Peter V. Bella – Page 36 – Chicago Mind Drippings

The era of COVID and violence

Published by pvbella on September 10, 2021

Living in the era of COVID-19 and the Summer Olympics of violence in Chicago is a challenging proposition. No one knows what will kill or harm us, the disease or random bullets.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot should be lauded for the way she handled the pandemic. We should condemn her for how she and her Police Superintendent, David O. Brown, handled the violence.

Most people who suffered or died from COVID were innocent victims. Many of the people shot or murdered, especially children, were innocent victims. Innocence is the only thing the two events have in common.

While other areas of the country are seeing massive spikes in COVID and deaths, Chicago’s rates are not severe yet. Chicagoans believe we are responsible for ourselves and each other. We may not like or agree with various mandates, but most of us comply.

We do not know what to fear more. Catching COVID, being shot, carjacked, or violently victimized walking down the street. It is like a coin flip every time we leave our homes.

While the mayor is issuing common sense mandates for COVID, she does little to nothing about the city’s daily violence. Her mercenary superintendent from someplace else is out of his league. All he does is mumble meaningless numbers at his pressers.

The only media source reporting on violent crimes in Chicago is CWBChicago. They provide in-depth coverage versus copying handouts from the city. They also report on the shortages of officers and supervisors working in various districts.

The past year and nine months feel like an era. It is a long time and road to who knows where. Day after day, there are new COVID variants, more people shot, and other crimes like robberies and carjackings.

Chicago has a history of disease and violence through the 1920s. Cholera, typhoid, tuberculosis, and the 1918 flu pandemic. If people were quarantined, a sign was posted on the door of the home. There was even an order that police officers will not use the butts of their pistols to nail the signs to the door.

During the same time, there were violent criminal gangs from all ethnicities. Some specialized, like robbing transit garages, where fares were counted and kept. Some of these robberies resulted in murder. Other gangs or lone criminals used violence to commit crimes or settle scores. Many of these criminals were young people. The higher numbers of crimes occurred in certain impoverished pockets of the city, just like today.

Along came prohibition and the Chicago beer wars, adding to the violent criminality. Gangsters killed very few innocent people during that period of violence. They mostly killed or wounded each other.

Today is no different. We have a disease. We curbed it. We have murder and mayhem. The people committing these crimes are more bold and ruthless. Many are very young, even pre-teens. The only difference between now and the early 20th Century is the scale. We are not curbing criminality. Some predict that if the gun violence continues, Chicago may see 1000 or more people killed by years end.

Year to date, 3199 people have been shot. 544 souls were killed by gunfire. (https://heyjackass.com) Every neighborhood in the city is experiencing violent crimes of one sort or another, including rapid transit stations and trains. Violence is out of control.

Some people believe there might be a Bernhard Goetz event in Chicago. In 1984, Goetz labeled the subway vigilante, shot four Black young men while riding in a subway car in New York City. A victim of a previous violent crime, he carried an illegal handgun. Goetz allegedly feared he was being robbed. He was convicted of illegal possession of a firearm. For a while, Goetz was considered a hero and attained local celebrity status.

Many people in Chicago and the suburbs have concealed carry permits, allowing them to carry a firearm. Any one of them could, out of fear alone, shoot someone. This would make “If it bleeds, it leads” headlines along with civil unrest if the victim is a person of color.

A few predict or fear we may see vigilantism by concealed carry permit holders. These are legitimate fears. We do not need or want armed solo or groups of vigilantes wandering the city looking for human targets, causing more murder, mayhem, and civil unrest.

Public safety and public health are the top priorities for city government. Chicago did its best to keep us safe from COVID-19 and continues to do so. Chicago failed to keep us safe on the streets or in our homes and businesses. Throughout this violent year, failure was an option.

We needed change yesterday. It is not just City Hall failing us. It appears the whole criminal justice system is failing us, including prosecutors, courts, and the correction system.

The criminals believe there will be few severe consequences for their actions. They have little to fear. Whether we reside, work, traverse the city, or recreate, we have everything to fear.

We cherish the concept of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Lives are being taken, liberty is eroding due to fear, and we are not happy about it.

