...And That's My Opinion©
By Sandy Goldman
The Rogers Park Community Curmudgeon
“I see that your Alderman committed a huge faux pas,” said my suburban friend.
“Oh,” I said, “ You mean that stupid foie gras ordinance which made us the laughing stock of the entire world.”
“Not that one,” my friend responded.
“Then you must mean the ill-advised big box store ordinance which was intended to keep WalMart stores out of Chicago by wage and benefits-fixing, even though there are no WalMarts in the 49th Ward nor will there ever be, given the acreage required.”
“No, not that one either,” he said. “I was reading in several Rogers Park blogs that Alderman Joe Moore (49th) mailed a slick multi-page, multi-colored campaign piece which included a picture of a citizens group—the Morse Avenue Clean Team—which, by its inclusion, made it look as if he had organized the group and that they support him for reelection.”
“Oh yes. It took an eagle-eyed, totally aware citizen to detect this inaccuracy. Ironically, one of the people in the picture was Craig Gernhardt, the author of The 'Broken Heart' of Rogers Park blog, and one of Joe Moore’s most vocal critics.”
“It seems,” said my friend, “that this Joe Moore (49th) thinks that he can do and spin anything, anytime he wants, regardless of the facts. He is continually blowing smoke and expects the voters to believe. He really thinks that the people of this ward are stupid, lacking political and intellectual wherewithal or political acumen. You should probably add gullible to that list. As I see it, he seems to be running around taking credit for everything and anything. I fully expect him to attempt to claim credit for the creation of the world someday.” He grinned broadly.
“Well,” I said. “That is probably an exaggeration. I think that he claims to have created a new 49th Ward. I might add single handedly”.
“New, my eye!” my friend continued, “Since I left Rogers Park just before the last election, I haven’t seen many positive changes on my visits. The Gateway Shopping Center MAY be an exception, but school is still out on that one”.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Morse Avenue is no better nor is Howard Street. Economic development still resembles a rotting fruit salad. Residential development is like shrimp scampi—good at first taste, but odiferous and messy.” (Can you tell that my friend is a chef?) “But the most serious infraction of public trust is his propensity to attempt to fool the people of the ward. He seems to believe they are, for the most part, not politically active or attuned to politics and its intrigues. Joe Moore thinks and trusts that they don’t have the time, political savvy nor the experience to decode political fact from fiction.”
“But keep in mind he is running in the election of his life,” I said,” There are three exceptionally qualified candidates, any one of whom could, and would do a better job.”
“Yes that is true, “ he responded. “Credibility, which the incumbent is lacking, must and should count. Moore has little.”
“O.K,” I said, “It’s always nice talking to you. Let’s do it again”
“Bye,” he said. As he left he added, “Remember to keep that eagle-eye open and beware of Joe’s sharp stick”.
...And that's my opinion.
And I'm Sandy Goldman
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22 comments:
Well hell if Sandy Goldmans says so, it must be so!
Mr. BH you've made me a Moore re-election worker along with about 10 or 12 others. You guys must have boring lives with little self esteem the way you parade you unsupported opinions like so many self important knuckleheads. Yes Craig your picture was in the "tree killer" (boy you guys are clever!) So NA NA NA. You're actually helping Moore. And when was the last time you ordered duck liver. You might be right on a few points here and there about RP. But, when you and your minions rag on about the duck liver ban, and big box living wage issue you come off as childish and well, not to get into name calling but you look like a silly little cry baby. So I guess you love duck liver and to hell with the treatment of animals. Plus to all the folks standing at the checkout counters in Wal-Mart, Target, etc, you say to those people "you're lucky to have a job where you can service me, to hell with your living wage, just so long as me and my yuppie friends can sip at Starbuck on our way back from Trader Joes at the new Borders mall. So I'm with duhm blonde, are you going to not recogize the RP government in protest after you lose again to Moore?
Roxy
Roxy, you should read your own comment again. It would appear that you are supporting Moore based on the negative comments of Moore by people on this and/or other blogs. By that logic shouldn't you be supporting all the candidates? By my reading, at some point, each of the four candidates has been lambasted on BH (some more than others because, as an incumbent, Moore has more of a record to attack).
