would have another great president leading us until 2024.
Vice President and then President Hillary Clinton would have put the last nail in the coffin of the gender gap and the sexist bias that still exists in this country against women, Americans who often shoulder more of the burden for less than their male counterparts.
And while Hillary Clinton did the honorable thing to urge her supporters to through themselves on their swords to help the weak Barack Obama, whose speeches appeal with wishful talk but lacks the tactical and strategic solutions to achieve his carefully crafted speeches.
The truth is her quote of Harriet Tubman only motivates her supporters to stand more firm and demand that this country be respected. That we are not to be ignored an disrespected and that we Americans have a right to insist not on good but to demand the best.
Hillary Clinton said:
By following the example of a brave New Yorker, a woman who risked her life
to shepherd slaves along the Underground Railroad.
And on that path to freedom, Harriet Tubman had one piece of
advice.
If you hear the dogs, keep going.
If you see the torches in the woods, keep going.
If they're shouting after you, keep going.
Don't ever stop. Keep going.
If you want a taste of freedom, keep going.
Even in the darkest of moments, ordinary Americans have found the faith to
keep going.
I've seen it in you. I've seen it in our teachers and firefighters, nurses
and police officers, small business owners and union workers, the men and women
of our military — you always keep going.
We are Americans. We're not big on quitting.
And those Americans who believe that this country, this day and this year and this century deserves and needs the best leadership, will not quit either.
If you want a great president, don't give up. Keep going.
The opportunity now faces John McCain. Can he fill the gap? Or, will he be a last resort placeholder for four years to allow Hillary Clinton to return to the stage in one last and final chance for America in 2012, putting the crown on the head of a commander-in-chief in waiting?
END
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
McCain has chance to grab the presidency -- Ray Hanania
McCain has a chance to grab the presidency
By Ray Hanania
John McCain is not my choice for president. But he sure has a chance to win the presidency this November. He just has to make the right choice.
Will he?
My perspective on McCain is tugged between him being the silent accomplice watching and witnessing as President Bush and his "Cabinet of Evil" orchestrated one of the world’s greatest frauds and war crimes lying to send our soldiers to Iraq to avenge the lost honor of his father, George H.W. Bush, the former president.
On the other hand, McCain the Republican is the only other choice left as Barack Obama, the Democratic candidate runs out of steam and his Democratic Convention putters along, boringly and with no real inspiration.
That’s the problem with "phenoms," a cute word contrived by his spin-masters to describe Obama as a "phenomena." They start out strong and run out of steam.
The first night of the Democratic Convention should have opened like the Beijing Olympics. Dazzling inspiration and awe-inspiring choreography that took our minds away from China’s history of tyranny and oppressive civil rights abuses.
Instead, the ObamaFest in Denver looked more like a boring remake of a popular movie that just isn’t better than the original.
I’m tired of the Kennedys, the Irish political mafia clan that has exploited the inspiration of two sons murdered by American hate. Sure, the Kennedys are great people, but is that what we need in today’s day and age to inspire us?
Michelle Obama was a poor choice to keynote the Denver Convention. She is wonderful, don’t get me wrong. But the issue isn’t whether or not we need to know how loving of a husband Barack has been. She didn’t speak to the "Democratic Street."
In fact, what is happening on the "Democratic Street" on the floor of the convention, on the news talk programs and even right here in Chicago, Obama’s own back yard, is that Obama hasn’t delivered on his "phenom" promises.
Hillary Clinton remains a formidable force and even if she tells her supporters to support Barack, we know she doesn’t mean it. The fact is Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton have been disrespected by the Obama’s and his expensive and over-funded campaign machine.
When it comes to our economy, Bill Clinton was the best president we ever had. Better than Ronald Reagan.
Despite his personal flaw with Monica Lewinsky which was little more than gristle for the hate-mongering Republican and Conservative news media, and his fumbling of his last minute Middle East peace efforts, Clinton was the real "phenom."
And instead of starting the convention with Sen. Ted Kennedy – the least loved of all the Kennedy clan, or even with Michelle Obama, a nice lady, the convention should have started with a bang. A Powerful speech from Bill Clinton, followed tonight by a powerful speech by Hillary Clinton.
That’s what’s lacking in the Obama candidacy. He is too insecure about the Clintons and it shows. He is too afraid that they can steal the show. Obama might become a great president, if he had someone at his side who many Americans can trust.
Senator Joe Biden? Give me a break. He’s a selfish political animal who has pandered to his constituency and has ruled the Senate Foreign Relations Committee only since Democrats took control of the Senate and has done what? Nothing. A cowardly lion on a committee of power.
The Democratic Covention is over before it even started.
I don’t care how much Hillary Clinton urges her supporters to support Barack Obama.
The bottom line is many Americans are wondering whether a gamble on Barack for four years will be any worse than a gamble on a "mini-me" George Bush in the form of John McCain.
McCain may represent a third-term Bush – the only difference is that while Bush hid from his patriotic military service during the height of the Vietnam War, McCain showed courage.
By the way, what war did Obama serve in? The South Side political wars?
McCain may be a Republican clinging to a party that has driven this country into an economic tailspin and caused the world to hate us even more.
But McCain might only be in office for four years. And that means that Hillary Clinton could easily and would most certainly become the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in 2012.
And so far, there is little convincing evidence that that is a bad thing.
McCain has a chance to win. He needs to do something inspirational if he hopes to win the support of the disgruntled Clinton voters, who represent MORE than half of the voting Democrats, even counting the "independents" who swing back and forth at elections and supported Obama this time.
His choice of a vice presidential candidate is his last shot at securing the election this November.
If it is Rudy Giuliani, he might as well say goodnight. Giuliani is a George Bush who knows how to lie better. If it is disgruntled Sen. Joseph Lieberman, McCain can say goodbye to an opportunity. Lieberman is a disloyal Democrat who disrespected the wishes of the Democratic voters in his state.
It’s up to you John McCain.
This is your election to win or lose.
You will decide whether Obama’s so far uninspiring convention will lead to a victory or whether you can steal the thunder.
Do you care about American Democrats?
Or, are you so wedded to Republican ideology that you can’t see what’s best for America as a whole?
END
By Ray Hanania
John McCain is not my choice for president. But he sure has a chance to win the presidency this November. He just has to make the right choice.
Will he?
My perspective on McCain is tugged between him being the silent accomplice watching and witnessing as President Bush and his "Cabinet of Evil" orchestrated one of the world’s greatest frauds and war crimes lying to send our soldiers to Iraq to avenge the lost honor of his father, George H.W. Bush, the former president.
On the other hand, McCain the Republican is the only other choice left as Barack Obama, the Democratic candidate runs out of steam and his Democratic Convention putters along, boringly and with no real inspiration.
That’s the problem with "phenoms," a cute word contrived by his spin-masters to describe Obama as a "phenomena." They start out strong and run out of steam.
The first night of the Democratic Convention should have opened like the Beijing Olympics. Dazzling inspiration and awe-inspiring choreography that took our minds away from China’s history of tyranny and oppressive civil rights abuses.
Instead, the ObamaFest in Denver looked more like a boring remake of a popular movie that just isn’t better than the original.
I’m tired of the Kennedys, the Irish political mafia clan that has exploited the inspiration of two sons murdered by American hate. Sure, the Kennedys are great people, but is that what we need in today’s day and age to inspire us?
Michelle Obama was a poor choice to keynote the Denver Convention. She is wonderful, don’t get me wrong. But the issue isn’t whether or not we need to know how loving of a husband Barack has been. She didn’t speak to the "Democratic Street."
In fact, what is happening on the "Democratic Street" on the floor of the convention, on the news talk programs and even right here in Chicago, Obama’s own back yard, is that Obama hasn’t delivered on his "phenom" promises.
Hillary Clinton remains a formidable force and even if she tells her supporters to support Barack, we know she doesn’t mean it. The fact is Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton have been disrespected by the Obama’s and his expensive and over-funded campaign machine.
When it comes to our economy, Bill Clinton was the best president we ever had. Better than Ronald Reagan.
Despite his personal flaw with Monica Lewinsky which was little more than gristle for the hate-mongering Republican and Conservative news media, and his fumbling of his last minute Middle East peace efforts, Clinton was the real "phenom."
And instead of starting the convention with Sen. Ted Kennedy – the least loved of all the Kennedy clan, or even with Michelle Obama, a nice lady, the convention should have started with a bang. A Powerful speech from Bill Clinton, followed tonight by a powerful speech by Hillary Clinton.
That’s what’s lacking in the Obama candidacy. He is too insecure about the Clintons and it shows. He is too afraid that they can steal the show. Obama might become a great president, if he had someone at his side who many Americans can trust.
Senator Joe Biden? Give me a break. He’s a selfish political animal who has pandered to his constituency and has ruled the Senate Foreign Relations Committee only since Democrats took control of the Senate and has done what? Nothing. A cowardly lion on a committee of power.
The Democratic Covention is over before it even started.
I don’t care how much Hillary Clinton urges her supporters to support Barack Obama.
