Tuesday, December 16, 2014

KEEP CHRIST OUT OF “CHRISTMAS”—2014 EDITION

12/16/14

I haven’t written much lately for a variety of what I increasingly see as very good reasons.  But I have been in the habit of writing something at Christmas, usually a somewhat light-hearted attack on the way our silly society celebrates the birthday of our Savior.  In order to continue that tradition while not wasting time on things few people read, here are some excerpts from a letter I enclose along with my contribution to one of my favorite charities, which shall remain nameless.   There’s nothing light-hearted about this one, but the message is essentially the same as it has always been at Christmas time.

God bless you all at Christmas time and always.

Christmas is upon us.  We are supposed to be joyous and happy at this time, as if on demand we could make ourselves joyful and happy.   But for me, and those like me, Christmas gets more depressing every year.   We continue to insist on celebrating the birth of our Savior with a continuous wanton display of hedonism, materialism, anxiety, and debauchery.  We teach our kids to be greedy and try to imbue in them the idea that happiness is measured by the volume and value of the things that one has “acquired.” In short, we celebrate Jesus’s birthday by doing everything He, as a loving God and Brother, advised us not to do.   It is as if we take the occasion of our Savior’s birthday to repeatedly strike Him in the face, much like His torturers did just before the crucified Him.  Are we crucifying Jesus by the way we celebrate His birthday?

So I find it difficult to be jolly during the Christmas season and I fervently wish that we would stop calling it Christmas if we insist on doing such un-Christlike things during the “Christmas” season.   Call it the “holiday season,” whatever that means, or call it what society wants; just don’t call it Christmas because to do so is beyond sacrilegious.

Tough stuff?  You bet.   But that’s the way I feel.  

Yes, at this time of year, people like you and I try to celebrate both Jesus’s historical arrival to save us and, more importantly, to prepare for His coming into our hearts.   But shouldn’t we be doing the latter all the time?   Shouldn’t Christmas be always, not just around December 25?  Our Savior loves us…all the time.  He came to die for our sins, to enlighten the world, and to impart His Father’s message.  We should thank Him, and live that message all the time.


Friday, July 11, 2014

QUINN ON EMANUEL, WRIGLEY, THE OBAMA LIBRARY…AND GOD’S CAPACITY FOR LOVE

7/11/14

This week I reverted back to Mighty Quinn on Politics and Money for two posts, one a true masterpiece, the other merely great, on Chicago politics in general and Rahm Emanuel in particular:

RAHM EMANUEL IS NOT GOING TO BE THE MAYOR WHO “LOST THE CUBS.”
This is the aforementioned “merely great” post and the title says it all, or most of it.  My readers were not at all surprised by the outcome of the Cubs saga, by the way.

THOSE HORRIBLE SOUTH WORKS AND RAHM EMANUEL’S CORE CONSTITUENCY
This post, on the placement of the Obama Library at the old South Works site, is the aforementioned masterpiece not only because it continues my usual practice of skewering our poseur (An earlier mayor, from the Chicago’s days of greatness, may have said “faker.”) mayor but also because it addresses so many issues that are vital to our crumbling society.


I also put up a post at Rant Lifestyle on a very different topic…

HOW MUCH DOES GOD LOVE US?

in which I discourse briefly on something that came to me while praying.   This is the type of post I was putting on Insightful Pontificator before all my musings migrated to Rant Lifestyle.  Yes, I understand the irony, or worse, of such a post appearing on a site like Rant Lifestyle, which is one of the reasons I may, and only may, be going back to my own blogs from Rant.  I will, of course, keep you posted.




See my two books, The Chairman, A Novel of Big City Politics and The Chairman’s Challenge, A Continuing Novel of Big City Politics, for further illumination on how things work in Chicago and Illinois politics. 


Friday, June 27, 2014

QUINN ON EMANUEL’S PHONE TAX, U.S. INVOLVEMENT IN SYRIA AND IRAQ, EXPORTING CRUDE OIL, AND TRADING BASICS

6/27/14

Summer is finally getting to be some fun, and writing these screeds is a major element of said fun.  This week, I feature posts on basic trading and economics, Iraq and Syria (of course)…and a masterpiece, if I can say so myself, on the phone tax increase that illuminates much of Rahm Emanuel’s thinking.

