The Blog

Aftab is just bitter. He is a misogynist and a liar, so I guess he's supporting a team he's comfortable with. I'm glad that I didn't vote for him. At least Brewer walked away with his dignity...

'Belly up to the bar, boys, the drinks are on me!!' Public records are PUBLIC. Candidates asking citizens to elect them to public office should have NO PROBLEM with those citizens knowing everything possible about them, BEFORE deciding who to cast their votes for. What's the problem, Salman, did Naisy refuse to kiss your ass? Or is it just because she's a she? == "I have never accused alderman Stone directly—I have never said he was corrupt personally," Aftab said. "I said he was part of a corrupt system, and I still say he is. But he's said he'll work very hard on that." == I'm sure Bernie WILL be "working very hard on that", THAT being to CONTINUE his participation as an ACTIVE part of a corrupt system. Change has to begin somewhere and sometime. What better time and place then here and now?

Salman Aftab ran a good issues oriented campaign. He talked about lowering taxes, oppossing TIFS, term limits, school choice, and zoning issues. Salman lost. It is terrible that you talk about people being misogynistic and liars. Most of Salman's volunteers were women. Salman is very close to his daughter who he constantly stresses education. To throw around such a term without justification is immoral. The Salaman Aftab comment about hos was a joke of Arenda Troutman. Bernie Stone is part of a corrupt system, but he is still the alderman and he is still the better candidate.

Sal was a soothsayer about more indictments and problems. Sal was the only candidate to even remotely criticize Daley or the system.

Talk about rapid response. . .LOL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rr83oIeBezw

I couldn't believe that Stone would boast about an endorsement from a violent guy until I looked this up on Google: From a Sun-Times article (http://www.suntimes.com/news/elections/269800,CST-NWS-ward23.article): The Chicago Sun-Times found that Aftab has a history of five arrests -- but no convictions. Four are misdemeanor charges arising from alleged arguments -- two in restaurants, one over a cab fare and the other over a parking space -- between 1996 and 2002. The most serious was a murder charge in the 1992 stabbing of Paul Warda during a fight between cabdrivers at a Near North Side restaurant." **************************** About one of his arrests: http://www.thenation.com/docprem.mhtml?i=20010521&s=cockburn

The link that wouldn't work in my comment above: http://www.suntimes.com/news/elections/269800,CST-NWS-ward23.article

I could. And do. Bernie's gonna do whatever it takes to get re-elected. WHATEVER IT TAKES. He knows he's an important cog in the machine. Important not only because he's been a long-term 'player', but also because the machine can't afford to lose too many cogs at one time. Stone will pull out all the stops this time. He'll be cutting deals, playing the race, ethnic and religious cards for all their worth. Will he be successful in once more conning enough voters to buy into his bullshit? We'll know in a few weeks. I, for one, hope not.

So why is he now sucking up to Daley and the system? Why is he now saying that 'his supporters' want to keep Stone as alderman, when BEFORE the election he said: "Bernie Stone, I think he has been in for long enough," said Aftab, 46, owner of an information technology company. "He considers himself king of the 50th Ward." Was Salman saying what he believed THEN, or NOW? Or has he been 'pressured', or 'enticed', in any way, by anyone, to try and get those who voted for him to now vote for Stone? Or is it as simple as was stated before, that he doesn't want a woman elected? It seems to me strange, that a candidate who ran for office, claiming he wanted to sincerely seek to diminish the corruption in city government, would now be approving and supportive of that corruption. Make no mistake about it, if Stone keeps his position, NOTHING will change, the corruption will continue and all the residents of our ward will have to deal with the same old crap for FOUR MORE YEARS. No matter what else is said about Salman's decision to support Stone's re-election, the plain truth is that his doing so is a betrayal of all the things he said he stood for, a mere few weeks ago. I'm glad I didn't vote for him then, and I won't be voting for Stone now. As to Anup's comments: "Salman Aftab ran a good issues oriented campaign. He talked about lowering taxes, oppossing TIFS, term limits, school choice, and zoning issues." and "Bernie Stone is part of a corrupt system, but he is still the alderman and he is still the better candidate." HOW IN HELL can someone who is part of a corrupt system be the BETTER candidate? Oh yeah, maybe IN HELL that is true. But I don't believe any of us is in hell YET! Tho sometimes it feels a bit that way. Especially living under the thumb of political corruption. Corruption that Aftab SAID he was AGAINST, but now says he is FOR. No matter how much you like Salman as a person, his decision to ask his supporters to vote for Stone is the truly immoral one.

Bernie Stone may be part of a system that is imperfect or even corrupt. But so is Naisy Dolar. She worked for the City. She is getting support from Dick Mell. She asked Dominic Longo and the Coalition for Better Government for Support. She was close to disbarred and convicted felon and rat Mary Jo Falcon. Naisy Dolar worked with a patronage Daley centered organization, she is not new different or reform. Naisy Dolar called Salman Aftab and wanted his support many times including the day before the press conference with Bernie. When she did not get his support, her supporters now defame Aftab with lies, half truths, and distortions of the record. They call him a woman hater (with no evidence or examples--a vile lie and defamation). They bring up his arrest record but fail to note he was NEVER convicted and has NO convictions. This is still a country of innocent until proven guilty, and beyond that he was proven guilty. Salman Aftab might of endorsed Naisy Dolar, as she requested, but after her husband followed him, intimidated reporters (her husband is a cop, sort of like Abaate), and researched his record using LEADS (illegal, federal crime), and she (Naisy) bad mouthed Salman to reporters, now she wants his support LOL Naisy was a sneaky, lying, gossipy candidate with a thug, stalking, cop husband. She tried to leak innuendo to the media and make arrests look like convictions and draw conclusions that are not true. Naisy should of played nice and she might of got support. Naisy is corrupt. So is Bernie. Salman and his supporter still have to live in the ward and help. So Bernie is the better of the two. Now, what don't you understand about that?

Before Salman claimed he was "Unbossed and Unbought." Now he's bossed and bought by Stone! Does Salman even know who voted for him? How many votes can he deliver for Stone? Way to stab them up the butt, Salman!

How WACKY is Stone's political betrothal to Aftab?! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rr83oIeBezw A marriage of corruptions. How perfectly endearing and beneficial this is to our neighborhood and city. Yah, just what we need more of...

Dolar plays the ASIAN RACE CARD,but when confronted on it claims her opposition are playing it.STONE has gone out of his way to NOT accuse her or her campaign of involvement in the ANTI-SEMITIC attack on his office,however, a SUPPORTER of hers certainly wrote the TAGALOG portions of the attack- Dolar runs an ASIAN ORIENTED campaign ,but like the police inspector in "Casablanca" is SHOCKED when it is IDENTIFIED for what it is!

Is Dolar going to apologize for asking Aftab to endorse her including as of 2 days ago? The choice is between Stone and Dolar. Both are Mayor Daley operatives. Both are part of a corrupt system. Stone has been more gracious and classy. Stone is going to win. The Realpolitik is that the supporters of Salman Aftab need real services that there is nothing wrong with. Stone will not want to decrease pay, or have term limits but he will be accessible about garbage cans, tree trimmings, police calls and will not spread lies about Aftab while asking for support. This is not a bethrothal just political support.

WOW-The CRETIN driven ANTI-STONE CAMPAIGN is reaching new lows.The SHOCKING TRUTH this campaign has revealed is there are some truly horrible people,both inside and outside the 50th ward, who will do and say any lie or slur to attack Stone, and then make FALSE ACCUSATIONS that it is they who are the victims!The 50th Ward,until the HATE-DRIVEN tactics of the ANTI-STONE CABAL was a community that was UNIFIED,a living example of AMERICA AT OUR BEST

Hey "STONE HATERS OVER THE TOP" It appears the only words of hatred against Stone in this post come from Berny's new friend Aftab. LOL So before you go ahead and criticize Dolar, you may want to look at Berny's new ally.

so,why was the Asian-American Congressman from California here for Dolar,mixing into another STATE, and into a LOCAL ELECTION,in ANOTHER CONGRESSMAN"S DISTRICT,if not for the RACIAL THEME OF DOLAR"S CAMPAIGN?

Stone himself has questioned if Aftab actually lives in the 50th ward (see pre-election episode of Northtown News on CAN-TV). Can someone from the Stone / Aftab camp verify that Aftab has lived in in the ward for more than the year leading up to the election and where his wife and daughter live? While talking with business owners on Devon prior to the election they indicated that they feared intimidation from Aftab in the same way they fear it from the Stone goons. This combined with Aftab's complete change of face shows they are cut from the same corrupt cloth, and both should be sent packing.

RE: Kumar Katyal Association, betrothal, alliance, etc - they mean the same thing in this context. And um, hellooooooo, don't you remember that Aftab was a staunch opponent of Stone? He criticized the alderman for how he ran the 50th Ward, opposition of big box and the aldermanic pay raises. With his campaign pretty much anti-Stone, how could you not resist calling Aftab a liar when he's now sleeping with his enemy! Dolar asked Aftab for his support in an effort to have a united front in improving the neighborhood after many years of ineffective leadership. Why should she apologize for extending a hand and saying, Hey, let's do this together and improve things? And Stone classy? Please. His tactics haven't been very classy at all...

the SO-CALLED Liberal/progressives are not Liberal and the only thing they are Progressive about is that they KEEP SINKING to NEW LOWS in LIES,SMEARS,AND RACIAL CAMPAIGNING against ALD.STONE.WHAT A BUNCH OF HYPOCRITS!!!

the CA.Congressman's INVASION of the 50TH WARD race is an INSULT to ALL CHICAGOANS-HOW Would he or his constituency feel if OUT-OF STATERS came to his CALIFORNIA CONG.District to work for HIS DEFEAT?!!! Also,HOW DO HIS CONTRIBUTORS FEEL about his re-directing their $ to CHICAGO's50 TH WARD RACE-Coming from a CONGRESSIONAL and DNC official makes his RACE-MOTIVATED activities HERE especially APPALLING!!!

Well, at least no one can say that the voters of this ward are not participating in the political process......

NOW "I have never accused alderman Stone directly—I have never said he was corrupt personally," Aftab said. THEN Aftab: With all due respect to Alderman Stone, because he is not only an honorable alderman, but he is older than my father, whatever I will say, I can prove. I can bring the proofs. ... I have proof that - and I am not just accusing, I can prove - that Mr. Stone is taking cashier checks, cashier checks from the businesses. No checks, no personal checks, no business checks, no cash, you know, no cash money: cashier checks. Tribune: For what purpose? Aftab: For all these restaurant owners, and all these developers, and I can bring the proof to the Chicago Tribune. Tribune: Right, so your saying that he's taking pay-offs? Aftab: I don't know if it's a pay-off or what, but I'm saying that he - Stone: You have a duty to report that to the police. Aftab: We WILL report it. We WILL report it. Tribune: Are these campaign contributions? Aftab: It's not - I don't know what is it - but all these businesses - including that person - Tribune (to Stone): Are these campaign contributions? Stone: I don't know what he's talking about, but if he has proof of a crime, he's got a duty to report it to the US Attorney. Aftab: I will bring it those restaurant owners who talked to me about this personally. Tribune: What do they tell you is the purpose for the - Aftab: Because the protection, otherwise if they don't give money, the City kitchen inspectors will visit them every single day. And this is what is going on Devon Avenue. Favoritism, nepotism - Tribune: If you are right, these are cashier checks made out to cash? Aftab: I can further investigate and bring the proof to you. Tribune: That's a pretty serious charge. Aftab: Yes, it is. So, there is no transparency, that is the bottom line. Tribune: You said the alderman is older than your father. Is age an issue in this race? Aftab: It's not an issue. Stone: Yes, it is. Aftab: I think it's not an issue. I have great respect for him. But, you know what? I want him to be liberated from the corruption, and from the - he's a good friend of mine. I have so much respect for him. He is surrounded by desperate groups of developers, and corruption and, you know, all those - Tribune: They're pretty serious allegations. Tribune: You're accusing a friend of taking checks, what do you say about your enemies? Aftab: I'm sorry? Tribune: You said he's your friend, you're accusing him of taking bribes - Aftab: Well, I have respect for him. I have respect for him because of - Stone: You shouldn't have respect for me if you're accusing me of taking money. Aftab: Well, you know, I can provide the proof. I can bring the vendor's name. I can provide some other people. I can give you the names of those restaurants. Chicago Tribune Editorial Board interview http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-aldermanvideo-htmlstory,1,6588643.htmlstory Starting near minute 26

the most obsessed Stone hater Hugh can't hide on this un-censored site .The sheer volume of his Anti-Stone posting ,which is rich in allegations that are untrue,false conclusions, and inuendo explains why he has NO time to maintain his property and be a REAL good neighbor .Hugh,why do you hate Stone to the VISCERAL level your postings REVEAL?

The honest truth about the Aftab endorcement of Stone is that Aftab's supporters (all 6% of them)would have voted for Stone if Aftab was not in the race. Salman Aftab's supporters asked Him to support Bernie Stone. It was not the other way around. Salman Aftab never once said he was going to convince his supporters to vote for Stone. Salman Aftab's supporterd told him to endorce Stone......Salman Aftab was the one that needed to be convinced, not his voters. Simple as that. Had Aftab not been in the race, Bernie Stone would have won the election outright and Naisy Dolar would be sitting at home. If I recall correctly, there was suppose to be a cordial understanding between the challengers not to attack one another. The actions of Naisy Dolars (policeman)husband and her campaign made it easier for Salman to make the endorcement of Alderman Bernie Stone.

for having an uncensored LEVEL playing field.the anti-stone crowd is unable to MODERATE AGAINST the TRUTH-

Stone: You shouldn't have respect for me if you're accusing me of taking money. Even STONE thinks Aftab's support is WEIRD.

Brethren- Let not your hearts be troubled. Don't worry whether Stone or Dolar is elected. Instead be filled with the living Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ! --Messianic Rabbi Wendrow, Dolton, IL

Jack Nelson is Satan and masters in the dark arts of lies and deceit. Look away, my children, from the blackness of his soul and into the goodness of your heart to seek the truth. Dad bless.

Boy, must Bernie be worried!!! The nuclear mud-slinging has already started. All you fight fans, keep an eye on this one!

I agree with the Rabbi, but Jack Nelson is a pedophile. The FBI just busted his apartment and found files and files of child pornography in his computer. Oy!

the STONE HATERS have waged the dirtiest and most vicious campaign in 50th ward history;when CALLED ON IT,they accuse their TARGET of what THEY and THEY ALONE are GUILTY of.also,the RACE-BASED Dolar campaign is in DIRECT CONTRADICTION to what AMERICA stands for-THE MELTING POT

can't wait to help Honda's NEXT OPPONENT RAISE MONEY

So, who's playing the race cards? The religious bigotry cards? And who thinks it's a good idea to keep inserting CAPITOLS throughout their posts, as if those viewing them can't understand which words in a sentence are meant to be emphasized? Bernie's Big Bullies, that's who.

that Progressive paradise aka the 49th ward is what the STONE Bashers want for the 50th.Under Progressive Aldermen,the 49th ward has become an urban CESSPOOL,however ,it is a Nuclear-Free Zone CESSPOOL with wine/brie and sprouts-

it is the Dolar campaign that is race -based-check out everything about it-she proudly embraces RACIAL CAMPAIGNING--her Donor list proves it!

Is the Chicago City Council comprised of a majority of Independent Aldermen/Alderwomen? Will the voters ever elect a city council of Independent aldermen/alderwomen? Independent of the corruption practiced 'daley' at this time? Not if the long-time, machine controled, lackey Incumbents have anything to say about it. They will continue to support and participate in corruption as long as they keep getting re-elected. The only chance any Chicago citizen has of diminishing corruption is by electing challengers, ie. voting out the incumbents, at every opportunity. One-On-One Run-Off elections are that opportunity. Don't let opportunity for change pass you by. Vote Out All Incumbents.

the dolar campaign uses the big-lie technique- they KEEP repeating the SAME LIES, serially ;the 50th ward voters will soundly REJECT such UNSAVORY tactics

yes,the two great liberal/progressive paragons,bill singer and larry bloom (phony independent reformers both) are but two great examples of Progressive hypocrisy

One read of that post reveals it is most likely from HUGH,who hates all incumbents.its easy to get on HUGH'S target list-just win an election and hold office

The Name/Title of the post is: Majority RUINS Maybe a bit too subtle for your pay grade.

in America majority does rule;the liberals don't get it!

only fitting that the racial campaign of dolar 's flop was held at chicago's "Blame America " hq,the 49th wards heartland cafe where America Bashing is served with the sprouts

In a true Democracy, the majority does not rule, it governs, with respect for the minority's concerns. Only in an Autocracy does any one group 'rule' over another. Your perspective would have been welcomed in Hitler's Germany. But you know that, don't you? And you rejoice in playing your small, little part in corrupting true Democracy. It wasn't a spelling mistake, it was right on 'task'. By the way, no one is bashing America. Those who criticize the minority of crooks now ruining our country are not 'bashing', we're merely lifting the rock that the hooligans hide under. I do thank you cretins for keeping your posts short and sour and for being so co-operative in crawling out from under your rocks.

Its amazing how Stone's 2 or 3 supporters (Ilana, Mike Moses and Alan Crown) who post under multiple screen names or anonymous are the ones playing the race/hate card and then blaming Naisy's supporters. I guess since Mike Noonan came in and took over they have nothing else to do with their time but to make wild and irrational accusations on blogs. Naisy has come out as proud of potentially being the 1st Asian American in City Council, why shouldn't she be? On the other hand its Stone supporters who have used it as hate, race based thing. Its Stone supporters who see Mike Honda's work of behalf of Naisy as race based. Again why should he be ashamed to support and promote another Asian American who has the opportunity be the first on Chicago's City Council? The more diverse ANY legislative body (City Council, County Board, State House, Congress) the better it is for ALL OF US! Unfortunately there are no Asian Americans in City Council on the County Board or in the State House. Anyone who accuses Naisy of playing the race card either has an agenda or just does not know what it means for people who have NEVER been represented City Council to have someone who understands their needs. The only hate is coming from Stone's camp. According to them if you are against Stone you are anti-Semitic. Naisy, has done nothing, nothing to promote hate. If you look at Stone's 30 plus year record you will see who the true hateful bigot is. The fact that Naisy is Asian is NOT the reason to vote for her, but it is definately something to be hopeful for because it gives an under represented group a voice it has NEVER EVER HAD! Naisy is running a good inclusive and diverse campaign, welcoming and more importantly respectful of everyone. Stone's supporters, probably not even with his blessing, are the one's peddling hate and the people of the 50th ward know it.

I'm still not sure why everyone is knocking Naisy. This is a political fight and sometimes things get nasty. But Naisy isn't being anymore vicious than Stone's camp. There is nothing that she is doing which is more manipulative, sadistic and nefarious than Stone. Frankly, both of them going at it with one another is not shocking--however what is shocking is that two-bit thug Aftab taking the "Hypocrite of the Year" award for supporting Stone when he incessantly stated he wasn't going to support him. He's so despicable. And let me tell you folks-the only reason why that loser is even backing up Stone is because he wants to retain any political connection he has. He believes that Stone will win, which makes him assume that Stone will provide him with a position in his camp. Aftab never gave a damm about the Ward. He has no political experience. All he cares about is his ugly face being a representative of the 50th--in anyway possible. He will lie, cheat and start crazy drama in order to provide himself with a little spotlight because he's edxtremely insecure of himself. And just for the record Joey, anyone that gets arrested 5 times has problems. I don't care if you're convicted or not. Its the fact that you're somehow constantly involved with trouble. This man is a hot-headed, classless freak that I think should get the acknowledgment of no one. Naisy Dolar has done herself a service for steering clear of him and his platry 5% support.

Ms. Dolar was the only candidate to go on the attack against each of her three opponents. She sent out a mailing attacking Brewer for failing to vote in meaningless municipal contests. She dredged up Aftab's old misdemeanor arrests and started a whispering campaign. She attacked Stone on his age and just about anything else one could imagine. Naisy is a vicious little woman. But now it seems she's beginning to reap the whirlwind she sowed.

My my-Salman Aftab is an angry little monkey isn't he? Gets beaten out by the other Asian in the election and can't bear to support her. As much as he wants to accuse Naisy for playing the Asian card, he knew too well that it was his only chance of getting elected as well. Because of Naisy wasn't in the race, he would have definitely used his Asian status as an asset in the election too. Still, he had no right to run in this election. He's never "officially" done any real work in the community, has no political experience has a temper as hot as fire iron and carries the dubious honor of being the candidate with the biggest arrest record. Its no surprise that he only received 5% of the votes. And trust me--no Muslim living in the 50th voted for him. I guess he got what he deserves. Berbie- do yourself a favor and ignore this bum.

Looks like Faisal has declared jihad.

Burke, you and I both know Naisy NEVER EVER attacked Stone on his age, its always been about his sorry record. Ilana, Alan Crown and Mike Moses keep making stuff up. Naisy has not made Stone's age an issue. You guys keep making up fake issues because you have nothing to go on. You made the accusation about Naisy going after Stone's age, prove it . . .of course you can't. Stone's people keep throwing out unproven, unfounded allegations but they have nothing.

dolar HAS attacked STONE on his age!SO-she and her cohorts ARE REALLY attacking him for being ALIVE,PRODUCTIVE,and IN HER WAY!!

dolar doesn't miss an opportunity to talk of being the "ASIAN" candidate.-you will not have it both ways-her CAMPAIGN DISCLOSURES reveal a primarily ASIAN funded campaign(most from outside the ward and even the state),primarily ASIAN STAFF and WORKERS(also from outside the WARD)AND DIFFERENT FOCUSES TO ASIANS AND TO NON-ASIANS-TO DENY THESE FACTS IS LYING-THESE FACTS ARE JUST THAT-FACTS!!

What is the root of MALIK's personal HATRED of Stone and Stone's people?hhmmm? one can readily see many possibilities

Ha ha, you have failed to give proof that Naisy attacks him on age. Just because you say it doesn't make it so. Also are you saying that she should not be proud of her Asian heritage? If so why? Are you saying that Asian Americans shouldn't be excited about Naisy? if so why? Ilana, Alan or Mike its obvious to everyone who is really running a campaign of hate and it aint Naisy.

Well I'm happy that Asian-Americans are excited about Naisy. But not being Asian-American, what's in it for me? More affirmative action university admissions racial preference for already overrepresented Asians at the expense of qualified whites? Race based preference on city contracts for Asian businessmen who live in Lake Forest? If this isn't part of Naisy's ethnocentric agenda, then why would Asian big money people from outside our ward be given her wads of money to run. Her campaign is being run by a radical pro-illegal alien activist from the IL Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. What's in that for me, other than overcrowded schools for my children to accommodate a flood of illegal aliens and higher property taxes to pay for their medical care at Cook County Hospital? Naisy Dolar is an extreme radical multiculturalist who seems to hate the country and people who took her parents in.

malik keeps his false charges against the Stone campaign coming ,despite obvious proof that Dolar is waging an ASIAN RACE -BASED campaign-malik, you of course DO know that DENIAL IS NOT A RIVER IN EGYPT-her campaign is WHAT IT IS-and YOU ARE PART OF THE DOLAR LIE MACHINE

since HUGH can't be protected by MORRIS/CONCAILDI or JAY'S moderation(CENSORSHIP)HERE,HIS LATEST ANTI-STONE SMEAR on MORRIS'censored phony site must be addressed here.-The neighborhood BLIGHT completely ignores the FACT that MOST OF DOLAR'S FUNDS(see Illinois State Bd. of Elections CAMPAIGN DISCLOSURES)come from out of the ward,out of the city and even OUT OF STATE-primarily from ASIAN SOURCES-this is FACT-EVERYDAY HUGH"S OBSESSIVE HATRED OF STONE TAKES HIM TO NEW LOWS

DOLAR IS A RACIAL RACKETEER (part 2) Just got a mailing outlining how Naisy was going to be a crimefighter. Funny that she didn't say the same thing she said at the Boone forum when she declared that the thing needed most to thwart crime was, "ethnic sensitivity training for police." Huh? Oh, that's right, Naisy makes her living giving racial sensitivity training seminars. In a major conflict of interest, she even set up a headhunting firm specializing in finding minority executives, so she could shake down corporations while on the public dole as Daley's ethnic Asian liaison. In Dolar's radical multiculturalist world, there are no Americans, just a collection of ethnic victims of evil white America which needs to pay for its past sins and listen to lectures from the likes of her as to how "our diversity is our strength." And,of course, pay her for the lecture.

all one has to do to become hugh's target is to win an election-it seems hugh's only ideology is anti-incumbent-thats why he opposes both Stone and Moore

Illegal aliens are just that- illegal. It is the responsibility of the federal branch of our government to deal with this issue, not our city aldermen. As for the funding, I do believe that over 2/3 of Bernard L Stones campaign money came from OUTSIDE of the 50th ward. Why dont you check on it.

DOLAR IS A RACIAL RACKETEER (PART 3) If it is the responsibility of the federal government to stop lawbreakers from entering, then it is surely the responsibility of local police to turn the lawbreakers over to them. But Naisy doesn't think so. She and her radical multiculturalist friends support the Chicago Sanctuary order so that Chicago cops can't ask about someone's immigration status or even co-operate with the feds if they find an illegal. Dolar prefers to let an illegal alien inmate at Cook County jail back out on the streets of Chicago, rather than deport them to their country of origin. Funny, I didn't see Naisy's support for police illegal alien criminal sanctuary measures mentioned in her crimestoppers mailing. That's something a reform minded alderman would address, but not Naisy. She is in the thrall of the illegal alien lobby -- after all,her campaign is being managed by one of the key illegal alien lobbyists.

FYI: EXCEPT for the original natives of this continent, (those commonly referred to as 'Native Americans'), we are ALL alien to this country. EVERY ONE OF US ARE IMMIGRANTS OR THE PROGENY OF IMMIGRANTS. PERIOD. So, for all those who feel that they are somehow entitled to condemn those who immigrate to this country without first seeking permission from those who rule, I suggest they think about what their lives would be like if THEY had to do the types of work that the so-called 'illegal immigrants' do every day. That is, of course, IF those who feel comfortable condemning people have the capacity to think about anything contrary to their prejudices at all. Ironic, isn't it, that those who originally chose to come here to ESCAPE being 'ruled over' have produced progeny that now EMBRACE being the subjects of governmental domination. All the while telling themselves that their government serves their 'best interests'. Were all those presently here to be 'deported' to the countries of the ancestors' origins, how many people would be left? The more things appear to change, the more they stay the same.

The lies and attacks on Salman Aftab are incredible. A couple of items: 1. Naisy Dolar did ask for Salman Aftabs support. She called many times, Salman has the voice mails and phone records. 2. Salman Aftab may or may not have a temper (although nobody said it came out in the campaign)but just because he was arrested does not necessarily mean anything. Sometimes when people are younger, or working in social services in volatile situations, or at the wrong place at the wrong time, or victims of police excess or racial profiling. SALMAN AFTAB HAS NO (NO NO NO) CONVICTIONS. Somebody said that Aftab had more arrests than other candidates LOL --More than Arenda Troutman, or Stone friend Fred Roti, or Ambrosio Medrano, Wallace Davis, Gator Bradley, Dorothy Tillman, Giles, Virgil Jones. These are just stupid comments that make someone guilty on an accussation that has had his day in court. Salman Aftab is a gentleman, generous with a lot of class. He may not be a punk and stands up for himself and his family and his friends--but there was no temper flair up in the campaign, and being tough does not make you a criminal. 3. Salman Aftab ran a great campaign, but did not have enough money, no union support, his cultural base did not have enough registered voters, and he was attacked unfairly mostly by Dolar using the media. He did not run as the Asian candidate but as the 50th ward American candidate. Aftab spoke intelligently on TIFS, taxes, zoning, payraises, education, term limits, school choice, charter schools, special assessments etc. He ran an issues oriented campaign. He had some good volunteers and worked hard. Yes Salman Aftab has an accent. Yes Salman Aftab is a Muslim. Yes Salman Aftab had some arrests that were dropped and went to trial and he NEVER got convicted. 4. The police officer husband of Naisy Dolar followed (stalked-felony) Salman Aftab, threatend his workers, and may have used the LEADS system to look up his record (against Federal law). Naisy Dolar leaked these arrests (some of which were expunged) to the media, even though the challengers were supposed to not go negative on each other, Naisy lied and broker her word and now it is hurting her. She also unneccessarily attacked Gregg Brewer. 5. The attacks on Salman Aftab, AFTER the election, when he is NOT a candidate are racist, mean spirited, and hypocritical, unnecessary, and an example why Naisy is not getting more support. There are claims that Salman hates women (with NO evidence). There are postings on this board from Crusaders, talking about jihad, fatwas, and stabbing people in the rear end--disgusting racist, lies and mean spirited attacks. Naisy Dolar wanted Salman Aftabs support originally but once she didn't get it, she attacks him. Hypocritical Naisy with her lies about focusing on Bernie in the campaign has cost her support. Gregg Brewer just doesn't have the dignity that Salman Aftab has. 6. There are postings about Salman Aftab intimidating people--WHERE? WHEN? HOW? with his ward sup? with his cop wife? Naisy Dolar and Bernie Stone's people maybe. Other posts about how Salman didn't do enough community work. That is why he had the arrest records. He was involved helping kids get out of gangs, fights with cab drivers, different disputes. Salman taught martial arts to troubled teens to give them focus and discipline. Salman has been involved in the Muslim Center for Civil Rights. He is a regular at business meetings, CAIR. In terms of politics, it is impressive that the ONLY Muslim, Indo-Pakistanit-Afghani candidate got support of both Democratic and Republican office holders. Salman Aftab has supported US Senator Barack Obama, Congresswoman Jan Shackowsky, Commissioner Forest Claypool, MWRD Commissioner Frank Avila, among others. He even got the support of Republicans (even though he is a Democrat) Republican State Senator Steve Rauschenberger and Cook County Board President candidate and Commissioner Tony Peraica. Salman Aftab made history. Salman Aftab was an only and a first. He didn't get the votes he wanted, and certainly didn't win. But he was in the game and made a risk. Both canidates asked for his support. One candidate attacked him for the support. The other candidate was classy and gracious.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha! You're not foolin anybody, with your same old grammatical errors and verbage. Too bad you spent so much time typing, trying to justify a negative "support" for Stone.

Mr. Aftab is no longer a contestant in this election for alderman. The only relevant questions the voters of this ward should consider are: What have been their experiences, relative to their city government, during the period of Bernie Stone's holding office? What, if any, experiences have they had with the alderman's office staff and/or the alderman himself? What do they believe might change, for better or for worse, should Naisy Dolar be elected to office? What do they believe might remain the same, for better or for worse, should Bernie Stone remain in office? Ask these questions, determine the answers to same and, then, cast your vote accordingly. It's not rocket science.

Does Salman know that Bernie Stone picked up Mike Noonan as his campaign manager? This is the same Mike Noonan who ran Toddler Strogers campaing. Mike Noonan the partner of Victor Reyes. Mike Noonan who is part of HDO and heroin dealers and gang bangers and hired trucks. Bernie Stone never claimed to be a reformer but being part of of HDO and with Noonan is a new low and completely against any reform principles.

re:Faisal Mumtaz Or I should call you by your real name Mehrdad Azemun from ICIRR . You've posted lies about Salman Aftab from the beginning of this campaign. You Iranian terriost, we have pictures of you celebrating Hezballah's victory over Israel. Should we post them them on the web or give it to Feds??

brewer got only 1900 votes lol and the cretins talked him into spending his own money-Loundy certainly didn't do squat for his CHUMP lmao

is Brewer motivated by a dolar promise to help pay off his debt,if he FOLLOWS THE SCRIPT?

"enough already! March 29th - 7:03 p.m. Mr. Aftab is no longer a contestant in this election for alderman. The only relevant questions the voters of this ward should consider are: What have been their experiences, relative to their city government, during the period of Bernie Stone's holding office? What, if any, experiences have they had with the alderman's office staff and/or the alderman himself? What do they believe might change, for better or for worse, should Naisy Dolar be elected to office? What do they believe might remain the same, for better or for worse, should Bernie Stone remain in office? Ask these questions, determine the answers to same and, then, cast your vote accordingly. It's not rocket science."

