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City of Bruised Shoulders
So remember the video of the off-duty Chicago SWAT officer beating the mother-grabbin' vocabulary out of a female bartender a third his size?
A second video surfaced last week, this time involving six other off-duty Chicago cops slamming some heads in a bar brawl.
One alleged victim of the Jefferson Tap beating required reconstructive surgery on his face and another suffered four broken ribs, a lawyer for the men has said. During the incident, patrons at the downtown bar called 911. When patrol officers responded, the off-duty officers involved allegedly spoke to them and the patrol officers left without intervening, sources have said.
That was in December. Police officials saw the video of the fight five days after it happened. Yet the brawling cops kept their jobs, positions, and patrols until late last week, when the bartender beatdown video got the media sniffing, leading to the discovery of the video of the December brawl. Four months later, only after another one of his men was caught on tape beating a civilian, Chicago Police Superintendent Philip Cline decided to suspend the six officers involved in the December brawl, noting that he probably "mishandled" their discipline.
"Mishandled" is one way of putting it. "Covered up" is probably more accurate.
This week was also the hearing for Officer Anthony Abbate, the aforementioned officer who beat down the bartender. As if the department hadn't shamed itself enough already...
The hearing was held at a branch courtroom at the Grand Central Area police headquarters, and several on-duty officers used their squad cars to block media access to the facility, Cline said. Officers also issued parking tickets to media vehicles parked in the headquarters lot.
Cline said he had already decided to demote the watch commander—a captain—who he said told the officers to harass reporters and camera crews covering the Abbate hearing.
Demoted? Shouldn't the watch commander be fired? Come to think of it, it's probably time for Sup. Cline to look for other work, too. New evidence also emerged this week in yet another case, this time casting doubt on police accounts of a 2005 fatal police shooting of an unarmed immigrant in the city. Incredibly, Sup. Cline was at the scene of that shooting. A forensics expert is now alleging a police cover-up there, too.
I'll include the obligatory "only a small percentage of cops are bad" disclaimer here. But when the entire department—right up to the chief of police—continues to cover up for the bad seeds, you really can't blame the public for starting to believe that they're all crooked.
|3.29.07 @ 10:34AM|#
Some of the newscasters that showed that video were amazed that the onlookers were doing nothing to help her. Even though that guy looked like a solid 350, you'd think someone would have given him the business end of a pool cue. C'mon, there are weapons abound in a bar!
VM|3.29.07 @ 10:36AM|#
I'll include the obligatory "only a small percentage of cops
are bad" disclaimer here. But when the entire department-right up
to the chief of police-continues to cover up for the bad seeds, you
really can't blame the public for starting to believe that they're
all crooked.
That's the Chicago way...
sage - only in the movies. only in the movies.
or a karate guy can come in with his Tekki Shodan kata and get all
down-blocky on his ass!
:)
|3.29.07 @ 10:42AM|#
A few weeks ago, I purchased the box set of the Firefly series
and the movie Serenity. In the movie a new character called Mister
Universe has the line "You always bring me the very best violence".
Even though he was talking to our hero Mal, I think I'll start
calling Radley "Mr. Universe" from now on. He always brings us the
best violence. And while I wouldn't have thought it possible, I
mean that in a good way.
Keep agitating Mr. Universe.
|3.29.07 @ 10:52AM|#
I feel kind of guilty about it, but I honestly wish that bar video had ended with the barmaid pulling a pistol out from under the bar and shooting that asshole in the forehead.
|3.29.07 @ 10:54AM|#
"I'll include the obligatory "only a small percentage of
cops are bad" disclaimer here."
Radley, perhaps this is true, but there's still enough bad cops out
there that you've been able to make a career out of documenting
their egregious transgressions.
|3.29.07 @ 10:56AM|#
What do you do when the thugs have a badge? The irony is that without the advent of Big Brother - like surveillance everywhere, these pigs would have probably gotten away scot-free with it (not that they're necessarily going to get punished now.)
|3.29.07 @ 10:57AM|#
Of course, if that had happened, she would be on the fast track to Death Row; he was a cop, and messages must be sent.
|3.29.07 @ 10:57AM|#
I feel kind of guilty about it, but I honestly wish that bar
video had ended with the barmaid pulling a pistol out from under
the bar and shooting that asshole in the forehead.
