Wal-Mart Hate and Deaf Aldermen

Is there anybody left in America who has not had to suffer through some liberal's rants about the evils of Wal-Mart? The hatred for Wal-Mart is difficult for most of us to understand. I get the arguments about Wal-Mart's heavy-handedness with their vendors, and I wish they would import less items that are made in China. I also grok the notion that $75 per hour would be a nice living wage for a Wal-Mart greeter. Wal-Mart will always be heavy-handed with vendors (it's all legal), China is cheaper (they don't have piggish union members demanding $75 per hour) and $75 per hour is just too damned much even for a greeter. What I don't get is the holier-than-thee attitude by anti-capitalist hate mongers who prefer to have people on the public dole and, therefore, at the mercy of the government. For those people to be earning their own way and not dependent on government and politicians is ... ah, so, that's it. Wal-Mart haters crave control, not to mention a need for communal reinforcement of their own elitism and a pychotic form of chronic schadenfreude. Penn and Teller put this in perspective brilliantly. See Penn and Teller's report about Wal-Mart hate, Part 1 (Advisory: Language) (Note to Chicagoans: In Part 2 Joe Moore, 49th Ward Ald. and toadie of the SEIU and ACORN, is ripped to shreds within the first minute of the video.) So, we know the prime motivations of most Wal-Mart haters. Some of those haters are Chicago alderman. The Chicago Tribune notes this in a recent editorial: We know organized labor wants to keep Wal-Mart from expanding in Chicago. But what do the aldermen's constituents want? The answer is clear: They want the opportunity to work or shop at Wal-Mart. A new Tribune/WGN poll found that 68 percent of city residents would like to see a new Wal-Mart store in Chicago, and 72 percent say Wal-Mart would be good for the community. The support is even higher with African-Americans, who stand to gain the most economic benefit from the proposed South Side store. The poll found 72 percent of African-Americans want Wal-Mart in the city and 81 percent say it would be good for the community. Surely, even the sub-par intellects on Chicago's City Council must have been aware of this widely held sentiment among their constituents even before the Trib spoon fed it to them. Certainly, since the spoon feeding, all of the aldermen are now aware of it, and we can be confident that they will go along with the wishes of the people they represent, right? The Tribune answered that question. It was including with the spoon feeding: But the aldermen aren't listening to their constituents. The unions provide money and troops at election time. Apparently the aldermen have decided that keeping the labor bosses happy is more critical than following the wishes of their citizens. Ah yes, money. That's another motivation. "I Hate Wal-Mart" t-shirts sell well among the feeble-minded, and union bosses pay - excuse me, contribute to - politicians very generously to help them fight Wal-Mart. For the bosses, it's both power and the prospect of more dues, which would allow them to pad their piggish salaries, extracted every month from members' pockets, even more. That doesn't help union members, it doesn't help the unemployed, it doesn't help the tax revenue stream. Conservative Hats & Shirts Leave a Comment - Chicago News Bench RSS Feed Visit us on Twitter!

Obama, 1934 (History Repeats Itself)

From 1934, this cartoon in The Chicago Tribune seems just as relevant today. It's title, "Planned Economy Or Planned Destruction?" is a question many of us are asking about the Obama "stimulus" programs of 2009. It's been making the rounds on the Internet, but in case you missed it, here it is. (Click image to enlarge it.) You can, by the way, purchase a print of this from the Tribune. Leave a Comment on our Guestbook CommieBama Hats and More Chicago News Bench RSS Feed Follow ChiNewsBench on Twitter