My guess is that Brewer (along with the other half of the voters in the ward)is motivated only by a strong desire to get Stone out of office.

DOLAR IS A RACIAL RACKETEER (part 4) The Dolaristas are now inanely arguing that since we are all the products of immigration, the US should have no immigration laws. I guess that means that the whole world, in Dolar's view, is entitled to free education at Phillip Rogers school and free medical care at Cook County hospital. With open borders advocates like historian and her ICIRR managers, how dare Dolar complain about school overcrowding! ICIRR filed an amicus brief in a case before the State Board of Education demanding that local school boards not even be allowed to ask how many illegals they are being forced to educate. When local government try to do something to ward off the effects of the immigration invasion and its costs, Dolar's friends at ICIRR say that it's a national issue. When the Federal government tries to stem the illegal invasion, Dolar's friends at ICIRR say that it's inhumane -- we're all immigrants. If you buy this convoluted logic and want you're kids in increasingly overcrowded schools, you'll just love Srta. Dolar.

So, I guess you'll be showing up at the nearest business that pays minimum wage, or less, to apply for that shitty job that no one BUT the so-called 'illegal' immigrants will take, right? I hear there's a shortage in farm workers, the farmers could really use your help.

Yeah, like those terrible meat packing jobs in Colorado. After the ICE raids, deporting the illegal workers, there were lines around the block of legitimate Americans, sorely needing those jobs. How about the drywall trade -- now dominated by illegals -- blacks used to do that, but they would require a living wage and couldn't be intimidated by threat of deportation. Any wonder why teenagers are having such trouble finding summer work. They used to mow lawns and rake leaves. Mow with unlimited cheap labor, they can't find jobs. Save your silly ICIRR propaganda for people silly enough to believe it. Fact is Dolar has a real problem in that she has surrounded herself with ICIRR extreme open borders advocates and people aren't buying it.

The only problem Dolar has is tolerating idiotic racists, like yourself, crusader for one.

So, the AMERICAN CITIZENS who own and operate the businesses that employ and exploit 'illegal' immigrants are stellar citizens, but the workers themselves are the scum that deprive 'legitimate' Americans of sorely needed jobs? And the builders who sweeten their bottom lines by using the cheapest sub-contractors, they're also swell fellows, but the subs they use are depriving 'blacks' of much needed employment? And the city employees, who look-the-other-way, when 'inspecting' buildings under construction, they're doing a splendid job, right, 'cause that's the way the Bernie Stone's of this city get their 'discrete' extra income, that's just fine with you? According to you, NOBODY'S activities are undesirable EXCEPT the 'undesirable illegal immigrants', right? And the consumers, who believe that the costs of goods and services will increase dramatically, should there be no 'illegals' to exploit, they're worrying about the wrong thing, right? And, why do you say that only 'blacks' used to do certain jobs that the 'illegals' do now? As if the 'blacks' you refer to are somehow prevented from forming their own businesses and competing with the established companies you cite as your examples of the 'harm' that illegal immigration does to 'blacks'? Are the Bernie Stone's of this city going to do anything to help those 'blacks' you refer to? Have they ever? Are you? The fact is that those in control of all branches of government have no financial motive to do anything fair or just about immigration, because the present policies work just fine, at least for those who reap greater profits from the exploitation of 'illegals', the same people who fill the coffers of the Bernie Stone's and his ilk. The "silly propaganda" here is all yours.

DOLAR IS A RACIAL RACKETEER (part 5) Seems Naisy's ICIRR illegal immigration enthusiasts are running out of arguments as Green resorted to the last refuge of the intellectually dishonest by simply saying, "Oh shut up, you're just a racist." Well it's not that easy anymore because people are beginning to see the devastation being wrought on their communities by the Dolar/ICIRR extremists. Anyone take a look at Indian Boundary Park on a Sunday or Monday morning lately? Those mounds of Corona beer bottles didn't happen to just fall there from a passing Aero Mexico jet emptying its garbage hold. Indian Boundary has become such a popular destination for large parties of Spanish speaking revelers that the park staff has had to post notices saying that parties of 15 or more must get a permit. But in anticipation of squeals of protest from Naisy's ICIRR types, the notices are in English only. (Where is bilingualism when you need it?) The above poster says businesses who hire illegals are to blame. She's dead right. I'd like nothing more than to see a couple of Tyson's Food executives led away in handcuffs for hiring illegals as well as a couple of landscaping operators in each major city. But again, that would create howls of protest from Naisy's friends in the ICIRR for having a "chilling effect" on legal immigrants. We can stop the "exploitation" of illegal immigrant labor today by precluding their employment and receipt of non-emergency services -- that would solve your school overcrowding problem, Naisy, but your radical campaign management team wouldn't hear of it. Next, they'll say that it can't be done. But in 1933, Los Angeles County spent $177,000 (equivalent to many millions today) to deport 26,000 Mexican illegal aliens. But you can't blame Naisy's open border's crowd. They have to keep up their drumbeat for a continued immigration invasion in order to keep getting the millions they receive every year from the Ford foundation and its ilk. For them it's about keeping their jobs. And the Dolar/ICIRR cabal is willing to sell out our neighborhoods just to keep their gravy train rolling. As for the people of the 50th Ward, just shut up and keep paying your property taxes.

The 'crusader' poster is a poser. The only "howls of protest" from a 'crackdown' on illegals would be from the very business owners who grease the palms of the Bernie Stones of this country. And, the only source of "just shut up and keep paying your property taxes." is the 'Chicago machine', of which Stone is a long-time 'made' member. So, 'crusader' is, in reality, one of Bernie's enthusiastic propagandists, said creatures being highly skilled liars and manipulators, willing to say and do ANYTHING to further the agendas of their masters. But then, there will always be creatures who have no morals, no sense of right or wrong, and no desire to develop same. How fortunate for the Stone's of this world, to have an ample supply of lackey material to do their dirty work. I hope 'crusader' is getting more than minimum wage for his/her/it's efforts.

Is Bernie really that worried about being retained, or is all this mud-slinging just normal for his type of campaigning?

He's really that worried.

Excellent.

Oh, NO! Spanish-speaking persons in Indian Boundary Park! Drinking Coronas! Stone has lost his grip!

Maybe they're buying their beer from one of Bernie's pals, you know, the ones who got their liquor licenses at the bargain rate.

If Salman Aftab had supported Naisy Dolar, the Stone supporters here would have bad mouthed him. Not an easy place to be in for Salman Aftab. Salman had the courage to stand up and speak on behalf of his voters. Salman knew he was going to get badmouthed no matter what he did, but he did not back down. Go ahead and take your best shots at Salman Aftab, he is a man of courage and does not back down. Salman Aftab was able to flex enough political muscle (for his community) to throw this race into a runoff. His community has decided to support Alderman Bernie Stone. Deal with it !

Apparently, that's what everyone is going to do, deal with it. On April 17th. Until then, the mud-slinging will, no doubt, continue. Welcome to America!

Dolar's apologists are quite adept at putting up meaningless static -- but has anyone denied: 1) that Dolar's campaign manager is a staffer with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights? 2) That Dolar makes her living as an ethnic sensitivity trainer? 3)That Dolar said the key to combatting crime in the 50th Ward is more ethnic sensitivity training for police? 3) That Dolar cries about school overcrowding, but the ICIRR position before the State Board of education is that local school districts should lose their state funding if they so much as gather data on the number of their students who are illegal aliens? 4)That Dolar along with ICIRR supports the Chicago Sanctuary ordinance, whereby Chicago police cannot inquire into a suspect's immigration status, nor co-operate with the ICE if they apprehend an illegal alien? Is it deniable that her campaign is being run by a leader of a group that advocates in-state college tuition rates for illegal aliens, state guaranteed 3% home loans for illegal aliens and drivers' licenses for illegal aliens? Facts are stubborn things. Fact is Naisy is a radical multiculturalist.

> Salman Aftab was able to flex enough political muscle ... to throw this race into a runoff According to Aftab's guy Stone, it wasn't Salman who threw the race into a run-off, it was A HACKER! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzJw0sh1TY8 You guys should get your story straight.

I'm old enough to remember when the only empties you would find in Indian Boundary Park would be Manischewitz, AND they would all be in the trash bins.

They're coming to bring me my medication now and then it's tuna casserole for dinner in the cafeteria and then TV in the all purpose room, so I'll have to sign off for a while.

Joey J, are you really that stupid? I probably could answer that by saying yes, because you back a moron like Aftab--but I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt. Are you really saying that Aftab was the hero who made the election go into a run-off? Couldn't we say the same thing about Brewer who got many more votes than Aftab? How does 5% of the votes equal some gallant effort to push the race to a run-off? For all this crap that Aftab is the man for the 50th ward, the 50th has spoken and in no way was that guy even close to being the "man" for the 50th. There's a reason why he got only only 5% of the votes. You have to think--people don't like him. They never will. And now his sorry ass is trying to make peace with someone like Stone--the person who he villified and called a "warlord" ? That bitch is a straight-up hustler who is trying to vie for a ticket on Stone's potential victory parade because he doesn't want to look like a loser considering no one voted for him. Naisy you should be hapy that you're an NBS too. No Backward Suckers like Aftab endorsing your good campaign.

Looks like Ass-stab really stabbed you in your ass Bobby.

Oh Naim--its no surprise how you and your pandoo cohorts try to force your sheer bravado on us especially after the results come back from a pathetic election that Mr. Aftab (who no one supported) ran. Just like a pandoo-to start a fight after they've lost. All emotion--no intellect. That's why you'll always lose because you have no class. That's why you were never invited back to ICIRR again.

Faisal, What the hell is 'pandoo'? Some Filipino word? I thought we're in Chicago, not Manila.

another 501c icirr staffer,along with dolar campaign mgr.marissa garciosa--previously an o.n.e. staffer-the pro-dolar parent group of the "hosts" of the pro-dolar sham at Boone-maybe Daas should write icirr a letter-

The NAUSEATING volume of slanderous telephone calls attacking Stone are in epic proportions-they are happening because the Dolar camp is panicked,wrongly thinking that RANCOR is a strategy to save their FAILING RACE-BASED campaign

what a horrible,nasty,DIRTY campaign Dolar is waging-a race based campaign that is intended to divide the 50th wd,the whole time denying THAT TRUTH and falsely blaming her opponent of that which her campaign is guilty of-SHAME ON THE DOLAR CAMPAIGN

see who her OUT-OF-WARD supporters and financiers are-WHY DO THEY WANT OUR SEAT?most of her support is from elsewhere,incl. OUT-of-STATE

Dolar was the only candidate to attack all 3 of her opponents. She sent out a mailing blasting Brewer, tipped off the papers to Aftab's past legal troubles and blasted Stone in almost all of her mailings. Little Miss Vitriol may find herself more isolated than she thinks.

And when all the dust settles, when this election cycle has ended, when the many voters have had their say, life will go on. If, to you, life means endless conflict, I hope you delay having children, until you grow some brains.

THE DOLAR "COALITION"OF STONE HATERS,CARPETBAGGERS,FAR-LEFT "BLAME AMERICA FIRST"WHACKOS,IN ADDITION TO THOSE ON A RACIAL CRUSADE, ARE TO BLAME FOR THE MOST DISGUSTING CAMPAIGN IN 50TH WARD MEMORY.THAT THEY BLAME THEIR OPPOSITION FOR WHAT THEY,THEMSELVES, HAVE CREATED IS DEPLORABLE AND AN INSULT TO EVERY DECENT 50TH WARDER

Why should anyone believe anything that's posted by those who don't know how to unlock the Caps Lock function?

no tactic,including lie filled telephone harrassment of voters ,is too low for for nasty naisy !her outside the ward masters don't care what effect their divivisive tactics and mean spirit has on this community;just so they can put their puppet in the council,depriving us of OUR SEAT

SOME PEOPLE USE CAPS TO EMPHASIZE THEIR POINT-NO OTHER REASON-THE WORDS ARE WHAT MATTER!

And why should anyone believe anything that is posted by those who don't know where and when to break a sentence? Or break a paragraph?

No. Some people don't have the knowledge or literate skills to understand that posting all in capitols only gives the readers a strong impression that the poster is an idiot.

So, now that you've provided many reasons why we all SHOULD vote FOR Naisy Dolar, how about informing us all about all the many reasons we should NOT vote for Bernie?

when confronted with the truth,dolar's elitists only rebuttal is name calling regarding print case.aahh,the hypocrisy of the whacko psuedos of the far-left.can there be any doubt that the sheer NASTINESS of Dolar,s campaign is typical of how the far left uses VITRIOL to pursue its nefarious goals.

Whatever you're ingesting, pass it around!

one look at Dolar's campaign shows that it is an enterprise run by professional "Blame America For Everything" activists; these carpetbagging "organizers"have "organized" the UGLIEST campaign based on lies and innuendo,all FINANCED by outside interests.

This Blog is an example why Naisy Dolar is going to lose and Bernie Stone is going to win and win big. Salman Aftab is a good guy but could not win. He is working hard for Bernie partially because of the illegal thug tactics of the wife/cop of Naisy Dolar. Naisy could of run 4 years from now against a sure to lose Bernie or his crazy daughter--and been the front runner--but her negative mailers on Brewer, negative press leaks on Aftab, and anti-semetic, anti old people attacks on Bernie--have alienated her from possible supporters. Stone will win with 55 to 60% of the vote. Aftab will play a very minor but helpful role.

So, you conclude that because a large number of morons post their incoherent rants on this page, rants so ignorant and hate-filled, all claiming to support Bernie Stone and to denounce his challenger, that Bernie's gonna win? You must have accepted the pass-around from your pals.

you make the posters argument.the truth is answered with ridicule,because the poster tells the truth.the only answer the Dolar elitests have to the truth is to ridicule and name-call.the left is far more vicious than the center or right could/would ever be on April 17 they will be shown that the 50th ward rejects their hate-filled tactics,WHEN IT RE-ELECTS STONE

Try hitting the space bar once-in-a-while.

too slow.

keep thinking type more carefully

How could Bernie pick a scumbag like Mike Noonan as his campaign manager. Now Stone is getting support from HDO. Maybe the drug dealers and gang bangers will come in next.

They're already here.

will someone explain how naisy dolar supporters and her campaign can wage the negative campaign the voters are being bombarded with,but Stone supporters are ridiculed when they confront dolar's lies -watch them answer this with ridicule or a computer etiquette lecture

just cause you said that, we won't.

prime example of nasty Naisy's CRETIN squad-the most shocking thing for most 50th warders is the realization that so many hateful people live amongst us-hope Hugh isn't recruiting "neighbors" to join him in the world of OBSESSIVE HATRED

the Anti-Stone crowd can't "moderate"the truth here.the 50th ward thanks you, Reader, for letting the truth get out.notice how Concaildi,Morris,and Jay don't leave their "moderated" shelters to post their venom here,AND this can not be Hugh's playground-here he will be RESPONDED TO.

Such passion, such fervor, such enthusiasm. Such a shame to be wasting it all on Bernie Stone's corruption. Let's hope the checks don't bounce on you.

another lying smear against Stone.YOU, wow, have a hate CORRUPTED brain

Would nice people(they claim to be real good neighbors)be as vicious as these Dolar supporters who think they can have it all-ways?one must wonder what the number of FRAUDS working for Dolar is at?

Is HDO in the 50th ward?

HDO may be in the 50th ward, but the gang-bangers aren't the ones posting here, as gang-bangers have a larger vocabulary and a better understanding of English grammar then seen here, in Bernie's hate-mongering crew.

Mike Noonan is corrupt to the core and a sociopath. His helping Bernie will hurt Bernie in a ward that went big time for Peraica. Noonan is the partner with co-schemer A Victor Reyes in the current Sanchez/DelValle idictement and convicted felons Sorich/Slatter/Sullivan/McCarthy and associated with the George Prado heroin dealing ring conviction out of the water department and the Hired Trucks with convicted felon Angelo Torres. Reyes has used Noonan in meetings with those who associate with murderers and drug dealers. Noonan could cost Bernie the election. Lots of support will come in for Naisy Dolar just to stop HDO.

what is in the ward are the hate-mongering "Blame America First"whackos for Dolar-the only answer these left wing frauds have when confronted with the truth ,on this non "moderated "site is a complaint about English or other subterfuge.this is an election ,not rhetoric 101! these psuedo-intellectuals ARE ELITISTS.

NONE!!THE WOUNDS THE HATE-STONE CROWD ARE INFLICTING ON THIS COMMUNITY ARE ABHORRANT!ABSOLUTLY NOTHING IS BENEATH DOLAR'S GUTTER-BASED CAMPAIGN AND ITS OUTSIDE FINANCIERS. ASK YOURSELVES:WHY??WHY DOES A CALIFORNIA CONGRESSMAN CARE ABOUT WHO REPRESENTS THE 50TH WARD IN THE CHICAGO CITY COUNCIL?WHY DO OUT OF THE WARD,CITY AND YES ,OUT OF STATE DONORS GIVE DOLAR HUGE DONATIONS ?WHY? WHY IS THE DOLAR CAMPAIGN AN EXAMPLE OF POLITICS AT ITS WORSE? WHY? WHY IS DOLAR'S CAMPAIGN AN AXIS OF SPECIAL INTERESTS WHO WANT YOUR SEAT IN THE CITY COUNCIL?WHY IS COMMUNITY TURNED AGAINST COMMUNITY BY THESE FASCIST MONSTERS OF THE LEFT?WHY?WHY?WHY?THE ANSWER IS AS CLEAR AS LOOKING UP AND SEEING THE SKY!

We should all be thankful that the 'all-capitols' poster continues to post in ALL CAPITOL LETTERS, as well as his never hitting the space bar. It makes it so much easier to scroll past his posts.

the dolaristas won't answer these legitimate questions.why not?answering serious political issue questions is what this is about,not computer etiquette.so ,in small letters,please answer "why's" questions.we want to know why the california congressman is involved in the 50th ward of chicago.why are racially motivated out of towners financing dolar?we want answers ,not computer or english lessons!

The BLAME AMERICA FIRST left wing radicals ,who are a NATIONAL CURSE,are one of the two major pillars of Dolar's campaign,along with those on a RACIAL CRUSADE.Their divisive campaign is a disgrace to decency

STOP PUTTING UP SMOKESCREENS,NAISY.EXPLAIN WHY THE CALIF.CONG.IS HERE FOR YOU-TWICE.WHY DOES HE GIVE HIS DONOR'S MONEY TO YOU?WHY ARE YOU RAISING OUT OF TOWN MONEY? WHAT MOTIVATES YOUR OUT OF TOWN DONORS?WHY HAVE YOU SOLD YOUR SOUL TO CERTAIN UNIONS? HOW COULD YOU TAKE UNION MONEY EXTOTORTED FROM THEIR HARD WORKING MEMBERSHIP?WHY,NAISY,WHY?

It's politics, drama-queen, simply politics as usual, the very same political shit that Bernie's done for fucking DECADES. The only difference is that Bernie's minions are very, very, very BAD at it.

I gotta tell ya, if you take the time to sift thru the posts that are all capitols and that don't have a single space between one sentence and the next, you'll have to admit these clowns are hilarious! It's almost like reading a retarded version of a South Park script! You guys just crack me up!

Their answer to LEGITIMATE questions is more computer etiquette nonsense.this is about REAL issues,not elitist subterfuge.the self-rightious hypocrisy of the Dolar campaign is APPALLING!

They can't CONTROL this site,so they TRY to use RIDICULE as a DIVERSION.The 50th ward wants answers,not RIDICULE from ELITISTS.its obvious that the TRUE answers are too devestating for them to admit!

Mike Noonan........Oh crap.......watch the lies start a flying........Perica won the 50th Ward, but just by a very slim margin (smaller than Aftab's numbers). Bernie needs field work, I don't know if that is Noonans' trump suit. Bernie is gonna have some very serious problems in specific precincts. I think he still wins by about Aftabs margin, but Bernie is extreamly weak in specific areas.

Mike Noonan is not only a liar in political campaigns--but the lobbying partner--with very interesting clients (dirty and conflict of interests) lobbying parnter of Victor Reyes Victor Reyes is the scummy lowlife who is in the current indictments and convictions and is connected to murderers, drug dealers, mafia trucking companies, waste companies bad for the environment. Look for a lot of scummy city workers coming into the 50th ward with Noonan. No paper will endorse Bernie Stone now that he is connected to HDO.

They already have, Frank, see the numerous CAPITOL LETTERS ONLY posts and their cousins, the 'I don't know how to work the space bar' posts. I hope you're wrong about Bernie hanging on by his chinny-chin-chin, most of us can't take much more of his shenanigins.

just answer the questions dolar!

MAYBE, if you asked questions that can be read, understood and were the least bit coherent, you might get some answers. Altho, are answers what you're seeking? Not just knee-jerk, visceral, racist and bigoted reactions from those prone to same.

What about the ENGLISH language don't you understand.The more you answer with ELITIST answers ,the more you EXPOSE the TRUE answers to the community.

you posted your nonsense twice. no one needed to have you post it even once. we do, however, thank you for sharing.

No moderated shelter here for the anti-stone hate-mongers. Ask them basic questions and you get english and computer etiquette lessons and ridicule from elitist hypocrites.once again-ANSWER what is motivating the out-of -towners trying to grab our seat.

The Stone people don't want to answer the questions. They are bringing the hate mongering HDO through the corrupt Toddler manager MIKE NOONAN. Maybe they want the Feds to look into their deals.

Legitimate questions are not nonsense.Another ELITIST DODGE to the questions.Ignoring the QUESTIONS won't make them go away ,nor will it wipe them from people's minds. dolaristas,you're silence on this issue is DEAFENING!Oh,also spare us the ridicule and lessons subterfuge.

Why does Dolar speak one way to Asians and ANOTHER way to Non-Asians about WHY she is running?

IF I were remotely inclined to consider the possibility that Naisy would stoop to anywhere near the level of a Bernie Stone, I MIGHT wonder whether these illiterates who are posting in favor of Stone aren't, in reality, Naisy supporters, masquerading as Stone's people. But, no, I don't believe Naisy could afford the acting talents required.

50th ward voters-See how the left-wing extreme whackos and those on a RACIAL CRUSADE whose FRONT is DOLAR regard you so little.Two simple questions that WHY asks get answered with elitist drivel in which they insult the intelligence of all of us.

Not all of us, merely you.

You just know that Bay Area lefty carpetbagger would vote against our Armed Forces.

us does NOT include you!

Now we all KNOW you guys are confirmed Stone supporters, for no one else would stoop so low as to use our honorable troops as political fodder. Shame on you.

OUR honorable troops are roadkill to those that voted against THEM-HOW DARE YOU ,LEFTY, for even making such a false statement about fodder.ONCE AGAIN ,the DOLAR EXTREMISTS want it ALL WAYS!AND by the way ALDERMAN STONE is a proud WW2 ARMY VETERAN .

Than who does 'us' include?

I'm not 'twisting' anything, you are. Also, shame on you.

Someone should let Bernie know how irresponsible these posters are. I hope Bernie doesn't / wouldn't approve of this disrespectful behavior, even to get reelected.

Dolar supporters REALLY can't handle a non moderated site.Oh well, tough s---.Exposing the Dolar LIES and motivations of her and her supporters is HIGHLY RESPONSIBLE,in fact its a PUBLIC SERVICE.the hate/lie/smear campaign against STONE is what is irresponsible.Dolars campaign is truly HYPOCRITES ANONYMOUS.

STILL WAITING FOR THE ANSWERS

Dolar has no experience,a "Fluffed Up" resume and lies about her "accomplishments"On one site she claims she was a "City Council Director"There never has been a "City Council Director"-The site is an out of town National Asian org. Site-She lies to her own supporters ,even.

Could you please repeat the questions?

see-DOLAR ANSWER THE QUESTIONS POST 3/31 4:32P.M

I have two questions for the Stone apologists. More that 2/3 of Stone's contributions are not from constituents. 1/3 of Stone's contributions are from outside Chicago. So... 1. WHY ARE YOU RAISING OUT OF TOWN MONEY? 2. WHAT MOTIVATES YOUR OUT OF TOWN DONORS?

If Naisy weren't running against Stone, but a farm animal was, I would vote for the farm animal.

And you'd be better represented.

I read the post you referred to, it doesn't make any sense. Has anyone posted any serious questions? Other than Hugh? & Worth Repeating? & Why Not? & re:Gamboa? & kj & Alex & historian & just wondering & enough already! & re: crusader & re: re:only & Mike?

Wow, you folks are really missing the importance of this announcement. Salman, whatever his faults, represents at least 500 residents (the number of votes he got, AND a part of the Islamic community in this ward, possibly a far larger part than the 500 votes would rerprresent. ...And Salman endorsed a Jewish candidate. This is important. It sends a signal that, in a state where antisemitic crimes increased 86% last year, the Islamic and Jewish commuinities, traditionally politically opposed to each other, are now allied. Not only does that minimize one source of potential unrest in the ward, but the fact that Salman, whose supporters are some of the more hard core Islams and Stone, whose supporters are some of the more hard core Jews, could feel comfortable making this announcement without alienating their core constituents, says an awful lot about the progress we have made in intercultural relations in this ward. I am so very proud of both of them, and this evidence that we have built a community that can bring acceptance ance to even the most implacable of enemies. Look, Naisy isn't a demon, and you shouldn't try to make her out to be one. But, in this election, Stone is a better candidate as far as the future of our community. Naisy isn't going to win this election, Stone needs only 271 votes to win, and he just got Salmans 500. There is no benefit for her union supporters to prolong this issue with a runoff, the union has proved their point in the February elections, and whatever the outcome, will benefit little from the runoffs. But, in terms of intercultural relations, Naisy has achieved a tremendous victory in this announcement, she has provided the impetus for the Jewish and Islamic communities to grow closer to each other. She can take great pride in that. She has the opportunity for one more achievement, if whe can set aside her pride. The runoff will still cost the city money, and if she conceded now, she can bargain for both that money and other benefits for the residents who supported her. I sincerely hope that the asian residents who voted for Naisy were not just doing so because she is also asian, I has hoped our community was beyond that sort of thing. If the residents who support her do have legitimate concerns that need to be addressed (as I believe they do), Naisy should work with the city and Stone to see that at least some of the cities meager resources are spent amelioratting their complaints, instead of sqaundored on a meaningless runoff that benefits noone and will exacerbate tensions between the her suppoorters and the city and residents who support Stone. Comon folks, we havea really great community here, Lets work to make it better now, and we can revisit these issues when the next election comes around.

C'mon, Randy! (aka closet Stone employee). "the Islamic and Jewish communities, traditionally politically opposed to each other, are now allied." No. They're not. Cynical and pragmatic 'alliances', (of Salman's approximately 500 frightened-of-Stone-retaliation supporters) hardly qualifies as "says an awful lot about the progress we have made in inter-cultural relations in this ward." Furthermore, you make an incredibly false assumption when you say "Naisy isn't going to win this election, Stone needs only 271 votes to win, and he just got Salmans 500.", said assumption being that there will be the EXACT SAME NUMBER OF VOTERS casting their votes in the run-off election as there were in the general election. Is it possible that you made this statement to deliberately discourage those who didn't vote in the general election from voting in the run-off? Also, your next statement, that "There is no benefit for her union supporters to prolong this issue with a runoff" is obviously meant to suggest that Stone's victory is assured and there's no point in even trying to accomplish what a run-off election is held for, namely, to determine who the voters actually want to serve them. Stone hasn't won reelection yet, so hold off on crowning him 'king of the 50th ward' until, and if, he does. And it is the height of dishonesty to propose that "if she conceded now, she can bargain for both that money and other benefits for the residents who supported her.". Boy, wouldn't big, bad Bernie be pleased if she did so. Then you have the gall to state that "I sincerely hope that the asian residents who voted for Naisy were not just doing so because she is also asian, I has hoped our community was beyond that sort of thing." To put it as politely as possible, WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, to attack the reasons, that ANY voter chooses to have, to cast their vote for the candidate of their choice. Shame on you. And, to assert that "Naisy should work with the city and Stone".... "instead of sqaundered on a meaningless runoff that benefits none and will exacerbate tensions between the her supporters and the city and residents who support Stone." is, while appearing to be reasonable, merely a poorly veiled threat of future retaliation by Stone and his corrupt buddies in city and county 'government'. We DO have a "really great community here" DESPITE being routinely exploited and neglected by the Stone's of this city, and we ARE trying to "work to make it better now", by getting rid of Stone and his cronies and electing a person who will actually work FOR ALL the residents of our ward, namely, NAISY DOLAR. Your slickly written attempt at APPEARING reasonable just shows how many and varied are the Stone camps' strategies. When the big lies aren't enough, coat them in reasonable little truths and see if the voters will swallow them. It's a RUN-OFF election and Bernie's gonna have to EARN the right to remain our alderman.

Let's take a peek into the Political Hack's Playbook. "1) If telling the truth HELPS you, tell the truth. (however rarely this is true for an incumbent) 2) If telling the truth HURTS you, tell a lie, particularly a lie that is impossible to prove is a lie. 3) When lying, coat your lies with as much truth as possible, so the lie APPEARS to be true. 4) When confronted with your lies, vigorously assert that you're NOT lying and accuse those who say you are of LYING. 5) avoid lying about things that can be PROVEN to be lies, tho, you can ALWAYS challenge the honesty of those who present the proof of your lies. 6) Do your very best to keep some sort of track of your lies, so you don't waste energy lying when you are confronted with conflicting lies. 7) Whenever possible, always have OTHERS lie for you, so you can denounce them, if and when they are caught lying. 8) When caught in a lie, change the subject and focus on telling those lies that have, so far, not been proven to be lies. 9) Tell the truth sparingly, as, if the truth were helpful to you, you wouldn't have to tell so many lies in the first place." There's a lot more stuff in the Political Hack's Playbook, but I think this is enough for now, don't you?

Naisy will not concede. Stone=divide + confuse Dolar=unite + inform I understand some stoners will be out of a job but they were never qualified for those jobs to begin with.

THE HATE FILLED AND LIES ASSAULT BY THE ANTI-STONE CROWD IS PROOF POSITIVE OF THE DESPERATION OF DOLAR'S CAMPAIGN.EACH DAY BRINGS US NEW LOWS FROM "NASTY NAISY'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE". THE BLATANT ATTEMPT BY POSTS ABOVE TO TRY TO CREATE A DIVISION BETWEEN TWO COMMUNITIES,WHO LIVE SIDE BY SIDE IN HARMONY,DUE TO ALD. STONE'S UNIFYING EFFORTS ,SHOWS HOW EVIL SOME OF DOLAR'S SUPPORTERS ARE AND HOW THEY WILL USE ANY MEANS AVAILABLE TO TRY TO WIN.THE ANTI-SEMITIC VANDALISM AT THE SYNOGOGUE IS AN ATTEMPT TO DRIVE A WEDGE BETWEEN TWO COMMUNITIES WHO ARE UNITED IN THEIR SUPPORT OF ALD. STONE'S RE-ELECTION!WATCH,THIS POST WILL BE ANSWERED BY THE DOLAR FORCES WITH RIDICULE,LIES,AN ENGLISH LESSON AND A LECTURE ON COMPUTER ETIQUETTE--I AM USING CAPS FOR A REASON AND NO I HAVEN'T LOST CONTROL OF THE CAPS LOCK.

Green the ELITIST left wing whacko has it completely backward-the 50th Ward is a picture of AMERICA at its BEST;here, communities that in their native regions of the world are in conflict,live in HARMONY together.The vicious ANTI-STONE GANG are trying hard to tear this very COMMUNITY HARMONY apart ,all to benefit the RACE-BASED MEAN CAMPAIGN of Dolar.As for Green,personal insults to Stone's people are both untrue and indicitive of the ELITISM of the Dolar campaign.By the way is that Green as in Green Party,the same Green party that ruins anything it touches, and who are LEADERS IN THE "BLAME AMERICA FIRST "Axis of Evil"!