We, the citizens, are we the voters. The vote is a powerful cudgel we hold over the heads of our municipal and county officials. It is past time we use that cudgel to threaten their job security. Clean up the mess you made, or we will clean house.

Timing is everything

Published by pvbella on September 8, 2021

In comedy, timing is everything. The 50 strong comedy troupe in the Chicago City Council are up for a yearly raise tied to the Consumer Price Index. This year it is 5.5%, approximately $6000. They have until September 15^th to decide whether to accept or reject the raise.

Alderpersons not only make six-figure salaries for what is, by definition, a part-time position, but they also have expense accounts, health care benefits and are eligible for pensions if the gullible voters reelect them a few times.

There is no prohibition on alderpersons holding other full or part-time employment, owning businesses, or practicing professions. Some of those professions have conflicts of interest, like property tax reduction attorneys.

Full-time city employees do not have annual raises tied to the Consumer Price Index. They must show up, putting in a 40-hour week. Their unions fight for years to get paltry 2-3% annual raises. Here is a novel idea, all municipal employees should get annual raises tied to the Consumer Price Index, just like the City Council. If it is good enough for the alderpersons, it should be good enough for city employees.

The timing? Citizens of this city, AKA voters, are still struggling from the economic carnage caused by COVID-19. They will not get 5.5% raises along with Rolls Royce benefits and expense accounts. Many are still unemployed or underemployed. The homeless population exploded during the pandemic.

Most citizens in this city have no idea what their alderpersons, do if anything, to “earn” such generosity. They are accountable to no one. There is no transparency.

Alderpersons are not public servants. They are lords and ladies of the manor, dining at a royal banquet. We are paying the tab.

Many alderpersons cry poor, even those who have lucrative professional practices. They have mouths to feed, tuition payments, mortgages, the same expenses us peons have. We get by, barely sometimes. We settle for orts while they get the whole hog with sides and a dessert of apple pie in the sky with ice cream and a cherry on top. There is a reason why many refer to them as aldercreatures or aldercritters.

It is past time for the citizens of this city to be outraged. During this Summer Olympics of Violence, few alderpersons demanded action. Not one harshly criticized Superintendent David O. Brown or State’s Attorney Kim Foxx for their epic failures. They are silent until the payola comes around. Then, you can hear them loudly rooting, grunting, and snorting.

There will be no scathing editorials from the friendly news media in Chicago. They went mute a long time ago. They play well with the politicians. It is inappropriate for the news media to criticize political failure unless politicians get caught with their grubby hands in the cookie jar by the feds.

When the news media was fearless and relentless, they would get their hackles up, scream, and demand change. That was in quaint olden times when slaying dragons was acceptable, and dragon slayers were heroes.

In our new age of genteelness, it is a kindergarten world. The Chicago Way is go along to get along. Play well with others. If you play nice, you might get a dog biscuit. If you are a bad little puppy, you get slapped around like a hockey puck.

Demanding change from elected officials is futile. If the friendly news media turns on them, they may- may, being the operative word- change their stripes. Do not count on those oh-so-appropriate news media purple dinosaurs to do anything. They are all, “I love you. You love me….”

During the pandemic, most people had to take a haircut. People have been unemployed for over a year and a half. The alderpersons got paid whether they showed up or not. While citizens suffer, they keep feeding at the trough.

It is a pity we just sigh and put up with this municipal malfeasance. There is no we the people in Chicago. The people merely provide the slop.

Lest I forget, this is what we are paying for.

His name is Mychal Moultry Jr.

Published by pvbella on September 6, 2021

His name is Mychal Moultry Jr. He was four years old. He was murdered.

Friday night, he was sleeping in his bed when bullets fired from the street came through a window, one entering his head. He was taken to the hospital, where he was placed on life support. He died Sunday. Another child victim of the 2021 Summer Olympics of Violence.

How many infants, toddlers, children, teens, adults, and elderly must die before this callous pitiless city says enough is enough? By Tuesday, Mychal Moultry Jr. will be just another dry statistic. Only his family will remember, grieve and mourn.

On Tuesday, Superintendent David Brown will hold a presser with friendly reporters. He will develop another failing plan, retooling, or whatever new word he comes up with. All he does is come up short.