CHICAGO’S PROPOSED PHONE TAX INCREASE:  RAHM EMANUEL’S IDEA OF “CONSTITUENT SERVICE”
You think the property tax can be regressive?  Try this phone tax.  Do you think Rahm Emanuel gives a rat’s hindquarters?   He’s just serving his natural constituency.

MORE ENLIGHTENED THINKING FROM WASHINGTON:  LET’S FIGHT IN BOTH IRAQ AND SYRIA!
There is no limit to the world’s battlefields and potential battlefields, which Washington sees as more opportunities to keep the “defense” contractors happy…and writing checks.

KEEP ALL CRUDE OIL AT HOME?   “LAST NIGHT I HAD A WONDERFUL DREAM…”
I suppose we’d all like to be swimming in cheap domestic crude, but the world doesn’t work that way.   It looks like somebody in Washington understand this, but it’s not who you’d think.

BAD ECONOMIC NEWS = A HEALTHY STOCK MARKET?  BUT OF COURSE!
Pretty basic stuff for many of my readers, not so basic for others.  However, in trading and investing, as in so many other fields of human endeavor, ignoring the basics is the source of much misery.   One of those basic points is that you don’t have to like a particular policy or approach to act on, and profit from, that policy or approach.  Ideology and investing, and certainly trading, don’t mix.

Have a great weekend, everybody.  While I don’t pretend to understand this World Cup stuff (For example, why is losing such a good thing?), it’s sort of fun.



For more on Chicago’s politics, see my books:
The Chairman:
The Chairman’s Challenge:

Friday, June 20, 2014

QUINN ON IRAQ, SHAKMAN...AND THINGS FAR WORSE THAN PATRONAGE HIRING

6/20/14

Yes, I am a bit consumed with Iraq of late, but this story deserves plenty of attention; rarely do we find ourselves on the brink of catastrophic (at least) regionwide conflict in which at least some of the major players are clueless, fanatical, or both.  

Despite the time spent on Iraq, I did mention to commit some apostasy on Chicago politics, still one of my favorite topics, in my first (and thus the last in this reverse chronological list)  post this week.

This week’s paragons of insight included


“ADVISERS” TO IRAQ:   DOES OBAMA REMEMBER VIETNAM?
Our clueless commander-in-chief apparently can’t remember the major foreign policy debacle of his youth.   This post not only afforded me the opportunity to rant in a Cassandric fashion but also gave me an excuse to relate a few stories from the St. Walter School of my youth.  Such stories are bound to be included in my upcoming third book, still in its formative stages.

JOHN KERRY TO IRAQIS TRYING TO STAY ALIVE:   (WESTERN DEMOCRACY) IS WHAT YOU NEED 
Mr. Kerry failed to propose mandatory nightly renderings of Kumbayah.  One wonders why he committed such an oversight.


PARTITION IRAQ?   ANOTHER LOUSY IDEA FROM WASHINGTON
Modern day Metternichs pore over the map of the Middle East.  Oh, yeah, they’re qualified to redraw the world…just like the guys at Versailles in 1919.

PATRONAGE, THE SHAKMAN DECREE, THE CITY THAT ONCE WORKED…AND DAVID COPPERFIELD
http://www.rantlifestyle.com/2014/06/16/patronage-the-shakman-decree-the-city-that-once-worked-and-david-copperfield/
Yes, Mr. Shakman, et. al., there are worse things than patronage hiring.

For more on Chicago’s politics, see my books:
The Chairman:
The Chairman’s Challenge:

Friday, June 13, 2014

QUINN ON IRAQ, SYRIA, ERIC CANTOR…AND $5,000 SUITS

6/13/14

Somehow I was under the mistaken notion that things would slow down with the summer and the consequent lightening of my teaching load, but that has not been the case.  Still, I’ve managed to comment on what I consider the big story of perhaps the year, or maybe even the decade, the goings on in Iraq, and a few other items for good measure:

SYRIA AND IRAQ:  THE BUSH/OBAMA ADMINISTRATION PUTS US ON BOTH SIDES OF A RELIGIOUS WAR
..and we continue to elect these Bozos from both parties who are apparently completely ill-equipped to deal with a dangerous world…or any world in which they are not completely insulated from reality, for that matter.


