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READER COMMENTS CLOSED FOR THE WEEKEND

Friday, Feb 2, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller

Chris Hayes has an article in The Nation about David Axelrod that Chris thought you might be interested in. Go have a look.

Also, Eric Krol asked that I pass this one along to you. It’s a funny little story by the Daily Herald’s John Patterson, entitled “Elusive Blagojevich sighted.” Krol’s latest DH column, which he may have been too modest to mention, hands out some attaboys: “Handing out a trio of props to statewide officials.” Go read them both.

And when you’re done with all that, or even before you start, make sure to check out Illinoize. Have a great weekend. Go Bears!

Oh, and one more version of Bear Down before I go…

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Bear down!

Friday, Feb 2, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller

I love our fight song.

Bear down, Chicago Bears,
Make every play clear the way to victory!
Bear down, Chicago Bears,
Put up a fight with a might so fearlessly.
We’ll never forget the way you thrilled the nation
With your “T” formation.
Bear down, Chicago Bears,
And let ’em know why you’re wearing the crown.
You’re the pride and joy of Illinois,
Chicago Bears, bear down!

And so the other day I went looking for versions of the song at YouTube to post on our last work day before the Super Bowl.

This, in my opinion, is how a real Chicagoan sings Bear Down


Embedding has been disabled on this one, but it’ll warm the hearts of cute baby lovers everywhere. Click on the pic to watch…

The immigrant version…


Cinéma Vérité…


Kind of a punky/jazzy version from Manic Sewing Circle…


What collection of Bear Down versions could be complete without singing sock-puppet chickens?…


OK, this last one isn’t for everyone, but it’s so flat-out bizarre that I just had to post it. Some of the language renders it NOT SAFE FOR WORK, so please DON’T click on it if you’re at work and could get in trouble. And, seriously, it’s pretty weird. Consider yourself warned…


Go Bears! Anybody got a ticket? I need a miracle!

  15 Comments      


Obamarama - The Barack-Mobile

Friday, Feb 2, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller

I think my father may have finally popped his cork.

My dad’s most prized possession is his 1963 Cadillac convertible. It’s a beautiful car. Totally sweet.

He’s had the Caddy for over 30 years. It was my date car when I was a teenager, but I was always afraid to drive it because I feared somebody would crash into me or scratch it or whatever and then I’d be in HUGE, GIGANTIC, DANGEROUS trouble.

When my parents moved back to Europe, they stored the Caddy for a time in my garage, but all those bad memories came back from my youth and I barely drove the thing, afraid I’d hit a deer or something.

Anyway, as I think I’ve told you before, my father is a big Barack Obama fan. One of the biggest. The two of them have become close over the years (don’t ask, long story), and Obama refers to Dad as “Brother Miller” whenever they greet. It’s quite amusing.

Here’s a photo of the two of them together…

My dad has wanted Obama to run for president since before Obama was elected to the US Senate. Dad had buttons made up for a Washington, DC reception after Obama was sworn in to his Senate seat. Everybody out there wanted one, and I believe he had to have more made to accomodate the demand…

The first campaign my dad ever worked on was Barry Goldwater’s doomed 1964 presidential bid. A few years ago, Dad actually put a Goldwater sticker on the Caddy’s bumper, which shocked me. He had violated the Caddy with a bumper sticker, of all things. But Dad dearly loved AuH20, and he thought it was cool to have that sticker on his car, and who am I to judge?

So, I guess I shouldn’t have been too surprised when my father had some new and absolutely ginormous stickers specially made for his Cadillac, which he intends to drive to Springfield for Obama’s announcement and, I would bet, throughout Iowa during the upcoming campaign.

Dad has never been one for half-measures, but for crying out loud, just look at this photo, and click on it for a frighteningly large version…

caddy_obama5.jpg

Here are some more. Click on each for larger, scarier images.

caddy_obama1 caddy_obama2.jpg caddy_obama4.jpg

At first, I thought he had just photoshopped the stickers onto his car, but Mom assures me they are real.

You can’t see it in the pics, but there’s another sticker across the trunk which reads “The Time Is Now.”

By the way, the Goldwater sticker is gone.

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Campaign finance summary for all legislative targets (Use all caps in password)

Friday, Feb 2, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Question of the day

Friday, Feb 2, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller

You’ve no doubt heard about the Cartoon Network’s guerilla advertising campaign that backfired in Boston.

A furious Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino vowed yesterday to throw the book at the masterminds behind a guerrilla marketing campaign gone amok that plunged the city into bomb-scare pandemonium and blew nearly $1 million in police overtime and other costs.

As city and state attorneys laid groundwork for criminal charges and lawsuits, cops seized 27-year-old Arlington multimedia artist Peter Berdovsky, who posted film on his Web site boasting that he and friends planted the battery-wired devices, and Sean Stevens, 28, of Charlestown. Both were jailed overnight on charges of placing a hoax device and disorderly conduct.

“This is outrageous activity to get publicity for a failing show,” said Menino, referring to the battery-operated light-up ads for the Cartoon Network’s “Aqua Teen Hunger Force,” which sparked at least nine bomb scares in Boston, Cambridge and Somerville.

The Chicago coppers weren’t happy either, and pulled down 20 of the signs yesterday, even though nobody had called 911 in panic, as happened in Boston.

“No one has the right to interfere with public safety,” [Chicago Police Supt. Phil Cline] said at a Thursday news conference. “This marketing scheme was dangerous and risky business that could have caused tremendous inconvenience, unforeseen damage and, more important, unnecessary harm to many people.” Cline said he will be asking the network’s parent company, Turner Broadcasting Systems, to reimburse the department’s costs since officers could have been getting rid of “gangs, drugs and guns” instead of taking down signs for “Aqua Teen Hunger Force.”

