Golf is one of the few normal activities that can still be done as Illinois continues to social distance. Take a look at some people out on the course enjoying it below.
Watch Pat O’Brien, Republican Nominee for Cook County State’s Attorney, accuse SA Kim Foxx of being MIA during the June riots and lootings that destroyed thousands of jobs, mostly minority on the south & west sides of Chicago, as well as many jobs in the Loop and Cook County suburbs.
The show airs tonight in Chicago at 8:3o pm and Midnight, Cable Ch. 21 (CAN TV).
You can also watch 24/7 the show featuring Judge Pat O’Brien, Cook County State’s Attorney candidate and cameos of State’s Attorney Kim Foxx by clicking here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCulefvSLv4&t=3s
Judge O’Brien attributes the dramatic surge in shootings and homicides in Chicago during the first half of 2020, and especially during the last two months, to Kim Foxx’s weak leadership of the 800 lawyers in her office to prosecute violent crime.
*******************
CC State’s Attorney candidate Pat O’Brien dissects:
–Cameos of Foxx discussing her “Social justice warrior” lax law enforcement views and sympathies with looters.
–State’s Attorney Foxx’s weak prosecution of homicides and shootings in Chicago and the suburbs.
–The lessons & subtleties of George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks murder cases (But, at the time of the taping, charges had not been filed against several of the accused police officers).
—Foxx’s MIA status- hanging out in the suburbs, never showing up for work at her Loop office from March 18 to May 30.
–Foxx’s decision to close the Domestic Violence courts (vital for protecting women from violent, abusive spouses) with Kim Foxx ultimately ordered by Chief Judge Evans to re-open those courts.
— a Foxx video sympathizing with looters who she laments “Had to climb over glass to steal things in the Loop they couldn’t afford in their own neighborhoods.”
— the lack of a coordinated, effective plan by SA Foxx, Mayor Lightfoot and CPD Supt. Brown to deal with riots and lootings in Chicago and suburbs, resulting in a police stand-down ordered by the Mayor or police chief while thieves looted at will.
**********************
Watch Judge O’Brien discuss with “Public Affairs” show host Jeff Berkowitz the above and conclude with O’Brien’s thoughts about a possible indictment of Kim Foxx resulting from Special Prosecutor Dan Webb’s investigation of Foxx– for dismissing, with little or no rational basis, the criminal case Foxx filed against Jussie Smollett.
You can also watch 24/7 the show featuring Judge Pat O’Brien, Republican nominee for Cook County State’s Attorney, and cameos of State’s Attorney Kim Foxx by clicking here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCulefvSLv4&t=3s
Although the Show with Pat O’Brien, Republican nominee for Cook County State’s Attorney, was taped on June 17, 2020, it is just as relevant today as it was last month. The O’Brien-Foxx State’s Attorney of Cook County vote is on November 3, 2020
The nine members of the Chicago Tribune Guild executive board wrote a letter accusing Kass of committing an “indefensible invocation of the Soros trope.” Somehow (and ridiculously) the Nine’s letter said the Kass column supported “The odious, anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that billionaire George Soros is a puppet master controlling America’s big cities does not deserve a mainstream voice, especially at a time when hate crimes are rising.” (The letter can be read at the end of Feder’s column, here. Feder followed up with another column, “Tribune moving John Kass column ‘to maintain credibility of news coverage'” pointing out how Kass is losing his honored place on the Tribune’s Page 2, formerly occupied by Mike Royko, at the Tribune, Sun-Times and Daily News.)
Please read the “offending” Kass column, ” Something grows in the big cities run by Democrats: An overwhelming sense of lawlessness.” You be the judge. How is it anti-Semitic to point out the fact that Soros is one of the biggest funder of progressive, liberal and Democratic candidates and causes in America? Does the very mention of that fact make one a Jew hater? How in the world is the citation of an undisputed fact “antithetical to [the Nine’s] values”?
