Bruce Rauner like all Plutocrats is a Vandal. Illlinois Public Pension insolvency is his and other Capitalists fault

Bruce Rauner is running for Governor of Illinois. He'll have to win the Republican Primary for a chance to square off against Governor Quinn in the general election. Rauner's sole remaining competition for the Republican Primary is Kirk Dillard after Rauner's Squad eliminated Dan Rutherford's chances with allegations of Sexual Harassment and a homosexual relationship with an intern.

Billionaire Bruce Rauner is an implacable foe of Working people in Illinois. Besides vowing to reduce Illinois' Minimum Wage to make Illinois workers more appealing to Corporate Wage Slavers, once he wins, a Governor Bruce Rauner will do to the State and citizens of Illinois what he and other Capitalists have done to Illinois Public Pensions, they will cart off all the assets in a legislative orgy of Vandalism.

Because that is what Bruce Rauner is; A Vandal, in the most ancient sense of the term. Rauner's entire fortune has been made from identifying previously existing wealth charging in and looting it.

Bruce Rauner worked for 30 years at "Wealth Management" Firm GTCR, the R for Rauner was added during his tenure. Rauner's firm "managed" Public Pensions for nearly two decades. Now, after Rauner and other Vandal Capitalists have had access to Pensions, surprise Illinois is facing a massive Pension Crisis.

By Rauner's own estimate 2/3rds of GTCR funds were supplied by Public Pensions. Here in Illinois

GTCR has "managed" money for the Illinois Teachers' Retirement System (TRS) and the Illinois State Board of Investment, the state's largest and third-largest, respectively. Additionally, GTCR had access to state and municipal pension plans from the San Francisco City and County Employees' Retirement System to the Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board. 

For this "work" GTCR, takes a 20% or more slice plus consultation and management fees. Rauner got paid no matter what the funds he "managed" did.

So, it's not surprising that Illinois and other Public Pensions began to go into insolvency once Vandal Capitalists got their hands on the funds. In fiscal year 2009, TRS lost $4.4 Billion (22% of its' value) in 2008 TRS lost 5% of it's value because of the Management of their Portfolios by Rauner-types.

The Wall Street-Hedge Fund-Wealth Management Implosion of 2007 and on-going Republican Recession was the end result of unchaining Capitalism and opening up the gates to the Vandal Capitalists like Rauner. The Vandals took the secure Public backed funds from dozens of states, hundreds of municipalities and Unions and stole them.

Bruce Rauner's not alone in the Vandal Capitalist method. It's the method de rigueur of the 1%.

"The problem is that the world and this country should not talk about envy of the 1 percent. It should talk about emulating the 1 percent. The 1 percent work harder. The 1 percent are much bigger factors in all forms of our society." Sam Zell, in defense of Tom Perkins who compared the Working Class to Nazis.

The 1% do work hard. It takes a lot of gall for the Vandals to raid, loot and plunder and call themselves Job Creators.

Chris Hayes summed up Zell's "business" model,

Let me tell you something about Sam Zell. He bought The Tribune Company in 2008 for $8.2 billion, an extremely highly leveraged deal. It was widely regarded. I reported on it at the time as an unsustainable debt structure that would implode in on itself.  

Well, guess what? Less than a year, the company went bankrupt, listing $7.6 billion in assets and $13 billion in debt. More than 4,200 people lost their jobs. But despite the company`s troubles, executives received tens of millions of dollars in bonuses. 

Sam Zell is like the action movie hero who throws the lighter behind him not bothering to look back at the explosion. That`s Sam Zell.

Zell bought the Tribune Company and loaded them up with debt ($13 billion) as he drained the companies assets then had them claim bankruptcy and sold off the Chicago Cubs to the semi-odious Billionaire Rickets Family.

