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Morning Shorts

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* NEW Statehouse Reeder: For Blago there are loafers and loafers…

* Editorial: Jones should allow vote on contract bill

* Statehouse Insider: Fired state employees ordeal is confusing

This week’s vocabulary builder is “Kafkaesque.” Look it up and see if you think it applies to the case of Dawn DeFraties and Michael Casey.

* Chicago Public Radio: Contradictions in proposed state gun legislation?

* Tribune Editorial: Stopping a ’super bug’

* Change of Subject: The state treasurer’s got some serious game

* Sun-Times Editorial: Notify the state that it is time to act on abortion

* Juries may be able to put dollar amount on grief

* Sun-Times Editorial: Key reason for early primary, we are ‘exceptionally average’

* Hilkevich: Amtrak routes gain riders lose time

* Web site now provides sex offenders web addresses

* Editorial: State officials should act to reduce attacks on prison guards

* Chicago consumers cutting back with rising gas prices

* Florida shakes up presidential primaries…again

As early as May 22, Crist is expected to sign the Florida Legislature’s plan to move up the Sunshine State’s 2008 presidential primary to Jan. 29, leapfrogging a critical mass of states gravitating to primaries on what’s becoming known as “Super-Duper Tuesday” on Feb. 5.

* Editorial: Earlier primary benefits Obama, but…

* Carol Marin: Fast Eddie V complicated, cunning

* Editorial: Stroger oversteps authority with budget changes

* Tribune Editorial: On Daley’s affordable housing plan

* Nine new aldermen take oath today

“Keep your mouth shut and your ears open. If you learn your trade, you get more done,” said Ald. Bernard Stone (50th), the City Council’s 79-year-old elder statesman.

* Chicago power couple juggling family & politics

* Stewart wins in rematch for teachers’ union presidency; more here

* Champaign repeals smoking ban for bars and restaurants

* Rockford may push Governor to veto its tax plan

posted by Paul Richardson
Monday, May 21, 07 @ 8:01 am

Comments

  1. Pay particular attention to paragraph 2 in this definition of “kafkaesque” from Wikipedia:

    “The term, which is quite fluid in definition, has also been described as “marked by a senseless, disorienting, often menacing complexity: Kafkaesque bureaucracies” [1] and “marked by surreal distortion and often a sense of impending danger: Kafkaesque fantasies of the impassive interrogation, the false trial, the confiscated passport . . . haunt his innocence” — The New Yorker. [2]

    It can also describe an intentional distortion of reality by powerful but anonymous bureaucrats. “Lack of evidence is treated as a pesky inconvenience, to be circumvented by such Kafkaesque means as depositing unproven allegations into sealed files …” Another definition would be an existentialist state of ever-elusive freedom while existing under unmitigatable control.

    The adjective refers to anything suggestive of Kafka, especially his nightmarish type of narration, in which characters lack a clear course of action, the ability to see beyond immediate events, and the possibility of escape. The term’s meaning has transcended the literary realm to apply to real-life occurrences and situations that are incomprehensibly complex, bizarre, or illogical.”

    Yep, sounds to me like it applies to the DeFraties and Casey case and the Blagojevich administration in general.

    Comment by Pondering the Obvious Monday, May 21, 07 @ 9:29 am

  2. Did anybody see the letter to the editor from the governor yesterday? Here is a link

    http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-0520ledelettermay20,1,4230196.story

    As I read it, I wondered - What part of 107-0 doesn’t he understand?

    Comment by Huh? Monday, May 21, 07 @ 6:26 pm

  3. Did anybody notice the A.P. story about the house that was used as a murder weapon?

    Does that mean that house keys are going to be outlawed? What about conceal carry? Is there going to be a limit as to the number of keys that can be carried? Bought? What about the KOID (Key Owner Identification card)?

    Comment by Huh? Monday, May 21, 07 @ 6:31 pm

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