The friendly news media will ask Mayor Lori Lightfoot softball questions about the weekend violence. By Tuesday evening, poof, the violent weekend will be forgotten, vanished, gone. The news media can go back to providing clickbait. The editorial boards will write their flakey, puff pastry editorials about nothing burgers.

Why are we wasting tax dollars on the mayor’s security detail when she has the best bodyguards in the city, the Chicago news media? They have her six, twelve, three, and nine.

There was a time in this city when the editorial boards and columnists would write scathing pieces about this level of violence. They were fearless and relentless. That time is long past. Outrage is passe. Relentless and fearless are antediluvian as the dodo bird. They must play nice so that they can get a cookie.

Where are all those publicity-seeking, fundraising activists and tens or hundreds of thousands of their zombie allies? Don’t children’s lives matter? There should have been a daily peaceful mass protests after the 4^th of July weekend of violence.

Where are you, the citizens, paying the price of this violence in tax dollars and bloodshed? Where is your outrage at this vast municipal failure?

Who is in charge of this city? My money is on the criminals. They are winning.

The only people speaking for the dead are the street cops and detectives. Their leader is out to lunch. The mayor is too busy trying to prove she is right all the time. State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and the elected and appointed judges are doing what the Machine boss Toni Preckwinkle wants them to do, nothing. The alderpersons? Fuhgeddaboudit.

Over every ten minutes, a victim is shot and killed in Chicago. Almost every two minutes, a victim is shot and wounded. (HeyJackass) People are being robbed, carjacked, beaten, and violated regularly. It is getting worse every day. There is no safe.

There is no justice in Chicago. Lady Justice took a look around this junkyard, packed her bags, and sped out of Dodge. The door was not fast enough to hit her in the arse on the way out.

Our elected officials are epically failing us. The silence of the public and the news media is deafening.

Let Streets and San miss a garbage pick up, and the citizens will be up in arms. Potholes get more media attention than murders. Streetlights out? 311 and 911 get lit up with calls. After the first snowfall, dibs will be front-page news with photos, along with comedic columns for and against it. Children get murdered, meh.

Politicians constantly flap their soup coolers about Chicago values. Chicago has no values. Chicago is a cold, pitiless, heartless, amoral city. Chicago makes Sodom and Gomorrah look like paradise.

His name is Mychal Moultry Jr. He was four years old. He was murdered. No one cares. No one will remember his name. No one will speak for him. His life didn’t matter.

No more 3 AM Polish for you

Published by pvbella on September 5, 2021

The legend of “Jim’s Original” started over 80 years ago, when a young, bright-eyed European immigrant named “Jimmy” arrived in America. Once in Chicago, Jimmy began working at a small hot dog stand on the bustling corners of Maxwell and Halsted Streets. Jimmy worked hard, bought the stand from his aunt, and then made it literally “World Famous. (Jim’s Original)

Jim’s Original is a legendary Chicago food institution. From its original corner stand at Maxwell and Halsted Streets to its new location on Union. Jim created the famous Maxwell Street Polish sausage piled with grilled onions. The whole area smelled like onions from that corner stand. The Halsted Street buses smelled of onions. They also sold their famous pork chop sandwich, and hot dogs, with or without the onions.

Jim’s Original Polish Sausage/Image: Jim’s Original

In the 1950s, Jim’s Original opened twenty-four hours a day. It was a bigger success. Night or early morning is when you wanted to eat at Jim’s. People from all corners of the city and suburbs stopped by Jim’s Original during the wee hours. There were well-dressed people, some in tuxes, down to the typical late-night crowd. There were high-end vehicles, limos, and clunkers. Occasionally a bride and groom would show up with the wedding party.

Cops, cab drivers, newspaper delivery drivers, other overnight night workers, and people of every race and ethnicity ate there through the early morning hours. It is said the two busiest days at the Maxwell location were Mother’s Day and Easter. Just about every night was a show. You never knew who or what you would see to be surprised by.