The Nine are supposed to be journalists, but they resemble the close-minded, left-wing evangelists at the Washington Post who forced the resignation of James Bennet for the publication of an op-ed that dared disagree with the given anti-Trump truth. (Read the brilliant resignation letter of opinion editor Bari Weiss to savor the similarities of the herd mentality at the Tribune and Post.)
What’s so laughable about the Nine’s letter is this statement: “It undermines the efforts of our newsroom to provide fair and diligent reporting to readers who, we all know, don’t always grasp the distinction between ‘opinion’ and ‘news.’”If anyone has lost the distinction between “opinion” and “news” it is the like-minded progressives in the media who think their job is implementing (their version of) social change instead of hone sting reporting the news.
I, of course, will be accused to taking Kass’ side because I agree with much of what he writes. Indeed, his and my name have appeared in comments from the left about how loathsome we are. But I dare say that I would be just as distressed if a right wing herd at the paper dumped a load of shit on a moderate or liberal columnist. I know first hand how this works; progressive efforts to silence a voice whose main sin is to support candidates and legitimate public policy issues they disagree with.
Except there are no right-wing herds at the Tribune, Washington Post, New York Times and the major network news rooms. For decades now, even back when my colleagues knew me as a liberal, newsrooms were dominated by liberals and Democrats. But decades ago, journalism ethics demanded objectivity, fairness and balance. And never, ever did a pack of newsroom workers ever demand that kind of retaliation against a colleague.
My blog, The Barbershop, is a part of ChicagoNow, an online community of bloggers owned by the Chicago Tribune Media Group. So, I suppose that I can be accused of a similar attack on my cousin writers. But, fair is fair. By the same token, I’m defending a colleague–John Kass–and any other staff member at the Tribune or other newspapers who feel cowed by the righteous left and who are afraid of similar retaliation. Let’s see how it goes from here.
P.S. The Nine’s letter worries that “more than a handful” of readers have cited the Kass column for cancelling their subscriptions. I don’t know where readers stand on that, but you might get an idea by reading the comments under the two Feder columns that are filled with cancellation threats and promises about the treatment of Kass.
To subscribe to the Barbershop, type your email address in the box and click the “create subscription” button. My list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time.
When the twins were babies, there was a tornado outbreak across Illinois, Iowa, and Indiana. For weeks the local news cycled back to it, and I remember vividly a story about the children of demolished towns playing “tornado” with their toys, making sense of a world full of chaos and destruction by turning it into a game.
It reminded me of “Kindred,” by Octavia Butler, in which enslaved children on a Southern plantation played “Slave Auction,” selling each other off to laughter and cheers.
Children play at what terrifies them. It’s something we have to learn to grow out of. We learn not to climb too high, we learn not to enjoy roller coasters, we “grow out” of gore-core horror films. We lean into these things to confront the confusion and terror of living in this unpredictable world, and then as we inure ourselves to those horrors, we are able to move on.
Ten days ago, Mike and I sat down with the kids and told them the news we had spent a day and a half coming to terms with hearing ourselves. Mike was failing treatment. He was going off chemo. We were preparing end-of-life initiatives. It was over.
As it turned out, this was incorrect information. Mike was responding well to chemo. There was no sign of a brain infection. Whatever was causing his sudden-onset 104-degree fevers resolved. We canceled our plans to fill out the pre-death paperwork. Things were looking up.
But those four days that the kids knew Mike was DYING, in an immediate and meaningful way, those hurt. When Mike’s fever spiked and sudden pain in his shunt made it appear that he had an infection in his brain, I told the children to say goodbye to Daddy and tell him they loved him, because I didn’t know what would happen and he might not come home. I said that because it was true, and because if I were ten years old and missed my last chance to say “I love you” to my father, I don’t know that I would ever get over it.
And he was fine. And he came home.
Processing this inundation of events and news and twists and turns has been hard, for us, the adults. But on the surface, the children look pretty good. They’re getting along better than ever. They’re behaving themselves. They’re mostly agreeable.
