New rule for political TV hosts

 New rule for political TV hosts

Don't try to get a colleague fired because she refuted your on air political lies. Guess who that just got fired? 

Thousands knew Walking Man; almost nobody knew Bicycle Man

 Thousands knew Walking Man; almost nobody knew Bicycle Man

I’ve been fascinated by the saga of Joe Kromelis, A.K.A. Walking Man, who likely logged over a thousand miles walking the Loop and environs over several decades.

First heard of him after the horrible baseball bat beating he incurred in Chicago’s underground Lower Wacker in May, 2016. Kromelis survived and continued his endless walking, being seen and recognized by thousands of Loop pedestrians due to his strikingly tall figure with flowing white hair.

A European native, Kromelis grew up in Chicago and stayed when his family moved to Michigan when he was 19. He had a factory job but spent most of his working life as a jewelry street peddler. Kromelis lived largely off the grid in cheap SRO apartments till gentrification leveled his last SRO, making him homeless.

Over the years he achieved a measure of fame as ‘Walking Man’ with newspaper and social media articles, a Facebook Page, even a YouTube documentary. Joe Kromelis died December 11, 2022, seven months after being set on fire while sleeping on Lower Wacker. A gentle soul destroyed by an ungentle world.

What struck me about Joe Kromelis was the similarity, exercise wise, to my brother Bob Zlotow. Born 8 years before Kromelis, Bob got his first bicycle in 1948 at age 9. It didn’t take him long to realize it was his magic carpet to explore Chicago. And explore he did, venturing out nearly every day in good weather. When I say explore the city, I don’t mean his boyhood neighborhood of Garfield Ridge. We’re talking about the entire city, rich, poor and in between. He might head out around 9:00 AM and not return till dinnertime.

Sometimes he’d describe his explorations of Chicago’s numerous neighborhoods that fascinated him. He loved to see how neighborhoods changed over the years. Mostly when asked where he went, however, he’d just reply “Turf”.

When it came to a personal life, Bob’s couldn’t have been more different from Joe Kromelis’. Bob got an accounting degree from Roosevelt University. He worked 51 years in the accounting field, the last 20 for the State of Illinois in the Child Support Division. In 1974 he married a woman who fled Cuba in 1969. They had one son who served in the Army and runs a successful business in Kansas.

Bob found time to pursue other interests: photography, movies, ballroom dancing, crossword puzzles and TV's Wheel of Fortune. He would spend many hours planning vacations around America, mostly to major cities to explore his other great passion, interurban railroad systems. He had a savant skill that would mystify. You could give him any date in history. Within 10 seconds he’d tell you the day of the week. It wasn’t magic. It was based on the 28 year calendar repetition he’d memorized.

I’ve figured Bob easily peddled over a hundred thousand miles around Chicago from 1948 to 2018, when declining health necessitated his move near his son in Chapman, Kansas. Yes, he took his trusty bike, his third of fourth, with him and continued to bike from his apartment to the local store and post office till July of last year. Last time out he fell. The Chapman police scooped up him and his bike, ending 74 years on two wheels, 70 in Chicago. Tho uninjured, Bob’s health failed rapidly and he died February 11, 2023 at age 84. He and his wife had been married for 48 years.

Since Bob’s travels were random and varied, likely few if any of those thousands of persons who saw him over the years paid any attention to him, much less recognized possibly the most bicycling dude who ever peddled Chicago’s streets. Unlike Walking Man, he never experienced a single untoward incident till that fall on his last bike ride. Also unlike Walking Man, Bicycle Man didn’t stand out. He relished his anonymity and probably wouldn't want this published. Thought I'd I pen this tribute to my brother Bob Zlotow, who may gain a tad bit of posthumous recognition as Chicago’s most prolific…Bicycle Man.

Nationwide high school strike to promote gun reform

 Nationwide high school strike to promote gun reform

There are 20,469 high schools educating 15,100,000 students in US. The best education those kids could ever achieve in civics is to organize a 1 day nationwide strike against the continuation of machine gun nation. They should all walk out of school at precisely the same moment to show their state and federal lawmakers it's time to enact massive and significant gun reform to reduce the annual 48,000 plus gun deaths annually.

A good sign to display during the protest? "Millions prepared to vote out every pro gun state and federal legislator"

Damn, If I could go back 60 years, I'd sure love to organize and lead such a protest walkout at Thomas Kelly High School in Chicago.

China, France promote peace; US promotes sanctions, weapons, war, endless deaths

 China, France promote peace; US promotes sanctions, weapons, war, endless deaths

It is no wonder America’s standing as unipolar ruler of the world is sinking faster than the arctic glaciers.

