Opened my Chi Trib on this Sunday morning, feast of Christ the King, being the last Sunday in October (apparently no more: bishops’s site calls it only “Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time in ordinary time,” making it prosaic as all get-out), and found another sad, sad story about people for whom THINGS ARE NOT WORKING OUT.
Trib offers such on a regular basis and has been doing so for a long time. Editors have a penchant for such things. Their idea of a grabber headline is a sad, sad story. Why is this?
A safe home. A good job. Stability for their children after years on the run from death threats and the mayhem of war — that is what the Iraqi refugees envisioned when told they were coming to America.
Instead, one family is assigned an apartment on Chicago’s North Side so full of cockroaches and filth they couldn’t stay the night.
A veterinarian from southern Iraq relies on relatives in Karbala to pay his rent in Chicago, upending the traditional immigrant experience.
An Iraqi mother of three, unable to pay her rent with her husband still in the Middle East, finds little help warding off the predatory advances of male acquaintances offering assistance.
Iraqi mother of three:
Stop, stop, enough already! On to the sports page! Those who enjoy beating themselves up, keep reading!
Later:
Reader D: Take heart, JB — the Feast of Christ the King will be celebrated Nov. 22, 2009. Apparently something was revised in 1969 and the last Sunday in October is not the feast day any more. Gershwin abides even today: “No, no, they can’t take that away from me.”
Reader B: the iraqi story leaves me somewhat spechless. don’t know what to make of it. so many aspects.. am sharing it with others however. –b
Ed.: If the careful reader does not know what to make of it, it’s a busted story (as a play is busted on the f-ball field). Focus, people!
Blithe Spirit 
Jim, et. al.
I know nothing about Religious Holidays, except for Easter and Christmas. I hope that doesn’t mean that I’m not a Christian — and please don’t tell me if I’m not.
R.L.C.
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‘Trib offers such on a regular basis and has been doing so for a long time. Editors have a penchant for such things. Their idea of a grabber headline is a sad, sad story. Why is this?’
I wouldn’t say they are doing well, Jim. That they are doing what they do, is because their editors hate America, and have devoted themselves to her abolition. Either they haven’t considered that succeeding in their enterprise would entail the destruction of the newspaper, as well, or they’re alright with that.
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Gee, do we need more Muslims imported to our country? How many Muslim refugees and immigrants have been arrested for planning to attack us? Why are we bringing them here to support when we are facing hard economic times and have huge deficits thanks to our Muslim-loving president? Is our government nuts or are we for putting up with this?
It would be safer and cheaper to send them, by air, to the country they prefer, like Syria or Iran.
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