What a farcical lie Insider's post is.The Dolaristas race-based, carpetbagger led, and financed campaign has become a NAUSEATING PRESENCE .Insider knows that the Dolar Campaign is guilty of everything he/she lies about and her Staff are experts at GUTTER POLITICS-these SPECIAL INTEREST "Organizers" are the TRUE POLITICAL HACKS IN THIS RACE and all they have "ORGANIZED" is the 50th Ward's nightmare>

TODAY ,A COMMITEE OF VETERANS AND VETERANS GROUPS ENDORSED ALD,STONE,A WW2 VETERAN ,FOR RE-ELECTION.ALDERMEN JAMES BALCER AND RAY SUAREZ,BOTH MARINE HEROES OF VIETNAM WERE THE HONORED SPEAKERS ,ALONG WITH ALDERMAN STONE. JOINING IN THE CEREMONY WERE STONE'S FELLOW WW2 VETERANS WHO LIVE IN THE 50TH WARD,FILIPINO-AMERICAN VETERANS OF WW2,KOREA, AND VIETNAM,THE JEWISH WAR VETERANS (OF WHICH ALD.STONE IS A MEMBER, AND PAST POST AND DEPT. OF ILLINOIS COMMANDER)AND VIETNAM-ERA,KOREAN WAR ERA AND A CURRENTLY SERVING SOLDIER AWAITING DEPLOYMENT TO IRAQ OR AFGANISTAN.ALDERMAN STONE WAS AMONG THOSE INSTRUMENTAL IN BRINGING ABOUT CHICAGO'S WELCOME HOME PARADE AND CELEBRATION HONORING OUR VIETNAM WAR VETERAN HEROES.THIS IS IN SHARP CONTRAST TO THE "BLAME AMERICA FIRST "CROWD WHO SUPPORT HIS OPPOSITION.

MORRIS announced on his site that he has increased CENSORSHIP and WILL INCREASE CENSORSHIP EVEN MORE.What a left-wing PARAGON Of HYPOCRISY

Well, THEY'RE BAAAAAAAAACK!!!! The 'ALL CAPITOLS' & 'Spacebar impaired' posters return! Perhaps there are some who find trying-to-read-their-posts to be good exercise for their eye muscles. or Perhaps there are some who find it a very amusing mental exercise to try to follow the pretzel-like, illogical meanderings contained therein. or Perhaps there are some who rejoice in the fact that the nature of these posts provides ample evidence of just how desperate the Stone camp is. or Perhaps there are some who use these posts to exercise their 'scrolling' finger. Word to the wise, Bernie: If these posters are your supporters, they're NOT doing you any favors here.

Salman Aftab was right.... Bernie Stone and Naisy Dolar are BOTH hos. hos hookers hoes whores--whatever Stone has HDO now with Toddlers main liar Mikey likes it Noonan the partner to Victor Scheming A Reyes Naisy Dolar is a mean spirited race baiting liar with a psycho cop Abaate husband

So, let's everybody write in Aftab's name and vote for him.

Here's a page out of the Stone playbook: "Da Chicago Way Let's step back a bit, and look at things from an historical perspective. Immense wealth can be gained from the manipulation of real estate values. Here's how it's been done in Chicago: 1) determine which areas have the potential of being attractive to those blessed with high incomes and ample financial resources. (Transportation facilities, classic architecture, established parks and recreation facilities, proximity to the Loop, etc. are all pluses.) 2) Neglect the chosen target areas for as long as possible, for the purpose of depreciating property values by, among other means, decreasing safety related activities, (or encourage the perception of same), neglecting the infrastructure, pandering to prejudices, harassing individual, cloutless homeowners thru punitive building code citations, etc.. 3) Buy up, thru dummy corporations and such, properties of those fleeing the neglected area, then neglect and milk said properties or demolish same. 4) Continue accumulating properties, with or without buildings on them and continue to neglect the areas' remaining residents' basic needs, as property prices drop even further. 5) Entice the ever optimistic and gutsy 'urban pioneers', with dirt cheap rentals and a few reasonably priced building sales, (tho still making you double-to-triple on what you paid for them) 6) Watch and Wait, while the 'urban pioneers' do all your work for you. 7) As the time to cash in approaches, stimulate the progress of the process by beginning the work of repairing and improving those past neglected infrastructures and increasing the activities effective in increasing the safety of residents, (or the perception of same). 8) Raise rents on all your previously neglected and milked properties, thus forcing out any remaining 'undesirables'. (and remember NOT to thank them for their past contributions relative to depressing property values) 9) Cash in, BIG TIME, when those previously mentioned individuals with high incomes and ample resources now flock to the new 'hot' neighborhood. 10) Oh, don't forget to juice the builders and contractors who'll also be gathering at your doorstep, begging for the chance to build on those vacant lots you've been sitting on or buy them for 20 to 50 times what you got them for. and DATS DA CHICAGO WAY" Does the above seem familiar? Is it what you're seeing every day in our ward? Thank Bernie, the next time you see him.

i saw Naisy on the show; Bernie decided not to show up, which is typical of him. Are you, (Arenda), sure this is the woman you called "a mean spirited race baiting liar"? Seems like that description more aptly describes you.

yeah, right!nice ploy. You can't refute capsman and other Stone supporters ,so you ridicule them ,give english and computer manners lessons to them,and lol, say they are "illogical". What about Dolar is running a nasty race-based campaign DON"T you understand ?

they want to rip Stone from the SHELTER of "moderated"(CENSORED SITES),and than try to get the POINTS-ACCURATE Stone supporters to stop the COUNTERATTACK.Dolar supporters/STONE-HATERS hear this LOUD AND CLEAR:We will DEFEND a GOOD,DECENT AND HONORABLE MAN from your lies and YOUR ELITIST RIDICULE only PROVES OUR POINT!

What we don't understand is the observable FACT that YOUR posts are the ONLY ones that are nasty, hate-filled, racist, bigoted and firmly grounded in the gutter. But we DO appreciate your stubborn insistence on continuing to overload them with CAPITOLS and to string your sentences consistently back-to-back, as it makes it much easier to ignore them. Thank you.

When posters point out that Dolar is running an ethnic based campaign,which she openly proclaims,they are accused of racism.The only office Dolar seems qualified for is 50th ward Hypocrite of the Year

WELL,another lesson from a Dolar left-wing elitist.PLEASE,ignore to your heart's content.Your ridiculous response is proof that you have no means to refute the TRUTH.Dolar's desperation is apparent as the level of LIES,SMEARS,AND VICIOUSNESS from the DOLAR CAMPAIGN AND THEIR PROSTITUTE SEIU BUDDIES has reached the level of NAUSEA.

What promises has Dolar made to the HATCHET CREW at seiu,the nations phoniest union.unlike the TRUE UNIONS,who support a lifelong supporter of LABOR,BERNY STONE,the FRAUDS at seiu are proving with each lie/slander/smear filled Anti-Stone mailing and harassing phone call what true low-lifes they are,STARTING WITH THEIR TOP LEADERSHIP!

Dolar= Unite and inform What?? Dolar's very professional life (such as it is)has been based on dividing people. As an ethnic "sensitivity trainer" she profiteers from making one or another class of Americans into "victims" to be defended by well paid PC priestesses like her. Dolar's shills from the ICIRR profiteer from creating and sustaining a huge and ever growing illegal class of Latino "victims." The Dolaristas are sickos and must be relegated to a well deserved political obscurity.

HANK,YOU HYPOCRICALLY LAMENT A DEARTH OF PRO-STONE POSTS ON YOUR "MODERATED "SITE.THE REASON FOR THIS IS THAT YOU AND CONCAILDI WON'T ALLOW THEM. OF COURSE YOU EVOKE ANGER IN STONE SUPPORTERS SINCE YOUR FACADE OF "FAIRNESS" AMONG "WONDERFUL NEIGHBORS" IS A COMPLETE SHAM.YOUR PHONY SITE IS A SHELTER FOR AN OBSESSED INCUMBENT HATING POSTER,HUGH DEVLIN,WHO HAS NEVER FOUND AN INNUENDO HE COULDN'T MAKE OUT OF FALSE AND FAULTY CONCLUSIONS.HOW DARE YOU,SIR,EVEN TRY TO MAINTAIN THE VENEER OF RESPECTABILITY AND FAIRNESS.TO BE ALLOWED TO POST ON YOUR SITE ,ONE MUST PASS A TRIAL PROBATIONARY PERIOD AND IF LATER THAT POSTER DEFENDS STONE FROM LIES AND SMEARS,YOU BAN THEM,ARROGANTLY. WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE ,HENRY.YOU'ER JUST A LEFT-WING EXTREMIST WHO GOT HIMSELF A YAHOO SITE TO DO EVIL,IN FACT YOU ARE A POSTER CHILD FOR THE TRUE FASCISTS IN THIS COUNTRY WHO CALL THEMSELVES LIBERAL/PROGRESSIVES!YOU TOLERATE NO DISSENT AND THAN YOU SAY WHERE IS THE OTHER SIDE.WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF UNMODERATION,HENRY MORRIS,WHICH YOU CAN'T CONTROL.

I will give you a response since it is what you are so jonesing for... Naisy does not want anyone to be a victim. She encourages people of all backgrounds to get involved and to, in her own words, "stand up to bullies" and stand strong against hate crimes. She finds racism deplorable. Could you give me ONE example of Naisy encouraging anybody to be a victim? I hope you don't respond with another "lies and smears" retort, try to come up with something that actually resembles the truth for a change. Or can you? Try to type like an adult for a change. Or can you? Try to respond with something coherent for a change...

Devlin posted that Stone was 36 yrs old when first elected,on the censored Morris site, Stone was 44 or 45.Without Morris' "moderation "to protect him here ,its easy to refute HUGH'S lies.

I will give you the example you are "jonesing"(whatever ELITIST word that is) for-HER CAMPAIGN FOR ASIAN RACIAL/ETHNIC "EMPOWERMENT" is just one example. The hard -working Asian Community has achieved GREAT SUCESS,and a RACIAL PLOY FOR EMPOWERMENT actually hides the fact that they are well integrated into AMERICAN life,no place more so than the 50TH ward under ALD. STONE,who has been a TRUE FRIEND of CHICAGO'S ASIAN COMMUNITY.TO RUN on the theme of RACIAL/ETHNIC EMPOWERMENT is an insult to all AMERICANS,ESPECIALLY ASIAN AMERICANS.

now they say that anyone who defends Stone from baseless lies and smears is actually hurting him-YEAH RIGHT!!The FALSE concern of the Stone-Haters for his well-being is comical.Do they expect anybody to buy it? Its typical of the radical extreme leftist elitists behind Dolar.

nobody tried to get morris or his neighbor to put up stone signs. morris is now entering the "HUGH DEVLIN" zone of CREATIVE DISINFORMATION. This comes as no surprise as this phony PARAGON OF FAIRNESS allows Devlin to use his "moderated" site as an ANTI_STONE LAUNCHING PAD.

the same bitter females(appr5-6 in #)keep pumping editorialized poison against Stone on Morris' site.

Thank you for being the only open and fair-minded poster on Morris' site.Our community is fortunate you are a part of it.

as of 3:20 today he is not admitting NEW members to his CENSORED site.Hank is now making OUR POINT for us-NO POSSIBLE STONE SUPPORTERS ALLOWED-reminds us of the BAD OLD DAYS OF RESTRICTED COVENENTS-SHAME ON YOU HENRY MORRIS!

I feel I should elucidate some points here. I am not a closet stone employee. You can check, I am using my real name (moral cowardice has never been my style). My interest in in the welfare of the ward, not in Bernies welfare. I will admit that I did make the statement about Naisy not winning the election in order to encourage her to concede. We have a far better things to do with the money than spend it on an election whose results are predictable, and I am hoping she will be concerned enough about the ward and her core constituents to realize that. Let me explain further. Both Naisy and Brewer made a valiant effort to get votes, visiting many residences many times. At best, Naisy will not get any more votes than she, Brewer and Salman got in the original election, if that many. However, Bernie will get many more votes than in the original election. Not only a portion of those voting for Aftab, but many more Jewish votes. Only 30% of all eligable Jewish voters voted in the February election, mainly to protest a decision Bernie made. They made their point, many of them probably WILL be voting in this election. There is almost as many of them (roughly 10,000) as everyone voting in the February election. The purpose of the Union support was to show their strength, they have done that. Investing union dollars in this election would not only not gain them any more credibility, it would bring them from being a political contributor to a political party. Right now, bills are being debated in the US congress on that issue, if the Union gets too pushy, you can bet that the final House bill will require such things as "card check" union elections and limits on contributions of various kinds. It is not worth winning the 50th ward to risk delicate negotiations with the US congress. I haven't said anything bad about Naisy, and thats because I think she has the potential to be a fine politician. Just not in this election, and probably not in this ward. She really should be down in Springfield, and perhaps eventually in DC. A good politician in interested in the welfare of those they represent. Even assuming Naisy has a chance, she is risking achieving nothing for her supporters when she has an opportunity to make a real difference by bargaining. Considering the odds she faces, its not a good indication of her political talent if she doesn't take this opportunity to bargain, possibly for support in a future election, or for achieving some of her constituents goals. Politics is the art of compromise, and it doesn't say much for any politician to have a "win or lose everything" mindset. As for who I think I am, well, I think I am someone who, decades ago, worked very hard to make this a multicultural and diverse community. I was only one of many, but it is something I am very proud of, one of the most most important achievements of my life. I left that life decades ago, to allow younger people to have their chance at community building. I only came back for this election because I felt the acrimony was endangering this community. If you think Stone is capable of retaliating against anyone, well you don't know his record. True, Stone is a fighter, every Jew who grew up in the era of violent antisemitic raids by gangs is like that, even a committed pacifist like me. But once the fight is over, he does not hold a grudge; he has proven that time and again. He is a politician, he only has goals, and his goal right now is to leave the ward in the best possible shape he can, it is his legacy. He won't throw away a lifetime of achievement for anything. Bernie's at the end of his career, which involved many years of community involvement BEFORE he became alderman. Naisy is just at the start of hers, she has promise but she has much to learn. She isn't really ready to be an alderperson yet, and frankly, I get the impression her talents lie more in a legislative arena than a low level management position like alderperson. The day to day hum drum details of the position doesn't sound like something she would enjoy. More importantly, even if she won, she wouldn't succeed at the position. Bernie makes it look easy, but he has decades of experience. Balancing the interests of the various communities of this ward is incredibly hard, and she would start out with a number of strikes against her. The federal government is very concerned with the 86% increase in antisemitic attacks last year. The first time she makes a decision against the Jewish community (and even Bernie has done that on occasion) she will be in the middle of a serious controversy, even if she is innocent. More importantly. the union interests will conflict with the ward interests. You know why Dominic's closed their store? Because they wanted to convert it to a "LifeStyle" format, which required big box stores nearby. They were none. If Naisy were alderperson, there never will be, because none of the big box retailers would locate in a union ward. (Incidently, I am trying to convince a internet grocer to establish a brick and mortar presence here, to replace the Dominic's. No reply yet, but I have hopes) By the way, thanks for the "slick writing" compliment. I don't normally do much expository writing, it is nice to know that my attempts are successful.

Let's see now, the 'spammers-for-Bernie' have spammed this board with 75+ posts and counting. (I may have missed a few that had only a few words and didn't fit the now recognizable visual pattern.) While it is slightly annoying, to have to scroll past this nonsense, there have been many intelligent and thoughtful posts to ponder. The most telling part of these posts has been the smell of desperation wafting it's way from the Stone castle. Perhaps Bernie's been so successful in the past, with playing all the dirty, dishonest tricks in his playbook, that he's decided to stay with what he knows. His no-show on the Chicago Tonight segment says it all. Bernie could have showed up and had a civilized and respectful dialog with Naisy and could have showed the viewers what a classy guy he is, but he was a no-show. Apparently, Bernie's quite satisfied with letting his crews of race-baiting slugs do his work for him. We can only hope that there are enough good citizens in our ward who will show up on April 17th and show Bernie the way to the private sector. THAT is long overdue. (Don't cry for Bernie, he's loaded and won't have to work a day in his life, if one can say he ever did.)

why are pro st one postsspam to you but pro-dolar/anti stone posts are literary gems?your post shows how the truth hurts, you hypocrite.it also proves the Stone people are right about what they say. it is you dolar supporterswho are in desperation extremis

My apologies, for saying your post was 'slickly written'; this one is down-right elegant. You've almost got ME thinking about voting for Bernie! I don't, however, agree with your assertion that remaining 'nameless' in this venue is an act of 'moral cowardice'. Since even YOU could be someone other than Randy Gordon and, since the ideas that you express are of much more important to me than knowing your real name and, since people routinely use their 'reputations' to add acceptability to their present positions, regardless of how weak those positions may be, I prefer the faceless and history-less nature of nameless posting. Granted, it invites the hysterical nonsense and blatantly agenda-driven rantings we've seen here, but, as in any search for truth, one has to usually wade through quite a bit of refuse. You make some valid and essentially pragmatic points. The problem I find is that your acceptable level of 'political' compromise is much higher than is healthy for a Democracy. Review, at your leisure, the long and sordid history of 'politics-as-usual' here in Crook County and you may find that playing-along-to-get-along is what has been responsible for that sordid and seemingly endless history. It's the politics of narrow self-interest that has us all paying what I estimate is double in taxation than what is truly required to provide the meager public services we receive. If, as you've stated, you were once active in being "someone who, decades ago, worked very hard to make this a multicultural and diverse community.", I thank you and humbly suggest that you consider returning to the arena, perhaps as a way of leaving your legacy. Honest human beings are in short supply, especially in politics and government. Naisy has to finish this race, if only for the learning experience. If Bernie's not, as you say, a vindictive guy, we'll be able to tell, should he remain in office, by his actions and not merely by your words. Should we expect, should Stone win, an offer to Naisy of an influential position in his ward organization?

why are pro-Stone comments being called various discrediting names,but those that attack him or promote Dolar treated as a "public service"? A pattern is apparent,the Dolar supporters have a double standard with which they try to fool the 50th ward public.

First, any pro-Stone comments that are actually intelligent, coherent and understandable are NOT being "called various discrediting names", only the spamming ones referred to in the "a hearty thanks" post. Here's a few honest questions: Is Bernie Stone aware of these ranting, race-baiting posts? Does he approve of them? Did he direct those who are posting them to do so? Are any of his political operatives and/or supporters engaging in this hateful activity at his behest? Is this the kind of gutter politics that Bernie approves of? Why didn't Bernie have the courage to show up on the Chicago Tonight show and engage in the discussion with Naisy? Is it at all possible for those who support Bernie's reelection to respond to these questions in a civilized, honest and intelligent manner? Maybe Randy will step up to the plate, at least he knows how to think and to type.

it seems like a preponderance of mean hypocrites have congregated in one area of the 50th.

You are pulling all the stops out now.A question to you:IS naisy the "unifier" aware of the mean and nasty posts being done on her behalf? Does she approve? when she runs an ASIAN based campaign ,HOW is it racist to point this out?What you and other STONE-HATERS are doing is attempting to SILENCE DOLAR'S OPPOSITION.NEVER!!The day she started an ETHNICALLY BASED campaign,she opened herself up to that charge.GOT 2 mailings today from seiu-NOT CIVILIZED NOR HONEST.YOU ELITIST HYPOCRITES THINK YOU CAN HAVE IT ALL WAYS-YOU CAN'T and YOU WON'T

you hit it right on the head.they are elitist hypocrits

PRO-STONE POSTS BEING CALLED SPAM IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF GUTTER TACTICS FROM THE DOLAR CAMP.THE LIES THAT DOLAR AND SEIU ARE PUTTING OUT IN THE MAIL COULD BE CONIDERED POSTAL FRAUD SINCE THE U.S. MAIL IS BEING USED TO DISTRIBUTE INTENTIONALLY FALSE ,MISLEADING,LIBELOUS BASELESS CHARGES . THEIR INTENT IS TO DEFRAUD 50THWARD VOTERS INTO VOTING FOR DOLAR /AGAINST STONE.THESE ANTI-STONE MAILINGS ARE MAIL SPAM, FOR SURE

Michael Noonan and the HDO will lose it for Bernie Stone.

We can only hope.......

The barrage of Anti-Stone lie/smear mailings to 50th ward voters has turned 50thward mail boxes into a COMMON SEWER.this comes to us,thanks to the increasingly desperate measures being employed by the failing Dolar/SEIU camp as their hollow ,fact/issue free campaign loses ground by the day.

Naisy Dolar's campaign appearance on "CHICAGO TONIGHT",WTTW CH.11 LAST NITE(mon apr2 )proved how unfit she truly is to be alderman.Host Phil Ponce asked several pertinent questions which Dolar,who spent most of the show wigglying around in her seat(and apparently professionally made-up for television)while acting "perky", gave answers that were DODGES to avoid showing how ignorant she is on the issues.For example, Dolar actually said that there was rampant crime in the ward,despite the fact that police statistics say otherwise;Dolar (whose husband is a CHICAGO POLICE OFFICER) stated that most crime victims don't call the POLICE.She, especially,should know better ;the very thought is preposterous.In another example of her lack of knowledge,Dolar claimed that nothing was being done to address the DEVON AVE Parking problem.Nothing could be further from the truth.ALDERMAN STONE is addressing this problem,with the initial relief coming in the form of new DEDICATED DEVON-ROCKWELL GARAGE which will add over 230 additional spaces.Dolar says residents of the Devon Area should bear the burden of providing extra parking;the ONLY way that WOULD BE POSSIBLE WOULD BE TO GIVE UP residential permit parking,AN UNACCEPTABLE SOLUTION.And,get this,on two occassions during the broadcast,Naisy Dolar ADMITTED to running an ETHNIC BASED CAMPAIGN,saying in Chicago this is perfectly all right;the other ADMISSION was a reflexive AFFIRMATIVE nod and smile when Ponce mentioned the Asian-American Aldermanic CRUSADE.What is truly astounding is Dolar thinks her performance was a Home Run ,proudly posting it on u-tube and her Web Site.

You guys have outdone yourselves. I'm impressed. 25 lines of utter, spaceless drivel. You'd make an excellent secretary.

Thank you for the exclamation mark! SINCE YOU CAN'T EXPLAIN AWAY DOLAR'S INEPT PERFORMENCE ON ch.11,YOU ANSWER WITH RIDICULE.WHAT ELSE COULD ONE EXPECT FROM A RADICAL ELITIST

What exclamation mark?

And, what about Bernie's stellar performance on Chicago Tonight? Oh, that's right. He didn't bother to show up. Maybe that WAS his stellar performance.

the only response from the Dolar gang to the post about her tv appearance is ridicule-thats the exclamation point that the analysis of naisy's tv flop is accurate.

Are you aware that the tv program was done on the Jewish holy day?How considerate.

50th ward residents ,from listening to neighbors,people in restaurants and in stores and on the street are fed up with the meaness of the Dolar/Anti-Stone Campaign. The new game is to lie to Dolar's pests and give them false pluses,thereby Dolar will be getting Ston's voters out. Can't say her nasty tactics didn't earn this for her.

You guys made a typo. You meant to type: "50th warders smarter than Stone whackos" Don't thank me for the correction, it was my pleasure.

If the Phony Progressives rip our seat from us, that paradise known as East Rogers Pk/49th ward will be our future.Plain and simple:they do not know what they are doing,however,the 49th ward is nuclear free.

More ridicule from an ELITIST.Is'nt there an all-night art gallery you could better spend your time in?

I really am Randy Gordon. I wanted to be Bill Gates, but my parents stubbornly insisted on being poor. not matter how much I begged them. As far as the acceptable level of political compromise, that kinda changes as you get older, and realize the limits of the possible. When I was young, I was worse than most of the posters here, though to be fair, I had a lot more to be enraged about. You see Bernie as part of the machine, because being part of the machine was what it took to for him keep this community healthy. You see him as doing nothing, because he and Alana take care of the boring little day to day details, rather than the glamorous projects that attract attention. But you didn't see him back before he was alderman, and how hard he worked for this community even then. Bernie was a John Marshall Law school graduate(1952). He could have made a fortune, and a much easier life as a corporate lawyer. But he choose this life, because he wanted to make a real difference. And thats an important point to remember. As a lawyer, he could easily win any debate against his untrained opponents. He didn't debate Naisy, or for that matter of fact, really campaign in this election, because, behind the realistic cynicism, he is still something of an idealist, and doesn't want to win except on the merits of his achievements. He devoted his life to this ward, and he wants validation of his life's work, not another meaningless win. But no, I don't think he would offer Naisy a job, and I would hate to see her accept. Her talents would be wasted as alderman or any other position in this ward. I would rather she try being a legislator, but if she wants to run a ward, I think she should try for one of the other wards, a ward with the kind of issues that she has talent and experience dealing with. We don't have a job problem, conflict between citizens and the government, a high crime rate, etc. The worst thing anyone can say about us is that the place is really run down, which is pretty much common throughout the city. I mean, some of Brewers supporters would stop at nothing, and the worst they could say was that Bernie is old. I was impressed with Naisy's conduct in the campaign (mostly) and you are right, the party does need people like her, people willing and able to pick up the torch when it is dropped, and the ability to keep it lit. But winning an election is not the only skill needed, she also has to have the skills to be able to do the job. Most important of those skills is the ability to make what you call an unacceptable level of political compromise. Anyone in a public position is faced with multiple sets of demands that are impossible to reconcile, and has the welfare of tens of thousands of people in his or her hands. And in the end, the welfare of those people are the only thing that's important. A good politician has to be able to make a deal with the devil and smile convincingly to achieve that. You know those antisemitic raids of the 50s I mentioned? Thats a good example. It wasn't the government who stopped them, it was the Chicago mob. Do you think it would have been better to keep your ideals, and let some second grader get beaten unconscious on a playground because he looked Jewish? Granted, thats an extreme example, (though that really happened) I used it only to make a point clear. We are one of the two ethnic communities left in Chicago, and yet, we are still amazingly diverse, with little obvious cultural conflict. That came at a price, an enormous amount of work behind the scenes every day to make sure that all the interests are balanced, that no cultural group wins or loses enough to feel they are being treated too unfairly. Thats not an easy task, and often conflicts with ideals. But it is better than the alternative. Naisy still has to internalize that, to learn to make the hard choices, before she takes responsibility for the welfare of large groups of other human beings. Losing an election doesn't have serious consequences. People suffering when it could have been prevented has a lot of lasting consequences, not the least of which is that you have to face those people for a long time afterward. P.S. "Elegant"? I..wow. Thanks.

Unbelievably, you topped yourself with this post. I repeat, why don't you jump back into the fray? As for the 'Mob' story, I vastly prefer the 'Chicago Mob' to what we've been stuck with downtown. At least with the mob, they don't lie to your face and they deliver exactly what they say they will, albeit not always what you wished for. :) At last that was the way I remember it being, in 'the old days'. Your point about Naisy losing this election is similiar to mine, it's an experience, one of the requirements for growth. However this whole thing turns out, your intelligent and courteous postings are appreciated, and not just because of the stark contrast they present compared to much of the above prattle. I wish that Bernie either had more control over the knuckleheads or, god forbid, hadn't invited them into what should be a civilized contest. If you have the knowledge that you appear to have of the varied 'workings' of our so-called public servants, you'll appreciate my stubborn refusal to let my ideals be beaten down by the passing of time, a lot of time though it has been. I'm just throwing my ideas out into the ether and waiting to see what, if anything, will be done with them. Thank you, again, for a refreshing breeze of civility.

Unbelievable that this has generated so many responses. I hope this augurs well for the participation level in the election for this ward.

> Only 30% of all eligable [sic] Jewish voters voted in the February election, mainly to protest a decision Bernie made. May I ask, what is your source on this figure? What was the decision?

> You know those antisemitic raids of the 50s I mentioned? Thats a good example. It wasn't the government who stopped them, it was the Chicago mob. Could you please expand on this? I am unfamiliar with this chapter in our City's history. Perhaps if I better understood the Jewish community's historical links with the Chicago mob, I would better understand Stone. Thank you.

> [Stone] could easily win any debate against his untrained opponents. He didn't debate Naisy ... because ... he is still something of an idealist, and doesn't want to win except on the merits of his achievements. Stone is not debating because he believes his record speaks for itself? May I ask, what is your source for this? Your theory is apparently contradicted by by Stone's own statements and by his statements through spokesmen. In televised interviews Stone challenged his opponents to debate "anytime, anywhere, anyplace." Stone recent wrote to constituents stated that he "welcomes a vigorous debate." Please clarify. How does idealism lead one to not want to debate? Thank you.

> We are one of the two ethnic communities left in Chicago May I ask, what are the two ethnic communities left in Chicago?

SURE LOOKS THAT WAY TODAY.FIRST YOUR PRE-EMPTIVE "GODWIN" POST(ON YOUR MORRIS CONTROLLED RAT-HOLE) TO ATTEMPT TO HEAD OF THE OBVIOUS CONDEMNATION YOUR NAZI TACTIC OF TRYING TO TIE THE CHICAGO JEWISH COMMUNITY TO CRIME .HOW DARE YOU !YOU ARE BLOOD LIBELING AGAINST THE JEWS!NO SURPRISE FROM YOU SINCE YOUR TACTICS ARE AS WELL KNOWN AS ARE YOUR PREJUDICES.YOU ONCE SAID YOU ARE A MASTER AT PLAYING THE RACE CARD GLOVESARE OFF --MF

The question needn't even be asked. Reading the rogers pk morris site he tried to short-circuit exposure of the apparent NAZI tactics he was about to employ ,which he just did put into practice .

NOW Hugh's true colors are showing.The Nazi anti-Semitism of the ESTES BLIGHT is on full display.This answers the question of WHY HUGH has an obsessive hatred of Stone.

could someone inform us at what age Hugh developed his animosity to his Jewish neighbors ,and to Jewish people in general?If Stone were not Jewish ,would Hugh still be harboring an obsessive hatred of him?

I'm reading these blogs becuase I have a personal connection with a person involved in the election. And while I don't live in the 50th ward I still believe a few things should be said. I know Naisy's husband personally (in the immediate family). He's not a stalker. That was a real funny statement, just hillarious. But, on a serious note, maybe you guys should stop bickering with each other about Stone and Dolar and take a look at your ward. Then decide who could take better care of it. Is that so hard to do??

oops, because.

The 50th ward has a great ALDERMAN,BERNY STONE,who as VICE-MAYOR,puts us in CHICAGO'S TOP TIER.STONE has kept the 50th a GREAT COMMUNITY,and is the principle reason that the ethnically and religiously diverse coommunities that comprise the ward live and flourish in PEACE and HARMONY.From the very beginning of this ENDLESS campaign, it has been Stone's opposition who have sought to create divisions in order to make Political GAIN ;one already defeated opponent even created division based on the type of residence one lived in.these are the DIVIDE and CONQUER tactics of the left-wing extremists who on a National Level hate their own country and are quick to "BLAME AMERICA FIRST";in this ward they "BLAME STONE FIRST".

Hugh may have hit on some tender points here, but his questions deserve answers. While R. Gordon's posts are well written and sound convincing, for them to be taken as gospel, he'll have to back up his statements of "fact" with verifiable references. Hopefully, he will either do so, or clarify what part or parts of his essays are his opinion only. We'll all have to wait to see if he does so.

Saw his post on rp site.He does seem to attempt to head off obvious conclusions at the pass.I agree with the poster who stated that Hugh's animous for Stone is now explained.i have seen him post on various sites day after day and often wondered why he does what he does;now it all adds up-he is a bigot and everything else with Hugh flows from bigotry's fountain.Its scary to know such a creature lives so close

Maybe, just maybe, the erudite Mr. Gordon's essays are an attempt by the grown-ups in Stone's camp to repair all the damage done to his campaign by the juveniles who have trying their "best" to create racial and religious hatreds where none exist, all with the misguided intent to secure Stone's reelection. The seething hatreds they refer to in their pathetic, asinine rantings are solely their own and it will be a shame if Stone remains in office as a result of their gutter tactics succeeding. I'm sure their postings here are just the tip of the iceberg of what they're doing elsewhere in our ward, so it's possible that their tactics will be successful. Is this the "legacy" that Stone really wants to leave, if, according to Mr. Gordon, that is Stone's primary motive for remaining the alderman?

to 6:11 poster-Nothing Hugh does deserves the dignity of even being taken seriously-they are bigotry motivated.Hugh's neighbors on Estes ,however,deserve for him to maintain his property.Obviously his paintbrush needs more action than his computer.