Then we'd be reading a story about either about how the bartender
was facing capital murder charges, or how she was "accidentally"
shot by respondents at the scene.
|3.29.07 @ 10:58AM|#
I was in a club outside of Chicago in 1999. Four or five Chicago
cops got this, "you lookin' at me" routine going on, and slugged
one of my friends. The place erupted, and the Chicago cops roughed
about 10 to 15 people up before being wisked out the back door by
club staff. What exactly did the Schererville Police do about it?
They protected the Chicago cops. We went to the station the next
day, and the "line up" of photos was made of 12 pictures that
looked exactly like each other.
I'm not surprised that some low class Chicago cop beat the shit out
of a lady, or that Chicago cops are basically a gang with badges.
The whole town lacks class. There, I said it.
|3.29.07 @ 10:59AM|#
i think the other patrons refrained from stopping his assault on
a woman because they knew he was in law enforcement. many cops that
i know in the bars often loudly proclaim that they are cops and
they expect deference...and they are just as fallible as the rest
of us perhaps even more so given the nature of their interactions
with a selected populace. when all you see is criminal actions day
in and day out, then maybe your world view on what is the norm gets
skewed...and it doesnt help that police tactics include condoning
domination and intimidation to control stituations.
everytime i read that a swat team yells and curses at the suspects
i wonder if that really has the effect of asserting control of a
situation or merely adds to fear-fueled confusion in an already
dangerous situation. i would much rather our police be taught and
expected to remain calm, cool and calculated in complex
evironments. my experience in the military was that the best small
squad leaders were always the most polite and determined people you
would never wanna meet on the wrong end of a raid.
mike
|3.29.07 @ 11:09AM|#
The paradox of police work is that often the peope who are most
attracted to performing such a very, very, difficult job are those
least psychologically qualified to attempt it.
I suspect the competency curve for people in police work is not the
familiar bell-shaped curve.
|3.29.07 @ 11:13AM|#
"I'll include the obligatory "only a small percentage of cops
are bad" disclaimer here."
Sorry, you lost me here, though you were probably being
facetious.
The day we stop playing nice with these dirtbags and feeling the
need to include misleading disclaimers, we'll have made real
progess.
Every cop who chooses to remain silent or cover up these sorts of
abuses is as bad as the perps who committed them. It's not just in
Chicago or that these cases are the exception to the rule, abuses
happen just about everywhere, and the protection of abusive cops as
a sort of default behavior is the rule.
|3.29.07 @ 11:14AM|#
Hey, the streets are clean. They've got trees and flowers planted. There are nice wrought iron fences in many neighborhoods. How do you think it got to be this way? Sometimes you have to break an egg to make an omelet.
Guy Montag|3.29.07 @ 11:15AM|#
So, still nothing in the pages of Reason about the Phillip
Thompson DC pistol deal?
You know, all of that "above the law" stuff does not stop at the
Chicago river.
|3.29.07 @ 11:24AM|#
Who cares about the tomatoes? It's the sauerkraut that matters.
Onion-eating ingrates.
I heard some great cop stories when I went to law school in
Chicago. Great, as in bad. I can't recall if Operation Greylord
snagged a lot of cops or not. Probably not, given the code of
omertà within the police force. In fact, since it mostly
nailed judges and lawyers, the Chicago cops probably were behind
the whole investigation.
Guy Montag|3.29.07 @ 11:31AM|#
Chjicago hot dogs are the BEST hot dogs. Do they still have hot green peppers available? Wow, my scalp is sweating at the thought and I have not had a true Chicagodog since 1975.
ed|3.29.07 @ 11:35AM|#
Kraut, onions, mustard. Period. And the weenie had better be grilled. Boiling is for grannies.
|3.29.07 @ 11:40AM|#
"And they have the best pizza."
Some call it pizza. I call it lasagna for fat slobs who don't sit
down while they eat. It is pretty good, though.
|3.29.07 @ 11:44AM|#
Lamar! You are anathema! Launch a new Inquisition! Kill the unbelievers! Destroy their thin crusts!
New Yorker|3.29.07 @ 11:50AM|#
If it has to be eaten with a knife and fork, it isn't pizza. Less is more, Chicago lard-butts.
