Chicago Daily Observer

Wow. In all the years I’ve reported on politics and political campaigns, this one stands out as wild – not only for the surprises presented by candidates, but for the lack of balance exhibited by many in the media in reporting on those surprises. The most recent chapter of imbalance surrounds Alaska Governor Sara Palin as Senator John McCain’s running mate for Vice President.

No sooner had Senator McCain announced Governor Palin as his Vice Presidential choice, the attacks began. They said, unlike the democrats’ Vice Presidential candidate Senator Joe Biden and his chairmanship of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Governor Palin didn’t understand foreign relations issues. They said she wasn’t ready for such a high office – “too inexperienced”.

Let’s look at her foreign affairs judgment compared with Senator Joseph Biden’s. Yes, Biden chairs the Foreign Relations Committee; but, Israel’s Army Radio reported this week of a past “closed ... Read More...

Prejudice is ugly and ignorant. It has no place anywhere, particularly in journalism. Yet, when I read the words written by black Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell in the Sunday paper, I was both amazed at what she wrote and disgusted by it.

Mitchell wrote the very words that – had they been written about Senator Barack Obama – would have been cause for a columnist’s termination. She wrote, “Palin’s on the ticket because she’s a woman.” As I recall, Geraldine Ferraro was roundly called a racist when she mentioned that Senator Obama surge in politics was helped because he is black.

Is one statement more biased, more prejudiced, than the other? More offensive? In one sentence Mitchell attempts to displace the experience of this impressive woman from Alaska with what can only be labeled raw sexism.

But that’s not all Mitchell writes about Governor Palin. She also adds that the ... Read More...

Watching coverage of the Democratic National Convention the thought comes to me that operatives are banking on Americans suffering from amnesia. How else can it be explained that speaker after speaker is saying John McCain equals an extension of the George Bush administration? How can it be that the speakers tell us that we cannot afford another 4 years of the same past eight years? How can Senator Joseph Biden keep a straight face when he tells the audience that McCain agrees with everything this administration has done and is doing? Biden has to be counting on a national epidemic of amnesia. Either that, or the rarefied air of the Mile High City has gotten to him.

Do the democrat speakers actually believe that voters have forgotten that it was Senator John McCain who ran against George Bush for President – in an embittered race? They’re seemingly praying that voters ... Read More...

These are dangerous times we’re living in. Dangerous times for Americans who want to keep their inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Government is growing at an alarming rate and paying itself hefty salaries.

In Grover Norquist’s book, Leave Us Alone, he writes:

“In 2004, the average wage-and-benefit package for a private-sector worker was $51,876. The average federal worker earned $100,178 in wages and benefits. (For wages alone, private sector workers earned $42,635 and federal employees took home $66,589.) Total wages and benefits see federal workers taking in almost twice as much each year.” Besides the wage disparities, government leaders are telling us, the private citizens, what we can do, when we can do it, and what we have to give up.

If we sell our homes, we now have to pay our local government a sales tax on the sale. If we own a car, ... Read More...

Angry at the high price of gasoline? If it bothers you to be shelling out over 4 dollars a gallon, how would you feel if you knew the prices didn’t have to be that high? Angrier?
Well, the truth is, this price gouging – between the multiple layered government taxes placed on each gallon of gas and the high prices being charged by foreign suppliers— didn’t have to happen. We could have had energy independence, plenty of gasoline, and much lower prices at the pump.
Who’s to blame? A former president. Over a decade ago President Bill Clinton vetoed a measure, passed by the Congress that would have allowed drilling in the United States where there is plenty of high grade oil to be found. We could have fuel reserves right now had that veto not been used.
But we don’t read about that in the ... Read More...

Where is the “Why”? Pick up a newspaper today and you’ll read about plant closings in small towns, businesses leaving big cities, and people out of work. It’s happening so often in Illinois, and so many businesses have closed or left the state, that you could correctly declare our state an economic disaster. But why?
Each time a closing is announced, newspapers interview the newly out-of-work employees. The articles give plenty of ink for the unemployed to voice their disappointment with and anger at the companies where they’ve labored for decades. The workers say they feel betrayed by the very companies where they dedicated their lives. It all makes for compelling reading. It tugs at the heartstrings. It shows the angst of the idled workers who are trying to feed their families while trying to find work. But in article after article there’s not a word as to “why” ... Read More...

Cook County Public Defender Ed Burnett is facing a “catch 22” and it’s time to let the public know about it.

