At least Danny Davis didn't show up at the $cientology cult's grand opening in the South Loop Sunday. The sole almost notable they managed to pay to show up for that clusterfuck was crooked former aldercreature Bob Fioretti.
As for the Moonies, go to this site which belongs to them for some real laughs. It contains pitches for the Moons from all sorts of dead people, from George Washington to Kim Il Sung!
I have been voting against Danny Davis in primaries since I moved into his district in 2009. I can't believe he keeps getting reelected. I didn't even know about this creepy Moonie thing. I have always found him infuriating because he doesn't actually do anything. Sits in Washington collecting a paycheck and has no real accomplishments. One of hundreds of "do-nothing" congresspeople taking up space in the chamber. And I find him to be a really dumb person. Maybe not Matt Goetz, Louie Gohmert, or Marjorie Taylor-Green level of stupid, but still pretty dim.
In the general election, after he yet again for some mysterious reason wins the primary, I leave that part of my ballot blank.
EZ, very good point about the judges and the time it takes for decisions. Equally outrageous is the delay in so many criminal cases in the Tim Even's run Cook County Court system. As the Tribune recently reported, our court system is much slower than New York's, denying victims and innocent defendants closure. I spent the afternoon yesterday researching the few judges that I can vote on and none of them mention anything about delivering justice faster.
That was a really weak excuse given by Davis in response to your query. Let's compare. All Adolph Hitler wanted was peace. Fair enough. The issue was what kind and the methods he used to get it. Lie to take over Austria and Czeckoslovakia? Another lie to attack Poland? Attacking the USSR, a country with which he was at peace? Wanting peace is wonderful. But at what costs, which you pointed out? Sorry Danny, not buying it. And by the way, Danny, forced religious conversion, is not my idea of peace. We Jews went through that during the Spanish Incquisition. For someone whose ancestors went through slavery, I would think you would have a problem with that.
Thanks to clever publicity and Hollywood Westerns, Texas has always been overhyped and overrated. The boosterism was greatly aided by a pop song from decades ago, "Deep In The Heart of Texas," notably sung by "Der Bingle,"( Bing Crosby). And when Bob Hope was at his peak of joke-telling popularity, he got off a quotable line that, in part, said "Texas has more cows and less milk and more rivers and less water than anywhere else in America." All of which shows how timely, clever boosterism can raise profiles even when emphasizing the negative. But even as late as the mid-1950's, Texas kept public school segregation in effect, stunting the intellectual growth of millions of its citizens, which sullies its resume despite its "American West" boosterism fostered by 1930's & '40's Westerns, starring Tom Mix, Gene Autry, Gary Cooper and others.
In that same timeframe, trying to show how civilized it was. it clung to pointless rules that prevented such civilized niceties as ordering a cocktail before dinner in restaurants. Instead, one had to bring in his own bottle(s). The unconsumed portion would then be tagged for identification purposes and kept in storage until the patron saw fit to again patronize said restaurant, in which case his bottle would be brought from storage to the table; a klutzy, clumsy compromise between the anti-booze bluenoses and sophisticated restaurant patrons who saw it all as a nonsensical charade. Never mind what it said about the baffling character of Texans writ large. For a Martini, patrons needed to bring in a bottle of gin and a bottle of Vermouth! People who knew better could hardly wait to go elsewhere outside of Texas, where such backwardness was not practiced. Yes, Texas eventually ended that charade, but its asininity as a Texas characteristic lingers.
Are the Moons still newsworthy? Amazing! Who's their agent? He or she is worth every penny. If by tomorrow they ceased to exist, who would miss them beside their next-of-kin? And said agent? Amazing that their act has lasted this long. As P. T. Barnum said long ago, "There's a sucker born every minute. And they never die." Look how many followers drank the poisoned Kool-Aid in Guiana a few years ago, just because their loony, self-ordained religious leader told them to. People keep proving Barnum was right, generation after generation. They deserve what they get: Nothing. Or worse. Baffling.
