RADIO CONTROL EXPO PROMISES FULL DAY OF COMPETITION, STUNTS, HANDS-ON DEMOS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

RADIO CONTROL EXPO PROMISES FULL DAY OF COMPETITION, STUNTS, HANDS-ON DEMOS

-- Non-Stop Radio Control Action Planned for Chicago RCX --

CHICAGO (May 18, 2011) – Radio Control Expo (RCX), the nation’s biggest and best radio control show, is thrilled to announce attractions to be featured at RCX Chicago on Saturday, August 6, 2011. Taking place at the Odeum Expo Center, a full day of scheduled events will include professional radio control competitions, dazzling stunt demonstrations and plenty of hands-on opportunities for attendees to test their own skills on a variety of new radio control vehicles. With high adrenaline racing, “try me” and “fly me” hands-on interactive exhibits and new product demonstrations, RCX is sure to be a weekend full of non-stop exhilaration and enjoyment.
"RCX Chicago will be action-packed with activities for both radio control enthusiasts and newcomers to participate in," said Louis DeFrancesco, RCX CEO. "We're going to have nitro and electric car races, drifting competitions, airplane and helicopter stunts, rock crawling, micro cars for fans to play with and more — it's really going to be a blast and we just can't wait to bring all this fun to the Chicago Metro area."
Radio Control Expo organizers have released the following list of confirmed attractions for 2011 RCX Chicago:

• Off-Road Dirt Track - This is the only place where you can see professional racers compete head to head and watch demos and stunts showcasing the hottest new nitro and electric cars. It all goes down at this awesome 80×60 ft. off-road dirt track.
• Extreme Outdoor Fly Arena - See large nitro and electric helicopters and planes do insane stunts, demos and so much more in this outdoor extreme flyzone.
• Horizon Off-Road "Try Me" Track - Step up and test your skills with all the hottest Losi and Electrix RC vehicles on this 30×50 ft. off-road dirt track. 
• Horizon "Fly Me" Arena - Get an up-close and personal look at all the latest from the Blade, Force and E-flite lines of planes and helis.
• Traxxas Off-Road "Try Me" Track - Attendees can test-drive the new Traxxas Monster Jam models—Grave Digger, Monster Mutt, Maximum Destruction and Grinder! Everyone is welcome to take a spin on this 25×40 ft. dirt track.
• Indoor Fly Arena - Witness the latest indoor electric planes and helis do sick aerial tricks in this indoor fly zone! 
• Rock Crawling Mountain - Watch the pros climb a 30×40 ft. mountain in this amazing competition and scale rock-crawling.
• Kyosho Dnano Track - Don’t miss some of the smallest RC cars on Earth compete head-to-head on this 1/43-scale on-road track. 
• RC Tractor Pull - This is your chance to see nitro tractors pulling sleds weighing 400+ lb. across the dirt! 
• RC Drag Racing - Head to this 280×20 ft. outdoor track to see pro dragsters and their nitro dragsters reach speeds in excess of 80mph. You have to see it to believe it!
• Mini RC Racing and "Try Me" Track - Watch the area’s most advanced micro RC drivers compete head-to-head on this giant RCP Track. You can also step up to the “try me” track to hone your mini RC driving skills! 
• Asphalt Assault - Watch top-notch drivers race on this outdoor 1/10th scale racetrack. You’ll be able to burn up the asphalt yourself on the “try me” track between races!

Tickets will be available for $20 at the gate or $15 with advance purchase online. Children under age 12 will be admitted free with an adult ticket purchase. Discount $5 off coupons will be available at participating local radio control retail locations. Discount ticket locations will be announced later this summer. RCX has teamed up with EventWerks, a full service event management company, to bring the best and the biggest RCX to Chicago and future venues. Whether it’s airplanes, boats, cars, trucks, motorcycles or helicopters, RCX is the number one destination for all radio control hobbyists. For more information on Radio Control Expo and its upcoming RCX On The Road events, visit www.RCX.com.
About Radio Control Expo
The Radio Control Expo (RCX) is the country’s largest consumer event for radio control and diecast enthusiasts. Featuring the latest and greatest in radio control technology, the RCX showcases model airplanes, boats, cars, trucks and helicopters. Coming to Chicago’s Odeum Expo Center on August 6, 2011, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. General admission tickets can be purchased at the gate for $20 or in advance online for $15. Children under the age of 12 are free of admission with adult ticket purchase. $5 discount coupons will be available at participating locations. For more information or to learn more about other RCX On The Road shows in Long Beach, California or Orlando, Florida, visit the RCX official web site at www.RCX.com.
For media information, please contact Lauren Williams, DRIVEN Public Relations, 951-719-1040 or lauren@drivenpublicrelations.com.

