Chicago - A message from the station manager

The [Tuesday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

“Since the election of President Trump, Republican lawmakers in at least 18 states have introduced or voted on legislation to curb mass protests in what civil liberties experts are calling ‘an attack on protest rights throughout the states,'” the Washington Post reports.
“Democrats in many of these states are fighting the legislation . . . Critics doubt whether many of the laws would pass Constitutional muster.

“The Supreme Court has gone out of its way on multiple occasions to point out that streets, sidewalks and public parks are places where [First Amendment] protections are at their most robust,” said Lee Rowland, a senior attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union.

“This is by no means the first time in American history that widespread protests have inspired a legislative backlash, says Douglas McAdam, a Stanford sociology professor who studies protest movements.

“For instance, southern legislatures – especially in the Deep South – responded to the Montgomery Bus Boycott (and the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education) with dozens and dozens of new bills outlawing civil rights groups, limiting the rights of assembly, etc. all in an effort to make civil rights organizing more difficult,” he said via e-mail.

Apparently neither he nor the reporter could be bothered to pick up the phone and participate in a real interview, but I digress.
“Similarly,” he added, “laws designed to limit or outlaw labor organizing or limit labor rights were common in the late 19th/early 20th century.”
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Full Terror Assault
Cave-In-Rock, Illinois.
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Indiana Gas Attack
“Gasoline tax hikes in Illinois will likely send more drivers looking for better prices in Indiana, but it’s unclear if a higher levy on cigarettes will have the same effect, industry analysts said,” AP reports.
I have questions.
1. Illinois drivers along the Indiana border, maybe, but aren’t they already crossing state lines for gas? And cigarettes?
2. Why gas but not cigarettes?
3. Industry analysts are paid by industry, right?
Let’s see:
“Starting July 1, the Illinois gas tax will double from 19 cents to 38 cents per gallon, compared to the 29 cents per gallon tax in Indiana.”
So until now, the Illinois gas tax was 10 cents lower than the gas tax in Indiana? So Indiana drivers were coming into Illinois for gas, right?
Also wondering: How far will drivers go to save 9 cents in tax a gallon? If you fill up with 20 gallons, that’s $1.80 saved! Then you have to calculate the cost of the gas you use to drive to across the border to save $1.80, so it’s gonna be less than that.
But I digress:
“‘The gas station convenience store industry in Illinois is on the endangered species list,’ William Fleischli, the executive vice president of the Illinois Petroleum Marketers Association/Illinois Association of Convenience Stores, told the Northwest Indiana Times.”
It is? I’m not saying it isn’t, but pony up the data, Bill.
“GasBuddy.com petroleum analyst Patrick DeHaan agreed.

“Drivers that shop around will find easy savings by going into Indiana, and that will likely lead to a loss in gallon sales for Illinois,” DeHaan said.

Again, pony up the data. In fact, let’s put a GPS on Illinois drivers near the border and test it out for ourselves!
“Also next month, cigarettes will cost $1 more per pack in Illinois on top of the $1.98 tax per pack already in place. Elena Ivanova, of Chicago’s health department, told the Associated Press that the tax on cigarettes in the city – already the highest in the nation – will increase to $8.16 per pack.”
Okay, you don’t need an official to tell you a fact. The tax will increase to $8.16 a pack for it won’t. It’s in the legislation.
“By comparison, Indiana taxes every pack of cigarettes 95 cents.”
That looks like a greater savings than gas. Twenty packs will save $20!
“Gus Olympidis, the CEO of Family Express convenience stores, said that although Indiana’s cigarette taxes are much lower, that cost advantage could be lost during the next legislative session when Indiana lawmakers could again consider raising cigarette taxes.”
But they have the advantage right now!
“A proposal to raise the tax by $2 per pack failed in the Indiana Legislature this year, despite support in the polls and the backing of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.”
The backing of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.
“Nonetheless, Fleischli predicts that the cigarette and gas tax hikes, combined, will be devastating to businesses in Illinois.”
Nonetheless! The petroleum/convenience store guy says so!
Missing in the story: Consumers, historical data, economic projections and any mention of how the additional tax money will be spent in ways that even a chamber of commerce seems to think is worth it.
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Against Da Fence
This is a fun event, I’ll be there.
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University Of Chicago Actually Does Right Thing
“They attended the University of Chicago a few years apart and, until recently, didn’t know the other existed,” WBEZ reports.
“But their experiences with sexual harassment and gender discrimination derailing their studies at the University of Chicago five decades ago brought Cheryl Sundari Dembe and Marilyn Webb together. This past Saturday, they both finally received Ph.D.s from the prestigious university in Hyde Park.
“Both women, inspired by the #MeToo movement, had individually reached out to the university to finish what they started as students in the 1960s.
“The university said it wanted to right a wrong that was allowed to persist for so many years. It’s believed to be the first university in the country to take this step for former students.”
More of this, please. In all sectors of society.
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Scooter Cooter
Look, I’m not necessarily against the scooters. I don’t know enough about the ins and outs to really say, but as a general concept it’s actually pretty cool. Nonetheless, I’m entertained by the mayhem we’re seeing so far . . . now being tracked by ChicagoScooterFails.
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Rolling Dead


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I swear I saw a social media post this morning of Keith Richards in the bowels of O’Hare, but now I can’t find it. Oh well. By the way, not a Stones fan. Don’t get me started. I am a Dead fan, though I would not call myself a Deadhead.
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Fraternization


At least they’re not on scooters, but . . . whatever. Please kill me.
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New on the Beachwood . . .
FBI Sued For Burge Records
Agency says they won’t be ready until December 2020.
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Cubs Look To Get Well Against Sox
Dodgers left a mark.
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ChicagoReddit

Frisbee Golf from r/chicago


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ChicagoGram


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ChicagoTube
The Video Kid At Chicago Music Exchange.

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BeachBook
Robert Therrien, The LA Artist Who Gained Fame For His Giant-Sized Sculptures Of Chairs And Other Everyday Objects, Has Died At 71.

I hope he is buried in an oversized coffin.
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TweetWood
A sampling.


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The Beachwood McRibTipLine: No filter.

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Posted on June 18, 2019