Donald Trump is a pustule on the body politic. We gotta take him serious and recognize he can do damage to our system of government. But he is a short term threat, and he may just lose the upcoming election and become a minor factor in politics. I think he leaves the country.
However, I fear we have a long term cancer with the Supreme Court. They have lost the basis of their authority which is integrity.
For example, the 9-0 recent decision on putting Trump on the ballot. The analysis is not complete until the Supreme Court goes on break. We then need to see if Justice Thomas and Ginni go on an expensive vacation paid by a wealthy Trump donor. This will help explain why he did not recuse himself and the basis of his opinion. Impugning the integrity of a Justice or the Court would be almost unthinkable 10 years ago. Now it seems not just reasonable but necessary.
And so Justice Roberts adopts a code of ethics…but does not enforce them. And this 9-0 decision shows me the Court wishes to cover up its rot and not confront it.
I do not see a solution, I see this cancer spreading on the Court and their integrity slowly sinking away completely.
These Justices have high fallluntin degrees, much legal experience and are pretty smart. But right now they are missing the foundation, if the court has no integrity, their opinions and authority become a joke.
I’m afraid there are opinions for sale on the Court and the Court itself is making believe it has no ethics issue.
I always thought that Danny Davis was from the west side rather than the south side. I am not a big fan of Sun Myung Moon especially in light of his open and virulent hatred of gay people, and his founding and funding of the Washington Times, which promotes extreme right wing views and policies and is significant part of the right wing media group in this country promoting and sustaining the MAGA crazies. But I do understand why Davis might have supported Moon. A review of Moon’s Wikipedia entry shows that he used his celebrity to speak out against racial discrimination in this country in the early 1970s. Davis was in his thirties in the 1970s. For example, the article states, “In 1974 [Moon] urged Unification Church members to support an African American president of the United States: ‘We have had enough of white presidents. So, let's this time elect a president from the Negro race. What will you do if I say so?’” The Wikipedia article stated that at the time of Moon’s indictment for tax evasion, “Several African American organizations and individuals spoke out in defense of Moon at this time including the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the National Conference of Black Mayors, and Joseph Lowery who was then the head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.” None other than civil rights icon Ralph Abernathy was involved with the Unification Church and protested the use of the term “Moonie” which he compared to the n-word. I’m not a black person, but I try, to the extent that I can, to understand why a black person’s perspective on certain people might be different from my own. I can kind of understand Davis’s chuckling in his distinctive baritone when a white reporter tried to get him to admit that his support of Moon was a mistake.
After years with a US Rep I really liked (Mike Quigley), my neighborhood was redistricted into Danny Davis' district last cycle. To say I've been disappointed is an understatement. His office is barely aware that part of La Grange Park is in his district now and that we often have far different concerns than his constituents in the city (not necessarily opposing, just different). In addition to little awareness or concern about suburban constituents, I was also very concerned with his use of franking privileges to appeal to voters in 2022. Apparently I wasn't the only one (and our district wasn't the only district) as the House clarified use of House facilities and materials for reelection campaigns for 2024 (including email). I will be voting for Ms. Conyears-Ervin in the primary. Not a huge fan of hers, just not a fan AT ALL of Mr. Davis.
Interesting Trib article today. Should we have assisted suicide? My take? We're all going to die. Not even the Supreme Court can change that. Why can't we choose when? I know the pitfalls. Can it be misused? Can someone be talked into something they don't really want? Can a fatal medical diagnosis be wrong? Absolutely! We're humans and error is universal. But not enough for me to cede my choice.
Of course Davis also took free trips to Africa courtesy of the Moonies. John Gorenfeld, author of the excellent book on Moon's influence on Davis and too many other politicians, has made his book Bad Moon Rising available in a free on-line edition. Highly recommended. https://www.gorenfeld.net/badmoonrising/
At least Danny Davis didn't show up at the $cientology cult's grand opening in the South Loop Sunday. The sole almost notable they managed to pay to show up for that clusterfuck was crooked former aldercreature Bob Fioretti.