IRAQ ON THE VERGE OF BECOMING A TERRORIST PETRI DISH:   THANK THE BUSH/OBAMA ADMINISTRATION
Yes, I will blame Bush…and Obama and Hillary Clinton.  They are all guilty of making the Middle East a fiasco…but none is more guilty than George W. Bush, an utter and complete disaster of a president.


WALL STREET DRESSES DOWN TO SEAL A DEAL
The smart money guys wear $5,000 suits?  O tempora, o mores!


ERIC CANTOR AND THE GOP ESTABLISHMENT GO DOWN HARD IN VIRGINIA
Few elections have ever made yours truly happier.


THE BIGGEST FAILURE OF HILLARY CLINTON AT STATE
Benghazi is only a symptom of a much larger policy failure.

Have a great weekend and a great Father’s Day.  I will.




See my two books, The Chairman, A Novel of Big City Politics and The Chairman’s Challenge, A Continuing Novel of Big City Politics, for further illumination on how things work in Chicago and Illinois politics. 

Friday, June 6, 2014

QUINN ON WRIGLEY AND FORMER ALDERMAN SMITH, CAR SALES AND FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, AND AN HISTORIC ANALOGY FOR TODAY’S CHINA

6/6/14

Today is the 70th anniversary of D-Day.  Last summer, we were in France (See my seminal travelogue, CLARK GRISWOLD, MR. PEABODY, AND ME, http://mightyquinnpolitics.blogspot.com/2013/08/clark-griswold-mr-peabody-and-me.html) and visited the beaches and the American cemetery in Normandy.  At the expense of sounding sacrilegious, if I don’t ever see Paris again, it won’t break my heart.  But Normandy is another story; if you can, please try to get there.   You’ll learn a lot, hopefully pray a lot, and maybe cry a little.  And you will appreciate what those guys gave us.  At the expense of sounding comparatively trite, the countryside and the villages of Normandy are also stunningly beautiful; I told our tour guide the farm boys from Iowa who landed at Normandy probably felt right at home.   I don’t think she appreciated the sentiment.

I thought I’d be able to write a lot more this week, but things got busy, though I’m not quite sure with what.  I did manage to write three posts on widely varying topics, however…

WRIGLEY AND THE CUBS:  A FORMER ALDERMAN ENLIGHTENS THE BENIGHTED RICKETTS FAMILY
The politicians know everything, don’t you see?


HUGE MAY CAR SALES:  “I SAW A CADILLAC SIGN SAYIN’ ‘NO MONEY DOWN’…”
The seemingly prescient Chuck Berry, the father of rock’n’roll, saw today’s car financing situation way back in 1956.


A "COERCIVE AND PROVOCATIVE” CHINA?   LESSONS FROM HISTORY
To quote a guy who was okay but who couldn’t carry the aforementioned Mr. Berry’s guitar case, I’m lookin’ at the man in the mirror when I read about China.


Have a great weekend, everybody, and say a prayer for the boys of Normandy.


See my two books, The Chairman, A Novel of Big City Politics and The Chairman’s Challenge, A Continuing Novel of Big City Politics, for further illumination on how things work in Chicago and Illinois politics. 


Friday, May 30, 2014

QUINN ON WRIGLEY FIELD, NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION, INTEREST RATES AND STOCK PRICES…

5/30/14

I know this is late, but I got really busy today and wanted to make sure that the first piece listed below got published and was brought to your attention…


THE CUBS, WRIGLEY FIELD, RAHM EMANUEL, AND CHICAGO POLITICS:  PLAY BALL!
I even worked a reference to granite counter tops into this observation of Wrigley and the way things work around this town.

SOUTH KOREA WARNS OF NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION:  SO WHAT?
I, for one, would welcome a Japanese nuclear capability.

STOCKS AND BONDS ARE TELLING DIFFERENT STORIES:  WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?
I wasn’t the first to make this point, and I admitted it at the start of this piece.  But today, the day after I made and published this argument, I heard or read it at least three times in the financial media.  Am I prescient?  Probably not.  Am I honest?  Absolutely.

CAP AND TRADE:  THE DEMOCRATS SCREW UP ANOTHER GREAT IDEA
Cap and trade came right out of Jack Kemp’s playbook.  But the GOP has a legitimate beef about the Obama Administration’s proposed execution of this idea.

