Last night the guys and I took our weekly Wednesday evening Hike through Bridgeport, had dinner at Morrie O'Malley's, walked past Sox Park (with my Cubs hat on!) and around the surprisingly nice campus of IIT (Illinois Institute of Technology). How come I had never been there before?
That's the "Man on a Bench" sculpture at the top of this post which sits in what is thought to be Chicago's smallest official park.
And one of the more interesting structures on campus is the Robert F. Carr Memorial Chapel of St. Savior -- also known as "the God box" -- designed by Mies van der Rohe in 1952, above.
...you were wondering. Just really depressed about the state of the country.
How did we go from the greatest president of my lifetime to the worst president ever? How could that happen?
In so many ways, the United States is in the worst shape of my life. Worse, even, than the Vietnam - Watergate era. It's not a particularly good time to be an American.
...belongs to Patricia Knatchbull, a great-great-grandchild of Queen Victoria, who died this week at age 93.
Lady Patricia, also known as Lady Brabourne and later Lady Mountbatten, was the daughter of Lord Louis Mountbatten, who was killed by the IRA in 1979. (The name Mountbatten was changed from Battenberg, originally a German name, during World War I due to anti-German sentiment.)
...things I've seen in one of the strangest years of my life what has to be the strangest year of my life.
How on earth did this get choreographed? Did President Trump tell everyone how this was supposed to go down before the cameras went on? ("Okay, I'm going to go around the room and I want each of you to tell me how great I am. Got it?") And just check out the looks on Rex Tillerson's and James Mattis's* faces! (Are they sending us secret messages in Morse code with their blinking eyes? "Help! I'm being held hostage!") How could anyone with any self-respect at all serve in this administration? The only possible answer is that they are there to protect the country from a president who is clearly unfit for the job.
And how about all that crazy stuff coming out of Trump's mouth?
A record-long delay in the Senate confirmation process? The vast majority of jobs are waiting to be filled by the administration!
And "passed more legislation?" Trump has passed no significant legislation. None. Granted, a really awful tax cut for the rich health care bill could still emerge from Congress this year but tax reform and infrastructure are at best a figment of the president's imagination.
(The only thing Trump has "accomplished" so far is selecting a name for the Supreme Court from a list he was handed. But this was really Mitch McConnell's "W," wasn't it? After all, it was the majority leader that kept Merrick Garland off the Court last year and ended the filibuster to pave the way for Neil Gorsuch. Anyone could have "appointed" Gorsuch after that maneuver.)
Job creation? It's actually down a little -- certainly not up -- since Trump took office.
OMB Director Mick Mulvaney's budget? Double counts $2 trillion. "Taking care of the people that have to be taken care of"? No, just the opposite: it throws them to the wolves.
As the president went around the room and listened to everyone all I could think was, what do they say about him in private? To their spouses? "You wouldn't believe what this jackass said today..."
After watching this I can honestly say that my job suddenly looks a lot better -- a lot better. At least I don't have to embarrass myself on national TV! (What could Reince Priebus have possibly told his wife when he got home? "I know, I know, but I'm playing the long game! Just don't let the kids see that, okay?")
Seriously, is this America, or North Korea?
* I heard Mattis singled out by some commentators for praising the troops and not The Leader. He has to be on thin ice now.
...Batman in the eponymous TV series from the 1960s, died last Friday at age 88. Really, it's hard to overstate that show's impact during its two and a half year run.
While the surname Sprinkle isn't so bad in and of itself, when preceded by the name Michael it doesn't exactly roll off the tongue smoothly, does it?
P. S. All kidding aside, Mr. Sprinkle is the author of a very interesting "Medicaid for all" bill in the Nevada Assembly. Worth a read. (Isn't Mr. Sprinkle's plan far preferable to the current Republican "plan"?)