The bottom line is many Americans are wondering whether a gamble on Barack for four years will be any worse than a gamble on a "mini-me" George Bush in the form of John McCain.
McCain may represent a third-term Bush – the only difference is that while Bush hid from his patriotic military service during the height of the Vietnam War, McCain showed courage.
By the way, what war did Obama serve in? The South Side political wars?
McCain may be a Republican clinging to a party that has driven this country into an economic tailspin and caused the world to hate us even more.
But McCain might only be in office for four years. And that means that Hillary Clinton could easily and would most certainly become the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in 2012.
And so far, there is little convincing evidence that that is a bad thing.
McCain has a chance to win. He needs to do something inspirational if he hopes to win the support of the disgruntled Clinton voters, who represent MORE than half of the voting Democrats, even counting the "independents" who swing back and forth at elections and supported Obama this time.
His choice of a vice presidential candidate is his last shot at securing the election this November.
If it is Rudy Giuliani, he might as well say goodnight. Giuliani is a George Bush who knows how to lie better. If it is disgruntled Sen. Joseph Lieberman, McCain can say goodbye to an opportunity. Lieberman is a disloyal Democrat who disrespected the wishes of the Democratic voters in his state.
It’s up to you John McCain.
This is your election to win or lose.
You will decide whether Obama’s so far uninspiring convention will lead to a victory or whether you can steal the thunder.
Do you care about American Democrats?
Or, are you so wedded to Republican ideology that you can’t see what’s best for America as a whole?
END
Monday, August 25, 2008
Free Credit Reports are not free at all
Every once inawhile I will try to address consumer issues that affect many people. If you have an interesting one, send it to me and I will check it out. This came from a reader who said she wanted to get here "Free Credit Report."
You've heard that jingle on TV where the "dude" sings his song about how he had a lousy credit and didn't know it and it ruined his life. He tells you to go to FreeCreditReport.com and get your "free" report. Well, it's not as "free" as they claim. There are, as always, strongs attached.
You get a free credit report ONLY if you enter your credit card and sign up to pay a monthly fee to get the service. If you don't fill out the credit card information, and agree to make the monthly payments, you won't get the free credit report. And, when you do fill out the credit card information, if you don't call them to cancel AFTER receiving the report, they can start billing you.
Is that "free?"
I don't think so.
How come our elected officials don't crack down on companies like that? A Free Report should be free, no strings attached.
You've heard that jingle on TV where the "dude" sings his song about how he had a lousy credit and didn't know it and it ruined his life. He tells you to go to FreeCreditReport.com and get your "free" report. Well, it's not as "free" as they claim. There are, as always, strongs attached.
You get a free credit report ONLY if you enter your credit card and sign up to pay a monthly fee to get the service. If you don't fill out the credit card information, and agree to make the monthly payments, you won't get the free credit report. And, when you do fill out the credit card information, if you don't call them to cancel AFTER receiving the report, they can start billing you.
Is that "free?"
I think the dude should start singing a new tune.
How come our elected officials don't crack down on companies like that? A Free Report should be free, no strings attached.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
PayDay loans targeted by legislature
Robert S. Molaro
6245 S. Archer Avenue • Chicago, IL 60638
(773) 838-1212 • (708) 354-0743 FAX
STATE LEGISLATURE TO GO AFTER
PAY-DAY LENDERS
PRESS RELEASE 8-11-08
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
State Rep. Julie Hamos has held her first meeting at the State of Illinois Center in Chicago attempting to stop the high interest lenders from avoiding the Payday rules and regulations and making CILA (Consumer Installment Loan Act) loans at the same high interest rates they were making as Payday loans.
Currently, Illinois residents can borrow money from a number of sources referred to as sub-standard lenders. This would include what we refer to as "Payday Lenders" and CILA Lenders.
The Payday Lenders charge a statutory 403 percent interest for a two-week loan. However, they are regulated and required by the State of Illinois to have every loan approved from a database program which monitors and limits the individuals borrowing to a maximum of $1,000, as well as other numerous consumer safeguards.
Some of these Payday Lenders have been circumventing this database and interest rate cap provision by making CILA Loans which allows them to exclude themselves from the database while continuing to charge 300-400-500-600 percent (or more) interest rates and avoid other consumer safeguards.
The traditional CILA lender provides emergency cash loans to credit-challenged individuals.
These companies provide an important service to this under-served populace by lending cash to the Illinois residents without traditional access to credit, providing them a necessary alternative from traditional Payday loans with their high interest rates.
During the last General Assembly session, Rep. Robert Molaro proposed drawing a definite line between Payday and CILA lenders. He proposed distinguishing the CILA companies as "double-digit interest rate lenders" and a Payday operators as "triple-digit interest rate lenders." Rep. Molaro’s legislation acknowledges that triple-digit lenders must be strictly regulated, including participating in the $1,000 loan limit database, and be subject to other necessary consumer protection provisions.
Rep. Hamos will hold her next hearing on August 21, 2008 at the Bilandic Building, 160 N. LaSalle Room C-500, Chicago, Illinois at 1:00 p.m. in an effort to resolve all of the complicated issues needed to not only protect consumers, but also address the concerns of traditional CILA loan companies
"I am very supportive of Rep. Hamos’ efforts in addressing predatory lending in Illinois. We recognize that many people have failed credit and rely heavily on being able to borrow money without having any collateral. The major concern is to not be unfair to the hard working men and women of Illinois who do not have good credit and have a real need to borrow money at rates that are not ‘predatory,’" Molaro said.
6245 S. Archer Avenue • Chicago, IL 60638
(773) 838-1212 • (708) 354-0743 FAX
STATE LEGISLATURE TO GO AFTER
PAY-DAY LENDERS
PRESS RELEASE 8-11-08
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
State Rep. Julie Hamos has held her first meeting at the State of Illinois Center in Chicago attempting to stop the high interest lenders from avoiding the Payday rules and regulations and making CILA (Consumer Installment Loan Act) loans at the same high interest rates they were making as Payday loans.
Currently, Illinois residents can borrow money from a number of sources referred to as sub-standard lenders. This would include what we refer to as "Payday Lenders" and CILA Lenders.
The Payday Lenders charge a statutory 403 percent interest for a two-week loan. However, they are regulated and required by the State of Illinois to have every loan approved from a database program which monitors and limits the individuals borrowing to a maximum of $1,000, as well as other numerous consumer safeguards.
Some of these Payday Lenders have been circumventing this database and interest rate cap provision by making CILA Loans which allows them to exclude themselves from the database while continuing to charge 300-400-500-600 percent (or more) interest rates and avoid other consumer safeguards.
The traditional CILA lender provides emergency cash loans to credit-challenged individuals.
These companies provide an important service to this under-served populace by lending cash to the Illinois residents without traditional access to credit, providing them a necessary alternative from traditional Payday loans with their high interest rates.
During the last General Assembly session, Rep. Robert Molaro proposed drawing a definite line between Payday and CILA lenders. He proposed distinguishing the CILA companies as "double-digit interest rate lenders" and a Payday operators as "triple-digit interest rate lenders." Rep. Molaro’s legislation acknowledges that triple-digit lenders must be strictly regulated, including participating in the $1,000 loan limit database, and be subject to other necessary consumer protection provisions.
Rep. Hamos will hold her next hearing on August 21, 2008 at the Bilandic Building, 160 N. LaSalle Room C-500, Chicago, Illinois at 1:00 p.m. in an effort to resolve all of the complicated issues needed to not only protect consumers, but also address the concerns of traditional CILA loan companies
"I am very supportive of Rep. Hamos’ efforts in addressing predatory lending in Illinois. We recognize that many people have failed credit and rely heavily on being able to borrow money without having any collateral. The major concern is to not be unfair to the hard working men and women of Illinois who do not have good credit and have a real need to borrow money at rates that are not ‘predatory,’" Molaro said.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Besieged Franktfort Township official Paul Ruff to address anti-Muslim charges Wednesday
Frankfort Township Assessor Paul Ruff, who I reported has been under siege for allegedly making anti-Muslim comments in an email sent out to residents in Frankfort will hold a press conference Wednesday at 1 PM at the Township building. Here is the email notice of the event that Assessor Ruff sent out Saturday afternoon:
The controversy received much press, as Ruff notes, including this column by a writer at the HuffingtonPost.com, where I also write.
I tried to reach Mr. Ruff but could not get through and he did not respond to my emails.
I believe the email he sent out was one he received and then forwarded to others, something people do all the time, incuding with material that is somewhat edgy in nature. There haven't been an prior instances of Ruff expressing anti-Muslim sentiments.
My only concern is that the township will be using its staff or a Will County sheriff to prevent free speech in the form of counter demonstrations. There's a middle ground here on this issue that is important and while I am not sure if Ruff did or did not cross the line -- things involving Muslims always gets exaggerated on both sides of the contrvoersies -- I don't think anyone should be prevented from expressing their views or even protesting.
That said here is what I believe:
Mainstream Americans like Ruff have real concerns about Islam that are not being addressed.