VLADIMIR PUTIN:  “POP HAD GENCO; LOOK WHAT I GOT!”
I’ve asked it before and I’ll ask it again…what does Vladimir Putin think when he meets with the likes of Barack Obama and George Bush?

Have a great weekend, everybody.   Hopefully, the other Hawks will stay alive tonight.  In any case, it will be a great weekend at the Quinn household.


See my two books, The Chairman, A Novel of Big City Politics and The Chairman’s Challenge, A Continuing Novel of Big City Politics, for further illumination on how things work in Chicago and Illinois politics. 


Friday, May 23, 2014

QUINN ON REDFLEX, STUDENT LOANS…AND GRANITE COUNTERTOPS(?)

5/23/14

On this last week of unofficial Spring, I managed to find the time to come up with only three posts, but on a dizzying array of topics…

HGTV’S HOUSE HUNTERS:  “WHAT?  NO GRANITE COUNTERTOPS?!”
Let it never be said that this is not an eclectic blog.

STUDENT LOANS:  ANOTHER SCHEME FROM DICK DURBIN TO “LIGHTEN” THE LOAD
While I may not be much of a Republican, people like Dick Durbin are the reason it is highly unlikely that I will become a Democrat.  I use the term “highly unlikely” because only a fool uses the terms “never,” however tempting it might be in this context. 

REDFLEX:  COULD JOHN BILLS HAVE PULLED THIS OFF (NEARLY) ALONE?
What I’ll think about and what I’ll believe are two different things, but this is a theory that has to be considered by any serious student of the Redflex affair, which I contend has the potential to be one of the biggest local political stories of the still new century.

Enjoy Memorial Day and take time to honor those who gave so much for us.



For more on Chicago’s politics, see my books:
The Chairman:
The Chairman’s Challenge:



Thursday, May 15, 2014

QUINN ON REDFLEX, RUBIO, ST. GERARD, DEBT, AND INFLATION

5/15/14

Since October, 2012, when the Tribune first broke the story, I have written that Redflex would turn out to be a huge story; now more chickens are coming home to roost on that front.  So I had to find time yesterday evening to write on that ongoing saga.  As things have slowed down just a bit, I’ve also managed to write on the economy, national politics, and the Church:

THE REDFLEX SAGA:  THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING FOR CHICAGO POLITICAL JUNKIES
Back in April, 2013, I spoke at a men’s club meeting at St. Margaret Mary here in Naperville and said that Redflex was the story to watch.  My prediction seems to be being vindicated.

BIZARRONOMICS:  FALLING CREDIT CARD DEBT IS BAD
MORE BIZARRO ECONOMICS:  INFLATION IS GOOD
No, really…some of my best friends are economists.  One introduced me to my wife which, in our case, worked out very well.

MARCO RUBIO:  EVEN THE BEST POLS ARE FRAUDS
The incomparable H.L. Mencken saw the likes of Marco Rubio, and just about every other modern politician of all “ideological” and partisan stripes, coming.

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, WOMEN, EXPECTANT MOTHERS, AND ST. GERARD
St. Gerard was a great guy, and I hope he’s praying for me.  But does empathy count for anything in the Catholic Church?



I thought I’d get this out early since the Redflex story is splayed across this morning’s headlines in Chicago.  Have a great weekend, everybody, and go (other) Hawks!

Friday, May 9, 2014

QUINN ON SYRIA, PRAYER AT PUBLIC MEETINGS, AND EMANUEL’S DISPENSING HIS WISDOM ON WABASH

5/9/14

Time is tight, as it has been for the last several months, but a man’s gotta write what a man’s gotta write…

WHY DO SO MANY IN WASHINGTON WANT TO HELP AL QAEDA IN SYRIA?
Contrary to what the likes of John McCain would have you believe, militarism and meddling does not equate to patriotism.


CAPTAIN OBVIOUS STRIKES AGAIN:  SUPREME COURT SAYS IT’S OKAY TO PRAY
Maybe this is the beginning of the end of all the silliness inflicted on us by the freedom from religion crowd…but probably not.