Chicago Tribune Rehashes Google Subpoena Story, Offers Nothing New

As noted five days ago, the big mainstream media was missing the big story about a Chicago developer who has subpoenaed Google in an effort to learn the identities of some anonymous bloggers in the Uptown neighborhood. Today, finally, on February 12, The Chicago Tribune picked up the story. It was broken by reporter Lorraine Swanson, editor of News-Star, on January 28. The story in the Trib today is a watered-down rehashing of Swanson's report. Unlike Swanson, however, Trib writer James Janega did not include any quotes from the two most important players in the drama: Developer Peter Holsten and his attorney Tom Johnson. In Swanson's January 28 story, she quoted Johnson as saying, "We did issue a subpoena to Google....The subpoena asks for all the information for two particular sites that Google has." Did the Trib talk with the people who brought the subpoenas? I don't know, but if they did they didn't use their quotes. The Trib quoted some people, but they are not key players. Attorney Thomas Ramsdell, who represents local citizen's group "Fix Wilson Yard," is not a key player because Fix Wilson Yard is not a target of the subpoenas. Robert Moss, vice chair of the Chicago Bar Association's Civil Rights and Constitutional Law Committee, is also not a key player. He's not even a minor player. He's just some guy in the Trib's Rolodex of "experts" that they call for a handy quote when the key players don't pick up their phones. The Trib also quoted Matt Zimmerman of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), but they are involved only as the representatives of block club Buena Park Neighbors and the two bloggers, What The Helen (defunct) and Uptown Update. Zimmerman's quote in the Trib adds nothing new to the story. "Regardless of what the motivations are, there's certainly a chilling effect as a result of subpoenas sent out specifically targeting sites criticizing this development," he told the Trib. Well, duh. As with that quote, the Trib's story adds nothing new. It's a report, but it's not "news" because by today, the story is "old" by news cycle standards. That's not to say the story has lost its importance. It is still developing and, as Zimmerman correctly said, could have a chilling effect on a segment of the public discussion about not just Wilson Yard, but any subject of public interest. Keep watching for updates on this story from Lorraine Swanson. Although her initial report is now two weeks old, it still has more information than the story today at The Chicago Tribune. RELATED: Holsten's attorney subpoenas Google - Information sought on 2 Uptown blogs (Jan. 28) Developer Targets Bloggers in Chicago (Jan. 29) Big Media Missing Google Subpoena Story in Chicago (Feb. 7) Full Texts of Blogger Subpoenas (Feb. 7) CNB RSS Feed

John Kass' End Zone Victory Dance

Dammit, I love John Kass. Even when he pisses me off, which is rarely, I love him. He and the courageous management of the Chicago Tribune stood up against megalomaniacal Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich like nobody else has, not in the mainstream media, not even in the blogosphere. This is John Kass' finest hour - to date, at least - for he and his colleagues can honestly say that they did not buckle under the alleged pressure of Blagojevich to fire key editorial staff. Kass has a great piece - a rare extra edition piece yesterday that doubles as an end zone victory dance - in the Trib that you gotta read: As I write this, he's being brought before a U.S. magistrate for a bond hearing, and they'll sneak him out of the federal building through the tunnel so the TV people won't get their perp-walk video, but that's not the end of his troubles. The only real decision Gov. Dead Meat has to make is when he'll start blubbering into a federal tape recorder and how much he'll say. The guys behind the guys aren't amused. To them, this Blagojevich isn't funny anymore. Full Scathing Column... Do you think Kass came up in conversation when Rod got home this afternoon? "Hi Patti, I'm home! Say, whattaya think John Kass is gonna write about next?" (Makes The Bench proud to have been picked by the Trib as one of Chicago's best blogs!)

BLAGO DEMANDED TRIBUNE FIRE EDITOR MCCORMICK

Now-indicted Illinois Governor Blagojevich, a Democrat, is now facing multiple charges of corruption. Blagojevich and his chief of staff John Harris were arrested just after 6:00 a.m. in Chicago today. One of the charges is that he tried to extort the Chicago Tribune to fire a top editor. ...Blagojevich, along with chief of staff John Harris, also tried exerting their influence over the Tribune Company, pressuring executives to fire members of the Chicago Tribune’s editorial board, who were considered too critical of the Governor. Specifically, Blagojevich singled out deputy editorial page editor John P. McCormick. (Politico) John Harris was arrested this morning, too, at the same time that Blagojevich was taken into custody. More from Politico: On Nov. 3, according to a complaint which includes intercepted phone calls, Blagojevich spoke to a deputy about how the Tribune will be “driving” the impeachment process against him. During the call, Blagojevich’s wife gets on the phone and tells the deputy to “to hold up that f—king Cubs s—t… f—k them.” Later, she said to “just fire” any critical writers at the Tribune. RELATED: But first, kill all the editorial writers.... 'Trib' Delayed Governor Wire Tap Story At Fed's Request Ill. Gov. arrested in Obama successor probe The Bench: Alex Armour: Joe Moore for Senate