There is a tendency for some Muslims to gather around the wagons on every issue involving a Muslims -- oftentimes I am denounced (ridiculously) as "anti-Muslim" simply because I criticize the ridiculous and stupid actions and dictates of Islamic extremists like the Bridgeview Mosques Imam Jamal Said who has reportedly told his Muslim parishioners that it is a sin" to participate in Halloween. They also denounce Valentine's Day and even Thanksgiving as "sins." It's pathetic, but the real problem is the even more naive and ignorant mainstream American media which over reacts on every issue.
I don't believe Ruff is a racist. I think he may (or may not) have dispatched an email that said bad things about Muslims and he should know better, but that doesn't deserve the attacks he is getting.
On the otherhand, some of the loudest supporters rallying around Ruff are extremist Christian racists and fanatics, too, like some of those who have been writing letters to the editor, cited by Ruff above, in the Sunday Southtown/Star.
There is a moderate middle ground and it behoves everyone to try their best for the sake of preserving our great society to find it.
-- Ray Hanania
www.TheMediaOasis.com
I just wanted to take a moment to extend my sincere appreciation and thanks to
everyone who has contacted me over the last several weeks to express their
support. The phone calls, e-mails and letters have been overwhelmingly
positive.
As most of you know, the media coverage has been much less positive, and in consideration of this I will be holding a press conference at 1:00 PM, Wednesday, August 20th. The press conference will be held at the Township Building, 11008 W. Lincoln Highway, Frankfort, in the meeting room available to all residents.I will have a Will County sheriff’s department deputy available to make sure there will no demonstrations. Please, feel free to join me as I need your support, if you can’t come I understand about this short notice.
Thanks again for your continued support and, as always, you can contact me at any time by e-mail, paulruff@msn.com or through my web site www.paulruff.org
Warmest
regards,
Paul
PS, You Must read this Sundays Southtown-Star on Page A-10; you will not be disappointed.
The controversy received much press, as Ruff notes, including this column by a writer at the HuffingtonPost.com, where I also write.
I tried to reach Mr. Ruff but could not get through and he did not respond to my emails.
I believe the email he sent out was one he received and then forwarded to others, something people do all the time, incuding with material that is somewhat edgy in nature. There haven't been an prior instances of Ruff expressing anti-Muslim sentiments.
My only concern is that the township will be using its staff or a Will County sheriff to prevent free speech in the form of counter demonstrations. There's a middle ground here on this issue that is important and while I am not sure if Ruff did or did not cross the line -- things involving Muslims always gets exaggerated on both sides of the contrvoersies -- I don't think anyone should be prevented from expressing their views or even protesting.
That said here is what I believe:
Mainstream Americans like Ruff have real concerns about Islam that are not being addressed.
There is a tendency for some Muslims to gather around the wagons on every issue involving a Muslims -- oftentimes I am denounced (ridiculously) as "anti-Muslim" simply because I criticize the ridiculous and stupid actions and dictates of Islamic extremists like the Bridgeview Mosques Imam Jamal Said who has reportedly told his Muslim parishioners that it is a sin" to participate in Halloween. They also denounce Valentine's Day and even Thanksgiving as "sins." It's pathetic, but the real problem is the even more naive and ignorant mainstream American media which over reacts on every issue.
I don't believe Ruff is a racist. I think he may (or may not) have dispatched an email that said bad things about Muslims and he should know better, but that doesn't deserve the attacks he is getting.
On the otherhand, some of the loudest supporters rallying around Ruff are extremist Christian racists and fanatics, too, like some of those who have been writing letters to the editor, cited by Ruff above, in the Sunday Southtown/Star.
There is a moderate middle ground and it behoves everyone to try their best for the sake of preserving our great society to find it.
-- Ray Hanania
www.TheMediaOasis.com
Hypocricies in the mainstream media
I had to laugh when I read Steve Huntley's column in Friday's Chicago Sun-Times. Steve, my former editor there, has fashioned himself as one of the leading enablers of anti-Muslim hate. He has company at the Sun-Times although the ranks of Muslim bashers have been weeded out in the newspaper's transition from bully pulpit under the racism of Baron Conrad Black to returning to respectable journalism again as a great newspaper. Huntley is the odd-man out, though, with his narrow views on the Middle East.
And here's Huntley, arguing that it's sad when voices are silenced because of bigotry. What a hypocrite. Huntley served on the Sun-Times board at a time when anti-Muslim and anti-Arab voices were not only silenced and prevented from being articulated, but when they hate-mongering against Muslims and Arabs was at it’s ugliest and most vicious crescendo.
Believe me, if the book were a gossip-filled dissertation exposing Jesus as something other than the Christian Messiah, he’d be all over it demanding that it be removed from store shelves. Sure, he’d say, publish it, but don’t you dare sell it or face my ugly wrath!
Huntley didn’t write to blast the Wall Street Journal which hounded Chicago attorney Mazen Asbahi out of a job as a volunteer liaison between the Muslim Community and the Barack Obama campaign. The Wall Street Journal reported that Asbahi served on a board that had some members who were from another board who were … GASP! … Muslim! Eeeeiyiiiiiiieeeeee! Oh my God! Muslims are Americans too!
Guilt by association is the bludgeon that hypocrites like Huntley and the Wall Street Journal justify when the targets pray to the wrong religion.
It’s all pathetic and one reason why the mainstream American news media is faltering. It’s not just the economy. Hell, the economy has been up and down for years but you have never seen the devastation being reeked upon the print news media like the Chicago Sun-Times these days.
No. The print media is faltering because the writing in many newspapers over the past decade have turned to the far, ugly right. Conservative neo-fascism disguised as free speech used to bully and intimidate anyone who has a viewpoint that they dislike. And it hasn’t been just one newspaper. It has been most of the major newspapers. The writing has been filled with hate-mongering, and vicious slander of a religion and a people.
If a Gay person went on a killing spree, no one would write he’s a terrorist symbol of the evil Gay Rights movement. Andrew Cunanan. If a Chinese man on the street in Beijing goes on a knife wielding rampage killing two innocent tourists, no one calls him a representative of a terrorist people. If a Catholic farm boy fills a truck with explosives and parks it in front of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, no one calls Christians terrorists.
But, if one Arab or one Muslims does anything crazy, criminal or violent, the entire Islamic World is held responsible. Islamic terrorism. Islamic violence. Muslim fanaticism. Islamo-fascism. Those words role off the lips of writers who exploit anything to make Muslims and Arabs look bad.
No. The print news media isn’t suffering just because the economy is bad. Everyone is suffering because the economy is bad. The print news media is suffering because more and more open-minded people are turning to alternative sources on the Internet instead of reading their junk in the inked up pages of their newspapers and their minds. More and more journalists who have been shut out of the mainstream media because of their religion and ethnic heritage have found a stronger wider voice on the Internet. More and more people have found that the Internet, not hate-mongering newspapers like the Chicago Sun-Times, allow them the true essence of free speech that the mainstream news media hypocritically manipulates.
The Chicago Sun-Times, overall, is a better paper than it was when it was in the hands of imprisoned felon Conrad Black. But the anger from some corners in its newsroom remains far too disturbing. Not that newspapers care. They love to dish it out but they can never take the criticism. They slam everyone and then one someone slams them, they engage in campaigns of intimidation and libel.
I’m going to send Random House a letter thanking them for caring about the concerns of Muslims and Arabs – Christian Arabs, by the way, are Muslim by culture and although we don’t observe Islamic religious practices, we identify closely with the essence of the Islamic lifestyle that is really about peace, justice and family values. (Yes, every group has its dark side but, like I said, no one holds those bad apples as representatives of the entire orchard, except writers like the Chicago Sun-Times’ Huntley, I guess.
(Ray Hanania is an award winning columnist and author. He can be reached at www.TheMediaOasis.com and by email at rayhanania@comcast.net.)
Ray Hanania
www.TheMediaOasis.com
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Labels:
book,
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Muhammed,
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news media,
Random house
Labels:
book,
Islamic history,
Islamic religion,
Muhammed,
Muslims,
news media,
Random house
Friday, August 15, 2008
Is your computer safe: from the Better Business Bureau
Steve J. Bernas President & CEO
Tel: 312-245-2514
Fax: 312-832-1907
Cell: 312-848-8437
Web: www.chicago.bbb.org
BBB
330 N. Wabash Ave Suite 2006
Chicago, IL 60611
News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Is Your Computer Taking You Where You Want To Go?
Chicago, IL, August 14, 2008- The Better Business Bureau warns that if you use your computer to buy or sell items, or do other financial transactions, requiring passwords and user IDs, you should confirm the online security of those Web sites. And you need to make sure the latest patches to stop criminals from diverting users to fake Web sites where a user’s personal and financial data could be stolen have been installed.
“For every new use that your computer enables you to do, there always seems to be another negative, nefarious or criminal use that often counters the benefits,” says Steve J. Bernas, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Chicago and Northern Illinois.
