Diary of a Newspaper Hawk

As the warm days continue, and as Memorial Day passes, politics aside, we should not only remember the dead, but the living who are protecting us abroad. At the Hawk home last night, I cooked up some quail , and ate on the porch with my guests. The News Cindy Sheehan was used by the left. How naive was she to enter this without expecting this? So she quits the antiwar effort because she discovered that Democrats breed as much ill will as the Republicans. No one took Sheehan seriously. Not the Democrats. Not the Republicans. Maybe Chavez, but he doesn't count. Her fight was noise only, insignificant, irrelevant, good only to sell newspapers, but not to change perspectives. Whether the USA in Iraq is good or bad could never be influenced by tirading crusader. There are solid arguments, and difficult questions, but when all Sheehan could be was a cartoon, no one listened.

Rain pours down my apartment window, covering the glass to give an underseas look at a deary afternoon in Chicago. It was cold this morning - 45. Up to 72 briefly, then dropping to 63. Tomorrow, things will be the same. Monday is off. Tuesday to Friday will be my selling week. Four day weeks are never great. People skip the paper. Drove down to Czimer's Wild Game today, picked up some quail, camel jerky, rabbit and buffalo brats. Low fat, free range, and tasty. The News Four new casinos in Chicago a possibility . Rod Blagojevich has sold out. No news there, but hypocritical so after he argued against Mayor Daley's efforts to bring in a casino in Chicago in 2004. Setting up for 2007, I guess. Smooth operator, that Blagojevich. Talk is abound about dropping gas taxes. Why? Easy politics, not real solutions. And so what about price gouging. Let the market work.

"There's a kind of a hush..." over Chicago. Cooler temps are cooling voices, but the runners and the rest have come out to play. Great workout weather. That's a fine thing, but it does make dodging the human traffic challenging. Also out are the tiny dog walkers, promenading how modern they are with pint-sized puppies on cute leashes. The recent fad of Loop apartment renters, particularly among lonely singles, has created a sidewalk full of canine carnivores. Mixed feeling here, as I am one to disdain the owning of an animal to meet the fashion plate needs of youth. However, if the emotional health benefits of pet ownership are true, maybe then the world will be a happier place. Or at least my corner under the L. The News Chicago Bulls are out. Detroit Pistons beat them soundly. Kasparov checked as EU and Russia clash at summit Mr. Kasparov has developed into a true leader, using his brilliant mind for more than a mere chess board. Oddly, it was not until Mr. Putin...

I have taken a brief vacation to the hills of Tennessee. Smoky Mountains to be exact. Cade's Cove (saw turkeys), and other vistas. No newspaper hawks that I saw in Knoxville. In fact, no kiosks, and not many machines. By that evidence, either everyone subscribes or isn't reading the paper. Has an entire town decided to read the news online? The News By now, newspaper readers know Jerry Falwell died . Critics maintain he manipulated gullible voters, supporters maintain he led conservatives effectively in a direction they already believed. I say he spoke his mind, found a great swelling of those who agreed with him. He was the conversative's John Lennon or Bob Dylan (who is not as liberal as I think people suspect). He was glue for them, but not only him. He helped many Christians see that voting for candidates they believe in is important and necessary, and better than not voting and then complaining about who was elected. Some criticize him for putting religion into politic...

The warmer weather has meant BBQs at the Hawk residence. Often. I'm a grill man. I've grilled it all. Fish (which I do not like) corn, steaks, pork, burgers, to start, but also, Cornish hens, quail, veggies of all kinds, even chocolate cake. Warm weather also means the onslaught of West Nile mosquitoes. So far, so good, but I must say, I am concerned. The News Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate - Abandon hope all ye who enter here. Speaking of deadly blood-suckers -- The raunchy billboard was taken down. That's the one with the mid-sections of a hot woman and hot guy, with the slogan "Life's short. Get a divorce." As it seems, the divorce lawyers are scraping the bottom of their morals for this one, looking to appeal to the lowest core of society. What do you expect from a divorce lawyer? We aren't talking Dr. Dobson and Focus on the Family fans here. We're talking about people who make their bread by cutting up marriages, then taking a porti...

What do you do when you see friends make bad decisions? Two kinds of bad decisions: those who hurt someone (including themselves), and ones that are just strategically poor. What I am thinking about is a guy who hates his situation only so much as wallowing it in seems to be better than doing something to change it. Some bad decisions are very complicated, like the abused wife staying with her loser husband. Not this one. Just a guy who hesitates when he should move. Lonely in love, dissatisfied with work, unhappy with friends. Only way to change everything is to start by changing something. International Paralympics Committee The Official Site of the US Paralympic Team Just wanted to plug these two sites. This is not the Special Olympics Public Website . I'll let them each explain their distinctions more effectively than I can. I'm impressed. The News Recent news is ugly. Blogs are posting about the faux pas Barack Obama initiated regarding a supporter's MySpace page. I wo...

Cool today. Respite from yesterday's heat. I found a dollar on my way to my corner. All folded, like it fell out of a purse. What could I do? No owner in sight. So, I bought coffee. I was intending to anyway. The News ...is good. Lawmakers approve state smoking ban . That's the Daily Herald talking. I suffer through smokers walking by, dropping butts, blowing smoke. That will not change. This is about indoor smoking. For Rep. JoAnn Osmond of Antioch, she sold out to the almighty dollar. All those smokers in Antioch (a majority of voters, it seems), want to puff in public. While she will not deny the public health side of the story, she says, "I'm trying to keep business in Illinois. This is a deterrent." Yup. Osmond is a sell-out. Not so different as to why whores are legal in Nevada. Public health gets checked at the wallet's door. I already skip restaurants that still allow smoking. For now, they are free to do what they please, but not with my dinero . Wh...

Papers have seen a brisk increase. Why? Not there's anything I can do about it. They sell. They don't sell. A good or bad economy - makes no difference to me. People out of work buy papers to find jobs. People with money buy them to see what they can spend it all on. Either way, fifty cents. The rain days are bad. Might be the warmer weather. People walk slower, look at headlines. That must be it. There's no looking at headlines when the papers are covered in plastic, and the people are covered in umbrellas. Any paper purchased with be drenched by the time they get to work anyway. The salary girls flashed legs and skirts this week, and today was no different. Sad reality. Daddy's little girl, always looking for a sugar daddy. Tramps with degrees. Nothing to say about this. I looked into this CareFest thing . It was not just adults, and it sounds like it brought out the kids and the soccer moms: CareFest and Moving * yay half day! * April arrives . Some churches too: S...