Jim’s Original was not only known for the quality of their food. They were fast food done right. No matter how long the line, you never waited long for your sandwich. The best time to eat at Jim’s was early morning, on your way home from carousing. There was always a cast of somewhat sober to not too sober people lining up for a Polish or pork chop sandwich with those famous grilled onions.

You ate off the hood or trunk of your car, weather permitting. If the weather was inclement, you ate in your car or took your food home. It took days to get the smell of onions out of your vehicle.

On weekends, when the Maxwell Street Market populated the surrounding vacant lots, there was a cacophony of hawkers selling wares, blues singers, other performers, and car horns blaring to get through the traffic. There was always a line at Jim’s Original.

There are stories about the original stand at Maxwell. One is about a newly minted police sergeant who noticed the stand was too close to a fire hydrant. He wrote a citation. Before the court date, the city moved the hydrant.

A friend of mine’s brother-in-law was the owner’s accountant. Jim used to buy his Polish sausages from Slotkowski until they went out of business. He would get the delivery, then drive to Slotkowski’s to pay in cash. He did not want to owe Slotkowski money. He and the owner were good friends.

The Maxwell Street neighborhood was sketchy, yet there was very little crime around that stand. When UIC bought the neighborhood to expand the university and build housing developments, they turned the area into a f**king suburb.

Jim’s was relocated to Union Street, just south of Roosevelt Road. Their fans followed. As of Friday, they will not be open twenty-four hours. UIC is their landlord and demanded they curtail their hours. Now, they will be open from 6 AM to 1 AM. Those fuzzy-headed academics claimed the change was necessary due to rising crime in the area. Most likely, Jim’s Original did not fit in with the suburban feel they want to maintain. Can’t have people from all races mingling in the wee hours so close to half-million-dollar or more suburban-style homes, now, can we?

Another legendary food era is over. Thank you, UIC, for your asinine suburban attitude. By the way, when are you going to put a golf course in the area to finalize the suburbanization of your folly?

Deputized stool pigeons

Published by pvbella on September 4, 2021

As Chief Justice John Roberts noted in his dissent to the court’s 5-4 decision to allow the law to go into effect, at least for now: Texas “essentially delegated enforcement of that prohibition to the populace at large. The desired consequence appears to be to insulate the State from responsibility for implementing and enforcing the regulatory regime. The State defendants argue that they cannot be restrained from enforcing their rules because they do not enforce them in the first place.” (Chicago Tribune).

If you thought the unthinkable could not happen, leave it to the bubbas and bubbettes of Bubbaland. “The Great State of Texas” is now the laughingstock of the nation. They passed a piece of legislation that is the biggest legal joke in the country.

Those wily s**t kicking Texans passed a law the state will not enforce. They will let vigilante mercenary citizens enforce the law. After six weeks of pregnancy, the law allows people to sue anyone they believe participated in an abortion- even the cab driver who took the patient to the clinic. They legislated deputizing mercenary stool pigeons and bounty hunters. If they win, the participant pays up to a $10,000 fine, and the money goes to the stool pigeon.

Like their avian pigeon brethren, stool pigeons leave s**t all over the place. There is another name for stool pigeons, rats.

Instead of making abortion a crime, they made it a tort. Anyone with no standing can sue people for something that harms their fragile beliefs. Soon stool pigeon and rat posses will be ridin out all over the state to claim their reeward. Oh, people will get a fair trial. First, they’re gonna try ya. Then they’re gonna fine ya, turning it over to the stool pigeons and rats—Yippie aye yay cow pattie.

Supposedly Texas is citing “medical science” about fetal heartbeats. It must be from the same textbook of animal husbandry they rely on to curb the spread of pandemics and prescribes livestock dewormers for preventing and curing COVID.

No matter your belief in abortion, this is laughable and dangerous. Both the extremist progressive and far-right groups are looking at this law with glee. They are trying to figure out how to get similar stool pigeon/rat legislation passed to turn us into a divided nation of snitchers while punishing bitchers, comedians, satirists, artists, humorists, opinion writers, or people who disagree with the regime.

They will not only enact wokism, cancel culture, and offending fragile beliefs, but will reward it. This is something where opposing extremist sides can work in bipartisanship since both are equally dangerous.