Bernas explains that on July 30, 2008 the New York Times printed an article about a flaw in the Domain Name System. This Internet-wide system translates Web site addresses that most users can understand into numeric versions that computers understand.
The flaw allows a criminal to redirect Web traffic to a fake site that looks like the intended Web site. This would allow the person to steal the user’s name, password and other information. There would be little or no indication of the user’s misdirection.
“This is a global problem but it is our understanding that many of the large Internet providers, such as AT&T, Comcast and Verizon have fixed the problem for their customers,” Bernas says. But he adds “for consumers to insure the safety of their personal information they need to check with their internet providers”.
This issue affects businesses as well so it is equally important that IT departments and network administrators take the necessary steps to safeguard their systems. That includes contacting the webmasters of the sites that you visit to make sure that the appropriate system patch has been installed.
“As with any type of potential identity theft, it is often difficult to determine what’s been done,” Bernas notes. “It’s always a good practice to look at all your credit card and other financial transaction records on a regular basis to spot any that are unauthorized.”
Additional information about the Better Business Bureau and this specific situation can be obtained by going to www.chicago.bbb.org, or contacting the BBB at: 312-832-0500.
###
About the BBB
As private, non-profit organization, the purpose of the Better Business Bureau is to promote an ethical marketplace. BBBs help resolve buyer/seller complaints by means of conciliation, mediation and arbitration. BBBs also review advertising claims, online business practices and charitable organizations. BBBs develop and issue reports on businesses and nonprofit organizations and encourage people to check out a company or charity before making a purchase or donation.
Tel: 312-245-2514
Fax: 312-832-1907
Cell: 312-848-8437
Web: www.chicago.bbb.org
BBB
330 N. Wabash Ave Suite 2006
Chicago, IL 60611
News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Is Your Computer Taking You Where You Want To Go?
Chicago, IL, August 14, 2008- The Better Business Bureau warns that if you use your computer to buy or sell items, or do other financial transactions, requiring passwords and user IDs, you should confirm the online security of those Web sites. And you need to make sure the latest patches to stop criminals from diverting users to fake Web sites where a user’s personal and financial data could be stolen have been installed.
“For every new use that your computer enables you to do, there always seems to be another negative, nefarious or criminal use that often counters the benefits,” says Steve J. Bernas, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Chicago and Northern Illinois.
Bernas explains that on July 30, 2008 the New York Times printed an article about a flaw in the Domain Name System. This Internet-wide system translates Web site addresses that most users can understand into numeric versions that computers understand.
The flaw allows a criminal to redirect Web traffic to a fake site that looks like the intended Web site. This would allow the person to steal the user’s name, password and other information. There would be little or no indication of the user’s misdirection.
“This is a global problem but it is our understanding that many of the large Internet providers, such as AT&T, Comcast and Verizon have fixed the problem for their customers,” Bernas says. But he adds “for consumers to insure the safety of their personal information they need to check with their internet providers”.
This issue affects businesses as well so it is equally important that IT departments and network administrators take the necessary steps to safeguard their systems. That includes contacting the webmasters of the sites that you visit to make sure that the appropriate system patch has been installed.
“As with any type of potential identity theft, it is often difficult to determine what’s been done,” Bernas notes. “It’s always a good practice to look at all your credit card and other financial transaction records on a regular basis to spot any that are unauthorized.”
Additional information about the Better Business Bureau and this specific situation can be obtained by going to www.chicago.bbb.org, or contacting the BBB at: 312-832-0500.
###
About the BBB
As private, non-profit organization, the purpose of the Better Business Bureau is to promote an ethical marketplace. BBBs help resolve buyer/seller complaints by means of conciliation, mediation and arbitration. BBBs also review advertising claims, online business practices and charitable organizations. BBBs develop and issue reports on businesses and nonprofit organizations and encourage people to check out a company or charity before making a purchase or donation.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
A tornado in Orland Park last week?
JUST MY POINT EXACTLY. No one ever really cares about the Southwest Suburbs. Orland Park DID have a tornado but no one reported it, until now, a week later. Even the local papers missed the story. Here's a story in the Chicago Tribune that finally came out today and that officially confirms what many people in Orland Park have been saying all along. There was a tornado here, albeit not a huge whirlwind. (I say many because a few just were so drunk that during the tornado they thought they were sober.)
The wind ravaged my bedouin encampment in the backyard and I think my hookah got wisked away in one of those August 4th zephyrs. Trees were bent at 45 degree angles. The unkempt lawn at the Award Winning Orland Park Police Station -- which the village insists is an open lands project -- was howling in the wind. The debri that often covers the parking lot of the 151st Street and West Avenue strip mall just vanished, the winds were so bad. A above ground pool a few blocks away was lifted up and relocated in a neighbor's yard (and the village cited them for excessive water use during the summer water drought ban whatever.) The suburban stereotype of swingers and wife-swapping was replaced by garbage can swapping.
All we heard about was Bolingbrook, Bloomingdale and Griffith, Indiana.
All that and nary a mention in the local gossip pages. Isn't it like the news media and everyone everywhere else to just ignore us?
It's not just Orland Park that everyone is ignoring. It's the entire Southwest Suburban region. To the bosses in Chicago -- who control some of the politicians right here in Orland Park, hint, hint -- Orfland Park doesn't exist.
Here's my top 10 list of pet peeves about how the Southwest Suburbs are ignored:
10 -- We have a tornado and it takes 9 days for anyone to officially acknowledge it
9 -- Why is it the state has spent the past half century building expressways to serve the Northwest and North suburbs and all we get is some far out extension to help voters in Will and DuPage County?
8 -- Why is it that everyplace else get's efficient and round-the-clock public transit and all we get in the Southwest Suburbs is "After Thought." PACE, Metra ... the undependable lines.
7 -- The terms "Southwest Side" and "Southwest Suburbs" are often misused by the media usually to describe murder and mayhem in other areas like Little Village, or the far South Side. The far south side is NOT the Southwest Side.
6 -- The Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times (which steals copy from the Southtown) takes very seriously issues of importance to residents in Winnetka and Skokie and Evanston, but they barely take notice of our region.
5 -- Political corruption and mismanagement are headline grabbing leads in other areas of the region, but very few serious journalists pay any attention to government corruption, waste, lying and deceipt when it takes place in Orland Park.
4 -- Why does the Southwest Suburbs have more racial hatred than other regions -- people are still steaming over the building of the mosque here
3 -- Chicago has made a pitch to bring the Olympics to the city in 2016 and the grand plans for the events involve every place else except the Southwest Suburbs.
2 -- Coffee at Starbucks in Buffalo Grove tastes exquisite, but in the three franchises in Orland Park, it tastes like dead possum!
1 -- How come Bernie Mac used to come to Orland Park and smoke his cigars through his oxygen tank tubes at local cigar stores and no one ever mentioned that?
Ray Hanania
OrlandParker.com
The wind ravaged my bedouin encampment in the backyard and I think my hookah got wisked away in one of those August 4th zephyrs. Trees were bent at 45 degree angles. The unkempt lawn at the Award Winning Orland Park Police Station -- which the village insists is an open lands project -- was howling in the wind. The debri that often covers the parking lot of the 151st Street and West Avenue strip mall just vanished, the winds were so bad. A above ground pool a few blocks away was lifted up and relocated in a neighbor's yard (and the village cited them for excessive water use during the summer water drought ban whatever.) The suburban stereotype of swingers and wife-swapping was replaced by garbage can swapping.
All we heard about was Bolingbrook, Bloomingdale and Griffith, Indiana.
All that and nary a mention in the local gossip pages. Isn't it like the news media and everyone everywhere else to just ignore us?
It's not just Orland Park that everyone is ignoring. It's the entire Southwest Suburban region. To the bosses in Chicago -- who control some of the politicians right here in Orland Park, hint, hint -- Orfland Park doesn't exist.
Here's my top 10 list of pet peeves about how the Southwest Suburbs are ignored:
10 -- We have a tornado and it takes 9 days for anyone to officially acknowledge it
9 -- Why is it the state has spent the past half century building expressways to serve the Northwest and North suburbs and all we get is some far out extension to help voters in Will and DuPage County?
8 -- Why is it that everyplace else get's efficient and round-the-clock public transit and all we get in the Southwest Suburbs is "After Thought." PACE, Metra ... the undependable lines.
7 -- The terms "Southwest Side" and "Southwest Suburbs" are often misused by the media usually to describe murder and mayhem in other areas like Little Village, or the far South Side. The far south side is NOT the Southwest Side.
6 -- The Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times (which steals copy from the Southtown) takes very seriously issues of importance to residents in Winnetka and Skokie and Evanston, but they barely take notice of our region.
5 -- Political corruption and mismanagement are headline grabbing leads in other areas of the region, but very few serious journalists pay any attention to government corruption, waste, lying and deceipt when it takes place in Orland Park.
4 -- Why does the Southwest Suburbs have more racial hatred than other regions -- people are still steaming over the building of the mosque here
3 -- Chicago has made a pitch to bring the Olympics to the city in 2016 and the grand plans for the events involve every place else except the Southwest Suburbs.
