Where's Ours, Revisited - President-elect Obama

From the transcript of President-elect Obama's third press conference.

"All right. Where's Andy Shaw?. We're going local here. Andy, you back there somewhere? There you are. All right.

Q Let me ask you a question on behalf of local political reporters all over the country. As you know, mayors and county board presidents and governors are facing budgets that are hemorrhaging from this economic downturn, hundreds of millions of dollars, and they're faced with layoffs and tax increases they don't want to impose. And they're kind of wondering, to paraphrase the late, great Mike Royko: Where's ours?

What in your plan speaks to the needs of governmental bodies? They're not Main Street, they're not Wall Street, they're not the U.S. Capitol; but they're Randolph and LaSalle, which is City Hall, and they're 2nd and Capitol, where you worked for eight years in Springfield. Hundreds of your friends are wondering what you're going to do, because they're in desperate straits from the standpoint of their budgets.

PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA: Well, look, this is an important point. And it's one that I addressed during the campaign and is implicit in the economic recovery plan that I talked about yesterday and that I talked about on Saturday in my weekly address.

We are going to have to make sure that we are investing in roads, bridges, other infrastructure investments that lay the groundwork for long-term economic growth. A lot of that goes through our states and our local governments.

And one of the things that we're going to also want to make sure of is that as part of our economic plan, that we are fast-tracking some of these projects. And so the best way for us to do that may be in some cases to see what's -- what projects are already being undertaken by state and local governments, and making sure that they have the funds to continue those projects.

So we're going to be working very closely with governors. We're going to be working very closely with mayors of towns, small and large, across the country. This economic recovery plan will require their input, their participation. And you know, part of our job is to make sure that we are listening to what's happening on the ground, where the rubber hits the road, and not simply designing something out of Washington.

Now, this raises one other important point, though. Part of the charge of Peter and Rob and the rest of our budget team is to make sure that we are proceeding on projects and investments based on national priorities and not based on politics. You mentioned sort of my friends. I want to be clear; friendship doesn't into this. That's part of the old way of doing business.

The new way of doing business is, let's figure out what projects, what investments are going to give the American economy the most bang for the buck; how can we protect taxpayer dollars, so that this money is not wasted; restore a sense of confidence among taxpayers that when we spend our money, it's on things that are actually going to improve their quality of life, create the jobs that are so desperately needed, help to spur on economic growth and business creation in the private sector. That's all part of the new way of doing business."

Read Lynn Sweet's Sun-Times article...

Interview with Rick Kogan

"You don’t read Kogan as much as listen to him, as if in front of a fireplace on the eve of the unknown. His smoker’s voice crackles with wit and warmth, his world filled with nostalgia and wonder, yet it is belied by the cynicism endemic to anyone who makes a career out of distilling the truth from the nonsense. Which is why what he’s telling you is so personal, so intimate."

From an article by Robert Duffer of the Chicago Literary Scene Examiner - onward...

Veteran's Day - Another Take

"At the urging of the social studies department at which time I was chair, we petitioned the state of Illinois to have school on Veterans Day, because it was a holiday and you had to petition to have school," recalled Jirkovsky at the event. "We were one of the first schools to do that in the whole Chicagoland area and other schools now have picked up the idea and copied what we're doing. Having a day off, kids sleep until noon and have no concept of what it was and what it's for."

Jirkovsky, a veteran himself, said that he and his fellow teachers were inspired by a newspaper column by the late Mike Royko.

Read the entire story from the Riverside/Brookfield Landmark...

Ubi Est Mea?

I always knew that it's easier to get a loan from a bank for $800 million than $800, but I didn't realize, until know, that the bar was set so low to get $800 billion from our government.

That a decision precipitated by fear and panic led to putting $800 billion dollars under the sole direction of a couple of individuals, whose roots are established in the financial sector, is preposterous. It is a classic example of the fox guarding the henhouse, but with the added dimension of sticker shock.

Implementation of this plan was heralded as being necessary to both prevent an economic meltdown and protect the interests of the taxpayers. But, it seems "bait and switch" occurs not only with fly-by-night Internet merchants, but at the highest levels of our government. The taxpaying public can now rest assured knowing that a large part of the $800 billion will go into that terrestrial black hole, commonly known as the stock market.

When one considers that the combined wealth of the individuals on the US Forbes 400 list is slightly more than the $800 billion that is being squandered, it brings this fiasco into a different light. Imagine the creativity, hard work, dedication and time required by those individuals and their organizations to create that wealth.

And we will kiss it goodbye in one fell swoop...

It brings back memories of that famous line uttered by Al Pacino in Dog Day Afternoon - 'nuff said.

Bailout Nation...

Veteran's Day - Royko Style

"I wanted to offer up my favorite Veterans Day article from the late, great Mike Royko (1932 - 1997) who penned it in 1993. I don't care if you were a paratrooper, cook, medic, grunt, pilot, or ran the laundry and bath point, you have my thanks for serving our country.

I think Mike's got the right idea about how to celebrate Veterans Day, GI-Style:"

Read the Blackfive article...

Race in the Race

"Twenty-five years ago, fabled columnist Mike Royko calmed his Uncle Chester by assuring him that Harold Washington had no intention of marrying his daughter."

Read the HuffPost column by Jim Ylisela...

Read the Winston-Salem Journal column by Scott Sexton...

Studs Terkel Passes

Here's my Studs Terkel story:

My "Aunt Elfy", a feisty woman in her eighties, lived alone in a non-descript high-rise on Marine Drive during the mid 1990s. She had lived alone for a long time after the death of her husband of several decades. She loved classical music and often listened to Stud's radio show. Aunt Elfy was not in good physical shape, but she managed her own affairs and took the CTA bus here and there for necessary appointments. Friends and family would not dare imply that she could use some assistance and a slip on the ice or an occasional fall only made her more resilient.

I visited her now and then at her small apartment - not often enough. Though she was a fine pianist in her time, age and arthritis had taken their toll. But when the spirit moved her, she tickled the ivories with passion. We argued warmly about classical music and she laughed when I (often) mispronounced the name of a famous composer. She was a prolific baker and I always indulged.

She told me, during numerous chats, of seeing Studs Terkel on the CTA bus and his usual practice of taking a seat next to her. They talked about music, Chicago, Israel and perhaps growing old. She had never met Studs before these shared rides, but she enjoyed his company immensely and a warm smile came to her face when she spoke of their chance encounters.

About a decade ago, I came to her apartment for the final time. A police notice was hanging from the door. Aunt Elfy died quietly, as quietly as she had lived. Her dream, beside being reunited with her husband, was for peace in the Middle East.

Studs Terkel recently passed on, at the ripe age of 96. I have read that Studs had wished to live long enough to see Barack Obama elected President.

Let's hope that their dreams and wishes will unite... Godspeed