When China first offered its peace proposal, the US immediately dismissed it, claiming we could never trust our bitter enemy China to promote peace. What really irked the US was that China, unlike America, was promoting a fair peace. It would consider Russia’s border security needs from NATO encroachment, peace for Donbas Ukrainians from their own government, and of course, security for the major portion of Ukraine where their citizens weren’t being routinely brutalized. China was simply resurrecting a year old potential peace agreement brokered by NATO member Turkey that could have ended that horrible war a year ago. And it would have succeeded had not Uncle Sam put the kybosh on it.

Not surprisingly, another NATO ally has broken with American breakage in Ukraine by supporting China’s peace effort. France President Emmanuel Macron visited China and told Chinese President Xi Jinping “I know I can count on you … to bring Russia to its senses and bring everyone back to the negotiating table. We need to find a lasting peace. I believe that this is also an important issue for China, as much as it is for France and for Europe.” The Biden folks not only don’t visit China, they can’t reach Xi by phone, text or email. While America flails at diplomacy, Xi’s winning friends and influencing countries worldwide.

Macron didn’t mention the US or President Biden because Biden has boxed himself and the US into a disastrous war corner that might ensure the destruction of Ukraine, possibly even nuclear confrontation with Russia. The US has been AWOL from the negotiating table for all 14 months of unrelenting war.

Outside of Canada, the UK and Poland, many in NATO are beginning to distance themselves away from America’s unachievable Ukraine strategy. They, not the US, are suffering economic damage from a senseless war with no foreseeable end.

Each day brings more opprobrium upon America’s ‘zero sum gain’ requiring total Ukraine victory, total Russian defeat. Each day brings more Congressional calls to fly drones of war instead of doves of peace. Each day furthers the race whether US global dominance or those arctic glaciers will disappear first.

Mayor Elect: those 200 new detectives won’t make dent in Chicago crime and won’t get you re-elected

 Mayor Elect: those 200 new detectives won’t make dent in Chicago crime and won’t get you re-elected

With a month to go before he’s sworn in as Chicago’s 57th mayor, Brandon Johnson got a wake up call about the daunting crime problem he faces.

Hundreds of youths rampaged in the Loop Saturday nite during prime entertainment time. Two teens were shot, cars were danced on, the ones not set on fire. Some rowdies scaled a bus; even tried to break into the Art Institute. Theatergoers exiting their venues were told to stay inside till the danger of violence was quelled. How many of those will decide their Saturday nite spending money will go anywhere but downtown?

Mayor Lightfoot issued a firm denunciation calling the melee “reckless, disrespectful and unlawful”, adding “We as a city cannot and will not allow any of our public spaces to become a platform for criminal conduct,”

But Johnson, a month out from taking the helm, offered a tepid response certain to mystify Chicagoans citywide desperate to see everyday violence tamped down. He stated that though he does not condone the “destructive activity that took place downtown, it was not constructive to demonize youth who have been starved of opportunities in their own communities.”

Mayor Elect, nobody is demonizing youth starved of opportunities. People of good will seek social and economic justice for the untold thousands without jobs, without hope, without opportunity to turn away from crime. That will not occur by moving a pittance from the police budget into community services. The problem of institutional racism requires a massive, indeed Marshall Plan type investment by the federal government for any substantive change there to occur in Chicago and other cities facing similar escalating crime.

But Johnson’s main plan to prevent such outbreaks is simply to hire 200 more detectives to improve the crime clearance rate. If he had them Saturday, they would have made no difference in the night’s Loop mayhem. Where is Johnson’s plan to fill roughly 1,000 vacancies of cops not on the street? Where is Johnson’s strategy to raise police morale likely at an all time low. How will Johnson reduce the skyrocketing police retirement rate that’s nearly doubled?

When running for mayor, Johnson pivoted away from his earlier ‘defund the police’ stance during the George Floyd protests. Those are probably the last 3 words he needs to hear when Job 1, Job 2 and Job 3 on Day One come May 15 is how to upfund the police to restore order on Chicago streets, whether in the Loop, Gold Coast and Chicago’s numerous deprived neighborhoods.

Fox News bank account

 Fox News bank account

Failing and unbalanced

All rea

 King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band, Richmond, IN and the KKK

My recent post on Louis Armstrong’s first recorded solo included a side note. It mentioned the recording occurred April 5, 1923, in Richmond, IN, where the 20th century version of the KKK had essentially taken control of state and local governments. Not the most prudent trip for an all black Chicago jazz band.

But there’s more to this story. Exactly 6 months later the band returned to Richmond on October 5 for their second recording session. Like before, they arrived by train and weren’t allowed to stay in Richmond which was a Klan stronghold. The found rooms in Goose Town, the black enclave just a few miles from the Gennett recording studio.