Not long ago I walked in on them all playing together perfectly, their dolls ranged around them, in various states of redress. I smiled and beamed at the three of them, my perfect angels.
“What are you playing?” I asked, so naive, so oblivious.
They grinned and laughed. “We’re playing 100 ways to die!”
Already one kid spends her mealtimes ruminating on how many children you could drown in a well before it poisoned the village. One kid waits until the end of the day and it’s just her and me for a minute to ask, “If we’re all going to die, what is even the point of living?” And the youngest, she likes to be near me, doing nothing together, and then she’ll simply say, “Remember when you said Daddy might not come home?” before changing the topic of conversation. She doesn’t want to talk about it. She just wants me to know she heard, and she understood, and she was afraid.
I know what it is to be that age and dealing with the horrors of the world through play. I remember it myself, twisted Barbie games full of murder and rape and abduction. I remember the fascination I had with YA horror novels, then with Stephen King. I remember all of it.
I know this is normal for abnormal times. I know the world is full of death, is always full of death. But right now the world is full of so much more, so much closer.
100 ways to die include COVID-19, glioblastoma, strokes and seizures, brain infections, police brutality, nationalist terrorists, tornadoes.
It has not escaped me that, after two brain surgeries during which the children feared for their father’s life, when he came home their aunt died out of the blue. It has not escaped me that not long before their father’s last two brain surgeries, their great-grandmother died. That in February, one of my dearest friends died. That they watched me and their Uncle Phil mourn somebody our own age and then they watched their father disappear into a hospital for a month.
And now they know that when somebody goes to a hospital, they might not come back.
I am trying, every day, to be the mother they need. But they need so much more. They need to find their way to accepting the world as it is. A world full of pain, and loss, and tragedy. And if they reach adolescence with a black sense of humor and a goth streak a mile wide, so be it. I will not lie to them and tell them the world is always fair, or kind, or even good.
But when they ask me, “How many babies do you think you can fit down the well?” I tell them, “Even one baby in the well and everybody will come to help rescue them.” When they say, “What is the point of living?” I say, “I don’t really know, but I will tell you we can always make the world a little better for other people, and that is enough of a point for me.” When they say, “Do you remember when you said Daddy might not come home from the hospital?” I respond, “I do, honey, and I was scared too, and even if you never want to talk about it I’m here and I’m ready, and I love you, and I’m so sorry the world is so unfair. You are good and kind and sweet and you deserve a fair world, a kind world, and I am working every day to give it to you.”
And when the sky turns green and wall clouds block out the sun, when the tornado sirens sound and I scurry the children to the basement, I know they will play Tornado with laughter on their lips despite whatever darkness is in their eyes, and I will be there for them then, too.
Someday, when they need me to join in, I will wear the same smile on my lips and the same darkness in my eyes, and I will sit with them, and play 100 ways to die.
Lea Grover scribbles about sex-positive parenting, marriage after cancer, and vegetarian cooking. When she isn’t revising her upcoming memoir, she can be found singing opera, smeared to the elbow in pastels, or complaining/bragging about her children on twitter (@bcmgsupermommy) and facebook.
Take a look at photos shared on Instagram below of diners enjoying their food out on the town in the Chicago area after restaurants opened outdoor eating to the public.
The Cubs and White Sox have released additional face coverings that their players are wearing during the coronavirus pandemic. Take a look at them and where they are available below.
The Cubs got their short season sprint off to a good start by taking two of three from the division-rival Brewers. Quality pitching efforts from Kyle Hendricks and Tyler Chatwood were the keys to the winning weekend. The offense had been stagnant before Sunday’s nine-run outburst.
It wasn’t all good news for the Cubs, however, as the bullpen continues to be an area of concern. The Brewers jumped on it when Yu Darvish was lifted early in Saturday’s loss. Kris Bryant also had a cold weekend, but I’m not very worried that is a long-term trend.
Chicago now heads out on the road for the first time for a four-game series against the Reds in Cincinnati. The Reds are expected to be in contention in 2020, but stumbled this weekend, dropping two of three to a rebuilding Tigers team. Their lineup is deeper and the rotation should be improved over 2019.
