Results tagged “johnkerry”

33rd Ward Alderman Dick Mell had a bad experience at the Democratic Convention in Denver, but it wasn’t the restaurant’s fault. During a visit to the famous cigar bar at the Brown Palace Hotel, Mell and his entourage spotted Massachusetts Senator and 2004 also-ran John Kerry. Mell and 39th Ward Alderman Margaret Laurino, who were hanging out with delegate Linda Murphy, a professor at Wright College, spotted Kerry. "Margie says to (Murphy), 'Would you like a picture taken with John Kerry? We can do that.' She's all excited and she says, ‘Sure, I'd like to have that.' " Mell said. Laurino and Murphey approached Kerry, and then quickly left. About 15 minutes later, hotel security asked them to leave, escorting them from the hotel and down the block.

It is 2004 and we are deep in the heart of the presidential campaign. On this particular evening candidates George W. Bush and John Kerry stand behind podiums, ready to face off in a debate being moderated by the NewsHour's Jim Lehrer. Lehrer is in the midst of his opening statement, about to ask the first question of the evening to Senator Kerry, when Bush makes his move. He stealthly approaches Lehrer, weilding a deadly weapon: a pillow. Will his assassination attempt prove successful? Will Lehrer or Kerry even notice? And where does Albert Camus fit in?

Happy Valentine's Day, Barack!

Last night marked the official beginning of the 2008 presidential season. The close of the Iowa Democratic caucuses saw Barack Obama with 37 percent, John Edwards with 30 percent, and Hillary Clinton in third place with 29 percent of the votes, with 99 percent of Iowa precincts reporting. On the Republican side Mike Huckabee was the big winner.

While most of the city was partying down at Lollapalooza this weekend, a different type of party was going on just a few blocks south of Grant Park: YearlyKos, the annual convention hosted by DailyKos, the netroots weblog started by Markos Moulitsas Zúniga, and filled with content, news and views by a motley crew of bloggers from around the nation (including Dick Durbin!). Saturday was a big day for the bloggers by the lake, with...

In the marathon that this presidential political season is becoming, presidential hopeful and former North Carolina Senator John Edwards made a pair of brief campaign stops in Chicago Wednesday, just one day before Barack Obama made a campaign stop in North Carolina. At BB's bar and restaurant on Hubbard, part of his "Small Change for Big Change" series of fundraisers, Edwards told the crowd, who had paid between $15 and $100 a head to hear...

We don't know about where you are, but it seems like spring can't decide whether or not to happen. Some days are warm, some days are cold, and sometimes you aren't sure which. Baseball may have started up (and soccer/football winding down) but it still seems cold out there. Unless it's not. Anyways, onto the -ists.
Austinist happily anticipated fall's Austin City Limits, even though they're not fully recovered from South By Southwest. In other music news, a Texas country legend got in hot water after shooting a stranger in the face and a young singer songwriter prepared to embark on another zany tour. Some downtown pranksters pulled off a funny April Fools joke, but Austinist wasn't laughing when '04 Democratic hopeful John Kerry flip-flopped on his Texas appearance.
As Bostonist handed out tips on how not to be "that guy" they watched as the city looked for a few good men as the murder count kept climbing and they mayor tried to put on a happy face. But crime won't get them down, it's Spring and the Boys of Summer are in full force and coming home to Fenway next week. In the meantime they'll be happy not to see any bloody socks and very happy that the butt-load of money spent in the off season seems to have gotten a 10k return.
DCist was feeling confrontational this week. First they told San Diego, and their supposedly superior panda sperm, to get bent. Next they jumped into the fray of the American University students vs. Karl Rove showdown, and then got testy about Inside Edition's Rat Patrol's visit to D.C.. Finally they wrapped up by challenging Metro to make their Knight Rider-style bus upgrades the real deal. Chicagoist saw their top cop resign after police officers were caught on tape in beer brawls on multiple occasions. They also appeared as guest on Chicago Access Network Television's "Talkin' Funny" and got excited about Theatre Seven of Chicago's new show "Is Chicago."
Houstonist was all about conflict this week: a man vs. his prized cockatoo, a woman vs. a really sucky carjacker, the suburbs vs. enormous presidential busts, classic architecture vs. the wrecking ball and a neighborhood vs. a herd of cows.
Phillyist had Phestival Phever, err, Festival Fever, what with both music and movie festivals hitting the city. When they weren’t out using their press passes to have fun, Phillyist staffers were trying not to get stuck in public restrooms, photographing big, tall buildings, getting upset about repackaging, watching their beloved hometeam, and gettin' excited for some unibrow action.
LAist crashed the red carpet premiere of Year of the Dog before heading to the 2007 US Sumo Open and watching the female matches. An Angels baseball player refused to take part in a Jackie Robinson tribute, so they visited the best drive-in movie theatre around - one that happens to be in a suburb called City of Industry (eek!). They tried e-mailing City Council, but the e-mails bounced, so they rocked out on Broadway with Mars Volta.
Gothamist got into the swing of April with the opening of Coney Island, where the famous Astroland amusements may be open for the last time. The Big Apple blog chatted with the guys behind Human Giant, the new MTV show, contemplated NYU's minority magazine with its Yellow Fever cover, and visited the Auto Show where really young girls shilled and activists protested against gas guzzlers. And a warning to folks visiting Chinatown just to buy fakes: You may be locked in a basement for hours during police raids.
Londonist Londonist feared for its health after learning that their city is a more unhealthy place to live than the environs of Chernobyl. But we still love this city, where a simple photoshopped image of St Paul's can land us with a TV slot Meanwhile, a white London councillor who blacked up to look like Nelson Mandela got support from the former South African president.
SFist was stuck in the middle of a lot of things. Like the great battle between cars and bicyclists after a driver either ran over a biker or was assaulted by a wild pack of bikers. Then they got themselves in the middle of the debate over the release from prison of video blogger Josh Wolf. Luckily, to lighten things up, their Mayor did something stupid again.
Torontoist got stylish as they checked out some "street furniture," suggested healthy Easter alternatives, and pondered whether they really are a "capital of style." Elsewhere, somebody posted fake street signs and somebody else responded to them.
Photo by Gothamist's Tien Mao Written by SFist's Jon Shurkin