Windypundit|3.29.07 @ 11:52AM|#
I've heard conflicting reports about the media blockade at Grand Central. That's a working police station, and there are plenty of places that are closed to the public, including the the media.
|3.29.07 @ 12:02PM|#
I second you doc tom. Not only do cops here in Chicago often
identify themselves and lord over the rest of us mere mortals,
they're also notorious for carrying their weapons off-duty and not
being shy about using them.
There's no doubt in my mind that the bystanders new what was up,
and didn't intervene because he was packing heat.
|3.29.07 @ 12:12PM|#
As I said in the last thread about the bartender beat-down, if you are going to get physical with an off-duty Chicago cop, or an off-duty cop in many cities, in order to prevent him from committing a felony, you better be prepared to give him a dirtnap with extreme prejudice, and you better have the cash to hire extremely good defense counsel.
Guy Montag|3.29.07 @ 12:24PM|#
When I visited Chicagoland in the late 1990s (did not get a hot dog the whole trip!) I was reminded of how it is still the most bigoted and segregated place this side of Sarajevo. Could not wait to get back to VA and TN.
|3.29.07 @ 12:24PM|#
Only on Hit and Run would a thread about abusive police violence
lead to an argument over Chicago versus New York-style pizza.
New York-style is better, anyway.
wsdave|3.29.07 @ 12:41PM|#
Baked,
"What do you do when the thugs have a badge? The irony is that
without the advent of Big Brother - like surveillance everywhere,
these pigs would have probably gotten away scot-free with it (not
that they're necessarily going to get punished now.)"
In the bar video (at least, haven't seen this new one), it wasn't
Big Brother, it was Big Bar Owner that set up the video camera. If
it was a city run camera, the footage would never have seen the
light of day.
I'm ALL in favor of video cameras, so long as I'm running them.
dhex|3.29.07 @ 12:49PM|#
smacky speaks truth.
also, jesus fuck chicago sounds worse than the nypd somehow.
the sean bell case is in full bloom right now. (guy and john and
maybe grand chalupa, this is your cue to detrail things by ranting
about sharpton)
next up the nypd is going to produce a cat who saw the 4th shooter
but can only answer in meows to a police interpreter.
they are so fucking desperate and they know it, too.
|3.29.07 @ 12:52PM|#
In the bar video (at least, haven't seen this new one), it
wasn't Big Brother, it was Big Bar Owner that set up the video
camera. If it was a city run camera, the footage would never have
seen the light of day.
wsdave,
The reverse is true, also: e.g. Years ago, when my wallet was
stolen by a gas station employee and the manager just
happened to be changing the video tape when the theft
occurred. Practically speaking, as long as the crime will be
recorded for evidence, I don't care who is doing the taping. (Note:
this isn't in favor of Big Brother surveillance or anything on
those lines; just pointing out that private businessmen can be just
as crooked when evidence is at stake).
People always protect their own kind.
|3.29.07 @ 12:54PM|#
next up the nypd is going to produce a cat who saw the 4th
shooter but can only answer in meows to a police
interpreter.
King Friday must be really out of control if Henrietta had to move
to Queens.
|3.29.07 @ 1:17PM|#
ed | March 29, 2007, 12:18pm | #
Yikes. I am never going to Chicago now.
We win! Take that, NYC!
Chicago pizza is horribly misunderstood. We don't eat deep dish all
the time. I have that once or twice a year, usually when we have
out-of-town visitors. The pizza we eat nearly once a week is thin
crust cut into squares. The crust is like a cracker. Please use
this pizza for a more accurate comparison.
|3.29.07 @ 1:17PM|#
If it was a city run camera, the footage would never have
seen the light of day.
Good point. .
VM|3.29.07 @ 1:20PM|#
"Please use this pizza for a more accurate comparison."
known as Naperville Neopolitan
[runs off to look at lake]
ed|3.29.07 @ 1:26PM|#
Only on Hit and Run would a thread about abusive police
violence lead to an argument over Chicago versus New York-style
pizza.
It is my understanding that the abusive cop had just left a
pizzaria where he had ordered deep dish but received not-so-deep
dish from an insolent server. That's what set him off.
|3.29.07 @ 1:27PM|#
VM,
Don't confuse the poor people. This is a serious matter. Forget off
duty cops beating people up, this is IMPORTANT!
|3.29.07 @ 1:27PM|#
"The day we stop playing nice with these dirtbags and feeling
the need to include misleading disclaimers, we'll have made real
progess.
