By Steve Rhodes
The mayor leaves today for eight days in Beijing to take in the Olympics and pick up some management tips from the Chinese government.
We have some excellent ideas for what to do while Daley is away.
Posted on August 4, 2008
The Weekend Desk Report
By Natasha Julius
We’ve scored a bit of a coup here at the Weekend Desk as, apparently, we welcome LAPD Chief William Bratton to our Triumvirate of Terror bureau. While he monitors the West Coast, here are some of the stories the rest of us will be following.
Market Update
Analysts warn that the nation’s mortgage crisis could yet deepen. The well-documented struggles of industry giant Freddie Mac reportedly have begun to impact the long-term prospects of Bernie Mac as well.
Posted on August 2, 2008
The [Friday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
Sorry for the delay, I lost the whole column just as I was posting it and I had to reconstruct the whole damn thing. This has been a really crappy week. Is the bar open yet?
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1. The view from Minnesota:
“That’s the best game by far, this year, emotionally,” Twins pitcher Scott Baker said.
The players gave manager Ron Gardenhire – seen here kicking the game-winning field goal – the game ball.
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Why no reporting on what Ozzie Guillen was jawing about to Minnesota fans from the top step of the dugout?
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The Dusty & Ozzie Show rolls on.
Posted on August 1, 2008
The [Thursday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
There will be no Papers today, this week has gone awry and I have to attend to business that’s piled up. But if you missed our piece “Chicago 2040” yesterday, go read it now. It’s really funny. Because it’s true.
Posted on July 31, 2008
The [Wednesday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
The new Sun-Times: RedderEye.
Same inanity, poorer execution.
And one’s free.
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By the way, Serena Williams and Common were not the participants in that baseball brawl.
So, yeah, design problems too.
Posted on July 30, 2008
The [Tuesday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
This is what a desperate newspaper looks like: best beaches and hot fans.
Posted on July 29, 2008
The [Monday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
BREAKING 12:40 P.M.: Robert Novak diagnosed with brain tumor.
Obamaphiles
“If you thought Sen. Barack Obama would have an easy time before an audience of journalists of color Sunday, think again,” Mary Mitchell writes this morning. “[I]t looks like the honeymoon – if there ever was such a thing – is over.”
If the honeymoon is over, it’s only because the marriage has been consummated.
“Sporting a beige suit and a U.S. flag lapel pin, Obama found a receptive audience among the minority journalists and students at McCormick Place, who gave him standing ovations, 10 rounds of applause and a rush of cell phone picture-taking,” Sun-Times political reporter Abdon Pallasch reports.
Posted on July 28, 2008
The Weekend Desk Report
By Natasha Julius
You can sleep in this weekend, safe in the knowledge that Madonna’s still married and we’re still watching the news.
Market Update
Markets failed to respond positively to a last-minute bailout of Presidential Dignity. Analysts note that fourth-quarter profits continue to plummet and stress most investors seem resigned to ride out the slump.
Posted on July 26, 2008
The [Friday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
“Presumptuous or not, the campaign spared no detail – providing giant cranes for camera crews to get crowd shots – to capture images intended to present Obama on a world stage as he has never been seen before, even as Obama protested that he was speaking not as a presidential candidate but as a ‘citizen’,” Lynn Sweet writes.
Lord. Ich bin nacht ein candidater!
Posted on July 25, 2008
The [Thursday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
UPDATE 2:54 P.M.: Friday Night With John Callaway will feature an interview with recently departed Chicago Tribune editor Ann Marie Lipinski this week. You can see an excerpt tonight on Chicago Tonight.
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Gov. Baloneyvich
“The confusing controversy over Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s decision to give $1 million in state assistance following the Pilgrim Baptist Church fire has a new twist – the founder of the private Chicago school that got the money is contradicting the governor’s statement about what happened,” the Tribune reports.
Will the last person in the state who hasn’t been lied to by the governor turn the lights out?
Posted on July 24, 2008