Those good ole freedumb lovin Texans established the first plank of dictatorship. Gotta tip yer dusty Stetson and kick up yer s**t kickers to em. Hoist a Lone Star and give em a mighty round of applause.

Justice Roberts used a clever word to describe Texas, “regime.” Regimes used and still use laws like this to punish, reeducate or execute those who disagreed with or make fun of their dear leaders. The Russian, Nazi, and Chinese regimes had stool pigeon legislation. North Korea and other brutal regimes have similar laws. Bitchers are turned in by snitchers.

This legal thinking can go down to the local level. Your neighbor sees the mayor’s picture on your dartboard. Boom, they get a reward, and you will be hauled off to indoctrination jail. Your child hears you say disparaging things about the governor and tells their teacher. A posse hired by the teacher’s union will take you away. Do you have an alderman’s picture on your toilet paper? Streets and San will haul you away on garbage pick-up day. They will collect a reward.

There is a reason the social justice warriors want jail populations reduced. They make room for the victims of stool pigeons and rats to be reeducated or punished for their harmful beliefs.

Never think that politicians care about your freedom or the Constitution. They have been trying to “fix” that document since its inception. Texas is just the beginning. As long as this law stands, what stops other states, cities, or the federal government from implementing stool pigeon/rat legislation, creating a new torts class, and “deputized” vigilantes?

If you think this Texas law is just about abortion, you are thinking wrong. There are all kinds of issues that cannot be outlawed. Yet, like in Texas, they can turn the issues into torts. You can be sued by people who suffer no harm, except to their fragility, and they will be rewarded by the fine. Snowflakes and cupcakes from the far right to the far left will be roving the nation looking for offense.

The City of Chicago is always looking for ways to rob the citizens through fines. It is a good bet the mayor and city council are looking at this cash cow. They will be scheming to figure out a way to keep part of the reward money for themselves. That’s the Chicago Way.

Chicago is a long dark dangerous alley

Published by pvbella on September 3, 2021

Rush Steet alley at night Image: PV Bella

Would you walk or drive down a dark Chicago alley? Chicago is turning into a proverbial dark alley. The well-lit streets are as dangerous and fearsome as nighttime alleys.

“We deeply understand how important it is for our residents to feel safe within our neighborhoods across the city,” said Brown said in a statement. “We are retooling our crime-fighting strategies to stop the spike in crimes that we are seeing so we can bring a greater sense of safety to our communities.” (Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown/WGN)

Retooling? is that the new word for another plan? When all else fails, change the vocabulary. He had plans. Now, he is retooling. His retooling will fail too. Brown does not get it. The violence in Chicago is wanton and has nothing to do with the supposed root causes of crime or gangs, guns, and drugs. The violence is caused by people just because they can do it. There is a sub-culture of violence all across the city. Blacks, Hispanics, and Whites are fueling violent crimes, depending on the neighborhood.

This cultural violence cannot be curbed. The people committing violent crimes believe this is what they should be doing. They are like the Taliban. Instead of violence on behalf of Allah, these terrorists are committing violence on behalf of themselves. They know there will be few if any, repercussions.

We are heading into a three-day, four-night holiday weekend. If the 4th of July was an indication, this will be another bloody, violent, and deadly weekend in Chicago. Some are projecting that by year’s end, over 1000 people will be killed by gunfire.

I talk to many people. They all say they used to feel safe in the city. They no longer feel safe. They lost confidence in the police department to keep them safe. Many blame Mayor Lightfoot, Brown, Kim Foxx, Toni Preckwinkle, and the court system. Their blame is well-founded.

The street cops are confused, overworked, understaffed, and distraught. They no longer know what is allowed, and they will not risk their jobs or lives because of the confusion. They do not trust that the Chicago Office of Police Accountability performs fair, balanced, accurate, and legal investigations. They do not trust that Brown has their best interests in mind. He is an outsider mercenary.

Some of the alderpersons are fed up. They see what is happening in their wards, yet, the mayor controls the police. They have no power. Since the City Council is fractured into various caucuses, there is no large block of alderpersons to demand the mayor hold Brown accountable or send him back to Texas.

