As read by Thomas Westgard
When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. --Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise; the state remaining in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.
He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers.
He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies without the consent of our legislature.
He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states:
For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing taxes on us without our consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury:
For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offenses:
For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule in these colonies:
For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments:
For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection and waging war against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow citizens taken captive on the high seas to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare, is undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms: our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace friends.
We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.
Saturday, July 04, 2009
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Eva McCann's Building in Foreclosure
I might have to start reading the News-Star again. I had pretty much forgotten about it since Ron Roenigk took over, so it took a little nudging to get me to read the front page article. Turns out, all the while Eva McCann has been touting herself as a neighborhood improvement maven, she's been one of the slumlords she loves to bash.
Oh, the irony. The hypocrisy.
Yes, Slumlord Eva McCann is responsible for the building at 1531 W Howard, which is so badly neglected that it will soon be demolished under the fast-track demolition program - at taxpayer expense. This building is the poster child for the News-Star's coverage this week. The building raises concerns about drunken vagrants living there, which is why it has to be torn down right away.
When you start to think about it, there's a pattern. From what I hear, Slumlord Eva McCann has been the source of all the conflict in the organization that was trying to improve the building on Howard, and hey, they have no funding. She's also involved with the parks advisory councils North of Howard, and oh look - not only does the NOHPAC not have a track record of raising money, they chased off $500K of funding for the community center. I also hear that the Gale Park nka White Park summer childcare program had to be cancelled - for lack of funding. Where Slumlord Eva McCann treads, money for poor people runs away screaming.
Slumlord Eva McCann likes to pick on Jay Johnson for his irresponsible management of a building. Now, Jay Johnson didn't start that fire, he just did a bad job of maintaining a building. But even Jay Johnson kept himself out of fast-track demolition. By that standard, Eva McCann's neglect is far worse than Johnson's neglect. I know it's less attractive to mourn the potential loss of the vagrants living in her building than the children in Johnson's, but if you look only at the extent of the neglect, Slumlord McCann "wins" hands down.
You can't pimp the poverty if the poverty gets fixed. That's why you need an agente provocateuse to bust up all the potential improvements. Keep the people down so the powers that be can maintain the status quo.
And if you don't like it, call the News-Star and complain.
Oh, the irony. The hypocrisy.
Yes, Slumlord Eva McCann is responsible for the building at 1531 W Howard, which is so badly neglected that it will soon be demolished under the fast-track demolition program - at taxpayer expense. This building is the poster child for the News-Star's coverage this week. The building raises concerns about drunken vagrants living there, which is why it has to be torn down right away.
When you start to think about it, there's a pattern. From what I hear, Slumlord Eva McCann has been the source of all the conflict in the organization that was trying to improve the building on Howard, and hey, they have no funding. She's also involved with the parks advisory councils North of Howard, and oh look - not only does the NOHPAC not have a track record of raising money, they chased off $500K of funding for the community center. I also hear that the Gale Park nka White Park summer childcare program had to be cancelled - for lack of funding. Where Slumlord Eva McCann treads, money for poor people runs away screaming.
Slumlord Eva McCann likes to pick on Jay Johnson for his irresponsible management of a building. Now, Jay Johnson didn't start that fire, he just did a bad job of maintaining a building. But even Jay Johnson kept himself out of fast-track demolition. By that standard, Eva McCann's neglect is far worse than Johnson's neglect. I know it's less attractive to mourn the potential loss of the vagrants living in her building than the children in Johnson's, but if you look only at the extent of the neglect, Slumlord McCann "wins" hands down.
You can't pimp the poverty if the poverty gets fixed. That's why you need an agente provocateuse to bust up all the potential improvements. Keep the people down so the powers that be can maintain the status quo.
And if you don't like it, call the News-Star and complain.
Evanston Lakefront Construction
"Construction is scheduled to start in the coming weeks on a significant component of Evanston's lakefront master plan that will bring major changes to the Clark Street Beach area, city officials said.
The City Council voted last week in favor of the $1.17 million Clark Street Beach project, which will see construction of two small pavilions with bathrooms, storage and concessions, said Stefanie Levine, landscape architect with the city.
The project also calls for the demolition of the old bathroom facilities at Clark Street Beach, construction of an access road near the north end of the beach, and closure of the small section of road that allows traffic to enter a parking area south of the beach, Levine said. "
Source / Read More
The City Council voted last week in favor of the $1.17 million Clark Street Beach project, which will see construction of two small pavilions with bathrooms, storage and concessions, said Stefanie Levine, landscape architect with the city.
