This is kind of a lazy way of writing about what\u2019s happening in Chicago, but it wasn\u2019t flowing for me using the traditional paragraph structure. So, what follows is me asking myself questions – and then replying to myself. I start out with queries about the Laquan McDonald case and then veer off into other topics. Here we go.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a TSR Q and A:<\/p>\n
Is it reasonable to surmise Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel fought to suppress release of a video showing the moments before, during and after the brutal killing of McDonald to preserve his own political future?<\/strong><\/p>\n Yes. Emanuel\u2019s effort to bury a tape with such massive public right-to-know implications in the midst of an effort to get re-elected Mayor of Chicago has brought widespread scrutiny of his motives. Rahm said the tape needed to stay secret in the name of evidentiary integrity. The problem with that is that a public instrument in a public vehicle recorded a public servant killing a member of the public. The dash cam footage is much the same as the recording of a 9-1-1 call – or a police report – or a court hearing. It\u2019s actually even more of a public document than those other things given the now crucial American understanding that dash cams are there to protect both the public servant and citizen during moments when the two may clash. The Trib columnist John Kass wasted no time after the video\u2019s release to say flat-out that Rahm would not have won reelection in April 2015 had he not stood in the way of the video’s release. In a piece published on Thanksgiving Day, Kass said the video \u201cthreatened Rahm Emanuel and his pursuit of power.\u201d<\/p>\n Was there an effort to cover up details of officer Jason Van Dyke\u2019s October 2014 shooting of McDonald?<\/strong><\/p>\n It sure looks that way. The totality of events, statements and known actions associated with the case certainly create suspicion that the power structure wanted specifics of this incident to remain under cloak of darkness. From the badly distorted initial account by the police union to what looks like a hush payment to the victim\u2019s family to the alleged erasure of surveillance video from a nearby hamburger chain to the timing of criminal charges\u2026the list goes on. There is a strong smell of dishonesty from people who are supposed to command the public\u2019s trust.<\/p>\n Will Rahm survive balance of his term (through 2019)?<\/strong><\/p>\n Unless the feds find funny stuff, it\u2019s hard to imagine Rahm will lose his grip on power given the way Chicago politics work. Rahm doesn\u2019t have Ferguson-like rioting to worry about. He\u2019ll let the protests peter out using the philosophy learned from NYC which allows lots of leeway for assemblages to let off steam. The Chicago media doesn\u2019t seem to have much sway. I mean, it took a freelancer to spring the tape. The Sun-Times appears to be a near-dead newspaper. John Kass is a big thorn in the mayor\u2019s side. He has a little Royko streak in him but wanders too much with his hypotheses. The Trib is still a somewhat meaty journalistic entity but isn\u2019t exactly anti-establishment. I don\u2019t know. I\u2019m not feeling an overthrow based on what seems like a long-suffering acknowledgment that the machine can\u2019t be beaten. There doesn\u2019t seem to be a broad coalition to act as resistance force. That changed a little with Chuy\u2019s ascendancy but I think the holidays – and then the cold – keep the ousters (or justice-seekers) at bay.<\/p>\n Now, for questions on a few other topics. Are we at a stage in this Presidential campaign cycle where a Republican candidate can say something out of left field and it doesn\u2019t surprise you for its baselessness?<\/strong><\/p>\n I thought we had reached that point. But then on Sunday Ted Cruz claimed that the Planned Parenthood shooter was a \u201ctransgendered leftist activist.\u201d I stopped for a second to fact check. This is a mainstream political candidate speaking on a delicate national matter and he issued a bizarre, unfounded claim. The shooter was neither transgender nor leftist nor activist. And Cruz comes out of it much like Trump: still popular among those who identify themselves as Republicans.<\/p>\n Were you happy Monday when a jury in Manhattan found Shelly Silver guilty on seven felony corruption counts?<\/strong><\/p>\n Yes, but I want more. I hate to root for demise of men, but I\u2019d like juries to reach similar conclusions about Dean Skelos and Don Blankenship.<\/p>\n The Giants and Jets play each other Sunday. Who are you rooting for – and who are you picking?<\/strong><\/p>\n Both teams have pretty serious flaws but both are in playoff contention. I\u2019m a Jet fan but I also like the Giants. Whoever loses this game will end up in a pretty deep hole in terms of making the postseason. The Giants need the game a bit more. They have a better quarterback. Giant coach Tom Coughlin faces termination if his team doesn\u2019t go to the playoffs – which makes this game a near must-win for him. I think the G-Men win. I\u2019ll miss a good chunk of it. I\u2019ll be at the PSAL football title game at Yankee Stadium but will find a bar in the Bronx to watch the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n Any more questions?<\/strong><\/p>\n No. That\u2019s it for now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This is kind of a lazy way of writing about what\u2019s happening in Chicago, but it wasn\u2019t flowing for me using the traditional paragraph structure. So, what follows is me asking myself questions – and then replying to myself. I … Continue reading