Another attempt to stop the exposing of the bigotry against Stone.the racial campaign of dolar,the vicious lies and innuendos by seiu and the bigotry of Hugh are all ignored by "maybe",but when these tactics are challenged and spotlighted than the Hate-Stone Gang hypocriticaly bleat.REMEMBER,it was not Stone's camp who started this and they are only pointing out what is true!

Another attempt to stop the hate-filled, bigotry motivated rantings of those Stone "supporters" who haven't used up their supply of dope and booze yet.

these stone haters are a most arrogant bunch of extremist whackos.They think that the truth about the bigoted Dolar/Anti-Stone campaign can be stifled by ridiculing the posters, and by giving english and computer lessons.

And what about the dope and booze comment? Or are you admitting to same?

you make our point for us afn(a-Hole for naisy)ridicule is all you have to put up against fact

The nature and content of your posts confirms the presence of legal and illegal substances in your systems. Unless, of course, you guys are just psychos naturally.

keeping up with the election back home via the net.from what i see the woman running against stone is creating fractures in the community by running what my research tells me is an asian power crusadeandalso a mean spirited attack-dog campaign against stone.I also see supporters of both battling it out here and on some other sites,although this site is ,by far,the fairest.most of the sites i have learned are moderated-censored pro-Dolar sites which mislead the voters to create a false bandwagon effect.

it is the Dolar whackos who have the needles in their arms.they live in an alternate universe

Nice try, "from out of town", but no cigar. Your syntax and phrasing shows you to be cut from the same cloth as the hate-baters. Try another alias.

Now I Know I'm lucky to be out of the city.my observations are what I see.I guess the Pro-stone Posters are right. Any hint of saying what is true is met with ridicule and accusation by the Dolar team.

From someone whom he and his organization have alwayssupported ,Ald.Stone deserved better from Jan Shakowsky,who should have endorsed Stone ,but at least should have kept her word to remain nuetral.

Schakowsky endorses Dolar! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHo-O_rqcEY

JAN SHAKOWSKY,EXTREMIST LEFT-WING "Blame America First" P elosi sychofant is a poster child for the rogues gallery that is what the National Democratic Party has become.First she votes with her fellow AMERICA BASHERS to shaft our Armed Forces and today she shows how worthless her word is by endorsing in a local race that she SWORE she would REMAIN NUETRAL in.Coming from an ELITIST like JAN, it is not a surprise nor a shock.

How can you see anything if you're 'out of the city'?

where new leadership is needed is not the 50th ward ,but rather the 9th congressional district. For Too long this District hasbeen represented by a left-wing radical who as part of House Democratic leadership is a leader in the "Blame America First" cabal who are ready to leave us defenseless before our enemies.GET YOUR OWN HOUSE IN ORDER, JAN,before you interfere elsewhere.

Actung!

Don't celebrate voter participation too soon, especially if you base your expectations on the number of posts on this site. 100+ and counting, just on the postings of the 'Dolar-haters' alone. (You can recognize their posts by looking for those lacking sentence and paragraph breaks and those posted ALL IN CAPITOLS, as well as those clearly written by the grammatically challenged.) Still, 150+ reasonably intelligent comments is pretty good, at that.

> Is Bernie Stone aware of these ranting, race-baiting posts? > Does he approve of them? > Did he direct those who are posting them to do so? > Is this the kind of gutter politics that Bernie approves of? Stone set the tone for his campaign when he first announced that he was running again, last May, 2006, in the final minutes of his cable show: Polite disagreement with Stone supporters on political issues is impossible. According to the Stone apologists, Stone's policies, positions, and processes are unassailable, therefore anyone who disagrees is a "Stone hater." Stone is the champion of all things good, therefore anyone who disagrees with him on any issue is considered harmful to our community. The vitriol so evident here originates from the candidate himself, from the earliest minutes of his campaign. Stone Flunky Meyers: I do want to just say this about the crowd I have seen at the [infrequent neighborhood] meetings, they are members of the "We Don't Like Berny Stone" Fan Club. Stone: Of Course! They're not there to really criticize these programs. Meyer: No. They don't like YOU. Stone: They're there because of ME. I really don't like them hurting the neighborhood because they don't like me. If they don't like me, run against me next February [2007]. ... I'm running for re-election next February. Stone's Biggest Fan Meyers: Yea! Stone: And all of you how don't like me, don't hurt the neighborhood, run against me for alderman. I INVITE you to run against me. Meyers: (laughs) Stone: And instead of hurting the neighborhood, run against me. Challenge me on election day as opposed to hurting the neighborhood. The Alderman Berny Stone Show First air date 5/4/06 http://ntnm.org/listings/tvb337-39-i.htm

Ok, I will try and take these in order. I really am not associated with the stone campaign (or the Democratic party, either). Just a private citizen concerned with for the neighborhood from past associations. I am making my own judgments on this. I am not jumping "back into the fray" because I frankly, I don't think I have the ability to do the job well. Tell you the truth, I wish I had Naisy's talent with people or a tenth of Bernies skills and experience. I would love to be an alderman or representative, but I am just an average person. I AM concerned about the future of the Democratic party in general and the community in particular. The Daley era is almost over, and we will need new leaders for the next few decades. I hope the party can find some possibilities out of this election. I think Naisy could develop into one of them, and I haven't written Naftab off yet. Naisy's associations with the union are a little to close for my comfort, and Naftabs arrests disturb me, but then again, a lot of Chicago politicians are associated with unions and eventually get arrested; it is practically a tradition. In this ward, I hope everyone is judged on what they become, rather than what they started out as. Lets see what Naisy and Aftab become, we might be surprised. One of the major reasons I said Naisy should bargain was because I had hoped that bargain could be a atarting point for a wider career. Remember, Obama was a community organizer, and Jesse was a toll booth attendant when they first started in political life. I hear they have done pretty good for themselves since then. As an aside, it is not at all certain Alana will be Bernie's successor. It is hers if she wants it, but that depends on whether she wants it. A child's ambitions don't always match those of their parents. Remember, her family is wealthy, she doesn't have to work for a living. She may not want the kind of abuse and betrayal her father got from the people and community he devoted his life to. She has been his chief of staff for 12 years, which means she has the pick of any management job in the public or private sector she wants. Becoming an alderman would mean sacrificing a lot of very good opportunities. She might be staying in the job only to assist her father. She may be tired of the job, or want a change. She may want someone else to be alderman and stay chief of staff. She may decide to challenge Shakowsky for the representative seat. I would love that, by the way. Shakowsky gets elected on the womens vote, another female candidate would severely cut her chances of reelection. Add in the fact that she is vulnerable for many other reasons and you have one real fun campaign to watch. Shakowsky may have endorsed Naisy just to head off a potential serious threat, either from Alana or Naisy. And if Alana does get elected, you could get a pay per view event out of the first time she locks horns with Reps Issa and Mica. I know I would pay good money to see that. Nobody knows yet what Alana intends to do. ... The mob association was actually sorta accidental. In the late 1950's, a young couple going to a wedding at a church in the area stopped at an intersection of California and Bryn Mawr, and one of the antisemitic gangs passing by smashed up their car and roughed them up because they looked Jewish. Turned out the girl was not Jewish, but WAS related to a mob boss. Needless to say, when the girls relatives heard the story, the attacks suddenly ceased, permanently as it turned out. Noone thought it wise to inquire too closely into the details. .... I get my numbers from election commission results and analysis. Others have come to te same conclusion. For example, "Little Frumhouse on the prairie", a Chicago Jewish blog, actually came to the same conclusion about Jewish voting participation completely independently of my analysis. As far as being one of two ethnic communities, thats an official Chicago community classification. Planning board, I think, but I don't really remember much except except being surprised. I thought we were diverse, not ethnic, but after some thought, I decided they were right. This isn't so much a melting pot as a goulash, or more specifically, "stone soup". ... By the way, everyone, I don't think Hugh is an antisemite. I have dealt with real antisemites, and Hugh isn't even close. However, he is a progressive, and apparently somewhat unsophisticated in his methods of influencing people. He will eventually learn what works, be patient with him until then.

DOLAR IS A RACIAL RACKETEER (Part VI) How long are we going to have to wait before Dolar's ICIRR multicultualist wackos call Stone's latest direct mail piece racist? Stone's mailing celebrates his action to keep street vendors off of Devon. He compares the situation to the 49th which is overrun with push cart vendors. Isn't this overtly racist? While the mailing depicts a hot dog vendor, we all know he is talking about the ELOTE vendors. C'mon Naisy and Marisa, show your solidarity with the downtrodden elote vendors and blast Stone for this vicious, racist assault on a different culture. So what if a guy comes down your street honking a bicycle horn and shouting,"ELOTES" That's just their culture and we must respect it. After all "Our Diversity is our Strength," right Naisy? So Dolar, you and your ICIRR comrades must come out and defend the Elote vendors against Stone's vicious, racist attacks.

RG, you don't seem to know the first thing about how politics are supposed to work. You talk of "Alana"(sp) getting elected and then you talk of the job being hers if she wants it, which one is it an appointment or an election? Oh btw, do you think Naisy will keep her on as Chief of Staff? "Her family is wealthy"...how do you figure that? Do you mean her dad? What type of "abuse and betrayal" did the community give to Alderman Stone? You can say as many times as you want that "I am not part of the Stone camp" but your words speak otherwise.

> I get my numbers from election commission results The Chicago Board of Elections does not report results by ethnicity or religious persuasion.

What decision did Stone make that kept Jewish voters from voting in Feb?

It looks like you're getting dragged into the fray anyway, so, why not look at it as your chance to help Bernie salvage some sense of dignity. Whether Stone approves of the divisive tactics of those engaged in 'gutter' campaigning, or whether he merely tolerates it, the fact that he has yet to publicly condemn these types of behaviors is the problem. Even if he is reelected and even if the Jewish residents of the ward don't have a problem with him because of these tactics, those who were disparaged by these low-lifes will still be living in the ward and still be the neighbors of Stones' Jewish supporters. Not a very pretty picture of future neighbor relations in the ward. Bernie's most dignified move would be to publicly condemn those misguided souls, who believe that 'all's fair in love, war and politics', and assure all the constituents of the ward that he, IN NO WAY, approves of the divisive tactics being employed on his behalf. If Stone wants his legacy to be more than a 'win-at-any-cost' one, he'll address this issue, publicly, BEFORE the run-off election. That way, should he be reelected, as you're confident he will be, he can honestly state that he didn't retain his office by employing these nasty tactics. A win-win strategy. If Naisy's supporters were to continue any of their ill-advised tactics, Bernie could then challenge Naisy to muzzle them, as he has just muzzled his 'rabid dogs'. Just a suggestion.

to label stone's defenders as "gutter" campaigners for pointing out the divisive and ethnic based nature of Dolar's campaign is a case of classic disinformation/propaganda. The extremist radicals who support Dolar have perfected the Big Lie technique to grab power wherever they can.If they were not waging the Dirty campaign that they are,against Stone,it wouldn't be necessary for these Dolar tacticsto be exposed>

sure..... whatever you say......

to illustrate what bad hands the party of FDR has fallen into ,on a National Level,the Betrayal of ALD.Stone by Cong.Shakowsky is indicitive of the methods used by the extreme Radicals who have captured o the National Democratic Party.Is it any surprise that within the same week,Jan has not only betrayed Berny Stone but also the American Armed Forces,and especially our Troops who are in combat fighting our nations enemies.

sure.... whatever you say....

well i guess you agree with the previous poster,UNLESS, of course,its more left-wing answering of FACTS with sarcasm and ridicule.At least you spared us all the English and Computer lessons.

Why? Do you miss them?

> extreme Radicals who have captured o the National Democratic Party Is there something you would like to announce? Is Berny going over for a second tour of duty with the Republican Party?

I liked the push cart vendors. They gave the street an international feel and most of the people I know understand the "eat at your own risk" factor. I admit to driving outside of the 50th ward to pursue my penchant for homemade tamales.

Please announce to those in your general vicinity when you have partaken, so they can prepare for the onslaught of wet farts.

Stone has still not answered if he uses Reyes partner Mike Noonan and the HDO drug thugs.

Of course he's 'using' anyone and everyone he can. He wants to stay in power, he figures he's earned a lifetime position. And, apparently, he doesn't care how he gets reelected.

Alderman Stone is running for re-election only to retire and elect his daughter to fill his spot. Nepotism is business as usual in the city of Chicago.

Whats obvious is how low you and your fellow Anti-Stone gutter snipes can get.No slur,lie or innuendo is too low for you cretins in your dishonorable assault on a decent man.Shame on you.Most likely you're a Brewer Bigot and live in Indian Boundary Cretinland.Amazing how such a beautiful area could attract such despicable creatures,but than again Nazi Germany had monsters living in nice houses in scenic places .Oh,and by the way,Don't you think the Alderman deserves some credit for YOUR neighborhood being so nice;of course, that doesn't fit into your PLAN.

so a man who has always been a person whose word is Gold ,says he is running ,for Himself,and you continue to spread the lie that You know differently.Since you are clairvoyant and a mindreader what is going to be the weather on July 4th? Also ,what are the winning Mega and Powerball numbers going to be for the next month?You lying Fraud!

You really are a whacko fool.The City has responsibility for the public good and health.This is not a Third world country,although you Left-Wing Radicals would love to make it so.

Can't speak for anyone else,but the National Democratic Party,of which Schakowsky and that Carpetbagger Honda are in leadership roles, drives most REAL life-long Democratics into Republican arms.Their only Loyalty is not to this country but to their own quest for power.

Thanks, once again, for proving my point.

What are you going to do beginning April 18th?Do you think maybe you could begin to make your property look better for the sake of the neighbors? The calender will bring this obsession of yours to a halt.

Since you're not one of my neighbors, or anyone else who lives in this ward, mind your own business.

re, re, re, re: You are right, this is not a third world country. Why not join a group that helps people in third world countries? You will have plenty of time off after the election. Helping others always makes me feel great and I suspect you may have some issues in that area based on your previous posts. If you want change, then make it happen. You are the only one who can make YOU happy.

I do live in the Ward ,Hugh.You're statement about minding one's OWN BUSINESS is farcical ,coming from you.The Neighbors consider you a fraud . You're problem is that you twist and SPIN things to support your lies and innuendos about Stone ,but you're poorly maintained property is FACT.Aah,got it!You are setting Stone up so you can charge him with your neglect.

Now we get a personal growth seminar from the FAR-Left.If God forbid Dolar wins,one won't have to go far to find the THIRD WORLD.Naisy,Marissa,and Azeman have a plan to bring the Third World to us.

by the way, Ayatullah Mehrdad Azemun is an Iranian agent and an enemy of state. As far as Naisy and Marissa concerns, they are just typical pushy, spoiled brats.

If Dolar is going to the far left then The Baby Killing Gays without Guns that supported Todd "The Toddler" Stroger should support her. All the liberal democrats are linning up behind her. But wait a minute Mike "The Toddler maker" Noonan is helping Bernie. Bernie is the Democrat Committeeman, but the liberals are going with Dolar. Mike Noonan, you don't have a Thornton Township or Rich Township to save you this time. You won't have the thugs in the Mighty Mighty 34th, 21st or the West Side to manufacture votes for you. You have apathy on your side, and you know how to steal votes and the election judges on your side.

If the Bush crime family hadn't misused our honorable service men and women to enable their oil industry associates to price gouge billions of dollars from us all, not to mention the billions reaped by Haliburton, et.al., our troops wouldn't be at risk in the first place. But, you know that, don't you? You guys keep raping this country for as long as you can, because the beauty of life is that 'Things Change'.

The silly Dolaristas can blather on all they want, fact is, however, Mayor Daley is making his first trip into the Ward next week to stump for Ald. Stone --- And Friday panel on Chigago Tonight, Week in Review picked Stone to win on Fri. show. OK Naisyites, you can go back to your dreamworlds now.

I guess we're just stubborn idealists, 'cause we're hanging around 'till the election is held and over. Sorry if that's an inconvenience for you hucksters.

that the Dolaristas stoop low enough to post the pictures from the crime scene at Ilana's house. A few years ago her house was broken into and a treasure trove of sex toys were found that would put the Pleasure Chest on Halsted to shame. It would be really sad for Ilana's kids to have to see that. I pray that the fascist Dolaristas have more decency than to do that.

THAT THEY DON'T! DON'T STOOP SO LOW!!!

TO ADD TO HIS BLIGHTED PROPERTY.(SEE HIS Pro-PUSHCART/ANTI-PUBLIC HEALTH POST ON MORRIS' CENSORED SITE)

IS BEN CHEREK A CROOKED COP? 2 disturbing possible abuses of police power have come to light in this campaign and Ms. Dolar has been disturbingly silent on them. First, Salman Aftab said that Scott Fornek of the Sun-Times told him that Dolar had leaked his expunged arrest records to him. Second, supposed details of a police investigation into a break-in at Stone's daughters house are being rumored. Is Mr. Dolar (aka Ben Cherek) illegally using police computer networks for private use to assist his wife's mud-slinging endeavors? Why has Naisy been so silent on the culture of violence and corruption in the Chicago Police Department? Because she was endorsed by her husband's FOP local? What kind of reform candidate remains silent on an internationally celebrated Chicago police scandal? What kind of reform candidate sneaks in to Chicago Police computers to dig up dirt on private citizens? Is this a case of "meet the new boss, same as the old boss?"

A great debt is owed to the READER for maintaining this uncensored site. It is one of the few places where the HATE-STONE GANG can't control both sides of the discussion.

I don't know about Ben Cherek being a crooked cop, but he certainly is a metrosexual cop. Does he represent crimestopper Naisy Dolar's vision of the ideal Chicago Policeman? Let's see -- he marries a woman who refuses to take his name and rather than buy a house, he moves into his in-laws home. Then he's pictured on his wife's campaign literature dutifully pushing a baby stroller in the shadowy background of his hard-charging little wife. Perhaps this is Naisy's vision of the ideal Chicago crimestopper. Maybe she would introduce a resolution to have Chicago's finest trade in their holsters for those Euro mens' purses. (With all the garbage Dolar has been throwing at Stone's family, metrosexual Ben is certainly fair game.)

Ben is obviously a secure male, husband, father and cop. He proves that "Good for the 50s" doesn't work for him, just like many of the residents here.

The Chicago Reader should be thanked for maintaining this wide open comment board, if for no other reason than to allow a venue for the Stone-backed haters to vent their spleens and to expose themselves as what they are. It's a sad, sad commentary on Bernie Stone's final term in office, that he's allowing, or is powerless to restrain, the activities exhibited just on this board alone. The few rational, reasonable and intelligent posts are far outnumbered by the rantings and semi-coherent ramblings of Stone's self-proclaimed political 'hit-squad'. Apparently, Bernie either approves of this nonsense, or is unable to stop it. Both possibilities reflect badly on Stone. Unless one believes that the challengers' supporters are posing as Stone supporters, the only conclusion to be reached is that Bernie's acceptance of these activities is a new low for him. Regardless of how much he desires to leave a 'legacy', this type of 'legacy' he could do well to be without.

I see the mindset of a scolding school marm in the above post. But can anyone see any argument or refutation.

Stone to Street Vendors: Get the Hell Out of the 50th Ward Meyers: So, number one: I was told at one of the CAPS [community policing] meetings by, somebody was claiming that there's actually a law in the 50th ward against having street vendors? Is that true? Stone: Yes. Meyers: So these guys - Stone: It's been the law for at LEAST 15 or 20 years. Meyers: So, but, you know what, on my corner, when school's in session, over, over, I live by Boone, there's going to be people selling these, um, frozen pretzel things messing up my grass, as if I don't water it enough, but, whatever, and, not frozen pretzels, but you know what I'm talking about. Stone: There's always, the law's always being broken all the time. I see these guys with these paper cups, I saw it this afternoon, standing on the corner ACCOSTING MOTORISTS. I mean, people break the LAW. Meyers: Well, that I know. And, by the way, I do remember my youth, and I made a big habit out of breaking the law. Stone: There's a law against peddling in the 50th ward, and the street vendors are part of the peddling law, and it has been the law for at LEAST 15 years that I recall. I introduced the law. I put in the exact dimensions of the 50th ward. I updated it about 5 years ago because of the change in the map of the 50th ward. And there's a no-peddling law in the 50th ward. In fact, I think if you go on certain corners, you'll see a sign that says "no peddling." and that's part of it. I don't bother the guys that sell Christmas trees at Christmas time. I don't bother ones that are INOFFENSIVE. But I do ask the police to stop the rug peddlers, the guys who set up shop with the paintings. Meyers: You know, I figure they're not even paying rent, they're just stealing somebody's space on someone's parking lot. Stone: That's exactly right. ... I've STOPPED them. I've had the police tell them point blank that we're going to confiscate their trucks and their goods if they don't GET THE HELL OUT of there. Meyers: ... So in other words if I see - you know what, I'll tell you something, I think it just cheapens a neighborhood, and give people a lower opinion of what's going on. And when I see these guys, like, you know, and you know, don't think I don't have a heart and I don't feel like they shouldn't be making money and whatever, but they don't have to make it HERE. Stone: There's a law against it. But of course the police have so many other things to do, that it's more important that they be stopping crime than that they hassle the street peddlers. If they see it, they're obligated to stop them. But on the other hand, in my book, it's more important that they stop crime. Meyers: I don't disagree, but let's face it, I mean, you know, I see people near Clinton, I see people near Boone, now if the police really took care of a just handful of people, it's pretty much GONE. There's not a ton of them. And I feel bad for them, but you know what, let them go down Clark Street, where it's more THEIR CROWD. That's more like a street. Or go down to Broadway and Belmont, that's more the area for these kind of things. Stone: That's not part of my ward. Alderman Berny Stone Show Original air date 9/7/06 http://ntnm.org/listings/tvb349-51-i.htm

Hats off to Berny!! If more people had known of the above, he'd have avoided the runoff. Is Hugh implying that he wants street vendors? If so, perhaps we can just pile up the eaten corn husks on his lawn. As I have been led to understand, it would be compatible with the general ambience there.

Refutation of what? The crap some are trying to pass off as fact? The bullshit and juvenile patter that some are presenting as relevant? The rantings of the drug and booze soaked hacks employed by, and/or approved of by, and/or allowed to spout their venom by our present, long-term alderman? Refutation, as in the discarding of refuse?

another example of answering truth with lies,slurs,and insults by the Dolar cretins.One look at the yellow hatted stormtroopers of the fascistic racial Dolar campaign and it is readily apparent that her dupes are the mentally and substance impaired.

So, you're suggesting that this 'Meyers' character is writing the scripts for the Stone camp cretins? Is 'Meyers" really that vilely talented?

Aftab: "I'm going to stab you up the ass to tell God I'm getting rid of at least one sinner! I want to clean up the planet after your type!" http://morsehellhole.blogspot.com/2007/02/50th-ward-residents-beware.html

Heads up for likely election fraud by Dolar's pro-illegal immigration campaign managers from ICIRR. The open-borders pimps who are running her campaign have been known to use Chicago's lax voting registration requirements to register non-citizens. Wouldn't it be delicious to see several of the ICIRR illegal immigration racketeers hauled off in handcuffs for election fraud?

Greg Brewer's repeated Pro-Dolar postings is more than he did for himself.Doesn't Loundy's CHUMP realize that he too was a victim of Dolar's Fascist tactics,or is his hatred of Stone so great that he and his supporters don't care.if he is angry ,it should be at Dolar who used her SLASH and BURN tactics against Brewer the last week before the first election,TOO late for him to respond.

couldn't agree more.it is noteworthy that most of Brewer's inner core are not doing for Dolar what they did for Greg.They obviously know that Naisy's Strategic final week backstab on Brewer is why she is where she is .

What you say is true.Seeing what she did to greg,it is beyond belief that anyone who supported him would have anything to do.Don't let her take your vote for granted. Dolar's unexpected "Stab in the Back" showed that she is unfit for this or any other office because She Lacks the most important personal trait that we must have in our elected officials:Integrity the first round is over.Now we must think of Who will represent us,a neophyte who really has no experience and who lacks honesty or Ald. Stone who tells you his truth instead of telling you what you want to hear. Stone does not break his word or backstab;his word can be relied upon and truth be told the neighborhood is not in the dire straits that any of Stone's opponents have portrayed because after all :how do the outs win?By complaining about anything and everything,IOW to have it both ways.This election is not about sending messages,its obout our community and having an Alderman who is both experienced ,but also truthful and with personal integrity.

You guys called Sal Aftab crazy? The posters on this blog are the most insane posters I have seen. I am writing in Mickey Mouse--a pox on both of your houses. Neither candidate is good.

This is what you get with a 9 or 10 month campaign.If Stone supporters won't let lies and smears go unanswered it is to their credit.There are not two sets of rules.Stone has remained positive , while everyday brings new lies and smears from Dolar, her masters at SEIU,and the anti-Stone crowd on these sites,most of which they control and "moderate".

So, what you're saying is a vote for 'Mickey Mouse' is a vote for Bernie?

more ridicule instead of answers from the Psuedo-Intellectual Elitists who want to turn the 50th into another "progressive paradise" like that "beautiful and safe" 49th ward hellhole,or perhaps the 48th or 46th wards "Gardens of Eden".50th warders ,Don't cut off your Noses to Spite Your Faces!

Don't put words in people's mouths.That is not what the answering poster obviously meant. You dolaristas think you are sooo clever and that the rest uf us are easily manipulated by the "cute"comments that you post instead of real answers to real questions.

Dolar yellow hatted invader,from the near South Side,rang our bell.We hid our resentment of this interference in our community's election, by this racially motivated young lady, and gave her the answers she wanted to hear, which she than marked on a list. We,of course will vote next week,but it won't be for who this young woman thinks it will be for.lol

> Stone has remained positive Stone Reneges on Pledge of Positive Campaign Goes Negative, Brings In Age Issue Then Public Affairs: Are you going to make the youth and inexperience of your opponents an issue? Stone: Hell, no! Four more years for 79 year young Ald. Berny Stone? Sunday, February 11, 2007 Public Affairs Podcasts http://web.mac.com/t.tang/iWeb/PublicAffairs/Podcasts/Podcasts.html Now Stone: Of course, the problem is - her age. Now, she talks about MY age, let's talk about HER age. She's so young she doesn't know about this. She's so young she that she doesn't really understand that these things have already occurred. Now she wants to talk about the FACT that I'm - well, I should be thrown on the junk heap. Meyers: (laughs) Stone: But as a matter of fact, she's so young and inexperienced that she doesn't UNDERSTAND ... Alderman Berny Stone Show 372 Segment 2 First Air Date: Thursday, March 22, 2007 http://ntnm.org/listings/tvb372-73-i.htm

Once again the Estes Spinmeister tries to have it both ways in his CRUSADE against Stone.In Hugh's twisted world all lies ,smears and innuendos against Stone are not only permitted ,but solicited.REMEMBER,during the Long run-up to round one Hugh posted on the "censored" Morris/Concaildi site(yes, the same Concaildi who posted a still there link to a Neo-Nazi/White Supremecist site)that,"Anybody who can't think of something BAD to POST about Stone,everyday isn't trying HARD ENOUGH". NOTHING Hugh posts should be taken for anything but the Propaganda that he is Infamous for.

on his censored site,"fair"Henry "Hank" Morris is making excusesasto why he is censoring and not admitting new members(heaven forbid a Stone Supporter might "sneak" in)by lying. Left-Wing PARTISAN Henry Morris is telling Hugh Devlin,the RABID Stone-Basher to SIC EM.Its bad enough that Morris allows Devlin to use his "moderated"site to spread lies,innuendos,and smears,by distorting and SPINNING records ,but by censorship and now closing off the phony community forum to new members.The community must realize that an evil group is trying to defeat Stone, in order to have their puppet in place.

Dolar/SEIU have most likely purchased Greg's Betrayal of himself and his Supporters with pledges to PAY-OFF HIS DEBT;in addition he already OWED SEIU.

Dolar/SEIU have most likely purchased Greg's Betrayal of himself and his Supporters with pledges to PAY-OFF HIS DEBT;in addition he already OWED SEIU.

At least we can all be grateful for the fact that the hate-mongers, ie. Stone Spammers, continue to post their rants the same way, (space-less, run-on sentences, abundant use of ALL CAPITOLS, absurd and twisted grammatical errors, etc.). It continues to make it easy to scroll past their inane prattle. Thanks, Stone-Spammers, we appreciate your 'consistency'.

THIS IS AN OPEN A D FREE SITE AVAILABLE TO BOTH SIDES. WHAT THE DOLAR ELITISTS DON'T GET IS THAT THEIR MODERATED/CENSORED SITES ARE AS UNAMERICAN AS IT GETS; THEY STIFLE THE INTENT OF THE FIRST AMMENDMENT--FREE SPEECH.

Hugh: That sign is not a step in the right direction. Oh,by the way Enjoy the corner sign. Kind of smiles at you, huh Hugh?

Oh, I think you feebs are speaking freely here, don't you? No one wants you guys and gals to stop posting, as your posts are quite entertaining. Please keep up the 'good' work.

feebs?

YOU are the only FAIR poster on the phony wrp MORRIS censored site.You're stating the truth about Morris running a pro-Dolar site ,in violation of Yahoo Group tos,is an ACCURATE DESCRIPTION OF THE SITUATION.Also,Morris won't allow any pro-Stone postings,and in fact won't allow new members before the election;this is out of FEAR that he won't be able to stop a PRO-STONE post.Henry Morris really thinks he "owns" a yahoo site.

Some readers of Clout City may be interested in additional facts and polite discussion between neighbors regarding our upcoming choice of alderman, minus the vitriol. West Rogers Park Yahoo! Group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wrogerspk/messages Thanks!

thanks to you, Hugh.

HE SHOULD MAINTAIN HIS PROPERTY INSTEAD OF USING HIS TIME TO SMEAR STONE.BTW, HUGH YOU HAVE TO ADMIT,THAT SIGN ON THE CORNER WAVES AT YOU.

gOEBBELS'DECIPLE ,MORRIS'CENSORED AND RESTRICTED MEMBERSHIP HAS NOW BEEN EXPOSED BY HIS OWN POSTERS WHO ARE MAINLY O-U-T-R-A-G-E-D THAT MORRIS HAS BOTH VIOLATED THEIR PRIVACY RIGHTS, BUT ALSO HAS MADE THEM INVOLUNTARY DUPES OF DOLAR'S GUTTER-LEVEL CRUSADE.A SPECIAL SALUTE TO DEBRA,WHO HAS TOO MUCH CLASS AND INTEGRITY TO LET MORRIS USE HER. DEBRA, YOU GRACE THE 50TH WARD WITH YOUR PRESENCE.

henry morris' wrpk site was obviously created by that " wonderful neighbor",Hank Morris, apparently as an escalating Bash Stone tool.Now that he has used the site to benefit Dolar openly, his phony veil of a "community forum of neighbors" is finally showing its true deceitful face to the public.

Bernard L. Stone Explains Tax Increment Financing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oecFaJ_8NqA This interview is very significant because it is a unique example of an informed interviewer attempting to extract an honest explanation of TIF from a local elected official. Please watch as Berkowitz, over and over, tries to get Stone to say where TIF money comes from. All Stone would do is repeat over and over his TIF mantra, "IT'S FOR THE NEW SCHOOL!" Our alderman and our mayor are lying to us about TIFs. Our local elected officials shirk their responsibility to educate and inform the public by not coming clean about how TIFs work.