Thru a bad coincidence that day, Richmond was holding a gigantic KKK parade October 5, attended by over 35,000 people. Worse, it occurred just a few blocks from the Gennett Record studio. King Oliver and his Creole Jazz Band, waxing groundbreaking American art form music, faced a life threatening dilemma…record or bail out before the nearby Klan parade. King hustled his crew into the studio, laid down 8 tunes still revered a century on, then skedaddled his musicians to the train depot for a hasty exit ahead of the Klan parade started.

Great art is a challenge under perfect conditions. But upon hearing ‘Workingman’s Blues’ or Krooked Blues’, one can ponder the fear that motivated the King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band to get it right on the first take.

YOUTUBE.COM

Krooked Blues

Provided to YouTube by The Orchard EnterprisesKrooked Blues · King O

PUN OF THE YEAR? From a progressive friend

 PUN OF THE YEAR? From a progressive friend

What's the quid pro Crow?

Public corruption typically involves an exchange of favors, this for that, a quid pro quo. It has been revealed that rich Republican Harlan Crow bestows secret largesse upon a public official. Less clear is what is being received in return. What is the quid pro Crow?

Gratitude

 Gratitude

Clarence Thomas' vote yesterday to keep abortion pills from desperate women in need is just another little expression of thanks by Thomas for the enormous entertainment largess he's received over the decades from billionaire Harlan Crow.

RFK, Jr: flawed candidate with vital message of peace

 RFK, Jr: flawed candidate with vital message of peace

It’s been 51 years since a presidential election has had an earnest debate of peace over war. In 1972, George McGovern based his campaign on ending the disastrous and arguably criminal Vietnam War. McGovern was no pacifist, having piloted 25 bombing missions in WWII.

His opponent, President Richard Nixon, was elected in 1968 on a pledge to achieve ‘peace with honor’. But to get that peace with honor, Nixon had to expand the war into Cambodia and Laos, adding immensely to the death toll in a war that should never have been fought. Going into the 1972 election it was still raging.

McGovern secured the 1972 Democratic nomination with a pledge to truly end the war, not expand it. But Nixon’s clever war propaganda, exploiting the mood of the country opposed to ending a war without victory, sealed McGovern’s overwhelming defeat, 49 states to 1, besides DC.

Republicans as well as Democrats learned well the lesson of 1972: never campaign for peace in a country that values robust militarism over peaceful diplomacy. In the 12 elections since, peaceful foreign policy; indeed, any substantive mention of foreign policy, is the election issue that dare not speak its name.

That is why every peace loving American should welcome the candidacy of Bobby Kennedy, Jr. to the 2024 Democratic Primary field. His announcement last week brought unbridled US militarism to the fore with his call to re-imagine US foreign policy. In announcing his candidacy, Kennedy questioned President Biden’s motives in Ukraine. He noted the administration is prolonging the war to achieve victory over Russia, using Ukraine as a pawn suffering massive destruction. Kennedy called for a scaling down of the US military presence around the globe. “I’m gonna bring the troops home, I’m gonna close the bases, and I’m gonna start investing in the US middle class.”

Unfortunately, Bobby’s pitch for peace is being drowned out by calls from progressive Democrats about his controversial views on vaccines, covid relief measures and his flirtation with extreme right wing ideologues still pitching their 2020 stolen election fantasy. That likely dooms Kennedy’s candidacy. Progressives not only call such views crackpot, they see Bobby as a Democratic spoiler who will only weaken Biden’s re-election chances against his likely GOP challenger Trump. The media has cooperated by virtually ignoring Bobby’s candidacy as well as that of Marianne Williamson, the other non-establishment Democratic candidate.

The Biden administration is totally obsessed with preventing US unipolar dominance from slipping away. America provoked and prolonged the Russo Ukraine war, likely ensuring Ukraine’s destruction that could have been prevented early on. We’ve driven Russian and China into alliance against US unbridled militarism. Much of the non NATO world is joining with them to counter US belligerence. Most view the US as the world’s biggest threat to peace. But virtually the entire Democratic base, including its progressive wing, have coalesced around Biden’s self-destructive militarism.

Ignoring, demonizing, shutting down Kennedy’s rare vision of peace does not serve democracy or possible end to perpetual war. That vision needs to be thoroughly debated, not suppressed.

Mayor Brandon Johnson's first week agenda 

Suggestion for new Chicgo mayor Brandon Johnson upon his May 15 inauguration. 

Visit all 25 police districts. Gather the police at shift roll call, whether morning, afterno0n and evening. Introduce yourself by saying "I'm not here to make a speech. I'm here to listen.  Questions? Comments? Complaints? You have the floor." After his last visit, Brandon Johnson will have a PhD in challenges police face every minute of every day in their job to serve and protect. He may also regain some of the trust needed to improve policing in Chicago.