Cincy handled the Cubs in 2019, taking 11 of 18 games against them. New addition Mike Moustakas was placed on the injured list as a precaution for flu like symptoms and will miss the series. This, and the mess in Miami, unfortunately are going to be the norm this season and will undoubtedly impact the results of 2020 if not cancel the season.
Even though there have only been three games played, this series is going to be a big one. A pair of teams that should battle for a division title playing almost half of their head-to-head meetings. Hopefully, the Cubs aren’t left seeing red at the end of this week.
Wade Miley: Although he has not thrown an MLB pitch in 2020, Wade Miley threw 23,830 pitches that were tracked by the PITCHf/x system between 2011 and 2019, including pitches thrown in the MLB Regular Season, the MLB Postseason and Spring Training. In 2019, he relied primarily on his Cutter (88mph) and Change using a Circle Change grip (81mph), also mixing in a Fourseam Fastball (91mph), Curve (76mph) and Sinker (90mph). He also rarely threw a Slider (82mph).
His cutter results in somewhat more groundballs compared to other pitchers’ cutters, has slightly above average velo, has some natural sink and has strong cutting action. His change generates more whiffs/swing compared to other pitchers’ changeups. His fourseam fastball has much less armside movement than typical and has essentially average velo. His curve generates a very high amount of groundballs compared to other pitchers’ curves and has a sharp downward bite. His sinker has surprisingly little armside run and has little sinking action compared to a true sinker. His slider has exceptional depth and generates fewer whiffs/swing compared to other pitchers’ sliders.
Sean’s note: Miley had a solid year for the Astros in 2019 with an ERA and FIP around 4. He always gets a ton of outs on the ground, a career rate of 49%. The lefty has been hard on the Cubs in his career especially when he was on the Brewers in 2018.
Tyler Mahle: Although he has not thrown an MLB pitch in 2020, Tyler Mahle threw 4,642 pitches that were tracked by the PITCHf/x system between 2017 and 2019, including pitches thrown in the MLB Regular Season and Spring Training. In 2019, he relied primarily on his Fourseam Fastball (94mph) and Curve (81mph), also mixing in a Splitter (88mph) and Cutter (90mph). He also rarely threw a Change (87mph).
His fourseam fastball has some natural sinking action, has essentially average velo and has slight armside run. His curve is slightly harder than usual and has primarily 12-6 movement. His splitter generates a very high amount of groundballs compared to other pitchers’ splitters and is much firmer than usual. His cutter is a real worm killer that generates an extreme number of groundballs compared to other pitchers’ cutters and has slightly above average velo. His change (take this with a grain of salt because he’s only thrown 4 of them in 2019) generates an extremely high number of swings & misses compared to other pitchers’ changeups, is much firmer than usual, results in more flyballs compared to other pitchers’ changeups and has some natural sink to it.
Sean’s note: Young Mahle has good stuff, but got burned badly by the homer in 2019 allowing 25 in just 129.1 innings of work. Left handed hitters slugged better against him than right handers did. His best start of the season was against the Cubs at Wrigley Field last September.
Sonny Gray: Sonny Gray has thrown 17,568 pitches that have been tracked by the PITCHf/x system between 2013 and 2020, including pitches thrown in the MLB Regular Season, the MLB Postseason and Spring Training. In 2020, he has relied primarily on his Sinker (93mph), Curve (81mph) and Fourseam Fastball (93mph), also mixing in a Slider (84mph). He also rarely throws a Change (89mph).