And now they are operating in tandem.Perhaps they could operate in tandem and start maintaining their disgracefully neglected properties. What is amazing is how much they have in common;its hard actually, to determine which property is a bigger blight,Hugh's or Jay's.

""Show Us the Money TIF districts are siphoning hundreds of millions of dollars away from schools and other city services, and nobody even has to tell us why. By Ben Joravsky February 4, 2005 The Fullerton/Milwaukee Tax Increment Financing district is raking in so much in property taxes that city officials have managed to spend only half the money. Yet they now want to expand the district and rake in even more. "How can they take more money if they haven't spent the money they have?" asks Carter O'Brien, who lives in Logan Square just outside the district. Good question. O'Brien's also wondering where the new money would be spent. As he and other city residents are learning, TIFs have generated huge sums, yet it's difficult to find out how much money's in a given TIF fund, much less how it's being spent. Jason Hardy, a researcher for the Center for Economic Policy Analysis, has spent years studying TIFs and probably knows as much about them as anyone. He doesn't like them. "They're very difficult to regulate," he says. TIFs were designed to fund development within their boundaries. The Fullerton/Milwaukee TIF district runs roughly from Belmont to Armitage along Milwaukee, darting several blocks west along Fullerton and Armitage. The TIF was set up by the City Council to start on February 16, 2000, and won't end until 2023. For 23 years the amount of property taxes the city gets from the area for schools, parks, police, and other services is frozen at the amount it was getting on February 15, 2000. Any increase in property taxes from then until 2023 (the "increment") goes to the TIF. Of course since taxes will rise if the value of property in the area rises, property owners will see their taxes go up just as they would have without the TIF. According to the county clerk's office, which keeps track of these things, the area that's covered by the Fullerton/Milwaukee TIF district generated about $4.1 million in property taxes in 2000. It generated $6.7 million in 2003, so $4.1 million went to schools, etc, and the extra $2.6 million went into the TIF fund. Over the past four years a total of about $6 million has gone into the TIF--money that would otherwise have gone to fund schools, etc. What did the planning department, the main body deciding what TIF funds get spent on, do with the $6 million? According to city documents analyzed by the Neighborhood Capital Budget Group, a not-for-profit watchdog, the department set aside about $700,000 for grants to unnamed merchants who wanted to fix up their properties, and it earmarked another $2.45 million for the construction of a shopping strip at California and Armitage (there's no indication whether that was in loans or grants). It's not clear what, if anything, has happened to the remaining $3 million. In fact, it's not clear what happens to a lot of TIF money. There are now 131 TIF districts in Chicago, encompassing roughly 30 percent of the city's geographical area. According to the clerk's office, they siphoned off about $287 million in property taxes in 2003. To find out what I did about TIF spending I had to go to four different public agencies (the county treasurer, the county assessor, the county clerk, and the planning department) and two private ones (the Neighborhood Capital Budget Group and the Center for Economic Policy Analysis), then piece together the information. There's no overall TIF budget that has to be approved by the City Council, though the aldermen have to sign off on the regular city budget every year. There's no annual public hearing at which planning commissioner Denise Casalino lays out how her department intends to spend TIF money, though every year the department lays out for the public how it intends to spend its other funds. City, county, CTA, Park District, and Board of Education annual budgets are all openly scrutinized at public hearings, but not the TIF budgets. What's more, itemized tax bills sent to property owners in TIF districts state that the TIF receives none of their tax dollars (as I explained in my December 10 column). That's simply not true--if you own property in a TIF district, the TIF is getting some, or all, of your tax dollars, no matter what your bill says. If you want to know how much goes to the TIF, you have to do some complicated math using information collected by an obscure section of the county clerk's office, information that as far as I can see isn't available in any printed document or on the county's Web site. City and county officials say they don't have the computer technology to break out TIF expenditures on tax bills, but you have to wonder whether someone simply doesn't want taxpayers to know that TIFs are getting so much money at a time when schools are laying off teachers, the CTA's cutting service, and potholes aren't getting filled. Now, I don't want to suggest there's no oversight. The City Council, the Community Development Commission, the Chicago Plan Commission, and the Joint Review Board all have to approve the creation of a TIF district. But no proposed TIF has ever been scotched. All of the people sitting on the two commissions and the board are mayoral appointees or appointed by mayoral appointees, and they generally give the planning department whatever it asks for. When it comes to spending TIF funds, the board and the commissions pretty much drop out of the picture. The Plan Commission has to approve major projects but not their funding. The aldermen do have some say in how TIF funds are spent in their wards, but according to the ones I talked to, they often don't know what money's available or what it's being spent on. And when TIF districts cross ward boundaries they probably know even less. In short, the planning department seems to be handing a lot of taxpayer money to developers, architects, planners, consultants, and lawyers with very little oversight. Many activists think TIFs generate nothing more than a giant slush fund. When the state created the TIF program back in the 80s it enacted very specific guidelines. TIFs were intended only for "poor and blighted" communities that weren't going to get much private investment without one. Municipalities that set them up had to be very specific about what the money they took in was funding, and the state had to approve the projects. But state legislators and administrators long ago diluted those rules. A TIF district no longer needs to be poor and blighted--there are now TIFs in some of the city's wealthiest areas, including Lincoln Park and the Loop. There's no longer any requirement that the city reveal exactly how it plans to spend TIF money or that the state approve a project. When the Fullerton/Milwaukee TIF was created it was championed by the planning department and Alderman Vilma Colom, whose 35th Ward contained most of the district. The stated purpose of the TIF was to spruce up the community. It never got any more specific than that. At a public hearing in 2000, the Logan Square Neighborhood Association, a prominent community group, gave the TIF its qualified support. Speaking for the association, Kathy Tholin asked the city to create a citizens' advisory committee to oversee the TIF and make sure funds weren't used to "create upscale housing," arguing that money that went to housing should be for affordable housing only. She also urged that TIF money be used to support three local public schools and "to expand job opportunities for local residents." In the five years since the TIF was created Colom has been voted out of office. No citizens' advisory board has been created, and it would be hard to create one because the TIF district now runs through five different wards, thanks to the 2001 redistricting. According to planning department documents, none of the money that's poured into the TIF has gone to local schools and none has been used for affordable housing. Yet Milwaukee Avenue looks much as it did five years ago. Planning department officials say they have no specific projects in mind in the area covered by the proposed TIF expansion, which would be primarily west along Belmont to Tripp and filling in along Milwaukee. But few of the activists believe them. "The city won't say what they're doing," says one, "so everyone's wondering what's really going on." He notes that the expanded TIF district will include the Mega Mall, a big, bargain-priced shopping center at 2500 N. Milwaukee that was left out of the original TIF district. He and other residents suspect the city wants to use TIF funds to replace the mall with a high-end retailer. They also worry that TIF funds could be used to finance upscale condos near Belmont and Pulaski. "There's a lot of speculation," says the activist. As with most TIF-related matters, the city only fuels such speculation by shrouding its plans in secrecy. Pete Scales, the planning department's press spokesman, didn't return calls for comment. On January 3 the department held a public meeting on the expansion. About 50 people showed up and barraged officials with questions. "They kept telling us that this was really a matter of just correcting the TIF, just putting in properties that should have been included in the first place--as if that was going to reassure us," says O'Brien. "From their perspective, the whole city should have been included in that first TIF. I kept asking, 'Why are you expanding the TIF if you don't know what you're doing with the old one?'" He was told the department was still looking at ideas."" Does anyone, with a brain that works, think that TIFs are anything other than a SLUSH FUND for political favors? Does anyone, with a brain that works, fail to understand that this is what we get when we continually allow the incumbents to engage in their 'long-term-planning'? Does anyone, with a brain that works, truly believe that our 'public servants' are acting in OUR 'best interests'? EVER? "WHEN IN DOUBT, VOTE THEM OUT Use the following formula to maximize the effectiveness of your vote: 1) The voter MUST know who the INCUMBENTS are. 2) NEVER VOTE FOR THE INCUMBENT. 3) If there is only ONE CHALLENGER, vote for that candidate. 4) If there are two or more challengers, then: a) If the incumbent is listed FIRST, then vote for the candidate who is listed LAST. b) If the incumbent is not listed first, then vote for the candidate who IS LISTED FIRST. Should you sincerely like an incumbent candidate, by all means vote for him / her. Remember, however, that those who have been in power for decades have been able to do so by being unified in their support of the party chosen. To counter this unity-of-purpose, the common citizen must have the same strength of unity, albeit, one focused on ousting the incumbents. The above is a strategy that will be the most effective at achieving this goal."

oooow. Hank really thinks that site of his makes him the GRAND PUPAH. This fraud says he welcomes Pro-Stone posts,yeah right. Thats why he censors and won't allow new members until AFTER the election.

Cook County Tobacco lobbyist Commissioner slimy liar sleazeball playing both sides LARRY SUFFREDIN is endorsing BERNIE STONE (lots of Filipinos in Skokie who won't like that) BUT is he really with STONE or with DOLAR--as he coordinates moves with Convict Bob Cramer's husband Congressman JAN SHACKOWSKY who is endorsing DOLAR either way they can't lose!!! But if the people know (they always rely on the people not knowing) they can should both lose. I hope Stone and Dolar are both hip to the two timing dou of Convict Cramer's significant other and fatboy tobacco lobbyist Larry Suffredin.

Hugh ,you can't disguise yourself. That ramble was signature Hugh.Hugh,Hugh,Hugh,don't think that you fool anybody.your Anti-Incumbent Obsesssion shines through.

Comm. Suffredin is a good and loyal man,something "Both Sides" would never understand.

As does your 'clout monkey' mentality.

Hugh,Hugh,Hugh-time for you to be a paint monkey.Start making your property something your block will be proud of.And Hugh,your sign is not a property improvment.Start being a desirable neighbor instead of a computer commando.

you enjoy the experience of not being protected by "moderation", don't you.after all ,you like a good discussion .

Three well-established community organizations sponsoring Thursday's debate resent the lying subterfuge Dolar is using to avoid debating the issues with Stone.

This is Bernie's version of 'honesty': "Bernard L. Stone Explains Tax Increment Financing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oecFaJ_8NqA This interview is very significant because it is a unique example of an informed interviewer attempting to extract an honest explanation of TIF from a local elected official. Please watch as Berkowitz, over and over, tries to get Stone to say where TIF money comes from. All Stone would do is repeat over and over his TIF mantra, "IT'S FOR THE NEW SCHOOL!" Our alderman and our mayor are lying to us about TIFs. Our local elected officials shirk their responsibility to educate and inform the public by not coming clean about how TIFs work." I see the Stone-Spammers have gotten their fresh supplies of dope and booze. Don't overdo it, boys and girls, we wouldn't want to have to pay for your trip to the ER.

I suppose there's a certain irony in Ben's writing being flinched - for a Reader blog!

New YouTube Stone: Soft on Corruption http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adlbVcvRTl4 The number one most important reason not to re-elect Bernard L. Stone is his ongoing role as an enabler of corruption in City Hall. Through his willful negligence of his oversight role, Stone is an un-indicted co-conspirator in each and every City Hall scandal.

FASCIST HANK is on a real power/ego trip. His "members"now see how this "paragon of fairness and good neighborlyness" really is. Hank actually thinks is "ownership" of that site gives him the DICTATORIAL power to violate the FIRST AMENDMENT.Last night, everyone's favorite PHONY Liberal,Henry,went on his own rant,kind of an electronic version of his idol,Dr. Josef Goebbles. Don't you just wish THE READER would let you and Concaildi moderate this site,HENRY?STOP LYING MR. MORRIS!!!

Once again BASHING STONE has taken PRIORITY for HUGH,rather than doing what he must for the neighbors!

Larry Suffredin being a good and loyal man? LOL Just ask his fellow Commissioners, or Cal Sutker He is playing both sides in the 50th ward race. He is a political protege of Convict Cramer. What do you expect from a TOBBACO LOBBYIST?---maybe get some more kids to start smoking Larry Larry Suffreding is a pathological liar

Larry Suffredin has more integrity than Mrs.Creamer,oops,Jan.If Pelosi isn't carefule this "HER LADYSHIP of the BACKSTAB" will betray her at THE crucial moment. The Evanstonian who lives up to progressive ideals is SUFFREDIN .

"FAIR" Hank Morris,the very SELF-PROCLAIMED" PARAGON OF ELECTRONIC DEMOCRACY,KEEPS TIGHTENING HIS MODERATION/CENSORSHIP AS E-DAY DRAWS CLOSER BY THE HOUR.THE PHONY WRP SITE MORRIS ARROGANTLY BRAGS THAT HE "OWNS", IS A PROPAGANDA ARM OF THE SEIU-DOLAR "BIG LIE"CAMPAIGN AGAINST STONE.MORRIS IS EVEN DRAWING A STILL 2/27 SHOCKED ANN INTO THE FRAY.HER POST IS IN CYPHER. IF MORRIS REALLY WANTED FAIR,HE WOULD OPEN HIS SITE TO ALL POSTS,BUT WITH MORRIS/CONCAILDI DOING THE MODERATING THERE WILL BE NO FREE SPEECH. WHAT SHOULD BE BANNED,HENRY,IS CONCAILDI'S WHITE SUPREMICIST LINK,AND NOT THE OTHER SIDE.

His latest baseless and phony charge, on HIS MORRIS CENSORED SANCTUARY, is a debasement of all things decent.Hugh is on a total BLITZKRIEG of LIES and INNUENDO with his figments of imagination.

Does anyone know what the Stone-Spammers will be doing after the election? Returning to their city/county 'jobs'? Those 2-day-a-week, 3-hour-a-day jobs? These boys and girls must be conflicted, ie. get paid for getting drunk and high and venting their spleens on the Net versus get drunk and high and force themselves to show up for some face time at their almost no-show clout jobs. I'll bet they're satisfied with either/or. Clout monkey living.

Hugh is trying to be INCOGNITO again.Another post from deep space.Wow! Hugh shooting at mirages!By the way ,What is a clout monkey?Now Hugh makes up his own language,and one more thing.Stone Supporters are not spammers and to make the point even further this is a fair and UNCENSORED SITE!

and willow is close behind.

Because he can't moderate the OTHER side

"By the way ,What is a clout monkey?" Find a reflecting surface, stand in front of it and observe.

356 posts - day-yum !

New YouTube! Stone: On Democracy Bernard L. Stone, 79-year-old candidate for alderman from the 50th ward of Chicago, shares his views on ballot initiatives, participatory democracy, and community process. Just 2 minutes 40 seconds. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1Jb3yavYN4

Salman Aftab was on Arab talk show last night, announcing Hillary Clinton's fundraiser and asking support from Chicago's Arab community. He's supposed to be on Obama's side. That's what he always bragged about. What a hypocrite and a loser?

"What a hypocrite and a loser?" Why the question mark at the end of this statement of fact?

Hank now is in full DENIAL of FREEDOM of SPEECH-only members of His SECRET SOCIETY can even see what is happening on the Dolar propaganda arm moderated by "FAIR"HANK.Rich ,of neo-NAZI Supremecist site linking fame,must be so proud of HANK.

Just pulled it up and the poster is right,Henry Morris is not even allowing non-members to read its messages.In recent days ,Morris has even threatened members ,whose posts HE doesn't agree with,to be subject to increased "MODERATIO; he froze membership,lest someone who didn't bash ALD. STONE continuously somehow got in.HANK,YOU ARE A FASCIST!

So, you have been denied the opportunity to spam and you're upset. Poor babies.

the truth noose keeps tightening on the STONE-BASHERS. Just shows the FASCIST SIDE OF Dolar's campaign and its propaganda Arm-Morris' "transparent and open community forum" .THE REAL REASON for MORRIS TRAMPELING on FREEDOM of SPEECH is that they are giving their DIRTY TRICKS INSTRUCTIONS OVER HIS SITE.Hugh ,to be sure,is playing a leadership role in Dolar's NEFARIOUS SCHEME!

So, now you boys and girls have come out of the closet. Keep on with your "NEFARIOUS" hatred incitements, you're making Bernie look like a really 'all-inclusive' fellow. Next, you'll be playing the 'everyone's a nazi' cards, right?

You Stone Bashers are World Class liars,hypocrites,smear,and spin artists.YOU are responsible for the most HATEFUL and MEAN campaign in 50th ward history,yet you FALSELY claim your Target's legitimate SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT is what you and NASTY NAISY are guilty of everyday. Case in point,YET ANOTHER piece of garbage in today's mail from the DESPERATE LIARS of Seiu TRYING TO BUY DOLAR A SEAT TO BE THEIR PUPPETand PROTECT THEIR INVESTMENT!

Well, Emperor HANK, HAS RECONSIDERED HIS TRYING TO LIMIT FREE SPEECH . Even though HANK,that Paragon of "fairness" is no longer on "restricted members only" viewing ,the Dolar PROPAGANDA ARM is still restricted with NO STONE SUPPORTERS ALLOWED.

Well, you posters could TRY disguising yourselves as civilized, respectful, intelligent, fair-minded, honest human beings......... Too much of a stretch for you?

Let's let the man himself SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT. New Video: Stone to Push-Cart Vendors: GET THE HELL OUT! 'All-inclusive' fellow Bernard L. Stone, 79-year-old candidate for alderman from the 50th ward of Chicago, shares his views on America, our ethnic melting pot, land of equal opportunity for all. Yet for some in the 50th ward, not so much. Video http://www.tokillfor.com/view_video.php?viewkey=370b744850a98a95b73a Transcript http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wrogerspk/message/2086 Bonus footage from The Best of Berny Stone: On Democracy Bernard L. Stone, 79-year-old candidate for alderman from the 50th ward of Chicago, shares his views on ballot initiatives, participatory democracy, and community process. Video http://www.tokillfor.com/view_video.php?viewkey=572a47f56846acbeef5d Transcript http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wrogerspk/message/2144 Stone: On Development: NO NEED for Community Zoning Board Bernard L. Stone, 79-year-old candidate for alderman from the 50th ward of Chicago, shares his views on the relationship between campaign financing and development policy, on affordable housing, and on community involvement. Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYpJ5SFOK9Y Stone: Soft on Corruption Through his willful negligence of his oversight duties, Bernard L. Stone, 79-year old candidate for alderman of the 50th ward of Chicago, is an un-indicted co-conspirator in each and every City Hall scandal. Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adlbVcvRTl4 Transcript http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wrogerspk/message/1768 Tax Increment Financing Explained Bernard L. Stone explains Tax Increment Financing. This interview is very significant because it is a unique example of an informed interviewer attempting to extract an honest explanation of TIF from a local elected official. Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oecFaJ_8NqA Transcript http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wrogerspk/message/2131

HUGH,WHY DON'T YOU MAKE YOUR PROPERTY MORE PRESENTABLE ,INSTEAD OF SPENDING ALL OF YOUR TIME MAKING UP FALSE ACCUSATIONS AND INNUENDOS AGAINST STONE?THE NEIGHBORS REALLY ARE UPSET WITH YOU BECAUSE IF YOU HAVE TIME TO DO WHAT YOU DO,THEN YOU HAVE TIME TO NOT BE A BLIGHT ON THE BLOCK.SINCE YOU ALWAYS REFER TO "THE NEIGHBORS" WHY NOT TAKE THEM AND YOUR BLOCK'S INTEREST TO HEART AND DO WHAT'S RIGHT. YOUR BASHING STONE EVERYDAY IS NOT GETTING YOUR WINDOWS PAINTED OR OTHER NECESSARY MAITENANCE DONE.

So, presenting Stone's own words, publicly spoken words, is now libelous? Maybe Stone should sue himself for libel.

Purely to satisfy my intellectual curiosity, has anyone else absorbed the lesson of the February elections that indicated bloggers (either side) had no effects on the results? (If blogging had any effect,Greg should have done much better at the polls.) The runoff next week should tell us a bit more about what works and what doesn't in the ward. In the meantime, I wonder if the Webmasters might offer up a few statistics about how many different IP addresses read this comment thread, and how many different ip addresses wrote comments. (A cursory analysis indicates that it is possible several posters wrote under multiple names, and, in several cases, both pro and anti stone comemnts. I don't think it would violate anonymity to tag each comment with a unique id indicated what IP address it was posted from, say, IPAD#1, ipad#2, etc... Perhaps one of the Chicago Reader journalists might be interested in this (hint, Mr Dumke ...) I think there is a very interesting article about internet politics that could be extracted from such an analysis. There is an old saying "On the Internet, no one knows you are a dog (or, in this comment thread, replace dog with "son of a bitch"), so it would be interesting to find out how many of these puppies are chasing their own tails. I have long (multiple decades) been interested in getting more people involved in particpatory democracy, especially immigrants that come from regions where the caliber of political discourse is directly correlated to the caliber of the firearms in the immediate area. Blogs don't seem to be achieving that purpose. Instead they seem to be acting as a place to vent personal issues safely. Not that that sdoesn't seem laudable, I would hate to think of this vitriol sliming some innocent bystander. But the Reader might consider adding a structured forum, perhaps moderated according to some adaptation of Roberts Rules of Order. It would certainly generate free content for the paper, and be far more interesting than the "cyber bullying" that seems to take up an inordinate amount of this thread. There is another reason I want this, also. USOC just declared Chicago to be the winner of America's bid for the Olympics. That means Chicago will be competing against Madrid, Tokyo, Brazil, etc for ISOC approval in October, 2009. Just think, what impression if would make if we could get a Reasoned and polite electronic debate going among the various ethnic groups that make up the ward (and Chicago) on various subjects?

Welcome back. Moderation is a delicate task. One poster's spam is another poster's ham. An intelligent and balanced standard would be welcome, but difficult to achieve, given the natural tendency for any human being to be somewhat biased by personal opinion. All that said, is it possible to fairly and reasonably moderate political and social discourse? Allow unrestricted postings to appear for, say, 24 hours, then remove those that are clearly without minimally rational and relevant content, might be something to try, but still would fall short of the goal of free and open posting. Moderation still requires judgements be imposed on the posted opinions, so true free speech would not be achieved. Is it really that much of a problem, to have to scroll past the bullshit posts? Don't these posts encourage, rather than discourage, more rational and reasoned posters to participate? Don't these types of posts actually allow those of calmer mind to 'consider the source', something that allows those living in the light of day to see those who dwell beneath the rocks? I find these 'cyber bullies' to be both repugnant and hilarious. Let the ranters vent their spleens, let them crawl out from under their rocks and we'll all be better able to know them for who they are. It's not that difficult to recognize crap when you read it.

New Video: Stone Debates Stone: On Crime and Cameras Point-Counterpoint: Bernard L. Stone, 79-year-old candidate for alderman from the 50th ward of Chicago, debates Bernard L. Stone, 79-year-old candidate for alderman from the 50th ward of Chicago, on the issues of crime and cameras. Whatever your views on the severity of the crime problem in the 50th ward, or on efficacy of police cameras, you will find something to appreciate in the positions of Bernard L. Stone. Stone talks out of both sides of his mouth so much, he debates HIMSELF! Watch as Stone reverses course and then revises history. Video http://www.tokillfor.com/view_video.php?viewkey=7264765356fcc56d801d Bonus footage from The Best of Berny Stone to Push-Cart Vendors: GET THE HELL OUT! Bernard L. Stone, 79-year-old candidate for alderman from the 50th ward of Chicago, shares his views on America, our ethnic melting pot, land of equal opportunity for all. Yet for some in the 50th ward, not so much. Video http://www.tokillfor.com/view_video.php?viewkey=370b744850a98a95b73a Transcript http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wrogerspk/message/2086 Stone: On Democracy Bernard L. Stone, 79-year-old candidate for alderman from the 50th ward of Chicago, shares his views on ballot initiatives, participatory democracy, and community process. Video http://www.tokillfor.com/view_video.php?viewkey=572a47f56846acbeef5d Transcript http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wrogerspk/message/2144 Stone: On Development: NO NEED for Community Zoning Board Bernard L. Stone, 79-year-old candidate for alderman from the 50th ward of Chicago, shares his views on the relationship between campaign financing and development policy, on affordable housing, and on community involvement. Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYpJ5SFOK9Y Stone: Soft on Corruption Through his willful negligence of his oversight duties, Bernard L. Stone, 79-year old candidate for alderman of the 50th ward of Chicago, is an un-indicted co-conspirator in each and every City Hall scandal. Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adlbVcvRTl4 Transcript http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wrogerspk/message/1768 Tax Increment Financing Explained Bernard L. Stone explains Tax Increment Financing. This interview is very significant because it is a unique example of an informed interviewer attempting to extract an honest explanation of TIF from a local elected official. Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oecFaJ_8NqA Transcript http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wrogerspk/message/2131

See, there are intelligent posts on this board!

Randy Gordon, I've enjoyed your comments but you lost me on Dolar as legislator and Ilana as congressional rep(?????!!!!)

Randy was just being a sweet-talker on that one. After all, Naisy's kinda cute, if you like 'em feisty.

Video Stone does NOT want you to see before you vote. Stone Debates Stone: On Crime and Cameras Point-Counterpoint: Bernard L. Stone, 79-year-old candidate for alderman from the 50th ward of Chicago, debates Bernard L. Stone, 79-year-old candidate for alderman from the 50th ward of Chicago, on the issues of crime and cameras. Whatever your views on the severity of the crime problem in the 50th ward, or on efficacy of police cameras, you will find something to appreciate in the positions of Bernard L. Stone. Watch as Stone reverses course and then revises history. Video http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=3d9_1176733241 Stone to Push-Cart Vendors: GET THE HELL OUT! Bernard L. Stone, 79-year-old candidate for alderman from the 50th ward of Chicago, shares his views on America, our ethnic melting pot, land of equal opportunity for all. Yet for some in the 50th ward, not so much. Video http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=380_1176701355 Transcript http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wrogerspk/message/2086 Stone: On Democracy Bernard L. Stone, 79-year-old candidate for alderman from the 50th ward of Chicago, shares his views on ballot initiatives, participatory democracy, and community process. Video http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=955_1176732624 Transcript http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wrogerspk/message/2144 Stone: On Development: NO NEED for Community Zoning Board Bernard L. Stone, 79-year-old candidate for alderman from the 50th ward of Chicago, shares his views on the relationship between campaign financing and development policy, on affordable housing, and on community involvement. Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYpJ5SFOK9Y Stone: Soft on Corruption Through his willful negligence of his oversight duties, Bernard L. Stone, 79-year old candidate for alderman of the 50th ward of Chicago, is an un-indicted co-conspirator in each and every City Hall scandal. Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adlbVcvRTl4 Transcript http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wrogerspk/message/1768 Tax Increment Financing Explained Bernard L. Stone explains Tax Increment Financing. This interview is very significant because it is a unique example of an informed interviewer attempting to extract an honest explanation of TIF from a local elected official. Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oecFaJ_8NqA Transcript http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wrogerspk/message/2131

after all of these months,Hugh is still putting forth distorted and imaginary accusations based on nothing. Hugh's practice of long posts with links are PROOF of his MISUSE of public records and ANCIENT news stories to draw FALSE and LIBELOUS conclusions /accusations that are JUST NOT TRUE.

I heard that Stone was on WLS last night and Dolar called in. Is there a link anywhere to this?

Since Hugh always start shis malicous posts with a recital of Stone's age,its only right to remind readers as to facts about Hugh,and how the same tactic could be done in reference to the "Estes Blight". For example,one could begin posts that REFUTE Hugh's lies with:"Hugh,the Hate-filled smear artist",or "Hugh,everybody's LEAST FAVORITE neighbor",or maybe,"Hugh,who has no time to maintain his block-blighting proprty due to his constant time spent on making up lies about Stone on the various web sites", or with a host of other possibilities as well.

Now the WEST ROGERS PARK YAHOOS are saying that STONE DEFACES THE AMERICAN FLAG! Will THESE LIES NEVER END?

ALD.STONE was a guest on WLS RADIO-"THE TOM ROESER SHOW" last night and DOLAR called in making it the Debate she FALSELY CLAIMED she wanted.ON THE AIR,ON a 50,000 WATT AM station, with Neutral moderators ,she couldn't answer the questions,was EXTREMELY AGITATED,FLUSTERED ,AND CLEARLY PROVED THAT SHE HAS NO COMMAND OF ISSUES nor their SOLUTIONS and finally HUNG-UP on the DEBATE SHE INITIATED ,when she realized SHE IS NOT IN STONE'S LEAGUE. By hanging up on What she PLANNED as AN AMBUSH,SHE only proved THAT she DOES NOT have what it takes to represent anyone,ANYPLACE!