As the world holds its breath, teetering precariously on the cusp of the Super Bowl (well, at least in America), the wheels of the -ists keep on turning. Austinist was in a musical frame of mind as they listened to the new Shins album, updated the SXSW band listings and got called "punk rock" for their efforts by MTV. And an ice storm swept through the area. Bostonist said goodbye to John Kerry's plans...

Is Dick Durbin untouchable this season? It's starting to look that way. The intrepid senator from downstate is preparing to run for his third term in the Senate in '08, and the Illinois GOP is having a hard time fielding anyone to take him on. Even that perennial standard-bearer for the wacky-right in the Land of Lincoln, Jim Oberweis, is dodging this bullet, eyeing instead Denny Hastert's seat. Besides being the new Senate whip, and...

While many of the lectures and panels for this year's Chicago Humanities Festival are already sold out, there still seem to be plenty of tickets left for the film series. The theme is “Peace and War,” a subject which is (unfortunately) as timely as ever, and Facets program director Charles Coleman has put together a superb lineup. All of the chosen films guarantee plenty of food for thought, some to an uncomfortable degree. We'd like to call attention to just a few.

Though John Kerry poo-pooed it, many a spirit was uplifted in Illinois when the news came that Illinois led the nation in job creation for the month of April. Sure, there were some that scratched their heads and wondered where the jobs were (aside from the newest fast food restaurant to set up shop next door—potato, potahto). But still, it was nice to hear that the state’s economy isn’t as bad as all the others.

We asked you for your voting stories, and you delivered. Here's one we found pretty moving, from Michael:

The president's handling of the past year in Iraq -- his dismissal of those who warned him about the difficulty of reorganizing the country, his neglect of deep problems that are costing American lives there -- made us doubt his ability to bring our involvement there to a successful conclusion. And we became concerned by the secrecy of his subordinates such as Dick Cheney and John Ashcroft, coupled with an unnecessary disregard for some of our most cherished civil liberties.

What to do if you're a Chicago teenager and want to get involved in the election? Go to Wisoconsin, is what. Because Illinois is expected to vote for Kerry, teens involved in a group called Mikva Challenge headed to the Wisconsin, one of the nearest battleground states, to get a taste of politics they can't get around here.

Chicagoist received a mass e-mail message this past week with the subject line "Mandatory Draft" followed by a number of, depending on your position, exciting or menacing exclamation points. The e-mail mentions companion bills H.R. 163 and S 82. The titles of both these bills contain the text "...to provide for the common defense by requiring that all young persons in the United States, including women, perform a period of military service or a period of civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, and for other purposes."

So John Kerry was on The Daily Show last night, trying to woo youngsters and seem 'hip.' It almost worked, too. He had his moments, specifically when he and Jon Stewart folded their arms and looked right at each other from only a few inches away, which was actually adorable in an unexpected and possibly wrong and gross way. Kerry was sporting one of those oh my god, cancer awareness is so trendy Lance Armstrong...

Chicago Tribune editor, William Rood, who served with John Kerry in Vietnam has come forward to denounce the attacks on Kerry's war record. Rood, who commanded a swift boat during the 1969 mission that resulted in Kerry's Silver Star, says that Kerry's critics are telling lies about his actions in the war.

With Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Barack Obama running unchallenged, and President George Bush essentially conceeding Illinois to Democratic challenger John Kerry, the top of the ballot this November isn't drawing a whole lot of attention. This has opened up a whole lot of possibility for races further down the ballot, like the 8th Congressional District race up in northwestern Cook, and Lake and McHenry Counties. The seat, held by Republican Rep. Phil Crane for thirty-three...

Cementing his place as the hot "up-and-comer" of the Democratic party, Illinois senate candidate Barak Obama will give the keynote address at the Democratic Convention on July 27.

Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards is coming to Chicago tomorrow in his first solo campaign appearance. John Kerry and Edwards have campaigned together since the announcement that Kerry chose Edwards as his running mate, but campaign officials say they will split up and start campaign separately. Wednesday's fund-raiser at the Chicago Hilton and Towers will be part of a weekend-long fund raising bonanza and is sure not to be Edwards only visit to IL,...

Finally. John Kerry named John Edwards as his running mate this morning, shocking no one but disappointing the other 24 people on his not-that-short list. By selecting Edwards, Kerry went with the smooth-talking Southern populist over more seasoned politicians in hopes of injecting vigor and small-town appeal to the Democratic presidential ticket. Kerry, a decorated Vietnam veteran, calculated that he didn't need to add foreign policy heft to the ticket. Called aloof by his critics,...

Illinois for Kerry is hosting an evening of music and politics tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. at the Civic Opera House. Proceeds benefit John Kerry for President and the least you can get in for is $100. Although Kerry was in Chicago this week, Chicagoist is unable to determine whether he is attending this event. But Kerry's sister, Diana, will be there and so will Bill Clinton. Other guests scheduled to appear are: � Harold...