The project also calls for the demolition of the old bathroom facilities at Clark Street Beach, construction of an access road near the north end of the beach, and closure of the small section of road that allows traffic to enter a parking area south of the beach, Levine said. "
Source / Read More
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Ghettoplex Reopening!
Have you missed the experience of watching a movie while hearing an instant review from one corner of the theater and the exciting happenings in the neighborhood from someone else? Call it the Village North or call it The 400, either way it's reopening tomorrow, July 1, and showing Public Enemies, Transformers II, Ice Age 3, and The Hangover. The theater is located at 6746 N. Sheridan Rd. The new number is reportedly (773) 856-5980, but when I called, there was no answer.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Stealth Marina Planned Off Pratt Beach
Once the bulldozers are on the beach, the current plan promoted by Friends of the Parks will under go a slight change - to include the marina that the Daley Administration was unable to build four years ago. And nobody - no elected official, no private citizen - currently has an effective plan for fighting it. This is the conclusion I've reached after looking at the plans and listening to the discussions.
Compare the above maps, left from 2005, right from 2009. There's the same triangular patch of land, just north of an oval patch of water, with a harbor entry at the south end. They just moved it a few blocks north.
Do you really think Daley would abandon his plans for the marina? This marina and bikepath have to be part of the Olympics construction plan. Everything Daley does these days is about the Olympics, so this has to fit the plan. Currently the bicycling events are scheduled for Madison WI, but that could change if Daley has a longer route to work with. Boaters downtown are going to be displaced for several years by the Olympics, so there's motivation to create new places for them to dock. And, of course, the Daley Adminstration has always treated the city's resources as a personal commodity to be distributed to his friends. This would fit that plan beautifully.
Here's what we know for certain: Downtown planners desperately want to build on our lakefront. Every four years at the least vulnerable point of the election cycle (now), downtown planners come up with a grand scheme for building something off the lakefront we currently enjoy. Last cycle it was the Edgewater Marina. Before that it was a gigantic building with a chain restaurant franchise. Today, the construction plan is presented through Friends of the Parks and the Burnham Plan Centennial as a harmless little bike path.
FOTP and Burnham Plan 100 are holding several events per week everywhere but here, telling people that our lakefront is "inaccessible" and "incomplete," and promoting the idea that "beauty" consists of building something off our shore. They don't tell them that we have the most accessible beaches in the city, or that the cost would prohibit improving any park anywhere else in the city.
What's worse, while the Daley Administration's PR campaign for the project has gotten far more clever, so far no one in Rogers Park or Edgewater has emerged to organize people locally. The only contender is Stop the Landfill, consisting of two guys who have assembled every possible rational argument against the plan in their website. While rational arguments are good, emotional appeals must be a part of any effective campaign, and above all, somebody has to do the scut work of flyering, phoning, and knocking on doors. Because that's not happening, effectively the Daley Administration has full control of the situation.
Later, I may go through each elected official and look at what plans they have that prevent them from opposing Daley, but it all boils down to that - they all have plans that would be seriously interrupted by opposing King Richard's pet project. Think about it this way: What politician or would-be politician have you recently heard talking about the landfill project? Every single one of them has been silenced, leaving only the lone-wolf types to talk at all. Every day that passes puts the landfill opposition further behind the eight ball.
Unless that changes, unless a serious organization effort begins immediately, there will be bulldozers off Pratt in a year, and the concrete for a marina will be poured there the following year.
Compare the above maps, left from 2005, right from 2009. There's the same triangular patch of land, just north of an oval patch of water, with a harbor entry at the south end. They just moved it a few blocks north.
Do you really think Daley would abandon his plans for the marina? This marina and bikepath have to be part of the Olympics construction plan. Everything Daley does these days is about the Olympics, so this has to fit the plan. Currently the bicycling events are scheduled for Madison WI, but that could change if Daley has a longer route to work with. Boaters downtown are going to be displaced for several years by the Olympics, so there's motivation to create new places for them to dock. And, of course, the Daley Adminstration has always treated the city's resources as a personal commodity to be distributed to his friends. This would fit that plan beautifully.