2 -- Coffee at Starbucks in Buffalo Grove tastes exquisite, but in the three franchises in Orland Park, it tastes like dead possum!
1 -- How come Bernie Mac used to come to Orland Park and smoke his cigars through his oxygen tank tubes at local cigar stores and no one ever mentioned that?
Ray Hanania
OrlandParker.com
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Celebrity Sightings: Kanye West's FatBurger coming to Orland Park
Orland Park has a lot of celebrities. Crains Chicago Business reports that the first "Fatburger" owned by hip-hop/rapper and George Bush-critic Kanye West will be opening sometime next month in Orland Park. The 2,353-square-foot, 74-seat restaurant will be at 15110 S. La Grange Road, near the intersection of 143rd Street.
Kanye owns "KW Foods LLC," which has rights throgh the Santa Monica, Calif.-based burger chain Fatburger Corp, to develop 10 Fatburgers in the Chicago area with the first in Orland Park and a second in Evergreen Park next year.
Orland is a magnet for celebrities, especially sports and entertainers. We have lots of them including Buddy Guy, a few Bears and Sox players, and, if you haven't see the entourage following R Kelly (Robert Sylvester, web site http://www.r-kelly.com/). The rapper and singer-singwriter hangs out at LifeTime with a huge entourage. Not exactly the way to remain anonymous, I guess. But, the R-man raises eyebrows and high-fives followed by a network almost as large as the one in that cell phone commercial.
Welcome Kanye. Word is the food is great and we're glad to have you here.
Now, some people have told me they also used to see Bernie Mac, who is from Chicago originally, hanging out at a cigar bar in Orland Park with his oxygen tank at his side and the breathing tubes in his nose, while puffing on a cigar. Just before Mac's deasth, he performed as a warmup for an appearance by Democratic Presidential Nominee Barack Obama. Mac cussed his way through the riffs and drew a mild rebuke from Obama, who then said, eh was just joking. But staffers later insisted Obama had criticized some of the Mac's comments.
Let us know of any other celebrity sightings in Orland Park or the region.
Ray Hanania
http://www.themediaoasis.com/
Kanye owns "KW Foods LLC," which has rights throgh the Santa Monica, Calif.-based burger chain Fatburger Corp, to develop 10 Fatburgers in the Chicago area with the first in Orland Park and a second in Evergreen Park next year.
Orland is a magnet for celebrities, especially sports and entertainers. We have lots of them including Buddy Guy, a few Bears and Sox players, and, if you haven't see the entourage following R Kelly (Robert Sylvester, web site http://www.r-kelly.com/). The rapper and singer-singwriter hangs out at LifeTime with a huge entourage. Not exactly the way to remain anonymous, I guess. But, the R-man raises eyebrows and high-fives followed by a network almost as large as the one in that cell phone commercial.
Welcome Kanye. Word is the food is great and we're glad to have you here.
Now, some people have told me they also used to see Bernie Mac, who is from Chicago originally, hanging out at a cigar bar in Orland Park with his oxygen tank at his side and the breathing tubes in his nose, while puffing on a cigar. Just before Mac's deasth, he performed as a warmup for an appearance by Democratic Presidential Nominee Barack Obama. Mac cussed his way through the riffs and drew a mild rebuke from Obama, who then said, eh was just joking. But staffers later insisted Obama had criticized some of the Mac's comments.
Let us know of any other celebrity sightings in Orland Park or the region.
Ray Hanania
http://www.themediaoasis.com/
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R Kelly
Trying to be something Orland Park is not
There are some people who are never happy with what they are or what they have. They're always looking elsewhere for the "big ideas" instead of right in their back yards. Take Orland Park's "leadership," for example -- I use the term liberally, of course.
The Village has been purchasing land bordering LaGrange Road, 143rd Street and Southwest Highway -- the triangle -- to develop a mixed-use, Old Town-like downtown area adjacent to the newly remodeled Metra train stop. The last hurdle is the purchase of Orland Plaza, which has been all over the news.
The idea is this "down town" will be like Frankfort's downtown. A place that has a look and feel from the past when people would sit on the edge of the wood planked sidewalks (after the mud dried), watched the horse and buggies klop-klop by, kicking up mini-dust storms, and eat homemade pie.
I admit the idea has some merit. When I want to lazily walk in a turn-of-the-century like downtown center, I drive to Frankfort, spend a few hours there, and then never go back, except maybe for their annual Labor Day weekend arts, craft and food fest, which is one of the region's best.
If I want to spend more than a few hours at a place like that, I've traveled to Narbonne in France and walked around Carcassone, between Toulous and Narbonne in France, not too far from Perpignon on the Cout d Azure, which was Salvador Dali's favorite place to paint. I'll spend a few days walking around there among its olden days store fronts, shops and streets filled with circus-like minstrels. Or, maybe, you might travel to Palestinian East Jerusalem, and visit the Souq and spend hours walking from one tiny shop to another taking in the aromatic orchestra of incense. (In fact, at the end of this column, you can watch my July 2007 Comcast Cable TV program "TV Chicagoland/30 Minutes" and my video tour of the Souq of East Jerusalem.) Or, maybe, go to the old city in Barcelona and take in breathtaking ancient churches and structures from real Medieval times.
But does Orland Park really need an "Old Town?"
I don't think so. I know they keep telling us it's to broaden the "ambiance" of our little village. Well, Orland Park is no "little village." With better management, it could be the economic engine driving the Southwest Suburbs. Instead, we're slumped by a poor economy like everyone else and that's surprising because we have so many retail shops our sales tax revenues should be shooting through the roof and they are not. We have so many store fronts that are vacant, a trashy look that reminds people of a future ghetto -- it's happened to places. I've seen it.
Mayor Dan McLaughlin fashions himself off to be some mini-me Mayor Daley. We'll call him "da boss," because behind his unpresuming smile is one tough politician who gets angry over any resistance from people around him.
(That's how he was to me when I told him that instead of automatically appointing his nominee for a certain high-paying village position, we should at least open the job up to the village residences to see if anyone else was interested in qualifying for it -- I quit the commission when he told me it was either his way or the highway and now he goes around telling people he doesn't understand why I am so critical of him -- you're no different than the other two-faced politicians, Dan!)
It's that 19th Ward fever that has been sweeping through our community over the past few years. There's no immunity for it, yet.
So, how about we drop this stupid idea of some turn-of-the-century old town atmosphere and instead build something really remarkable, like a community theater (that isn't political like the one we have today), or a museum campus, or some place where people can go to have real enjoyment, arts, entertainment and fun?
Secrets of the Souq of East Jerusalem Video
Click the PLAY button to watch
or THIS LINK IF THAT DOESN'T WORK ON YOUR COMPUTER:
The Village has been purchasing land bordering LaGrange Road, 143rd Street and Southwest Highway -- the triangle -- to develop a mixed-use, Old Town-like downtown area adjacent to the newly remodeled Metra train stop. The last hurdle is the purchase of Orland Plaza, which has been all over the news.
The idea is this "down town" will be like Frankfort's downtown. A place that has a look and feel from the past when people would sit on the edge of the wood planked sidewalks (after the mud dried), watched the horse and buggies klop-klop by, kicking up mini-dust storms, and eat homemade pie.
I admit the idea has some merit. When I want to lazily walk in a turn-of-the-century like downtown center, I drive to Frankfort, spend a few hours there, and then never go back, except maybe for their annual Labor Day weekend arts, craft and food fest, which is one of the region's best.
If I want to spend more than a few hours at a place like that, I've traveled to Narbonne in France and walked around Carcassone, between Toulous and Narbonne in France, not too far from Perpignon on the Cout d Azure, which was Salvador Dali's favorite place to paint. I'll spend a few days walking around there among its olden days store fronts, shops and streets filled with circus-like minstrels. Or, maybe, you might travel to Palestinian East Jerusalem, and visit the Souq and spend hours walking from one tiny shop to another taking in the aromatic orchestra of incense. (In fact, at the end of this column, you can watch my July 2007 Comcast Cable TV program "TV Chicagoland/30 Minutes" and my video tour of the Souq of East Jerusalem.) Or, maybe, go to the old city in Barcelona and take in breathtaking ancient churches and structures from real Medieval times.
But does Orland Park really need an "Old Town?"
I don't think so. I know they keep telling us it's to broaden the "ambiance" of our little village. Well, Orland Park is no "little village." With better management, it could be the economic engine driving the Southwest Suburbs. Instead, we're slumped by a poor economy like everyone else and that's surprising because we have so many retail shops our sales tax revenues should be shooting through the roof and they are not. We have so many store fronts that are vacant, a trashy look that reminds people of a future ghetto -- it's happened to places. I've seen it.
Mayor Dan McLaughlin fashions himself off to be some mini-me Mayor Daley. We'll call him "da boss," because behind his unpresuming smile is one tough politician who gets angry over any resistance from people around him.
