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People are grumpy, and rightly so

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Illinois

* This morning…

Soft interview of @SenatorDurbin in lefty online site and he laments our @Trib_ed_board coverage of #IllinoisExodus. If you've left IL due to high taxes or lack of opportunity, you're just "grouchy" and good riddance, according to him. Yep. Everyone shhhh about that census data.

— Kristen McQueary (@StatehouseChick) June 13, 2018

And then it goes on for several more tweets.

* The actual quotes…

As someone with his own distinct political views, but who represents a diverse state, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin has no tolerance for those who would carve it up for political gain.

“There are two things that just anger me so much,” Durbin said in a recent interview at his downtown Chicago office. “The first is someone who is an elected official in this state who uses their position to divide us rather than unite us.

“And the second,” he added, “is I’m sick and tired of our newspapers — and you can think of the one I’m talking about — as well as politicians who talk about what a miserable state this is and how terrible the city is and why somebody might’ve moved away. Shame on them. This is the No. 1 destination for graduates of Big Ten universities in the United States of America. And the Big Ten sweeps right across not just the Midwest, but the Northeast as well. They’re headed to Chicago. If this was some godforsaken city, why are they coming?

“They’re coming because this is a great city with great opportunities,” Durbin said. “And we do have problems that we need to solve. But for people who are down on the city and down on the state and want to find somebody who left in a grouchy mood, well, they’ll always have a story to tell, but from where I’m standing that isn’t what the city represents or the state represents.”

In some ways, he granted, it’s only natural. Chicago is a behemoth that lords over the state, and some areas of Illinois are vastly different and glad to be that way. “It’s been there throughout the history of this state, and it’s not uncommon,” Durbin said. “You have parts of California that want to split off into a separate state. You have a fight between New York City and the rest of the state. It’s kind of a natural tension that may have been created for any number of reasons,” from significant economic and cultural differences to divided allegiances over sports teams.

“But shame on the politicians who try to exploit it,” Durbin said. “That to me is over the line. Our job is to try to find commonality and unity and opportunities for us to work together.

I highlighted the text so I could say that I agree with Durbin on that particular point and to show how badly his words were twisted. If you approach a column or a story or an editorial with a bias, you can always find someone to confirm your bias. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, by the way. We all have biases, but some folks can’t get over them even when there’s significant evidence that their “facts” may be wrong.

On the other hand, people are grumpy (and worse) for completely valid reasons in this here state and I do not blame them one bit. “America is already great,” wasn’t exactly a smart line in parts of the 2016 Rust Belt and “Illinois is great because of Chicago’s Big 10 graduates” is gonna fall on a whole lot of deaf ears now.

But, whatever, Durbin was just being a booster for his home state while taking a little bank-shot at an editorial board which resides in the clouds and exists to teach the rest of us dummies about how the world works.

posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 11:54 am

Comments

People, I’ve already deleted two comments. Stop the personal attacks. Stick to the topic of this post. I’m too busy today to deal with it.

Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 12:05 pm
We need more boosters for our state. We have problems, but put them in perspective. Bad mouthing our state isn’t helping, it’s piling on.

Comment by 47th Ward Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 12:09 pm
Amen brother. Durbin is right on this one.

The way to fix any complex set of problems, is to define and accept our weaknesses, but to build upon our strengths. Illinois has many leverageable strengths.

Tearing down, dividing, and badmouthing, doesn’t help anything except political campaigns.

Comment by walker Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 12:09 pm
I never agree with Durbin and I agree with him on this one. Illinois has a lot of positive aspects throughout the state, and our leaders need to promote them while solving our problems.

Comment by Stooges Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 12:18 pm
Curious, when was the last time that Chicago was NOT the #1 destination of Big Ten grads? What’s happened to the *percentage* of Big Ten grads who come to Chicago over the past decade or two?

Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 12:19 pm
As it is said (h/t to wordslinger), actions vs. words. The people who are pushing the Illinois is terrible narrative likely live here and make good money. How many live in Chicago/Cook County, the bastion of what they despise? They live in this higher-income state that has a lower marginal state income tax rate than most neighbors.

