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What think you all?

Back In Business

From The Colbert Report a few days ago. The money quote in my opinion [paraphrased] Republicans can now get back to what they do best...blame Bill Clinton.

ENOUGH!!!

warning...a rant..personal attacks, swearing, poor grammar and the lot...you have been warned.

The damned hypocritical so-called Christian House Members and Senators are so full of themselves and full of shit.

Let me put is this as simply as possible...

Torture is not a Christian value. It has not a damned thing to do with terrorism. It has not a damned thing to do with war. It has to do with human decency. It has to do with treating our enemies is if they are Christ. Christ is present in them. Christ is in us.

Stipping away of human rights is not a Christian value. If I hear anyone of these people claiming the moral highground and saying that "strenous means" are needed to get info from detainees, i say kiss my ass.

If stripping away our rights and getting rid of heabeaus corpus is meant to protect us, once again i say you are full of it. It does exactly what the enemies want. They want to change who we are as people. They want us to live in terror (they are called terrorists for Gods sake).

And for all you wishy-washy congress people...grow a damned spine. If you are scared that standing up for human rights will get you smeared by the opponent, and you say nothing...you deserve to be smeared and kicked out of office...

on the other hand if you are smeared standing up for what is right...you can hold your head high...

You, Mr President should be ashamed of your self. You are a despicable human being. I do not say things like that lightly. You and your cronies have been abusing people left and right, and when your supreme court says enough, you have the audacity to want to change the law. You have broken the law, sir, and what you have done is a felony under that law. You should be removed from office, triedm and sent to prision. Instead, you send a bill to the hill that will retroactively give you immunity from these crimes. AND allow you to continue them.

I do not care if your spy friends read this, I have to say, sir, you are a piece of trash and a reprehensible human with no conscious.

Please do not give me the we live in a post 9/11 world. You, sir, are responsible for much of the crap hitting the fan. You did nothing to prevent the attacks...you went on vacation. You can not stand the fact that people criticize you, so you call us unpatriotic, un Christian, un American. You sir act like you have never gotten out of the 10th Grade. You need to grow up and begin to take responsibilty for your actions.


I am sick of the bs.

thanks...needed to get that off me chest

Treat Her Right

performed by The Commitments...for your listening pleasure

Big Box Out Of The Box

Hey All! Please read the below and let me know what you think. I am considering sending it to a letter to the editor of the local papers, and to the city council and mayor.

please leave comments. If you notice some incorrect data, please let me know.

Thanks jt

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Recently the Chicago city council passed a big box ordinance mandating big box chain stores pay a living wage of at least $10/hour with $3 for benefits, but this measure was vetoed by Mayor Daley and the veto was sustained when three of the city council members changed their votes to side with the mayor. For those who do not know what big box stores are, the ordinance states they have a square footage over 90,000 and the parent companies make at least $1 billion popped annually (Wal-Mart, Target, Home Depot, Lowes, etc.) These big box chains have several new stores scheduled to be built, mostly in underdeveloped neighborhoods, and have threatened to abandon or delay the building of these new stores until the ordinance is revoked.

The main argument against the ordinance is a logical one which states with out these mega-stores there will be no or little development in these underserved and underdeveloped areas, and a Wal-Mart or Target will provide much needed jobs to area residents. Many of the people in these areas need to travel a distance to get to a store, and mostly that is via public transit. I understand these arguments, and think they are valid, but I think, while they may hold water as short term rationale for allowing the big box stores, they are ultimately short-sighted. The money made by these stores does nothing for the community. The pay the employees receive (which would be a little over $13,440 annually for a full time worker at the proposed $7/hour scale) and sales tax are the only income the community would have from these stores. And most of the employee income would go to pay rent, insurance, and other living expenses. In fact, the $13,440 annual income for a family of just two is only $610 above the poverty line, that is one major emergency away from complete destitution.

So, if the big boxes are a bad idea for neighborhoods that need the jobs, what can be done?

I believe there is a wellspring of opportunity that will not only help the neighborhoods with their income woes, but will also help the communities grow.These opportunities help the city, and encourage all. My solution is to encourage entrepreneur's to take the land set aside for these developments and plant their own stores. Instead of one mega-store sitting on 90,000 square feet, why not have 10, 15, 20 stores there? Why not have a family run hardware store sitting next to a family owned grocery store, with a mechanic across the way? Why not have the bakery provide the bread for the kids sandwiches?

But, how/why would someone want to put a mom and pop store in an underdeveloped community? What is in it for them?

The city, I am quite sure, is providing these big-box chains with some pretty sweet incentives to move into these areas. Why not turn around and give these incentives to entrepreneurs? The city has the land set aside, provide it at low cost. They city has tax incentives for the owners of these chains, provide those incentives to the LOCAL owners of new businesses. The city would help create traffic flow into these places, why not do the same to a small shopping area with many stores instead of just one?

Another thing about having small businesses in the area instead of the big chains is more of the money generated by these businesses will go to bettering the city. Target is based in St. Paul, MN. The profits of the store go there. Wal-Mart is based in Bentonville, AR. The profits would go there. Home Depot is based in Cobb County, GA. The profits would got there. On the other hand, Kopi is based in Andersonville. The profits go there. Afrocentric Bookstore is located in Bronzeville. The profits go there. These locally owned and operated businesses not only provide jobs for community residents, but provide income used in these specific neighborhoods. Money made in a neighborhood tends to stay in that neighborhood.

One concern brought forth by the opponents of the big-box ordinance is without these stores, there are no jobs for our residents. True. But, what kinds of real opportunity do the residnets have for growth in their positions? What kind of real opportunity does the kid stocking shelve have to become supervisor or manager. Most of the management of these stores would come from people being transferred in. People who do not know the neighborhood. People who do not know the needs of the neighborhood. People who will probably live in Oak Park. However, if local businesses are supported, management will inherently come from within the community. The workers and managers will know the neighborhood, and know the language and feel the pulse of what is going on. They will see needs and be able to adjust to meet those needs.

While big-box stores may provide an immediate solutions to neighborhoods in need, I firmly believe the true answer lies in allowing local business owners and entrepreneurs the opportunity to make their mark in these same neighborhoods. I believe there is the desire to build there, but right now there are not the opportunities or incentives. We are a city of neighborhoods, these neighborhoods can feed and nourish each other if allowed the opportunity.

Jon Stewart on 9/11/01

What Jon Stewart said on the first show back says all I can.

LES MIZ

In Lego!

Bob Dylan

Dylan has a new album out, Modern Times. I really want it. In the mean time, here is a video for a song from the record. "When The Deal Goes Down"

It is a great video. Done in an old home movie format, starring Scarlett Johansson.

enjoy