Every cop who chooses to remain silent or cover up these sorts of
abuses is as bad as the perps who committed them. It's not just in
Chicago or that these cases are the exception to the rule, abuses
happen just about everywhere, and the protection of abusive cops as
a sort of default behavior is the rule."
Thank you. Finally someone who doesn't beat around the bush on this
issue.
Choy|3.29.07 @ 1:32PM|#
"Mishandled" is one way of putting it; the more correct way of putting it is "aiding and abetting a felony after the fact."
|3.29.07 @ 1:32PM|#
Kraut & mustard belong on brauts. I think my personal
favorite for chicago style is Gene & Judes with fries and sport
peppers on the dog.
Nick
|3.29.07 @ 1:39PM|#
"The pizza we eat nearly once a week is thin crust cut into
squares. The crust is like a cracker. Please use this pizza for a
more accurate comparison."
Hey, that's St. Louis style pizza! You can't claim that as
Chicago's!
You're just jealous because we have a professional National League
baseball team and you don't. Go Birds!
Guy Montag|3.29.07 @ 1:44PM|#
Chicago pizza is horribly misunderstood. We don't eat deep
dish all the time. I have that once or twice a year, usually when
we have out-of-town visitors. The pizza we eat nearly once a week
is thin crust cut into squares. The crust is like a cracker. Please
use this pizza for a more accurate comparison.
Don't forget the coarse ground corn meal on the bottom.
VM|3.29.07 @ 1:48PM|#
Hey Sparky - we're just jealous cuz yer manager sleeps with his
foot in a pushed-out position. Ours calls a cab.
:)
(hey - hook up with Warren - he's local and is lookin for an
H&R gathering)
"Kraut & mustard belong on brauts"
usually wedding dresses do :)
also - sport peppers belong on a "chicago style". minus 20 points
for redundancy :)
High#: good call!
|3.29.07 @ 1:49PM|#
Didn't Royko write a long column about how Chicago was also a
thin-crust town?
Chicago was a fun place to be a student. It has a great nightlife
and plenty to do. The food is yummy, and the blues bars are great.
It has the best art museum that I've been to (and lots of other
museums that I went to on "free" day), and the lake is nice.
On the other hand, the crime and corruption are a serious problem,
getting around ain't easy, there's been one name in the mayor's
office for most of the last forty years, it's very segregated, and
I hate their sports teams. Oh, wait, Wrigley is nice. It and Fenway
are my favorite parks. Fenway had the better dogs in my experience,
strangely. Must've been a good day in Boston or something.
VM|3.29.07 @ 1:57PM|#
OMG High#!
All you need is a /. one. Or you could "blog your way across
america - Twice!
yooo da man!
ProL: when were you there? Yours and #6's experiences sound
similar.
Obviously, depending on where you live, crime can be a greater or
lesser problem. It's really gotten better, and with the razing of
the projects at Cabrini Green, the area around the famous bars
(Division Street) is a lot better than it was.
Wrigley can be a great experience - provided you're not around
tourists or trixies. If you are, it can be one of the worst.
The Chicago Fire, on the other hand, ROCKS! BARN BURNERS!!!!!
Viking Moose (the naughty)|3.29.07 @ 1:58PM|#
d'oh! sorry for the double.
YES THE LAKE LOOKS BEAUTIFUL TODAY!!!!!!!!!
|3.29.07 @ 2:05PM|#
Moose,
you are correct, sport peppers do belong on a chicago dog. Since
G&J's isn't in the city, I guess it's not a chicago dog. I
forget which town it is in, it's near Forest Park though. I should
have been more specifice, that's all that comes on the dog-fries
and peppers, you get mustard to put on it.
But, on topic, it has been my experience that there are no "good"
cops, just "less bad" ones. Example: the local DARE officer in my
hometown who would help to bust up parties, but bought his mj off
of my buddy's older brother.
Nick
|3.29.07 @ 2:15PM|#
G&J's is in River Forest. (That town scares me for some reason.) Still a Chicago dog, but they get some sort of weird exception on the ingredients because their fries are so good and they've been around so long.
|3.29.07 @ 2:17PM|#
Shit!
CORRECTION!
RIVER GROVE
not River Forest. River Grove scares me. River Forest is my town's
richer next door neighbor. It did have mobsters for a while,
though.
