Awaiting anxiously these days for word from the groundhog and the Trumpster. Then again, maybe we shouldn't be!

The Donald or The Groundhog (below), … 

So just what is that gol-danged groundhog going to have to say to us come Saturday about whether springtime is on the way; or if we’re going to have to wait six more weeks for the coming of pleasant weather?

Although a part of me is now wondering even more just what that gosh-darned fool we call a president is going to have to say to us come Tuesday – the date he finally gets to stand before Congress and give the annual State of the Union speech.

… who do you place more faith in?

NOT THAT I expect anything of real significance to come from the lips of The Donald – who at times reminds me of the old Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf wisecrack about New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.

Remember. “How can you tell when Steinbrenner is not telling the truth? His lips move!” It sounds like a pretty accurate assessment of Trump – who actually once had his own ties to the Yankees owner and has about as overbloated an ego as the one-time shipping magnate-turned-baseball boss.

The only difference is that Steinbrenner put together teams that achieved their goal of winning World Series. While Trump, for the good of us all, has consistently failed to achieve his goal of building that ridiculous wall along the U.S./Mexico border.

Steinbrenner and Trump -- two of a kind?

Which is what I really suspect Tuesday’s address in the House of Representatives will be about. He’ll harangue Congress for not meekly giving in to his every political desire.

HE’LL TRASH THE Democratic caucuses of Congress for behaving responsibly and standing up to his nonsense desires.

I couldn’t help but notice that yet another Trump e-mail received Friday asked us all to take a five-question “State of the Union” prep survey. Trump wants us to say that Democrats aren’t being blamed sufficiently for the 35-day-long shutdown of federal government, and that we’re being told lies about the conditions along that U.S./Mexico border that Trump probably wishes he could erect an electrified barricade along its 1,900-plus miles.

Punxsutawney Phil will do his act Saturday; will he be more accurate than Trump?

Above all, we’re supposed to say we approve of Trump and are happy with the economy – so that Trump can use all of this as the factual basis of a speech that claims The Donald is being unfairly maligned.

Which will truly be a level of nonsense that I suspect the masses won’t be swayed by in the least. We’ll believe it about as much as we’ll believe the silly little poem that the people of Punxsutawney, Pa., write up as the “words” of their groundhog – who is supposed to tell us Saturday just how close we are to springtime.

YOU KNOW THE drill. The groundhog supposedly knows the date, comes out of hibernation, then flees back into his hovel if he sees his shadow. Which would mean six more weeks of winter weather.

Whereas if that groundhog stays outside and enjoys some fresh air, then spring is nearby! The worst of winter is over!

What I’ve never understood is this; if Saturday is a nice sunny day (as it’s supposed to be in the Chicago area), doesn’t that increase the chances of the rodent-like creature seeing a shadow?

Should we be desperately hoping for a cloudy, overcast day on Saturday so as to increase the likelihood of shadows being invisible?

OR IS IT more likely that the only people who place any faith in the weather-predicting ability of the groundhog are the same ones who fall into the 37 percent (according to the Gallup Organization) who these days still look favorably upon Donald Trump’s performance as president?

More faith in Bill Murray than either!

I’m actually inclined to think that the groundhog and anything Trump has to say as part of his national address will be equally absurd and filled with nothing but pure horse-hockey.

But then again, the concept of Groundhog Day did give is that somewhat entertaining 1993 film by Bill Murray – the one in which every day is Groundhog Day and he has to keep reliving the experience no matter how insipid.

Just suppose that same concept happened to Tuesday and every day we would have to hear Trump give a ridiculous address for the State of the Union? That would be the worst thing that could happen to all of us!

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Would anybody really miss not hearing a political speech by Donald Trump?

One of the things I used to like about the old television series “The West Wing” was the way the show’s writers could work in trivial tidbits about politics and government for our amusement.

TRUMP: Wants to say how wonderful he is!