Loading debt onto companies in highly leveraged deals is a classic technique Zell and Mitt Romney have profited from immensely. This is the Hard Work that Zell, Rauner, Romney, Steven Cohen, Paul E. Singer, Stephen Schwarzman, Clifford S. Asness, the Koch Brothers, and Tom Perkins demand to be lauded for, deferred to and praised.

The Vandals have already sacked the Public Pensions. With the help of Republican Governors, like Koch Brothers controlled Scott Walker in Wisconsin, several states have fallen to the rapacious hunger of the Vandal Capitalists.

If Bruce Rauner makes his way into Springfield as the Governor of Illinois, another gate will be thrown open to his Looting brethren and Illinois will be Sacked, just as the Vandals have done to other States.

No Welfare for Wrigley! Ricketts chickens come home to Roost.

"As chairman of the Chicago Cubs, I repudiate any return to racially divisive issues in this year’s presidential campaign or in any setting — like my father has," Tom Ricketts does damage control, distances himself from his Right-Wing Dad and begs Mayor Rahm for $300 Million in Tax Payer money.

The chickens behind Joe Ricketts' despicable $10,000,000 bigoted smear campaign are coming home to roost! After the discovery of his plan to smear Barack Obama as the scary Black Man with Reverend Wright and the specter of Black Liberation Theology, the Ricketts demand of Hundreds of Millions of Welfare Assistance to rebuild Wrigley Field is now on indefinite hold.

Mayor Rahm Emmanuel will not return any calls from the Ricketts.

Wrigley Field is an abomination. It's falling apart and needs such an extensive  overhaul the estimate are in the Hundreds of Millions. But, while the stadium benefits from the infrastructure built around it and maintained by Tax payers, the Ricketts are adamant that Wrigley be subsidized by Welfare.

The Ricketts family is "worth" Billions, but like all Plutocratic Elites, they feel the role of Government is to force the burden of supporting their businesses' infrastructure upon the backs of the Poor and Middle Class.

Not one cent of Welfare for the Ricketts Family. It's shameful the blasé expectation that the infrastructure be built and maintained by the Public while the Ricketts squeeze every dollar of revenue from their venture for their Private bank accounts. But, that is what the 1% have successfully turned America into; a Giant pool of resources.

Joe Ricketts can go hang out with Hank 'Socialism is never the answer' Steinbrenner [See my Post: The 1% Hate Uncertainty] and Curt Schilling.

After years of blasting the size of government and extolling the virtue of personal responsibility, Curt including during both the 2004 and 2008 Presidential Campaigns, Curt Schilling ran into problems. The Small Government Champion Schilling moved his video game company, 38 Studios to Rhode Island in 2010, after then Republican Governor Donald Carcieri, guaranteed $75 million in loans from the state. “This is a risk worth taking," said Governor Carcieri in making Rhode Island tax payers responsible for Schilling's company. Well, Curt defaulted on a $1.1 million dollar May 1 loan payment and simply went back to the Rhode Island government to request more Welfare.

It's shameful the Billions of dollars of Welfare Corporations and conservatives have swindled from various local, state and the federal government. But, it's not surprising. Billionaires and Corporations believe the Government exists to protect commerce and over the years that belief has morphed into the idea that Government exists to take on the debt and risk of Business while at the same time it eliminates all assistance to the poor, sick, old and now struggling Middle Class.

But, that is Modern American Capitalism, Privatize the Profits and Subsidize the Losses.

Joe Ricketts hates President Obama's spending, but loves Socialism when it's used to help his family's baseball team

While the rich, ever a self-conscious minority in a republican state, were constantly driven by the fear of danger, even when no danger existed in fact, to take aggressive and oppressive measures to head off the slightest threat to their property. - Douglas Adair, The Extended Republic, The Intellectual Origins of Jeffersonian Democracy

The Defeat of Barack Hussein Obama: The Ricketts Plan to End his Spending for Good is the Title of Joe Ricketts 54 page, $10,000,000 dollar proposal designed to prove that President Obama is not the "metrosexual, black Abe Lincoln" America thought and laments that Americans "still aren't ready to hate this President."