VM|3.29.07 @ 2:18PM|#
The real test is when you order a hotdog "with everything" do
they reach for ketchup?
Harrys (Randolph and Franklin or Wells) had a new guy who reached
for the ketchup one day. Just once. :)
|3.29.07 @ 2:18PM|#
"Hey Sparky - we're just jealous cuz yer manager sleeps with his
foot in a pushed-out position. Ours calls a cab."
Ummm...but...errmmm...and yet...aww, shit. No comment.
A Hit and Run meet-up under the arch would be fun but, sadly, I no
longer live in St. Louis. I moved to the Indiana hinterlands a
couple years ago. I seem to recall Stevo Darkly is from my beloved
hometown though, plus at least a few other periodic commenters. I
hope Warren et al have good luck getting something organized.
Highnumber, you present a cogent argument, but I remain
unconvinced.
|3.29.07 @ 2:19PM|#
highnumber,
I lived in River City, that funky place on the Chicago River. I
used to look off the top of the building at the lake and make some
vague connection to my lost Gulf. I used to think about stealing
one of the boats at the marina at River City and taking it down
(after a few detours) to the Gulf. To escape both law school and
the friggin' cold.
VM,
1/1993 - 12/95.
I was a victim of the Chicago police, who towed my car--without
prior notice--when they instantly rezoned our street for a movie
shoot. I was told by a law professor that I had no recourse,
despite the whole thing being a flagrant violation of the laws of
Illinois, the United States, and God.
|3.29.07 @ 2:25PM|#
Right on Sparky!
High# - you're crazy man, the StL has been sporting the square
beyond compare forever! working at imo's is a graduation
requirement around here. ;)
VM,
i'd rather my manager be able to navigate a post-season series than
an intersection. since cubbie managers take cabs, does that mean
they can't navigate either one? oooooohh!!
|3.29.07 @ 2:29PM|#
PL,
i know your professor was right about your lack of recourse as a
practical matter, but my understanding was that ignorance of the
law may be an excuse to a violation when the law has not been
published/made available to the public.
that's my crappy 1L grasp of the matter.
|3.29.07 @ 2:37PM|#
downstater,
Practical is what I'm talkin' about. Legally speaking, there was
nothing right with what they did and nothing wrong with what I did.
Due process is for Packers' fans. At least, that's the impression I
got.
As near as I could figure at the time, there were ordinances about
movie shoots, but they did require prior notice. I assumed that the
cops missed the original notice to them--while eating some
dogs and pizza--and just towed first and asked questions, well,
never.
|3.29.07 @ 2:42PM|#
PL,
Wasn't River City the original home of the Museum of Broadcast
Communications?
And isn't River City just a squashed version of Marina City?
VM|3.29.07 @ 2:59PM|#
High#: right on the second, at least. A friend of mine used to
keep his boat there!
Downstater: I don't have a comeback. :) I give a gracious bow and
yield to you! Well challenged, Sir!
ProL: shudder. the dark times. bummer, man!
Sparky - welcome to the Hoosier state (family is from Kokomo)! Just
as long as you're not a Purdue fan :)
|3.29.07 @ 3:18PM|#
As a 25 year resident of Chicago my experience with the Police
has been all good. Helpful, friendly and always close bye. I guess
I don't frequent the bars the cops do. That said, the cops do seem
to circle the waggons to protect and/or cover up for the bad
apples. I don't know what the Supt. can do other than whimper. It
is a beauracratic fortress, not controlled from the top.
Silver Shovel was the investigation that sent a dozen judges to
jail.
ED. You would not fit culturally in Chicago. Sauerkraut on a hot
dog? Thats worse than ketchup.
|3.29.07 @ 3:22PM|#
So, still nothing in the pages of Reason about the Phillip
Thompson DC pistol deal?
You know, all of that "above the law" stuff does not stop at
the Chicago river.
Nah. The Reason staff aren't quite ready to abandon their
schoolgirl crushes on James Webb, at least as long as he's giving
Bush the middle finger.
But it will happen someday. In his heart, Webb is an elitist
asshole and in a few years that will be obvious to everyone.
|3.29.07 @ 3:29PM|#
Wasn't River City the original home of the Museum of
Broadcast Communications?
And isn't River City just a squashed version of Marina
City?
