BackTalk

Column: Cold blast from the past

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:21:05 -0600

Chilly neighborhood reception greets Mount Greenwood Seven at elementary school they integrated 40 years ago

Column: The Mount Greenwood Seven

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:10:59 -0600

Seven black students recall braving the racist crowds who protested their transfer to Mount Greenwood school in '68

Text-messaging queen

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:57:16 -0600

A Chicago suburban teen is hoping to win the National Texting Championship in New York.
Megan Rach of Naperville could win $50,000 for the speed at which she can play a telephone. She's been practicing by sending 100 to 500 messages a day.
We hope her parents have a good phone plan.

Petty criminals and the military

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 17:35:21 -0600

In revising policies for recruits, the Pentagon considered relaxing rules for potential recruits who have committed petty crimes — but didn't. Wannabe soldiers still can apply for a waiver, but they'll have to endure a lengthy probe of past conduct before the various branches of the armed forces will consider their applications.

Considering our lack of a draft, the fact that we're talking about petty stuff like traffic offenses, plus the beneficial impact of becoming a soldier, should the Pentagon have relaxed recruitment requirements?

Here's the original story:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/washington/1034860,CST-NWS-mil02.article

Reality check

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 17:27:15 -0600

Is it ever OK to lie on your resume?
On Monday, Sun-Times reporter Dave Newbart exposed several lies on the resume of Chicago State University’s baseball coach. Coach Husain Mahmoud lied about being drafted by the Cincinnati Reds and about playing professional football.
Seems to us there is never a good reason to make up stuff on your resume. Even if you don’t get caught, you’ve created a lie that will likely forever haunt you.
Any dissenters? Can anyone come up with a justification for fudging the facts on your resume?

Give Peace a Chance

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:33:15 -0600

Ringo Starr wants more peace and love in the world.
He's planning a peace rally this Monday at noon in Chicago in honor of his 68th birthday. There will be simultaneous rallies in Hollywood, New York, London and Iceland.
The planned rally at Buckingham Fountain may be drowned out by clean up crews from Taste of Chicago. So Ringo may have to find an alternate venue.
Still, is all this talk of peace an empty gesture?

Springfield showdown

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:52:51 -0600

It's showdown time in Springfield.

Governor Blagojevich Wednesday called state Legislators back to Springfield for a special session July 9th and 10th to deal with a budget that could be as much as $2 billion out of whack.

Blagojevich wants House Speaker Michael Madigan to move several spending measures that House Democrats are already on record opposing, including a capital bill. Blagojevich has tried to get Madigan to the table, to discuss ways to fill the $2 billion hole, but Madigan's been a no show. That was a mistake.

But Blagojevich didn't help matters Wednesday by accusing Madigan of plotting for a secret tax increase after the November election.

What we need now are grown-ups, who can not only talk to each other but talk to each other respectfully. Otherwise, we can all expect more of the same. In this case, that means Blagojevich will have to resort to $1.5 billion in cuts on July 10th.

At risk is nearly $2 billion that would fund social services, health care, public safety, economic development, transit and services for veterans and seniors.

Is that really what we want?

Truth in advertising

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:06:02 -0600

It's trendy to consider what effect you're having on the environment.

Trendy, but you don't often don't see companies volunteering detailed information on how much carbon dioxide and waste are created when they manufacture their products.

That's what makes Patagonia's website stand out.

The clothing manufacturer has taken 10 products, from its polo shirt to its honeydew shoe, and shown where the materials it uses come from and the route they take from the farm field, to the manufacturing plant to the company's distribution center in Reno.

Are these adults sober?

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:29:29 -0600

A federal survey released today revealed that 40 percent of underage
drinkers scored their booze from an adult free of charge within the last
month. About one in four teens said they got the alcohol from an unrelated
adult, one in 16 got it from a parent or guardian and one in 12 got it from
another older relative, according to the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration study. Are these adults sober?

He's baaaack

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:19:57 -0600

Ross Perot, the Dallas billionaire and former presidential candidate, is back to educate the public with favorite weapon — the chart.

This time, instead of buying primetime commercial television spots, he's on the Internet at www.perotcharts.com, with 35 — count 'em 35 — charts to explain why the nation's economy is going to heck in a handbasket.

Is Amy Winehouse a racist?

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 15:27:41 -0600

The bad girl of British soul music is in trouble again. Singer Amy Winehouse's life is an ongoing train wreck.

A London newspaper obtained a video of her singing a version of the children's song, "Heads, shoulders, knees and toes," that she reworked with her own original and completely racist and offensive lyrics.

"Blacks, Pakis, Gooks and Nips. And deaf and dumb and blind and gay!" she sings in the video that looks like it was shot in a crack den.

Pastor-gate

Fri, 23 May 2008 16:27:29 -0600

For weeks on end Barack Obama had to address the storm of media coverage surrounding controversial comments made by his former pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
Meanwhile anti-Catholic comments made by another pastor, Rev. John Hagee, who supported John McCain, garnered a few headlines. Namely, he had referred to the Catholic Church as "the great whore."
Now McCain said he didn't agree with those comments but at first he didn't disavow Hagee. Finally he did on Thursday and he rejected the pastor’s endorsement.
That was after anti-Semitic comments surfaced that Hagee made in the late 1990s. He suggested God sent Adolf Hitler to help Jews reached the promised land.

Some food for thought

Fri, 16 May 2008 14:19:54 -0600

Mark Bittman
As we begin on Sunday our occasional series of editorials on how the food we eat gets to our tables, here is a fascinating speech New York Times food writer Mark Bittman gave last year explaining how we've wound up with the food choices we have today.
Bittman makes an interesting argument that how we eat can put the planet in peril.
At 20 minutes, the speech is a little longer than usual for the Internet, but well worth checking out.
You can also find the speech here.

Myanmar Needs Relief

Wed, 07 May 2008 12:20:53 -0600

A cyclone left at least 22,000 dead in Myanmar and the death toll could still climb. More than a million people are now homeless after this natural disaster, and 40,000 are still missing.

But the repressive military junta that has ruled since 1962 is limiting who it accepts aid from to "friendly" countries. President Bush offered help from the U.S. Navy but so far Myanmar isn't accepting.

Chicago architecture on the web

Tue, 06 May 2008 17:38:01 -0600

At BackTalk, we want to highlight some of the better Chicago-themed blogs out there.

We just came across Lee Bey's The Urban Observer, and don't know how we've missed it for so long.

Bey is the executive director of the Chicago Central Area Committee and a former high-ranking official in Mayor Daley's administration.

And he's got a passion for Chicago architecture.

In his blog, he offers up original insights on well known Chicago landmarks.