No Problems Here

EXAMINER PUBLICATIONS – NOVEMBER 18, 2009

By Rich Trzupek

Assuming that we are all aware of the current threat level and that we will remain vigilant in the fight against terror, we may be able to discuss other topics this week. And by “the fight against terror” I am of course referring to the ever-present danger that the actions of a few so-called “jihadists” might yet result in a backlash directed against Muslims in America.

As the United States Army Chief of Staff, General George Casey so eloquently said, when speaking about the Fort Hood massacre: “…as horrific as this tragedy was, if our diversity becomes a casualty, I think that’s worse.” Well, duh! As if thirteen lives – fourteen if you count the unborn child that one of the murdered women was carrying (but of course the unborn do not count as “lives” in modern America) – could possibly be as important as maintaining diversity!

While there have been no actual, recorded instances of American Muslims being killed or injured in fits of “angry white male backlash”, the danger of that happening is worse than ever. The actions of Major Hasan – an ethnic Palestinian who donned Pakistani jihadist garb and shouted “Allahu Akbar!” repeatedly while gunning down his unarmed comrades, all of this following the Major’s extensive correspondence with Al Queda – led some Americans to react in a knee-jerk fashion that is so typical of right-wing nut jobs.

Motive? What Motive?

EXAMINER PUBLICATIONS – NOVEMBER 11, 2009

By Rich Trzupek

Usually – heck, almost without exception – the public and media loves to speculate about the motives and ideology of the perpetrator whenever there is a mass murder on American soil. So it’s rather remarkable to think that practically nobody in the mainstream media seems to wonder about makes a guy murder thirteen people and wound forty two others.

Well, except that we are told definitively not to wonder about one particular thing. No less an authority than the President of the United States has warned us not to “jump to conclusions” about Major Nidal Malik Hasan’s motives for opening fire in a Fort Hood processing center.

Heavens no – wouldn’t want that. It’s not like he was some obviously right wing nut job – like a fundamentalist Christian blowing up an abortion clinic – in which case the media happily jumps to as many conclusions as possible about not only fundamentalist Christians, but the very institution of Christianity itself.

And it’s not like Hasan was repeatedly shouting “Allahu akbar” as he fired – oh wait – yes he did. Still, that doesn’t really mean anything. Surely that behavior was just another manifestation of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (otherwise known as: “Bush’s fault”), which will be rather hard to prove given that Hasan had not yet been within 8,000 miles of a war zone. However, apologists have already begun to speculate (which we are not supposed to do) that Hasan suffers from a contagious version of PTSD called “secondary trauma”. Yeah, that’s it.

e-Smoke ‘em If You e-Got ‘em

EXAMINER PUBLICATIONS – NOVEMBER 4, 2009

By Rich Trzupek

Bad news for Cook County, the State of Illinois and every other taxing body who depend on exorbitant cigarette taxes for funding: you’ll not be getting another dime of your humble correspondent’s hard earned money. You’ll have to find another sucker.

It’s not that I quit the habit after thirty years, not exactly anyway. Rather, I switched to e-cigarettes, which are not only a whole lot healthier than the “light it up” variety of smokes, which are now SO 2008. E-smokes are also much less expensive and entirely free of sin taxes.

If you are not familiar with e-cigs, a brief explanation is in order. They are basically a nicotine delivery system, designed to look and act like a “real” cigarette, but without the tar, carbon monoxide and other nasties, and without any second-hand smoke.

Cartridges, containing nicotine, water and – if you choose – a flavor (like menthol, chocolate, etc.) screw on to a battery. In the version I use, the cartridge looks like a filter on a traditional cigarette, while the battery looks like the body of a cigarette. The battery heats the contents of the cartridge when one takes a drag and one gets a puff of water and nicotine that is amazingly close to (if not exactly the same as) the real deal. Plus, they take care of that whole oral-satisfaction thing, as well as that smoker’s need to keep your hands busy.

Obama vs. Fox

EXAMINER PUBLICATIONS – OCTOBER 28, 2009

Just flew back from our nation’s capital (arms tired) having rubbed elbows (elbows sore) with some of the D.C. press corps. And what is the talk of the town among Washington journalists? Why, Obama vs. Fox. Duh.