I remember one old episode where the Bartlet Administration faced a potential problem – he was expecting to use the upcoming State of the Union address to deliver a message he was eager to get out to the public, but the Congress headed by the opposition party didn’t formally invite him to do so.

WHICH SOUNDS ABSURD that conditions could really devolve to such a situation. Yet Donald Trump is the master of a presidency that seeks to be absurd in every aspect.

Meaning that scenario actor Martin Sheen played for laughs over a decade ago is now the reality of the state of our nation.

In theory, Trump is expected on Tuesday to deliver his annual address before Congress to tell us exactly where things stand within our government.

It is expected his speech would be loaded with ridiculous rhetoric and pompous talk about how every thing that is wrong with our nation is the Democrats’ fault – and how the key to our salvation is to follow The Donald’s lead and just shut up and do what he tells us to do!

BUT BECAUSE WE still have a federal government engaged in a shutdown that will reach a month long (and counting) pretty soon, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did the unthinkable. At least in Trump’s mind.

She revoked his invitation. Unless Trump knocks off his nonsense that has prolonged the shutdown and allows things to get back to operating as they’re supposed to, she’s not going to give him the platform to talk.

Which is something that I guess hurts the Trump ego. I have no doubt that the man is looking forward to being on national television – with his speech pre-empting programming everywhere so he can put on his “show.”

PELOSI: Denying Trump the chance to blather

You know the one I’m talking about. Democratic members of Congress will sit silently, while Republicans will get all worked up in cheers and applause at all the pre-ordained moments meant to make it appear that they’re spontaneously acknowledging the man’s genius.

IT WILL FEED his ego. It will make Trump think he’s truly a significant historic figure – instead of a man who truly makes former President George W. Bush look like a mighty intellect by comparison.

But Pelosi is denying him the opportunity to do so. Which has the Trumpsters all worked up, and the head cheese himself plotting how to stage an event that he’ll bill as an alternative to the State of the Union.

Most likely, something similar to those events he had during the 2016 election cycle – where he spews some trivial blather, finds a person or two to single out for the partisan crowd’s abuse then gets someone to offer after-the-fact reaction claiming that Trump is a political genius of the highest magnitude.

If you get the feeling I’m finding the whole situation worthy of mockery, you’d be correct. The reality is that these political addresses always contain a touch of phoniness regardless of who speaks.

BUT IN THE case of Trump, the level of blather will reach intense levels of b.s. I really don’t think anybody will miss the speech if it turns out that Trump doesn’t present it on Tuesday.

SHEEN (as Bartlet): More presidential than The Donald

If anything, Pelosi will be doing the nation a favor by not allowing an event that would pre-empt programming people would rather watch. We won’t have all those people swearing at their television sets Tuesday night when their favorite show isn’t on because Trump wants to tell us just how great he truly is.

Of course, if my mind is correct, that old “The West Wing” episode resulted in the president ultimately getting his invitation to give his speech. Life went on in that television presidential administration.

We’ll have to wait and see if reality turns out the same – or if the level of national inanity reaches a new high and political commentators are denied their chance to get Trumpsters all worked up with their allegations of presidential ignorance. Because those people may well be the only ones who truly will care about this ultimate non-issue.

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What does Trump know, really, about American people and what we think?

“They were like death. And un-American. Somebody said treasonous. Can we call that treason? Why not? They certainly didn’t seem to love our country very much.”
--President Donald J. Trump, reacting to people who didn’t applaud his State of the Union address last month

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DUCKWORTH: Sees 'Cadet Bone Spurs'

My own thoughts about the Democratic officials who didn’t engage in raucous applause when the president presented his first State of the Union address was that Donald Trump’s reaction was evidence of what a political amateur he truly is.

That, and to wonder, what would he know about loving our country at all.

WE, THE UNITED States of America, have evolved into a bastion that offers the potential of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to all – a concept that Trump appears to hate because his vision focuses on ensuring that certain types of people be made aware they don’t really belong here.