As for the Moonies, go to this site which belongs to them for some real laughs. It contains pitches for the Moons from all sorts of dead people, from George Washington to Kim Il Sung!
http://www.messagesfromspiritworld.info/
And I don't understand the Smurfs one.
I have been voting against Danny Davis in primaries since I moved into his district in 2009. I can't believe he keeps getting reelected. I didn't even know about this creepy Moonie thing. I have always found him infuriating because he doesn't actually do anything. Sits in Washington collecting a paycheck and has no real accomplishments. One of hundreds of "do-nothing" congresspeople taking up space in the chamber. And I find him to be a really dumb person. Maybe not Matt Goetz, Louie Gohmert, or Marjorie Taylor-Green level of stupid, but still pretty dim.
In the general election, after he yet again for some mysterious reason wins the primary, I leave that part of my ballot blank.
EZ, very good point about the judges and the time it takes for decisions. Equally outrageous is the delay in so many criminal cases in the Tim Even's run Cook County Court system. As the Tribune recently reported, our court system is much slower than New York's, denying victims and innocent defendants closure. I spent the afternoon yesterday researching the few judges that I can vote on and none of them mention anything about delivering justice faster.
That was a really weak excuse given by Davis in response to your query. Let's compare. All Adolph Hitler wanted was peace. Fair enough. The issue was what kind and the methods he used to get it. Lie to take over Austria and Czeckoslovakia? Another lie to attack Poland? Attacking the USSR, a country with which he was at peace? Wanting peace is wonderful. But at what costs, which you pointed out? Sorry Danny, not buying it. And by the way, Danny, forced religious conversion, is not my idea of peace. We Jews went through that during the Spanish Incquisition. For someone whose ancestors went through slavery, I would think you would have a problem with that.
I thought all the visual tweets were great this time. Very tough to choose!
Thanks to clever publicity and Hollywood Westerns, Texas has always been overhyped and overrated. The boosterism was greatly aided by a pop song from decades ago, "Deep In The Heart of Texas," notably sung by "Der Bingle,"( Bing Crosby). And when Bob Hope was at his peak of joke-telling popularity, he got off a quotable line that, in part, said "Texas has more cows and less milk and more rivers and less water than anywhere else in America." All of which shows how timely, clever boosterism can raise profiles even when emphasizing the negative. But even as late as the mid-1950's, Texas kept public school segregation in effect, stunting the intellectual growth of millions of its citizens, which sullies its resume despite its "American West" boosterism fostered by 1930's & '40's Westerns, starring Tom Mix, Gene Autry, Gary Cooper and others.
In that same timeframe, trying to show how civilized it was. it clung to pointless rules that prevented such civilized niceties as ordering a cocktail before dinner in restaurants. Instead, one had to bring in his own bottle(s). The unconsumed portion would then be tagged for identification purposes and kept in storage until the patron saw fit to again patronize said restaurant, in which case his bottle would be brought from storage to the table; a klutzy, clumsy compromise between the anti-booze bluenoses and sophisticated restaurant patrons who saw it all as a nonsensical charade. Never mind what it said about the baffling character of Texans writ large. For a Martini, patrons needed to bring in a bottle of gin and a bottle of Vermouth! People who knew better could hardly wait to go elsewhere outside of Texas, where such backwardness was not practiced. Yes, Texas eventually ended that charade, but its asininity as a Texas characteristic lingers.
Are the Moons still newsworthy? Amazing! Who's their agent? He or she is worth every penny. If by tomorrow they ceased to exist, who would miss them beside their next-of-kin? And said agent? Amazing that their act has lasted this long. As P. T. Barnum said long ago, "There's a sucker born every minute. And they never die." Look how many followers drank the poisoned Kool-Aid in Guiana a few years ago, just because their loony, self-ordained religious leader told them to. People keep proving Barnum was right, generation after generation. They deserve what they get: Nothing. Or worse. Baffling.
