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Do you think the Jessie Smollett trial would have occurred if he had simply apologized when Kim Fox’s office dismissed the charges? What a costly combination of ignorance and ego for all of us!

Strongly disagree with your apparently mostly thinking of males on the Moncing Rascals that the settlement for Anjanette was excessive! Excuse me! What price do you place on the horrific gestapo tactics she experienced naked????? Every single police officer on the Chicago force should experience a minimum of 50 hours of humanity training. But then what do you expect from a department that elects a dedicated Trump supporter as the president if their union?

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It's almost a certainty that if Jussie had gone down to the lobby of the courthouse and apologized for a gross lapse in judgment and made some gesture regarding paying the costs of the investigation, he would not have gone to trial and his career would likely be back on track.

The city pays people less for wrongful DEATHS. Young did not die. Young suffered no physical injuries. She deserves compensation, to be sure, but proportional to other settlements and to her injuries.

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I wonder if men feel differently on this issue than women? It just seems indefensible — the humiliation, affront to her dignity and the lack of humanity and compassion on the part of the police such, that police depts across the country should be reimagining their search procedures as a result of it. I’m not sure how we handle wrongful deaths is defensible either, especially the range of injustices in our country, depending on your zip code, skin color, gender, etc.

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Good question. I don't think anyone disputes that she was humiliated and it was awful what happened to her, but the question is how much should taxpayers have to pay her to settle accounts, as it were? What was that humiliation worth? And if that sound crass consider that there are all kinds of formulas for what it's "worth" to lose an arm, a leg, eyesight and so on in certain civil cases.

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I generally agree with you on this. But the mayor and corp council also punted the entire process. An acknowledgement, apology, and prompt offer would have prevented where they ended up.

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Dec 16, 2021Liked by Eric Zorn

Best purchase of the year? Hands down--four days in a cabin at a state park with our adult kids after we were all vaxxed. We hiked, ate, watched movies, and played games--together. After a year of seeing them only from afar, it was the best money we ever spent.

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Best purchase of the year was my 2018 Prius (previously was on lease).

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We had the six-finger and I’m pretty sure we had the attaché case. The six-finger could shoot a few different projectiles. One was a cylinder with a slot for holding messages. I think we used all the projectiles as bullets, though.

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#Jealous

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Dec 16, 2021Liked by Eric Zorn

Had to watch the six-finger commercial to the very end. The payoff was exactly as I remembered it: "Six-finger, Six-finger, man alive! How did I ever get along with five?"

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Dec 16, 2021Liked by Eric Zorn

Jussie: I was one of the no-prison people, but I'm coming around to Eric's view that he should do a little prison if he remains defiant and unapologetic. And I agree that, had he fessed up, there probably wouldn't have been a trial or a need for one.

Young settlement: I don't know what other incidents have merited, but my (lawyer) gut tells me the city's exposure at trial would have been quite high as well and my (person) gut tells me that, while $3 million seems like a real windfall, the treatment was truly horrific, and if this will dissuade police not to make similar mistakes going forward, good!

Boys+ and Girls+: Never understood how folks thought signs, labels, or policies would prevent or encourage bad behavior. It's not as though there is such a person who would dress as a girl to go into the girls' room to rape someone and would be deterred by the magical authority of a sign that says "Girls," but then feel entirely authorized by the addition of a "+." From that perspective, it's a non-issue, and people should use the room they feel comfortable with as they've been doing, as Eric says. At the same time, I do worry a little about the modern trend of saying to girls who don't feel stereotypically feminine, "Hmm, sound like you're a boy or a neither," rather than what I grew up hearing, which is "That's fine; nothing at all wrong with that; there are all kinds of girls; just be you." That second message strikes me as the truer message; the first one strikes me as going backward a little in so insistently and strongly linking the word "girl" or "woman" with "girly" or "feminine" stereotypes, as if they mean the same thing.

Best purchase: RubberMaid glass containers with the latches that, when closed, make the container airtight, and, when open, allow venting -- perfect for soup in the microwave! After that, the Picayune Sentinel subscription.

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A question and a few quick comments:

*Have you had a regular CRV? How does the hybrid compare? My 2018 regular CRV is not the most stylish or expensive car I've ever owned, but it's my favorite by far. Feels like a luxury car, has all the modern safety and communications features, and costs much less. Usual Honda reliability. Once Honda gave the CRVs a bit more power, they became great cars. I'm intrigued by the hybrid, but some people say not buying a new car is the most environmentally friendly thing you can do, even if switching from conventional to hybrid. How do they compare?

*Love the shoes, never heard of them. I'm a runner and when I finally found a pair of plain, black running shoes to replace my dress shoes, all (or most) of my stubborn little pains that I thought were from running went away. But, I have the crunched-heel problem.

