BackTalk

Where was Jerry Weller on the bailout vote?

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 14:50:57 -0600

Illinois Republican Congressman Jerry Weller made news this week for what he didn't do.
He was the only one of 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives to miss the vote on the $700 billion bailout, arguably the most important vote of the year.
His spokesman cited "a commitment to his family" as the reason. But on a vote this important, Weller should have put his country first.
It seems the soon-to-retire congressman is slacking off. He has missed 284 other votes this session.
He's still an elected official and has a responsibility to serve his Will and Grundy County constituents until the end of his term.
We expect he won't miss the next vote.

The Gotcha Question -- Part Two in the Sarah Palin Chronicles

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 13:03:23 -0600

On Wednesday in the Chicago Sun-Times, we wrote an editorial about what a waste of time it is for voters to have reporters ask "gotcha" questions.

And what a waste of time it is for politicians to evade honest questions by using gotcha journalism as an excuse.

You can read the editorial here.

For a corollary of that strategy, check out this video from Katie Couric's interview with Sarah Palin.

Couric asks a straightforward question about what magazines Palin reads, and Palin does not give much of an answer.

At the end, Palin doesn't suggest the question is a gotcha question but rather implies it is condescending toward all residents of Alaska.

Wouldn't it just be easier to answer the question?

Palin's Pastor Problems

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 16:44:46 -0600

I worry Sarah Palin is going to force her faith on the American people.
She has her own "pastorgate" brewing. Just as Barack Obama was forced to answer questions about Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Palin should have to answer questions about controversial statements made in her current and former church.
On Aug. 17 of this year, Palin was in the pews at the Wasilla Bible Church, when a visiting speaker, who has been widely criticized by the Anti-Defamation League, made controversial statements about Jews.
David Brickner, the founder of Jews for Jesus, which aims to convert Jews to Christianity, told congregants that terrorist attacks on Israel were God's "judgment" of Jews who haven't embraced Christianity.
The pastor of her former church, Assembly of God, which she still visits, has damned Democrats. Pastor Ed Kalnin implied in 2004 that church members who vote for John Kerry for president would go to hell. "I question your salvation," he said. This week the church issued a clarification saying Kalnin was only "joking" when he suggested "Kerry supporters would go to hell."
And Palin's church is promoting a conference that promises to pray to convert homosexuals into heterosexuals.
I respect her right to practice her own faith, but she needs to show us that she respects our right to believe or not believe in any religion we choose.
How will her faith impact her policy decisions if elected vice president?
It seems Palin can't always separate politics from God.
You've probably seen the video where she calls the war in Iraq a "task that is from God," and "God's plan." Then she prayed for the Alaska pipeline but said it wouldn't do any good to pray unless "the people of Alaska's hearts isn't right with God."
If she belongs to a church that wants to convert gays and even Jews, how can we trust her to represent all of us? We certainly can't trust her on abortion rights.
Of course Palin has a right to her beliefs. I'm waiting to hear her say she won't force them on us.

O.J. Simpson trial

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 16:57:26 -0600

The urge to rely on character in O.J. Simpson's latest trial must be irresistible to prosecutors in Las Vegas aiming to convict the infamous former pro football star in his latest brush with the law: He's charged with kidnapping, armed robbery and more, and faces life in prison. Justice can prevail by sticking to the facts and just the facts of this particular case, not leaning to residual anger from his 1995 aquittal in the slaying of his ex-wife and her friend. It's important to get it right.

Detroit mayor to quit, go directly to jail

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 12:33:13 -0600

Chicago has plenty of Detroit expatriates who've been following the exploits of their beleaguered hometown and its mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, the so-called hip-hop mayor.

Like the empty, foundationless, moral-relativism of much of hip-hop, Kilpatrick finally found himself without a leg to stand on Thursday. He lied under oath, disgraced his family and his city, obstructed justice and so much more. Now he'll pay a penance -- plead guilty, resign, pay $1 million, spend 120 days in jail and relinquish his law license for his rampant disrespect and illegal actions. This outcome is so much better than other possible legal outcomes he faced.