I agree that outmigration is a major problem, but there are different ways of proverbially skinning this cat, rather than the anti-union/anti-Democratic right wing way of tronc and Rauner.

Comment by Grandson of Man Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 12:22 pm
Durbin is right and wrong. Yes, there are great things about Illinois and Chicago. But there are also some really bad things going on in this state. Most of it deals with politicians (including Sen. Durbin) who have ignored the pronlems for years and now want to deflect from real solutions. Most people don’t have the capacity to move away but I suspect that if you polled people on if they would move if they could it would be a fairly large number. IMHO, the Tribune (yes, i will name it) isn’t overly negative. It is trying to make sure the people know who is failing them. Didn’t the public have the right to know how Berrios was gaming the system, or how CPS is avoiding dealing with teachers and sex crimes, or how tnes of thousands of people with disabilities can’t get services in Illinois, or how multiple layers of government in this state is spending us into a fiscal black hole. These are all stories the Trib has reported on and it’s good to know that someone is doing this.

Comment by NeverPoliticallyCorrect Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 12:22 pm
For someone from Springfield, Senator Durbin sure sounds like a Cook County Democrat, touting how Big Ten graduates are coming to Chicago in record numbers.

He totally discounts the high paying manufacturing job exodus from the rest of the state.

Admitting we have problems that we need to fix but watching and staying silent as the legislature continues to ignore our problems.

Senator Durbin claims advocating for fixing Illinois is “bad mouthing” which he thinks is worse than not fixing what ails Illinois.

Comment by Lucky Pierre Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 12:24 pm
You had me until this: “Senator Durbin claims advocating for fixing Illinois is ‘bad mouthing.’”

Just stop already.

Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 12:26 pm
He has a point with ‘let the grumps go’ but you shouldn’t ignore and completely discount the grumps because of what makes a few grumpy today can be making a lot more people grumpy tomorrow.

Comment by OneMan Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 12:26 pm
Durbin is the last person who should be talking about dividing people. However, I finally agree with him on this one point. People should stop bad mouthing the State if they want people to move here.

Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 12:27 pm
Archiesmom and Archiesdad have just moved back to California, so you can see taxes aren’t a factor to us. What is important is having a government that has worked together to actually turn a state around and go from a horrifying deficit, pension debt crisis turn into a $9 billion surplus in fewer years than I thought possible. There will always be political divisiveness, but an honest approach to the state’s problems and a governor strong enough to advocate for shared sacrifice can actually make it work. I have never seen a mess like the current state of Illinois politics, and could not abide another election season with such blatant misrepresentations and ignorance of the facts. I truly love those who are the real public servants in the state of Illinois - and I wish them luck and patience and fortitude in changing the current course. It is a great state, but needs realists and cheerleaders to get things back on track.

Comment by Archiesmom Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 12:28 pm
===staying silent as the legislature continues to ignore our problems.===

Bills that took out the prevailing wage and collective bargaining aspects of the Raunerite “turnaround agenda” were considered “sham” bills.

The sham is that the bills focus is on destroying labor, not “fixing” Illinois. Otherwise Rauner would’ve taken the easy wins when they were given.

Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 12:30 pm
Katrina could build some credibility if she addressed the thorough and thoughtful BGA analysis in Crain’s, rather than just throwing a tweetstorm over Durbin.

Seriously, tantrums are for cable infotainers, not newspaper people.

https://www.bettergov.org/news/illinois-population-is-falling-but-the-sky-isn-t

Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 12:31 pm
NPC: Tribune reporting has often been strong and very worthwhile. Their editorial writing — not so much. I often wish they would read their own reporting before opining.

Comment by walker Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 12:31 pm
==For someone from Springfield, Senator Durbin sure sounds like a Cook County Democrat==

Really important to keep separating the two, huh?

