tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post2963749380022899443..comments2024-03-28T13:46:08.524-05:00Comments on Every goddamn day: 03/28/24: Visit to the woodshedNeil Steinberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11468057838260476480noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-69104214091646030472018-03-27T08:28:11.115-05:002018-03-27T08:28:11.115-05:00Great perspective Neil. I have a different perspec...Great perspective Neil. I have a different perspective of you as well now.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15877565164527051587noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-26434374504451017122018-03-26T13:11:04.482-05:002018-03-26T13:11:04.482-05:00Everyone these days buys it with money, andvare us...Everyone these days buys it with money, andvare usually beholden to their sources, unless they are lucky enough to get many smaller donations. . I love it when a good guy has so much money he will be beholden to no one.C'est Moihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14526426197353140468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-9153412513892907562018-03-25T22:27:15.719-05:002018-03-25T22:27:15.719-05:00Padraig, please don't feel self-conscious abou...Padraig, please don't feel self-conscious about this. Happens to me all the time when I run into someone outside of the only context I've encountered them in before. And I don't expect someone I've met previously in passing to remember me; I think I must have a common face "type," which is definitely a thing. I often remind people of someone else they know (someone gorgeous, I assume). Coeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06130250489695215525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-68213890141093588432018-03-25T20:36:03.017-05:002018-03-25T20:36:03.017-05:00Face blindness is also associated with autism. I h...Face blindness is also associated with autism. I have high-functioning autism. It is embarassing when I run into people I should know (from the vet, from the grocery store) and don't... I hate to think that people think I'm stuck-up or rude, when I am neither... just autistic. High function notwithstanding.PadraigElliothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02129677070567100371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-17704761635397539242018-03-24T19:57:45.804-05:002018-03-24T19:57:45.804-05:00A gracious and logical reply, indeed. Thanks, Nei...A gracious and logical reply, indeed. Thanks, Neil. I admit that I sorta overlooked the part about your appreciation for his speech, since I didn't watch it. If a guy's gonna spend tens of millions of dollars on commercials to encourage people to vote for him, judging him by them would surely seem like a legitimate response, I agree. Jakashnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-37623764596083980502018-03-24T16:45:47.929-05:002018-03-24T16:45:47.929-05:00That's a fair criticism -- I didn't seek o...That's a fair criticism -- I didn't seek out any of the candidates, but heard from Kennedy, who I knew well, and Biss, whom I had met, but not Pritzker, who I then judged from third parties and from his commercials. I'm not sure, had I met him, I would have liked him any more, having the options of Biss and Kennedy, but once they were gone, I discovered qualities in him of value, in his speech and this exchange. It's a fairly organic process. I don't cover politics much, primarily, because other people are already doing that, and because I don't find politicians very interesting, since they are usually so circumspect. But your point is taken. And yes, I did keep working at it this morning -- I wasn't happy with places.Neil Steinberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11468057838260476480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-76423266869767667242018-03-24T16:20:42.443-05:002018-03-24T16:20:42.443-05:00Prosopagnosia is the name of the disorder Oliver ...Prosopagnosia is the name of the disorder Oliver Sacks had. The brain is certainly a fascinating organ. <br /><br />I have trouble with faces and names but I blame it on inattentiveness. Tony Galatihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11944671504245191140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-24801286505076783232018-03-24T16:09:12.175-05:002018-03-24T16:09:12.175-05:00Also to learn Pritzker is more "nimble and en...Also to learn Pritzker is more "nimble and engaged" than his TV spots might suggest. I was somewhat impressed with his running mate as well, although Lieutenant Governors usually disappear after the election.<br /><br />Tom Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09641357239788323783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-53038712060340295682018-03-24T14:47:22.467-05:002018-03-24T14:47:22.467-05:00You've reworked this piece since last night, h...You've reworked this piece since last night, haven't you Neil? Either that or I didn't read it very carefully. I'm impressed with your candor, but gotta say that your having had 11 months to discover whatever his good qualities are, but only doing so *after* the votes were cast and because of a personal conversation with the guy is kinda disappointing to me. (Please file that under "fondness and sharp observations are not necessarily mutually exclusive," if you would be so kind.) But it's a compelling and beautifully written post, for sure. <br /><br />"He said he was surprised that I had backed Biss." I'm surprised by that, too. Only because I read EGD every day and didn't know who you were actually backing. I thought you were being coy in your March 18 column about the race, ("'That’s a toughie, I replied to my friend', then made my recommendation") but perhaps "I like Daniel Biss because the state senator has actual government experience, once considered important to actually running the government" was meant to indicate what that recommendation was. I couldn't tell whether you were indeed going for Biss or Kennedy.