According to the second page of the proposal, Joe Ricketts said it himself, "If this Nation had seen that ad they never would have elected Barack Obama."

The ads in question will try to paint Barack Obama as an angry black militant who learned his anti-Americanism from his father and then from Reverend Jeremiah Wright Jr. Joe Ricketts belief is the McCain Campaign's decision not run the blatantly racist ads ultimately lead to McCain/Palin's defeat.

Since his election the Right-Wing Domestic Terrorists who wish to turn this country into a giant camp of Wage Slaves have had one goal for 2012; attack President Obama so often, on so many fronts, for so many perceived slights, with so many baseless accusations, and so savagely that it would cause amongst the American People a sort of Weariness. A Fatigue of let's just get back to some Republican stooge whom the Media fawns over and conservatives forgive every transgression so that we may be left alone. But, Right-Wingers are never going to leave you alone. The want total Hegemonic Domination of the Government so that they may institute their Totalitarian Control over the lives and minds of the American People.

Joe Ricketts is the Patriarch of the family who owns the Chicago Cubs. And this is the key to this man's thinking. As a billionaire Plutocrat Joe Ricketts feels it is entirely acceptable to have the Tax Payers of Illinois and the resident's of Chicago provide his family hundreds of millions of dollars to rebuild and spruce up Wrigley Field. After all he's the elite. He's the Job Creator. He's the good guy. [See My Post: Illinois Taxpayer Welfare for the Billionaire Ricketts Family to rebuild Wrigley Field?

It's abhorrent that Plutocrats, like Joe Ricketts, have successfully created a Country in which they Privatize their Profits and Subsidize their Losses, but now they want their companies borne aloft on the backs of the Tax Payer. Oil Companies have long been able to shift the burden of running their business onto the backs of the Middle Class and Poor and it seems the Plutocrats of this Nation realize that their campaign to demonize Barack Obama could result in the election of Mitt Romney who has guaranteed to slash programs for the Poor, raise taxes on the Middle Class and transfer Trillions of dollars to the Rich.

As I wrote in my previous post,

Private business, the Free Market, "Job Creators", and a Government not involved in "picking winners and losers" is a the biggest myth peddled by the evil Republican Party and their Right-Wing lackeys. What the Republicans want and what they get their Conservative Media Goons to report ad nauseam is a Government controlled by the 1% and aligned to cater to the Plutocracy's interest.

That is what is driving Joe Rickett's "Ending the Spending" PAC. Ricketts is of the 1% who firmly believes that spending tax dollars on teachers pensions or healthcare coverage for sick and elderly people is ignorant evil socialism. Spending hundreds of millions of Tax Payer dollars on a baseball ballpark is Righteous Goodness.

The Founding Fathers greatly feared the Income Inequality situation we have today. Most were afraid the multitudinous poor would rise up and slaughter the rich few but, it wasn't unforeseen to them that the rich might exert Oligarchical Control over the Nation, as well.

"In all the governments which were considered as beacons to the republican patriots and lawgivers, the rights of persons were subjected to those of property. The poor were sacrificed to the rich," - James Madison, Father of the Constitution, 4th President of the United States.

This packet was produced on May 10, 2012, but didn't come to everyone's attention until a week later.

As soon as the details emerged, Joe Ricketts backed away from the plan with this statement,

Not only was this plan merely a proposal - one of several submitted to the Ending Spending Action Fund by third-party vendors - but it reflects an approach to politics that Mr. Ricketts rejects and it was never a plan to be accepted but only a suggestion for a direction to take. Mr. Ricketts intends to work hard to help elect a President this fall who shares his commitment to economic responsibility, but his efforts are and will continue to be focused entirely on questions of fiscal policy, not attacks that seek to divide us socially or culturally.

So, Ricketts doesn't even have the courage of his convictions. Like all Koch-roaches, Ricketts wants to do his dirty work in secret, under the coverage of his anonymous PAC. Slandering and demonizing the President, from the cover of darkness, like a coward.