"after all of these months,Hugh is still putting forth distorted and imaginary accusations based on nothing" So, Bernie's own words are as nothing to you? "its only right to remind readers as to facts" You mean like: "Hugh April 16th - 9:38 a.m. Video Stone does NOT want you to see before you vote. Stone Debates Stone: On Crime and Cameras Point-Counterpoint: Bernard L. Stone, 79-year-old candidate for alderman from the 50th ward of Chicago, debates Bernard L. Stone, 79-year-old candidate for alderman from the 50th ward of Chicago, on the issues of crime and cameras. Whatever your views on the severity of the crime problem in the 50th ward, or on efficacy of police cameras, you will find something to appreciate in the positions of Bernard L. Stone. Watch as Stone reverses course and then revises history. Video http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=3d9_1176733241 Stone to Push-Cart Vendors: GET THE HELL OUT! Bernard L. Stone, 79-year-old candidate for alderman from the 50th ward of Chicago, shares his views on America, our ethnic melting pot, land of equal opportunity for all. Yet for some in the 50th ward, not so much. Video http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=380_1176701355 Transcript http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wrogerspk/message/20... Stone: On Democracy Bernard L. Stone, 79-year-old candidate for alderman from the 50th ward of Chicago, shares his views on ballot initiatives, participatory democracy, and community process. Video http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=955_1176732624 Transcript http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wrogerspk/message/21... Stone: On Development: NO NEED for Community Zoning Board Bernard L. Stone, 79-year-old candidate for alderman from the 50th ward of Chicago, shares his views on the relationship between campaign financing and development policy, on affordable housing, and on community involvement. Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYpJ5SFOK9Y Stone: Soft on Corruption Through his willful negligence of his oversight duties, Bernard L. Stone, 79-year old candidate for alderman of the 50th ward of Chicago, is an un-indicted co-conspirator in each and every City Hall scandal. Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adlbVcvRTl4 Transcript http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wrogerspk/message/17... Tax Increment Financing Explained Bernard L. Stone explains Tax Increment Financing. This interview is very significant because it is a unique example of an informed interviewer attempting to extract an honest explanation of TIF from a local elected official. Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oecFaJ_8NqA Transcript http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wrogerspk/message/21..." and "Hugh April 5th - 11:15 a.m. > Is Bernie Stone aware of these ranting, race-baiting posts? > Does he approve of them? > Did he direct those who are posting them to do so? > Is this the kind of gutter politics that Bernie approves of? Stone set the tone for his campaign when he first announced that he was running again, last May, 2006, in the final minutes of his cable show: Polite disagreement with Stone supporters on political issues is impossible. According to the Stone apologists, Stone's policies, positions, and processes are unassailable, therefore anyone who disagrees is a "Stone hater." Stone is the champion of all things good, therefore anyone who disagrees with him on any issue is considered harmful to our community. The vitriol so evident here originates from the candidate himself, from the earliest minutes of his campaign. Stone Flunky Meyers: I do want to just say this about the crowd I have seen at the [infrequent neighborhood] meetings, they are members of the "We Don't Like Berny Stone" Fan Club. Stone: Of Course! They're not there to really criticize these programs. Meyer: No. They don't like YOU. Stone: They're there because of ME. I really don't like them hurting the neighborhood because they don't like me. If they don't like me, run against me next February [2007]. ... I'm running for re-election next February. Stone's Biggest Fan Meyers: Yea! Stone: And all of you how don't like me, don't hurt the neighborhood, run against me for alderman. I INVITE you to run against me. Meyers: (laughs) Stone: And instead of hurting the neighborhood, run against me. Challenge me on election day as opposed to hurting the neighborhood. The Alderman Berny Stone Show First air date 5/4/06 http://ntnm.org/listings/tvb337-39-i.htm" and "Hugh April 9th - 12:43 p.m. > Stone has remained positive Stone Reneges on Pledge of Positive Campaign Goes Negative, Brings In Age Issue Then Public Affairs: Are you going to make the youth and inexperience of your opponents an issue? Stone: Hell, no! Four more years for 79 year young Ald. Berny Stone? Sunday, February 11, 2007 Public Affairs Podcasts http://web.mac.com/t.tang/iWeb/PublicAffairs/Podca... Now Stone: Of course, the problem is - her age. Now, she talks about MY age, let's talk about HER age. She's so young she doesn't know about this. She's so young she that she doesn't really understand that these things have already occurred. Now she wants to talk about the FACT that I'm - well, I should be thrown on the junk heap. Meyers: (laughs) Stone: But as a matter of fact, she's so young and inexperienced that she doesn't UNDERSTAND ... Alderman Berny Stone Show 372 Segment 2 First Air Date: Thursday, March 22, 2007 http://ntnm.org/listings/tvb372-73-i.htm" and "Hugh April 7th - 2:14 p.m. Stone to Street Vendors: Get the Hell Out of the 50th Ward Meyers: So, number one: I was told at one of the CAPS [community policing] meetings by, somebody was claiming that there's actually a law in the 50th ward against having street vendors? Is that true? Stone: Yes. Meyers: So these guys - Stone: It's been the law for at LEAST 15 or 20 years. Meyers: So, but, you know what, on my corner, when school's in session, over, over, I live by Boone, there's going to be people selling these, um, frozen pretzel things messing up my grass, as if I don't water it enough, but, whatever, and, not frozen pretzels, but you know what I'm talking about. Stone: There's always, the law's always being broken all the time. I see these guys with these paper cups, I saw it this afternoon, standing on the corner ACCOSTING MOTORISTS. I mean, people break the LAW. Meyers: Well, that I know. And, by the way, I do remember my youth, and I made a big habit out of breaking the law. Stone: There's a law against peddling in the 50th ward, and the street vendors are part of the peddling law, and it has been the law for at LEAST 15 years that I recall. I introduced the law. I put in the exact dimensions of the 50th ward. I updated it about 5 years ago because of the change in the map of the 50th ward. And there's a no-peddling law in the 50th ward. In fact, I think if you go on certain corners, you'll see a sign that says "no peddling." and that's part of it. I don't bother the guys that sell Christmas trees at Christmas time. I don't bother ones that are INOFFENSIVE. But I do ask the police to stop the rug peddlers, the guys who set up shop with the paintings. Meyers: You know, I figure they're not even paying rent, they're just stealing somebody's space on someone's parking lot. Stone: That's exactly right. ... I've STOPPED them. I've had the police tell them point blank that we're going to confiscate their trucks and their goods if they don't GET THE HELL OUT of there. Meyers: ... So in other words if I see - you know what, I'll tell you something, I think it just cheapens a neighborhood, and give people a lower opinion of what's going on. And when I see these guys, like, you know, and you know, don't think I don't have a heart and I don't feel like they shouldn't be making money and whatever, but they don't have to make it HERE. Stone: There's a law against it. But of course the police have so many other things to do, that it's more important that they be stopping crime than that they hassle the street peddlers. If they see it, they're obligated to stop them. But on the other hand, in my book, it's more important that they stop crime. Meyers: I don't disagree, but let's face it, I mean, you know, I see people near Clinton, I see people near Boone, now if the police really took care of a just handful of people, it's pretty much GONE. There's not a ton of them. And I feel bad for them, but you know what, let them go down Clark Street, where it's more THEIR CROWD. That's more like a street. Or go down to Broadway and Belmont, that's more the area for these kind of things. Stone: That's not part of my ward. Alderman Berny Stone Show Original air date 9/7/06 http://ntnm.org/listings/tvb349-51-i.htm spinoza" and Well, you get the idea.

HOW DARE MORRIS AND THAT FALSE PATRIOT CONCAILDI. THEY CONTROL A FASCISITIC FREEDOM-OF SPEECH DENIED PROPAGANDA ARM OF THE HATE-STONE CAMPAIGN.IF CONCAILDI WAS THE TRUE PATRIOT AND MODEL CITIZEN HE CLAIMS TO BE ,HE WOULDN'T BE READING NEO-NAZI WEB SITES ,MUCH LESS POSTING LINKS TO THEM (still in the morris site archives).NOW THESE PHONY "LIBERAL"FASCISTS HAVE THE AUDACITY TO TALK ABOUT THE FLAG;BERNARD STONE IS A GREAT AMERICAN AND A PROUD WW2 VETERAN! WHAT HAS MORRIS,CONCAILDI,OR THE REST OF THEIR CYBER-GOON SQUAD EVER DONE FOR THIS COUNTRY? I ASK THIS AS A FORMER U.S ARMY E-5. MY GUESS IS THEY HAVE A LIFELONG RECORD OF HELPING AMERICA,S ENEMIES THROUGH THEIR ELITIST TACTICS

HE SURE ISN'T REFERRING TO --- WE HOMEOWNERS WHO MAINTAIN OUR PROPERTY. THAT THIS OBSESSED HATER CAN EVEN USE THE PHRASE ,"WE HOMEOWNERS" IS AN INSULT TO THOSE WHO MAINTAIN THEIR PROPERTY, AS IT SHOULD BE.

Also, what's the deal with hugh's house?

Congratulations. You are one of those rare individuals who have the stamina and the stomach to actually read the Stone Spammers' postings! I suppose the 'deal' with Hugh's house is that it's a means for Bernie's hack monkeys to avoid discussing the issues, they have many nonsense, non-issues to deflect the readers of these comments from seeking to know Bernie Stone as he is. Sadly, Bernie has revealed himself time and time again, so their efforts are in vain. Keep on slinging spam, Bernie's Boys, it's always good for a few chuckles.

If you passed Hugh's two-flat on the 2300 block of Estes ,you would readily see what the DEAL is. You don't even need his Dolar signs to point the way ;one only needs to see the only property on the block that is BLIGHTED (pay special attention to the window frames )and one can see that the time he spends trying to smear Stone could be better spent-at least HUGH could hire property maintainers; the point is that HUGH,who plays "super-citizen" is really a FRAUD

Some people are not writers and didn't take typing in school and so this medium of communication is challenging to them. What I am picking up from this poster is that (probably he) is very upset and indignant. Definitely worth listening to--anyone who has given service to his or country is worth listening to.

First of all-anon 12:57 is HUGH DEVLIN in disguise. Use of the phrase "Hack monkeys" is another form of his term,"clout monkeys".One look at the forest inside Hugh's living room is proof that he is the monkey with his own trees to swing from . What "good neighbor" Hugh doesn't get is that more trees should be outside than inside-MAYBE THAN HE WOULDNT'T be the BLIGHTED NEIGHBOR FROM HELL!

I'm intrigued. North or south side of the street?

you know what side of the street you live on ,HUGH. And its not hard to see which is your BLIGHTED PROPERTY-ONE must only have their eyes open

why doesn't Hugh finally be truthful about something and call himself BLIGHT MONKEY?

Just curious, have you ever met Hugh in person or is this a cyberspace thing?

According to the 'hugh hater', you should have no problem identifying the house. Also, not disputing that everyone is worth listening to, even for the simple purpose of understanding views and opinions far from one's own, so one can determine the reasons those opinions are held, the fact that a person has "given service to his country" doesn't mean that the opinions expressed are, while worth listening to, worth agreeing with. If the poster who's not fond of 'hugh' is respectful of hugh's opinions, he wouldn't be so vitriolic in his postings. Thus, it seems like this poster is just another agenda driven Stone backer, trying to assist the incumbent alderman in remaining in power. If that is the case, why so much animosity? Why not simply support Stone by providing comments as to why we should vote for Bernie? Hugh's posts are as deserving of consideration as Mister E-5. And, I need not point out the obvious fact that this poster is not the only person who's served. Some of us find it more honorable to not use our service to bolster our opinions, letting our opinions stand for themselves. Dispute the ideas posted here, save the spleen venting for the barroom.

almost had me fooled until I read this. Trite. "just another agenda driven Stone backer, trying to assist the incumbent alderman in remaining in power."

Now that post is a laugh.How can one respect Hugh's opinions when HUGH'S OPINIONS are ALL LIES DISTORTIONS AND FANTASIES.When it comes to the flag and patriotism,don't give PROUD VETERANS a lecture-most likely you're a left-wing whacko who has supported AMERICA'S enemies since Vietnam. I think when I wore our nation's uniform you spit on me and my brothers. ALD.STONE,MYSELF,and all other veterans earned the right to state that WE SERVED!INCIDENTALLY,HAS HUGH EVER SERVED IN OUR ARMED FORCES? DOUBTFUL,because the FIRST THING THEY TEACH YOU is to BE "SQUARED AWAY" and HUGH'S PROPERTY is certainly not "SQUARED AWAY".

Now I KNOW you ain't no vet, pal. No one with honor would post this shit you try to pass off as patriotism. If you ever were in any of the services, thank God you no longer are.

Okay--I'm definitely doing a drive by. Should I expect tires and stuff piled up and weeds? I appreciate your service. It enables us to be able to have the freedom to write on this blog.

I noticed that Stone is a WWII vet according to a post. How old was he when he joined up? Did he enlist? The war ended in '45 so that would have made him 17 y.o. Did he join after the war ended? If so he wouldn't really be a "WWII" vet.

from the vets website: "Thus the last "war" for which active duty is qualifying for Veterans preference is World War II. The inclusive dates for World War II service are December 7, 1941, through April 28, 1952. "

NO,SHAME ON YOU!AND YES I AM A REAL VET AND IT IS YOU WHO HAS NO HONOR ,LEFTY.DID YOU SERVE? OR DID YOU BURN YOUR DRAFT CARD?MOST LIKELY YOU SUPPORTED THE ENEMY DURING VIETNAM,AND ALL OF AMERICA'S ENEMIES SINCE.

I'll take a wild guess here, and say that you, mister E-5, are one of those who the Army took in, just after Nam and the draft ended, when the standards were lowered, because they desperately needed bodies. That would be the mid 70's. All branches of the military learned the perils involved in this strategy, thus, the change in policy to require a minimum of a high school diploma for enlistees. My experience during those days was that many sub-par individuals were routinely promoted up to Staff Sargent, regardless of merit, because so many good men and women were opting out on re-enlistment, for the very sane reason that they didn't want to deal with the idiots who had joined for no other purpose than to have a steady gig. The main requirement for promotion was to be highly skilled in the kissing of ass. Thankfully, saner minds prevailed and those 'lowered' standards were revised, to ensure that our servicemen and women would be the best and the brightest, not merely those who had to be told to wipe their asses every time they dropped a turd. In any case, whether you actually did put in your time or are merely claiming to be a vet, your postings leave much to be desired, in intelligence, civility, minimum respect, honor and dignity. Your 'right' to speak you mind is a given, as is my right to do the same. If you are an ex-serviceman, you'd respect this without qualification. Period.

SORRY ,SERVED DURING VIETNAM CONFLICT,LEFTY! OH,I RESPECT YOUR RIGHT TO SAY ANYTHING,BUT NOT WHAT YOU SAY.OH,AND THAT ELITIST ATTITUDE IS WHY YOUR LEFT WING FASCIST CANDIDATE AND HER RACIAL CRUSADE ARE GOING DOWN IN DEFEAT TODAY!

Then you should appreciate how those entrenched in power routinely screw things up for the 'commoners', which, if you think about it, we all are. No one seeks to diminish the service of those who seek to help to maintain our freedoms. But, how are we 'free' when we're being taxed into poverty by those we elect to serve us?

IF Barnie's military record is relevant to his being reelected, then we should, besides wondering when, be asking what, exactly, did Bernie do during his time in uniform?

"SERVED DURING VIETNAM CONFLICT"? C'mon, no Nam vet refers to that experience as a 'conflict'. IT WAS A FUCKING WAR.

I listened to Stone on the radio Sunday night. He sure seems like a bitter old man. I think it is time for him to retire.

I don't think Stone's military record is a campaign issue. It was brought up because there were allegations that he tacticly approved ripping down someone's flag and someone pointed out that ww2 vets don't do that. In all likelihood, given his age, he signed up at the end of the war. Who cares? A vet is a vet.

That's what I was thinking, but it seemed to mean something to somebody, so I posed the relevant questions. In about 6 hours, it won't matter anyway, all votes will be cast and what remains is the counting.

WHAT A SATISFYING DAY AND NIGHT! WHAT IS MOST GRATIFYING IS THE KNOWLEDGE THAT ALL THE LIES AND SMEARS OF THE STONE-HATERS WERE SHOVED UP THEIR__ BY THE GOOD PEOPLE OF THE 50TH WARD.IT IS ESPECIALLY GRATIFYING TO KNOW THAT ALL THE DIRTY SMEAR TACTICS OF DOLAR,BREWER,HUGH,WILLOW/WENDY,LESLIE,ROBIN K ,WD50MOM,DAN ROCKAFIELD,ETC., AND THE UNDEMOCRATIC MANAGEMENT OF THE MORRIS/COCAILDI WRP YAHOO GROUP SITE ALL WERE IN VAIN. DOLAR'S CAMPAIGN WAS NOT NICE,IT WAS HATE AND LIE FILLED AS WAS BREWERS.THAT THE SELF-APPOINTED COMMUNITY SAVIORS WON'T HAVE THEIR PUPPET AS ALDERMAN,NOR WILL THE SEIU AND AFSCME,SHOWS THAT THE 50TH WARD STOOD UP FOR ITSELF IN RE-ELECTING BERNY STONE.

Naisy should file for a recount, as Bernie's well versed in manufacturing votes when they're needed.

"If you think Stone is capable of retaliating against anyone, well you don't know his record." If, when ALL bona fide votes are counted, Bernie's managed to survive this challenge to his 'legacy', we'll soon know if Randy's confidence in Bernie's 'integrity' is warranted. I invite all those residents of our ward to post any examples of Stone's minions retaliating against Dolar supporters. Hopefully, Ben will be keeping an eye on Bernie and will be open to writing an article on retaliation, should there be any.

I think my confidence is warranted. I might point out that Bernie behaved with a lot more class and dignity than anyone else involved in the election and there is no reason to believe he will not continue to do so. I am pretty concerned about the unwarranted damage to Bernies reputation resulting from this election. Therefore, I will be putting up a website detailing Bernies accomplishments over the past 5 decades on behalf of the Westbridge community and Chicago. Now, on to more important things. There are two major issues facing our community, high property taxes and Bernies successor. High property taxes are caused by low commercial property values creating an undue tax burden on residential properties. The ward has little in the way of assets for attracting high value businesses; no large factory sites, no major office centers, etc. We do have one thing, however. The Westbridge community formed just after the Chicago fire to house those that could afford to build housing in accordance with the new laws passed after the fire. Since then, the Westbridge community has been a halfway house to the American dream for many different cultures. We can leverage that. The period from 2009 to 2017 is going to be one of vast change for the world, and one of the consequences is that Chicago is going to emerge as the premier city in the world for international business. Someone is going to have to train and staff the workers for those businesses. I think, with our vast diversity and deep commitment for tolerance, our community is well suited for businesses looking for employees that can bridge American and other cultures, and a place to bring International employees to America where they will feel at home. In the near future, I will be proposing a number of practical plans to implement this strategy. Hopefully, we can bring in enough high value commercial business to lower property taxes without lowering services. Bernie is going to be a hard act to follow. I hope Alana will take over, but as I pointed out, she may not want it, or she may not stay forever. Certainly, other alderpersons children have sought higher office after a little time. We need to do something now, while we still have time, to make sure that the Westridge communities core values of tolerance and diversity do not go by the wayside the first time some divisive issue comes up. Anyone have any ideas of a mechanism to foster cohesion in our community? I was thinking of some sort of forum for moderated debate. We were lucky this time. The election failed to tear this community apart, though many certainly made an serious effort to do so. Next time, we might not be so lucky, and if you think high property taxes are bad, wait till you see what civil unrest does to your property values.

Once again I am motivated to ask the question.... why don't you run for alderman? Or mayor? Or something?

SHE CONCEDED! ITS O-V-E-R!!---WHAT YOU ARE REALLY SAYING IS YOU WOULD LIKE TO FIND A WAY TO S-T-E-A-L THE ELECTION AFTER THE F-A-C-T! NOT THIS T-I-M-E! WHAT ARE ALL THE STONE HATING CRETIN'S GOING TO FILL THEIR EMPTY L-I-V-E S WITH NOW? GOOD MORNING: HUGH,MORRIS/CONCAILDI, WENDY/WILLOW,ROCKAFIELD,ROBIN K,LESLIE R,WD50MOM,ANASTASIA,ETC. SPECIAL GREETINGS THIS MORNING TO CONG. JAN SHAKOWSKY,CONG.MIKE HONDA(OF CARPETBAGGING FAME)CONG.JESSE JACKSON,JR.,AND TO THE LIARS AND SMEAR ARTISTS OF SEIU. OH, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL MORNING IN THE 50TH WARD!

NOW answer the question-w-h-y??What is behind your obsession with Stone? Oh,and Hugh,enjoy the day-and its reality!

I voted for Stone and developed a real distaste for SEIU during this election, but I have to give credit where credit is due. The Dolar supporters were really out there yesterday. It was very exciting to see such grassroots democracy in action. And I liked Dolar a whole lot better in defeat. What I heard of her concession speech was very gracious. One of the most wonderful attributes of Asian culture is respect for elders. I think many people were turned off my the nastiness regarding Stone's age--and it really got him going. His ungracious victory speech reflected that. And who wants 34 years minimalized and dirtied up? And the stuff about "lying and cowardice" did not help those on the fence. Stone's mailings for the most part were positive. Dolar really needed to be better on the details but her energy and enthusiasm are very commendable. I wonder what would have happened in Dolar had waged a more positive campaign? At any rate, I congratulate everyone on participating in the political process. I heard people talking politics on the el and in restaurants and my grade school children were really into it.

You joined your neighbors in voting FOR our community against a HATE-DRIVEN ETHNIC/RACIAL CRUSADE funded and executed by outsiders and the Lying Smear artists of SEIU. and one cannot congratulate Naisy Dolar for running a good campaign,DOLAR RAN A HATE-FILLED,LIE and SMEAR CAMPAIGN that RIGHTLY WENT DOWN TO DEFEAT. THE 50TH WARD WON!

I DID NOT say Dolar ran a good campaign! She killed herself with the nasty comments. But, I will congratulate her for mobilizing people and gettting them out there on election day. They need to learn that people want to hear more about the good things their candidate will do rather than trash the opponent.

Capsman--I'm happy that you are happy. It's sort of fun to read such an honest unsportsmanlike comment. Congratulations!

THE PHONY MORRIS"owned" SITE IS ONCE AGAIN BEING blacked -out TO ALL "NON-MEMBERS"."FAIR"HANK IS ONCE AGAIN SHOWING HIS FASCIST DISDAIN FOR FREE SPEECH AND OPEN TRANSPARENCY. ONE MUST WONDER WHAT MORRIS AND CONCAILDI(who put a STILL ARCHIVED link to a NEO-NAZI SITE)MUST BE PLANNING SOMETHING WITH THEIR FELLOW CRETINS THAT THEY DON'T WANT YOU TO SEE!!!

Ald Stone reserved his most bitter comments for Jan Schakowsky over her betrayal of a sitting Democrat. She barely squeaked to victory in her first race, when the machine was mad at her win over Howard Carroll and she faced serious GOP opposition. Will her blunder in the 50th cost her? She now has conservative Park Ridge in her district, angered her Jewish base and the machine, and faces a well funded dynamic Republican for the 1st time in more than a decade. Perhaps with her husband in stir, she's not getting good political advice anymore.

Actually Jan didn't really win that first race. Howie had been a state senator for a long time and really didn't want the US Reps job, as it would put too much strain on his marriage. He really didn't campaign as hard as he could have. It was a wise choice, he is having a lot more fun as an international buisinessman/lawyer at Carroll and Sain that he would have had in Congress, and he gets to see his wife and daughter a lot more. Shakowsky won mostly by default, and then proceeded to anger everybody (even me, which is an incredibly difficult thing to do) by bragging she won by organizing the women of the ward against Howie. I have always fought against bigotry whenever I encountered it, and gender bias is wrong, for either gender. Promoting it is far worse. But there may be something more to her endorsment of Naisy than gender bias. Most people who aren't politically connected think politicians are untrustworthy. Actually, thats rarely the case. Getting anything done as a politician means building coalitions, and the only tool you have to do that is trust in your word. Politicians who lose that trust don't achieve goals, don't have anything to show the voters and don't get reelected. Jan isn't good at coalition building. She has introduced thousands of bills and not gotten a single one out. She cosponsored some bills, but cosponsorship is usually a deal for her vote on something else, and really doesn't mean much. Even so, she wouldn't throw away the value of her word casually. Another thing about politicians and fights over issues. An opponent this day may be needed as an integral partner in a coalition tommorrow, so good politicians don't go for revenge. The unions made arguably the dumbest action since the PATCO strike by declaring war over big box. The unions lost, they should have gone on to the next fight, not declared revenge. At least not by forming a political party and running their own candidates. Not only have they threatened BOTH the Democrats and the Republican national parties, they also demonstrated that, with their "disagree with me and be destroyed" philosophy, that they can't be trusted with power. So not only don't they have both national political parties viewing them as a fringe group, but they have the US bureaucracy worried also, and thats means they are in real trouble. I think unions are a good thing. The American worker needs someone to represent them. However, unions were discarded years ago for exactly the same sort of abuses committed in the recent elections. Now, there were bills introduced by Democrats earlier this year to promote unions. Because of the recent elections, those bills, and future ones are in real trouble, and even if they are passed, well, the bureaucracy is unlikely to enforce them...unless there is some serious damage control applied by the unions, and soon. I suspect Jan made some deal with the unions to plead their case in Congress. Endorsing Naisy was just a sort of side effect of that agreement. The interesting thing, of course, is exactly what did the unions offer for their side of the agreement? I have to admit, I am more than a little concerned about that. P.s. just as an aside, I am all for a higher minimum wage, who would not be? But, as I said, right now, lowering property taxes, which is vital to the future of our ward and city, depends on luring commerce to Chicago. For now, that has to take precedence. Given a more prosperous city, wages will rise naturally, and if they don't THEN is the time to pass laws. I wish politics always involved doing the best thing, but in the real world, it is usually a bunch of tradeoffs that result in less than optimal results. Thing is, less than optimal results are better that no results at all.

Why do I as a liberal progressve democrat now hate SEIU and vote for Stone? THEY made me do it. I detest intellectual dishonesty and the union and the Dolarites were such zealots that they totally lost credibility.

Now that JAN has proven to even her most idealistic supporters that she is not what her "marketeers" have packaged her as,she is headed towards defeat.JAN'S BETRAYAL of BERNARD STONE is PROOF of how WORTHLESS HER WORD IS!Jan is so in a power haze with her friend ,PELOSI,that betrayal of her district's interests,and even our country's(SHAKOWSKY IS A LEADER OF THE BLAME AMERICA FIRST WHACKO LEFT-WING)are not only possible,but probable!

While your posts contain many truths, some fundamental and some pragmatic in nature, the entire essence of your comments seems to be that there is no practical purpose in trying to, as voters, insist upon honesty in government. It is undeniably true that the process of 'governing' entails substantial elements of compromise, said elements being a function of the various conflicting interests of the populace. That said, the fact that our elected officials are routinely injecting their own, personal, self-serving interests into the mix, is what is most objectionable about our current, long 'serving' crew of 'public servants'. It's difficult enough for the political process to be fair, balanced, equitable and just, for all citizens, without the very people we entrust with being neutral to the process, being anything but. Mr. Gordon, and his ilk, find it acceptable to co-operate with the many individuals who prefer the process to remain as it has been, warts and all. His feeble attempts to pacify those who question this acceptance, with statements like: "Most people who aren't politically connected think politicians are untrustworthy. Actually, thats rarely the case. Getting anything done as a politician means building coalitions, and the only tool you have to do that is trust in your word. Politicians who lose that trust don't achieve goals, don't have anything to show the voters and don't get reelected." and "The unions made arguably the dumbest action since the PATCO strike by declaring war over big box. The unions lost, they should have gone on to the next fight, not declared revenge. At least not by forming a political party and running their own candidates. Not only have they threatened BOTH the Democrats and the Republican national parties, they also demonstrated that, with their 'disagree with me and be destroyed' philosophy, that they can't be trusted with power." and "I think unions are a good thing. The American worker needs someone to represent them. However, unions were discarded years ago for exactly the same sort of abuses committed in the recent elections." and "Now, there were bills introduced by Democrats earlier this year to promote unions. Because of the recent elections, those bills, and future ones are in real trouble, and even if they are passed, well, the bureaucracy is unlikely to enforce them...unless there is some serious damage control applied by the unions, and soon." and "P.s. just as an aside, I am all for a higher minimum wage, who would not be? But, as I said, right now, lowering property taxes, which is vital to the future of our ward and city, depends on luring commerce to Chicago. For now, that has to take precedence." and "I wish politics always involved doing the best thing, but in the real world, it is usually a bunch of trade-offs that result in less than optimal results. Thing is, less than optimal results are better that no results at all." All of the above quotes SOUND very reasonable, yet, if one thinks about the meaning of what he's said, you find that he's been much less than genuine. What it all really means is that Gordon, and those of like-mind, want us all to believe that everything is as good as it can be, that every one of our elected officials is substantially honest, every one of our elected officials are working tirelessly in our best interests and anyone who challenges the established political and economic power-holders is wasting their time, fruitlessly attempting to achieve the impossible, namely, honest government, free from self-serving, deceptive and manipulative individuals, because, after all, those in power are doing the best that can be expected. One word will suffice. BULLSHIT.

the one word you say at the close of your LEFT-WING WACKO ramble is applicable to the phony "progressives" who are only progressive in the level of their vitriol.These are the same "BLAME AMERICA FOR EVERYTHING" extremists that are unhappy that the good voters of the 50th Ward chose not to create a mirror of the 49th WARD hellhole in 50.

I've learned you can only know people by what they DO. Naisy Dolar ran a very dirty campaign --both at the primary and run off levels. She took off the gloves and went down and dirty against her opponents. So, forgive me if I'm not convinced that she would be a saintly alderman.

DURING THE 2/27 ELECTION DOLAR WAS QUITE NASTY INDEED,BUT WHEN COMBINED WITH THE BREWER CROWD, WOW!

With all the attention on the SEIU meddling in the municipal campaigns, it seems to have been overlooked that the illegal alien lobby was the biggest loser area wide. The chief illegal alien lobby group, the IL Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, sent in its paid staffer, Graziosa to run Dolar's campaign in the 50th Ward. They poured huge funds into Carpentersville to try and defeat the immigration control slate. They lost -- big time. Be on notice, the illegal alien lobby is the kiss of death for any candidate who takes their help. Just ask Naisy.

So, the election's over and still, the whack jobs have to continue to pollute this comment board. FYI, knuckleheads: Naisy Dolar: 5,304 47.07% Berny Stone: 5,965 52.93% 45 of 45 precincts counted Let's see, 5,965 minus 5,304 = 661 What's that, a mere 6% victory? Not that impressive, especially considering all the huffing and puffing from those worn out clout monkeys. Bernie squeaked by, by the hairs on his chinny, chin, chin. 4 years from now, will there be a Daley clan machine to do the heavy lifting for Bernie, or whoever he clouts in to replace himself? Times, they be a'changin', even for the spoiled brats of the clout monkeys.

I never said that honesty doesn't belong in government, quite the contrary, as a matter of fact. But honesty implies the ability to admit that there are no perfect solutions, that sometimes we have to choose between the lesser of two evils, that a solution which is less than perfect for everybody is sometimes the only workable solution. And I will unequivocally state that I think that you have to work for the kind of world that you want to live in, and that if you are not willing to sacrifice your life for your principles, first your principles, and eventually your life, is worthless. But sacrificing your life isn't dying, its living with the knowledge that you may never make things better, that things may never change. We don't give politicians the credit they deserve. I see America clearly, warts and all, far better than those who live in their safe little homes and never see the underbelly of society. A lot of people have no idea how hard the politicians work to make it possible for you to have those safe little homes, and just complain because it doesn't meet up to your expectations. Thats a good thing. It means that the politicians, the cops and the hundreds of thousands of others who daily sacrifice a portion of their lives in working to give you a safe home have succeeded...you feel safe enough to complain. Its a justification of sorts, that we haven't wasted our life. And thats all I am trying to say. I want you to scream and yell, I don't want you to be satisfied. That would be statis; that would be a living death. All I am saying is that all of us are honestly trying to do the best we can. Christ, Moses and Bhudda couldn't achieve that goal, why hold politicians to a higher standard than them? If you think you know a better way, by all means,convince a group of people to follow you and go for it. In the end, there is only one rule, you aren't allowed to force anyone follow you against their will. And thats the rub, the catch 22. Getting people to follow you, to build a coalition is not a simple task. If for any reason, you can't achieve that, then the only person you have to implement your idea is yourself

Randy. Welcome back. I knew you'd eventually write something totally from the heart. And I appreciate your honesty. And your substantial accuracy. Your most recent essay should be required reading for every political science major. And/or everyone interested in getting involved in living life. Like I've said, why don't you run for mayor? And don't tell me you're too old, look at Bernie! And don't tell me you're too tired, read the essay you just wrote. And don't tell me it's hopeless, ditto on reading your essay. Put together a platform, even if it's just a series of posted comments on this board, and see what responses you get. At the very least, it will attract those who want, and need, to have sane discourse, even about politics.

Dolar and her multicultual extremist friends lied thru their teeth when they characterized their precinct effort as a grass roots neighborhood campaign. The vast preponderance of her "Neighbors for Naisy" were 2-bit mercenaries hired from out of the district via a $10 an hour help wanted offer on Craigslist, who after they made their way by bus into West Rogers Park, were issued their yellow regalia. Look for yourselves, the Craigslist ad is still up there under etc. help wanted. Her cash was from Asian ethnocentrists from Indiana, California and the New York based, Ford Foundation-funded IL Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee "Rights." Hey Miss Real Classy -- is this a movement that can be replicated -- or a one time only left wing hijack of legitimate discontent among a fair number of local residents. I think it would be fair to say that the intellectually challenged Ms. Dolar was little more than a flash in the pan. And a rather silly one at that. We can do better.

So, Bernie's now got you doing his 'those who didn't vote for me are gonna pay' work. What a sweetheart.

The Dolar/Brewer Anti-Stone cabal is getting more hysterical in defeat than one would have imagined.Their RANTINGS about thugs and retaliations are the RANTINGS of PARANOID DELUSIONAL Whackos-nobody believes in the AMERICAN WAY and respect for the RULE of LAW more than BERNY STONE and his supporters. This Post-Election continuation of the "BIG LIE" against Stone and those who support and voted for him must end-NOW!! Legitimate opposition is one thing,but this continuation of Hate-Stone driven lies,smears,counterfeit posts,false predictions,imaginary futures,etc are indication that this was about something other than the 50thward;there is a NEFERIOUS Agenda at work .

REMEMBER when that paragon of free speech ,Fair Hank ,said that after the election ,he was going to "open"up his phony site and be a TRUE Community Forum. Instead our paragon of integrity has taken his "open community forum of the world's greatest neighbors" and has turned it into a secret club that one can only speculate as to what PLOTS our "wonderful neighbors" are cooking up.Their Blind Hatred must be so OVER-THE-TOP that HANK won't let us OUTSIDERS see the UGLY TRUTH.

Apparently, Bernie's minions are concerned that, even though they dodged a bullet this time, their days may be numbered. Why else would they be working so hard to blast those almost 50% of the ward's residents who honestly voted for someone other than the incumbent? Could it be that they know something we only suspect? Something like maybe Bernie's gonna 'pass the torch' to the ever charming 'Alana'? And much sooner than anyone with integrity would do so? After all, those who voted for Bernie, well, they voted for BERNIE. Unless one assumes that they knowingly voted for him and were aware of his intention to crown Alana as 'Queen of the 50th ward'.

another example of the continuation of the HATE-STONE campaign after the Election.More LIES,INNUENDOS,and FALSE ASSUMPTIONS. All that's missing is a ouji board and a crystal ball.