To the question: Who do you think is more irresponsible here? The Cartoon Network for placing the signs in the first place? Or the police, public officials and the media for reacting as they did? Explain.

  42 Comments      


Governor makes big news in California

Friday, Feb 2, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller

The governor was in California yesterday to announce that Illinois will share in a $500 million grant from British Petroleum to research alternative fuels.

A champagne toast celebrated the end of the national teleconference Thursday between the University and the University of California at Berkeley. BP Amoco announced its investment of $500 million in a partnership between the universities for the development of an Energy Biosciences Institute to advance fuels for the future.

The money was awarded to the universities after winning a worldwide contest announced six months ago. The universities beat out other institutions such as MIT, Purdue and Iowa State for the bid. Illinois is a leader in crop biology and the second largest producer of corn and ethanol. The University is expected to receive $100 million, which will go toward research and development of biofuel production, said Chancellor Richard Herman during the press conference.

“The goal of a university is to solve the greater problems of society,” Herman said.

That’s great news for Illinois and the nation, of course. And it’s probably a good thing that Blagojevich made his announcement in California, considering the press reports about his mounting legal bills and the serious holes in his administration’s case against two CMS employees. One also can’t help but wonder whether he scheduled a Cali fundraiser this week.

IlliniPundit points out an irony in the governor’s announcement. [emphasis added]

In Gov. Blagojevich’s first budget, he proposed eliminating all funding for CFAR. Now he gets to headline a press conference announcing a $500 million public-private program that is a direct result of CFAR’s accomplishments.

“CFAR” is the Illinois Council on Food and Agricultural Research. The governor’s change of heart since then has been complete and, as shown above, politically beneficial.

  13 Comments      


Grieving mother calls for driving age limits

Friday, Feb 2, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller

You may have seen this news story

Classes at a Metro East elementary school resumed Tuesday as investigators tried to pinpoint why an 84-year-old woman drove her car through a cafeteria wall the previous day, killing an 8-year-old student and injuring two others.

The mother of the little boy was understandably distraught and angry, sending the driver this note that was made public by Ryan Wesling’s survivors.

“I pray every day that you remain on this planet you see my son when you close your eyes,” Amanda Wesling wrote, adding that she hoped an Illinois law someday would bar seniors from driving once they reach a certain age.

And now she’s calling for action.

“We very much support a mandatory limit on the driving age for seniors,” Amanda Wesling wrote in a missive directed at driver Grace Keim, who authorities say was en route to a driving class at a senior citizen’s center Monday when she struck and killed 8-year-old Ryan Wesling.

Here are some recent incidents cited by that AP report.

–In November, an 89-year-old man whose car hurtled through a farmers market in California in 2003, killing 10 people and injuring more than 70 others, received five years of probation because a judge deemed him too ill to go to prison.

–Last August, a sport utility vehicle driven by an 89-year-old man plowed into pedestrians and vendors at an open-air public market in Rochester, N.Y., injuring him and 10 other people. Police say the man’s foot slipped off the brake pedal and hit the accelerator.

–In October 2005 in North Dakota, an 87-year-old woman on her way to a doctor appointment smashed her car into the hospital’s lobby, injuring five women. She was not charged.

According to the AP, two dozen states require seniors to jump through certain hoops to keep their licenses. Illinois requires road tests after age 75.

Democratic Illinois state Rep. Kurt Granberg says setting an age for drivers to hand over their keys wouldn’t be appropriate because “everyone’s different.” But Granberg says he wouldn’t be surprised if Ryan’s death prods lawmakers to revisit the state’s requirements for older drivers, perhaps asking the secretary of state’s office for its input.

Thoughts? And let’s try to have some empathy for all sides, please.

  20 Comments      


Morning shorts

Friday, Feb 2, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller

* A look at spending differences in statewide races

* A look at Ill. congressional campaign finance reports

* Statewide Democrats blank their opponents with money, new records show

* Davlin far ahead of Strom in funding - Mayor has more than seven times as much as opponent

* Joe Mysak: States Should Follow Illinois, Get Out of Gambling

* Editorial: Sale of lottery won’t be a big winner for Illinois

* Chief Justice Roberts says judges should be judges, not statesmen

* Mayoral foe Brown pitches sales tax holidays - Says benefits to small businesses would offset cost

* Biggest contributor giving mayor, wife a lift to Miami

* Simpson: Why Dorothy Brown would make a good mayor

* Berrios named county Dem chief - Challengers step aside for first Hispanic in post

* Cell-phone charges: Let the buyer beware

* Firing range scare leads to increase in safety - Stray bullet nicked state police cadet back in November

* Top 10 Treo Accessories

* Payment is issue in fired state workers case - Governor’s office not paying firm that probed hiring procedures

* Businessman admits cheating IDOT, other government agencies

* Editorial: Pandora’s box

  21 Comments      


« NEWER POSTS PREVIOUS POSTS »
* Reader comments closed for the weekend
* SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Leaders; 60; HRO
* Isabel’s afternoon roundup
* Mayor Johnson again claims to actively work with the state when no such work appears to exist (Updated)
* Voting open for Illinois flag redesign
* Dr. Ngozi Ezike agrees to $150K fine for violating Ethics Act
* It’s just a bill
* Open thread
* Isabel’s morning briefing
* Live coverage
* Selected press releases (Live updates)
* Yesterday's stories

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