And isn't that where they got all them pool halls? And trouble,
too, with a captial "T".
|3.29.07 @ 3:30PM|#
So the theory is that Reason is being untrue to libertarianism,
and biased towards Democrats, for NOT condemning Jim Webb and his
aid for posessing a firearm?
You, uh, want to take another crack at that?
Guy Montag|3.29.07 @ 3:31PM|#
Nah. The Reason staff aren't quite ready to abandon their
schoolgirl crushes on James Webb, at least as long as he's giving
Bush the middle finger.
But it will happen someday. In his heart, Webb is an elitist
asshole and in a few years that will be obvious to
everyone.
Ah, it is more complicated than I thought. Goes beyond having a D
behind his name.
So, are you saying that Reason is in the pocket of "Big
Finger"?
Guy Montag|3.29.07 @ 3:34PM|#
Captain Holly,
New theory: Radley reloads 9mm for Webb and is not about to attack
his customer!
|3.29.07 @ 3:44PM|#
So the theory is that Reason is being untrue to
libertarianism, and biased towards Democrats, for NOT condemning
Jim Webb and his aid for posessing a firearm?
No, it's because when Webb's aide was arrested for carrying Webb's
gun that he didn't know was in the bag (because Webb didn't tell
him), instead of standing up for him the good Senator let him go to
jail and take the rap for it.
I would think that all libertarians would be outraged by the idea
that someone who is Well-Connected and Powerful would be able to
avoid the legal consequences of his actions, especially one who
supposedly considers the DC gun ban to be unconstitutional.
When I was a Marine in NCO school one of the first things we were
taught was to stand up for your subordinates if they didn't do
anything wrong. Webb is basically letting Thompson twist in the
wind for something he wasn't responsible for.
Oh, and incidentally, Senator Hutchinson introduced a law to
overturn the stupid DC gun ban. Webb is not a co-sponsor.
|3.29.07 @ 3:46PM|#
New theory: Radley reloads 9mm for Webb and is not about to
attack his customer!
9mm? I thought it was a 1911!
This makes it even worse!
Guy Montag|3.29.07 @ 3:53PM|#
No, it's because when Webb's aide was arrested for carrying
Webb's gun that he didn't know was in the bag (because Webb didn't
tell him), instead of standing up for him the good Senator let him
go to jail and take the rap for it.
Also, we can get into all sorts of other things, which are always
fair game for other politicians, like the stories of who's gun it
is not matching (Thompson claimed it was Webbs, Webb denies it),
you know, the stuff that makes US Attorney firings a "scandal" of
Watergate proportions.
We can get into how the politically connected are in violation of a
machine gun law AND unlicensed ammo and don't even get charged with
them, but pretty sure that anybody commenting here would be.
You know, stuff like that.
Guy Montag|3.29.07 @ 3:55PM|#
9mm? I thought it was a 1911!
This makes it even worse!
Yea, so much for that Webb == badass image that has been so
carefully cultivated in certain corners of the interwebs.
|3.29.07 @ 4:10PM|#
Moose,
I was startin to like ya, then you had to go say sumthin bout the
Boilers. You're dead to me.
Nick
|3.29.07 @ 4:16PM|#
Captain Holly,
And your understanding of what was said between Webb and his aide
comes from where, exactly?
VM|3.29.07 @ 4:28PM|#
Nick M :)
I understand. I've been dead to me ever since I discovered my Noam
Chomsky Blow up doll!
|3.29.07 @ 4:36PM|#
highnumber,
That's not a Weird Thread Phenomena. It's actually pretty standard
now that you provided the right framework to identify it.
But you're the first person I've seen that put some structure
around what oftentimes happens.
Balloon Juice has a
name for the last behavior you note: they call it a "jackalope." As
in, "Hey, everybody! Look over there! It's a jackalope!" meant as a
distraction from the topic at hand (usually that the commenter
prefers were not discussed). Jackalopes can happen anytime during
the thread, though. They can even be the first comment.
|3.29.07 @ 4:37PM|#
PL,
Wasn't River City the original home of the Museum of Broadcast
Communications?
And isn't River City just a squashed version of Marina
City?
highnumber,
Yes, though I somehow never went in three years of living there.
Maybe it left before then? I suddenly seem to recall that it said
that on the outside but was empty. I could be misremembering, but
it would be quite unlike me not to check it out.