This is truly a head scratcher. George W. Bush was once asked what he thought of the way the press covered him. He answered in the same manner that Presidents – Republican, Democrat and probably Whig – have answered that question for centuries. To wit: he paid no attention to what the press was saying, for he was too busy running the country to worry about the way the media was portraying those efforts.

Not entirely true, I’m sure. Presidents have legions of advisors whose job it is to “keep their finger on the pulse” of public opinion, and some of that surely involves scanning the editorial pages of the New York Times. Yet, the principle is the point. The chief executive of the most powerful nation on earth should remain aloof from media squabbles.

Back when the press didn’t give a damn about showing its party colors, opposition newspapers positively crucified Abraham Lincoln. Honest Abe shrugged it all off, figuring that if he accomplished his goals, the criticism would not matter and if he didn’t, it would matter even less. He was the master of retaining his cool, no matter what names the press called him, and he set a standard that Presidents would follow for decades to come.

Rush To Judgement

EXAMINER PUBLICATIONS – OCTOBER 21, 2009

By Rich Trzupek

It’s really hard to keep one’s priorities in order. The mullahs in Iran are happily developing atomic weaponry, Congress is happily working on socializing medicine and we’re running up the national debt faster than you can say “it’s still Bush’s fault.” And sure, we hear about these things in the news, but – last week – these events paled in importance compared to the really, REALLY big news: the name of the guy who wants to be a minority owner of the St. Louis Rams.

Your humble correspondent is not a Limbaugh listener. Nothing against the man, and we obviously would agree on a great many subjects, but talk radio is not my cup of tea.

Still, the predictable and entirely hysterical response of the mainstream media and other race-baiters when Limbaugh was revealed to part of a prospective ownership group was, well, kind of sad. Limbaugh is said to be contemplating suing for libel and it would appear that he has a case.

The worst of the coverage attributed the following quote to Limbaugh: “You know who deserves a posthumous Medal of Honor? James Earl Ray. We miss you, James. Godspeed.”

The source for this quote, for most in the media, was a book written by left-wing author Jack Huberman, entitled “101 Persons Who Are Really Screwing Up America”, published in 2006.

Not Gonna Do It

EXAMINER PUBLICATIONS – OCTOBER 14, 2009

By Rich Trzupek

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking “here we go, Trzupek is going to make fun of the President winning the Nobel Peace Prize.” You’re expecting that I am going to join the chorus of voices laughing their heads off because the President was nominated for the award after he had been in office all of eleven days.

Sorry, I’m not going to do that. Nor am I going to be so tactless as to point out that the Nobel Peace Prize has more closely resembled the Nobel Door Prize in recent decades. Just look at the honor roll of Nobel Peace Prize winners in living memory.

Take the late Yasser Arafat (please), for example. What more noble example of a Nobel Peace Prize winner could one ask for than that guy who tried so desperately to bring peace to the Middle East? And, although his efforts have not yet been successful, his peace-loving, spiritual descendents carry on the quest and his peaceful strategy of ensuring peace by wiping out every last Israeli on the face of the earth.

And then there is ex-secretary general of the UN Kofi Annan. There is some confusion as to whether Annan won the Nobel Peace Prize, or the Nobel Piece Prize, since the fine fellow was never offered a piece of the pie he didn’t like, but no matter. What better example of a life-long dedication to peace can we find than Kofi Annan (English translation: “where’s my cut?”) the guy whose participation in the multi-billion dollar oil-for-food scam ensured that Saddam Hussein would continue ruling an Iraq dedicated to peace and freedom?

Courage Not Rhetoric

EXAMINER PUBLICATIONS – OCTOBER 7, 2009

A couple of weeks ago, Keep Chicago Beautiful, Inc. held their 22^nd annual leadership awards luncheon at the downtown Four Seasons Hotel. That luncheon, held on September 23, was the scene of most remarkable occurrence.