RAHM EMANUEL TO DOWNTOWN BUSINESSPEOPLE:  JUST SHUT UP AND PAY
And have you noticed how the local media, or at least elements of the Chicago Tribune, seem to have turned on their consanguineous champion?  Still…bet heavily on the wise and mighty Rahm’s reelection.  In the screwed up politics of enlightened, modern day America, it’s all about money, and Mr. Emanuel has boatloads of it.


Have a great weekend, everybody, and God bless and thank all of you out there who are mothers.





See my two books, The Chairman, A Novel of Big City Politics and The Chairman’s Challenge, A Continuing Novel of Big City Politics, for further illumination on how things work in Chicago and Illinois politics. 



Tuesday, May 6, 2014

QUINN ON THE CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION OF THE OTHER QUINN’S NRI…AND ON THE OTHER QUINN’S APPARENT PLANS FOR YOUR TAXES

5/2/14

Time has only allowed a few posts this week, but they were both good ones and both at least ancillarily related to the increasingly interesting Illinois governor’s race…

COOK COUNTY STATE’S ATTORNEY ALVAREZ GOES AFTER GOVERNOR QUINN’S NRI; WHAT’S UP WITH THAT?
A politicized criminal investigation in Cook County?  I’d have to do my best Claude Rains imitation and be shocked, shocked at such a contention.


ILLINOIS GOVERNOR PAT QUINN:  WHAT’S MINE IS MINE, WHAT’S YOURS IS NEGOTIABLE
The Governor, who is no relation to yours truly, is a great campaigner in a heavily Democratic state, but it looks like his myriad failings as a governor may cost him reelection.  It is, though, a long time from here to November.


As I said in one of the above posts…

Chicago and Illinois politics sure is interesting, eh?  Paying for it isn’t, but that’s another matter.

Have a great weekend, everybody.

Mark


See my two books, The Chairman, A Novel of Big City Politics and The Chairman’s Challenge, A Continuing Novel of Big City Politics, for further illumination on how things work in Chicago and Illinois politics. 


Monday, April 28, 2014

QUINN ON THE GOVERNOR’S RACE, GIANT PUPPETS, PUTIN, GM, AND HIS NAMESAKE’S HOUSING PLAN

4/24/14

The busyness, if you will, of my schedule combined with the events of the Triduum, ruled out sending you one of these heads-up announcements last week.   But I did manage to find the time to write a few things since we last communicated.  Most were on local and state politics for the simple reason that writing on these topics sells books.  But I did touch on world politics and the car business.

WHO DOES CHICAGO MAYOR RAHM EMANUEL WANT TO BE ILLINOIS GOVERNOR?
I’m not one to complain about editing, but the editor of this piece dropped the “Who” at the beginning of the title, changing its meaning entirely.   Be that as it may, the punch line is that Mr. Emanuel may be telling the truth in this instance, and it has little, but not nothing, to do with Mr. Rauner’s ill-advised robocalls.

RAHM AND THE GIANT PUPPETS
Yet another attempt by our yuppie mayor to make us a “world class” city.  Such grotesqueries make one pine for the days of the old Stock Yards, the aroma of which my father would alternately call “fresh air” or the “smell of money.”

THE GENEVA AGREEMENT ON UKRAINE:  PUTIN HORNSWOGGLES THE WEST…AGAIN
I often wonder what Mr. Putin thinks, or thought, after meeting with the likes of Barack Obama and George Bush.  It had to be something along the lines of “This guy is the leader of the free world?  Maybe freedom isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”

“PRODUCT INTEGRITY ORGANIZATION”?  NEW GM INDEED!
There is nothing new under the sun…especially in Detroit, it seems.

ILLINOIS GOVERNOR PAT QUINN’S HOUSING PROPOSAL:  PINING FOR ’08 AND ‘09
Shows what a short memory and an utter lack of understanding of economics can do.

Have a great rest of the week and weekend, everybody.


See my two books, The Chairman, A Novel of Big City Politics and The Chairman’s Challenge, A Continuing Novel of Big City Politics, for further illumination on how things work in Chicago and Illinois politics. 



QUINN ON PRECKWINKLE VS. EMANUEL, TRIPLE J, JEB BUSH, AND THE PENSION BILL

4/10/14

I took a hiatus from writing last week; I was just too busy to write and was harboring a few doubts about the whole point of the exercise.  But I was at a party last Saturday night and talked to several people whom I hadn’t seen in a while who told me how much they enjoyed my posts and asked me to assure them that I wouldn’t quit.  No coincidences, as they say, but I digress. 

