Flanking a disapointingly and misleadingly titled article Bush to back troop reduction on page two of todays Daily Herald (suburban Chicago) are two stories about heads of state getting their comeupance.  Leaving aside the fact that Bush's so-called 'reduction' in troops is actually a return to pre-surge levels, join me after the jump for the humerously co-located articles ...

I just finished reading .Walking With the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement by John Lewis with Michael D’Orso.  I must admit that until reading The Children by David Halberstam I knew little about John Lewis.  I knew him as a congressman from Atlanta, a slow-talking man I had seen on TV a few times.  To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t terribly impressed by him.  I suspect a certain latent racism or regionalism (he has a pronounced southern accent) in myself contributed to that assessment.  I’m not proud of it, but there it is.

The first photos of South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson have been released.  This is certainly good news, although creepily reminiscent of the recent Fidel Castro photos.

I am very active in my local Audubon Society chapter, Prairie Woods Audubon.  One of our proudest accomplishments is the acquisition and continued maintenance of a 7.5 acre virgin prairie in Palatine, IL known as Palatine Prairie.  Although Prairie Woods assisted in the funds needed to purchase the property, the actual owners are the Palatine Park District and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.

Join me for the story of our recent fight for this little slice of prairie heaven after the jump ...

Chicago.  That toddling town.  City of Big Shoulders etc.  If Chicago is your home town, how about helping out those kossacks for whom YearlyKos 2007 will be their first visit?  I'm thinking there should be a suggested reading list for those interested in learning more about Chicago.

I'll go first.  I'm not originally from this area.  Now I live in the suburbs, so that hardly makes me an expert on Chicago.  I am, however, an avid reader and enthusiastically recommend the two books below.  I hope others with an interest will recommend some others.

I can't help myself.  I'm a guy.  I like books and movies about the military.

I just finished reading We Were Soldiers Once ... And Young by Harold Moore (retired Lt. Gen.) and Joseph Galloway.  I probably wouldn't have read it except that I remembered it had been made into a movie starring that australian guy.  Mel I think his name is.  This was a great book in that it showed war in it's most unfavorable light.  Ugly, bloody, destructive.

Supporters of an amendment to ban gay marriage in Illinois have not conceded defeat, but the referendum they had hoped to have on the ballot this fall is circling the drain.  

According to my local paper this morning, the mayor of my town and several around us in the Chicago suburbs are teaming up to push for restaurant smoking bans in all these communities.  These towns (Palatine, Schaumburg, Rolling Meadows, Hoffman Estates and Arlington Heights) are home to hundreds of thousands of people.

I'm amazed by the number of comments on DailyKos referring to books that the writer has found interesting and informative on political subjects.  I have picked up some good ideas for books I should read.  It got me to thinking that we need some sort of forum on DailyKos devoted to books.

As part of the `seven words you can't say' routine that got him in such trouble, George Carlin said "A guy who used to be in Washington knew that his phone was tapped, used to answer, `F*** Hoover!, yes, go ahead'".  This was written in 1978 when being listened in on by the FBI gave you a certain standing.  Now you ain't nothin' unless the NSA is paying you some attention.