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 70^th 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

http://www.rantlifestyle.com/2014/06/06/wrigley-field-and-the-chicago-cubs-a-former-alderman-enlightens-benighted-ricketts-family/

The politicians know everything, don’t you see?

HUGE MAY CAR SALES:  “I SAW A CADILLAC SIGN SAYIN’ ‘NO MONEY DOWN’…”

http://www.rantlifestyle.com/2014/06/05/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

http://www.rantlifestyle.com/2014/06/02/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. 

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?

http://www.rantlifestyle.com/2014/04/23/chicago-mayor-rahm-emanuel-want-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

http://www.rantlifestyle.com/2014/04/22/rahm-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

http://www.rantlifestyle.com/2014/04/17/geneva-agreement-ukraine-putin-hornswoggles-west/

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!

http://www.rantlifestyle.com/2014/04/16/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

http://www.rantlifestyle.com/2014/04/15/illinois-governor-pat-quinns-housing-proposal-pining-08-09/

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

http://www.rantlifestyle.com/2014/04/10/2015-chicago-mayors-race-toni-toni-please-back-youll-never-beat-rahm-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 Chicago:  Pax Rahmana.  Pretty good, eh?

TAKE IT TO THE BANK:  CHICAGO MAYOR RAHM EMANUEL WILL GET HIS TAX INCREASE…AND MAYBE HIS CASINO

http://www.rantlifestyle.com/2014/04/09/take-bank-chicago-mayor-rahm-emanuel-will-get-tax-increase-maybe-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

http://www.rantlifestyle.com/2014/04/09/jeb-bush-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…”

http://www.rantlifestyle.com/2014/04/07/jesse-jackson-jr-goes-nicer-jail-thats-sound-men-working-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.