So, when Bernie retires, and Daley appoints Alana, you'll be posting an apology, right? Hopefully ALL IN CAPITOLS.

Berny is from OUR COMMUNITY, Ilana is from OUR COMMUNITY. OUR COMMUNITY WON! We will NEVER give up OUR ONLY ALDERMAN to any HATE-DRIVEN ETHNIC/RACIAL CRUSADE.

So, you admit Bernie's game plan was always to get reelected, then turn the job over to his daughter. Nepotism, at it's finest. Unfortunately, the voters of our ward were not given the chance to VOTE for Alana, nor the chance to hear her plans for our ward, which we would at least have had a chance to do, during an honest campaign. So, Bernie bypasses the honest process, avoids exposing his daughter to having to campaign, debate and work for the job, and hands it over to her on a silver platter. That's awfully typical of him, and his machine pals.

"SO" should be a novelist or Hollywood Screen WRITER with the creative fiction of his/her fevered brain.

"So, when Bernie retires, and Daley appoints Alana, you'll be posting an apology, right? Hopefully ALL IN CAPITOLS." Uh, 'inane' is the word, tho it more aptly applies to Bernie's stalwarts.

I have been thinking a great deal about this problem, because I care about the future of this ward. I would assert that there are a considerable number of unexamined assumptions in the current discussion of the issue. I think that we can take some precedent from similar situations that have occurred in the past. One particular situation comes to mind. Very often, when a senator dies, his (or her) marital partner is appointed to replace him or her, on the theory that they were a team that would have governed jointly, at least in the view of those that voted for them. In out culture, a 21st century marriage is a merger of equals and acts as a single unit for many purposes of law. Along the same lines, it can hardly be denied that Bernie and Alana, as his chief of staff were a team, and were elected as a team. Certainly, the focus on Alana during the campaign by Bernies opponents validated that view. If Alana had not repeatedly been brought up as a campaign issue perhaps an argument against this theory could have been made. However, one can hardly state that the voters were not aware of the possibility when they elected Bernie, and thus tacitly approve a possible appointment of Alana as his replacement. In addition, it should also be pointer out that Bernie has not resigned or died and there is no evidence that he intends to do so. (retire, not die. I presume that latter is not an intentional act, at least on Bernies part.) Without an evidence of intention or action, one can hardly presume nepotism or justify acting a priori. Also, if Bernie retires or dies, it is the Mayors responsibility to appoint the best suited for the position to replace him. There is only a short list of potential candidates for the position, since an alderperson has a responsibility for tens of thousands of residents and requires experience to act effectively. Mayor Daley would hardly be acting responsibly if he put the wards residents at risk by appointing a unqualified person to the position. There is a distinct possibility that Mayor Daley would appoint one of the other alderpersons defeated in the last election on the theory that they are the most qualified person for the position. However, I would like to state that I believe, at least, that Alana is the most qualified candidate. She has 12 years experience, is second in command of the ward and familiar with it's issues, and has the loyalty of the other ward staffers. Former Alderpersons would be less familiar with the ward and it's issues. I have no idea if anyone else is also qualified, but if you feel Mayor Daley should appoint someone else, if the time comes when this is a decision to be made, please feel free to state what their qualifications are and why they would be better suited than Alana for the position. There is not reason to presume that Mayor Daley would reject a valid argument for another candidate for the position. Finally, there is no real reason to believe that Alana even wants or would accept the job. To my knowledge, she has not even made a public statement about it. As I have stated before, there are many reasons why she might not want it.

For a minute there, as I read the first few sentences of your post, I thought you had written another well balanced, thoughtfully diplomatic essay on reasonable methods of fair and equitable governance. Then I read further, and was disappointed to find that your diplomacy degraded into what can only be described as pragmatic, political pandering. Now, don't get me wrong, I can see that posting the raw truth would do little to encourage civil behavior amongst both factions, the bare majority of the ward's voters who favor Stone and the almost 50% of the ward's voters who do not. And, of course, there are few souls who, still having to deal with things as they are, would publicly state the raw truths about the Daley machine's means, methods and motivations. I am tempted to believe, after reading and thinking about all the elements contained in your several postings, that YOU would be a more well-balanced choice for alderman, of this, or any, ward, regardless of your publicly stated tendencies towards cooperation with those proven 'benevolent dictators' we have come to know and, if not despise, certainly resent, for all of the reasons obvious to you. The fundamental problem with pragmatically accepting being 'benevolently ruled' is that we are still being ruled, and not so benevolently as we are repeatedly told. Maybe there will never be a time when we can trust even a bare majority of our 'elected officials' to be honest, to treat our tax dollars as if THEY had to work their asses off to earn it, as we had to do, to be able to pay it. It's not merely the arrogance, the assumption of superiority, of those in control of the taxing and spending, of the making and enforcing and interpreting of laws, rules, regulations, ordinances, etc., it's the ABUSE of same, the USE of same for their personal gain, gain of wealth, gain of control/power, et.al.. While I believe I understand your reticence at plainly and publicly stating the raw truths on these subjects, if things are to change, these raw truths must be faced and addressed. To say, or suggest, that Daley would be appointing anyone other than another 'rubber stamp' is, while pragmatically consistent, essentially dishonest. True Democracy may not be easy, may not be 'practical', may not even be 'civil', from time to time, but it's the only means we have to be as free as is possible. If being ruled by not-so-benevolent dictators is what the people want, honest elections will show this. This election cycle has shown that things are beginning to change, that the people are beginning to realize how not-so-benevolent their 'leaders' have been, are, and will continue to be, should the voters choose to fail to actively participate, not only at election time, but at all times, thinking about the many harmful effects that result when they allow the 'foxes' to guard the henhouse. I could quote the elements of any of your posts, item by item, and provide what I believe is the 'raw truth' about each of your many less-than genuine stated perspectives, but that would be too easy, albeit very tempting. People have to think, reason, seek truth and decide for themselves what they believe. Politicians seek to influence public opinions in whatever way is most beneficial to themselves. The people will only have honest government when enough individuals do the work required. To state the obvious: REGISTER TO VOTE VOTE IN EVERY ELECTION PAY ATTENTION UNDERSTAND THAT THE ESTABLISHED POLITICAL PARTIES EXPLOIT VOTER APATHY UNDERSTAND THAT, UNTIL SUCH TIME AS ELECTIONS ARE SUSPENDED, WE ALL HAVE THE POWER TO VOTE. UNDERSTAND THAT OUR POWER TO VOTE CAN BE THE MEANS TO ELECTING HONEST PEOPLE TO GOVERNMENT. UNDERSTAND THAT HONEST ELECTED OFFICIALS ARE THE ONLY MEANS TO ACHIEVING HONEST GOVERNANCE. UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS NO EASY WAY.

Well, I thnak you for your thoughtful response. However, I must respectfully disagree with your assertion of political pandering...and I strongly object to the idea that I woould be reticent about any issue. This is a ward full of adults, capable of evaluating any argument. anyone might propose, including mine, yours and Hughes, among other. We do have different points of view, however. And in my view, governance is neither good or bad, benevolent or arrogant, it is simply effective in bettering the lives of its constituents or it is not. In my post, I was answering one specific question, what should be done about Bernies succession, as posed by Hugh and others. THe truth of the matter is, turnout was incredibly low, less than 1/6 of the ward cared enough even to vote. So, if Bernie is unavailable to fufill the remainder of hist term for an reason, most of the ward couldn't care less who replaces him. So lets take a look at Mayir Dailey's options. He hast to appoiint an alderperson pro tem, someone has to make the final decisions in the ward. Now, a lot of people are assuming that Naisy should be the obvioous. But think about what that means. First of all, the election was not "rank in order of choice", it was an "one or the other" For whatever reason, the people of the ward have clearly stated that Naisy is not their choice for alderperson. Now, I don't thinnk Naisy would have made a bad alderperson, but thats not relevant. If Mayor Daley were to appoint her (or any of the other candidates, he would be effectively reversing the election. Think about the implications of that. If an election could be reversed that cauaully, no elected official would feel safe, because some overenthusiastic supporter of his opponents might take unilateral action to ensure that. THe courts would never allow Mayor Daley to get that far. So, we would have to have an appointment followed by a new election, in which the same candidates (and any others) might participate. The question is when should this election take place. THe election needs to be fair, which means not giving an advantage to the candidates from the previous election, because they have their campaign financing and "get out the vote" machinery in place, doesn't mean any new entrants to the race would require time for a chance to achieve parity...and officially, that time is the remaining time until tyhe next scheduled election. WHich means, that, whoever Daley appoints is essentially alderperson for the remainder of the term. Which leaves the question of whom to appoint. Now, Daley can't pick whomever he thinks the voters might want, because the only acceptable method for determining that is a fair election, and for previously stated reasons, that is impossible before the next scheduled election. Since Daley is mayor, elected by the entire city, including the residents of this ward, it is his job to determine what he feels is the best possible candidate since he has no right or ability to determine what the electorate would wish. He does, however, by virtue of the election, have the express permission to act on their behalf Whikle voters may choose a new alderperson because they wish a change in direction, Mayor Daley has no right to do so. WHich means that when he is evaluating someone to fill a position, he has to do so completely on the basis by examining only their qualifications, which in this case, is how effectively they have executed similar responsibilities in the past. It is hard to see anyone except another or former alderperson or their chief of staff (who often acts as their proxy) being able to claim such experience.

A comment on your other points. If you accept that government rules with the consent of the people, then you have to accept that voting is right, not an obligation. In any of the electorate wished to be left alone, and not involve themselves in politics, that is their right, and the rest of us must respect that decision. Just because we care about political issues, doesn't mean anyone else does. It appears that a large proportion of the electorate want nothing more than to live their lives, raise their kids, tend their gardens, and occasionally go out for entertainment, and consider that a full life. Provided they are not harming anyone, I can't see any justification exhorting them to do more. It is their life, their pursuit of happiness, and you have no right to ask them to live up to your expectations. You believe that the best way for political social change is by placing the proper candidates in office. You couldn't be farther wrong. I have known many, who, with the best intentions, worked their way up to a position of power only to find that they were entrapped in a web of obligations, debts and responsibilities that bound them tighter an any fly in a spiderweb. On the other hand, well, have yoouever considered the story of Christ, just from a human point of view? (and yes, I am Jewish, but I am not talking about the religious aspects). Christ never really amounted to much in his lifetime. He associated with the pooorest of the poor in the remote hinterlands, and taught them little more than the world would be a much better place if everyone was nice to each other. But,2000 years later, and many generations removed, those actions echoed so loudly that they moved millions of people, with no thought to themselves, came to the aid of the Katrina Victims, and the Tsunami victims, and the hundreds of other random acts of charity that pervade western civilization. Now that is true social change. Not whether "Uncle Joe" ran Congress in 1910, or Alarc sacked Rome. And thats why I have no ambitions for political office. Electoral office is for the wealthy, to pretend that they are making a difference....but they never do. I try to help the least regarded members of our society, the homeless and the senior citizens, and have no pretensions as to whether I am making a significant difference in the scheme of things. I could not care less; it is just the right thing to do. But there are millions of others like me, doing the same thing and we are making a real difference; all those little acts add up. And thats the real path to social change. Be nice to each other, eventually it will catch on.

Okay, Randy, since you insist.... I will try to keep this as brief as possible. A few observations. There are three basic types of human beings. Those who are naturally helpful. Those who are naturally hurtful. Those who are naturally opportunistic. Those whose nature is to be helpful will do so, even when being helpful is not in their own best interest. Those whose nature is to be hurtful will do so, even when being hurtful is not in their own best interest. Those whose nature is to be opportunistic will be helpful when it benefits themselves and will be hurtful when it benefits themselves. As might be expected, the helpful and the hurtful are both in the minority. The opportunistic are the majority. For there to be fairness, justice, equity, honesty, kindness, balance, peace and general safety for close to all, the opportunistic majority must believe that being helpful is most often in their own best interest. That is what government is for. That is why tolerating opportunistic, let alone hurtful, individuals in government is so harmful, not merely to a small minority of citizens, but to most all of us, opportunistic, helpful and even hurtful individuals. Now, to some of your assertions. "If any of the electorate wish to be left alone, and not involve themselves in politics, that is their right, and the rest of us must respect that decision. Just because we care about political issues, doesn't mean anyone else does. It appears that a large proportion of the electorate want nothing more than to live their lives, raise their kids, tend their gardens, and occasionally go out for entertainment, and consider that a full life. Provided they are not harming anyone, I can't see any justification exhorting them to do more. It is their life, their pursuit of happiness, and you have no right to ask them to live up to your expectations." The problems with the above are numerous. Do you really believe that these non-participants approve of the huge amount of waste and misuse of the hard earned dollars they are 'forced' to pay, in so many insidious ways and for so few truly beneficial-to-them purposes? Do you really believe that these 'I don't want to be bothered' folks feel this way for any other reason than they've been conditioned to believe that, no matter what they do, things will always remain as they are, politicians will always be somewhat corrupt, there's no way for the common citizen to have any meaningful or effective influence on the 'powers-that-be', you can't fight city hall, etc., etc., etc.? and "You believe that the best way for political social change is by placing the proper candidates in office. You couldn't be farther wrong. I have known many, who, with the best intentions, worked their way up to a position of power only to find that they were entrapped in a web of obligations, debts and responsibilities that bound them tighter an any fly in a spiderweb." I hoped for more honesty from you, Randy. You know that the main reason that the above occurs is that the system is corrupt, the system being PEOPLE, not some mythical being, but ordinary people, primarily opportunists, more than willing to exploit, deceive, manipulate, scheme, plot, scam, steal, and do whatever they can 'get away with', to gain wealth and the power to gain wealth. For you to accept, and even promote, the concept that honest, naturally helpful individuals cannot resist the temptations and pressures to compromise their natures, is to make me suspect that you are not who you portray yourself to be. Granted, you may have found your calling, and I'm not suggesting that you don't know yourself, as, to quote Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry character, "A man's GOT to know his limitations", but I find it to be unpleasant, at best, that you believe you are speaking for many, when you are likely speaking for only yourself. Sure, 'the people' have a right to be 'left alone', that's exactly what the established power fucks refuse to do. They pick our pockets 24/7/52, robbing us of the wherewithal we could be using to do more of the things you purport you are currently doing, ie., BEING HELPFUL. To encourage anyone to 'let sleeping dogs lie', as if those 'sleepy' voters don't really want honest and naturally helpful people 'governing' them, is to reach a point in your life that is, I believe, not worthy of who you are. I said I'd try to make this short, so I'll leave it at this: Without bringing religious beliefs into this, Christ said a lot of very interesting things, a lot more than merely 'be nice to each other'. Whatever your religious background, I humbly suggest you try reading just the purported words of Christ, not as religion, but simply as intelligent ideas, coming from an historical person who was murdered for his honesty.

What I know is that this is the Westridge community. From it's beggining, it was formed as a refugee camp, and as a halfway house to the American dream. I will say this as clearly as possible. NOBODY, and I mean NOBODY, tells our residents what they must do or believe. Not you, not me. This is a community where we practice tolerance for everybody. You have stated you viewpoint, your opinions,quite clearly. I respect that, as I do Hughs much less sophisticated versions of the same. But in my viewpoint (which I hold as valid as yours), they are, at best, oversimplifications and at worst, a profound misunderstanding of the realities of a multicultural government. So lets take an example to illustrate. Lets take a US rep, call her Jan, and see what she faces as a legislator. (I know, I ragged on Jan, that doesn't mean I don't have empathy for her also). She has good intentions and some ideas that are non mainstream. To be elected, she had to raise a lot of money. Thats not corruption, just the simple fact that there are a lot more voters in her district than she can ever interact with, and there are no free ways of doing so.It costs a lot of money for most people to get the word out. So she arrives in Washington, and finds that most of the work is done in committees and subcommittees, and her party, not her, decides what committees she is on. That is a practical matter. You can't have everybody on all committee, there is too much work to do. How do you decide who gets which committee? The obvious answer is by support of the other members. as a relatively new rep, Jan doesn't have that many debts to call in, so even if she wants, say. appropriations, she is not going to get it. Even so, she theoretically has some power. But consider this, Her vote affects millions of people, and no human being has the time or energy to become an expert on all the areas she might vote on. So she depends on reports by research services, her permanent staffers and, well, lobbyists. You might think relying on lobbyists is corrupt, but consider this...who else but the companies in the industry know the issue. Yeah, they are e probably slanted, which is why she has permanent staffers and CRS, but who else can she turn to? Professors have their own agendas, and social activist have theirs, they are just as slanted. But Jan is honest, so she studies the reports for as long as she can, and prays that she isn't making too huge a mistake. This is where a lot of corruption starts. All representatives are overwhelmed, so there is always a temptation to take shortcuts just to survive. Some take performance enhancing drugs, not for recreation, at least at first, but just to stay focused. Some feel their lives draining away under the pressure and decide they deserve a treat as a reward. Thats how Duke Cunningham started out. And some just cling to a few basic concepts and throw everything else away. Rohrbacker is a good example of that. And, of course, there is the political attack dogs, Like Mica, that take refuge in putting all the pressure on their party, and, of course, the occasional intellectual whack jobs like Issa. And some, amazingly enough, hold up under the strain, like Poe and Reid. I have no idea how they do it. Jan hasn't fallen to any of those weaknesses, as far as I can tell. But she hasn't been very effective, either. To advance her agendas, she has to get alliances with other reps, and her agenda's are often far enough out of the mainstream that other reps (who have their own agendas) don't see any reason to support her unless she offers something in return. Thats pretty common, many relatively new reps have the same problems. It is hard to get enough reps to support any issue, and even if they get it out of committee and vote it into law, it still has to be funded. There is not enough money for everything, so the house HAS to triage whats important, so thats another alliance that has to be built. How is that corruption? Now lets assume it passes the senate, just to save opening another can of worms. She still has to get the bureaucracy to implement it, and, well, they are very conservative and will push back on just about anything they don't like. So if Jan wants to make a difference, what can she do? She can't force other representatives to do what she wants, they represent hundreds of thousands of people also. She is honest, but she makes deals to get at least a portion of her agenda implemented, even though it means trading support for agendas her constituents don't care about or even object to. That is not corruption, it is simply the only way to get a a congress of equals to act together to achieve a goal of one of their members. Suppose she was dishonest or corrupt (as far as I know, she isn't, and I probably would have heard). What difference would that make to the process? ANd yes, there is a lot of wasted money (Far less than you might think, actually. Much of the money that was wasted in, say, Iraq, actually went for legitimate purposes that the government wants to keep secret.) But there is money that appears to be waste, earmarks, for example. But what they really are is bribes to get various reps agenda passed. More importantly, those earmarks contribute to that reps districts' needs. I have a hard time calling that waste. Not only do we in the 9th get our fair share of earmarks, do we really have the right to judge what other districts consider their important needs? A "bridge to nowhere" may seem silly in Illinois, but in the remote Alaska wilderness, it might represent a vital link to the future of their state. More importantly, what did we, as the 9th district, get in return for that, and would that appear silly or wasteful to the residents of Alaska? Te hard political truth is that by the time you factor everyones interests into account, it is a miracle anything gets done. What you call corruption, I call the essential lubricant that makes the gears of government mesh.

One other point. Yes, I am Jewish, but I also belong to 4 churches (2 Chinese, one black and this little rural church straight out of the Andy Griffith show)and occasionally visit a Hindu temple in the west burbs. My quote was from a recent sermon I heard. But yes, I did simplify it, and, as technically an unchurched, I debated whether I had the right to even include it. In the end, I decided it was within the spirit and goals of how that church outreached, and it did illustrate the point I was making perfectly. In Judaism, we have a saying "He who saves a single life, it is as if he saved the whole world". That quote isn't about saving lives, it is about the significance of the individual acts each of us make each day. You may dream about changing the world for the better and I wish you the best of luck. Many in our community tried t hat, Westridge was a leader in the early civil rights movement, for example. But many in the community just want to make it to the next day, and the rest have other ways of contributing, and thats just as valid. Lets use a Jewish example this time. Everyone has heard that Jews consider themselves the "Chosen Ones". What most people don't know is that it doesn't mean that Jews are superior, just that they are held to a higher standard of conduct. We Jews actually have a contract with G*D that states that if we we uphold our part of the bargain, everything will turn out all right in the end(that contract was probably the start of the tradition of Jewish lawyers) Religious Jews, like myself, internalize that attitude, believe it without any possibility of question. The acts we do as individuals count, even if they are not important in the scheme of things. And that attitude is part of the heritage, the gift, that the Jewish Community of Westridge has left for future residents. What you do as a citizen here counts, from the least politically active to those like me, you and Hugh. But noone counts more than anyone else, we are a community of equals. If you want to jusge someone, do it in a community where making yourself feel superior by belittling others is socially acceptable, we will not tolerate you using any of us as props for your ego or your ambitions.

That is an interesting choice you made, to use a national example, instead of a local one. Once again, you find it serves your purpose to avoid discussing local corruption. This 'grease' you speak of is all too familiar to us residents of Crook county and this 'system' of 'one hand washes the other' is also not a foreign phenomena. What did someone say, 'all politics is local'? And 'good government is good politics'? And what did that someone do during his 'reign'? Take a tour of the west and south sides of our city, if you want the answer to that one. And what are his progeny doing now? Is there any doubt that a whole lot of fraud is being committed 'daley'? Is there any doubt that the greatest amount of tax dollars being 'stolen' are those doled out legally? Because the thieves are the ones who make the laws? Who administer the laws? Who interpret the laws? After all that you've expressed, we still come back to what is your basic position., namely, nobody should try to change things, nobody should try to persuade others to try to change things, nobody should even pose the question of whether things should be changed. You say you respect the opinions of others, yet you state that those opinions are less than informed. Are you saying that we have the government that we want, that the vast majority of our fellow citizens are fully supportive of this system of 'greasing the wheels', that, the vast majority believes that, as long as 'I get mine', I don't object to 'you getting yours'? Is this the profound understanding that I'm not getting? "Those whose nature is to be opportunistic will be helpful when it benefits themselves and will be hurtful when it benefits themselves." "The opportunistic are the majority. For there to be fairness, justice, equity, honesty, kindness, balance, peace and general safety for close to all, the opportunistic majority must believe that being helpful is most often in their own best interest. That is what government is for." Perhaps a clearer way to put this is to say that 'That is what political leadership is supposed to be'. Leadership not focused on pandering to the wealthy and, thus, powerful, nor to the selfish majorities, whoever they may be, but focused on inspiring the majority to think, to realize and to understand that we are not cats and dogs, fighting for scraps, we are human beings, capable of more than animal behavior and responsible for being more than dogs and cats. (no offense to the dogs and cats intended, as I've known some truly wonderful dogs and cats) The only thing necessary for 'evil' to flourish, is for good to do nothing. I would think that the residents of the Westridge community would understand this all too well.

You ask what you are missing. Well, one thing you are missing is that not everybody shares your assumption that all politicians and government is corrupt, or even any. There are a few residents of our community, does that make everyone in the community corrupt? Another thing you are missing is that politics is not about leadership. Politicians are civil SERVANTS, not civil leaders, and their job is to serve their communities and their constituencies. Leadership comes separately, and the Westbridge community has many leaders. THe assumption that any alderperson is a leader, is a false one. an alderpersons role is very clearly that of an ombudsman between the city and the residents. More importantly, what the residents the Westbridge community understand is that they are adults, and are capable of taking responsibility for their own actions and lives, and if they want someone else to tell them how to do it, they can choose whomever they wish. It is called a democracy, or sometimes a free society. ANd I have repeatedly said that that I am not in the slightest opposed to change, I have worked hard and sacrificed a lot to create social change my entire life, in this community and in the wider world. If you want to be a leader, if you want to make changes, you are going to have to do it the same way I did it, go out among those you would lead, and convince them to follow you. But don't look to politics and elected office to give you that power, it cannot and doesn't. What it does give you is the responsibility to bargain for shared resources with other stakeholders on behalf of the community. You are an agent, s servant of the community, not a leader. Thats one of the reasons I used Jan as an example. She is a US Representative, not a leader, and while I can't agree with much of her politics or style, that doesn't make her corrupt, or even wrong for the position. What I was trying to do was explain the difficulties of her position, because earlier I analyzed her endorsement of Naisy, and I wanted to show that I was not making any wider comment on her fitness for the position. I really wish I could make you understand that I am not panderingto anyone, and never have. I do not even have a wish to lead, except by example. What I do is what I have done for many decades. Itry to help, as unobtrusively as possible, and when I speak, it is only for those who cannot speak for themselves. Which sometimes includes politicians, such as Bernie and Jan, and Alana. They have been good and faithful servants of the Westbridge community, and have done nothing to deserve the slander and innuendo's. I have never stood idly by while a wrong was committed, no matter what the cost, and now, at the end of my life, I am not going to start. I do not like fighting, never did. I am religious, but I really don't know if there is a heaven or an afterlife, or even if the world is as meaningless as Nietzsche would have it. (Though, on the other hand, Nietzsche dies, insane and alone, of syphilus, so there is at least some proof G*d had the last word) What I do know, is that I want my last thought to be that noone is worse off for my having resided on this earth. And thats the final point you are missing. All your writings assume that it is up to you to make the world a better place, that you are the hero, and the rest of us are just props in your story. I wish you luck in trying to enlist others in that epic.. Over the decades, I have learned that the world is complex, and no single person or set of actions can achieve that goal, lofty though it might be. The best anyone can do is refrain from making it worse. It is up to the mass of humanity as a whole to make things better, and that isn't something that can be achieved by leadership. only ny consensus. When Bernies and my generation started the civil rights movement, it wasn't to lead the world anywhere. just to make things better for minorities. To the extent that any success was achieved, it was not by the marches and the riots, it was by millions of little actions, by people whose names were never known to history, for others whose names are also lost. There were no heroes and no villains.

I hoped that I was not mistaken in perceiving you as a person of reason. You have not disappointed. I'm sure you understand that some of the words I have posted have been used to stimulate further discourse. One of the things I've noticed in my long life is that, not only do the 'good' and naturally helpful individuals sometimes stand by and do nothing, they also remain silent, when silence is the most harmful element in a given situation. The majority of your comments are right on target, truths that, while unpleasant to accept, are still true. One of the many problems we, as a society of human beings, have, is that our 'elected officials' want us all to see them as leaders, NOT as 'servants of the people'. This perspective is, obviously, the one that empowers our 'public servants' to lead us around by our noses, in whatever direction THEY so choose. Granted, there are limitations to where we allow ourselves to be led, though I disagree with your assumption that every one of our fellow citizens is a well-informed, fully aware 'adult', capable of NOT being fooled, repeatedly, by those who strive to do so. The examples of our so-called 'servants' acting contrary to the wishes and benefits of us all are numerous and, seemingly, unending. Trust that I am not 'missing' any of your points, not a one, and, that I have no illusions about the 'ways of the world', nor, any ambitions to be 'the hero'. What I do have, is a desire to share my life's experiences and observations with any who would be motivated to do just a little more thinking about life, and a little less resigning themselves to remaining silent and doing nothing. I do appreciate your taking the time, and making the effort, to share your thoughts on life with me, and any others who read these posts, because that is the primary reason why I'm posting comments at all. To stimulate thought, discussion, questioning and the sharing of same. Those 'in power', who present themselves as essentially 'servants', yet behave as 'leaders', albeit, ones who often attempt to lead us where THEY wish us to go, prefer us all to be thought-less, rather than thought-full. I say this from experience. Your generous participation in this forum has been, is, and, hopefully, will continue to be, extremely helpful to all who choose to read and consider your thoughts, opinions and observations. I hope you will find the time to contribute your thoughts on the wide variety of issues raised in the articles written and posted here. Once again, thank you.

You are welcome. And I thank you, I have thoroughly enjoyed this discussion. However, I do have to apologize, my last post came out harsher than I intended. In my defense, I did say that expository writing was not my strength. And so it ends. I probably won't be posting again. It has been fun, rising to the defense of my beloved Westridge community one final time, but it is an indulgence; there are real people, in the real world, out there that I could be trying to help. Alana, Naisy, Salman, and the others who participated(and yes, especially you, Hugh) remember that the community you fight over isn't a prize in a game, it is an inheritance that generations of former residents fought for, and within it is contained the seed of endless possibilities for the future. Don't let that seed die.

I hope you will reconsider. "I probably won't be posting again." and "...but it is an indulgence; there are real people, in the real world, out there that I could be trying to help." I know you are intelligent enough to understand that, by expressing your thoughts and ideas, even in this seemingly small venue, you do much to encourage those who read, and think about what they've read, to increase their 'engagement' in those activities which are helpful. If you would see that posting your ideas, opinions and wisdom is a practical and effective means to stimulating interest in exactly what you physically do every day, thus potentially increasing the number of human beings efficiently participating in helpful activities, inspired by your example and encouraged by your insightful commentary, you might find that the small amount of time it takes to rip off a few choice paragraphs would be well worth the effort. Like you said, you'll likely never know just how many you've inspired to join the ranks of the helpful, but I assure you that there will be more than you could imagine. I, for one, will continue to engage in the discussions, as long as I retain the use of my 8 fingers and 2 thumbs. Please think about the potential value of sharing your experiences and insights with the rest of us, we need all the reasonable input we can get.

*Sigh* posting is addictive... I have no wish to inspire anyone. My path in life is not necessarily the right one for anyone but me, and I am not so certain about even that. But I do want to say something about the Reader, because you called it a small venue. I first encountered the Reader many decades ago when a friend (a Chicago Today reporter) was complaining that an editor spiked his article, supposedly because it would offend one of the publishers friends. He told me about the alternative newspaper movement, of which the Reader was the exemplar. That was in the days before journalists decided objectivity was impossible, or at least unprofitable. Frankly, I can sympathize, though I hate the fact that the result of that decision was that the most respected journalist today is a comedian on basic cable presenting fake news; Journalism is a business, after all. But, as the value of objectivity degraded in the public forum, and the idea of free speech fled before the "sturm and drang" of partisanship, the nature of public discussion changed. Every difference of opinion, every decision, was not a matter for thoughtful debate, it was a war to be won, without regard to ethics or scruples. I am not afraid of attack, but, as a reporter, you know that sometimes the more zealous proponents of a position go way beyond literary tirades. Over the decades, I have been subjected to some truly extraordinary experiences along those lines (and suffered greatly as a result). While I am not afraid of retaliation (or I wouldn't post under my real name) it is a horrible diversion from activities I consider important. And it is not my responsibility. There are many different forces in society, such as the government, the military, the financiers, the faith based,...and the journalists. The role of journalists was meant to be the guardians of truth, the last line of defense against an unbalancing of any the other forces in society. And, at times, they have been magnificent. The New York Post strike of the early 1990's, for example, was one of journalisms (and humanities) finest hours. But slowly, inexorably, the decision to abandon objectivity had its consequences, not the least of which is that any discourse, from a simple blog to the halls of congress, degrades into a mixture of childish bickering and open warfare, because there is no one left to defend objectivity. Do you know how old a profession journalism is? The first investigative reporter died because he was thrown off a cliff by some villagers angry that he exposed a scam at their village market. You may have heard of him. His name was Aesop, and he is better known for his cautionary fables. Journalism arose because it is a primary ingredient in any successful civilization. Journalism is important, and the Reader was created to be one of the bastions of the profession. And, for the most part, it is still fulfilling that function. Granted, quite a number of its articles have been anti machine politics, but that was in the interests of presenting a balanced view. But it is the Readers responsibility for objectivity, not mine. For one thing, you can afford the lawyers that are one of the inevitable consequences of such activities. I have things I love, and I will defend them when it becomes necessary, as I have in these threads. But I am no quixotic warrior jousting against the windmills that grind the chaff of society, that role is reserved for journalists. I understand that the Reader wants to encourage the participation of it's readers in these blogs, but this isn't the way to do it. Do you really think most have the patience to wade through the endless succession of fifth grade level diatribes for the occasional interesting post? Thing is, the Reader has more untapped potential (and untapped revenue streams) than almost any other newspaper (or media) in America. But to realize any of that, it has to remember that journalism is a skill, and requires more effort from it's practitioners than a keyboard and a venue. People will pay for value, and nothing has more value in the news business today than local news and analysis. Readable and believable analaysis. That takes a lot of effort You complained that i did not use a local example earlier. Lets take a simple, and often controversial, responsibility of an alderperson, approving a development permit. A failed development can blight an area for decades. Did you know that even a basic list of questions needed to be answered in that situation covers dozens of pages? One of those questions is the economic resources of the developer, which is why you see a lot of development going to "the rich and powerful". I bet a lot of people would be more interested in learning about the real reasons for a decision than in another entry in the endless stream of accusations of corruption, they must be getting bored with it by now. Bread and circuses eventually are not enough, sometimes you want some meat, instead. The Reader might find it very profitable to go into the sandwich business. In anyone at the Reader is willing to listen, I would be more than happy to donate my ideas and delineate them further, offline (and off the record. Years reading IRE-L has taken it's toll)

And you keep saying that essay writing is not you forte'.....