A bit of background about Keep Chicago Beautiful first. The organization has been around for a long time. Its mission is to promote conservation, recycling and other good environmental practices. They describe what they want people to do thus:

“Using less stuff. Recycling, composting, and reusing things. Sending the rest to landfills. Preventing litter. Spiffing up our neighborhoods. Find out how you can be “part of the solution, not part of the pollution.”

This is, in other words, an environmental group, but not of the radical ‘burn down homes’ or ‘knock down radio towers’ variety. Its members work hard, establishing teacher education programs, promoting recycling and clean energy, among other activities.

Each year, at their awards luncheon, Keep Chicago Beautiful hands out awards to members of the community who have been instrumental in furthering their mission. Among those awards this year was the organization’s inaugural “Corporate Partnership Leadership Award”, which was given to a company that few members of the public or media would associate with environmental stewardship: Midwest Generation.

One Amazing Week

EXAMINER PUBLICATIONS – SEPTEMBER 30, 2009

By Rich Trzupek

- An oil-rich middle-eastern country run by lunatics is purported to be developing weapons of mass destruction. Western leaders demand proof that the WMD does not exist. Threats of military action abound.

It’s déjà vu all over again.

- The City of Chicago, by which we mean the municipality’s government, rather than its citizens, are all aquiver in anticipation of the official announcement of who gets stuck with – sorry, who is awarded – the burden – sorry again, the honor – of hosting the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.

The theory of the Olympics is a wonderful thing: nations coming together in peace and harmony while their star athletes show off their skills. The reality, in modern times, is quite different.

Hosting the Olympics is a monstrously expensive undertaking, one that ends up costing host cities more than the income the event generates. With Chicago involved, there is little doubt that the costs would skyrocket, what with having to give every political crony a cut of the pie. And who will be on the hook when it’s over? If you guessed you and me, and all the rest of the taxpayers, you’d be absolutely correct.

Racism – Is That The Best You Got?

EXAMINER PUBLICATIONS – SEPTEMBER 23, 2009

By Rich Trzupek

Even bad Presidents usually make good elder statesmen, once they move out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW. Yet, while James Earl Carter was a disaster as a President, and perhaps this should come as no surprise, his subsequent career as an egomaniacal, finger-wagging, appeasing meddler has been equally embarrassing. Applause, applause – by all means – for Carter’s work with Habitat For Humanity. Unfortunately, it’s all been downhill from there.

Last week’s pronouncement that racism was at work among those who oppose President Obama’s health care proposals was classic Carter bluster: righteous noise with little substance. It’s hard to imagine that the man could make himself even more irrelevant, but somehow he continues to find ways to do so.

Are there racists out there? Sure. Are there racists who will oppose anything this President proposes, based on the color of his skin? Yes again. But to imply that racism is the root cause, or even an important part, of the America’s concern about publicly-funded health care is to betray complete ignorance about the way Americans think and, in particular, what Americans think about their government.

This isn’t about the race of the man who made the proposals, this is about the substance of the proposals. Americans, by and large, hate dealing with the agents of government, from the IRS right down to the DMV. We find them inefficient, officious and irritating. While it’s expensive and a pain in the rear dealing with insurance companies, many of us – your humble correspondent included – have no desire to substitute another layer of government-run bureaucracy in their place. And there is absolutely nothing racist about those fears.

Why We Fight

The President’s speech on September 11 was not exactly the definition of inspiration. Unless, of course, the point was to inspire a national bout of head-scratching. Granted, the Prez is in love with community service, but it’s hard to imagine why he felt that the eighth anniversary of the most deadly terrorist attack in history was the time to trot out his message – that if we all volunteered more, all our problems would be solved – once again.

Now I enjoy volunteering my time and talents to the community as much as anybody, but I don’t think that al Qaeda is going to call off the dogs because they suddenly realize that we’re nice guys willing to put in time at the homeless shelter. But that’s probably just me.

More telling, perhaps, was an AP story entitled “Obama faces first 9/11 as President”. It was a legit story of course, and you can read the whole thing online if you are so inclined (although I would not recommend it – colorless, dull and pointless writing for the most part). However, I did find this description of (then Illinois State Senator) Obama’s immediate reaction to 9/11 interesting: