Month: October 2022

“Fall has always been my favorite season. The time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale.” (Lauren DeStefano)

Fall is in full swing. The days are getting chilly, with a few Yoyo warm days. Fall has always been my favorite season. I love the crisp, clean weather.

Fall is the best season. It is significantly better than spring. The sunlight is different and more pleasant in the fall. On cloudless days, the light is not as harsh as the overbearing summer sunlight. The sky becomes an artist’s palette, with hues of pink, orange, and purple clouds at sunrise and sunset.

The trees change colors to yellows, oranges, reds, and eventually brown. They are works of art. Someone once wrote that “The leaves become flowers in the fall.” Fall is nature in all its glory. Eventually, the trees will become bare. Many will look like twisted gnarly Ents suffering from rheumatoid arthritis.

 Birds migrate south for the winter. Honking geese fill the skies with their vee formations. If you are lucky, you can see flocks of starlings swirling in their formations. The swirling is called murmuration. It is a joy to see.

We eat heartier foods like stews, soups, various roast meats, fowl, chili, and other comfort foods. The harvest puts seasonal products for us to savor. Ovens and slow cookers get used to make savory hearty meals. You can go apple picking or pumpkin harvesting. We cook and enjoy food more. It is too uncomfortable to eat well in the humid heat of summer.

Fall is the harbinger of death in the seasons. We dread the thought of Chicago winters. The harsh crunch of walking on snow and ice replaces the crackly pleasantness of walking on fallen brown leaves. The hawk assaults us with its deadly blasts. We suffer. We squeeze every ounce of pleasure and beauty out of fall, knowing winter’s nasty bite will make us miserable.

There are some drawbacks to fall. That f**king nasty fake pumpkin spice s**t that drooling, slobbering idiots and less-ons (Lower than morons) line up for at those oh-so-precious coffee shops. Candy corn, which resembles rat pellets and has the texture of earwax, is another horrid treat that makes its presence in the fall. Then there are the pi**ed off parents on Halloween who curse at you for running out of candy for their crotch critters.

Fall starts football season. Since the McCaskey Bears want to move out of the city, I thoroughly despise them and their evil, greedy, cheapskate, and chiseling owners. I root for their opponents, causing some consternation in my local drinking establishment. I want to see their QB and back up QBs get taken out for the season. Yeah, I wish for harm. I have no pity or mercy for Ken Dolls. The pork sword grand spawn of George Halas are despicable orcs.

Get out and enjoy the season. Appreciate the artistry of fall. Take in as much as possible because winter is coming. Winter is the season of bit**ing and moaning in Chicago. Yeah, yeah, yeah, those first snows are pretty until they turn into gray, sooty, and dog p**s yellow slush piles.  We will slip, slog, and slosh our way everywhere in misery.

The gray winter days will weigh heavily on us, causing SAD, Seasonal Affective Disorder or, as it is known, S**tty All Day Disorder.

Happy fall.

“We’ve got to figure something out on enforcement. … I’m not asking you to be a social worker. I’m not asking you to be a mental health counselor. I’m not asking you to be a basketball coach. … I’m asking you to be the police. This is what our residents are asking for in some of these challenged communities.” (Ald. Jason Ervin/Fox 32)

Chicago Superintendent of Police, David Brown, was on the hot seat during his budget meeting with the Chicago City Council last week. After over two years into his failed tenure, alderpersons finally found the courage to challenge his epic public safety failures, though they stopped short of demanding his resignation.

Alderpersons from across the city questioned his competency in keeping citizens safe from violent crimes on the streets and the C.T.A.. They did not accept his excuses for his continuing failures. Alderpersons in what were considered the safer neighborhoods were incensed over the violent crimes and catalytic converter thefts. Two aldermen whose wards include the C.T.A. Red and Blue Lines complained about the crime, violence, and lack of police presence on public transportation.

The morale of the Chicago Police Department is the lowest it has ever been. Almost 1000 officers retired this year or sought employment elsewhere. It is pastime Mayor Lightfoot fire David Brown over his miserable performance. He refuses to learn about Chicago and its neighborhoods. He thinks Chicago is Dallas, which is a mere imitation of a real city. Brown is clueless about our city, its citizens, and culture.

David Brown does not care about Chicago, the citizens. He does not care about the health and welfare of our hard-working police officers. All Brown cares about is his precious meaningless data and data analytics pornography, which the puerile Chicago news media slobbers over. Maybe Brown should put a data analytics page on one of the internet porn sites or Only Fans to further titillate Chicago’s supposed journalists.

In my neighborhood, the police presence is almost non-existent. I used to see police cars patrolling the area and my block several times a day. I rarely see police officers in the neighborhood, near my home, in the business areas, or around the two El stations nearby.

I ride the El. I do not see the supposed security guards the C.T.A. hired, or the supposed enhanced police presence. Maybe, like the ghost buses and trains, the security guards and police officers assigned to public transportation are from the spirit world. After all, Halloween is approaching.

Now, people are being “kidnapped,” being driven to another location, robbed, then released. Others are forced at gunpoint to go to ATMS and take out money. This is a new twist on violent crime. What will our wile criminals come up with next to terrorize the population?

In the meantime, Mayor Lori Lightfoot is partying and promoting bread and circuses while running for reelection. She is like Nero, playing his lyre while Rome burned.

“… I’m asking you to be the police. This is what our residents are asking for in some of these challenged communities.” It is a pity an alderman must literally beg the Superintendent of Police to be the police.We are all pleading with David Brown to be the police, what were once known as the real police. If not, Tex Brown should saddle up his horse and ride off into the sunset. That overpaid mercenary can find another city to ruin.

For quite a while people in various neighborhoods have been complaining about C.T.A ghost buses and trains. They use their apps to check the schedules, get to the bus stop or El station in time to catch it only to find the scheduled bus or train does not arrive.

Complaints to Alderpersons went nowhere, just like complaints about public safety go nowhere. Members of the city council complain to no avail to get better services for their constituents to Mayor Lightfoot, who turns a deaf ear. She is more concerned with bringing in bread and circuses, attending various events touting something or another, or partying. She is not concerned with providing essential or even critical city services. Chicago is no longer the city that works.

City services have never been this bad. CTA service has never been this bad. What good are transportation APPS if the scheduled buses or trains do not arrive? Further, the CTA is no longer safe to ride. Crime is rising on the El trains and platforms. The security people the C.T.A. hired are invisible. There are not enough police to patrol the platforms, stations, or ride the trains.

In light of this epic failure of our mayor and the C.T.A, here is a little ditty.

GHOST BUSES

If there’s something strange

No bus in your neighborhood

Who you gonna call?

(Ghost Buses)

If you are late

And it don’t look good

Who you gonna call?

(Ghost Buses)

If its raining and no bus

Running through the street

Who can you call?

(Ghost Buses)

An invisible bus

Not on the sched

Oh, who you gonna call?

(Ghost Buses)

Who you gonna call?

(Ghost Buses)

If you’re all alone

Wet, cold, and late

Pick up the phone

And call

(Ghost Buses)

The McCaskey Ken Dolls showed up Thursday night in Soldier Field wearing their cute pumpkin-colored uniforms. One could wonder if they reeked of pumpkin spice cologne to boot. They sure looked pretty, sashaying all over their home field. Looking pretty is about all they did. They lost, again.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, the drooling, slobbering local sports media touted their stats, improvement, and all kinds of other happy horse manure. The Ken Dolls LOST. Stats and improvement are meaningless. All that counts is winning.

They supposedly were playing the worst team in football, the Washington Commanders. The McCaskey Ken Dolls are the worst team in football. They proved it. By the way, the Commander’s coach is Ron Rivera, one of the former real Chicago Bears who won Super Bowl XX. A big f***ing ouch. Another humiliation for a team that wallows in humiliation.

They should change the name of the team. The Chicago Pumpkins is more appropriate than the Bears. Pumpkins are only good for decorations, target practice, and soft, silken, custard like pies. That sums up the Ken Dolls.

How low can the Ken Dolls go? When will the sports media in this town criticize instead of lionizing them? Hell, they are worse and maybe just as corrupt as the news reporters who hype and prop up our politicians, believing their bull manure. The news media in this city are nothing more than secretaries taking dictation and repeating it.

I stopped being a Ken Doll fan when the evil McCaskeys, the epitome of cheapskates and chiselers, decided they were leaving Chicago. I pray to the Great Comedian that they lose every game. Whoever plays the Ken Dolls, I support them. I disposed of the Bears crap I had.

This team does not deserve the appellation of Bears. The former Monsters of the Midway turned into the Pantywaists of the Pumpkin Patch. It took years to get them this far down. It is right where the McCaskeys want them. They do not care about winning or football. They only care about the kachingos coming in while spending as little as possible.

The McCaskeys can’t move their p**s poor team out of our great city soon enough. They are an embarrassment to Chicago. They can make the suburbs oh so proud of their failures.

This city suffered enough under the reign of the McCaskeys. It is time to turn our collective backs on them. Like the New Orleans Saints of old, fans should show up at games wearing bags over their heads so they cannot be recognized and humiliated for being so rabidly stupid.

“I have already found out that the only thing that keeps me from going completely screwball is just to keep at work every minute of the night and day, and maybe this is a good thing, maybe the best thing that can happen to anybody. To keep at work.” (Woody Guthrie)

I have been working a few projects and preparing for a project next year. The local news is something I keep an eye on. I watched the debate between Governor Pritzker and his GOP opponent, Darren Bailey. Bailey was woefully unprepared. He offered no policy solutions during the debate. He had every opportunity to state his case. Instead, he turned the debate into an argument. It was pathetic.

“‘Early Voting in Chicago for the 2022 General Election will start on October 7 through November 8, 2022 (Election Day).

The Chicago Board of Elections Supersite (191 N. Clark) and the Chicago Board of Elections Office (69 W. Washington, 6th Floor) will be open for Early Voting on October 7 through November 7, 2022… All 50 Ward Early Voting sites will be open from October 24 through November 8 (Election Day). These sites are open Weekdays from 9:00am to 6:00pm; Saturdays from 9:00am to 5:00pm; Sundays from 10:00am to 4:00pm; and on Election Day (Nov. 8) from 6:00am to 7:00pm.” (Chicago Board of Elections)

One of the most important patriotic acts, if not the most important, is to vote. It is not just a right. It is a duty. Get out and vote. Vote early at these locations when they open or vote on Election Day, November 8^th. If you are eligible., get your mail in ballot in as soon as possible.

Forget all that bull hockey rhetoric, rally round the flag nonsense, or all the other so-called patriotic claptrap. Be a true patriot and vote. If you do not vote, you are no patriot, no matter how many flags and red, white, and blue horse droppings you wrap yourself in. You are no better than a traitor.

In April we get to vote for Chicago’s mayor and alderpeople. If you live in Chicago, this will be the most important vote in your lifetime. Public safety in Chicago is an oxymoron and the Superintendent of police is a moron. Lightfoot refuses to fire him despite his continued failures. There are many potential candidates to choose from. Again, just get out there and vote. Your safety and possibly your life depends on it.

There is no such thing as a wasted vote. If you do not like or agree with the parties anointed candidates and there is a third party or independent candidate on the ballot, vote for them. You should vote for the people whose issues and policies resonate with you, not the rest of the ovine masses. The concept of voting for someone who can win versus your personal preference is the big lie to keep the ineffective and disastrous two-party system alive and well.

Vote. Vote for who you want. Just do it.