Joe Schmitt has something to say

After dismissing the controversy about holding a rally on the same date and in the same place as Martin Luther King, Jr., Glenn Beck announced his next rally will be on December 25th in Bethlehem, saying “We need to take back the Christian faith from the Jews and the Muslims. I want everyone to join me on a holy crusade to take back the shrines of our faith from those heathen countries.”

I originally posted this before the April tweetup, and am reposting for those coming to town this month. Enjoy our great city.

Whether for a tweetup or work or vacation, here are some things you should know about this great city that you won’t find in the guide books:

• No ketchup on your hot dog, or they’ll know you’re a tourist and I can’t be responsible for what might happen.
• There’s people begging for money downtown. They’re called alderman, and this is the best they can do to make extra money since the government cleaned up all corruption in the city. You heard me.
• If you want to meet the one guy in Chicago who thinks Blagojevich is innocent, his name is Rod Blagojevich, and he lives at 4506 N Richmond St, Chicago, IL 60625. Drop in, I’m sure he’d love to talk about it.
• Not everyone in Chicago is a Cubs fan. Plenty of people like the White Sox, namely me.
• I am not Mayor of Chicago. Some guy named Richie Daley is. Common mistake.
• You do need a visa to travel to Chicago, which takes 4-6 weeks to get. I can help expedite it for you for only $45. Make checks payable to CASH.
• It’s not a hat. It’s never been a hat.

As for places to eat, I’d recommend these downtown:

• Billy Goat Tavern - it’s actually underneath Michigan Avenue, and is world famous. Whether John Belushi had this in mind when he created the “cheezburger, cheezburger, cheezburger, no fries, cheeps” sketch is debatable. That they have become that sketch is beyond question. Also it’s probably the cheapest alcohol downtown. Only go to the Michigan Ave location as the others actually serve fries (impostors!).
• Wishbone - cajun and southern. Also good for breakfast. My wife almost always orders the crunchy french toast at brunch.
• Boston Blackie’s - best burgers in the city, fast service, a top downtown lunch place…if you can look past the owner getting caught fleeing the country in a check kiting scheme.
• Roddity’s or the Parthenon are both great for Greek food. Just west of downtown.
• Salerno’s is great Italian food, and just west of downtown. They are southern Italian and heap your plate with an amount of food I haven’t been able to finish in one sitting since my twenties. We took @JeeNeeBee and her husband there when they were in town and we had a great time. Unless there’s a party, they can usually accommodate a big party.

or out in the neighborhoods:

• Near the end of the Brown Line is a great Swedish place called Tre Kronor. They are BYOB, so maybe not ideal for dinner, but their brunches are awesome and a little different than what you may find elsewhere. Their crab cake eggs benedict is my favorite.

Prices at all are reasonable. Hope you have a good time.

The argument for Prop 8: The majority should be able to legislate their bigotry.
The argument against Prop 8: Rights are guaranteed in the Constitution. Everyone gets the same rights, not just the majority.

Though really, wouldn’t it be nice, for once, for the majority to be on the right side and let this happen, rather than being forced to by the courts. The courts shouldn’t have to decide this.