The question is, when will enough be enough for the citizens? When will we demand better from the mayor and Superintendent of Police? She is accountable, and there is no accountability. There is no transparency. There is only talk, and talk is cheap.

The criminal element has no fear. They are taking every opportunity to prove who has the power in Chicago. They do. They are wielding their power and exploiting the leadership vacuum. Vacuums create chaos. Chicago is a city in chaos. Havoc rules.

We deserve better. We need to demand better. The reformers, activists, and news media lied to us. They claimed criminal justice reforms would not impact public safety, even though they knew better. Instead of public safety, we have criminal safety. The criminals are safe from arrest, prosecution, and punishment. The citizens are not safe from murder, mayhem, or violent death.

This violence is a pandemic, now worse than COVID-19. Masks, social distancing, and lockdowns will not curb it. There is no vaccination. If anything is taking away our freedoms, it is the criminal element in this city. They rule with impunity. We live in fear, and if you do not, there is something wrong with you. Anyone, no matter where they live, can be a violent crime victim in Chicago.

Chicago is nothing more than one long dark dangerous alley, too dangerous to walk or drive down.

The Age of Ignorance and Pumpkin Spice

Published by pvbella on September 2, 2021

By Stephen Witherden – Pumpkin Pie Spice, CC BY 2.0,

From the time I was a small boy until my early teen years, my sainted mother always told me to never talk to strangers. It was the only good advice I remember her giving. It is the reason I am anti-social. The Chicago Police Department paid me to talk to strangers, even stranger danger. My attitude is, if a stranger wants to talk to me, they can pay me, buy me a drink, or a meal.

Like most sane, intelligent people (Cough, cough), I spent a lot of time alone during the COVID pandemic. Most of the time, I did not feel lonely. I stayed in my own bubble, fishbowl, or whatever you want to call it when I ventured out. I was happy in my cantankerous solitude.

During the lockdown, I took daily long walks, weather permitting. During the coldest winter days, I spent way too much time on the Internet or streaming videos. If it wasn’t for my phone, I would have been an ideal hermit. I could have emerged as a wandering shouting preacher of the coming rapture. Just look what is going around in this nation of dips**ts.

When things loosened up, everyone wanted to be a social butterfly. People wanted to chat about everything. What’s your name, what do you do, where do you live, are you married. single, divorced, gay, why are you here every day, on and on with questions. It is like the pandemic bred and trained a host of FBI interrogators. I started asking people for their credentials and if they were wearing a wire.

I had a lot of time to think, which in my case, is a dangerous proposition. Most of the news was terrible. I followed the Greatest Show on Earth, the circus in Washington. I kept a close eye on the comedy show in Chicago and Springfield. I concluded that politics is a s**t show, and the politicians are full of it. From the White House to the outhouse, it is all cazzate*.

Spending time on the Internet, I realized, social media is inhabited by angry, angsty teenagers from all age groups. Some middle-aged and older people make teenagers look happy. I found out a good portion of my city and the nation is inhabited and run by some of the dumbest best-educated people in the world.

From the anti-maskers, anti-vaxxers, anti-child vaxxers to those promoting a livestock dewormer to cure and prevent COVID. They will not get vaccinated to prevent the disease, but they will take Ivermectin to prevent COVID. It is Logic -100.

Since Fall is upon us, if I were a social media influencer, I would be a full-blown anti-vaxxer. I would promote pumpkin spice as a preventative and cure for COVID. People would be lining up to gulp, snort, or inject that crap. Ivy League-educated politicians from Bubbaland would be mandating it.

Pumpkin spice is readily available and does nothing to take away freedumb. The more the FDA or CDC condemned pumpkin spice, the more people would want it. They would trade everything, including sex, to get it. The drug cartels would start making and exporting it.

People ask me why I am so angry. I am not mad. Anger implies I have the power or control to change things. If I did, we would live in a fairytale world where unicorns run free, and there would be pumpkin spice for everyone.

I am more disappointed than angry. The only people who are trying to make a difference in this country do so in relative anonymity. They do what is morally required, feed and clothe the poor, take care of children, give hope to the hopeless, and love to the unloved. Politicians are useless. They are all talk and no action. They tout values and morals they do not have or believe in.

