By Steve Rhodes
John Kass would do well to apply the same formidable powers of skeptical, politically-knowing observation that he uses in assessing Illinois politics to his pals in the national Republican party – and his colleagues in the media. Anyone watching the video of John Kerry’s speech in Pasadena could see that he was obviously referring to the president and not the troops when he joked that if you don’t do your homework you wind up stuck in Iraq. Sometimes the story isn’t the trumped-up offense that political operatives and White House strategists pretend has occurred, but the despicable fact that they are making the charge and, in this case, exploiting our soldiers, in the first place.
Look at the slide from U.S. Central Command that accompanies this story and tell me if we should be arguing about anything John Kerry has said lately as opposed to what he said 35 years ago, when he said, “How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?”
Grow up, people.
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“Almost a third of the 102 U.S. troops killed in Iraq in October – the fourth deadliest month of the war – were on extended, second or third tours,” the Tribune reports.
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The number of dead American soldiers in Iraq has become too many for the Tribune to track.
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“Now he’s sitting on the fender of a Chevy truck, strumming a guitar and singing, ‘Well, I can stand beside ideals I think are right, and I can stand beside the idea to stand and fight.’ He can also stand beside a nice shiny truck, if the fee is right.”
– New York Times media columnist David Carr on John Mellencamp
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The Rockford Register Star stands besides ideals it thinks are right.
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This story would be better if it turned out that Patti Blagojevich was the real estate agent.
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Rosenbloom is back.
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But only on the Web. The death march of the print edition continues.
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Richard Roeper explains to readers at the end of this column that when he’s “on vacation” from his newspaper column he’s actually tending to his 25 other jobs. Hey Rich, maybe just pick one job and do it well.
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Product Placement of the Day: United Airlines.
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“Nine months after coming out of a brutal bankruptcy, United Airlines keeps gaining altitude.”
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ah! Stop! Please!
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Buried: “[United CEO Glenn] Tilton received a 40 percent pay raise and a new five-year contract in September, a year before his previous employment agreement was due to expire.”
And he’s not even 7-0.
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“Overall, salaries will increase at United about 1.5 percent.”
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“6/17/05: [United] reaches agreement with last union on $176 mil. in wage concessions.”
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Sneed steals another paycheck.
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Rex Grossman’s message to students at a financial seminar sponsored by VISA, the NFL, and U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert: Think twice about that $125,000 Mercedes-Benz CL55, because one day your performance bonuses may run out.
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Surprisingly, it turns out that Biggert is a member of the Financial Services committee, which is no doubt generously funded by VISA; Biggert is on the Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Entities. and the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit.
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Anyone who thinks Todd Stroger and the Democratic Machine have the market on compassion for the poor and/or vulnerable citizens of Cook County, please read this and explain to me how the patronage-drenched and willfully incompetent Stroger organization is in anybody’s interest except those who are drawing paychecks from taxpayers for doing a lousy job – or no job at all.
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“Senator Obama feels that Stroger has the experience to usher the county into an era of progress,” an Obama spokesman says.
Yep, presidential timber.
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“You don’t demean people in public service,” Mayor Richard M. Daley said Tuesday. “You can disagree with somebody, but you don’t have to attack them personally.”
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“Daley Sees Race in ‘Big Box’ Debate”
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The Bears-49ers game as retold by the Kool-Aid Nation.
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The Beachwood Tip Line: Join the Beachwood Nation.
Posted on November 1, 2006