Chicago Daily Observer

(A comment on the analysis of the Iowa caucus and prediction of the forthcoming national election by Thomas F. Roeser, chairman of the editorial board of The Chicago Daily Observer).

Tom, when you predict a near-inevitable Barack Obama loss in the general election, I hear the sound of a Republican whistling past the graveyard. True, Senator Obama is probably the most progressive (you say, “liberal”) of the three major Democratic candidates for president and enjoys the support of most of the so-called McGovern wing of the party. But you ignore the power of his upbeat and inclusive message that has resonance far beyond the Democratic party’s progressive base.

Both Obama himself, and the symbolism of his candidacy, make people feel good about themselves and our country. Throughout our nation’s history, Americans have gravitated to leaders who exude an aura of optimism and idealism and who call out to the better ... Read More...

Through nothing else but the force of habit, I still check the movie directory listings. Regularly, I come away disappointed. This is because I’m in the demographic slot Hollywood doesn’t’ care for. What is it?

. I am an adult.

Consequently this former avid filmgoer, who once went to from four to six movies per month, hardly goes any longer. .

I cannot relate to the juvenile and violent pap that has become t Hollywood productions. Increasingly, I find myself watching dvds and most of the titles that I prefer predate 1970.
That’s an anomaly. Consider: when the studios in Tinsel Town were producing films on a factory assembly line basis and churning out four hundred or more releases per year, the results were far better than today’s multimillion dollar productions.

James Cameron practically ran the table at the 1998 Academy awards with his film “Titanic.” As a movie ... Read More...

The shooting of a 41-year-old Chicago mother on the South Side evoked a creative idea: Treat gang members as domestic terrorists.

Said Chicago Tribune reader “Welcome to Chicago”:

Laws should be adjusted to limit the rights of gang members. Gang members are domestic terrorists and should be handled using a higher level of force as well as vigilant strategic planning….Of course we care about everyone’s civil rights and rights as a citizen in this country. [But] as soon as an individual or group has proved that after several documentations by police that he is a gang member, then his or her rights should be similar to a terrorist.

Interesting. If we treated gang members as terrorists, perhaps we should send them, without trial, to detention (preferably on a boiling hot Caribbean island) as “enemy combatants.” Question them without a lawyer present. A little water boarding might even straighten a few ... Read More...