But before anyone thinks I’m going off on a diatribe about Trump being un-American himself, I’m focusing more on Trump the political neophyte.

Anybody who pays attention to the way these formal government addresses are conducted knows how incredibly staged they are.

Down to the side of the aisle in Congress that sits silently against everything the opposition party chief executive, while the other side of the aisle engages in overly-phony applause.

USUALLY THE INTERESTING part of the political reaction is when some legislator or congressman screws up and misses the cue – resulting in the sound of a few seconds of lone applause from the governmental goof, while everybody else snickers at his (or her) gaffe.

 

TRUMP: Sees 'treason' all over

The idea of rude outbursts is truly a conservative ideologue concept that was never going to happen, largely because Democratic leadership in Congress made sure to tell their members to let Trump talk – and let his natural stupidity come forth before the American people.

Trump is now going around saying that those people who didn’t applaud him are not patriotic – using the word “treason” to describe their behavior. Even though treason is a very specific offense – a high crime that doesn’t even come close to applying to this situation.

Although I’m sure Trump’s reaction to that statement is to say that I’m being treasonous – questioning the presidential comprehension of what he says.

PERSONALLY, I FIND some amusement in the reaction of Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., who on Thursday engaged in such questioning.

“Donald Trump might say ‘jump,’ but we don’t have to say ‘how high.’ Because in America we cherish the freedom of speech and expression,” Duckworth said. “They are rights brave men and women have fought and died for.”

Of course, Duckworth engaged in her own bit of politicking – referring to Trump as “Draft Dodger Donald” and “Cadet Bone Spurs;” references to the physical ailments Trump cited when he was of prime military service age, yet managed to get deferments that kept him from having to serve during the Vietnam era.

Her attack, which I saw as an e-mail message, included a fundraising plea. “I might not clap for Trump’s dangerous agenda, but I will fight for our shared values in the U.S. Senate,” she said.

I’M NOT CLAIMING a high-minded stance against Trump because he never did military service – besides, I think the ideological types willing to back him will consider his call for a parade paying tribute to the military will be considered sufficient.

Is this the part of the U.S. Constitution that Donald Trump regards as tissue paper to blow his nose at?

But it really shows a lack of knowledge about government and the way things are supposed to work. Did Trump really believe his State of the Union was going to have a Congress unanimously on its feet in raucous applause, telling him how wonderful a human being he was?

He may well believe the world works in ways just like the Trump Organization – where his staff tells him how wonderful he is and reacts as though he’s a deity whose thoughts cannot be questioned.

But if that’s truly who Donald Trump is and what his ego requires in order for him to function as a human being, then I have to admit to feeling sorry for the American people for being stuck with such an insecure schlep to serve as our national commander-in-chief.

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I didn’t watch State of State (or Union)

I’m sure somebody out there will get outraged and want to call into question my credentials as a political-watching geek. But I didn’t bother to watch any of the government speechifying that took place this week.

Missed Rauner's 'State of State' rhetoric

I avoided the State of the Union address Tuesday night, meaning I didn’t hear Donald Trump’s nasally voice tell us how wonderful our nation would be – if only we’d just shut up and do what he tells us to do.

NOR DID I feel the need to watch the broadcasts of the State of the State address presented during the noon hour Wednesday by Gov. Bruce Rauner, whom I’m sure tried coming up with a way of saying essentially the same thing about Illinois while also droppin' some "g's" to make himself sound like the "common" man.

That, and “Blame Madigan!,” which seems to be the lone message Rauner has to say these days – and which I’m sure he will repeat all the way through to the Nov. 6 general election.

I’m sure some will want to criticize me by claiming I’m ignoring the serious messages these two elected officials have to present to us. They’ll use this to try to criticize anything I might want to say or think, by claiming I’m not following the “facts.”