Donald Trump is a pustule on the body politic. We gotta take him serious and recognize he can do damage to our system of government. But he is a short term threat, and he may just lose the upcoming election and become a minor factor in politics. I think he leaves the country.
However, I fear we have a long term cancer with the Supreme Court. They have lost the basis of their authority which is integrity.
For example, the 9-0 recent decision on putting Trump on the ballot. The analysis is not complete until the Supreme Court goes on break. We then need to see if Justice Thomas and Ginni go on an expensive vacation paid by a wealthy Trump donor. This will help explain why he did not recuse himself and the basis of his opinion. Impugning the integrity of a Justice or the Court would be almost unthinkable 10 years ago. Now it seems not just reasonable but necessary.
And so Justice Roberts adopts a code of ethics…but does not enforce them. And this 9-0 decision shows me the Court wishes to cover up its rot and not confront it.
I do not see a solution, I see this cancer spreading on the Court and their integrity slowly sinking away completely.
These Justices have high fallluntin degrees, much legal experience and are pretty smart. But right now they are missing the foundation, if the court has no integrity, their opinions and authority become a joke.
I’m afraid there are opinions for sale on the Court and the Court itself is making believe it has no ethics issue.
I always thought that Danny Davis was from the west side rather than the south side. I am not a big fan of Sun Myung Moon especially in light of his open and virulent hatred of gay people, and his founding and funding of the Washington Times, which promotes extreme right wing views and policies and is significant part of the right wing media group in this country promoting and sustaining the MAGA crazies. But I do understand why Davis might have supported Moon. A review of Moon’s Wikipedia entry shows that he used his celebrity to speak out against racial discrimination in this country in the early 1970s. Davis was in his thirties in the 1970s. For example, the article states, “In 1974 [Moon] urged Unification Church members to support an African American president of the United States: ‘We have had enough of white presidents. So, let's this time elect a president from the Negro race. What will you do if I say so?’” The Wikipedia article stated that at the time of Moon’s indictment for tax evasion, “Several African American organizations and individuals spoke out in defense of Moon at this time including the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the National Conference of Black Mayors, and Joseph Lowery who was then the head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.” None other than civil rights icon Ralph Abernathy was involved with the Unification Church and protested the use of the term “Moonie” which he compared to the n-word. I’m not a black person, but I try, to the extent that I can, to understand why a black person’s perspective on certain people might be different from my own. I can kind of understand Davis’s chuckling in his distinctive baritone when a white reporter tried to get him to admit that his support of Moon was a mistake.
Best. Visual. Tweets. Ever.
After years with a US Rep I really liked (Mike Quigley), my neighborhood was redistricted into Danny Davis' district last cycle. To say I've been disappointed is an understatement. His office is barely aware that part of La Grange Park is in his district now and that we often have far different concerns than his constituents in the city (not necessarily opposing, just different). In addition to little awareness or concern about suburban constituents, I was also very concerned with his use of franking privileges to appeal to voters in 2022. Apparently I wasn't the only one (and our district wasn't the only district) as the House clarified use of House facilities and materials for reelection campaigns for 2024 (including email). I will be voting for Ms. Conyears-Ervin in the primary. Not a huge fan of hers, just not a fan AT ALL of Mr. Davis.
Interesting Trib article today. Should we have assisted suicide? My take? We're all going to die. Not even the Supreme Court can change that. Why can't we choose when? I know the pitfalls. Can it be misused? Can someone be talked into something they don't really want? Can a fatal medical diagnosis be wrong? Absolutely! We're humans and error is universal. But not enough for me to cede my choice.
Of course Davis also took free trips to Africa courtesy of the Moonies. John Gorenfeld, author of the excellent book on Moon's influence on Davis and too many other politicians, has made his book Bad Moon Rising available in a free on-line edition. Highly recommended. https://www.gorenfeld.net/badmoonrising/