His sinker generates a high number of swings & misses compared to other pitchers’ sinkers, is an extreme flyball pitch compared to other pitchers’ sinkers and has slightly above average velo. His curve has sweeping glove-side movement, results in more flyballs compared to other pitchers’ curves, has a sharp downward bite and is slightly harder than usual. His fourseam fastball generates an extremely high number of swings & misses compared to other pitchers’ fourseamers, is an extreme flyball pitch compared to other pitchers’ fourseamers, has much less armside movement than typical and has essentially average velo. His slider generates an extremely high number of swings & misses compared to other pitchers’ sliders, sweeps across the zone, has exceptional depth and is an extreme flyball pitch compared to other pitchers’ sliders. His change is thrown extremely hard, is basically never swung at and missed compared to other pitchers’ changeups, results in more flyballs compared to other pitchers’ changeups, has a lot of backspin and has slight armside fade.
Sean’s note: Gray had a huge year in 2019 with a strikeout rate of 10.29 per 9 innings. The balls opponents do put in play are on the ground a lot, 50.2% percent of the time last season. He went six strong innings in a opening-day win over Detroit.
Luis Castillo: Luis Castillo has thrown 7,345 pitches that have been tracked by the PITCHf/x system between 2017 and 2020, including pitches thrown in the MLB Regular Season and Spring Training. In 2020, he has relied primarily on his Change (89mph), Sinker (98mph) and Fourseam Fastball (97mph), also mixing in a Slider (88mph).
His change is thrown extremely hard, generates an extremely high number of swings & misses compared to other pitchers’ changeups, dives down out of the zone and has slight armside fade. His sinker has heavy sinking action, is thrown at a speed that’s borderline unfair, generates a high number of swings & misses compared to other pitchers’ sinkers, is an extreme flyball pitch compared to other pitchers’ sinkers and has slight armside run. His fourseam fastball generates an extremely high number of swings & misses compared to other pitchers’ fourseamers, has heavy sinking action, is an extreme flyball pitch compared to other pitchers’ fourseamers, is blazing fast and has slight armside run. His slider is thrown extremely hard, generates an extremely high number of swings & misses compared to other pitchers’ sliders, is an extreme flyball pitch compared to other pitchers’ sliders and has primarily 12-6 movement.
Sean’s note: Castillo had a breakout year of his own in 2019 with a strikeout per 9 of 10.67. Like Gray his ground ball rate was astronomical at 55%. He had a terrific start on Saturday striking out 11 Tigers in six one-run innings in a no-decision.
All relationships are uniquely different depending on one’s nature. Understanding love language and your partner’s attachment style is exceptionally significant as it makes a relationship a liability or an asset. When different perspectives meet, they deal with conflicts. Their attitude towards sex and the ability to communicate differ like the geographical poles of the earth. You are independent while your partner is dependent, you are liberal, while your partner is conservative, you are open-minded. In contrast, your partner is narrow-minded, you want to try 250+ different sex positions, whereas your partner isn’t that much interested in bed scenes.
Everyone becomes attracted and attached to the opposite or the same gender, and there’s no escaping it. Effective communication saves relationships, don’t be offensive, rather understand each other’s perspective than personally attacking, fulminating, or blaming each other.
RELATIONSHIP FORMATION
Relationships vary in various forms like anxious, avoidant, and secured. An anxious relationship worries a lot about the significant partner’s attention, spending enough time keeping a check on their partner, the neediness when they are not around, extremely possessive nature, and even taking everything they say personally. An anxious relationship also leads to psycho-behaviors sometimes.
In an avoidant relationship, you struggle with sharing your feelings with your partner because of an increased value towards independence than relationship. Blaming one another when things are not happening right, always looking for moments to irritate each other and putting each other down become a daily part of the relationship.
On the other hand, secure relationships are like a breath of fresh air, ideal, what everyone craves. One needs not to worry too much nor too little; it’s just a perfect balance between caring enough and feeling loved. Secured relationships share comfort and intimacy without stressing about insecurities. Such partners are always ready for something new to maintain the freshness in their relationship, whether its planning vacation or trying 250+ different sex positions.
● ARE OUR EXPECTATIONS FROM A PARTNER AND THE RELATIONSHIPS SOMETIMES UNREALISTIC?
● WHAT KEEPS A RELATIONSHIP LAST LONG?
● WHY DO RELATIONSHIPS ACQUIRE INTENSE MENTAL ENERGY?