Not really. River City is Marina City-like, but more freaky
Jetsonsesque in conception. And it lacks the Steve McQueen
connection. I actually liked the place quite a bit--it even has/had
a Bally's in the building.
woodsy|3.29.07 @ 4:41PM|#
"I feel kind of guilty about it, but I honestly wish that bar
video had ended with the barmaid pulling a pistol out from under
the bar and shooting that asshole in the forehead."
Then you would have a Quentin Tarantino movie.
|3.29.07 @ 4:52PM|#
Way more Chicago area Hit N' Runners than I imagined.
1. Chicago PD better today than what we saw at the 1968 DNC, but
nowhere close to where they ought to be. Office of Pro Stnds is a
joke.
2. Love the city, but glad I'm not in it. There is a Pavlovian
tolerance for any crap that Daley pulls just because the trash gets
picked up. I don't get it.
3. Kraut is only for Polish and Brats.
4. Thin crust is for pussies.
|3.29.07 @ 4:59PM|#
Tbone,
re #3:
Close, but kraut is for brats only. Polishes are meant to be eaten
Maxwell style. The only correct manner is Maxwell style.
|3.29.07 @ 5:00PM|#
"LOVE YOUR BLOG, HIGHNUMBER..."
Yeah, me too, although mine is more of a lower-case love. I hope
The Man doesn't find out about your blogsquatting and bring the
hammer down old-school (meaning like Cavanaugh would have done, I
guess).
"Sparky - welcome to the Hoosier state (family is from Kokomo)!
Just as long as you're not a Purdue fan :)"
No, no Purdue fandom - I work at IU in Bloomington, so I'm pretty
sure I'm contractually obligated to root against Purdue.
I do suffer from some Chicago-related indignity here in southern
Indiana. We're on the border of Cub and Cardinal fan territories,
so while I can pick up Cards games on the radio from several nearby
cities, my local sports station carries the Cubs and Ron "aw
jeez!!" Santo. It's an indisputable fact that the Cardinals have a
better radio broadcast team in addition to having a better team
(Mike "Moonman" Shannon may be almost as big a homer as Santo, but
his rambling, incoherent statements are much more
entertaining).
|3.29.07 @ 5:22PM|#
And your understanding of what was said between Webb and his
aide comes from where, exactly?
Uh, the statements from the aide himself.
|3.29.07 @ 5:23PM|#
I just blogged this.
Good use of the bar fights metaphor. Ties it in with this thread
quite nicely.
|3.29.07 @ 5:31PM|#
Word to the wise for everyone who posts from work. If you use
your name, be very careful not to accidently hit the print button
in IE.
Nick
|3.29.07 @ 6:17PM|#
You all have a love for the tube steak that the southern baptist convention ruled to be sinful.
|3.29.07 @ 8:29PM|#
VM,
Never get caught in bed with a dead girl, a live boy, or a bearded
punctured blow-up doll.
|3.29.07 @ 8:57PM|#
"Don't mind if they're dead
as long as they aint cold."
250 points......name that movie
|3.29.07 @ 8:58PM|#
I just blogged this.
highnubber!!! you Democrat shell. this stuff I expect on kos or
something.
Guy Montag|3.29.07 @ 9:39PM|#
We're on the border of Cub and Cardinal fan
territories,
You could end up a Cubs fan the same way George F. Will did.
highnumber|3.29.07 @ 9:57PM|#
If I may say something about the Chicago Police Department and
freedom of the press, I am glad for the wide exposure that these
two stories have received, because this could lead to only a
cleaning up of the department. That's the good thing here for the
city.
Also, I have lived in Chicagoland my whole life, and the worst
experience I have had with them is that they did not try too hard
to find the guy who broke into my car in the middle of the day
while I was working. I would have appreciated it if they had put at
least a small team of detectives on the case or even one guy,
provided that he was their best man. Seriously, I have never had an
issue with them. They have alway done right by me.
(Full disclosure: I am related by blood or marriage to at least
three current or retired Chicago Police officers and have known a
few more.)
Guy Montag|3.29.07 @ 10:05PM|#
"The policeman is not there to create disorder, the policeman is there to protect disorder."
|3.29.07 @ 11:37PM|#
"You could end up a Cubs fan the same way George F. Will
did."