How about this...each of the residents of the 49th firmly grab our ears, give a good hard tug and extract our heads from our butts. By doing so each of us can then look at each candidate's record and positons on IMPORTANT issues pertaining to the 49th ward, and then vote for the candidate we believe will provide the leadership needed to improve the 49th ward.
Enough rhetoric, posturing and pandering (by everyone)...what are the records and positions.
Well yeah pulling ones head of off their rear, well it's always a good thing. So now that my head is out and able to get some fresh air, I think I'll walk over to the Aldermans office and do some work for reelection. Point made was that since the blogs are so ready to William Randolph Hearst everything, posting fake or missleading crap. One sided hollow arguements, you know like we want less crime, it's Moores fault, we want affordable housing, it's Moores fault, we want Trader Joes, it's Moores fault, when all those issues are in natural conflict. Affordable Housing=crime=no Trader Joes. And Ms Blonde, I've seen some really fun windmills in Holland. Thanks for the support
Roxy
Well, roxy, if you want anything but Jay Johnson-style "affordabe" (slum) housing, you might want to work for someone other than Joe Moore.
Joe Moore has been this area's major slumifier and defender of slumlords like Jay Johnson, and Bud Ogle's Good News Church.
"Affordable" is such a vague, sloppy term that is so much a matter of how an individual speakere defines it that I wish it could be struck from the whole debae.
As for the big box ordinance, anyone can support a minimum raise across the board, nationwide, and to apply to everyone, but anyone could oppose a highly selective and discriminatory 'big box' wage ordinance designed to drive business over city limits, and make low-wage earners take 4 legs of public transit to get to a job paying $7 an hour located in Skokie or Niles, or worse, Schaumburg or some other distant burb.
So, again, I support a hike in the minimum wage, nationwide, but no reasonable person can support an ordinance that targets one industry, and excludes 80% or so of the city's low-wage workers.
Trader Joe's, by the way, pays $9.40 an hour to start, which is well above the current minum and rather above the currently defined 'living wage'.
As for Joe's fois gras ordinance- if you are going to make an ordinance to protect our animals from the brutality of factory farming, do it across the board. Why is Joe not also calling for banning veal, and for a general ban on all meat and dairy products produced at large factory farms? Or better yet, why not fight for legistlation that regulates ALL factory farming of animals to ensure basic humanity in the treatment of ALL animals that provide us with food?
But I don't notice any of the proponants of this ban giving up their steaks, their veal, their chicken, or their dairy products, yet it is documented that the animals from which these products are derived are treated every bit as badly as Joe's geese and ducks.
However, it is much easier to go after a small, badly represented industry than it is the powerful meat packing industry.
Northcoast would that mean you won't ban one pollutant because we can't ban them across the board. I agree about the food bans I'd love to stop the killing, I'm a veggie, but what about one step at a time.
My point about Big Box is that that debate is divide and conquer, while we're talking about small increases in hourly wages. CEO are walking away with 210 million dollar board room gifts while those companies (Home Depot in this case) make a stink about paying their workers. So like minded people fight each other over the crumbs while corp. builds a new summer home in the hamptons, that's why I support the big box living wage Moore position. Yes they will simply go else where and build their stores but why are you putting that in a small time aldermans pot when it's the over all tilt of big biz that has their foot on our throat.
Everybody can define afordable for themselves but we're basically talking about wager earners in 20 to 35 thousand a year jobs. The meduim income in RP is 34,000.
Roxy
Hey, Craig, will you supply roxy with the link to the post you published last year describing Joe Moore's shopping habits? That was a great post- it described Joe's shopping trips (or his employee's trips) to the Office Max 'big box' location on Howard St. in Evanston, and supplied documentation of funds spent there.
I believe roxy needs to know where Joe has shopped for his office.
roxy, in your definition of 'affordable' housing, and in equating 'affordable' housing with crime and blight, you really show your elitism and snobbishness.
In another comment on another post, you equate reasonable housing with crime.
