Wednesday, August 3, 2011

He's Coming....




The barriers are in place all up and down Lawrence, there are more cops than we've ever seen, the news trucks are lining up, and traffic is already horrendous.  Steer clear if you're in a hurry.  Big day in Uptown.

12 comments:

  1. I hope some of the Lawrence House drug dealers get busted by Secret Service agents tonight.

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  2. Are you kidding? Secret Service will be their best customers since the World's Fair!

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  3. Our new slogan should be...

    "Uptown - Good enough for Obama - so, it can't be that bad, right?"

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  4. I heard on the news you could have a dinner and shake his hand for a little $35000.00 donation. I wonder where the $50 dollar tickets are. On the roof? Well the president has generated some excitement tonight in Uptown and I wish he could generate jobs as fast as he can get donations and spread that wealth around too.

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  5. @Wiseguy: How about you ask the republicans that control the House of Reps that very same question. What are they doing to help generate jobs? I can answer that. Nothing. They have the majority to author bills, get them to the house floor, get them passed without any interference from the Dems and send them to the Senate. Are they doing that? No. If they were, Cantor and Boehner would be screaming bloody murder about the delays of the Senate. What do we hear from them on this issue? Silence. They don't want the economy to improve. At least, not right now.

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  6. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/clout/chi-obama-tries-to-turn-page-with-chicago-campaign-fundraiser-20110803,0,679255.story

    "Obama arrived at a dimly lit and sticky warm concert hall as Herbie Hancock performed."

    Is that really the best description they can come up with? Sigh

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  7. What did the democrats do to create jobs when they had the House, Senate, and Executive? Everyone, especially democrats, needs to stop playing the blame game and come up with some solutions.

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  8. Ahhh, about the only thing the Senate Republicans didn't successfully filibuster was the stimulus plan that cut taxes, saved some jobs and created some jobs. Everyone agrees, not nearly enough. They pretty much blocked anything else from happening as the minority when the dems held all 3.

    ... and wiseguy started it. =P

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  9. Hey, guys, since the president was here yesterday, we didn't mind the conversation going into the national arena, but since we are Uptown Update, I'd like to go back to concentrating on local matters. Thanks for the diversion and the respectful commentary.

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  10. Agreed. I have a question. Has a reporter or anyone asked the Obama campaign folks why they chose the Aragon? I'm happy they did, but to be perfectly honest it's not the nicest venue in the city. I know this subject was brought up on here recently. But has anyone heard or read an explanation on the news or in the paper? Just curious.

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  11. Ray,

    Mayor Emmanuel made a reference to the Uptown entertainment district in his opening remarks. Maybe that has something to do with the selection of venue.

    Given all of the musings/allegations about this being a "plush" event, I think perhaps the Obama handlers missed a valuable opportunity to frame some of his values/commitments/achievements/aspirations within our unique neighborhood context. I'm not trying to be political here. I'd probably say the same thing about a Republican president from a speechmaking perspective. Talking a little bit about where people were might have helped to extend and reinvigorate the themes he often touches upon in his speeches. A bit of a lost opportunity, imo.

    I have a question to anyone who works in the event promotions industry. The Aragon's reputation as a sweltering concert venue precedes it. However, I was surprised that the Aragon owners and/or the event staff allowed the stage area to get as high as 96 degrees for a speech by the President of the United States! The man is now a senior citizen for goodness sakes!! :) Is there any backstory as to why the owners have not spent the money on a proper HVAC rehab? Barring that, aren't there size/capacity calculations that are done for portable air conditioning units? If we can calculate how to send people to the moon we can surely figure out what needs to be done to reduce air temperature by 5-10-20 degrees?

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