At any rate, I found some time this week to write a few posts.  Almost all my musings this week were on Chicago politics; I did that because it seems like my writing on the politics of my hometown for Rant Lifestyle, a site about which I still have my misgivings, seems to sell my books…if an uptick in sales since writing for Rant is any evidence.

THE 2015 CHICAGO MAYOR’S RACE:  TONI, TONI, PLEASE BACK DOWN, YOU’LL NEVER BEAT RAHM IN THIS TOWN
Some of Toni Preckwinkle’s fans are delusional, but I hope she isn’t.  And I think I came up with a new expression for the political situation in ChicagoPax Rahmana.  Pretty good, eh?

TAKE IT TO THE BANK:  CHICAGO MAYOR RAHM EMANUEL WILL GET HIS TAX INCREASE…AND MAYBE HIS CASINO
Those who say that this whole pension bill is a stalking horse for a casino may be partially right, but property taxes are going up in Chicago anyway.

JEB BUSH IN 2016:   MOTHER KNOWS BEST
Yes, I know the Wall Street Journal editorial page has gone into the tank for this guy, but the GOP can’t be that suicidal.  Or can it?

JESSE JACKSON JR. GOES TO A NICER JAIL:  “THAT’S (NOT) THE SOUND OF THE MEN WORKING ON THE…CHAIN GANG…”
Once the glare of publicity faded, Triple J got to go to the federal housing he wanted all along.   So it goes.  But couldn’t the Jackson family have come up with a story that wasn’t quite so insulting to our intelligence?

Have a great weekend, everybody.   Blessed Holy Week and Passover.

See my two books, The Chairman, A Novel of Big City Politics and The Chairman’s Challenge, A Continuing Novel of Big City Politics, for further illumination on how things work in Chicago and Illinois politics. 


Friday, February 28, 2014

QUINN ON MICHELLE OBAMA, RICK PERRY, NEW PLANETS, UKRAINE, AND THE OLYMPICS

2/28/14

Years ago, someone described one of my earlier blogs as being “eclectic,” which is a great word and ideally suited to describe the range of topics I tend to cover in my writing and in the course of my daily discourse.  I try to remain interested and conversant in a number of subjects, and this is one of the few endeavors in which I have largely succeeded in my life.

Now that yours truly has nearly broken his arm patting himself on the back, here is evidence of my eclecticity…this week’s posts on Rant Lifestyle (a site, I suspect, most people “read” for the pictures, as many of you have observed):

SAME SEX MARRIAGE IN TEXAS AND THE TYRANNY OF THE MAJORITY
Contrary to popular belief, the essence of the Constitution is not “majority rules.”   At least in America, we believe, or at least used to believe, that rights are given by God and therefore are not subject to revocation by the voters.

NASA FINDS NEW PLANETS:  ARE THE ALIEN INVADERS ON THEIR WAY?
As many of you know, I am a lifelong devotee of The Twilight Zone, simply the best series in the history of television.  Admittedly, this is a low bar, but I digress.  At any rate, this enthusiasm for TZ shows in this post.

MICHELLE OBAMA TO KIDS:   YOU’LL GET WHAT I SAY YOU’LL GETAND LIKE IT!
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it forever:  a politician with a messianic complex is far more dangerous than a pol with his hand in the till.

A UKRAINIAN SPRING? 
Sadly, this one’s coming true even as I write this.

2014 SOCHI WINTER OLYMPICS:  WE OWE THE RUSSIANS AN APOLOGY
Given my recent surfeit of Olympics posts, I was concerned about what I’d do for material when they ended.  Judging from this week, my fears were unfounded.

Have a great weekend, everybody.  More snow and it looks like more futility from the Hawkeyes, but maybe a resurgent Illini.


Saturday, February 22, 2014

QUINN ON WAL-MART, UKRAINE, MEL REYNOLDS, AND THE OLYMPICS

2/21/14

I’ve been busier than the proverbial one armed paper hanger of late, but I just keep on keepin’ on, as Gladys Knight used to say.  Writing always brings a smile to my face, and we all need some smiles in the midst of this dreary and brutal winter.  To that end, you might enjoy the following posts:

THE BUSINESS PLAN OF WAL-MART REVEALED!
So it was a lousy quarter; what I, and doubtless many of you, have discerned as Wal-Mart’s business plan will keep it on the road to world domination.