● WHAT WENT WRONG THAT LED TO PARTING WAYS?
Such Questions Strike In Each One Of Us’s Mind A Million Times When We Are In A Relationship! But What It Takes To Be In A Relationship Is What We Often Inconsiderate Being In The Relationship And Realize When It’s Too Late….
Let’s Take A Look!
EMOTIONAL NEGLECT
Human beings crave a sense of belonging, either towards their family, friends, or spouse. When we attach to someone, the influence of one on the other regulates each other’s natural states and, even more importantly, each other’s psychological and emotional well-being. If your partner doesn’t meet your expectations, it results in a chronic sense of disquiet and constant tension, leading to chronic consequences for your emotional well-being and even physical health.
TRUST
Foundation of any relationship lies in these five alphabets and are often taken for granted. It takes time to grow faith in a relationship and discover the perks that one looks for. An excellent trust relationship creates more opportunities, more interaction, and less friction.
CARE
The building block of a relationship lies in the trust and the amount of care we give back to others. To like is not always to love and to love isn’t always to still; both are two different things. When we like a flower, we like it, but when we love that flower, we water it daily. Behaviors such as keeping commitments, extending trust, talking straight create transparency.
INTIMACY
The view towards intimacy and togetherness varies for everyone. Some see at sex as a sacred connect, while for others, it’s merely pleasure. Either way, if such companions with differences in chemistry come together, it leads to chaos, sometimes weird expectations from the partner and the relationship aren’t met. Whether its surprising their respective partner in bed or trying 250+ different sex positions, such partners always welcome anything new when it comes to expanding dimensions of love.
CONCLUSION
Problems related to relationships are excruciating, touching upon the innermost core of people’s lives. Each case is unique and personal, and each stems from countless possible root causes. Relationships need utmost care, respect, patience, and love to blossom. Cure this ailment timely before it spreads like a virus.
Putting on a pair of hearing aids is not like putting on a pair of eyeglasses. Most people expect that hearing aids will allow them to hear the way they did in their youth. It doesn’t work that way. Correcting hearing can be complicated and requires the skill of an Audiologist who is artful in their approach. An Audiologist will focus on achieving optimal results with data that is collected during your assessment.
Improving hearing involves retraining the brain. It can take up to a year for the brain to reorganize itself given all of the new sounds and stimulation. The auditory portion of the brain requires repeated activity and time to wake up. It is true that some people adapt quicker than others. Committing to the process and turning on an implant or wearing the hearing aid is the most important part in achieving the best outcome.
As the brain rewires itself to process new sounds, speech may not sound normal. There will be a different quality to certain sounds and voices. Soft sounds such as hearing the airflow through a vent may be annoying at first. Eventually these sounds will end up in the background again. High frequency sounds like birds chirping or the turn signal on the car will be detected. You may find the sound of your own voice to be unnatural, which also takes time to acclimate. Prepare for the fact that it will take time for the brain to adapt.
The road to better hearing varies greatly among individuals. Each of us possess a unique ability to interpret what we hear and how we function when the world gets noisy. Expectations and limitations should be clearly defined.
If you are new to hearing aids, it’s best to put those devices on each morning and wear them until you get ready for bed. One day you will notice that the world gets very quiet when the hearing aids are removed. If you have been putting off seeing an Audiologist, the time is now. Technology is fabulous and we would love to meet you.
Dr. Gostomelsky earned her Bachelors Degree in Speech and Audiology at the University of Illinois, in Champaign IL, her Masters Degree in Audiology at Illinois State University, and her Audiology Doctorate (AuD) from the Arizona School of Health Sciences.
Dr. Gostomelsky is licensed through the State of Illinois, and maintains membership in the Academy of Dispensing Audiologists and Illinois Academy of Audiology. She has over 40 years of experience treating patients.
Dr. Gostomelsky takes pride in helping her patients understand what it takes to be successful in both protecting and improving hearing, one patient at a time.
Leave a comment