For more than a year Burnett has been trying to get County Board President Todd Stroger to supply the funding his office needs to hire more public defenders. Instead, for more than a year, the Public Defender has seen his budget cut, Attorneys and support staff slashed to nearly half the level they were at five years ago. Burnett has been forced by Stroger to watch his staff cut to bare bones while the public’s need for more public defenders rose.

Besides cutting the Public Defender’s budget, Stroger’s office suggested that the public defenders only work three days a week – which is hard to do when an attorney is working on a capital case and a defendant’s life is at stake. After that suggestion failed, Stroger ordered the ... Read More...

“When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are,

Anything your heart desires will come to you…”

The lyrics sung by Walt Disney’s Jimminy Cricket are the perfect words for some political campaigns today.

The stages are set, the audience is carefully selected, the lights are at the ready, and the candidates walk in like rock stars to huge applause. When the audience finally quiets, the politicians speak words of wonder to the enthralled attendees.

They promise to take care of your health and hospitalization, give you money if you don’t have a job, house you – and, if you don’t pay the mortgage on your house, bail you out of it—.

They promise hope.

The cheers go up. Some people swoon. Camera flash bulbs pop.

There’s more pandemonium. And then, on just the right beat, the politicians continue with their promises to grant all wishes. They ... Read More...

Here is some leadership that cities – including Chicago – could and should follow. It comes from citizens who are standing up in support of those who truly deserve it.

For months we’ve heard many chant the disingenuous phrase, “We hate the war but honor our armed forces”. For months we’ve watched universities banning military recruiters from their campuses, and city councils moving against military installations and recruiting offices, and even an ad calling a brave general a disgrace. This is hardly honoring the military members who are putting themselves in harms way to protect America. This is not hating the war but honoring the men and women serving America. This is a disgrace.

Now, a group in Florida is standing up against the anti-military speech and movements. The Navy’s Saint Augustine Council – made up entirely of citizens—is adopting the officers and crew of the USS Klakring – ... Read More...

There’s a course missing in the high school curriculum – and it’s one that bears looking into, particularly in light of the changes graduates are facing today – not to mention the crisis the nation now faces due to the lack of such a course being included as mandatory in education.

Years ago, when you graduated from high school you either got a job or you went to college. You earned money, opened a checking account, and only bought what you could afford to buy. If you needed something, you saved for that something and bought it when you had enough money to buy it. You paid your bills on time and worked to establish a solid credit rating. With that solid rating, you might be able to get a department store card, which you had to pay off each month. If you saved enough to put a down payment ... Read More...

It’s Not Up to The Feds to Bail Us Out.

It was Chicken Little who cried, “the sky is falling in”, but now it is the media. Day in and day out we are peppered with stories – in print and on air – about how the real estate market is bad, how people are losing their homes, and how things are going to get worse with our economy.

It seems to be an epidemic, this spreading of fear to the populace. Read about it and hear about it twenty-four-seven and you get a tick in your right eye and a pain in your belly.

But there is another way of looking at the situation, one which isn’t getting much coverage but is true nonetheless.

But, before we go there, let’s look at the current situation.

One part of the problem is people who are losing their homes are people ... Read More...

What do you want in a President? What’s the number one thing you look for?
We’re watching the Presidential candidates campaign for our votes these days.
We’re watching them debate, make promises, define themselves on issues – and, if we’re true political junkies, we follow everything they say and do. After all, they want to become the leader of this great nation. They’re jockeying for the post powerful position in the world.
We’re hearing promises of free health care, better housing, better access to higher education, an end to the war and a return of the troops – as well as support of the troops and victory in the war.
But what is the one issue that will get your vote? What is the ultimate thing that will make you push the button and vote for a candidate?
It’s not any of the issues ... Read More...

Surprising things happen when you travel abroad. You see how small the world truly is, you meet delightful people and interesting people; and, sometimes something you hear haunts you. Such was the case on an international flight I took.

On a plane, returning from London, I looked back from my seat and saw there were empty middle isles where I could push up the arm rests, grab some pillows and blankets and lie down for a nap. As I was readying the seats, a 30ish middle eastern man came up to me.

“Excuse me,” he said, “Are you a Muslim?”

“No, and no one has ever asked me that. Why are you asking?”

“Well, I noticed that you were offered champagne and wine and turned it all down and I wondered if you were Muslim.”

“No, and I’m Irish!” I added with a laugh.

He sat down in a seat ... Read More...