Well, guess what? Joe had just better hope enough frat boys continue to patronize his park and drink the piss warm overpriced Miller Lite he peddles. The Chicago Cubs just lost a supporter. I've been a Chicago Cubs fans since 1982. Ryne Sandberg was my favorite player as child. I'll never go to Wrigley Field again.

Illinois Taxpayer Welfare for the Billionaire Ricketts Family to rebuild Wrigley Field?

“Socialism, communism, whatever you want to call it, is never the answer.“ - Hank Steinbrenner. Unless, that is you are a Billionaire baseball Team Owner, then the taxpayers, middle class, and working class people need to give you money to finance the building of your stadium, as when Steinbrenner received $1,200,000,000 Billion dollars in Taxpayer money to finance the building of the new Yankee Stadium.

It's funny how when a "private" business wants huge wads of taxpayer "relief" to finance some project, the discussion becomes a Grandiose debate on Utilitarian Principles and the greatest good for the greatest number. The ancillary benefits to businesses, the community, the neighborhood. The indirect sales and tax gains and so forth. But...

When discussing the closing 7 Chicagoland mental health facilities [OccupyChicago Reports: Mental Health Movement / Southside Together Organizing for Power (STOP) - Mental Health Clinic Facing Closure Occupied by Patients and Advocates. Members Bbarricaded inside Woodlawn Clinic until Rahm Emanuel backs off clinic closures.] or the salaries of Chicago Public School teachers, the discussion is how much to slash, slash, slash, slash! That cutting and reducing government spending is the only option and those directly affected and the subsequent thousands indirectly affected are given short shrift, if they are considered at all.

It's almost as if the 1% has set up a Government to cater to their whims and wants and has designed the Body politic to funnel and transfer wealth upwards to them in a Reverse-Robin Scheme.

Capital belongs to the Capitalists, Poverty belongs to the Poor.

The Ricketts Family had a net worth of $2,700,000,000 in 2007. That placed them in the Forbes 400 Richest Americans. But, who should pay for the rebuilding of Wrigley Field; why the poor hardworking blue-collar Chicago Cub fan, who can maybe scrape together enough money to take himself and his family to the game a couple times a year.

After stating last week the Wrigley Field Renovations and Facelift discussion were "in the final stages" Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel clarified,

"Always remember that I'm here to represent taxpayers, but I'm not here to subsidize private investors with public dollars."

Okay Rahm. Then prove it.

Prove you aren't doing the work of the obscenely wealthy and providing them with Chicagoans tax dollars when the Ricketts easily purchased the second most profitable Baseball Franchise behind the Yankees. Prove to us Rahm that you aren't a tool of the Oppressors. A willing accomplice of the 1%. A lackey of Hedge Fund Vulture Kenneth C. Griffin CEO of Citadel LLC. A man who has created nothing but has made Billions off of Legerdemain and paper shuffling. And all the other Rich Elitist Bastards who view the Government of Chicago and Illinois as nothing more than their hired hands transferring Hundreds of Millions of dollars up from the Poor to the Rich.

But, at least I can finally say thank you to Governor Quinn and 44th Ward Alderman Tom Tunney. From Greg Hinz comes this column,

"I'm not excited about that at all," Governor Quinn said on the "Don Wade & Roma Show" on WLS-AM/890. "Our state has severe fiscal challenges, so the very idea of the state of Illinois spending millions and millions of dollars on Wrigley Field, I don't think that's in the cards at all." Quinn continued, The Ricketts family "bought the team, and they should make the lion's share of the investment to fix up the park."

And Tunney put the brakes on Rahm Emmanuel's "final stages", when he said, "I think the deal is not in the final stages," he said. "This is a deal that involves a lot of complexities." Tunney also added, "With the city still facing future budget deficits in the hundreds of millions of dollars, the economic benefits to the city as a whole will have to be clear."