To which I say “Nonsense!” I read a transcript of the Rauner address before he even gave it, and also enough summaries of what Trump had to say. I probably paid greater attention to the content than anybody who watched television.

THE FACT IS that what I don’t pay attention to are the actual broadcasts. I have no interest in watching this kind of stuff on television. I believe the impression we garner from television is distorted – to the point where I find it phony.

I’m reading enough accounts of the events to garner what was said, and much of the rebuttal – which in all honesty is canned rhetoric written in advance. Talking points that could have been spoken before either Trump or Rauner ever spoke.

Part of this attitude is because I have covered State of the State addresses presented by other Illinois governors, along with presidential events as equally staged as the State of the Union.

Missed the Trump show, and not sorry

Those events can be intriguing to watch, if you can see them presented live. Actually be there in the chambers of the Illinois Statehouse or on Capitol Hill can be a memorable experience.

PARTICULARLY SINCE ONE can see for themselves how all those rounds of applause at key points in the speeches are fake. They might as well erect “applause” signs to let the politicos know when to clap.

Also, the fact that the opposition party will usually go out of their way to sit silent while the chief executive speaks. Which in its own way can be as telling as anything they’d say.

You don’t pick up on any of this on television. You just get to watch a white guy in a suit reading off a teleprompter some pre-written material that politicos will interpret to believe whatever it is they want us all to think.

Which may well be what most offended some people about the administration of Barack Obama – it went against their sensibilities of what a president was supposed to look like, and which those who believe that “Make America Great Again” rhetoric think has been restored by Trump.

YES, I’LL WANT to read the details of what Trump and Rauner had to say. I believe I’ll learn more that way than by actually watching the broadcasts – which to be honest can be deadly dull television.

Something way too easily parodied – you just know we’re getting a Saturday Night Live sketch this weekend giving us a version of Trump’s speech played for laughs. Which will be more interesting than the actual speech presented by either man.

Was more interesting Tuesday than Trump

Then again, I watched reruns of “Murphy Brown” on Tuesday and “Welcome Back Kotter” on Wednesday, which gave me more laughs than I would have got from watching either Trump or Rauner.

Which could mean that if Mayor Rahm Emanuel were compelled to give a major address that was broadcast live, I’d likely be going in search of a “M*A*S*H” re-run. Maybe I’ll find that episode where Hawkeye and Trapper order ribs takeout to Korea from Adam’s Ribs, which supposedly had the best ribs in all of Chicago.

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Is a boycott the new ‘norm’ for political behavior within our Congress?

What’s the difference between political malcontents of the Republican and Democratic political persuasions?

SCHAKOWSKY: Don't want Trump to be the norm

It could be that the former is determined to make a public stink out of the formal events that comprise government activity, while the latter is more than willing to let their silence speak for themselves.

THERE ARE THOSE who will never forget Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., who screamed out “You lie!” at then-President Barack Obama during a presidential address in 2009 when Obama said (rather truthfully) that his desires to provide healthcare reform would not benefit those non-citizens who were living in this country without a valid visa.

Because there are those who are just determined to believe (no matter what reality says) that those “filthy foreigners” are leeching off of decent “real Americans.”

Now there are those people who believe that our current president, Donald J. Trump, is incapable of saying anything truthful, and I’m sure the “you lie” sentiment will be passing through the minds of many in the Democratic caucuses of Congress when they listen to the president’s State of the Union address come Tuesday.

The speech being the annual statement made by the president to give the public a sense of his priorities for the upcoming year. It will be interesting to see how many factual whoppers Trump comes up with to make it appear as though he’s the most productive president this country has ever had.

LEWIS: Not the first time he dumped Trump

BUT WE’RE NOT likely to hear any epithets being barked at Trump during his address. In fact, the most notable part of the atmosphere of the address come Tuesday may be the sound of silence – and no, I don’t mean the old Simon and Garfunkel tune.