One thing that Durbin brushes against is that Chicago in particular has seen some success while the rest of the state has lagged. And it’s not so much about “praising” that as it is looking at it carefully to see what can be replicated in other communities.

Comment by Arsenal Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 12:33 pm
Agree with Durbin 100 percent. About the bad-mouthing of the State and the Tribune. And the way KM twists his words is just a microcosm of every State-centric editorial the Trib puts out. And it’s a shame since they do a much more equitable job with national and international editorials.

Comment by Original Rambler Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 12:38 pm
Never Politically Correct- You are right in that the Trib has moments where it does a good job “trying to make sure the people know who is failing them” like Berrios, CPS, issues etc. But what I have noticed the last few years is how the Trib and others have written clearly biased articles that if anyone would do some research could easily refute. This occurs especially in the Opinion and Commentary sections with people like McQueary. They cherry pick to serve an agenda and the bias and cherry picking drags down the good reporting. Also to those people leaving they will find that Every state has issues. And many states are having climate change issues as well —flooding, wildfires, intense heat.

Comment by Big Jer Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 12:41 pm
==They live in this higher-income state that has a lower marginal state income tax rate than most neighbors==

Grandson, it’s not about the state income tax rate (although the last bump sure didn’t help our perception of being a high-tax state). It’s about the sky-high property taxes and their negative affect on home values, which is the biggest nut by far for most of the middle class. I’m not “grumpy”, I’m fed-up from having my home’s value suppressed by a 3% real estate tax, the uncertainty of how high the rate may go in the future, and my home having appreciated far less than the inflation rate over the last twenty years. Fix this and you’ll fix what makes most of the “grumpy”, grumpy.

Comment by Stuntman Bob's Brother Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 12:42 pm
What some may say is Durbin being a “booster” of Illinois, others say Durbin is just trying to protect Democratic territory from serious nation-wide shifts in opinions.

The winds of change are blowing strongly and Democratic policies and governing are coming under more and more scrutiny.

Good for McQueary to dissect his flowery words and reconcile them to facts. I do not care for Durbin one single tiny bit.

Comment by anon Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 12:44 pm
===dissect his flowery words and reconcile them to facts===

In real life, as opposed to the weird planet on which you apparently reside, she drastically twisted his words to apparently serve her own ideological purposes.

Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 12:50 pm
=. If you approach a column or a story or an editorial with a bias, you can always find someone to confirm your bias. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, by the way. We all have biases, but some folks can’t get over them even when there’s significant evidence that their “facts” may be wrong.=

That is entirely true. Where Rauner falls down, or at least one place, is that he does not own or admit to his personal bias and acts like he does not have them. Same with McQueary.

Comment by JS Mill Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 12:52 pm
= I do not care for Durbin one single tiny bit.=

Just because he’s a great advocate for his constituents including support for veterans, opposition to the punitive federal SALT limit, and support for net neutrality are the reasons us non-corporate persons care for him alot.

Comment by Duopoly (67% chance of being blocked) Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 1:00 pm
“The first is someone who is an elected official in this state who uses their position to divide us rather than unite us.”

Nice sentiment, however, Durbin seems to be quite adept at attacking his political opposition and thereby dividing and conquering. It’s kinda the nature of the business.

Comment by Bobio Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 1:01 pm
“Nobody goes there any more… it’s too crowded”- Tribune Editorial Board via Yogi Berra

Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 1:04 pm
There’s cherry picking and there’s making stuff up. When I read her tweet I was shocked that Senator Durbin would say “good riddance.” Then I read his actual words, which shows she made that up. Shame, shame, on Kristen.

Comment by orzo Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 1:05 pm
Durbin is in favor of nothing but big government, and he would tax your ability to breathe if he could.

What are you supposed to say about the worst fiscal state in the Union, that also lays claim to the 5th highest tax burden? I guess the fine Senator would suggest we’re number one enthusiastically.

His first idea when gas prices came down was to raise gas taxes, because people wouldn’t notice. What a guy.

Comment by SSL Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 1:07 pm
Bobio, it’s only divisive when the other guy does it. When Durbin does it, he’s just being truthful.