I have voted in elections for fifty years. From the local level to the federal level, every politician promised to change things to make our lives better. They changed nothing, did nothing, and continue to do nothing. There is no such thing as a good politician.

Now, if you will excuse me, I need to get to the stores and on the Internet to stock up and horde pumpkin spice. It will be my road to massive wealth. Pumpkin spice will rival cryptocurrency, and I want to be in on the basement floor.

*Bulls**t in Italian

Time Flies

Published by pvbella on August 31, 2021

And just like that, summer is almost over. In a few weeks, autumn will be upon us. This summer blew by like a derecho. I remember the first day of summer like it was yesterday. Labor Day, the harbinger of Autumn, is right around the corner.

Speaking of Labor Day. It is a day we usually recognize Organized Labor. This year we should expand the celebration to honor all the essential workers who risked their health to keep the rest of us going during the COVID pandemic. Medical professionals and personnel should be singled out for special praise for their heroic round-the-clock labors.

School started Monday. Parents are relieved their children will be out of the house yet concerned that schools may cause further spread of COVID. Their fears are not unfounded since CPS and CTU complicated the return with their petty bickering. No one knows how safe the precautions are.

Football season is nigh, though the Bears are not near and dear to my heart due to the terrible management by the bumbling McCaskey Family. Baseball season will continue until the boys of summer become the boys of fall. The Cubs are being flushed down the toilet. Sunday’s 13-1 loss to the Sox was an embarrassment. The Sox are going into the post-season. Maybe Chicago will see another World Series.

Fall is the time of year when the multi-ingredient coffee aficionados start adding f**cking pumpkin spice to their concoctions. Pumpkin spice will be everywhere and in everything. The stuff is fake, synthetic. It was developed in a lab, not a kitchen. It tastes horrible, but stupid lemmings have no taste. If someone told them they could get high on pumpkin spice, they would snort or shoot it. Someone in Bubbaland will promote pumpkin spice to prevent or cure COVTD. At least it is safer than horse dewormer.

The willingly unvaccinated in Chicago are helping drive up the COVID numbers. Mask wearing, social distancing, and stay the f**k away from me are my mantras again. It could be a long fall and winter if the cases keep rising.

Luckily our elected officials and most of the citizens in Chicago are not freedumb lovers. We do not see the dramatic rise in numbers like parts of Illinois, the South, and Southwest portions of the country.

Handling COVID is the only positive thing Chicago politicians and bureaucrats did during this summer of violence, incompetence, stumbling, and bumbling. The mayor is out of touch, the city council is useless, and parts of the city are turning into third-world type war zones, especially at night.

The leaves will start changing colors, then dropping off. The weather will cool down, and when all is baren, we will prepare for winter. COVID is not going away, and with the fall comes flu season. It is a pity our politicians and public health officials must beg people to get vaccinated. Maybe they could promise people a pumpkin spice non-dairy soy vegan mocha decaf latte made with socially conscious sustainable beans if they get jabbed.

Yeah, winter is coming too. I m hoping the days and weeks slow down. Summer blew by way too fast. I want to enjoy a long mild fall before the blast of winter drives us indoors.

The last man out

Published by pvbella on August 31, 2021

Major General Chris Donahue was the last soldier to leave Afghanistan after two decades of war. He is not standing at the head or the end of a line of troops. He is not off to the side, watching his troops board the plane. He is alone.

Whether the photo was staged or not, it is powerful. It is a visual remembrance of the end of two decades of war.

There are iconic photographs of war. The naked Vietnamese girl running after a napalm attack or the helicopter atop the US Embassy in Viet Nam. There were powerful photographs from Korea and World War II showing the brutal ugliness of war and the camaraderie of the troops.

US Army Master Sergeant Max Beilke (Ret’d) was photographed and recorded as the last combat soldier to leave Viet Nam. He was killed on 911 at the Pentagon when one of the hijacked planes crashed into the building. Beilke was a civilian working on veteran affairs. The last man out of Viet Nam was one of the casualties that led to the War on Terror in Afghanistan.

