We rarely lie to the American people! Milo, the great

Posts

Oct. 24, 2025

Back To The Book Barn

One day a few weeks ago, I stumbled upon two collections of stories by Alice Munro–Runaway and Dear Life. Found them in a book barn just up the street. Thought–man, what a find! Munro’s one of the great writers of the last 50 years…

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Oct. 22, 2025

Ocean Waves

There are so many reasons I love One Battle After Another--Paul Thomas Anderson's latest movie--it's hard to mention them all. So I'll keep it to one--the sensei. That would be Sergio St. Carlos, the character played by Benicio del Toro, who's call…

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Oct. 13, 2025

The Great Tony Fitzpatrick

By the time I met Tony Fitzpatrick, he was already a Chicago legend. This was the fall of 2006. By chance, our children attended the same high school. And I saw him at a parent-teacher conference night, sitting in the last row to meet with Ms. Gall…

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Oct. 12, 2025

The Afterlife of Malcolm X

It’s been so many years since Malcolm X was murdered that his afterlife is as important as the life he led. That’s sorta the theme of Mark Whitaker’s book, The Afterlife of Malcolm X. A book I devoured in two or three nights, just…

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Oct. 1, 2025

Theology The Vance Way

Among the things I learned from last Sunday’s New York Times is that JD Vance trolled Pope Leo XIV with impunity, when they met back in May. I learned about this from a letter to the editor written by Allen J. Wiener, alerting me to an essay …

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Sept. 23, 2025

Vote Blue For Thee, Not For Me

For almost 40 years, I’ve been urging my lefty friends to please, please, please vote Democratic in the general election. Any general election. But especially presidential ones. I've told them things like… Think of the courts! Or..…

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Sept. 16, 2025

Retreating Into Reverie

When I settled down to read this week’s New York Time's book review, I had no intention of buying or ordering any new books.  You hear that? No intention! Already have enough unread books I’m intending to read. They fill the tabl…

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Sept. 12, 2025

The Jackal's Mistress

You had to see it to believe it. Roughly three in the morning, and I’m wide awake on the living couch, flat on my back, passionately steaming through the final pages of The Jackal’s Mistress, Chris Bohjalian’s latest novel. Tears …

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Sept. 10, 2025

Defender Of The Faith?

In an attempt to defend the indefensible, Bret Stephens felt compelled to address the antisemitism of right wingers. More or less. But before I get ahead of myself… Bret Stephens is a conservative columnist for the New York Times, who fight…

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Sept. 1, 2025

The Snakehead

Ten years into Trump’s war of hate against immigrants, I got around to reading The Snakehead, Patrick Radden Keefe’s fascinating exploration of the underground operation to smuggle people into America. Great read. Well researched. Vivid…

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Aug. 27, 2025

Boss Donny Does Like Daley

Having spent years following the power plays of Mayor Daley, I've learned a thing or two about all-mighty Big City Bosses who make the corporate elite bow to their commands--if they know what’s good for them. But, sorry, Mayor Daley. When it …

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Aug. 25, 2025

Maxwell Sees Nothing

Well, I think we all saw this story coming long before it broke in a Friday-afternoon news dump to be immediately pushed aside by an avalanche of other Trump atrocities--including his declaration to send troops to Chicago. God help us all. The thin…

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Aug. 21, 2025

Michigan Highway 37

First the good news, America! There I was, driving south on M-37 through the heart of Michigan, which is sorta the heart of America, heading home from my yearly family vacation in that lovely state. And there wasn't a Trump sign in sight. So that&…

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Aug. 6, 2025

The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne

Not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but... One look at The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne, told me to make an exception to that rule. You can see the picture for yourself. Something about that black crow staring at that snubbed-out ciga…

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Aug. 1, 2025

Colored Television

There’s a devilish twist near the end of Colored Television–Danzy Senna’s latest novel– that is especially delightful because I didn’t see it coming. Until Senna made it happen. At which point, I exclaimed–yes, o…

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July 29, 2025

Perversion Of Justice

Generally, I’m not an avid reader of nonfiction, but I’ve made an exception for Julie K. Brown’s book, Perversion of Justice: The Jeffrey Epstein Story. I’ve now read it twice. Once in 2021, when it was published. And again …

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July 28, 2025

Known As A Scam

Making my way through an article about Chicago's broke-ass public schools, when I confronted a sentence guaranteed to trigger me. As if a city perpetually skimping on public education wasn’t triggering enough. It came in an article jointly w…

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July 23, 2025

Let `em Eat Grocery Stores

I figured it was only a matter of time before some mainstream journalist invoked the specter of Communism to scare the shit out of New Yorkers into voting against the Z man. Sure enough, right on cue, Kathleen Parker, columnist for the Washington P…

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July 16, 2025

So Far Gone

If you haven’t read a novel by Jess Walter–what you waiting for? Hurry up–start reading! What a great writer. So much fun to read—with the rare ability to make you laugh on one page and cry on the next. Plus, he employs thi…

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July 16, 2025

King Donnie & Epstein--BFFs

It's early to give out this year's acting awards, but I think the best performance in a melodrama goes to Alex Jones, the conspiracy huckster, who managed to squeeze out a crocodile tear over the latest twist in the sordid saga of Jeffrey Epstein. …

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June 27, 2025

Mamdani Versus The Fear Mongers

In the immediate aftermath of the Z-man’s victory, I was basking in a good-vibe glow, feeling optimistic about the future. A fairly rare, almost unrecognizable feeling these day. For all the obvious reasons. Then my dear friend Mick Dumke--a…

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June 18, 2025

Saved By Luther Allison

Several months have passed, but I can still hear the excitement in Cap’s voice as he broke the big news. Sarah Hanahan is coming to the Jazz Showcase–playing with Joe Farnsworth’s band. Are you in? Am I in? Is the Pope from Dolto…

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June 16, 2025

Even MAGA Knows Terry Told The Truth

If MAGA's minions were honest, they’d admit that their war against California is obviously motivated by hate. I mean, duh! They loudly hate pretty much everybody on the other side of Trump's invasion of Los Angeles.  They hate the lefti…

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May 29, 2025

Stamp Out Hate

If I were to teach a high-school class in literature, I’d use page 42 of a recent Sun-Times as a textbook example of irony. On that page, gently resting side by side, are articles whose themes contradict each other. How ironic. I’m won…

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