The [Wednesday] Papers

WGN's Allison Payne's friendship with newsmaker Jesse Jackson is paying off.

"Payne said she was grateful to the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, who used his influence to get her an immediate appointment at the Mayo Clinic," Robert Feder reports. "'If he hadn't called, I know I would have had to wait months go get in,' she said."

You know, like the little people.

"[WGN news director Greg Caputo] said this 'absolutely will not change coverage' of Jackson and his family by the station, 'and if that limits Allison's participation in stories involving Rev. Jackson, then that's what we'll do," Phil Rosenthal reports.

Here's a story idea for Caputo: How many friends has Jackson clouted into the Mayo Clinic ahead of others who have been waiting their turn?

Zethics
I'm guessing under Sam Zell the Tribune Company no longer has an ethics policy, but Payne clearly violated the policy that existed when Zell bought the company. After all, getting into the Mayo Clinic is worth far more than a keychain.

Nipping Nepotism
"The Illinois House's top Republican said Tuesday he's crafting legislation designed to stop the longtime practice of outgoing elected officials anointing their successors without any say from voters," the Sun-Times reports.

How dare a Republican seize the mantle of change.

U R SCRWD
"In case of emergency, Chicago will sent a text to cell phones."

Among the messages officials are preparing:

* BOOTY CALL! C U @ POUND
* U R NOW IN A TIF DSTRCT
* DON'T TALK 2 FEDS
* SEND $$$
* WHAT R U WEARING?
* STLL TIME 2 VOT AGIN

Car Jackers
The same editorial board that recently wrote "We know motorists feel gouged by the high costs of parking, of ramp parking taxes and of parking penalties in Chicago" has no problem calling for a CTA fare hike today. I guess we know now - if there was ever doubt - how they get to work.

Texting Tales
Living la CTA loca.

Con-Con Carne
"Don't believe the propaganda," Kristen McQueary writes. "A constitutional convention is one of very few tools Illinois voters can employ to be heard. Why do you think the political establishment only allows us to do it every 20 years?"

View From Minnesota
"Manager Ron Gardenhire dislikes scoreboard-watching, but with the Twins thumping the Royals and the White Sox losing twice, all was fabulous," the Minneapolis Star Tribune says.

View From Milwaukee
"The 49 homicides recorded in Milwaukee through Aug. 31 amount to the fewest killings in that time period since 1986, according to the Police Department," the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Palinola
Dale Bowman's Illinois Hunting Report.

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We hunt an awesome deer in the blue states!

Sky Blue Sky
I'm pro-Spire. The more spirally the better. Here's a photo gallery, via Blair Kamin's Tribune blog.

Unfrigginbelievable
"International scientists working at an underground complex started up a huge particle-smashing machine on Wednesday aiming to recreate the conditions of the 'Big Bang' that created the universe," Reuters reports.

"Experts say it is the largest scientific experiment in human history and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the biggest and most complex machine ever made."

You know, you can put lipstick on a particle-smasher . . .

Ferdy Says
"Yesterday and today, as I read the fallout of MSNBC's decision to demote Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann from their anchor duties for the 2008 General Election, I saw feminists hail it as a welcome kick out the door to two of television's most popular and voluble misogynists," our very own Marilyn Ferdinand writes. "The United States' 'paper of record,' which I have demoted by not naming it, cites the following: 'The McCain campaign has filed letters of complaint to the news division about its coverage and openly tied MSNBC to it. Tension between the network and the campaign hit an apex the day Mr. McCain announced Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate.'

"The paper made no mention of the fact that both Matthews and Olbermann tarred presidential candidate Hillary Clinton repeatedly over the course of her campaign with misogynistic language (maybe because the newspaper's columnists did, too) and that the network refused to rein either of them in by demoting them despite repeated complaints from Senator Clinton's campaign staff, Media Matters, and the National Organization for Women. Clearly, when Republican presidential candidates talk, major media listens. Don't look for Sarah Palin to get the same treatment the former First Lady did at this newspaper or other major media outlets."

Which is an introduction to Ferdy leading us to "the last interview BBC writer Dennis Potter gave before his untimely death in 1994. This deeply intelligent, self-aware man brimming with appetites, ideas, nostalgia, and a clear-eyed understanding of social intercourse and the ways it can be twisted and degraded is best known around the world for his television series The Singing Detective, a brutal, inventive, compassionate look at a tormented soul that puts most television dramas to shame."

I encourage you to take a look.

Dear Cubs Fans
Maybe if you hop aboard the Karma Train you'll feel better.

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