Comment by SSL Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 1:11 pm
Why hasn’t McQueary moved to the glorious paradise of post-Katrina New Orleans? #IllinoisExodus (I’d ask her myself, but the champion of free speech blocked me on Twitter.)

– MrJM

Comment by @misterjayem Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 1:11 pm
==When Durbin does it, he’s just being truthful.==

I really feel the need to call the police for some of you so that you can report being victims. You seem to be victimized a lot.

Comment by Demoralized Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 1:12 pm
Sen. Durbin has always had a warm midwestern Sears Roebuck look about him (this is meant as a compliment) and he has the gift of a mellow honeyed speaking voice. This has worked well for him. But many of his comments featured here really do suggest he spends too much time in D.C. I.m very sorry to see how out of touch he apparently has become with respect to his state and how discomforting living here has become to many long time residents. It is possible to love this state and and still see the many problems that must be addressed. It is not media’s job to be boosters and it is government’s job to work to fix problems–and many problems are obvious and need to be discussed, not buried under a pillow.

Comment by Responsa Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 1:13 pm
===and he would tax your ability to breathe if he could===

Histrionics, much?

Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 1:18 pm
===(I’d ask her myself, but the champion of free speech blocked me on Twitter.)===

You’re not missing much, and her twitter doesn’t hold a candle to your tweets.

I think @StatehouseChick would have more credibility if she moved herself and gave a first-hand account of the good life outside Illinois instead of pointing to people the Trib (and other outlets, to be fair) decide to interview.

The train from Indiana hamlets with commuters to Chicago are full I hear…

Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 1:19 pm
Durbin used to be a Downstater, but he has changed since his statewide campaigns begun.

He knows this too. He’s walking a tight rope between his hometown folks and where the money lives in Chicago. As the Democrats abandoned traditional values for ad hoc political memes, Durbin has been forced to the left. So, when Downstaters complain about how they are ignored, Durbin treats them like he didn’t when he needed their support.

As Chicago struggles, ILDEM has focused on the. They have no patience for the Downstate complainers. They get his backhand while ILDEMS snicker.

Comment by VanillaMan Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 1:47 pm
===As the Democrats abandoned traditional values for ad hoc political memes, Durbin has been forced to the left. So, when Downstaters complain about how they are ignored, Durbin treats them like he didn’t when he needed their support.===

Blah blah blah. Do you agree with him or do you think McQueary’s take is accurate?

Comment by 47th Ward Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 1:57 pm
Chicago has a source of fresh water.

Comment by Mike Cirrincione Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 2:02 pm
One reason people leave is simply after they retire, they want a warmer climate. That has been going on for generations. One thing is certain: retirees don’t move because of the IL income tax, which completely exempts retirement income.

Comment by anon2 Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 2:04 pm
Chicago has real problems. Pressure is put on the newspapers to down play the violence. Now it is Durbin’s turn to be the spin doctor. I avoid Chicago now. Anyone that reads CWB Chicago knows they have a real crime problem, and it includes the Loop and neighboring areas. I think I read there were like 1000 carjackings last year. Like 600 this year. That is frightening. Nobody goes to jail. Durbin calling for unity is a joke. He takes his marching orders from the National Democratic party and would not take any position that goes against the party line. He is a talking head.

Comment by SW Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 2:06 pm
===He is a talking head.===

You must be confused. It was David Byrne, Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymuth and Chris Franz. Not Dick Durbin. I had all of their albums. Trust me on this one.

Comment by 47th Ward Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 2:18 pm
my bad

Comment by SW Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 2:27 pm
Great idea to replicate what is working in other communities that are growing both union and non union jobs faster than we are in Illinois.

I think I saw an ad campaign about that

Comment by Lucky Pierre Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 2:31 pm
This census sniping isn’t terribly helpful until we get data about where, specifically, people are leaving from.