(That's how he was to me when I told him that instead of automatically appointing his nominee for a certain high-paying village position, we should at least open the job up to the village residences to see if anyone else was interested in qualifying for it -- I quit the commission when he told me it was either his way or the highway and now he goes around telling people he doesn't understand why I am so critical of him -- you're no different than the other two-faced politicians, Dan!)
It's that 19th Ward fever that has been sweeping through our community over the past few years. There's no immunity for it, yet.
So, how about we drop this stupid idea of some turn-of-the-century old town atmosphere and instead build something really remarkable, like a community theater (that isn't political like the one we have today), or a museum campus, or some place where people can go to have real enjoyment, arts, entertainment and fun?
Secrets of the Souq of East Jerusalem Video
Click the PLAY button to watch
or THIS LINK IF THAT DOESN'T WORK ON YOUR COMPUTER:
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Frankfort Township official crosses the line on Arab and Muslim hatemongering -- but some of the response is hypocritical
Frankfort Township Assessor Paul Ruff, whose government job is to serve as a liaison on their property taxes with the Cook County Assessor, seems to have expanded his duties recently when he sent out an email to a lot of people in his township that expressed his concerns about Muslims who live in America.No one actually has the exact email that Ruff allegedly sent out, and Ruff is not returning phone calls or emails so we don't know if he actually wrote it, or more likely, received the email and thought it was worth forwarding to his email list (which is something so many people do often.)
But several groups are trying to organize protests against Ruff and they are partnering with some good groups and some groups that are not so good, like CAIR, the Council on American Islamic Relations which has a habit of browbeating those in the Arab and Muslim community who go too far in denouncing extremism and anti-American violence (more below on CAIR).
Here is what has been written in all the local newspapers about what Ruff wrote:
The e-mail, circulated in June, said America should follow the lead of Australia's former prime minister John Howard, who said Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law should get out of Australia.
"Once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about our flag, our pledge, our Christian beliefs or our way of life, I highly encourage you to take advantage of one other great Australian freedom, the right to leave," the e-mail said, supposedly quoting Howard.
The e-mail actually was based on a column by Georgia state lawmaker Barry Loudermilk.
"Maybe if we circulate this amongst ourselves, American citizens will find the back bone to start speaking and voicing the same truths," the e-mail continued. "If you agree, please send this on."
Loudermilk is a racist and a bigot. I doubt that Ruff is a racist and he probably is just reacting the way most Americans do when they see Islamic fanatics make all kinds of threats against Americans (as they are doing targeting the Beijing Olympics), but only see many high profile Islamic "leaders" like CAIR waffle and walk carefully in their limited denunciations of "extremists."
What CAIR does is to denounce extremists and extremism, and violence. Yet, they do not hesitate to stand with fanatics and extremists who do not denounce violence and extremism. And, CAIR has walked a fine line, denouncing Osama Bin laden and al-Qaeda, but NOT denouncing Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which are terrorist organizations that use violence and the reprehensible and indefensible suicide bombing violence in which young, misguided Muslims and Arabs are brainwashed by their fearless leaders who convince them to sacrifice their lives for the cause while the fearless leaders do not sacrifice their own lives.
CAIR's Chicago spokesman is Ahmed Rehab. He is a very good person. Very genuine. But CAIR is sometimes "racist" (I define that as a group that discriminates againsts omeone else on the basis not only of race but also religion and ethnic and religious political views) and often engages in the same kind of hatemongering against individuals that it often denounces that is done to Muslims in America.
In otherwords, CAIR will denounce people like Ruff, but they remain silent when Muslim American extremists attack and denounce and intimidate Christian Arabs like myself and other secular Muslims.
The majority of Muslims in Chicagoland are moderates. They are not engaged in any anti-American activities. Yet, they are intimidated and browbeat by organizations like CAIR to shut up or be ostracized. (Just look at the case of Omar Najib, a Palos Heights based lawyer who has been the target of a hate campaign by extremist Muslims, many at the Bridgeview Mosque, and yet you WON'T hear CAIR denounce that extremism from among their own ranks.)
That's the hypocrisy that CAIR represents. Rehab is trying to change that but after waiting three years for him to do something, I think the time is now to put pressure on CAIR to either genuinely denounce extremism (including those extremists in the Muslim community right here in the United States and in the Chicago area) and stop being hypocrities about hatemongering, or there should be a formal campaign to ostracize CAIR and expose it for what it is.
Ironically, well intentioned groups like the Southwest Interfaith Team (SWIFT) -- the coalition of Christian, Muslim and Jewish leaders -- are ignorant of the reality of the hatemongering that takes place inside the Arab and Muslim American community. They speak out against hatemongering against Muslims but DO NOTHING to stand up to the hatemongering by organizations like CAIR and others against Christian Arabs like myself and secular Muslims.
The Arabian Club of Orland Park is planning a public meeting where some of these issues can be discussed and I hope you will attend. Until then, here is some background on the issues discussed here:Ruff's Township Assessor's Web Page
Story in the Southtown July 22
Story on Ruff's achievements in the Frankfort Station Newspaper April 8
The Council on American Islamic Relations Chicago Page
SWIFT Web Page
We were unable to reach Ruff for a comment.
-- Ray Hanania
http://www.themediaoasis.com/
Saturday, August 9, 2008
It's not over yet for John Edwards
I used to really like John Edwards. Before Hillary Clinton, he was my first choice for president. I still do like him, sort of. But as each denial from him comes out, I am finding that I like him less and less.
I met Edwards and I participated in several conference calls with him when he was considering running for president and then became a vice presidential candidate in 2004. I followed him when he ran during the past year. He was a very likable person. Of course, everyone born in 1953 is likable (including me.)
Yet, deep down I can't help but to believe that John Edwards is still lying. He lied about having an affair and now has come "clean." Yet, he seems like he is qualifying everything, instead of coming clean.
He was asked about a photo in which a man who looked like him was holding a little baby that belonged to his girlfriend and former staff person, Rielle Hunter, and instead of saying he did or did not meet the baby, insisted that the picture could or might not be him. It's the trait of a liar to pretend to tell the truth but work hard at mincing words in order to walk around the truth.
I don't believe we have the truth yet from Edwards and I don't think I am alone. I think Edwards needs to tell the truth. The whole truth. And nothing but the truth. Why? Well, I recognize that a person's personal life is really no one's business. But, after you held yourself up to the level of moral and principled heights that marked your public campaign to win over the support of the American people, you owe it to us to tell us whether you were duping us, too, on the issue of whether you would make a good president.
Your private life is now public and you have a moral and principled obligation to set the record straight. Either you did or did not father the child. What else are you hiding? How many other women are there from your past campaign trail on which the shoulders of millions of Americans relied?
Tell the truth John. Quit playing games. Avoiding the truth and playing games with the way you answer things will do more harm to you and your family than admitting the ugly absolute truth.
But, you won't know that until it's too late and you keep lying, unfortunately. It's tragic to see your fall. I admired you and so did many millions of Americans.
Ray Hanania
www.TheMediaOasis.com
I met Edwards and I participated in several conference calls with him when he was considering running for president and then became a vice presidential candidate in 2004. I followed him when he ran during the past year. He was a very likable person. Of course, everyone born in 1953 is likable (including me.)
Yet, deep down I can't help but to believe that John Edwards is still lying. He lied about having an affair and now has come "clean." Yet, he seems like he is qualifying everything, instead of coming clean.
He was asked about a photo in which a man who looked like him was holding a little baby that belonged to his girlfriend and former staff person, Rielle Hunter, and instead of saying he did or did not meet the baby, insisted that the picture could or might not be him. It's the trait of a liar to pretend to tell the truth but work hard at mincing words in order to walk around the truth.
I don't believe we have the truth yet from Edwards and I don't think I am alone. I think Edwards needs to tell the truth. The whole truth. And nothing but the truth. Why? Well, I recognize that a person's personal life is really no one's business. But, after you held yourself up to the level of moral and principled heights that marked your public campaign to win over the support of the American people, you owe it to us to tell us whether you were duping us, too, on the issue of whether you would make a good president.
Your private life is now public and you have a moral and principled obligation to set the record straight. Either you did or did not father the child. What else are you hiding? How many other women are there from your past campaign trail on which the shoulders of millions of Americans relied?
Tell the truth John. Quit playing games. Avoiding the truth and playing games with the way you answer things will do more harm to you and your family than admitting the ugly absolute truth.
But, you won't know that until it's too late and you keep lying, unfortunately. It's tragic to see your fall. I admired you and so did many millions of Americans.
Ray Hanania
www.TheMediaOasis.com
Friday, August 8, 2008
In praise of Gov. Blagojevich -- AllKids insurance covers 1.3 million Illinois kids, plus one more
A family I know has been without health insurance for the past seven months. They have one child. The wife has asthma and the son has ADHD.
I don’t want to name them because it is embarrassing not being able to get insurance. There is a stigma attached to it.
This week, they just got their notice from Gov. Rod Blagojevich that their son will finally be able to afford his monthly medication, and even see a dentist and an eye doctor.