*Best purchase, an autumn week on Beaver Island, Michigan. Those that know, know.

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Have not had a regular CRV. The hybrid is peppy and well equipped with safety features. Solid mileage. I wish it had wireless connect to CarPlay and that the lane-assist was a bit smarter than it is.

I have lingering foot issues from my marathon running days and the Zebas easily accommodate my orthotics. I make no judgement on Kiziks and they may be superior for all I know.

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Now that the Smollett trial has ended, and the chances of his prevailing on appeal appear appropriately slim, I am much more intrigued by the information in the Special Prosecutor's report concerning the conduct of Kim Foxx and Joseph Magats. The short summary of that document released publicly last summer questioned the ethics of certain statements and representations made by Foxx and Magats, as well as some of their actions. Further, Webb recommended the ARDC open its own investigation into those statements and actions. That's what interests me. Has the ARDC become involved or will it now that the trial is completed? (I believe ARDC investigations are conducted confidentially.) Could Foxx's law license be suspended, even for a short period of time, just long enough possibly to disrupt some of the counterproductive policies she has put in place in Cook County? To this point Jussie Smollett has stubbornly refused to own the truth of his actions and is paying quite a price for it even before sentence has been imposed. Kim Foxx is also stubbornly refusing to own her truth and I admit to hoping she will pay a price for seemingly indefensible decisions.

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Best purchase of the year: An Aeron chair for my home office, after the one I had been using for 30+ years finally became too tattered to countenance any longer. (And not as expensive as you might think: First, I signed up for a Herman Miller email list and waited until they ran a 10% off sale that included free shipping. Second, I put the chair in my online shopping cart and went too have dinner; by the time I was done eating the company had sent me a coupon for *another* 10% off to encourage me to complete the transaction.) It's comfortable and should be durable enough for the next 30 years, by which time I will have taken it with me to the old folks home.

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I lucked out and bought my Aeron chair from my company when they closed the local office. Eight years ago now and still loving it.

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Dec 16, 2021·edited Dec 17, 2021

Here's another vote for "Chariots" as a terrific Christmas song.

(1) The lyrics, many of them artful re-workings of Scriptural references, do indeed tell the Christmas story powerfully ("Bring your sheep bleating to this happy meeting
/To hear how the lamb with the lion shall lie/
It's mooing and braying you'll hear the song saying
/The humble and lowly will be the most high
").

(2) The poetry is so carefully constructed, with internal rhymes and careful deployment of alliteration ("With chariots of cherubim chanting
/And seraphim singing Hosanna/
And a choir of archangels a-caroling come
" -- look at all the hard C sounds in that third line, some in the midst of words...choir, archangels, caroling, come…which all fall directly on the beat).

(3) I learned it from Songs of Good Cheer, which also taught me another great recent Christmas....well, actually, Epiphany.....song: "Long Way Around the Sea," by the Minnesota group that calls/called itself Low.

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"Long Way Around the Sea" is fantastic, I agree. Spine tingling. https://youtu.be/iupa8tqKTOw

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My best purchase of 2021 was my first condominium: it was reasonably priced, for a place located in the suburbs, with the amenities you'd expect from a nicely developed area. My favorite is the heated, underground garage, something I've come to appreciate now that the winter is here.

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Dec 17, 2021·edited Dec 17, 2021

1. “…her office went hammer and tongs…” what in tarnation is that gooblety gook mean? 2. How time flies. One day you’re wearing Zumba pants. The next thing you know you’re looking into Zema shoes. Is this a Generation Z thing? I’ll be over here drinking my zima while I wait for an answer. 3. “I’m sorry”. Cures many ills. As Rod B is ignored for his ongoing (if not outright outrageous) denial - I submit a potential career ending mistake by David Letterman whose on air “I’m sorry” stopped all the outrage. 4. When is a bathroom just a bathroom (To learn more - read “Why is poop brown?) 5. When you want to listen to classical music - go for b(a)roke!

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Fuzzy memories… I’m not sure if it was a “6th” finger - I just know grandpa always asked to pull it. It never ended well.

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Best purchase of 2021: A new roof. Nothing gives me greater pleasure than to be able to preserve my little bungalow for years to come.

Jussie: He should not receive a slap on the wrist. Unfortunately with Covid, I'm not sold on his life being threatened by incarceration. Hit him in the pocket book, which is what this was always about ... more money, more fame.

Kyle on the speaker's circuit: Good lord, he is going to be trotted out for the foreseeable future. I weep for all of us.

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I scanned those collapsible heel technology shoes with my "Nerd 'o Meter" (manufactured by Popeil) and they burried the needle with a perfect five out of five. Only other item to come near to that is my Stormey-Kromer cap. I'll probably order a pair.

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