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.

All Eyes Are on Romney To Mark the Strategy for Growth as Ryan Sticks To Debt

Ryan disappointed Kudlow:

He dwelled on debt to an extreme point. I don’t think discussing debt connects with people who are unemployed or marginally employed. I think they want a good-paying job, and debt is almost an academic abstraction.

When Republicans run on debt and deficits, they almost always lose. When Republicans run on growth, limited government, lower spending, lower tax rates, and deregulation — they win. Mr. Ryan’s speech was confusing on the growth issue, and that was disappointing; I don’t want to be confused and the American people shouldn’t be confused.

It will be left to Mitt Romney on Thursday night to clarify his own growth policies.

I want growth, growth, growth. Wednesday night, I didn’t get growth, growth, growth; I heard debt, debt, debt.

His argument: growth solves all. Good argument. Dems don’t get that.

Leftist Newsroom Chatter

About those liberal media folks, veteran of many newsrooms commenting on the Yahoo Wash. bureau chief, former ABC political editor, saying Republicans rejoice “when black people drown”:

I could write a thousand columns on comments like these, and similar comments I heard while in newsrooms over the years. In my newsroom there were people crying out loud and tears shed when George W. Bush was elected in 2000. There were cheers when Al Gore rescinded his resignation. It is the culture. Leftists live and thrive in this environment, and they are rewarded with advancements. Rarely are they held accountable because they know management is on their side.

The perp was fired, But the culture remains:

The bias is . . . too deep, too ingrained, and they really don’t want to change. It’s like telling a rattlesnake not to bite. They will cease to exist before they correct the culture.

Challenge to fashionistas on 35th Street

Come one, come all, Wednesday, October 24, 2012 to Bridgeport Art Center, 1200 West 35th Street, Chicago, where:

Chicago’s Designers are inspiring hope.

Five of Chicago’s hottest fashion designers are set to compete in Heshima Kenya’s second annual Fashion Challenge.

The Project Runway-inspired competition will be kicking off with a fabulous signature cocktail, the Maisha Martini, and provisions provided by Food for Thought.. . .

Trust me, the cause is a darn good one — the Maisha Collective, an income-generating project for the unaccompanied refugee artisan women Heshima Kenya serves in Nairobi.

Go Heshima Kenya!

Bringing up Barack Jr.

More on the 2016: Obama’s America movie, about his upbringing. Red diaper baby indeed:

In 2008, I was initially disturbed by Obama’s bizarre hero worship of his absentee Kenyan father which sometimes bordered upon pagan idolatry. During the same 2008 campaign, by virtue of reading British newspaper articles, I was aware of the fact that Obama’s father was less of an outstanding academic and renowned economist and more of a violent alcoholic and bigamist. He was also a Marxist who believed that a tax rate of one hundred percent could be justifiable.

Equally as chilling are the backgrounds of Obama’s leftist mother and his maternal grandparents. Obama is truly a “Red Diaper Baby.” Scarier still is association with Frank Marshall Davis, a card carrying member of the Communist Party, selected by Obama’s grandparents to serve as Obama’s mentor and surrogate father figure.

This is another part of the d’Souza film that hits hard.

Teachers: Ask us, don’t measure us; money is secondary

Chi Teachers president Karen Lewis and other teacher unionists in yesterday’s Sun-Times, “Cash upfront the way to get teachers to rack up better student test scores, study finds”:

* Karen L: Economists don’t understand us. 

(Teachers are different from you and me: they don’t care about money.  But they are like you and me: they prefer not to be held to account, would rather have a sure thing.  Hence their aversion to being measured.)

* Chicago Heights teacher, one of 150 studied by U. of Chi economists and discovered to be motivated by early bonus payout which they have to pay back if scores are not up to snuff: We were snookered (by U of Chi economists, who didn’t say they were economists — point mildly contested by experimenters’ spokesperson.)  It was a bad test.

How so?  Teacher: We thought they were education professors.  Ed profs would have asked us what works.  (But Econ profs study them, not what they say.)  They don’t understand us.  (We’re different.)

* Karen L: “Nothing is better [for a teacher] than seeing the light bulb turn on” in student head.  (Not even higher pay?  Then why fight City Hall on contract money?)