Private business, the Free Market, "Job Creators", and a Government not involved in "picking winners and losers" is a the biggest myth peddled by the evil Republican Party and their Right-Wing lackeys. What the Republicans want and what they get their Conservative Media Goons to report ad nauseam is a Government controlled by the 1% and aligned to cater to the Plutocracy's interest.

And that is what's strangling and destroying America. State, Local and Federal Governments being co-opted and taken over by the Wealthy.

Derek Bell and President Obama and... Kerry Wood

This Derek Bell/President Barack Obama connection gets worse every day. Over at Lawyers, Guns and Money I learned more about Derek Bell, with whom I only had a passing familiarity. But, there was one incident which still brings Derek Bell's name to our minds here in Chicago. This is further Video the Obama Liberal Machine did not want you to see:


This from 1998. Derek Bell striking out on purpose so Kerry Wood, A CHICAGO CUB-STYLE GANGSTER OBAMA CRONY could etch his name into the MLB record books.

This Barack Obama what a blight. It's bad enough he's brought his Kenyan, Anti-Colonial, Marxist, Socialism to the White House but to sully and influence the National Pastime? Why was this not vetted in 2008? This game is still talked about in Chicago today! Obviously, the Obama Chicago Media is keeping these revelations under wraps!

Updated:
The fine conservatives at Moonbattery are really angry about Derrick Bell. But, as you can tell from this comment:

Forget Radical, he is a treasonous Communist- There isn’t even a word yet for what he is.

Nonetheless, the darkies, Libs, Media, academics, illiterati, crony capitalists, welfare cheats, Illegal Democrats, Radicals, Communists, anarchists, “environmentalists,” black nationalists, La Raza, Upper Eastside Jews, Hollywood and anyone else that would spit on the Constitution and regards anyone who works for their possessions with utter disdain and outright hatred – LOVE HIM.

This has nothing to do with Racism! Unless you're talking about Barack's reverse racism!

Related:
Obama corrupts America's Pastime (The Perfect Game) [Disaffected and it Feels So Good]

The Obligatory Cubs Failure

The damn Chicago Cubs failed again and will not win the World Series. Most likely, the damn Cubs will never win the Series...

I spend to much damn time listening to Sports Talk Radio. I spend to much time watching baseball on TV. I need to become a grumpy White Sox fan or icky Cardinals fan or {shudder} Soul Sealing Hell Spawned Yankees fan. Or I need to more powerfully divest myself of Sports "Fever".

After two straight winning season in 2007 and 2008 the Cubs as a team choked both time in the Playoffs. While Lou Piniella is a good manager over the long hard slog of a 162 game baseball season and he's done a nice job of utilizing and maximizing his bench players potential; The short 5 game first round playoff series is too dicey and often one bad game or a couple hot players can take it over and crush the hopes and dreams of little Cubbie fans worldwide. Now, it's not totally Piniella's fault as the idea of playing 162 games and then having your Championship chances ruined by a "mere" 3 losses is bad planning by the MLB.

But, it's all based on the drive for more games and more revenue and if the Baseball Cartel could figure out a way to add more games and keep Fenway, Wrigley and Yankee Home Run Stadium open year round they would but Chicago winters, especially lately, aren't too conducive for that prospect. That's enough of Money Ball and wistful lamentations for Baseball purity.

The 2009 Cubs failed as an organization. Several players did very well, Derek Lee especially. But several decisions and baseball incidents caused the team to collapse.

The first and worst move was the acquisition of known malcontent Milton Bradley. Bradley appears to be a not nice person who finds ways to blame everyone but himself for his extensive history of problems. The Cubs ostensibly claimed they acquired Bradley to be a left-handed run producing hitter. Bradley does not drive in a large amount of runs and was not what the Cubs needed. So Bradley was what his history advertised and not what the Cubs declared... To make room for Bradley's forced signing the Cubs traded Mark DeRosa.