I’m aware of at least six Democratic members of Congress saying they’re not going to show up – including Rep. Jan Schakowsky from Evanston and the North Shore suburbs of Chicago.

Schakowsky told the Chicago Sun-Times she thinks Trump’s governmental behavior during the past year has been disrespectful to our society, and she doesn’t want to make it appear as though she regards it as the “normal” way our government should conduct itself. “The American people have been subjected to a year of racist and erratic and divisive behavior, she said.

TRUMP: How wonderful will State of Union be?

Other Democrats who say they’re not showing up Tuesday include Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, Pramila Jayapal of Washington, John Lewis of Georgia, Frederica Wilson of Florida and Maxine Waters of California.

NOT THAT ANYBODY viewing the presidential address on television will notice. The usual atmosphere of congressional applause coming at key points in the speech will continue to be heard.

It just means the Republican side of the aisle will provide all of the clapping noise meant to make it appear as though Trump’s thoughts are garnering wide support from fellow politicos.

Those viewing the event inside the Congressional chambers will side Democrats sitting looking bored, but with large pockets of empty seats – depending on how many members of Congress decide to follow the lead of Jan Schakowsky; who even when she was a member of the Illinois House of Representatives a couple of decades ago was a critic willing to speak her mind even if it disagreed with the official stance her political party (a.k.a., Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan) took.

I wonder if this is going to be something we’ll see in future years – or at least until Trump is dumped from public office.

CONSIDER THAT TRUMP’S presidential inauguration just over a year ago saw some 56 members of Congress refuse to show up to see The Donald take the oath to “preserve, protect and defend” the U.S. Constitution – albeit in ways many consider totally bizarre.

WILSON: He believes Trump

In fact, Lewis – a 16-term congressman and one-time activist during the Civil Rights movement – didn’t show up for that event either.

There likely won’t be any repeats of a Joe Wilson-like outburst on Tuesday, particularly since Trump and his nonsense talk appears to be the kind of president that Wilson himself appears to prefer.

So what is the “State of the Union” these days? Best described in one word – divided.

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My ‘isolation’ is over; it's great to be back in touch again w/ the masses even if much of their talk is trash

You don’t know how grateful I feel to be able to post this commentary and reconnect with the few of you who have nothing better to do than check out this weblog.

If you were reading it, you’d notice there were no updates for Tuesday or Wednesday. It’s not that I couldn’t have come up with issues to rant and rage about.

IT’S THAT I experienced a level of technical difficulties that made it complicated to try to comment to the point where I figured it wasn’t worth the while. So I’m back, and now more fully appreciate how just much we as a society have become tied in to our communications technology.

I’m trying to figure out whether that is a plus or a minus.

What happened was that my cellphone developed technical difficulties with its connections. For the past couple of days, it was just a piece of junk that couldn’t do anything other than tell me what time it was.

My ability to make phone calls on it conked out during the weekend, and my ability to receive and send e-mail messages (along with access anything on the Internet) died when I woke up Monday morning.

IT WASN’T UNTIL Wednesday morning that I was able to work out the kinks of the system and get my device fully restored to all the little services it provides that I apparently have become attached to.

Now there was one plus to my situation; I never lost access to the land line telephone at home. But for the past couple of days, that was my sole connection to the outside world.

Suddenly, I had to recall exactly what my home telephone number was, and I have to admit it took me a minute or so to do that. I’ve become too accustomed to thinking in terms of my smart phone number when I give out a contact for myself.

The inability to get on the Internet from home made it impossible for me to easily post new commentary here. Although I suppose I could have written it, stored the copy on the hard drive of this computer I’m now using, then send it all out when full service was restored.

ALTHOUGH I DOUBT anybody would care about my pre-State of the Union thoughts in this post-State time period. So I’ll spare you.

Or I could have traveled to my local public library and used one of their computers to file copy. Although that would have been a hassle, and I must admit to feeling a little more compassion for those individuals who are in situations where they have to rely on public computers in order to take care of any personal business.