Detroit -- one of America's once-great industrial stars -- is once again hobbled. The sad part is Kilpatrick, though young, had great ideas and solid plans to bring residents together and put the city back on its feet. All the signs are there: a bustling riverwalk, suburbanites are coming to town for Tigers games and Greek Town dining, and even new construction.

Once Kilpatrick has served his time, he'll get a new start, a new lease on life. I can't say the same about Detroit.

Is monogamy genetic?

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 12:24:16 -0600

Now we find out that a genetic variation might be responsible for monogamy, according to results published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This means, researchers say, some men may be wired to be happily married.

In a funny way, this presents a potentially exciting opportunity: In addition to whipping out a home test kit to check dates for sexually transmitted diseases, maybe one day women can use a home testing monogamy gene kit. Lord knows we need all the help we can get sussing out Mr. Right.

Just a thought: How about yours?

Did Hillary Clinton deliver for Obama?

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:15:15 -0600

Many of you, like me, watched Sen. Hillary Clinton's speech last night waiting to see if she would rally Democrats to support Sen. Barack Obama.

Her words were clear: "Barack Obama is my candidate. And he must be our president."

But did you notice she didn't have too many words of praise for Obama as a candidate?
Not much was said about his ideas or his character.

She did successfully spell out an argument that Democrats cannot afford to lose the White House. She also did her job by leading the charge against John McCain. Too bad she spent more time attacking Obama than McCain while campaigning, because now those words are being used against Obama in McCain ads.

While Hillary called for unity, there are still grumblings among her supporters.

The Sun-Times' Michael Sneed reported that New York Rep. Carolyn Maloney said at the convention, "There's a special place in hell for women who don't support women."

And by now you've heard of the "Uncle Tom" flap with State Sen. President Emil Jones allegedly calling Clinton die-hard Delmarie Cobb an "Uncle Tom."

If the Democrats want to win this November, they need to put aside their resentments and name-calling.

Tonight we'll see if Bill Clinton can check his ego and bring the Democrats together.

Illinois legislators say no to pay raise

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 12:11:09 -0600

We promised to name names of Illinois state senators who voted in favor of giving themselves a pay raise.

What happened in Springfield Tuesday was something of a political miracle. Not one of the senators voted in favor of the 7.5 percent raise.

Senate President Emil "I need a pay raise" Jones voted present and chickened out on voting for his raise. But he got in a cheap shot by calling those who voted against it "hyprocrites," because the legislators will still get a 3.8 percent cost of living increase.

Now that they have taken action against the pay raise, it's time the legislators get back to work on more pressing issues like education and transportation funding.

What are we paying them for anyway?

How is Chicago like Paris?

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 15:16:56 -0600

Alan Ehrenhalt, in a recent issue of the New Republic, explains a fascinating change that's happening in Chicago and other cities across the nation, called demographic inversion.

In short, the affluent are filling up the middle of the city and pushing the poor out to the edges.

To read more about it, check out the story, here.

Immigrant Backlash

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 14:25:16 -0600

A lot of people are angry at illegal immigrants. In one recent case in Pennsylvania it turned deadly.

A 25-year-old illegal immigrant from Mexico, Luis Ramirez, was allegedly beaten to death last month by a group of teens and prosecutors have called it a case of ethnic intimidation. Now the U.S. Justice Department has opened a federal civil rights investigation to determine if it was a hate crime.

Nationwide, anti-Hispanic hate crimes rose by 25 percent from 2004 to 2006, according to the latest FBI crime statistics.

Ramirez's alleged attackers were a group of young white men, including football players and students with strong academic records. They were reportedly drinking and started a fight with Ramirez as he walked home with a friend.

No matter what your opinion is on the immigration debate, there's no excuse for such hateful acts.