Yet,you describe the target income bracket as people who make $20K to 35K a year.
Excuse me, but you are talking about teachers, dental assistants, many librarians, bookstore owners and clerks, parameds (who make even less), secretaries and admin assistants, many small business owners, and scores of other people in respectable occupations who have middle class values. These people are the lower-middle class, and have always been the backbone of almost every society because they are the most numerous class of citizens we have who work for a living and lead respectable, law abiding lives. They are responsible for LESS crime than almost any other demographic segment, including the business class and upper class. Their kids grow up to be productive people even in 'broken' homes. These are the people who get none of the government 'gimmes' yet pay for everything, including the CPAN 'affordable' set asides that they can't afford to buy becauase these usually cost over $200K.
I really think most of the people in this bracket would take umbrage at being described as the source of crime and blight.
Roxy- I think you are just looking at the surface of the blogs and what's going on in Rogers Park. This, in my opinion, is why some people end up supporting Joe Moore.
And didn't you say that you are a newcomer to the neighborhood?
For someone new, you sure think you have it all figured out mighty quick. I didn't start out in opposition to Joe Moore. I'll bet many people that post here didn't either.
We just got sick of things not changing and symbolic gestures rather than real change.
I take offense to you disrespecting one of the "elders" of our community too- Sandy Goldman. Your comments about Sandy are in poor taste.
DRAFT SANDY!
Sanford Goldman for Alderman!
Write in Sandy!
Roxy - You need to learn a bit more about the neighborhood before you start passing judgment. There have been way too many "pay to play" situations, where businesses and landlords who could have been assets to the neighborhood were rejected by Joe Moore because they did not fill his pockets like Jay Johnson and some of the other sleazebags who have done so much to lower quality of life in the neighborhood.
Anyone got a link for campaign contribution disclosures for the current crowd of aldermaniac contenders? Based on past campaigns, I'd guess that the list of top donors may be rather revealing.
northcoast I don't understand why I need to know where Moore spends his office dollars, you lost me on that one.
Jocelyn, did you say elders? Is this a tribe? Why don't you give me a list of who I should believe, respect etc.
Yes I am new to Rogers Park. I started off really against Moore, when I moved here I wanted to see what was going on in the area and the local blogs seem to be helpful. I had one or two issues with Moore in both cases he did want was asked of him. Our block seems to be getting what we needed from his office. So I had my personal dealings with Moore and I had all of the blogs negatives, which I tended to believe. Until now.
Whenever I dove into a story, wether it was the store selling single cans of beer, smoke detectors and slumlords, zoning issues, it all came out as a bunch of spin. Then I did what all of you would do. I confronted the man directly. Now Gordon can say this, Adam can say that, but at this point it's all talk from all the men running.
northcoast you're talking about a someone who lived in a honda for 8 months, recently. I was jobless, homeless, and without prospects, it's fun to be called an elite snob.
Yeah you're right the crime is coming from the families making 6 figures and up. Boy things sure are tough in Lake Forest.
Roxy
Hugh,
In the words of General William Tecumseh Sherman to the Republican National Convention some time in the 1880s, "I will not accept if nominated, and will not serve if elected." However, thanks much for the thought, I'm honored.
Sandy
Jocelyn,
Thanks for your kind words, it's good and it's fun to be appreciated.
Sandy
Roxy said....>"I had one or two issues with Moore in both cases he did want was asked of him."
Exactly what were the one or two issues? How did Alderman Moore exactly help?
Wow that's a lot of anger. Now you demand to know who and where is this person. Sounds like something from a time gone by like say the Brown shirts.
I thought it was an exchange of ideas, in a non personal kind of way you guys are mean.
Roxy
Well, Roxy- you've been kind of dissing everyone all over every blog I come across! What kind of response do you expect when you pretty much call people idiots everywhere you go?
We're not mean- although I know it can seem that way on the blogs sometimes.
I've worked with Joe's office to get some things done and they helped. I've never said that the man and his staff do nothing. I just think we can do better and I've said why on my blog. I think I'm a reasonable person and so are many others.
