Let me start out by saying that apart from what you’re about to read, I love Chicago. It’s a great city with a diverse culture that some how works really well as a whole. The general person to person attitude here is better than most places I’ve ever been, and I’ve been around the world several times.

Chicago is also home to one of the most corrupt bodies of government I have seen in my lifetime. And while most here will admit they are over taxed and governed by corrupt politicians, they seem to be all too happy to remain trusting said government.

Why? I just don’t get it.

Today is a warm Saturday (37 degrees), so I decided I would get up at 6:00 AM and go out for breakfast. I caught a nice quiet Ashland Bus (9) and headed down to the Hollywood Grill on North and Ashland. It’s a 24 hour diner that I’ve become quite fond of. A nice little Chicago nook with a friendly staff and good service.

I grabbed today’s issue of the Chicago Tribune at the bus stop and started flipping through the pages as I sipped coffee and waited for my omelet. The paper, to be honest, is a complete rag for good news. It seems the editors just can’t shake the urge to put something BAD above the fold EVERY day!

In the “Jobs report delivers a big warning” story that is right up at the top of the front page, the author make every attempt to use words such as gloomy, “scary numbers”, surprising, fear, concerns, disappointing, fragility, jittery, dismal, etc. And these words are ALL used just above the fold!

If you’re out of the job, a glance at this morning’s paper will have you scared to death! Nevermind the fact that you’re likely listening to an iPod and checking your cell phone to see if you have any missed messages while you’re reading how bad our country is…

But I digress… let’s get back on track.

More Cop Corruption in Chicago

I often hear liberals complain about the way everyone else in America looks at the Chicago Police department. They claim the CPD is often misjudged and the complaints are exaggerated. Well, it’s kind of hard NOT to wonder what is up with the CPD when there have been stories like this one for as long as I’ve been alive, and even much longer than that.

5th cop in drug ring is sentenced to prison

Flagg, the last of five corrupt South Side cops to be sentenced in the case, was given a 9 1/2 -year prison term by U.S. District Judge Ronald Guzman.

It represented the final chapter for a ring of rogue cops who did their illegal work in the Englewood neighborhood, in some instances putting the drugs they had stolen right back on the street for more cash.

Tax dollars hard at work…

Extreme Taxation

Speaking of taxes, I could probably spend weeks writing about the corrupt property tax system here in Chicago. The way property taxes are assessed here is beyond comprehension. It’s an absolute circus of gouging and property value scams. Not to mention the nightmare known as TIF. (Google it)

But the most recent mind boggling gouge handed down by the government is a tax on bottled water. You read that right, Chicago is now slamming bottled water with an extra tax. You know, the stuff we have an abundance of and already cost more than Gasoline? Yeah… water.

The tax will rocket the average price of a 24 pack of bottled water from $3.99 to $5.19. And as expected, businesses aren’t happy.

In fact, the lawsuits are just getting started.

Chicago Socialism

Finally, Chicago liberals some how simply do not get that we ALL fund everything the government does. I’ve tried having this conversation with several self proclaimed liberals over the last few days, and it just won’t go through their thick skulls. I can’t for the life of me figure out why!

In the opinion section, a reader writes in a paragraph titled “A Basic Right”.

Health care is a human right. In a country that has given us so much, why can’t it deliver on the one thing that should come the most natural? I pray every day that there will be a day in my lifetime when I see my fellow Americans acquire the right that is the most significant in life itself: health care for all.

Well, first of all, my dad always used to say “God won’t do for you what you can do for yourself.” Praying for something that, if you didn’t buy $250 iPod’s and $500 cell phones, you would be able to afford is just nonsense.

Secondly, where is it stated that health care is a right? WHERE? If we can just make up rights out of thin air, then I believe I have a right to free lunch every day. Or free CTA fare even! I say it’s a right, so it must be fact, right?

Absurd.

Thirdly, do socialists believe money and health care grows on trees? We PAY for it through taxes. Here’s an idea… stop gouging me for more taxes, stop wasting money and hiring corrupt, elite city employees that do nothing but sit around with their thumbs up their ass, and let me BUY MY OWN HEALTH CARE PLAN!!!

Besides, haven’t we all drawn the conclusion, especially after watching the disaster known as the government ran GA hospitals unfold, that government can’t do anything right?

For crying out loud…