Well, Randy, if you have the time, I know that I would certainly be interested in "I bet a lot of people would be more interested in learning about the real reasons for a decision......". The only thing preventing this seems to be the reluctance, of many in authority, revealing same. Hence, the journalists' difficulties in getting information, even when fully complying with the FOA requirements, to the letter. And, the obvious problem of having confidence that we've been given ALL the data relevant to a request, makes it the 'guessing game' we deal with, every time we seek to report on anything that 'some people' don't want reported on, in a meaningful and thorough manner. Corruption rearing it's ugly head, again. Thank you, for not resisting the "posting is addictive..." feeling. I suspect that, the more you participate, the better informed we all will be.

If R. Gordon, or anyone with experience and understanding, would post honest, accurate, clearly written and concise essays on the ACTUAL workings of our 'public servants', governmental procedures and practices, both 'on the record' and 'behind closed doors', us voters, potential or active, would be VERY interested. We all KNOW the generalities, what we lack are the specificities. And, there's not much available on the 'nitty-gritty' of our 'representatives' real life activities. The Devil is on the Details, so knowing the Details permits us all to know the devils in our midst. Some of us would like to know the details.

Actually, if you knew the details, you would be bored to death. You want details, but what you want is not always what you need, and in this case, details are the antithesis of what you need. Let me illustrate with an example. Back in the late 1990's, a large Wall Street firm was considering starting up a TV financial news channel to compete with CNBC and I got the chance to give some input into how the new channel should be structured. The company wanted to use mostly analysts, but I felt that some mainstream reporters might make it a more interesting channel, the idea being that they would relate better to the small investor that was flooding into the market at the time. I started reading the Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE-L) newsgroup, (which was wide open at the time) to identify some reporters I could suggest the company tap for the channel. I identified one, and when I suggested him to the company, the reaction was immediate. "Reporters always get it wrong", they said. I argued that was an unfair stereotype, so they suggested a little experiment. Picking a topic at random out of that days paper, they suggest I contact the journalist by email and just discuss the issue with him. The topic to be discussed was a proposed state law regulating journalists interviews with schoolchildren on school grounds; proposed in reaction to an incident where a reporter had traumatized a grade schooler some time earlier. So I contacted the reporter (not telling him about the news channel job), and exchanged email discussing the law. It took practically no time for the reporter to decide that if I supported the law, I had to be a pedophile. So I went back and told the executives, "yeah, maybe it isn't a good idea to use mainstream journalists." As it turned out, the company decided to postpone creating the TV channel for a while. A year or so later, however, the idea was revived. I was still reading IRE-L, and I had learned that the particular journalist I had been proposing for the channel had been under a lot of stress (his mother was dying of cancer) at the time we exchanged emails. So I decided to give the experiment another try...picking a less controversial subject (and still not telling him about the potential job). The email exchange didn't go many better this time either; he accused me of running a some sort of unspecified scam. I gave up at that point. However, the psychology of it confused me. It took me a while to figure out what had happened. Reporters and politicians are very much alike, they work from incomplete information and impossible deadlines to develop a coherent understanding of an issue. It is also complicated by the fact that everybody they deal with has an agenda of their own, and is trying to construct a social reality that twists the facts to match their agenda. Politicians and reporters compensate for their lack of perfect knowledge by guessing the missing facts based on their estimations of what they believe the most likely agendas of their sources of information are. The problem is, the pervasive influence of Hollywood style storytelling in our society shapes their views; there is a Hollywood style evildoer hole in their comprehension, and they have to fill it before they feel they comfortable. The fact is, however, that real life is rarely as dramatic as a Hollywood script. Millions of people lead perfectly ordinary lives, without ever doing anything particularly interesting, let alone evil, and are perfectly happy with that state of affairs. They simply don't care about not fully understanding the world around them. And what of those who want or need to understand? They think they want details, because they need those details to fill in the villain shaped gaps in their world. But that isn't what they need, only what they want. What they need is a replacement of Hollywood stories with reality based ones, a true understanding of the world around them. I would think that the Reader would understand this better than anyone. For decades now, "The Straight Dope" has been a leading feature of the paper. Read most of the posts in this thread. We live in a society that constantly prefers spin over facts. Our moral compasses seem calibrated in RPM's. Didn't it ever strike anyone at the Reader that it was remarkable that The Straight Dope, whose express mission is to replace spin with facts, was so popular? Personally, I think it is because, at some level, people feel uncomfortable living in a world scripted according to Hollywood standards, they need something more anchored in the reality they encounter every day. They already have 500 channel cable if they want fantasies. And thats my first proposal for the Reader, the "Straight Dope" on politics. Not a boring list of scholarly facts, the fluff of a newspaper article, or the vast epic of a holywoood plotline, but an explanation of how the process really works, how non corrupt politicians grapple with their responsibilities and make decisions and how those decisions sometimes seem corrupt. Since Watergate, every journal, every media, has been looking for the next "Deep Throat", the next expose that will catapult them into stardom. It is not working out for them too well. Respect for journalists is at an all time low, as is the number of media outlets/newspapers in America. The Reader might find it profitable to experiment with an alternative, to consider breaking away from the herd, at least in one section, and start following its own path. It certainly has achieved it's greatest accomplishments by doing so in the past.

Well, Randy, you just get better and better with every post. Truth is what I, for one, am seeking, truly. Whether that truth is what I was expecting, or a complete surprise and contradiction of my opinions, doesn't matter, at least to me. At this late stage of my life, I've had about all the exciting entertainment a single human being can handle, and still remain relatively sane. As I suspect you've noticed, my perspectives, to date, are that there does exist a small, but proportionally harmful, number of 'people' who, by hook and/or by crook, do much damage to the large number of ordinary folks, my being one of these many, who simply want to earn an honest day's pay, for an honest day's worth of work, without having a painfully large percentage of my earnings snatched from my pocket, for no reasonably good purposes, by the aforementioned little group of 'not-so-petty' thieves. I can determine when someone in the 'private sector' is attempting to 'sell' me 'less' for 'more', when someone in the 'private sector' is trying to get 'more' from me, while paying me 'less', and I'm relatively free to decline doing 'business' with those in the 'private sector' who I believe are not being fair and honest in their dealings with me. I, as with the rest of us 'ordinary' folks, don't presently have an effective option to do the same, when 'dealing' with our elected officials, those they employ, and/or those who participate in activities directly concerning the hard-earned dollars that are plucked from my pockets through the force of taxation. Without opening the other can of worms, namely the social and day-to-day living conditions that are impacted by the same 'elected officials, government employees, etc.' enforcements of the force-imposed 'laws, rules, regulations, policies, etc.' created by same, just the effects of taxations do much to diminish our potential quality-of-life experiences. One can decide to accept these factors as if they were just another 'force of nature', like a passing thunderstorm, and do one's best to make the best of the day, and that may end up being the only sane and rational thing to do. My desire to understand the practical mechanics of our present political workings is a result of my observations that these 'workings' are too often overly beneficial to the small, minority of those 'connected', and painfully detrimental to the vast majority of the rest of us all. Your observations on your experiences with 'journalists' reveals the fundamental weaknesses in the individuals who think of themselves as journalists, but fall far short of the definition of same. Seeking the truth, however far the truth is from one's expectations, ambitions and desires, is what a true journalist is all about. Like the character of detective Joe Friday, from Dragnet, a true journalist is seeking 'just the facts', letting the readers determine what those facts mean. Your suggestions to the Chicago Reader are excellent and insightful. I hope that the Reader's editorial authorities will jump at the chance to act on them, no matter how difficult it may be to execute these ideas and suggestions. An active 'post-a-question and get-an-answer' type service, combined with an open comment board, for the rest of us non-journalists to offer our 'two-cents worth' on any question, would do much to help the Readers' readers to begin to understand the means and methods of their own governance, and, thus, hopefully lead to a much more informed and effective citizen participation in the 'political processes'. Whether a voting public's increased understanding will lead to improvements in all of our lives, to greater participation and to changes in the way our 'elected' public 'servants' behave, remains to be seen. I, for one, would like to see if a more informed electorate will result in a more honest, fair, beneficial and truly helpful crop of 'public servants' being elected. While there are elements of 'drama' in many of my posted comments, that drama comes from the activities I observe, namely, the contradictions, deceptions, and convoluted mumbo-jumbo that our present bunch of 'public servants' routinely 'appear' to feed us, whenever, wherever and in whatever way 'appears' to serve their own purposes. It may not be that they are ALL shitheads, but, as the saying goes, it only takes a few rotten apples to spoil the barrel, and, I suspect that we're burdened with more than just a few. Thank you for improving with every post, I wouldn't be surprised if the Reader were to offer you the job of running the 'alternative' you suggested, though I know you've got better things to do.

"Running the alternative"? Well, I would love to be involved, anyhow. Like everyone else who posts publicly, I too have an agenda, and it is this. After this horrendous election, I want peace, in my community, and in my city. I want to remind everyone of what we, as a city and a community have achieved, and what we will achieve in the next decade. But you are incorrect in thinking it would be difficult to implement. In actuality, the only software you would need for what I envision is the open source and free Drupal wiki (http://drupal.org/). It would only take a few hours to set up. I would do it myself, but I really need the Reader to do it, not me. The Reader is Chicagos own community newspaper, supported by local businesses, and I feel strongly that newspapers should be one of the pillars a community is built on. The Reader can do more than Investigative reporting and entertainment news, the Reader, and the thousands of small businesses that support the Reader, can work together to strengthen the community, as well (and make a nice profit at the same time). Let me explain further. Back in the 1990's, there was a television show on PBS, called "Ethics in America" (free at http://www.learner.org/resources/series81.html) I want the Reader to do something like that, but updating it for the internet, turning it into an interactive game, and involving their advertisers, as well. Here is how it would work. Drupal is a free prebuilt PHP/MySQL web application, that you can customize with a browser, that can handle enormous numbers of hits, multiple languages, and most importantly, collaborative book creation. Whoever maintains this website could put it up in a few hours. If they have problems, the Drupal community is one of the friendliest on the web. Then the real work begins. The Reader needs to recruit prominent politicians and civic leaders to contribute their thoughts on a specific scenario, say, a proposed development of an abandoned theater (To use an example from Westridge). The scenario is posted as a chapter in Drupals book module, and the public is solicited to submit their comments on what they would do. Note that the submissions go into a moderation queue, and are not yet readable by anyone but Reader staff. The reader staff picks out the most interesting ones, and publishes them, along with the comments by the civic leaders and politicians on what they would do in the scenario. Then, like in "Ethics in America", the scenario is picked further apart, and the process is repeated. The end result is that the Reader has just now written a chapter in a book (with Drupal, you can generate a publishable book easily from its collaborative book module) that it can market. But it does not end there. The Reader staff gives points for each submission, and these points can be redeemed at local Reader advertisers for discounts (Drupal has a very nice rating system). You can even add in an "American Idol" like user voting mechanism. The top points winner could also get some sort of civic award (perhaps not from the Pew Institute, but at least from the city. I bet Chicago politicians would love to see something from the Reader that didn't involve suggestions for incarceration). The grand prize could be something spectacular, like no city taxes for that year. Lesser prizes could include bonus grade points for students in CPS, as well as things like partial scholarships. Everyone wins. It promotes faith in our city government, promotes the Readers advertisers, promotes the Readers circulation (and the rates the Reader can charge), and best of all, since Drupal can handle multiple languages, it can bring the non English speaking ethnic groups into the discussion, which, when the book is published in June , 2009, should make one impressive statement to the International Olympic committee and bolster Chicago's bid to become the "first city" for international business. The software and maintenance is free (Drupal pretty much runs itself) the bandwidth is probably already in the Readers web budget, as is the disk space. The real cost is the human effort, to recruit the political leaders and the advertisers, promote the idea, and judge the results. However, I am willing to bet that the City and the various political and civic stakeholders would back this to the hilt, and there would probably be no dearth of volunteers to help with the judging. Like I said, the Reader has enormous untapped potential and revenue streams. This is just one of the ways it can tap them.

Randy, you're full of surprises, indeed. Brilliant idea, well thought out details, the best of intentions. God, I hope this isn't destined to be one of those 'no good deed goes unpunished' experiences! I'll do what I can to spread the word on this concept; with a little bit of 'pre-anticipation' , on the part of the readership of the Reader, the evidence of a 'demand' for this interactive medium MIGHT spur the Reader to actually implement it! Oh joy!

Well, look at it this way. Just how badly could the board object to having every student in the Chicago public school system being given the Reader as a homework assignment for their social studies class? I bet the advertisers aren't going to hate having hundreds of thousands of school kids will disposable cash seeing their advertisements, as well. Look, the Reader was founded in the 1970's to provide an alternative to the mainstream papers, and an outlet for "hard hitting" articles. Two generations later, there are plenty of alternatives, and in a polarized society as this, hard hitting is hard to distinguish from spin. But the changing times have hit the mainstream as well. The Trib and Sun are outmoded in an age of Internet news and videophones. The one newspaper format that still has an advantage is the Readers long format. Journalism is still a profession, not an avocation, despite all evidence to the contrary, and the skill to produce such articles is still something that requires training. Thanks to the Internet, everyone has the means to be a newspaper publisher. It does not mean, however, that they have the talent or skill to be a journalist. But journalism has never been about investigation, that was just a fad inspired by the Post and Watergate. It is about communication, and about education. And right now, the public the Reader serves needs that more than anything. We live in a polarized world, never hearing anything but what we want to hear. And this week, millions of illegal immigrants are in our streets, because they think everyone else can't hear them. And, many others, throughout the city, keep quiet for fear of being singled out. This isn't a proposal for some silly school project. This is an attempt to open up channels of communication that are rapidly closing, to give voice to those that are afraid to speak. We can't live like this, at war with ourselves. The right hand cannot war against the left forever, we need both hands to build a future, for ourselves, and for our children. We need a way to talk to each other, not at each other. So I proposed this as a moderated format, so cyberbullies cannot intimidate anyone, and in multiple languages, so everyone has the ability to give voice to their thoughts. And, most important, it is by the Reader, famous for their antiestablishment articles, who can give credibility to the assurance that posting your thoughts does not mean exposing yourself to retaliation by the authorities.

Please don't take this the wrong way, but I gotta tell you, you just keep getting better and better at this essay writing thing you once stated you were not all that good at. :) If the Reader doesn't pick up on this, (pardon my 'French'), fuckin' brilliant idea, then they must have lost interest in both being a paper worthy of being called 'journalistic' AND a profitable business. Hell, SOMEBODY could implement this, and do well just selling ads on the Web! Well, it's only been a few days that your post has been up, I've been posting it a bit, (hopefully with no objection from the author), with the nature of this form of communication being quite rapid, some reaction should be forthcoming. Ben and/or Mick, are you out there??? Do you guys ever read the comments on your articles???? I'll keep on plugging away on this, Randy, as it's the first really practical idea I've come across, sort of a focused Wiki, with the goals being just as lofty, ie., "to give voice to those that are afraid to speak." & "to build a future, for ourselves, and for our children." & "and in multiple languages, so everyone has the ability to give voice to their thoughts." Like I said, BRILLIANT IDEA!!!

I suspect that we have been the only two reading this thread for some time. If you are interested in the issues that this proposal is addressing, Katherine Barrette & Richard Greene of Governing Magazine, have spent years looking at these issues, and their latest article http://www.governing.com/articles/5manage.htm discusses a related issue. They are quite knowledgeable and respected regarding applications of technology to state governance, and could be both quite supportive and establish this form of government auditing and management as a franchise for whoever implements it. You are welcome to full ownership of the idea, for whatever it may worth, if anything. Run with it, I have no further interest beyond making the original proposal, I have to get back to my own work. Good luck.

By the tone of your most recent post, I suspect you've determined that the 'addictive' nature of posting comments has worn off, and that this last post may well be your last. Hopefully not, but, in the event that it is, I thank you for this wonderful idea, I'm kicking myself for not thinking of something similar! But then, what this lack of inspiration on my part teaches me is that I am still vulnerable to not seeing the forest for the trees. Thank you for the entirety of the rationality of your comments, you've remained civilized in an environment that is not commonly all that civil. Good luck to you, in all that you choose to do.

"Midway in the journey of our life I came to myself in a dark wood, for the straight way was lost. Ah, how hard it is to tell the nature of that wood, savage, dense and harsh -- the very thought of it renews my fear! It is so bitter death is hardly more so. But to set forth the good I found I will recount the other things I saw. from Inferno, Canto 1 http://etcweb.princeton.edu/dante/pdp/ The greatest gift of G*D was to forgo robbing each of us of that small share of glory that results from choosing our own path through those woods, even if we choose to ascend to Heaven via a path that winds through Hell. The Reader doesn't seem interested in walking this particular path. Neither did the Sun Times (mainly because I wasn't related to the publisher) or the Tribune (mainly because of a total lack of courage) I wish you luck in getting any traction. One suggestion, you might want to ally with Pete Zelchenko http://zelchenko.com/ a community activist, aldermanic candidate, techie. He probably has a more jaundiced view of Chicago politics than you do , but he would love this sort of thing. If you do, I would suggest your first topic be illegal immigration. I want to propose a compromise that I think would benefit all sides, without leading to unwanted political, ethical or economic repercusions, based on my decades of research and experience in the competitive strategy of nations. However, I cannot even propose it because the din of irrelevant discourse would drown it out. I need to get the public discourse to a far less hysterical level before the idea has even have a chance of a fair hearing. I suspect many others also have their own suggestions. I have always felt that there are very few problems that cannot be solved when rational adults sit down together and discuss a solution. But to attempt that, we need to talk out the irrational fears, first, on both sides. That means a moderated forum, where amateur spin artists and would be demagogues cannot divert the discussion from the issues. I have tried. I cannot make it happen. Perhaps you will have better luck. If you get anywhere, let me know. I can help you flesh out the business case.

I'm still banging on doors, but nobody seems to be home....... Ah, the life of a salesman..... As my papa always said, "Never give up hope, never stop trying, always get back up when life knocks you down and you can't catch fish if you don't put your line in the water". Oh, and the only thing that one can control is one's own efforts, never the outcome of same, so do your best and be thankful for every breath you're blessed with.

I wasn't kidding about that "Inferno" quote, though I have yet to post a complicated literary allusion and have anyone get it. But make no mistake, this is important. If there is no mechanism for differing segments of the public to talk to each other, our society will continue to grow more partisan, till the lack of cohesion causes it to fall apart. The various political bodies, from local city councils to the US Congress, were supposed to fulfill that function, but the ubiquity of spin and the media prevents them from doing so. Reaching out, being reasonable, is too dangerous, it would be used against you in the next election. We have had partisan eras before in our nations history, in the early 1800's, for example, the Whigs and the Democrats hated each other with a passion that makes our present polarization seem genial. But always, in the past, there have been social forces to pull us together, to keep the lines of communication open. There are no such forces now. It used to be that politicians could meet privately, out of the glare of the media and the spin, and work together without fear of their reaonableness being turned against them. However, thanks to various laws that prevent elected officials from conducting business in private, that is no longer possible. Open meetings is not a bad thing, per se, but we need to replace the social function that they performed. I am hoping this proposal will achieve that. P.S. Just in case you were wondering, I am not the n.g.f.a. Randy Gordon, or the Democratic lawyer Randy Gordon, neither of them is part of the Westbridge community, as far as I know. (I really didn't want them to get the blame for my posts). I am just the political wonk and nerd Randy Gordon, and pretty much invisible to most of society, deliberately. I would rather my actions speak for me.

"(I really didn't want them to get the blame for my posts)." I think you really MUST mean the credit..... "But always, in the past, there have been social forces to pull us together, to keep the lines of communication open." This, of course, was before we all, as a society, became effectively separated by the very technologies which we thought would help in increasing our abilities to communicate, (telephone, radio, television, and, ironically, computers & the 'World Wide Web'), though, maybe the error is in assuming that a greater ability to communicate would automatically equal a greater understanding and appreciation of each other. Perhaps the incredible amount of information, both accurate and bogus, we have access to, about each other, leads not to a recognition of our commonalities, but to an irritating awareness of our differences. I knew a fellow, once upon a time, who had this theory that the behaviors of mankind can be easily seen in every 'lower' species, (the herd instinct, fear of the 'other', the 'birds of a feather, flock together' principle, laws of the jungle, etc.), but, at the time, I thought he was over-simplifying human social motivations. Maybe he had a more insightful understanding of people than I thought. I wholly agree that some venue is desperately needed to provide at least the opportunity, for those who wish to avail themselves of it, to feel and believe that they can participate, in a truly meaningful way, in affecting the powerful and unavoidable forces that governments, at all levels, impose upon us all. After all, even the most cynical of our politicians wouldn't suggest that they are much different than the rest of us, that they don't bleed red, that they don't breath the same air, drink the same water and that their own shit doesn't stink, just like everyone else's. One thing I've learned is that, while not a motivation to do nothing, one must find some satisfaction in appreciating what one has, regardless of how 'less' one perceives it may be from what one would like to have. Balance, my friend, balance is what we seek, what we need, and, sadly, what we often lack. I'll keep on trying, what else is there to do? Thank you, again, for your insightful concept.

And that irritation is exactly why this project is so important. When we become aware of something new or different, we decide how to respond by comparing it to the stories embedded deep within our souls. And to me, "new or different" isn't irritating, it means the possibility of a new story, an exciting and uncertain future filled with as many endless possibilities as the first day of summer. That was my generation, the generation that grew up believing in the magic, the future, grew up viewing Norman Rockwell paintings on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post. In reality, it was a horrible time, far worse than today, but there was also those stories, inspiring us, a small circle of firelight that kept the darkness of the times from extinguishing the hope that the stories of magic we grew up with wasn't all lies. Then, in the 1960's, journalism had it's greatest triumph, the Washington Post and a couple of lowly journalists took down the most powerful man in the world at the time, Richard Nixon, the President of the United States. There is a legend that if mankind ever successfully stormed the gates of Hell, the fall of Heaven would not be far behind. It was never better illustrated than by what happened next. Seeking new victories, journalists took down everyone else, even themselves. And finally,the journalists, those whose ancient heritage was to be the guardians of the stories, lacking anything else to attack, destroyed the stories themselves. And so we come to where we are today, standing alone in the burnt out, shattered remnants of the stories that once nurtured our souls, and the only feeling that we can summon is irritation, because we can't figure out what we have forgotten, because we no longer even have the memory of all that has been lost. It is not that investigative journalism is a bad thing, far from it. But there is more to journalism than spin and attack. In the heady aftermath of the victory of Watergate, journalists forgot their own special story, the one they inherited from Aesop so many millennia ago, that journalism was part of government, as just as important as the executive, legislative or judicial branches. People need to feel and believe they can influence the government, because they no longer remember that they actually do. The only stories they know is the Hollywood ones, that there is always a villain, and that the heroes must struggle against insurmountable odds to eventually win total victory. It is a pity that most of us, plebeians and politicians alike, are neither heroes nor villains. There is a place for heroes. It is called the Olympics. Today, the US Olympic Committee is meeting with Patrick Ryan, head of the Chicago bid for the 2016 Olympics, to plan strategy to convince the international community the Olympics should be held here in Chicago. An essential part of that strategy is to demonstrate that Chicago is not provincial, that visitors from all over the world can feel at home here. Talk to Ryan. Convince him that this proposal can demonstrate that. And more than that. Once we get people and societies talking to each other, we can weave a new story, a story of how Chicago fits into the wider world, how a city, a people, Chicago, can be a hero also, and lead the world into a better time, a time of trade and peace. Yes, maybe it is a lie, maybe it will never happen, but I, for one, will never surrender quietly to the darkness, I will keep the firelight burning as long as I can. After all, isn't that the true meaning of the Olympic flame?

I, for one, don't ever want to see you post anything, ever again, suggesting that you're no good at essay writing. Period. Reading your post leaves me with the desire to read more, though I understand your reticence at posting anything you deem to be too long. I suspect that, with regards to your essays, there isn't such a thing as 'too long', as this particular one is an example of the wealth of wisdom you have to offer. I hope that the reporters working for the Reader will read and absorb the contents of your posts, (at the very least the contents of this one, single, brilliant piece of truth), if only to take the opportunity you have so generously presented, to learn some things about their chosen profession, and to realize how far each has to go in actually being journalists, not merely irritating tattle-tails. Can you imagine what living in this great city and county could be like, if there were no longer any valid reasons for the poverty of those neglected areas all around us, no lack of jobs, decent paying jobs, no sub-standard schools, no profiteering speculators driving so many out of their homes, no 'need' for obscene taxes paying for those back-room deals, no tolerance for liars, manipulators, schemers, exploiters, and fraudulent 'leaders', both public and private, because everyone would have the opportunity to create and build that "time of trade and peace" of which you spoke. Not a lie, Randy, but perhaps a hope-less hope, one that could come true, if we all do what it takes to make it happen, if we all want to do what it will take to make it happen, not what we many have been doing, allowing our better selves to be diminished by buying into the deceptions of those who have no better self. I haven't been participating in this comment board for very long, so I don't know if the high level of intelligence and insight displayed by your posts is the rule, or the exception to same. But what I do know is that this site alone can be the beginning of something big, really BIG, and something good, really GOOD, for all the citizens of this city, county, state and country. If those 'in power' are interested in anything more than using the 2016 Olympics for their own personal, financial gain, some, at least, will embrace your proposal and give it the chance to flourish, as it well deserves to. Those who fear the participation of the 'common' citizens are, as you would expect, 'all the usual suspects'. Those who purport to be the 'Guardians of Truth', the true journalists, will jump on this idea, as surely and as swiftly as the strike of a cobra or a flash of lightning. Hey BEN, MICK, et.al., are you paying attention???

Mr. Dumke et all. are probably not paying attention, reporters are working class folks, and rarely have time to waste on leisure reading. You can't blame people for not being idealistic, it's not a practical strategy for survival unless you are independently wealthy. You have to work in the here and now, and with the self interests of the people you want to interact with. I can understand the pain and rage of looking at a world that is so patently unbalanced, and feel compelled to do something about it. And you are right, there is never a valid reason for poverty. But there are valid reasons why poverty hasn't been eliminated, yet. We live in an era of diminishing expectations, though, if China collapses in 2009-2011 as economics predicts, we might see a rebirth of the 1990's. Here and now, however, the state government is trying to make up for a huge shortfall in revenues, and, frankly, there isn't any good options. Illinois is the sixth most indebted state (and that was a few years ago!) and frankly, it has done everything it could to keep services as high as they are. It is tapped out, there isn't anything non vital left to cut. Not even graft, which gives you some idea how bad it is. Want better school services? That means school services in areas like the 50th ward are going to have to go down; the state can't just mint money, it has to borrow it. And the accounting boards have cracked down, there are no more loopholes the state can use to borrow any more money than it can legitimately afford to, which isn't enough. And no matter how you shuffle it sround, the individual taxpayer is going to get hit up for it. The opponents of the Gross Receipts tax are right, all it would have done is get passed back to consumers, probably generating some extra costs along the way. You talk of back room deals and profiteering. It doesn't happen as much as you think. Yes, when times are rich, there are a lot of folks that don't mind skimming some off the top, "Urbo es mea" is our city motto, after all. But times haven't been rich for a while now. Very few people are crominals in their own mind, and those types of people never enter elected office. It is very hard for any other type of person to steal in an emergency situation, it isn't in normal human nature to do such violence to their soul; they can't make those kind of compromises with their conscience. When you do hear of such thngs happening, it is more often a human failing than a deliberate act of greed. The fact is, it isn't up to politicians to solve this, it woould require ordinary citizens to put pressure on companies. Since any one person represents about 1/300millionth of the country , it is going to take a LOT of them to have any perceptable effect, and right now, they don't care enough. It can be done. Global climate change is mostly hype but Al Gore and others have managed to make it of interest to enough people that companies are taking action. But notice they did it through Hollywodd. through the media, through journalists, and most of all, through stories. You want change? Start generating stories. Thats what thets what the Internet was invented for. Also the Olympics. Of course the 2016 Olympics is about financial gain. But is also about spreading stories, of heroes, of triumph, of ideas.. Because the Olympics are about financial gain doesn't make Patrick Ryan a bad guy. If past Olympics are any judge, Chicago will probably lose money on the games, and, as I said,the city and state can hardly afford to waste any money. So why do Ryan and the business leaders want the Olympics here? Because they have bigger goals in mind, and yes, some of them are very idealistic. They want the Olympics here because they want the world to value Chicago, to understand its potential, to know its story. Because if that happens, the world may start investing in Chicago. And that means times will be rich again. And that means there will be money for our impoverished, and enough left over they can go back to skimming something off the top again. Frankly, I don't care if they go back to graft, so long as the other social needs are taken care of first. Here and now, there are people in real trouble, and helping them is all I care about. This idea, however, doesn't look like it is going to sell. Got a different one,if you are interested. I keep on remembering this story. Many decades ago, Mark Evanier, a writer on a sitcom called "Welcome Back Kotter" was approached by an aspiring screenwriter who asked him how they could start writing for televison. "Write a script" Mark replied. "That's it? I got the job?" the would be screenwriter exclaimed. "Wow, that was easy". "No, don't be silly." Mark said. "A scriptwriter is someone who writes scripts, and you don't do it because you get paid, you do it because thats what you are." And that applies to politics as well. You want the sort of candidates you like? Create them, and then run them for office. Lets invent some candidates and have a primary. It is all on the Internet, it won't cost anything. Heck, start a imaginary party. How about the the Whigs, they haven't been heard from for a while, lets revive them. Our candidates can have imaginary debates, CSPAN is kind enough to broadcast the questions the real candidates answer, why not have our imaginary candidates do so also? I know anyone cam come up with better answers to Roe vs Wade than our esteemed former NYC mayor. Issue some press releases about the debate. Most journalism is rewriting press releases anyhow, an imaginary candidacy has got to be more interesting than some of the real ones. It might go nowhere, but it also might interest enough voters that real candidates might steal some ideas (or, in Obama's case, their MySpace account) Remeber Murphy Borwn and Dan Quayle? Or Pat Paulsen? If it takes off, we can get some Hollywood types to join in. Mia Farrow might want to debate one of our imaignary candidates about Darfur, for example.

I'll resist the impulse to use that word that always comes to my mind when reading your posts, it begins with 'bri' and ends with 'ant'. This idea may be one that can be accomplished relatively easily, albeit with the appropriately legal disclaimers posted clearly and in understandably plain language. :) Thanks, you've brightened my day, not only with the essential hopefulness of your idea, but with the elemental truth and accurate assessments of human nature it embodies. After all, what's life for, if not to appreciate, enjoy and share same with others of like mind? I'm reminded of two eternally true quotes, namely, "You can't take it with you" and "You can't cheat an honest man".......

salman is divorced three times. and is well known for his rude and bad mouth. an opportunist, he sided with stone to use hsi clout in the community.