The [Tuesday] Papers

Just as I did for four hours one day last week, I had to fight, battle, cajole, negotiate, cope - pick a word (or two) - with the machinery of the State of Illinois bureaucracy this morning. Because they got it wrong at least two different ways last week. I'm skeptical the situation, which I will not get into here quite yet, is resolved. In fact, I'm fairly certain that I will go to my grave with this being an open case.

I can make some observations about my morning that may amuse you, though:

* There is an Arby's in the Thompson Center (nee State of Illinois Building) food court. Every time I see an Arby's, I confirm to myself that they not only still exist, but people apparently still eat their product. By the way, did you know that Arby's is simply the way you say RB's, as in Roast Beef?

* Seeing an Arby's there made me wonder about how they and the other vendors there got their contracts, because this is not just the State of Illinois but the State of Illinois Building - in Chicago. So the contracts there have to be dirtier than an Aramark school's bathroom.

Which reminded me of this: Politics Snarl O'Hare: "Daley seems determined to protect the cookie jar of jobs, concessions, contracts and economic largesse that is O'Hare. His administration, the Tribune has found, has manipulated statistics to downplay the need for a new airport near the Will County town of Peotone."

Which reminded me of this: Ann Marie's World: "Like just about anyone else who has flown in or out of Chicago in the past few years, Ann Marie Lipinski has a story to tell about a simple trip gone awry. Last summer, her flight home from Miami was rerouted due to weather. The plane, Lipinski says they told her, would get to O'Hare by way of Washington, D.C. They landed instead in Knoxville, Tennessee, and that was where Lipinski spent the night.

"Unlike just about anyone else who has flown in or out of Chicago, however, Lipinski has access to more than 600 employees and a printing press. At the time of her disjointed journey, she was the Chicago Tribune's managing editor, the second-highest post in the newsroom. She had the means to respond - not just for herself, but for all the travelers among her readership so ill served by an outmoded air traffic system. So with a little imagination and a lot of logistical magic, Lipinski and her team of loyal editors dispatched reporters to seven airports and five control towers to chronicle a day in the life of air travel in America. Twenty-six reporters in all contributed to the project. Their findings appeared in the paper last November, Lipinski's personal nightmare transformed into a four-part series called 'Gateway to Gridlock.'"

And sitting in the Thompson Center also reminded me of this, which sadly is not available online: "Lord Jim: Former governor Jim Thompson was considered Presidential material when he left Springfield in 1991. Instead, he's using his clout to get rich as a lawyer and lobbyist."

* I was starving so I actually ate something at the food court there (I wasn't doing business at the Thompson Center, just switching from the Green Line to Blue). My patience having already been sapped, I vowed to simply buy my lunch from the shortest line available. Sadly, that was Burger King. There wasn't any line at all. At noon. The line at Taco Bell, on the other hand, was almost as long as at the state office I had just visited.

There was one interesting thing about the Burger King, though: the weird, confusing soda dispenser. One pour button for 100+ drink choices, chosen category-by-category (diet, caffeine, every other permutation of everything, with a variety of flavors). I had a Diet Vanilla Coke.

Oh, and there was no ice. At least I couldn't find any. But I was scared.

* Whoever managed the contract for the El cars with facing seats must've gotten a huge kickback, because those cars DO NOT WORK AT ALL. On a number of levels, including inducing dizziness both before and after Burger King.

Not my first time on those cars, but something I think about every single time I find myself on one.

* I remain amazed at grown men who look like mommy dressed them. And I'm the one who's supposed to grow up? Be a man, dammit!

You grow up and you calm down
You're working for the clampdown
You start wearing the blue and brown
You're working for the clampdown

"The wearing of the 'blue and brown' refers to the color of the uniforms that are mostly worn by workers. This idea goes along with lyrics that refer to 'young believers' who are brought and bought into the capital system by those 'working for the clampdown' who will 'teach with twisted speech.'"

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Pretty Photos, Small Companies: How Obama Is Selling The TPP
Omitted from the report: any overt sign that big U.S. corporations, which have pushed for the deal, stand to gain.

Exclusive: U.S. Probes Allegations AB InBev Seeking To Curb Craft Beer Distribution
Small craft brewers have already been rattled by AB InBev's purchases of craft beer makers, including Golden Road in September, Blue Point Brewing in 2014 and Goose Island Beer Co in 2011.

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BeachBook

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TweetWood
A sampling.

Why is it "Fly the Double U" instead of "Fly the Double V" - https://t.co/JvNOH9ztZt | #FlyTheW‌

— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) October 13, 2015

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Village Voicelette RT @paulsuwan: Last week's issue was so unbelievably thin I could hardly believe it. #sadbuttrue https://t.co/IYczXWRJxi

— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) October 13, 2015

Likewise, the Readerette.

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Rauner's daughter got her ticket from Arne Duncan. https://t.co/GQYtzst31F

— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) October 13, 2015

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The Beachwood Tip Line: Working against the clampdown.

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