If recent trends in the Chicago area keep up, it’ll be from South and West side neighborhoods, not the Loop and Near North Side–which the city, going back to the first Daley, has been (for better or worse) diligent at investing in and attracting businesses and residents to. Not so much the neighborhoods where we’re losing population. Let’s see #IllinoisExodus focus on that history.

But maybe that trend won’t continue and it’ll be a different set of problems. “Chicago is losing population” doesn’t get you very far in terms of analysis.

Comment by whetstone Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 2:38 pm
==Chicago has real problems. Pressure is put on the newspapers to down play the violence. Now it is Durbin’s turn to be the spin doctor. I avoid Chicago now. Anyone that reads CWB Chicago knows they have a real crime problem, and it includes the Loop and neighboring areas. I think I read there were like 1000 carjackings last year. Like 600 this year. That is frightening. Nobody goes to jail. Durbin calling for unity is a joke. He takes his marching orders from the National Democratic party and would not take any position that goes against the party line. He is a talking head.==

I cannot imagine going through life this way. To each their own, I guess.

Comment by So_Ill Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 2:40 pm
=Durbin is in favor of nothing but big government, and he would tax your ability to breathe if he could.=

And you came to this conclusion how? I seemed to have missed the Durbin “breathing tax” bill or the many instances where he said government isn’t big enough, we have to super-size it.

Your comments are no different than McQueary’s. Projecting your view of what you think he represents is no different that Kristin completely misrepresenting what he said. It’s everything that’s wrong about our political discourse these days. We have to assign these ridiculous characterizations so it fits the narrative of what a “liberal” or “conservative” is.

Comment by Pundent Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 2:45 pm
Durbin was right to call the Trib out… but he didn’t go far enough.

The Trib, IPI and Rauner are all complicit in a campaign to bad mouth IL and, leverage its pop loss to make a political argument that reducing taxes will spur growth.

There isn’t a whole lot of evidence to support their claims that there’s a direct causal link between high taxes and pop and economic dynamism. The fact that California, Mass, and NYC have some of the most dynamic economies undermines the facile equation of low taxes = economic/pop growth. So, too, do the tax cuts in Kansas.

Those negative comments about IL, meanwhile, don’t help the state’s image and they belie the reality of the Chicago region’s prosperity, though it is, like America’s, terribly uneven.

Comment by Hexagon Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 2:46 pm
I genuinely enjoy the banter from neoliberals when it comes to dismantling the funding mechanism for public services ie. taxation. I am not sure if they are all wildly affluent like Rauner et al and see public services like education as a weight that is keeping us down rather than the public good and great equalizer that they are, but one thing is for sure as neoliberalism has grown our place as a world leader has diminished. Income gaps between the wealthy and working class have grown and our infrastructure has crumbled all the while the tax burden, particularly Federal income tax, has shifted to the middle and working class.

Great work.

Comment by JS Mill Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 2:47 pm
===…growing both union and non union jobs faster than we are in Illinois.===

So ending prevailing wage and collective bargaining… How is that growing jobs again?

Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 2:53 pm
== it’s not about the state income tax rate…It’s about the sky-high property taxes and their negative affect on home values,==

Yep. Notice when anyone talks about adopting the CTBA progressive tax plan, no one mentions a corresponding property tax cut.

Comment by City Zen Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 3:02 pm
=Yep. Notice when anyone talks about adopting the CTBA progressive tax plan, no one mentions a corresponding property tax cut.=

Had they adopted the plan 15 years ago when it was first proposed along with a tax on services and (wait for it) retirement income (that one’s for you CZ) it would have been easy to have property tax relief. The increase that was passed last year was only enough to do a little better than tread water.

Comment by JS Mill Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 3:14 pm
==Durbin calling for unity is a joke.==

Durbin tells us that all people have much more in common than not in common, whether rural or urban, whether liberal or conservative. And really that is the truth.
He asks people to listen to each other and respect each other. He criticizes some members of his own party for being too intolerant, says it’s not just the other party. Now Durbin has been a Democratic party leader for years. So I ask you if you can find similar words from a current Republican party leader that have recently asked their members to do the same.