I must admit that Tuesday was a particularly nerve-wracking period because the paranoid portion of my personality was starting to wonder if this lack of contact was going to stretch out indefinitely. I was wondering if I’d ever get restored, or if I was going to have to seriously adapt my daily routine.

As it turned out, I was at a restaurant Wednesday morning with my brother having breakfast when the quirks got worked out. It was something of a relief to “refresh” my cellphone and see a flood of e-mail messages come in – some 95 on my personal e-mail account and 46 on the g-mail account whose address is published on this weblog.

ALTHOUGH I MUST confess to realizing how little I had actually missed – I’d say I deleted about 90 percent of the messages unread because they were just too obsolete.

So all those political operatives who sent me their statements reacting to the State of the Union Address Tuesday night will have to learn that their attempt to influence my thoughts were unsuccessful.

I am not the least bit dizzy from their political spin, although I’m sure they will continue to try to influence me on future issues with their rhetorical junk.

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“State of the …” speeches become nothing more than partisan rhetoric?

There are those people who are blasting Gov. Pat Quinn these days for having the gall to use his official State of the State speech to the General Assembly for political purposes. How dare he want to get re-elected!?!

OBAMA: Ignoring opposition?

Just as there are those who are trashing President Barack Obama for giving a State of the Union address where he basically expressed his intent to take action on select issues without the approval of Congress. So that his presidency doesn't end in two years with nothing more being accomplished.

IT IS DIFFICULT, if not impossible, for me to take these people seriously, however, because of their own political motivations.

Tuning in to the television news on Wednesday and seeing Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, lambasting Obama for not being willing to work with Congress? Ted, Shut up!!!

The same goes for those people who are upset that Quinn basically used his annual address to legislators to talk about things he’d like to do – but likely won’t be able to – because his political opponents won’t want him to have government policy victories right in the heart of the current electoral cycle.

I think this makes the Republicans at both the federal and state levels look incredibly petty to engage in such rhetoric. I comprehend the concept of the opposition political party making a statement.

AND I DON’T expect the opposition to come out and say what a wonderful guy the president/governor truly is.

But the degree to which partisanship has overtaken the process of a government chief executive making a statement about where things stand and where they will go in the future has truly become appalling.

QUINN: Electioneering?

We’re at the point where I was repulsed by the congressional opposition complaining that Obama wants to exclude them – even though in both actions and statements they have made it clear they have little to no interest in working with the president on much of anything.

If anything, the reason some people are losing faith in an Obama presidency is the perception that he’s too weak to stand up to his opposition – that he’s merely willing to let himself get smacked around.

THE STATE OF the Union address may be evidence that Obama has finally come to his senses. He realizes the people (or at least the ones who aren’t determined to believe their ideologue minority is the only one that deserves to be listened to) expect some action.

CRUZ: Blasting Obama for ignoring him

A year of inaction on immigration reform? No action whatsoever on issues such as the minimum wage or long-term unemployment insurance? The people are disgusted that there has been nothing from government – we definitely do not want more of the same!

And for those people who try arguing that Obama is exaggerating the opposition he gets from Republican congressional members, I’d only remind them of the ridiculous levels of hostility that have been directed toward health care reform – an issue that truly needs to be addressed.

Except for those ideologues who are desperate to believe that people lacking in adequate health insurance are somehow unworthy of it. As though they brought that condition upon themselves.

THE SAME GOES for Republicans who even before Quinn gave his address to the General Assembly were trashing him for wanting to use a speech to make himself look good. How else to explain former Illinois House Minority Leader Tom Cross, R-Oswego, saying he wanted Quinn to only make "detailed and responsible" statements during the address -- as though he gets to define those terms.

In short, they don't want Quinn to use the advantages of incumbency while running against assorted Republicans and a Democrat – all of whom were present for the address.