THE PREDICTABLE OUTCOME OF THE TIME OF TROUBLES IN UKRAINE
This one won’t make you smile, but at least it looks as if things at least have a chance of winding down in Kiev.  Maybe.

FORMER CONGRESSMAN MEL REYNOLDS ACCUSED OF BEING A BI-CONTINENTAL PERVERT
What is it about Congresspersons from the 2nd Congressional district in Illinois?  But, breaking news:  it looks like the Mel man’s porn charges have been dropped and he may (and only may) soon be free to work his “business deals” again.   Business deals indeed.

SOCHI OLYMPICS:  WHAT, NO STARBUCKS…OR POST 2016 REVENUE?
The athletes aren’t complaining, but the media, predictably, finds plenty to whine about in Sochi.    This post also puts that $50 billion plus spent on the Games in perspective.

THE SOCHI OLYMPICS:  ABOUT THOSE COMMERCIALS…
At what point did those of you who are watching a lot of the Olympics get tired of seeing the same commercials…over and over and over again?   This post is good, but it gets great when I start talking about the second BMW commercial (i.e., in which the floozy gets in the car and propositions the driver), which would have been a third bullet point had it not been for the efforts of Rant’s editor.


Have a great weekend, everybody.  Falling girders in the Assembly Hall in Bloomington, IN spared the Quinn family a huge conflict of interest last week.  But this weekend’s Big 10 action looks good.

Thursday, February 13, 2014

QUINN ON CHICAGO SNOW, PRIUS RECALLS, DOOM AND GLOOM, DAN RUTHERFORD, AND THE OLYMPICS

2/13/14

I don’t know where I’m finding the time to do all this writing, but I realize that if I don’t write I don’t feel right (no pun intended), so I make the time.   This week featured an eclectic batch of posts…

A QUICK SOLUTIONS FOR ALL THAT SNOW IN CHICAGO
Here’s a sure fire way for the city of Chicago to get enough salt for a winter with 500, 600, or even 1,000 inches of snow.

TOYOTA RECALLS 1.9 MILLION PRII:  WHAT’S GOIN’ ON?
Toyota and its shareholders need not worry about this problem, but all hybrid manufacturers may soon face a challenge that few are discussing.

DEATH, DOOM, AND DESPAIR?   YOU’VE COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE!
While I have little confidence in anyone’s, including my own, ability to make good market and/or economic calls, the economy makes me nervous.  Here I present seven, or maybe six and a half, reasons for concern.

SALACIOUS SEX CHARGES IN THE ILLINOIS PRIMARY…AND IT’S STILL NOT INTERESTING
Regardless of their degree of veracity, these lurid tales of Dan Rutherford’s alleged extracurricular activities are attracting attention to the GOP “race” for the gubernatorial nomination.  But even these stories can’t make the race interesting.

THE SOCHI GAMES:   “YOU CAN’T EXPECT A BUNCH OF IGNORANT PEONS TO UNDERSTAND SOMETHING AS COMPLEX AS (THE OLYMPICS)”
The editors renamed this piece, but do you remember General Buck Turgidson from Dr. Strangelove, Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb? (yours truly’s third favorite movie of all time, by the way) The American media sound like him when they comment on the Sochi Games.

I haven’t been to the Auto Show yet this year; the days of four or more visits to that outstanding exhibition are long behind me.  But when I get there, I may have some more material.

Everybody have a good weekend and enjoy the Olympics.  Until I met my wife, I wouldn’t have spent five minutes watching the Games…and now I’m a fan.  It’s amazing what the love of a good woman can do to a guy.


And, speaking of…happy and blessed Valentine’s Day to you and yours.

See my two books, The Chairman, A Novel of Big City Politics and The Chairman’s Challenge, A Continuing Novel of Big City Politics, for further illumination on how things work in Chicago and Illinois politics. 

QUINN ON OBAMACARE, R.J. VANECKO, CAR SALES, AND PETE SEEGER

2/7/14

I put up only four posts at Rant Lifestyle this week , but the range of topics was wide and the quality of writing was spectacular, is I can say so myself….