Comment by Da Big Bad Wolf Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 3:17 pm
How do you think JB will take it when he hears Senator Durbin is criticizing politicans who run ads criticizing our state.

That has been the entire focus of JB’s ads, certainly not about bringing us together unless you mean uniting the far left progressives with liberals.

Comment by Lucky Pierre Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 3:23 pm
I love all of these people that keep screaming about how they can’t wait to leave Illinois. OK, so what’s stopping you? You’re a big kid now and able to make your own decisions. What’s stopping you other than the fact that you aren’t leaving and just joining in a mindless mob mentality.

Comment by Alex Ander Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 3:26 pm
@JS Mill - Make sure to pass along that disclaimer to JB’s campaign. Taxpayers should be fully instructed on how to “tread water” under a Blue Wave.

Comment by City Zen Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 3:46 pm
That has been the entire focus of JB’s ads, certainly not about bringing us together unless you mean uniting the far left progressives with liberals.

The focus of his ads has been the failure of Rauner, not Illinois. There is a difference.

Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 3:59 pm
Meh… The reality is people are leaving in droves. And Illinois is a great place. Both can be true. I think Durbin is late to the cheering party because it’s about an attack against his party rival. Zero sum game. Durbin, JB, and Bruce can all be right and wrong. Durbin now, today is understanding the census data? Hmmm.

Comment by Benfolds5 Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 4:07 pm
The self fulfilling prophecy of Economics. If enough influential people say its bad long enough the people will believe it. Although Mr Durbin might have participated in that tactice in the Bush years and several times beyond …he is right about this.

Comment by theCardinal Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 4:26 pm
He is right, the college grads who have good jobs downtown working for financial firms or Fortune 500 get paid well and live in great neighborhoods near downtown. However, he is not addressing the uneducated working for 15 bucks an hour with no benefits in shooting zone areas on the west and south side. Chicago has a least 40-50 gentrified areas ( and Growing ) . In John Belushi’s Chicago 35 years ago there were maybe 2. The City of Chicago is a much better place than 30-40 years ago. Where else can you pay 200 grand for a building and 20 years later its worth 750k-to a Million ? This is still the city of opportunity for jobs and property and diversity

Comment by Silicon Prairie Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 4:45 pm
== Pressure is put on the newspapers to down play the violence. ==

@SW, do you actually read the papers? I feel like violence is all I read about. Tribune has another deep dive on the carjacking problem again today.

Comment by Roman Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 4:58 pm
==Chicago has real problems. Pressure is put on the newspapers to down play the violence. Now it is Durbin’s turn to be the spin doctor. I avoid Chicago now. Anyone that reads CWB Chicago knows they have a real crime problem, and it includes the Loop and neighboring areas.==

Admitting that you avoid Chicago and know almost nothing about it, then proceeding to explain all of it’s problems is an interesting tactic. Did you know that Atlanta, Houston and Minneapolis all have higher violent crime rates than Chicago? I don’t see the newspapers reporting this fact.

Comment by supplied_demand Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 5:01 pm
==ad hoc political memes ==

Ya lost me here. Such as?

Comment by Da Big Bad Wolf Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 5:17 pm
I am certainly in good company, having also been blocked by Katrina.

Comment by Arthur Andersen Wednesday, Jun 13, 18 @ 6:53 pm
==Anyone that reads CWB Chicago knows they have a real crime problem.==

Anyone that reads CWB Chicago would be better off reading the Onion. Fixed it for you.

Comment by Da Big Bad Wolf Thursday, Jun 14, 18 @ 7:18 am
===He is a talking head.===

You must be confused. It was David Byrne, Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymuth and Chris Franz. Not Dick Durbin. I had all of their albums. Trust me on this one.–

Friday nights, twisting up numbers and drinking beers under the Bowman and Spearman on Congress Plaza, before the midnight show at the old Fine Arts on South Michigan.

Aint no sin being glad you’re alive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBIlxmug8PU

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Jun 14, 18 @ 10:13 am