CROSS: Define 'responsible'

State Sens. Kirk Dillard, R-Hinsdale, and William Brady, R-Bloomington, along with state Treasurer Dan Rutherford, were among the officials expected to be there, while his Democratic challenger, Tio Hardiman and venture capitalist Bruce Rauner were likely sitting in the gallery watching the annual event – while fantasizing how they will be giving the same speech next year.

Quinn hinted before giving the address that he’s interested in bolstering the concerns of the middle class. Just like anyone else would say – except then they wouldn’t be so eager to pile on with the criticism.

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Obama vs Dart – who’s the focal point as Chicago copes w/ urban violence

First Lady Michelle Obama was in Chicago this past weekend; partaking in the public mourning for Hadiya Pendleton – the teenager who has become the symbol for innocent victims getting caught in the crossfire of urban violence.

OBAMA: The "big" gun, so to speak

She met with the family, and tried to create the impression that the president himself hasn’t forgotten his home city of the past three decades. He cares!

THAT’S PROBABLY WHY Obama himself plans to be in Chicago on Friday. Just three days after he gives the State of the Union address (with Hadiya’s mother, Cleopatra, expected to be present in Washington), Obama will be present in Chicago to give a State of the City, so to speak.

It will be interesting to see if Obama merely reiterates his recent rhetoric of the need for stricter laws concerning firearms – particularly when it comes to weapons with magazines that hold dozens of rounds of ammunition at a time.

Or will he come up with something genuinely relevant to Chicago? While the firearms restrictions might be a legitimate point, the fact is that they are a divisive issue. Keeping the focus there might solely turn Hadiya Pendleton’s smiling face into some sort of symbol that the conservative ideologues will demonize.

They’ll probably argue that if Pendleton could have had some sort of weapon, she could have shot at her attacker (even though that attacker likely wasn’t within clear sight of the girl).

BUT THIS IS a case where I’m not sure Obama is the official who needs to be most active. I realize that the South Side activist types have been crying and whining for days that Obama needs to be a physical presence in Chicago to counter the violent images, and that this visit on Friday will go a long way toward appeasing them.

But when Obama is in Chicago that day, I’m wondering if more significant activity will be taking place in Gary, Ind.

DART: Getting overshadowed?

That is where Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart says he plans to be on that day. What he says he hopes to accomplish is some sort of meeting with law enforcement officials.

Because while many Indiana residents like to denigrate Chicago and Illinois by claiming we’re a violent cesspool, Illinois people like to think that all the firearms being used for this violence are coming from Indiana.

SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE THE Hoosier state has lesser restrictions on actually purchasing a weapon – making it possible for people to legally buy a weapon there, then surreptitiously allow them to “fall into” the hands of people who could not legally get a weapon.

Dart’s office uses the statistic from the University of Chicago Crime Lab that 20 percent of all firearms seized by Chicago Police since 2008 could be traced back specifically to Indiana.

I’m not saying that’s true or false. There probably is an element of legitimacy to it – yet I also realize that a statistic can be found to verify the legitimacy of just about anything that someone wants to believe.

The idea that law enforcement officials in both states are ignoring the tendency to blame each other, and are actually getting together to possibly work on the problem is something of significance.

PERHAPS MORE SIGNIFICANT than the idea of the president making an address that will get public attention for a few seconds – until the news cycle spins on and we become more concerned about whether or not the Chicago Bulls will actually matter this season!

Personally, I’m interested to see the public reaction to the dueling events.

For the Associated Press reported that Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy were invited by Dart to join him in Gary in meeting with that city’s police chief, Wade Ingram, and Lake County Sheriff John Buncich.

Why do I have a hard time envisioning Obama’s former chief of staff venturing to Gary to be with Dart when the president himself is in town? And why do I suspect he won’t be alone – in that a lot of people will be lured into the pomp and circumstance of the president rather than substance?

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