McCain ignores 5,000 journalists

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:42:53 -0600

Lately, John McCain has complained the media isn't giving him enough love.
His campaign recently released two videos showing all the loving the media gives to Barack Obama.
It is true that Obama's overseas trip this week received tremendous coverage, while McCain's recent trip to Mexico got scant notice.
But McCain is blowing off an invitation to address as many as 5,000 journalists attending the UNITY: Journalists of Color convention held in Chicago this week.
The convention organized by the four major minority journalism associations representing blacks, Hispanics, Asian-Americans and Native Americans with a mission to promote diversity in the media, has invited both of the major candidates running for president.
Both candidates were invited to speak Thursday night but Obama was in Berlin. Obama will instead speak to convention goers on Sunday morning, and it will be broadcast on CNN. McCain hasn't accepted the invitation.
When the UNITY conference was last held in 2004 in Washington, D.C., both John Kerry and President Bush spoke to the group of journalists.
There will be thousands of journalists at UNITY, most who don't normally get to cover a presidential candidate, and many of them would write about McCain's visit for their local news organizations.
It's time for McCain to stop whining about the media ignoring him, and pay attention to this large group of journalists willing to hear what he has to say.

To fist bump or not to fist bump

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:35:02 -0600

Despite the growing popularity of the fist bump, as demonstrated by the Obamas and even President Bush, some folks hope the gesture doesn't take the place of handshakes ...

I'm not one of those people.

I'm what you call a germphobe. I would rather not shake a hand if I can bump it instead. Less exposure to germs that way, ya know? I can't resist the urge to scan the state of a person's fingernails before they touch me. I'm fully aware some people never learned to fully appreciate the wonders of hand-washing, yet they want to shake ... my ... hand.

Of course, I'm the same person who lets her dog lick her face, so what do I know? OK, so I know the fist bump is cleaner and hipper and might stop the exchange of germs that cause the common cold. So there.

Fist bumps rule!

Death of an American dreamer

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:38:24 -0600

Our emotional connection to life's far-flung triumphs and tragedies becomes numbing after a while -- until something happens close by. That something happened Tuesday evening when Friehiwet Tahir, a manager at Gregory's Deli and Market on the first floor of the Chicago Apparel Center, the Sun-Times' headquarters, was struck and killed by a CTA Red Line train.

Amid controversies over border fences and detention centers, Tahir's story is the one we don't hear often enough. But her story is our story. It's the quintessential immigrant story, whether your family was forced to come here like mine, or clamored to come, like most.

Sun-Timesers looking for their morning coffee fix or a cup of soup for lunch met Tahir's earnest smile and dancing eyes behind the deli counter daily. Her innate shyness was overcome by her obvious love and respect for her job, customers and employees.

That was quite a feat considering the 35-year-old native Ethiopian spoke very little English when she was poached from White Hen Pantry eight years ago. She mastered English and that uniquely American art of looking people in the eye and putting the customer first, always.

In showing up every day and helping her husband, Abraham Alemu, pay for college to become an engineer, Tahir mastered that most beloved of state of being: pursuit of the American Dream.

Read her obituary here:

Should minors be held at Guantanamo?

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:34:31 -0600

Some disturbing video was released this week. In it, a Canadian teenager cried out for his mother and medical attention while being interrogated at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo.
Omar Khadr is now 21 and he has been held without due process since he was 15.
Human rights groups and the Sun-Times editorial board have argued that the military prison at Guantanamo should be closed down.
But it's beyond disturbing to think that a minor was held there in legal limbo for six years.
This young man should be returned to his home in Canada, where he should be given a fair trial for his alleged crimes. He is accused of throwing a grenade that killed a U.S. Special Forces soldier in 2002 in Afghanistan.
The Canadian and American governments must intervene. To continue to hold him in Guantanamo is a violation of international law and basic human rights.

CTA CATTLE CARS?

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:50:10 -0600

It's already hard enough being a regular CTA rider.
We have to put up with smelly and slow trains. Now the CTA wants to pack us in like cattle.
They announced a plan this week to tear the seats out of some of the cars and create standing room only for as many as 140 people per car.
There's no way I'd get in one of those cars. It's hard enough riding the train as it is, but to be sandwiched in between other passengers would not only be uncomfortable but potentially unsafe.
The way some of the conductors brake, I'd be afraid of people falling on top of one another. And being packed in so close offers more opportunities for pickpockets and pervs.
They will make two of the eight cars seatless, but that'll make the it even harder to find a seat on the other cars.
This is just a temporary solution to train overcrowding. But the CTA needs capital funding so that it can purchase new train cars.
In a city like Chicago, our trains should offer us a smooth ride.