Thanks to the Governor, Illinois has a program called All Kids. What that means is that the family is now able to purchase insurance for their seven year old. Get him his medications. And not have the parents dote over him when he wants to play with the other kids because the parents are worried he might trip and fall.
You may not know this if you have insurance coverage, but one trip to the emergency room can cost more than $1,000, not including the ambulance costs, and the costs of things like X-rays, medication and an examination.
Part of the problem for the family is that they lost their company health insurance because of an employment change. When they went to the same insurance company, Humana, they were denied coverage because of the medication needs of the son and the wife.
Ironically, after they were denied health insurance by Humana, Humana sent the family a letter stating that they had "pre-existing conditions," which means that those conditions cannot be used to deny them insurance within 60 days of having had insurance coverage. I know. It's laughable. The letter was sent within three weeks of the family losing insurance and one week after Human denied them insurance.
You can imagine, the family is upset with Humana, which collected thousands of dollars from them while they were covered, and then arbitrarily decided not to give the family health coverage under a “family plan.” By the time they got around to applying elsewhere, the 60-days had elapsed and Blue Cross/Blue Shield denied them coverage, too. For the same reasons. The asthma medication and the ADHD medication are not covered, they said.
A letter from the family to Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan went unanswered. Of course.
Let’s face it, when it comes to the concerns of families, Lisa is too busy worrying about her own family, and her father, who happens to be the mean old Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives who stubbornly refuses to work with Gov. Blagojevich to address statewide needs like, family insurance.
Lisa Madigan is planning to run for governor, probably against Governor Blagojevich, whom her father has been undermining in Springfield.
This sounds a little harsh, but in reviewing the family’s problems, it is real clear that Gov. Blagojevich cares about families and children, and Lisa Madigan and Mike Madigan don’t care about families and children.
Why isn’t Lisa Madigan filing lawsuits against insurance companies like Humana, holding them accountable for their refusal to cover families that they already covered but are anxious to remove from their coverage rolls in order to save money.
The cost of ADHD medicine is about $140, compared to the $40 when purchased under an insurance prescription plan.
Why isn’t Lisa Madigan filing lawsuits to force the medicine companies to force them to make medicine affordable?
Millions of people in Illinois do not have health insurance, mainly because like the family I am writing about, they are self-employed. Or, they have erratic income that varies from month to month.
Or, they have been bounced from a company health plan and abused by the insurance companies that seek to insure only those people who don’t need expensive medical needs so they can profit.
In a way, the insurance companies are much like the oil companies that Lisa Madigan has targeted in a high profile publicity stunt to give her good PR so she can make herself look good when she does announce later this year her candidacy for governor.
But if Lisa Madigan really wants to be governor, maybe she should focus more on the healthcare needs of the people in Illinois, rather than on the politically charged issue of whether we have affordable gas to pump into our Hummers and luxury cadillacs and limousines.
She might figure out a way to help all of the other children who still need help to join those children who are now benefiting from basic health care, thanks to Gov. Blagojevich.
The seasoned politicians and the political pundits in the media – who all have comprehensive healthcare and could “care less” (no pun intended) about issues like health care – are all mocking and criticizing governor Blagojevich.
They say the Governor is not like all of the other politicians in Illinois.
He certainly is NOT like them.
He’s better.
Well, at least that’s the feeling of the one family that finally was told today that they can worry just a little bit less about the health concerns of their son.
Good job governor. There are more than 1.3 million other children who also have healthcare, thanks to Governor Blagojevich.
That’s worth celebrating.
Visit All Kids on the internet for more information if your child is not covered at AllKids.com.
I don’t want to name them because it is embarrassing not being able to get insurance. There is a stigma attached to it.
This week, they just got their notice from Gov. Rod Blagojevich that their son will finally be able to afford his monthly medication, and even see a dentist and an eye doctor.
Thanks to the Governor, Illinois has a program called All Kids. What that means is that the family is now able to purchase insurance for their seven year old. Get him his medications. And not have the parents dote over him when he wants to play with the other kids because the parents are worried he might trip and fall.
You may not know this if you have insurance coverage, but one trip to the emergency room can cost more than $1,000, not including the ambulance costs, and the costs of things like X-rays, medication and an examination.
Part of the problem for the family is that they lost their company health insurance because of an employment change. When they went to the same insurance company, Humana, they were denied coverage because of the medication needs of the son and the wife.
Ironically, after they were denied health insurance by Humana, Humana sent the family a letter stating that they had "pre-existing conditions," which means that those conditions cannot be used to deny them insurance within 60 days of having had insurance coverage. I know. It's laughable. The letter was sent within three weeks of the family losing insurance and one week after Human denied them insurance.
You can imagine, the family is upset with Humana, which collected thousands of dollars from them while they were covered, and then arbitrarily decided not to give the family health coverage under a “family plan.” By the time they got around to applying elsewhere, the 60-days had elapsed and Blue Cross/Blue Shield denied them coverage, too. For the same reasons. The asthma medication and the ADHD medication are not covered, they said.
A letter from the family to Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan went unanswered. Of course.
Let’s face it, when it comes to the concerns of families, Lisa is too busy worrying about her own family, and her father, who happens to be the mean old Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives who stubbornly refuses to work with Gov. Blagojevich to address statewide needs like, family insurance.
Lisa Madigan is planning to run for governor, probably against Governor Blagojevich, whom her father has been undermining in Springfield.
This sounds a little harsh, but in reviewing the family’s problems, it is real clear that Gov. Blagojevich cares about families and children, and Lisa Madigan and Mike Madigan don’t care about families and children.
Why isn’t Lisa Madigan filing lawsuits against insurance companies like Humana, holding them accountable for their refusal to cover families that they already covered but are anxious to remove from their coverage rolls in order to save money.
The cost of ADHD medicine is about $140, compared to the $40 when purchased under an insurance prescription plan.
Why isn’t Lisa Madigan filing lawsuits to force the medicine companies to force them to make medicine affordable?
Millions of people in Illinois do not have health insurance, mainly because like the family I am writing about, they are self-employed. Or, they have erratic income that varies from month to month.
Or, they have been bounced from a company health plan and abused by the insurance companies that seek to insure only those people who don’t need expensive medical needs so they can profit.
In a way, the insurance companies are much like the oil companies that Lisa Madigan has targeted in a high profile publicity stunt to give her good PR so she can make herself look good when she does announce later this year her candidacy for governor.
But if Lisa Madigan really wants to be governor, maybe she should focus more on the healthcare needs of the people in Illinois, rather than on the politically charged issue of whether we have affordable gas to pump into our Hummers and luxury cadillacs and limousines.
She might figure out a way to help all of the other children who still need help to join those children who are now benefiting from basic health care, thanks to Gov. Blagojevich.
The seasoned politicians and the political pundits in the media – who all have comprehensive healthcare and could “care less” (no pun intended) about issues like health care – are all mocking and criticizing governor Blagojevich.
They say the Governor is not like all of the other politicians in Illinois.
He certainly is NOT like them.
He’s better.
Well, at least that’s the feeling of the one family that finally was told today that they can worry just a little bit less about the health concerns of their son.
Good job governor. There are more than 1.3 million other children who also have healthcare, thanks to Governor Blagojevich.
That’s worth celebrating.
Visit All Kids on the internet for more information if your child is not covered at AllKids.com.
In praise of Gov. Blagojevich -- AllKids Healthcare covers 1.3 million kids, plus one more
A family I know has been without health insurance for the past seven months. They have one child. The wife has asthma and the son has ADHD.
I don’t want to name them because it is embarrassing not being able to get insurance. There is a stigma attached to it.
This week, they just got their notice from Gov. Rod Blagojevich that their son will finally be able to afford his monthly medication, and even see a dentist and an eye doctor.
Thanks to the Governor, Illinois has a program called All Kids. What that means is that the family is now able to purchase insurance for their seven year old. Get him his medications. And not have the parents dote over him when he wants to play with the other kids because the parents are worried he might trip and fall.
You may not know this if you have insurance coverage, but one trip to the emergency room can cost more than $1,000, not including the ambulance costs, and the costs of things like X-rays, medication and an examination.
Part of the problem for the family is that they lost their company health insurance because of an employment change. When they went to the same insurance company, Humana, they were denied coverage because of the medication needs of the son and the wife.
Ironically, after they were denied health insurance by Humana, Humana sent the family a letter stating that they had "pre-existing conditions," which means that those conditions cannot be used to deny them insurance within 60 days of having had insurance coverage. I know. It's laughable. The letter was sent within three weeks of the family losing insurance and one week after Human denied them insurance.
You can imagine, the family is upset with Humana, which collected thousands of dollars from them while they were covered, and then arbitrarily decided not to give the family health coverage under a “family plan.” By the time they got around to applying elsewhere, the 60-days had elapsed and Blue Cross/Blue Shield denied them coverage, too. For the same reasons. The asthma medication and the ADHD medication are not covered, they said.
A letter from the family to Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan went unanswered. Of course.
Let’s face it, when it comes to the concerns of families, Lisa is too busy worrying about her own family, and her father, who happens to be the mean old Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives who stubbornly refuses to work with Gov. Blagojevich to address statewide needs like, family insurance.