DeRosa has always been considered a role-player but if his last 4 seasons are taken alone his numbers show him to be an everyday player, who will produce a .285 average, 15-20 home runs, score and drive in 80+ runs. DeRosa was widely acknowledged as a good influence, clubhouse leader and showed a willingness to play a variety of positions for the Cubs during his two seasons with the team. Each of those attributes turned out to be exactly what the Cubs needed and missed in 2009.

The Cubs made the risky decision to enter the season with no backup for talented but slightly injury prone 3rd Baseman Aramis Ramirez and it turned out to probably be the worst cost-benefit analysis of the season. Ramirez got hurt and missed significant time during the season (DeRosa could have filled in at 3rd) but with DeRosa gone and when Ramirez went on the Disbaled List, the Cubs moved Mike Fontenot from 2nd Base to 3rd. Fontenot was to be given the shot to be the everyday 2nd baseman and he might have been okay this year if he also did not have to worry about playing everyday at the hot corner. The added pressure along with being a regular everyday player hampered his ability to adjust at the plate and kept Fontenot in an extended hitting slump.

Incredibly talented Carlos Zambrano again exploded into full blown Big Z meltdown mode in his underwhelming season. Zambrano is such a gifted baseball player he's got Nuke Laloosh's pitching power with the hitting ability of Crash Davis, unfortunately as Costner alluded to in Bull Durham Zambrano's apparently also got Laloosh's "5 cent head".

The off season abandonments of Felix Pie, Casey McGehee, and Jason Marquis contributed to the sad bad 2009 season.

And Non-Cub Alfonso Soriano continued his slow decline into baseball agedness. The Cubs have 6 years and $100 Million USC left of his .250 hitting Designated Hitter fielding ability left.

Fortunately for Cubs Fans the season's withering won't be seared into their psyche like 1969 or 1984 or 2003 or 2008...

The Loss

“Bill Mazeroski, I hate him,” says Calogero. “He made Mickey Mantle cry. The papers said the Mick cried.”

“Mickey Mantle,” says Sonny. “That’s what you’re upset about? Mantle makes $100,000 a year. How much does your father make? . . . If your dad needs money, go ask Mickey Mantle. See what happens. Mickey Mantle don’t care about you. Why care about him”

“From that day on, I never felt the same about the Yankees.” Calogero ~ from A Bronx Tale

Spurred on by a conversation I had en route to a Kane County Cougars game a discussion came about concerning sports fandom. I informed the interested parties I (am/was) a Cubs fan. However, as the years have passed my emotional investment into Chicago sports teams has all but vanished. I never had A Bronx Tale epiphany it's merely been the acquired loss of interest over the slow years of reaching adulthood and the desire to not board the emotional roller coaster of sports teams fortunes and failures.

A large amount of this has to do with being a lamentable Cubs fan. For me the most crushing defeats were 1989 and 2003. 1984 was my initiation into Cubs woedom but I was still to young to be cognizant of the pitiful Cubs history and wary of the despairing Cubs future. By High School and the 1989 Cubbies I had full on Cubs Fever and was stoked to watch the World Series with Ryno, The Hawk, Mad Dog (1), The Shawn-o-meter, Gracie, Red Beard, ROY Walton and the rest! Sadly, the Cubs encountered the Will Clark playoff ban saw and then the 90's would be wasteland of steroid abusing cheaters, bad teams and mostly forgetable players.

My un-journey became complete in 2003 as I left the US for Afghanistan with the Cubs leading the Marlins 3-2 and arrived at my assignment having learned the Cubs lost after being 5 outs away.

Last year when the 2008 Cubs were winning 97 games I didn't even make it out to beautiful Wrigley Field. And predictably the 2008 Cubs lost 3 straight and Cubs fans said oh well wait until next year, just like they said in 2007, when they choked in the playoffs as well. However, Post-Playoff failure there was a fan backlash as Cubs fans decided to auction off their loyalty and 670 The Score received a number of calls in which the callers declared they were done watching the Cubs. Most of the Score hosts decried these statements as hyperbole and chastised the callers telling them they would be back watching the Cubs in 2009.

