The [Tuesday] Papers

Here's something I want to get off my chest before the year ends: The plethora of stories about a Moe's Tavern pop-up failed to mention that Chicago already has a permanent Moe's Tavern.

(Okay, I don't know if all the stories failed to mention that, because I didn't do my usual due diligence of digging into the archives on this one, but I'm pretty sure from my general impression based upon my reading experience that the failure was widespread, if not total!)

Chicago's real Moe's Tavern is a pretty great bar - good beer selection, fairly priced; live music that's not bad and sometimes really good; a free foosball table; and a jukebox, even if it's of the internet variety, as seems to be the case almost everywhere these days, sadly.

I dig it.

Also, they once got a cease-and-desist order from Fox, proudly framed on premises.

To satisfy Fox, they altered the Simpsons characters just enough to pass legal muster (at least that's what I was told, and it appears to be true).

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Barely related note: I had a floor hockey team for eight years that was named Moe's Tavern. We started out awful, but awfully fun, and ended up winning three championships in six trips to the Finals. In one, I scored the winning goal with just seconds left - one of the true highlights of my life. The Moe's pennant Beachwood site designer Cate Nolan made after our first championship hung in the Beachwood Inn until its demise - even surviving a theft that was pretty humorously resolved (a story for another time).

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P.S.: I'm now much more of a Family Guy person than a Simpsons person, but still.

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P.P.S.: Those photos are mine, I took them on my first visit to Moe's.

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New on the Beachwood today . . .

Bears Prove They Are Better Than The Browns On At Least One Given Sunday
Tried to give the game away; Cleveland didn't bite.

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The Weekend In Chicago Rock
Featuring: Red Francis, Black Bear Radio, The Hush Sound, Tiesto, and A Story Unwritten.

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ICYMI on the Beachwood since the holiday . . .

Beachwood Sports Radio: Are The Bulls, Um, Good?
Is this really happening? Plus: Are The Blackhawks, Um, Good?; The Cubs Are Having An Interesting Offseason!; Can Loyola Ramble Into The Dance?; and The World's Greatest College Football Report's Bowl Preview.

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The World's Greatest College Bowl Preview Part 4
Overlapping with the NFL schedule this weekend provides a gift to bettors: putting action on pro/bowl teasers.

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ChicagoGram

Peace on earth.

A post shared by FLASH ABC MARS (@flash_abc) on Dec 25, 2017 at 5:04pm PST

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ChicagoTube

Pajaritos!

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BeachBook
A sampling.

An Astonishing Story About How The Mexican Government Controls That Country's News Media. Wow.

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A History Of The War On Christmas.

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Both Trump And The Nazis Used Christmas To Promote White Nationalism.

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Porcupine For Dinner: Christmas In Early Wisconsin.

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TweetWood
A sampling.

Until everybody has written it. And then every year.

How many times does this article need to be written? https://t.co/2Np4G3twcu

— Maggie Serota (@maggieserota) December 26, 2017

Coming Wednesday: In the symbolic heart of Trump's America, the president's supporters stand resolutely behind him still, hopeful he'll keep his promises to revive the coal business and the country. Read more in @AP's Trump Country series: https://t.co/x4utyLE90u pic.twitter.com/nOcOKjNgkI

— The Associated Press (@AP) December 26, 2017

I hope one day we'll realize at long last that the NE corner of 6th Ave & West 3rd st in Manhattan, where in the span of 30 minutes on a summer day watching basketball on the nearby court you hear 20 different languages spoken, is as much the American heartland as coal country https://t.co/vyiltYjPfQ

— aderson francois (@abfrancois) December 26, 2017

He was a liar; we told you he was a liar; you didn't care and decided to swim in his bigoted fairy dust because you liked how he talked about brown people. https://t.co/zo36F9g0uj

— HawaiiDelilah (@HawaiiDelilah) December 22, 2017

Layoffs are stunning steelworkers who, just a year ago, greeted Trump's election as a new dawn for their industry https://t.co/SzLHbF6K5Y

— The New York Times (@nytimes) December 22, 2017

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And their own comfort.

The fact so many journalists avoid using the term racist to describe this president demonstrates the extent to which the truth comes second to the comfort of (white) readers.

— Samuel Sinyangwe (@samswey) December 23, 2017

As with Trump supporters, as the previous tweets indicate. The media is in such a rush to make sure we don't label all Trump voters racist that they fail to label any but the most extreme white nationalists as such. That is a major journalism fail.

Related, from Vox earlier this month: "The Past Year Of Research Has Made It Very Clear: Trump Won Because Of Racial Resentment | Another study produces the same findings we've seen over and over again."

Dear Journos: Reckon with reality. This is the country we live in. These people are among our citizens. They are legion; you missed it.

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Tip: Go back and read the transcripts (or watch the video) of Trump's campaign rallies - most of you seem to have missed them in real time. They are chilling. He basically ran as a Nazi. That is not hyperbole. He didn't hide who he was, or whose causes he was championing, or who surrounded, supported and enabled him. It was - and remains - right in your face.

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Reminder: this is what Trump said in a 1990 Playboy interview:
"When the students poured into Tiananmen Square, the Chinese government almost blew it. Then they were vicious, they were horrible, but they put it down with strength. That shows you the power of strength." https://t.co/PDZsgr6UMI

— Michiko Kakutani (@michikokakutani) December 25, 2017

Declassified cable estimates 10,000 killed at Tiananmen Squarehttps://t.co/YnbIpctv50

— Axios (@axios) December 24, 2017

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I got The Pagans Had It Right by Devil in a Woodpile - Which Bloodshot Records' 13 Days of XMAS song are you? https://t.co/Ap8bSUQcfp

— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) December 26, 2017

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The Beachwood Tronc Line: Get it right.

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