Here's what we know for certain: Downtown planners desperately want to build on our lakefront. Every four years at the least vulnerable point of the election cycle (now), downtown planners come up with a grand scheme for building something off the lakefront we currently enjoy. Last cycle it was the Edgewater Marina. Before that it was a gigantic building with a chain restaurant franchise. Today, the construction plan is presented through Friends of the Parks and the Burnham Plan Centennial as a harmless little bike path.
FOTP and Burnham Plan 100 are holding several events per week everywhere but here, telling people that our lakefront is "inaccessible" and "incomplete," and promoting the idea that "beauty" consists of building something off our shore. They don't tell them that we have the most accessible beaches in the city, or that the cost would prohibit improving any park anywhere else in the city.
What's worse, while the Daley Administration's PR campaign for the project has gotten far more clever, so far no one in Rogers Park or Edgewater has emerged to organize people locally. The only contender is Stop the Landfill, consisting of two guys who have assembled every possible rational argument against the plan in their website. While rational arguments are good, emotional appeals must be a part of any effective campaign, and above all, somebody has to do the scut work of flyering, phoning, and knocking on doors. Because that's not happening, effectively the Daley Administration has full control of the situation.
Later, I may go through each elected official and look at what plans they have that prevent them from opposing Daley, but it all boils down to that - they all have plans that would be seriously interrupted by opposing King Richard's pet project. Think about it this way: What politician or would-be politician have you recently heard talking about the landfill project? Every single one of them has been silenced, leaving only the lone-wolf types to talk at all. Every day that passes puts the landfill opposition further behind the eight ball.
Unless that changes, unless a serious organization effort begins immediately, there will be bulldozers off Pratt in a year, and the concrete for a marina will be poured there the following year.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Sanford's Mistress: María Belén Chapur
Check out this video on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uphohZs9nuQ
It's official: Gov. Mark Sanford's mistress is way more attractive than Eliot Spitzer's whore from New Jersey.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Jack Ryan: Remembering the Lies
I hear that Jack Ryan is trying to get back into politics. Since he has decided to reenter the political arena and there will be a lot of spin about how he got thrown out, I have republished my old post that I wrote back in 2006.
One function of a political party is to vet candidates. When Jack Ryan let it be known he wanted to run for Senate, he sat down with party leaders and provided lies in answer to their questions. He was asked whether there was anything in his divorce records that could be embarrassing, and he said no, that they were sealed only to protect his daughter, who has special needs.
The GOP then got blindsided by the revelation that he tried to take his wife to group sex clubs in France. You can spin the fact that he suggested something unconventional to his wife (Hero Does Everything To Protect Marriage!), but if you hide it, you can't spin it.
So Jack Ryan protected himself at the expense of the party. Now some people evidently want him back, no doubt because he's rich as all hell. We are facing the reentry of a selfish, rich white guy who once hugely undermined the integrity of the GOP and will create yet another split within the party over whether and how to bring him back in. I'm not sure which party is likely to benefit most from that, although it doesn't look like a step that could possibly benefit regular voters of either party.
Chamber of Commerce Called to Account
Date: June 26, 2009
From: twestgard
To: chamberinfo
Re: Questions About the Chamber
Dear Sir or Madam -
I am interested in finding out more about your accountable Chamber of Commerce for Rogers Park. I have some specific questions:
1. What is the mission statement or purpose of the chamber?
2. Who is or will be the chamber's executive(s)?
3. Who is or will be on the board of directors?
4. What businesses are members of the chamber?
5. What services will you offer to members?
6. Do you have a timeline for opening and growing the chamber, and if so, what are the milestones we will be seeing?
7. How will the chamber be financed, and how will accountability for those funds be provided?
8. How does joining the US Chamber of Commerce promote the interests of Rogers Park businesses?
Please feel free to provide any additional information about the new Chamber.
Thanks in advance.
Yours,
Tom
From: twestgard
To: chamberinfo
Re: Questions About the Chamber
Dear Sir or Madam -
I am interested in finding out more about your accountable Chamber of Commerce for Rogers Park. I have some specific questions:
1. What is the mission statement or purpose of the chamber?
2. Who is or will be the chamber's executive(s)?
3. Who is or will be on the board of directors?
4. What businesses are members of the chamber?
5. What services will you offer to members?
6. Do you have a timeline for opening and growing the chamber, and if so, what are the milestones we will be seeing?
7. How will the chamber be financed, and how will accountability for those funds be provided?
8. How does joining the US Chamber of Commerce promote the interests of Rogers Park businesses?
Please feel free to provide any additional information about the new Chamber.
Thanks in advance.
Yours,
Tom
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