OBAMACARE AND WORK FORCE PARTICIPATION:  “I’LL WORK FOR YOU, I’LL SLAVE FOR YOU…”
This isn’t necessarily a pro-Obamacare piece, but the Republicans ought to be very careful about which aspects of the Affordable Care Act they attack.  Once the label of “Obamacare” is removed, many of the provisions of this law are very popular …and deservedly so. 

THE CURIOUS CASE OF R.J. VANECKO:   JUSTICE DELAYED…AND DENIED…CHICAGO STYLE
The Chicago articles are not so popular in a nationwide site like Rant Lifestyle, but I’ll continue to write about Chicago politics as long as my mind and fingers work.   This particular article is one of the best I have ever written, by the way.


January Car Sales:  “I Ain’t Got Time To Discuss The Weather, Or How Long It’s Gonna Last…”
This is one of those articles that could conceivably make you some money.  Most of the experts were way too enthusiastic about car sales coming into this year and now are blaming the weather.  We shall see.


Pete Seeger:   “Just Talk About Folk Music And Civil Rights And They’re Yours!”
Was Pete Seeger a hero, a hypocrite, a fraud, or a visionary?   Remember, only speak well of the recently dead.  And I have to tell you that, since Mr. Seeger died, I can get neither Trini Lopez’s version of “If I Had a Hammer” nor the great Johnny Rivers’ version of “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” out of my head.


The weather has not only been abominable but has kept us away from Iowa City, our daughter, and live Hawkeye basketball.  Our boys face the Wolverines this weekend in Iowa City, but we’ll have to watch on television.   The money we save by staying home acts as a salve, though.


Have a great weekend.

See my two books, The Chairman, A Novel of Big City Politics and The Chairman’s Challenge, A Continuing Novel of Big City Politics, for further illumination on how things work in Chicago and Illinois politics. 

Friday, January 31, 2014

QUINN ON CLERGY SEX ABUSE, OBAMA’S myRA SCHEME, AND THE U.S. OVERSTEPPING ITS BOUNDS…AGAIN.

1/31/14

My posts continue as the sane and sober counterpoints to the typical titillations and pop culture updates that otherwise characterize Rant Lifestyle.   The combination seems to be nearly as disjunctive as marshmallow soup, but we’ll see how this works out.   I have to say that my colleagues’ articles certainly draw readers (or viewers, I am sure, for many of the posts; e.g., “The Hottest Daughters of Rock Stars” and “The 10 Most Beautiful Women at the Detroit Auto Show,” and these are milder fare at the site) to the site, so maybe all this will work out.

This week’s fare from my end included

Obama’s myRA Scheme:   Countering The “Livin’ On Money That I Ain’t Made Yet” Attitude?
Even those of you who might not find the subject matter compelling will find this one of my best, and entertainingly, written pieces in awhile.

The United States To Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe:  Don’t Go There
We used to be appalled that the Soviets told their satellites what to do.   The geopolitical mirror may not look so good now.

Hamid Karzai:   “Feel the (Country) Breakin’ and Everybody Shakin’ and We’re Stayin’ Alive”
What’s an installed guy to do when the installers head for the door?

“Bishop” Raymond Goedert And Clergy Sex Abuse:  “We Have Done What We Were Obliged To Do.” 
I found the Archdiocese’s released documents on clergy sex abuse especially interesting, and sickening, because some of the cited creepiness, or far worse, allegedly took place in the rectory of St. Walter Parish on the far south side in 1970 and 1971; I am a 1971 graduate of that proud parish.  This post does not relate to those particular episodes, but goes to perhaps a more salient sin of the Church.  “Bishop” Goedert (I’m having a hard time calling the man “Bishop.”), by the way, was ensconced at a neighboring parish, in which we later lived, during some of the period discussed in this piece, so his juggling act sort of hits home as well, though not nearly as much as the shenanigans going on, unbeknownst to most of us, at St. Walter.

Have a great weekend, everybody.  Alas, the Hawkeye loss to the Spartans Tuesday night has relegated Iowa to the second tier of Big 10 basketball, but the second tier of the Big 10 is not such a bad place to be this season.

Mark