So if Cardinals fans grow up to be liberal and Cubs fans grow up to
be conservative, who does one root for in order to become a
libertarian? I don't think it's possible to grow up being both a
Cardinals _and_ a Cubs fan (at least, I certainly hope it's
not).
|3.30.07 @ 12:00AM|#
A Hit and Run meet-up under the arch would be fun but,
sadly, I no longer live in St. Louis. I moved to the Indiana
hinterlands a couple years ago. I seem to recall Stevo Darkly is
from my beloved hometown though, plus at least a few other periodic
commenters. I hope Warren et al have good luck getting something
organized.
Warren is in St. Louis? Since when?
I would enjoy a St. Louis gathering. As long as it doesn't involve
dragging bowling balls through broken glass at the Bowling Hall of
Fame in order to sniff the butts of the dogs at the Dog
Museum.
Also, there are two kinds of human beings in this world:
1) Those who can appreciate the wonders of St. Louis style pizza,
especially Imo's.
2) Those who are mere clumps of cells.
Guy Montag|3.30.07 @ 9:04AM|#
So if Cardinals fans grow up to be liberal and Cubs fans
grow up to be conservative, who does one root for in order to
become a libertarian? I don't think it's possible to grow up being
both a Cardinals _and_ a Cubs fan (at least, I certainly hope it's
not).
Actually, he has an entertaining story about growing up in
Illinois, half way between Chicago and St. Louis, and listening to
both teams on the radio.
He became a Cubs fan because he could not stand the announcer for
the Cardinals.
Not sure if Jack Brickhouse (my favorite announcer ever) was yet
the announcer for the Cubs, but the announcer for the Cardinals was
Harry Caray.
|3.30.07 @ 1:09PM|#
So if Cardinals fans grow up to be liberal and Cubs fans
grow up to be conservative, who does one root for in order to
become a libertarian?
If personal experience tells me anything, the White Sox.
|3.30.07 @ 1:43PM|#
"So if Cardinals fans grow up to be liberal and Cubs fans grow
up to be conservative, who does one root for in order to become a
libertarian? I don't think it's possible to grow up being both a
Cardinals _and_ a Cubs fan (at least, I certainly hope it's
not)."
I'm going to crawl out on a limb and say kids who physically go out
into the sunlight and hit an actual ball with an actual bat in a
vacant lot are most likely to grow up to be libertarians.
Particularly if their presence in the aforementioned vacant (but
not unowned) lot results in a spirited discourse on the topic of
property rights and natural law.
guest|3.30.07 @ 6:45PM|#
I'm not surprised that some low class Chicago cop beat the shit
out of a lady, or that Chicago cops are basically a gang with
badges. The whole town lacks class. There, I said
it.
Lamar, don't be afraid to say it. I'll see you and raise you.
Chicago is a sh*thole. I've been to Chicago several times for both
business and pleasure, and every single time I've been harassed by
either the cops or the residents. Not once have I had a
trouble-free visit to Chicago. Although not necessarily a world
traveler, I've been to both coasts and many places in between, and
Chicago is - by far - the worst. I can think of no redeeming
qualities.
Guy Montag|3.30.07 @ 9:58PM|#
So, where are the British exploited and mistreated prisoner stories? Right behind the Webb/Thompson gun stories?
Cop Talk|3.31.07 @ 12:31AM|#
I'll include the obligatory "only a small percentage of cops
are bad" disclaimer here.
And don't you forget it.
Bryant|3.31.07 @ 12:32AM|#
Stop right where you are! You know the score, pal. You're not cop, you're little people!
highnumber|4.2.07 @ 12:07AM|#
guest,
What, are you some kind of an asshole or something?
Chicagoans are famously friendly. Seriously.
Are you some crazy hippy-dippy sort out to "blow our minds,
maaaan"? Cuz that's the only sort of person I see get the cold
shoulder in Chicago - people who think they need to educate and
enlighten us.
|4.2.07 @ 4:18PM|#
So if Cardinals fans grow up to be liberal and Cubs fans
grow up to be conservative, who does one root for in order to
become a libertarian? I don't think it's possible to grow up being
both a Cardinals _and_ a Cubs fan (at least, I certainly hope it's
not).
The Kansas City Royals. Many years ago, they were a factor, and now
things are bleak for them every year.
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