December 27, 2023
TRIBUNE'S JOHN KASS PURGE IS CENSORSHIP BY CANCELLATION
Journalists, like many creative so-called “artists,” are very jealous and insecure people. They are often extraordinarily envious of the work product of others. They crave adulation and recognition by their peers and pat themselves on the back frequently. However, one writer I admired (and regularly read) was John Kass, formerly of the Chicago Tribune. Kass is a conservative but I think an original thinker. He had an opinion column for decades in the same spot where Mike Royko used to. But his Page 2 placement got bounced to the rearmost editorial pages in 2021, and he took a nice buyout out of the newspaper and moved to Indiana following a pretty bitter and public brouhaha. You can still find him online on his Web site, posting commentary, podcasts and even hawking merchandise. Life after the Tribune. Kass’s “crime” was that he mocked Lefties way too much and the Chicago Tribune Guild, a union of journalists, said he was spewing anti-Semitic tropes and conspiracy theories in his column on billionaire George Soros’ ties to Kim Foxx and other progressive prosecutors. He said it was based in fact and took offense. In fact, Soros does fund progressive prosecutors who are soft on crime. There were other complaints that merely writing about Soros is an anti-Semitic dog-whistle. But the details don’t matter. Kass wasn’t fired. He took a buyout. But to this day he still rallies on his Web site against the Tribune and the guild. The Left, (and the Right), cannot and will not tolerate being the butt of laughter – even if some of their ideas are idiotic. They deem themselves SERIOUS people with SERIOUS solutions to SERIOUS problems and demand to be taken SERIOUSLY. They insist that everybody do what they tell them to do, and that everybody think like they tell them to think -- because they know best and they ARE RIGHT. Those who disagree or criticize are unserious people who are deplorable and, of course, racist/sexist/homophobic/transphobic/misogynistic. The Left’s problem is that about half the country does have a contrary viewpoint. And instead of rebutting it, some on the Left find it easier to just ignore it by censoring it. The “context” of Kass’s departure from the paper – and that word is now on every Leftist’s tongue, especially at Harvard – is that Kass’s anti-Woke columns negatively defined the Trib, diminishing readership, and that made the editorial staff uncomfortable and his work “‘antithetical to our values.” While we will never truly know the real reasons why he left, despite what he claims on his site, the only real fact is that he is gone and apparently is still pretty bitter about it. RANKING U.S. SECRETARIES OF STATE (SOS): The recent passing of Henry Kissinger at age 100, arguably America’s greatest SOS, got me thinking about the enormous geo-political power of the job and the enormous consequences of those who incompetently misunderstand and misuse that power. “Geo-political” means strategizing a foreign policy which benefits America in the world order at all times. It’s called AMERICA FIRST, a phrase now associated with Trump. The difference is that internationalists want America to be a compliant part of the World Order, like current SOS Antony Blinken, while America Firsters want the U.S. to dominate the World Order, both economically and militarily. Attached is a CHART ranking U.S. Secretaries of State with Kissinger the best and Clinton among the worst. Full Article...
December 20, 2023
STEWART'S 2024 CRYSTAL BALL: "THE WOKE/LEFTISTS ARE COMING!"
When I was a child I remember reading about Paul Revere’s legendary midnight ride through Boston shouting “the British are coming.” Revere was portrayed as a freedom fighter who was part of the gun-toting American militia. He was a “revolutionary” determined to shatter the yoke of British colonial oppression. If it happened before the year 2000 then it’s just racist historical capitalistic propaganda to be trashed and eradicated. Forget that the lessons of history will be repeated if ignored. History in its entirety is being ignored. Democratic primary turnout fluctuates depending on presidential and/or countywide contests. It was a massive 1,106,573 in 2016, with the Clinton-Sanders and Alvarez-Foxx races. It dropped to 422,485 in 2020, with only Foxx-Conway. And in 2012 it was 478,896, with no races. 2024 has Harris-Burke (state’s attorney), with Kim Foxx gone, and Martinez-Spyropoulos (Circuit Court clerk). 2024's countywide turnout will be like 2012, as low as 450,000. The well-organized Leftists will be focused on the 7th congressional district, the 20th IL Senate race and certain committeeman contests. In a low turnout they can win. Full Article...
December 13, 2023
2024 "FILING FOLLIES" AND ALD. WAGUESPACK'S BIG BUNGLE IN 32ND WARD
It’s that wonderful time of the year when you can count on politicians to deliver some holiday cheer. I don’t mean like Santa Claus or a bottle of Johnnie Walker. I’m talking about the cynical joy and laughter that fills ours hearts when we think that we actually elected them. The Dec. 4 filing deadline for 2024 has passed and we will be stuck listening to a gaggle of candidates for the next 11 months, until Nov. 5. It doesn’t take great skill to get nominating petition signatures, especially with a 90-day circulatory window dating back to Sept. 5. But there are always a couple of big-time bunglers who provide much-appreciated hilarity through their incompetence. This cycle’s unquestioned champion is Alderman Scott Waguespack (32nd), who is also the ward’s Democratic committeeperson. Waguespack, age 53, is no political rookie, having been elected to the City Council in 2007. He was finance committee chair during Lori Lightfoot’s term (2019-23) and had $137,354 cash-on-hand as of Oct. 1. At some date between Sept. 5 and Nov. 27 (the first day to file) the alderman decided not to seek re-election as committeeperson and didn’t really publicly disclose it, giving the impression that he was running to keep the field clear. In some quarters that’s called bait-and-switch. But it was just dumb. He anointed a replacement and tasked her with getting the minimum 988 signatures (usually double that number to be safe from a challenge) to run. Turns out she didn’t. Everybody in the party, including Waguespack, is very close-mouthed about the fiasco. Here's more 2024 "Filing Follies." Full Article...
December 6, 2023
NO ARTICLE THIS WEEK
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