What's Happening in Chicago

Week in Chicago

"We Will Rebuild"

Once again, our charismatic leader woos us with hope and faith that our country will emerge out of the dismal hole we crawled into for the past few years.

Economic issues. Healthcare reforms. Education. The war. He covered pertinent topics to Congress and the United States people in his first presidential address to Congress last night.

And he did so with conversational yet emphatic tone and approximately 36 standing ovations (not including those for television viewers.) I myself was captivated by his convincing speech and the overall theme of governmental accountability.

But is this a dream? It all sounded too good to be true. He acknowledged the following (in more graceful terms, of course):

• we've been putting off these social and political problems years ago until they're now biting us in the ass.
  
• This rebuilding will not be overnight, and it will be hard for a lot to swallow.
  
• It's time for honest and accountable government.
  
• The budget proposal does not solve every problem-- it's what he inherited.

"It's not about helping banks, it's about helping people," Obama strongly chanted several times.

All the points he raised last night seemed to be exactly what I was thinking about the problems of government and what we're facing now.

• That thing's can't just fix themselves--Obama "refuses to believe" that.
  
• Companies should not be outsourcing their jobs to other countries, when we have such crushing unemployment rates. The President doesn't believe in this profit maximization tactic either--he calls to end tax cuts for companies that do so.
• "School's don't need more resources--they need more reform."
• The days of CEOs' lavish spending "are over." Take that Northern Trust.
• The accountability theme not only prevailed in politics but in parenting as well; for Obama is not only a government official but a father.

For the millions that follow him, he is seen as geniune. I find myself believing that most of the time. Then reality sets in: he's a politician. And a President at that.

I cringe at this thought. Obama's budget goals fit the country's needs for increasing the quality and decreasing the cost of energy, healthcare, and education.

His stimulus plan seems to address our current troubles on the surface:

• increasing jobs
  
• cutting taxes for 95 percent of American households
  
• launching housing initiative to help those with declining house values
  
• holding accountable banking lending

But is it realistic? Will it work? Is it possible? In his address last night, President Obama appeared to recognize the issues we face and had confidence in his proposed solutions. Only time will tell now.

Photo Credit: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press

If I were an animal, I'd be a Panda!

Well, not really. That would mean I'm in seriously in danger of being the only one of my kind.

But I would be popular, and we all know how cool that is.

As these furry black and white creatures memorize and captivate our attention, one may wonder how they became so popular anyway.

• Their cat/raccoon-esq ears. Pandas were believed to be in the raccoon/cat family, anyway.
  
• The smokey-eye effect that no Hollywood make-up artist can pull off. Does that make the Panda sexy?
• Their bamboo diet, which has yet to be the new diet fads in America, following the Atkins, South Beach, and (God forbid,) the cabbage soup diet?
• Maybe it's the obvious--their black and white coat. Multi-colored ensambles are in this season.
  

Most likely, all of the above contribute to the consensus that panda bears are one of the most unique bears around. Uniqueness, evidently, leads to popularity.

And like most unique things, they're rare. For decades we've recognized the possible extinction Panda bears face in their Chinese and Tibetan habitats. Roughly 1,600 remain today, and their problems breeding don't make the situation any better.

While the biologists and zoologists figure out how to save them, producers and consumers map out how to market them.

Several Pandas are at the San Francisco and Atlanta Zoos for American's to oogle at behind bars. The Giant Panda Breeding Research Base in Chengdu, China is a tourist attraction aimed at promoting Panda awareness and popularity for anyone willing to make the journey there.

Panda bears: overrated phenomenon? Despite how cute they are, let's make saving these (and many other) endangered species. Their popularity sometimes helps in this endevor, but it's not something to take lightly.

As the old cliche goes: being popular isn't everything.

Photo Credit: Ng Han Guan/Associated Press

Oh Illinois, you've done it again!

This state never fails to have political controversy. Talk about Blagojevich as the ringleader of the circus? He is just one of the acts.

Senator Roland Burris is again pressured to resign after he admitted to attempting to raise funds for the former governor before he was appointed to the senate. He's ignoring these calls for resignation, which now include the Chicago Tribune and Washington Post.

"There was never any inappropriate conversation between me and anyone else and I will answer any and all questions to get the point across to keep my faith with the citizens of Illinois," he said Tuesday.

Does anyone actually have faith in him? Does anyone have faith in Illinois anymore? Can Burris be trusted now, when he was lauded and barred from the Senate before he even began? Perhaps he's telling the whole truth this time. But the damage is already done.

And that's the key--the whole truth. The Tribune editorial recounts his "versions" of the story and calls his actions "disgraceful." He started telling everybody he had no contact at all with the governor and his staff about fundraising for Blagojevich. But now, he's informing the public he never actually raised funds--he chatted with a few close people, and maybe Blago himself--but he never did anything wrong. He never raised money. Why? Because he failed to get any.

Does he think we're dumb? Do all politicians caught with wrongdoing thing we're all dummies, therefore their lies can ooze out of their teeth and be blindly accepted? Of course he didn't do anything wrong, that's why he's welcoming, "any and all" investigations that will be pinned on him.

Go ahead, try to catch him.

Haven't we heard that one before?

Photo Credit: Lauren Victoria Burke/Associated Press