Chicago -
By Steve Rhodes
When I first heard the news that the city would shut down North Michigan Avenue for Oprah, it didn’t strike me as out of line. So traffic will be fucked-up for a few hours. Big deal.
But three days?
I didn’t realize until this morning that the shut-down will last that long.
Three days.
My God.
Posted on September 2, 2009
By Steve Rhodes
Anne Kavanagh just appeared on Good Day Chicago promoting her interview tonight with Betty Loren-Maltese.
Kavanagh and a cameraman met Loren-Maltese at the California prison that just released her and drove her to the halfway house in Las Vegas where she must serve out the remainder of her term.
“We had just two-and-a-half hours to make the 200-mile drive,” a beaming Kavanagh said. “We made it with two minutes to spare. If we had been late, she would have been considered a fugitive.”
And Kavanagh would have been guilty of aiding and abetting.
Posted on September 1, 2009
By Steve Rhodes
“Anne Kavanagh – the enterprising Fox News TV reporter – not only snagged an exclusive interview with Loren-Maltese, she and photographer Jeff Sutker drove her from California to Las Vegas!” Michael Sneed wrote on Sunday.
“We barely made it on time – arriving at the halfway house with three minutes to spare,” Kavanagh said.
She not only “snagged” an exclusive interview with Loren-Maltese – the first of many, I’m sure – but drove her to her halfway house? Is there something wrong with this picture?
Posted on August 31, 2009
By The Weekend Desk B Team
Natasha Julius will return from her top secret assignment next week.
Depressing Demotion
Tropical storm Daniel’s bid for hurricane status backfired as he was demoted to a depression and renamed Danny. His father has threatened to demote him to Denny’s if he continues to underperform.
iGrenades
Apple says it is not to blame for exploding iPhones, but could not explain why it approved a Suicide Bomber app nor commercials in Mosual saying “Wanna blow up an American soldier? There’s an app for that.”
Posted on August 29, 2009
By Steve Rhodes
1. Barack Obama’s approval ratings are below those of George W. Bush at a similar point in their presidencies.
That’s gotta hurt.
2. Did the Civic Federation’s analysis of Chicago’s Olympic bid really conclude that the financials were sound and reasonable?
That’s what the stenographers reported, but Tribune business writer David Greising reports that “a close read of the Civic Federation report reinforces [opponents’] skepticism of all this Olympics hoopla.”
Posted on August 28, 2009
By Steve Rhodes
This is an absolutely terrible day to not have a column, given all the news that’s giving me fits, from Governor Hapless to Carol Marin’s interview of Scott Fawell to the usual shenanigans emanating from Daleyland and Olympicland. But no can do today. I will try to catch up with all of it tomorrow, even if that means a really long column.
But we do have a few things to chew on.
Posted on August 27, 2009
By Steve Rhodes
The mayor’s non-apology is all the rage.
“[F]or the first time in my life, I really don’t understand what the heck you’re talking about,” John Kass writes. “No, really.”
“In essence, Mayor Daley is sorry that he and his staff didn’t figure out how to make the deal sound good before members of the public concluded it was a stinker,” Mick Dumke writes.
“The words were right there in his script,” Jay Levine reports. “Words that a lot of you wanted to hear Tuesday night about Chicago’s parking meter mess. But Mayor Daley skipped over them.
Posted on August 26, 2009
By Steve Rhodes
Pat Quinn has moved too slowly on the University of Illinois admissions scandal, that much is true.
But Dan Hynes is wrong to assert that Quinn should have dealt with school administrators first, before the trustees.
You start at the top. The trustees hire and fire the president. You don’t remove the president first and then bring in new trustees.
Posted on August 25, 2009
By Steve Rhodes
Sometimes kids say the smartest things.
Death Paneling
“Let’s see if we can have a reasoned discussion about end-of-life counseling,” writes Charles Krauthammer today.
“We might start by asking Sarah Palin to leave the room. I’ve got nothing against her. She’s a remarkable political talent. But there are no ‘death panels’ in the Democratic health-care bills, and to say that there are is to debase the debate.
“We also have to tell the defenders of the notorious Section 1233 of H.R. 3200 that it is not quite as benign as they pretend. To offer government reimbursement to any doctor who gives end-of-life counseling – whether or not the patient asked for it – is to create an incentive for such a chat.”
Posted on August 24, 2009
By The Beachwood Weekend Desk B Team
Editor’s Note: Natasha Julius is back on the road again in her never-ending quest to better herself and our world through a series of secret initiatives that may or may not be revealed one day. We’ll fill in and keep our eyes on the news for you for the next 48 hours.
Immigration Reform
Border crossings reverse.
Brought To You By Skil
Power tools and the CIA.
Posted on August 22, 2009