We have a right to want a change. He's had 16 years to try. Let someone else who has a fire in their belly try. I think Joe just does the Alderman job so he can work on his "big ideas" and I don't appreciate that. He should do that on his own time.
And you seem to think that we shouldn't expect or want better. That this is just "the way things work" and we are unreasonable for wanting more. Well, I don't agree.
Have you been reading some of the source material around the blogs too? For example, Hugh posted a link to an informative article about TIFs.
...and Roxy, it's called a COMMUNITY(not a tribe)and if communities are lucky, they get to have involved long time residents like Sandy Goldman!
Jocelyn,
You make a ton of good points and I do need to know more about TIFs and such. I don't remember calling anyone an idiot but I think I see the point you're making.
The best argument you make against Moore is he has had 16 years. I hear that believe me. Your post have good hard nose debate, I love that. People like Morse Man who now want to know where I live...what should I expect a brick thought the window? He calls me a coward (but his profile is not even posted) because I don't post detail about myself. Is blogging now attached to some physical issue where I have to defend myself. Should we meet for a dual at high noon, that's very silly. That's the very spirit that is killing RP, the thuggish "I'll beat your butt" kind of thinking.
Sandy Goldman, I don't know the guy, I've only got three years in RP Sandy if we meet we'd agree more than dis, I didn't mean to insult you and I apologize if I did. I was simply saying that one opinion is just that one opinion. But I respect your history in RP, I've looked at you blog lots (are you updating it soon?) I do respect me elders and yeah Joc it's a community. I just get fired up and words like tribe come out.
I'm an African American male in his early 40s, yes I do suffer from low expectations (from the society around me) A side point is I'm going to Obama at the UIC on Sunday but in my heart I think he has no chance in this America. I have a big streak of "that's the way it is" maybe your positive attitude will rub off. But from where I sit I don't see the enlightenment. I've been called a snob and elitist what a hoot that is.
When I look into the faces of the young men of RP I don't see how the Alderman's race is going to change what is basic to this country. We create a underclass of undereducated folks who have children and more children who repeat the pattern. I see that as the main problem.
Have to stop now to watch the Obama speech, more later
Roxy
Online resources for learning more about TIFs
Thanks Hugh
Roxy
Thanks Roxy. And again, I do applaud you for jumping in and getting involved.
I can see what you see in the youth of RP and it is heartbreaking. I don't pretend to know the solution to this myself. I do think youth centers with metoring programs can help and we should have more of them here.
Regardless of who wins the election or who supports any candidate, my hope is that we can all work together after the election to improve things here in RP. Many of us all have that wish in common even if we differ on who we think can do the best job as Alderman.
I've worked with Joe Moore's office on things in the past and I will be available to do the same with whoever is elected. Of course, I hope it's Don Gordon, but my actions will be the same whoever wins. I will still be working on forming a Block Club on my street. I will still try to work on an anti-littering campaign and beautify RP. I will still flyer for CAPs and attend the meetings when I can and pick up the litter!
I highly recommend people getting off their desk chairs and getting out there and taking some action. You meet other neighbors who value our community and you will feel more at home in the neighborhood. I know everyone is busy, but we can all do a little something I believe.
Roxy, it's people who make over $500K who produce the bulk of our white collar crime.
Moreover, wealthy men are statistically much more likely to murder their wives than men in the middle brackets.
And it's beginning to look like reasonable well-off women are more likely to make a one-day switch from Model Momma to Child Killer- look at Marilyn Lemak of Naperville, Edith Feinstein of Elmhurst, and the preacher's wife (whose name escapes me) from Rolling Meadows. And Andrea Yates, of course.
The middle classes, whether lower, middle, or upper-middle, are where all the virtue in this country resides. These are the people who build new businesses, raise their kids into good, solid, well-behaved citizens, supply our businesses and institutions with solid, reliable employees, and they are also the people who pay for the subsidies that every one else gets while receiving no government freebies.
They certainly aren't the people whose kids are trashing the Village Theatre, or who are driving the BMWs and Volvos their rich parents gave them across my mother's lawn in the well-off suburb she lives in.
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