So now the 2009 Cubs are a miserable team having made several questionable player moves to deflect criticism over the 2 playoff collapses. Yet I have the cold comfort of having divested myself of the emotional trauma of worrying about millionaires I shall never be friends with, let alone even speak to...

Drunken Cubs "Fans"

So Come On And Have A Good Time
And Get Blinded Out Of Your Mind ~ AC/DC, Have a Drink On Me

Roughly 5 hours after the end of a Cubs game this last weekend, our Dispatch received a call from the Metra police asking for assistance in taking 12-15 Cubs fans off the train as it stopped in my town.

And guess why?

Becuase they had just spent the last 4 hours boozing it up in Wrigleyville and now were causing problems for the conductors by such admirable actions as urinating in the train, throwing beer cans at one another, jumping around the cars and generally being sloppy drunks.

When I arrived all I could hear over Coms was yelling. When I got onto the train the group was loud, disorderly, obniouxs, profane, vulgar, combative and whinny.

Their yelling was punctuated with variations of the following:

But, we’re going to fancy upscale Chicago Suburb How are weeeeee suppossed to get there? This is bullshit... What the fuck man... Screw you... I gah-tah piss... Dude, hey dude dude dude hey dude dude let me talk to you for a moment...

As I helped one young lady who refused to get off the train leave, she turned on me and shouted you can’t push me I know my rights.

I stopped (still holding her arm ever so gently) and said, "You do? Well, tell me your rights? What are your rights?"

She paused and with head titled, mouth slightly agape she looked at me wordlessly.

I continued, "Your behavior is prohibited by Metra, they want you off the train, You're getting off."

After the train had departed and the drunks had mostly been packaged off to their suburban wonderlands I asked a buddy of mine "Do you know who you would never see act like that? Brothers."

Because if they got blasted were throwing beer cans at each, swearing, jumping around the train and then decided to mean mug and confront a group of cops they know they would catch a beat down.

When was the last time you saw an African-American man run onto Wrigley Field? (Mute the Commentary.)

EOS

My alarm awoke me at Zero Dark and I realized the Corpse no longer has a hold on me. 8 long years over. Now if I can just figure out how to get my on-the-job training monies...

In better news we have a 2008 World Series Preview today as the Cubs and White Sox play.

Soriano is NOT a Chicago Cub

he is a Yankee. And like all things New York Yankee, they are anathema to good baseball and a curse on the Major Leagues.

Alfonso Soriano was a bad signing. All the talk in Chicago was the Cubs brass wanted to make a big free agent acquisition and Soriano was the big name. Soriano parlayed a 40 home run 40 stolen base with the Washington Nationals into a 136 million contract over 8 years.

Soriano has several deficiencies (as a baseball player). He's selfish. He's a terrible leadoff hitter. He won't play unless he bats leadoff. He can not field. He can not run. He doesn't draw walks and he strikes out too much. His inability to run to and make attempts at catching fly balls in left field have led directly to the recent 3 losses to the Brewers and Cardinals.

Also it's great for the team when the highest paid player won't do something as simple as change his position in the batting order to aid the team. And what's worse is he isn't hitting. I might be able to stifle my discontent with his demands if Soriano was hitting, but he's not, he's batting a paltry .177. Ronny Cedeno and AAA player Mike Fontenot are out hitting him. He's not a superstar. And he's going to be doing this to Cub Fans until 2016.

For Cub Fans we are going to look back at the blown victory against the Brewers on 1 May as the turning point of the season. The day the season was lost.

But, you know the best thing about Baseball? Especially when it's delivered via The Glass Teat? The Federal Mafia knows the Bread and Circuses routine still works to distract the people they rule from things like $4.00+ per gallon gas and the dead and wounded in Iraq...