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Mourning death of Tinley Park Police Chief Michale J. O'Connell

Tinley Park Police Chief Michael O'Connell was all heart. He was someone who really cared about people not just in his community of Tinley Park but in the surrounding community. He was a class act, and there are only a few others like him, including Orland Park Police Chief Tim McCarthy.

O'Connell, 60, died on Wednesday morning reportedly as the result of complications from heart surgery.

His death is a monumental tragedy for Tinley Park, the suburban region and for police as a profession.

I knew him well. The man was genuine, and always so concerned. He played by the book but he also had so much common sense.

I can relate to his experience, too. I had heart surgery last December. I remember laying down on the very narrow marble slab in the operating room at Christ Hospital as the surgeons spoke to me as they put me under with anesthesia. My mind was racing, wondering if I was going to "wake up." I don't know exactly what happened to Chief O'Connell during his surgery at Ingalls Hospital, but I can imagine the concern he would have had about that very same experience. They put you under. They begin the heart surgery. And with an operation on your heart, you can never know what might happen.

I woke up. The nearly seven hours of surgery felt like minutes to me. No dreams. All black. Almost instantaneous but a lifetime to my family who waited outside the operating room and lived every minute of the surgery with apprehension.

O'Connell's death is a major tragedy. Our condolences go out to his family and to the Village of Tinley Park and to Tinley Park Mayor Ed Zabrocki, who is one of the region's best mayors.

O'Connell had been on leave for nearly one month due to undisclosed health issues. He sent me an email in December when he heard I had heart surgery myself. Always thinking about other people.

O'Connell began his career as police officer in Riverdale in 1972 and later became the police chief there. He joined the Tinley Park Police Department in 1995.

FUNERAL INFORMATION:

A visitation is scheduled from 3 to 9 p.m. Sunday, May 15, at Brady-Gill Funeral Home, 16600 S. Oak Park Ave., Tinley Park. A funeral Mass will take place at 10 a.m. Monday, May 16, at St. Stephen Deacon and Martyr Church, 17500 84th Ave., Tinley Park. The family has requested privacy during their time of grieving. In lieu of flowers, donations are appreciated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105. To donate by telephone, call 1-800-805-5856. Chief O’Connell is survived by his wife, Barb, his daughter, Colleen; son, Michael, and daughter-in-law, Liz; daughter, Michelle (Anichini), and son-in-law, Paul; and four grandchildren.

That damn squirrel

If it isn't some love birds or wrens trying to turn my barbecue grill in to a nest, it's the squirrel and his pals in the constant battle to feed on the bird feed.

I've done everything, from wire-meshing the feeders to purchasing those special bird feeders where the outside cage sinks down to close the feeder openings when a squirrel climbs atop of it. But the squirrel is no idiot. They carefully gnaw through the plastic to open a hole. The eat the plastic straps to drop the feeder to the ground and then rip it to pieces. They even figured out how to lift the top (where you fill the feeder with bird seed) and then dislodge the springs that hold the top and the cage up around the feeder.

And they feast. That plastic feeder was about $12 from Lowes, Menards, Home Depot. They're all the same. But now I bought the Cadillac of feeders with metal holders and metal top and metal cage that puts distance between the inner plastic feeder and the squirrel's mischievous snout. It cost $29 bucks. Imagine, For a bird feeders.

The bird houses are worthless. They look cute but quickly are assaulted by the squirrels like Navy Seals on Osama Bin Laden's Pakistani hideout.

And they don't care that I'm out there when they do it. They eat and stare, making me walk up to them to scare them away. But they're not scared.

Who are these people who design this crap that they sell at Lowes, Menards and Home Depot? None of the designers have any idea how to design the perfect squirrel proof feeder. I think if you are going to design something, you need to have experience with the problem first. But like a lot of computer programmers who design programs that satisfy their ideas on what the public wants -- but that the public doesn't want -- these worthless gadgets are ineffective.

Too bad the manufacturers sell this crap and we consumers waste our precious dollars. I mean, we can't afford to waste money can we these days? We have to pay $90 to fill the gas tank.

-- Ray Hanania
www.TheMediaOasis.com

Arab and Muslim candidates defeated in nearly every race where there was a contest

Arab and Muslim candidates defeated in nearly every race where there was a contest, except two spots

Even though many of the candidates had the backing of local political leaders, organizations, and the dominant political parties, most of the Arab and Muslim candidates who ran for office were defeated.