TRIBUNE CO. FILES BANKRUPTCY

The Tribune Company, parent of the Chicago Cubs, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Tribune, eight other daily papers and 23 television stations, today filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy papers. It's little posts like this from little bloggers like me that have contributed to the demise of newspaper circulation. Ecologists should cheer this news. Unlike newspapers, web sites to not kill trees, consume no fossil fuels to process the paper, transport the paper from the mill to the printing plant, print the papers at the plant, deliver the papers to the readers, and then recycle the papers. Bloggers leave miniscule carbon footprints. Media conglomerate Tribune Co., smothered by $13 billion in debt and a drop-off in advertising, on Monday became the first major newspaper publisher to seek bankruptcy protection since the Internet sent the industry into a tailspin. Most of the company's debt comes from the complex transaction in which the company was taken private, with employee ownership, by real estate mogul Sam Zell last year. Although Tribune's next major debt payment isn't due until June, the company has been in danger of missing financial targets set by its lenders. More from ABC7 Chicago with video...

AGAIN! OBAMA GOONS ATTACK WGN RADIO

The "free speech Liberals" at Lord Barack Obama's Chicago headquarters AGAIN attacked free speech by targeting WGN 720 AM's Milt Rosenberg's radio show last night. This is the second time in about a month that they've done this. Free speech is nice, isn't it? Sure, but if you're an Obamamaniac it's only nice when your side is excercising it. Milt's guest was conservative writer David Freddoso, whose articles can be seen at Human Events, among other places. I caught the last 20 minutes of Milt's show last night and, at first, I thought they were replaying the August 28 show (see Obama Campaign Orchestrating Intimidation). Then I realized it was yet another assault on free speech by so-called Democrats. Friends, true Democrats don't act like that. By coincidence, good friend John Ruberry (Marathon Pundit) tuned in at about the same time, and today John posts this: Obama goons attack free speech on Milt Rosenberg's show, AGAIN! Last week, I purchased David Freddoso's "The Case Against Barack Obama: The Unlikely Rise and Unexamined Agenda of the Media's Favorite Candidate." I'm about one-third into it, the books is well-written and well-researched, and truthful. Which is why the Obama campaign has its undies in a bunch because Milt Rosenberg had the author on as his guest on his Extension 720 show on WGN-AM. The Cult of Change sounded the alarm and sent its message to its robots via the "Obama Action Wire." FULL POST at Marathon Pundit... The Chicago Tribune noticed, too, of course. They have the same parent company as WGN does, and wrote today that "Chicago radio station WGN-AM is again coming under attack from the presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama for offering airtime to a controversial author. It is the second time in recent weeks the station has been the target of an "Obama Action Wire" alert to supporters of the Illinois Democrat." Full Article... On behalf of all conservatives, I'd like to thank the Obama Campaign for finally waking a lot of people up to what we've been saying for decades: The Hard Left in this country does not like freedom of speech for any speech that disagrees with their worldview. Perhaps these episodes will finally wake up the so-called Mainstream Media to the Stalinstic Left, too. RELATED: David Freddoso Publishes The Case Against Barack Obama ... Articles on Judicial Activism by David Freddoso Obama’s Days with Daley David Freddoso Articles at National Review Online The Bench: Alles Klar, Herr Kommissar Obama The Bench: Obama Campaign Orchestrating Intimidation The Bench: Stanley Kurtz Still Lives The Bench: Obama's Orchestrated Intimidation The Bench: Nothing To Fear But Free Speech Itself The Bench: LIKE NAZIS: OBAMA'S VICIOUS MEDIA PERSECUTION The Bench: OBAMA SUPPORTERS SABOTAGING BLOG SITE

UPDATED: Media Blows Uptown Shooting Story

Amazing. The big media and STILL have the victim count of Friday's Uptown shooting WRONG.