Lisa Madigan is planning to run for governor, probably against Governor Blagojevich, whom her father has been undermining in Springfield.
This sounds a little harsh, but in reviewing the family’s problems, it is real clear that Gov. Blagojevich cares about families and children, and Lisa Madigan and Mike Madigan don’t care about families and children.
Why isn’t Lisa Madigan filing lawsuits against insurance companies like Humana, holding them accountable for their refusal to cover families that they already covered but are anxious to remove from their coverage rolls in order to save money.
The cost of ADHD medicine is about $140, compared to the $40 when purchased under an insurance prescription plan.
Why isn’t Lisa Madigan filing lawsuits to force the medicine companies to force them to make medicine affordable?
Millions of people in Illinois do not have health insurance, mainly because like the family I am writing about, they are self-employed. Or, they have erratic income that varies from month to month.
Or, they have been bounced from a company health plan and abused by the insurance companies that seek to insure only those people who don’t need expensive medical needs so they can profit.
In a way, the insurance companies are much like the oil companies that Lisa Madigan has targeted in a high profile publicity stunt to give her good PR so she can make herself look good when she does announce later this year her candidacy for governor.
But if Lisa Madigan really wants to be governor, maybe she should focus more on the healthcare needs of the people in Illinois, rather than on the politically charged issue of whether we have affordable gas to pump into our Hummers and luxury cadillacs and limousines.
She might figure out a way to help all of the other children who still need help to join those children who are now benefiting from basic health care, thanks to Gov. Blagojevich.
The seasoned politicians and the political pundits in the media – who all have comprehensive healthcare and could “care less” (no pun intended) about issues like health care – are all mocking and criticizing governor Blagojevich.
They say the Governor is not like all of the other politicians in Illinois.
He certainly is NOT like them.
He’s better.
Well, at least that’s the feeling of the one family that finally was told today that they can worry just a little bit less about the health concerns of their son.
Good job governor. There are more than 1.3 million other children who also have healthcare, thanks to Governor Blagojevich.
That’s worth celebrating.
Visit All Kids on the internet for more information if your child is not covered at AllKids.com.
I don’t want to name them because it is embarrassing not being able to get insurance. There is a stigma attached to it.
This week, they just got their notice from Gov. Rod Blagojevich that their son will finally be able to afford his monthly medication, and even see a dentist and an eye doctor.
Thanks to the Governor, Illinois has a program called All Kids. What that means is that the family is now able to purchase insurance for their seven year old. Get him his medications. And not have the parents dote over him when he wants to play with the other kids because the parents are worried he might trip and fall.
You may not know this if you have insurance coverage, but one trip to the emergency room can cost more than $1,000, not including the ambulance costs, and the costs of things like X-rays, medication and an examination.
Part of the problem for the family is that they lost their company health insurance because of an employment change. When they went to the same insurance company, Humana, they were denied coverage because of the medication needs of the son and the wife.
Ironically, after they were denied health insurance by Humana, Humana sent the family a letter stating that they had "pre-existing conditions," which means that those conditions cannot be used to deny them insurance within 60 days of having had insurance coverage. I know. It's laughable. The letter was sent within three weeks of the family losing insurance and one week after Human denied them insurance.
You can imagine, the family is upset with Humana, which collected thousands of dollars from them while they were covered, and then arbitrarily decided not to give the family health coverage under a “family plan.” By the time they got around to applying elsewhere, the 60-days had elapsed and Blue Cross/Blue Shield denied them coverage, too. For the same reasons. The asthma medication and the ADHD medication are not covered, they said.
A letter from the family to Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan went unanswered. Of course.
Let’s face it, when it comes to the concerns of families, Lisa is too busy worrying about her own family, and her father, who happens to be the mean old Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives who stubbornly refuses to work with Gov. Blagojevich to address statewide needs like, family insurance.
Lisa Madigan is planning to run for governor, probably against Governor Blagojevich, whom her father has been undermining in Springfield.
This sounds a little harsh, but in reviewing the family’s problems, it is real clear that Gov. Blagojevich cares about families and children, and Lisa Madigan and Mike Madigan don’t care about families and children.
Why isn’t Lisa Madigan filing lawsuits against insurance companies like Humana, holding them accountable for their refusal to cover families that they already covered but are anxious to remove from their coverage rolls in order to save money.
The cost of ADHD medicine is about $140, compared to the $40 when purchased under an insurance prescription plan.
Why isn’t Lisa Madigan filing lawsuits to force the medicine companies to force them to make medicine affordable?
Millions of people in Illinois do not have health insurance, mainly because like the family I am writing about, they are self-employed. Or, they have erratic income that varies from month to month.
Or, they have been bounced from a company health plan and abused by the insurance companies that seek to insure only those people who don’t need expensive medical needs so they can profit.
In a way, the insurance companies are much like the oil companies that Lisa Madigan has targeted in a high profile publicity stunt to give her good PR so she can make herself look good when she does announce later this year her candidacy for governor.
But if Lisa Madigan really wants to be governor, maybe she should focus more on the healthcare needs of the people in Illinois, rather than on the politically charged issue of whether we have affordable gas to pump into our Hummers and luxury cadillacs and limousines.
She might figure out a way to help all of the other children who still need help to join those children who are now benefiting from basic health care, thanks to Gov. Blagojevich.
The seasoned politicians and the political pundits in the media – who all have comprehensive healthcare and could “care less” (no pun intended) about issues like health care – are all mocking and criticizing governor Blagojevich.
They say the Governor is not like all of the other politicians in Illinois.
He certainly is NOT like them.
He’s better.
Well, at least that’s the feeling of the one family that finally was told today that they can worry just a little bit less about the health concerns of their son.
Good job governor. There are more than 1.3 million other children who also have healthcare, thanks to Governor Blagojevich.
That’s worth celebrating.
Visit All Kids on the internet for more information if your child is not covered at AllKids.com.
Orland Park's officials must think we're just plain stupid
First it was the "official spin." Don't worry, everything is fine in Orland Park. We (government elected officials) haven't screwed up, it's the bad economy that blind-sided us. We didn't know it was coming. We have a little budget problem ($4.8 million) short of what we need to cover the services we have been providing, but we have a new village manager from Rhode Island who will take care of it all. (He's staying in one of the homes that the village stupidly bought and is having a hard time re-selling for what it paid.)
Then it was, everything is "intact," including the Property Tax Rebate. Don't worry people of Orland Park. No need for you to worry your empty little brains. You haven't cared before, so why should you care now? We'll take care of it.
And then, it was, well, the Property Tax Rebate is going to be cut because some of the money should be going to cover the pensions, which means money that was going to cover the pensions can be used someplace else.
Then they fed the media stories about how Orland Park's Property Tax Rebate is far more generous than other communities, setting the stage for the big scissors.
Now, it's the Property Tax Rebate is going to be "capped."
Next thing, the Property Tax Rebate is going to be eliminated.
I have one question -- it's not easy getting questions answered from this administration -- they only want to talk to the media that embraces their spin (in exchange for advertising, of course): Do you think the village is in trouble because it paid millions to purchase certain, selected homes alleged to have had serious flooding problems -- while so many others that had flooding problems were ignored -- and the village can't resell those homes today to recoup the money they spent?
Or, possibly, is it because the village failed to see the economic signs, claiming as recently as Mayor Dan McLaughlin's speech to the Orland Park Area Chamber of Commerce that everything is fine. What's to worry? So no one did?
Or possibly, the village is trying to scurry to come up with enough obfuscation so that when it comes time for their re-elections -- in a few months -- they won't have to worry about losing their jobs?
Just some questions from an Orland Park taxpayer.
Then it was, everything is "intact," including the Property Tax Rebate. Don't worry people of Orland Park. No need for you to worry your empty little brains. You haven't cared before, so why should you care now? We'll take care of it.
And then, it was, well, the Property Tax Rebate is going to be cut because some of the money should be going to cover the pensions, which means money that was going to cover the pensions can be used someplace else.
Then they fed the media stories about how Orland Park's Property Tax Rebate is far more generous than other communities, setting the stage for the big scissors.
Now, it's the Property Tax Rebate is going to be "capped."
Next thing, the Property Tax Rebate is going to be eliminated.
I have one question -- it's not easy getting questions answered from this administration -- they only want to talk to the media that embraces their spin (in exchange for advertising, of course): Do you think the village is in trouble because it paid millions to purchase certain, selected homes alleged to have had serious flooding problems -- while so many others that had flooding problems were ignored -- and the village can't resell those homes today to recoup the money they spent?
Or, possibly, is it because the village failed to see the economic signs, claiming as recently as Mayor Dan McLaughlin's speech to the Orland Park Area Chamber of Commerce that everything is fine. What's to worry? So no one did?
Or possibly, the village is trying to scurry to come up with enough obfuscation so that when it comes time for their re-elections -- in a few months -- they won't have to worry about losing their jobs?
Just some questions from an Orland Park taxpayer.
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