The only victors were those who were running in uncontested races. Only a few, non-Arab Muslims, were elected in areas where Muslims have held public office. In those cases, only one received among the highest votes of the winning candidates, while in almost every other uncontested race, the Arab and Muslim candidates received the lowest vote victories.

Arab/Muslim candidates who won -- there were no Christian Arab candidates slated or backed for public office -- include:

Ahmed M. Aduib ran and won uncontested in the race for a 6-year term on the Bridgeview Library District. Aduib had the support of incumbent Bridgeview Mayor and State Senator Steven Landek. Most offices in Bridgeview were uncontested reflecting a rare community harmony compared to other suburban communities where elections were contentious.

Nuha Hasan won a 4-year seat on the Justice Park District Board where she was also uncontested.

Those are the only success stories.

Other races showed the disconnect between mainstream American voters and American candidates of Arab and Muslim heritage. Ironically, all of the communities have large Arab and Muslim populations. But, although they do not get the support that they give non-Arab and non-Muslim candidates, Arab and Muslim voters were much like other voters and did not vote for their true power. The conclusion is that in order for American Arabs and Muslims to win office, Arab and Muslim voters must come out in force, more than 90 percent.

In the contested races:

Maha Hasan ran in last place for a 6-year seat on the Justice Library Board. She received nearly one-third fewer votes than the highest vote-getter in the election.

Bassam Abdallah ran in last place for a six-year seat on the Orland Park Library District Board, a community where there is a large American Arab and Muslim population. Most Arabs and Muslims there, though, did not vote.

Lina Zayed lost in a bid for a four-year seat on the Burbank District 111 school board. Again, Burbank has a very large Arab and Muslim population. She received less than half of the average vote cast in the election, but in her case, she was extremely active and she did not run in last place. She came in 5th place out of 7 candidates running. The top three winners received over 800 votes each.

Itedal Shalabi running for a four-year seat on the North Palos School District 117 seat, lost by a large margin. The district includes Bridgeview and Palos.

Rola Othman also ran in last place in a contest for a four-year seat on the Reavis High School District 220 board, also in Burbank where Arab and Muslim populations are large.

All of the candidates ran very professional and high-profile races. They were organized and supported by a new political organization called Project Mobilize which helped all of the candidates combine their resources and develop excellent campaign literature and public presence. www.ProjectMobilize.org.

The key clearly is not the high quality of American Arab or Muslim candidates but rather the challenges they faced running in an atmosphere of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim bias that has only increased in the 10 years since the Sept. 11, 2011 terrorism attacks. All of the candidates were immensely qualified for the posts they were running for and were active in their local mainstream communities.

But the biggest problem is that most Arab and Muslim voters did not participate. Suburban off-year elections are already the lowest voter turnouts, which would give minority ethnic groups an advantage if they did turn out in force to vote. But when the minority ethnic voters act like the majority voters and do not vote, the results are predictable.

Arab Americans need to come together AND WORK TOGETHER to change this pattern. 

Sadly, I am the only journalist in America writing about these issues. I wish the mainstream media would pay attention. But deep down the media hates us.

-- Ray Hanania
https://Hanania.com

Gonzalez beats down slander campaign from Faso in Chicago Heights

Chicago Heights Trustee Joe Faso thought he had a victory when a Cook County judge rejected a bid by mayoral contender David Gonzalez to issue a restraining order against Faso for a series of slanderous, slimy campaign commercials that he ran against Gonzalez.

But Gonzalez, despite the lies from Faso and the slander, easily won election as Chicago's Heights next mayor.

Gonzalez defeated Faso by a whopping 57 percent landslide.

Here are the results:

Chicago Heights Mayor
24 of 24 Precincts Reported, Vote For 1   % Votes

David A. Gonzalez
57.32%
3,529

Joseph A. Faso
42.68%
2,628

It's not only a mandate for Gonzalez but it is also a slap in the face of Faso's below-the-belt campaigning against Gonzalez who focused on the issues while Faso threw mud after mud after mud. It is also a defeat for the SouthtownStar which appeared to take sides in Faso's favor in their coverage.

Voters have proven over and over again that the print media has no real impact on the election results.

Congratulations to Gonzalez for a job well done!

-- Ray Hanania
www.TheMediaOasis.com

Suburban voters -- do they even care?

This could be one of the lowest voter turnouts in recent history, although the suburban elections in the so-called "off-year" elections is always low.