UPDATE 8/31, 8:00 PM: KUDOS to UPTOWN UPDATE for their fine reportage on this sad story. They remain ahead of the "mainstream" media, having updated their report to show three shooting victims instead of two. For more great information, and great photos, see UPTOWN UPDATE. The Bench was at the scene 30 minutes after the shooting and spent two hours taking photos and talking to many witnesses and reported the following: THREE PEOPLE WERE SHOT, ONE KILLED in the 4800 block of North Sheridan Road in Uptown at approximately 3:30 this afternoon. One died immediately. Two other victims ran south, steps away, into the parking lot of J.J. Peppers convenience store. One collapsed, in serious condition, in front of a check cashing store. A third victim, shot in the left shoulder, ran into J.J. Peppers yelling, "They're shooting!" The manager called 911. [Aug. 29, 7:23 p.m.] Count 'em, folks. One dead. One collapsed. One ran into JJ Peppers. One plus one plus one is three, not two. Always has been, always will be. But two local blogs, the Chicago Tribune, the Sun-Times and the rest of the big media STILL have it wrong: August 31, Chicago Tribune: "One man, whose identity was not released," HUH? The News-Star broke his identity YESTERDAY, on August 30. Unfortunately, the News-Star also got the number of victims wrong. The Trib continued, "The other man, who is in his 20s and was shot in the chest and forearm..." WRONG. "Other man"? There were two other men, as The Bench reported on August 29. Amazingly, the Tribune said today that "Police went to the 4800 block of North Sheridan Road in the Uptown neighborhood about 3:20 p.m. and found two men shot in the street." The Bench was there and spoke to a lot of witnesses. HOW did the police not question the manager of JJ Peppers, who told The Bench about a THIRD VICTIM with a gunshot wound to his shoulder? WHY did the Tribune not - apparently - bother to visit the scene and talk to witnesses? This is truly astounding. August 30, Sun-Times: "One person was fatally shot and another critically injured in a shooting Friday afternoon in the North Side's Uptown neighborhood." WRONG. See above.

WRONG, WRONG, WRONG: WBBM NewsRadio 780.com - One person is dead and another was critically injured in a shooting Friday afternoon in the Uptown neighborhood. 1 Dead, 1 Critical In Uptown Shooting (CBS2) - CHICAGO (STNG) ― One man was fatally shot and another suffered a gunshot wound to the chest Friday afternoon in the North Side's Uptown neighborhood. [NOTE: CBS2 didn't even pretend to cover the story themselves, but used an inaccurate Sun-Times News Group blurb.]

Nothing To Fear But Free Speech Itself

Obama thugs tried to shut down a Chicago talk show this week. It was an orchestrated effort by the Obama campaign to intimidate WGN 720 AM, guest Stanley Kurtz and host Milt Rosenberg. The Democrats pretend to love freedom of speech, but they truly don't. They fear like vampires fear sun light. They use confrontation, bullying, fascist-like tactics to suppress free speech. LIKE THIS: Here is the text of the e-mail the Obama campaign sent to supporters [Source: Chicago Tribune] LISTEN to Milt's show with Stanley Kurtz: download the whole show as a podcast(mp3 file here. "If you're having trouble downloading it, just keep trying. Our servers are working as hard as they can to keep up with demand," says WGN. RELATED: Obama Campaign Orchestrating Intimidation WGN Radio - Monthly Program Guide One day, The Bench will write about the orchestrated efforts by petty dictator Joe Moore, alderman of Chicago's 49th Ward and Democrat, to suppress and intimidate the media. What the Obama thugs did to WGN this week is - sadly - a typical, very old trick of the Left.