Before photography, artists traveled with the troops, drawing and later creating paintings of battles and military life. During WWII, artists were deployed to record daily life on the ground, along with photographers and film artists.

The visual art of American warfare spans almost three centuries. Some of the art reminds us of the ugly brutality of combat. Art may be well crafted but is not always beautiful. War may be honorable and glorious, but there is no beauty.

Written history will determine if the war in Afghanistan was worth the blood, death, treasure, and anguish. The visual images show us the truth. There are probably millions of still and video images from the media, assigned military photographers or videographers, and the troops. There are probably drawings or paintings.

There is no record of the first combat soldier to step into Afghanistan. There is only the last, walking alone onto a plane. A soldier geared for combat, like the first soldier to step foot in that sandbox.

This is no way to run a city

Published by pvbella on August 30, 2021

“We are saddened and extremely frustrated by this situation, and we express our sincerest apologies to the impacted families for the inconvenience this has caused — especially with such short notice,” CPS said in a statement.” (Chicago Tribune)

A school bus shortage will leave approximately 2100 students in Chicago without rides to their schools. According to the Chicago Tribune, 90 bus drivers resigned last week. Parents are scrambling to figure out how to get their children to school. CPS is offering a $1000 stipend for the first two weeks and $500 a month until the issue is resolved. Oh, and they are saddened? How nice.

How did CPS not see this coming? CPS is another train wreck in this city. They spent time arguing with the teacher’s union over opening schools, ignoring other important issues, like bus drivers. One could wonder who is in charge at CPS? Someone needs to get fired over the lack of bus drivers. This is a national issue and was reported in national news media. How did no one see this as a potential problem and plan for it?

There is a sexual misconduct scandal at the Chicago Park District and a second scandal over the firing of the investigator. It appears no one really cares about it except the victims and some in the news media. #MeToo, anyone?

COVID cases are rising again. Mayor Lori Lightfoot wants to make vaccinations a condition of employment but will not state the consequences for those who refuse to get them. The employee unions are frustrated and confused. Oh, and some of her staff is not vaccinated. Rank has its privileges.

People are getting bills for the 6mph speed cameras, and there is only a short window to pay before the fine doubles or triples. No one believes this is about traffic safety. It is a cash grab, more like highway robbery, just like the parking boxes.

Crime is out of control all over the city. Every plan is failing. Even the so-called “quiet” neighborhoods are plagued by violence. Nowhere is safe. People are getting fed up. Superintendent David Brown was supposed to hold a press conference this morning. Crickets.

The City Council is a fractured warring group of mobs, politely called caucuses, who are better at fighting each other and the mayor than doing their six-figure part-time jobs. They are getting worse than the warring do-nothing United States Congress.

Some in the business community are fed up too. There are daylight street robberies in the Loop along with other crimes. Michigan Avenue is experiencing a spate of major thefts in broad daylight. River North is up for grabs. Businesses will suffer if people do not feel safe coming downtown or other nearby areas, especially at night.

Big business is also looking at these conditions. Some are returning people to the workplace. They are questioning if the city can keep their employees safe. It is a double whammy, COVID, and physical safety.

The problems keep adding up and no one has solutions. We get no answers from the people in charge. It appears the people responsible are either inept or do not care. Citizens are questioning who is in charge of Chicago.

Lightfoot lost the Police Department, many if not most of the teachers, and other city employees who provide services. She has few people to turn to and whatever advice she is getting is bad. She is marching down the road of righteousness. She is right and everyone else is wrong.

The past year and a half have been one thing after another. When the mayor gets called out, she plays the race card or some other card and walks away. Many in the news media no longer trust her or her spokespeople. Why would they?

This is no way to run a city. Lightfoot’s popularity is plunging. People are fed up. As bad as some of the past mayors were, they had a handle on things. Very little got past them. When serious issues or scandals arose, heads rolled. There were no sacred cows.

Lightfoot is short on goodwill and long on flimsy excuses. It can’t last. Chicago is being run into the ground. Many of the alderpersons do not care, just look at the conditions in their wards.

The 150^th Anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire is around the corner. Chicago has another historic smoldering fire, and its epicenter is the fifth floor of City Hall.

Peter V. Bella Posts