Maybe it is how we describe the elections that turns voters off. After all, voters are like sheep for the most part. They can't spell well enough to elect a write-in candidate, complain so much about the judicial system yet barely vote for judges, and they constantly whine about local suburban policies but don't waste their time to change it.

Although many people sacrificed their lives to protect their right to vote over the more than 235 years since this nation's founding, very few of the descendants of those who sacrificed bother to get up off their coaches to go to the polling place and cast a ballot.

So why do they complain about local government policies?

Part of the big problem is the Chicago news media that trivializes the suburban governments. The Downtown mainstream media rarely waste their time "covering" suburban communities. They offer hap-hazard coverage that only picks up steam when the media can find a controversy to milk.

It's a part of the media's fault and the public, like Pavlov's Dogs, just goes along and laps it all up. The media only covers suburban communities when they can rip apart a suburb over some scandal that usually is based on rumors or special interest lobbying.

The front page of the Chicago Tribune this morning featured a "story" about how the suburb of Bellwood took a bath when its $40 million plan for a new METRA station fell apart. What? Was that a breaking story yesterday? Duh! Hasn't anyone at the Tribune figured out that the country is in a major recession? It was a great idea, but it didn't work. And do you think the Chicago Tribune did anything to help the suburb make the station improvement happen? Of course not.

Bellwood barely gets any coverage in any major newspaper, unless some mobster is killed or some plan to make a community better doesn't live up to the expectations.

Yes, the big downtown news media doesn't waste its time covering communities like Bellwood on a day-to-day basis. They only cover it when they can write a story ripping it apart. It's one reason why I don't waste my time ready the daily newspapers any more. They just don't cover where I live enough to make subscribing to them worthwhile. (Which reminds me, the last five Sundays, my Chicago Tribune Sunday Paper remained covered in plastic, never opened and never read. I have to remind myself to cancel that drain on my budget!)

If the news media covered suburban communities more, and did a better job of doing so, maybe the people who live in the suburbs would have more self-esteem and get their lazy butts up to go out and vote. But people in the suburbs don't vote because 1) the media makes their suburban communities look worthless and 2) bashes their communities so much that it might make one question why they would even waste their time voting in a suburban election.

The reality is that the downtown media is missing the boat because, well, the downtown media lives (for the most part) in downtown Chicago. They have small bureaus in the suburbs but very little of the suburban news makes it in to the newspapers. Certainly very little of the good news get covered, except of course in suburban communities where the rich big shot newspaper moguls call home.

Here's how bad suburban voting has been over the years from the Cook County Clerk's web site going back to 1999 for the suburbs:

Turnout in Consolidated Elections 1999-2011

Year      Reg Voters     Ballots Cast     % Turnout
1999        1,334,905      263,452        19.7%
2001        1,302,197      377,595        29.0%
2003        1,321,089      300,484        22.7%
2005        1,418,280      382,587        27.0%
2007        1,371,803      236,050        17.2%
2009        1,463,070      304,766        20.8%

They are saying today's voter turnout will be under 20 percent. We'll see later tonight.

-- Ray Hanania
www.TheMediaOasis.com

Orland Township’s Free Cybercafe Open to Residents

Orland Township’s Free Cybercafe Open to Residents

Orland Park, April 4, 2011- The Orland Township Cybercafe is open every Tuesday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Located in the Technology Center at 14807 S. Ravinia Avenue, residents can take advantage of free internet access, Microsoft Office 2010 and more. A computer "guru" is on hand to assist participants with computer challenges and as an added bonus, complimentary coffee and snacks are served.

"Orland Township, in 2010, created several new programs to teach residents and the community's seniors computer skills," Supervisor Paul O'Grady said. "The Orland Township Cybercafe is a natural extension of that. Residents will be able to put the skills they're learning to use at the Cybercafe and, if questions arise, consult the computer guru and get immediate answers.”

In 2011, household computers have become commonplace but the peace and quiet some may need to accomplish technology-related tasks is not always available. The Cybercafe is a quiet and comfortable computer lab that residents can visit when in need of a peaceful environment. Those who reside in Orland Township may tackle homework assignments, research, work-related projects or even escape the house and surf the net at Orland Township.

Proof of residency is required. For additional information, please call (708) 403-4222.

About Orland Township

Orland Township (www.orlandtwp.org), established in 1850, is the level of government closest to residents. Its purpose is to educate and coordinate programs and services that will enhance community life and promote activity and overall wellness for residents.

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