In a stunning repudiation of Obama’s entire program, Scott Brown made the 1969 Amazing Mets look like a foregone conclusion. It wasn’t Scott Brown taking on the machine. It was America. Despite the media’s mad machinations, in coaxing the Kennedy
If you live in Chicago and your only source of news is the venerable Chicago Tribune, it would take you a while to figure out that something happened in Massachusetts Tuesday night. One would think that an editor might place
Here are capsule reviews of films that have already been covered pretty well here at BH or that just kind of faded away in theatres. That’s not a judgment of how good and bad they are, but all things considered,
Is this the Boston Globe‘s “Dewey Defeats Truman” moment? (See Big Journalism’s header, above, for the memorable Chicago Tribune goof.) The Hub’s ultra-liberal broadsheet today “inadvertently” posted an interactive election-results dummy on its website, boston.com — which, amazingly, forecast a
Why is Rep. Jan Schakowsky trying to use Illinois taxpayers’ money to bail out ShoreBank? Rep. Schakowsky and fellow Illinois Democrat, Sen. Dick Durbin, have pressured state officials to meet with the bank to discuss a $100 million bailout. This
On Sunday, March 7th, 2010, the best picture winner at the Academy Awards will be announced. Although there are ten nominees in that category this year (up from the usual five), they will likely not include the following: “Twilight,” “The
The Champ marks the third time in a row — after John Wayne and Burt Reynolds — that I’ve chosen a movie starring an actor many deride as a “natural,” a “ham,” someone who gained stardom not by skill but
Will the Chicago Machine corruption story break wide open in 2010? If you think Chicago crook and long-time Obama buddy Antoin Rezko is serving out his jail sentence, think again. Antoin “Tony” Rezko is a forgotten man. During the presidential
As a scientist, I have long been troubled by the way the mainstream media covers science in general and the environment in particular. Long before “global warming” became a watchword and Al Gore started burning tens of thousands of gallons
The same country that brought us Leni Riefenstahl is now set to deliver Hope: The Obama Musical. I’m serious, they are really doing this. The musical is set to open in Frankfurt on Jan. 17th and, in all fairness, it
To the common definition of pessimist – one who anticipates the worst — I plead guilty. Yes, I know that it is the start of a New Year and I ought to be looking forward to the new decade with
In earlier posts – here and here – I drew attention to the pre-eminence of Charles-Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu in and for a time after the eighteenth century, and I suggested that at least
NBC Chicago: The Chicago Police Department is seriously considering scrapping the police entrance exam, sources tell Fran Spielman. Dropping the exam would bolster minority hiring and avert legal battles, according to one source, while others confirm that the exam could
Here it is 2010 and I still don’t have a jet-pack or flying car. Those were the kind of things that I was led to believe would be here by now when I was a little kid. The real problem
I think we were all surprised and disappointed when Michael Mann’s $100 million ode to the midwestern bank robbers of the 1930s, Public Enemies, misfired at the box office, A Nightmare on Elm Street or no Donnie Brasco. After all,
Over the last month or so, I have featured several posts on the Putback amendment. The Putback amendment is a proposal by an Illinois activist named John Bambenek that tries to dramatically reform the structure and procedures of our government
I first met up with Tom Tresser when I went to my first Olympics townhall event in the summer. Tresser lead the citizen activist group, No Games Chicago. They opposed the bid, as most have probably figured out. Tresser represented
For some time now — here, here, and here — I have been arguing what at first must have seemed counterintuitive: that a great political realignment may be in the works. Today, in The Washington Post, William M. Daley warns
In this household, the Christmas season can’t officially begin until we hear those two magic words… “Shitter’s full.” Once again screenwriter/producer John Hughes delivers the Christmas goods, this time with Christmas Vacation, a masterpiece of a family holiday comedy (and
Embedded video from CNN Video
Politicians, pundits, and citizens have long bemoaned the power that “special interests” wield in Washington, D.C. and state capitals across the nation. The pharmaceutical, energy, and defense industries and everyone in between employ armies of lobbyists to educate elected officials
The Hill: The Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) is launching an ad campaign targeting Rahm Emanuel in his home town. The ad, airing in Chicago, slams Rahm for “undermining” the pubilc option. “A lot of us back home hope that
Today the Obama Administration is announcing it plans to import the terrorists held at the Guantanamo Bay prison – some of the most dangerous terrorists in the world – to the Thomson Correctional Center located outside Chicago, Illinois. This decision
Last year’s landmark Supreme Court decision in District of Columbia v. Heller definitively settled the fact that the Second Amendment secures an individual right–not a collective one–to keep and bear arms. Yet that ruling applied only to the federal government
Only in the Obama White House can a man with a history of handing out bar guides to teens be promoted to Safe Schools Czar. Earlier today it was reported that Kevin Jennings’ Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN)