Obama Campaign Orchestrating Intimidation

The Democrats, while smiling pretty for the cameras in Denver, Obama thugs were busy with Stalinist strategy and brown shirt tactics in Chicago and elsewhere. As Obama gave a pretty speech with no calories last night, there are journalists who are worried about their future, and about the future of free speech in the U.S. We wrote about it yesterday: Obama's people are attacking free speech. It made national news yesterday when Obama-supporting goons tried to intimidate WGN 720 AM radio in Chicago. Author Stanley Kurtz was scheduled as a guest on Extension 720 on Thursday, Aug. 28. Milt Rosenberg has hosted the show for more than 20 years. WGN received thousands of phone calls demanding that they not let him on the air. WGN, to its credit, did not relent and went ahead with the show. The Chicago Tribune reports today that "Sen. Barack Obama's campaign organized its supporters Wednesday night to confront Tribune-owned WGN-AM in Chicago for having a critic of the Illinois Democrat on its air." (Source) Once on the air with Rosenberg, hundreds of calls came in, far more than usual for the show - rude calls, using obscenities, threats... you get the idea. Loving, rational, peaceful Obama supporters threatening with foul language. Why? To suppress the truth about Obama's relationship with terrorists William Ayers. National talk show host Mark Levin spoke with Kurtz just hours after the WGN incident. They discussed the Obama campaign's thuggish antics, which you can listen to (as a .wma file, loads nicely into your Windows Media Player) (Source) Obama's campaign is orchestrating intimidation. Obama's people are threatening donors to not give to Republicans. Obama's thugs are trying to sue journalists - for writing about truth. Obama's dogs have been sent after those who disagree with Obama. The Democrat National Committee knows about and sanctions those activities. That's what happens when extreme Leftists take over: Stalinist strategy, brown shirt tactics. RELATED: Obama campaign swarms to stop Stanley Kurtz reporting on Bill Ayers connection NEXT, THE THUGS CAME FOR STANLEY KURTZ Stanley Kurtz Censor Attempt: WGN Radio Showdown with Obama Supporters OBAMA SUPPORTERS SABOTAGING BLOG SITE Obama Attacking Media, Free Speech OBAMA'S VICIOUS MEDIA PERSECUTION Obama Muzzle List: National Review, Milt Rosenberg, Harold Simmons.... Obama and Free Speech Milt Rosenberg with Stanley Kurtz on Ayers, Obama and Freedom of Speech

PROOF: SADDAM HAD URANIUM

Not only is there now undeniable proof that Iraq DID INDEED have the YELLOW CAKE URANIUM that Pres. Bush said they had (and other world leaders and their intelligence services), the mainstream media are finally - slooooowly - coming around to the fact that the Leftists and Democrats were the ones who lied about it. KUDOS to the Chicago Tribune for confessing this, for apologizing for it, and for trying to set the record straight. Read this July 10 column by Nancy J. Thorner (emphasis added): An unforgivable omission July 10, 2008 On July 6th there was an AP exclusive that reported how the last major remnant of Saddam Hussein's nuclear program - a huge stockpile of concentrated natural uranium - reached a Canadian port to complete a secret U.S. operation that included a two-week airlift from Baghdad and a ship voyage crossing two oceans. This removal of 550 metric tons of "yellowcake" from the Tuwaitha nuclear complex 12 miles south of Baghdad was seed material that could have been refined into nuclear weapons. It was first discovered back in 2003 when the U.S. invaded Iraq. This AP report should have been headline news in the Chicago Tribune. After all, much of the early opposition to the war in Iraq involved claims that President Bush had "lied" about weapons of mass destruction and that Saddam posed little if any nuclear threat to our nation. The news that 550 metric tons of yellowcake uranium was removed from Iraq more or less proves that Saddam back in 2003 had his nuclear program on hold for building WMD and that he planned to boot it up again. It is unforgivable that the mainstream media, including the Tribune, has virtually ignored the AP story about the recent uranium removal from Iraq. There is an obvious answer for this purposeful oversight: it doesn't fit the media's neat storyline that Saddam Hussein's Iraq posed no nuclear threat when we invaded in 2003. --Nancy J. Thorner THANKS TO MS. THORNER for writing that. And who are the "opposition to the war in Iraq involved claims that President Bush had "lied" about weapons of mass destruction" that Ms. Thorner referred to? Tens of thousands of useful idiots, including our own Chicago City Council. READ THIS PIECE OF IDIOCY...

Best Neighborhood Blogs (Chicago Tribune)

I could not have said it better than Craig of The Broken Heart blog did, so I'll just quote him: I've been getting a few hits from this best blog list the Chicago Tribune has put together. Did your blog make the list? Chicago Neighborhood Blogs We took a look around the blogosphere for some of the city's best neighborhood blogs. Here's what we found: Southwest Observer - News and commentary on Mount Greenwood, Beverly and Morgan Park. The Bench - A conservative blog based in Rogers Park. Always good to have both sides. Uptown Update - What's going on in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood? Get your updates here. Hyde Park Progress - News and analysis from around historic Hyde Park. Fun stuff indeed. Thanks, Trib.