"Hail to thee, blithe Spirit! Bird thou never wert, That from Heaven, or near it, Pourest thy full heart In profuse strains of unpremeditated art."
Author: Jim Bowman
Jim Bowman covered religion 1968-78 for the Chicago Daily News, since then has written books, articles, etc., mostly on corporate history but also on religion (Company Man: My Jesuit Life, 1950-1968), and more recently on politics (Illinois Blues: How the Ruling Party Talks to Voters -- Lulu.com, Kindle). Longtime Oak Park, Illinois, resident, he lives now on Chicago's North Side, where four of his and Winnie's six children live close by.
Antifa militant and convicted pedophile Blake David Hampe was arrested in the early hours of Saturday following his alleged stabbing of a black Trump supporter in Portland.
Former Vice President Joe Biden holds a discernible — though not insurmountable — Electoral College advantage over President Donald Trump, with multiple paths to the presidency but little margin for error, according to ABC News’ initial ratings for the 2020 general election.
With this weekend marking 100 days to Election Day, ABC’s race ratings place 279 electoral votes as either solidly or leaning Democratic — slightly more than the 270 electoral votes needed to secure the presidency. Another 72 electoral votes are rated as toss-ups, while 187 are either solidly or leaning Republican.
Oak Park’s mayor explained why the village trustees did not play ball with the Community Relations Commission in hiring a village staff equity educator. Not theirs to pick vendors and establish contracts, he told Wednesday Journal. The board has “processes” for that.
In so speaking he got to the heart of the matter: Who runs the village? Elected officials and staff. “I don’t think taxpayers want that to be a commission’s responsibility.” No, but they get upset when ignored.
Another concept is in play here, one that turns up regularly in village politics: governance by referendum. Put decisions to the vote, repeatedly. None of this “set processes” business. Call a meeting. Show up, you got a vote. Can’t make it, gotta put the kids to bed, you don’t. Keep the pot a-boiling, have lots of meetings, where “the community” decides, that is, those who show up and don’t leave to put the kids to bed.
Sunday, city police posted a report, “Riot Declared in Downtown Portland July 26 — Arrests Made.” The report said “thousands” gathered at the federal courthouse on Saturday night and Sunday morning. It’s worth quoting at length:
“Throughout the night some people in this crowd spent their time shaking the fence around the building, throwing rocks, bottles, and assorted debris over the fence, shining lasers through the fence, firing explosive fireworks into the area blocked by the fence, and using power tools to try to cut through the fence.
People wore gas masks, carried shields, hockey sticks, leaf blowers, flags, and umbrellas specifically to thwart police in crowd dispersal or attempt to conceal criminal acts. People against the fence sprayed unknown liquids through it toward the courthouse. People tied rope to the fence and attempted to pull it down.”
They left their mark:
The law and order candidate, Pres. Trump, has his key issue.
Democrats’ response to the continuing round of urban disturbances makes one think that, yet again, they will snatch electoral defeat from the jaws of victory.
After President Trump’s dispatch of federal officers to protect federal facilities in Portland, Ore., some Democratic politicians characterized the officers as “storm troopers” or “secret agents” bent on sending “peaceful protesters” to concentration camps.
I watched attacks on the Portland federal building on television as they were happening. The officers were uniformed and clearly identified. The perpetrators weren’t peaceful protesters but black-clad thugs using hammers and baseball bats to damage the building. Others attempted to set fire to it.
Officers are recovering from protests yesterday where they were struck with explosives, rocks, bottles, and wood.
Throughout the day officers were moving protesters away from the East Precinct after they threw an explosive at the building causing structural damage.
The Black Lives Matter, antifa anti-cops movement:
Window shattered at the East Precinct
Hole blown in wall of East Precinct from explosive
Plywood blown outward from explosive
Damage from explosion
Damage from explosion
Explanation of how damage occurred courtesy of the Arson/Bomb Squad
In all 59 officers were injured throughout the day with one of those being hospitalized. Injuries ranged from abrasions and bruising to burns and a torn meniscus.
Abrasion caused by explosive device
Pants burned by an explosive device
Burn caused by explosive
Burn caused by an explosive device
Officers arrested 47 people by the end of the protest for assaults on officers, failure to disperse, and obstruction. Detectives with the Arson/Bomb Squad continue their investigation into who damaged the East Precinct.
Do NOT emulate the hapless mayor of distant Portland-in-Oregon, who threw caution to the winds and put himself in the way of big trouble, tear gas and all. His effort at being the little Dutch boy with finger in the dike. Legendary tyke saved the day. Mayor of P., on the other hand . . .
On Friday, the Seattle chief of police issued a statement that recent legislation “gives officers NO ability to intercede to preserve property in the midst of a large, violent crowd.” So the rioters are free to riot and you are on your own
Blithe Spirit 