<br /><br />Anyway, while I voted somewhat grudgingly for Biss, due to a number of factors, I'm not gonna have too much trouble wrapping my head around backing "our" billionaire against the other one, when it comes right down to it. I'm happy to read about your exchange with him and see some of the positive comments here, which will make doing so easier. And kudos to Bitter Scribe for "It's like the only thing that can stop a bad guy with a lot of money is a good guy with a lot of money." Jakashnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-51325573949751683292018-03-24T10:23:30.716-05:002018-03-24T10:23:30.716-05:00I also have a terrible memory for people I've ...I also have a terrible memory for people I've met briefly, but the people in following story on NPR have a much more serious problem: <br />Oliver Sacks, the famous neuroscientist and author, can't recognize faces. Neither can Chuck Close, the great artist known for his enormous paintings of ... that's right, faces. Oliver and Chuck--both born with the condition known as Face Blindness--have spent their lives decoding who is saying hello to them.<br /><br />johntatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10088632798195131329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-50692530252382560812018-03-24T09:56:08.169-05:002018-03-24T09:56:08.169-05:00I did, but I figured I had embarrassed myself aple...I did, but I figured I had embarrassed myself aplenty with the Pritzker exchange without commemorating that too (I introduced myself, and she observed that we had met, going through bond court with Toni Preckwinkle. I would make a lousy politician, for many reasons, but primarily because I have a terrible memory for people I meet briefly). Neil Steinberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11468057838260476480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-32858858190089188192018-03-24T08:43:20.057-05:002018-03-24T08:43:20.057-05:00Heartening to hear that Pritzker seems to indicate...Heartening to hear that Pritzker seems to indicate that he won't be running as the anti-Rauner. I think that was Hillary's biggest mistake: she thought (and so did I) that pointing out Donald Trump's flaws would be sufficient to win the election in a landslide. I voted for Biss too. Maybe Pritzker could appoint him to a position where his expertise would help in running Illinois government.<br /><br />johntatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10088632798195131329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-78474953898303818632018-03-24T08:35:24.100-05:002018-03-24T08:35:24.100-05:00A thoughtful column. I did not vote for JB but man...A thoughtful column. I did not vote for JB but many people I respect have shared stories of his stealth kindness and organizational acumen. I appreciate this insight. Also- I admire your intrepid nature. I’d be a blathering fool. Janet Dahlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13893300024540358819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-40628444697864287772018-03-24T08:17:59.355-05:002018-03-24T08:17:59.355-05:00Interesting that you mention the Jedi Council. I&#...Interesting that you mention the Jedi Council. I'm not a Star Wars guy, but I know it is ultimately about good versus evil in the biblical fashion. I didn't vote for Pritzger in the primary, but I will vote for him in the general election. <br /><br />I'm well aware of the problems with the Democrat Party in Illinois and take no pleasure in voting for Madigan's party. But the GOP in America has morphed into something out of a horror movie, a genuine threat to the country and the human race. They are now in bed with Russia for God's sake, for the simple reason that Russians are a means to an end for the people really running the GOP. Republicans in 2018 are a motley coalition of hate, anger and stupidity, blindly supporting two simple initiatives - less (or no) taxes on the super wealthy, and less (or no) regulations on the super wealthy's business interests. That's it. Ig the Russians can help meet those two goals so be it. The GOP gives lip service to immigration and guns and abortion and so on, but that's just to keep the easily led in a cocoon of agitation and obliviousness.<br /><br />Pritzger has my vote. To vote for a republican at this point on a state and nation level is to vote for Putin and billionaires. It is good versus evil.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-67772018536144234552018-03-24T07:38:00.730-05:002018-03-24T07:38:00.730-05:00Cool column, Neil, and a typically accurate assess...Cool column, Neil, and a typically accurate assessment of the current political situation. But I still bridle a little at how this guy bought the nomination with his family's money. It's like the only thing that can stop a bad guy with a lot of money is a good guy with a lot of money.Bitter Scribehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04645909858616987997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-11841901493456718842018-03-24T07:35:58.643-05:002018-03-24T07:35:58.643-05:00Didn't you talk to Stratton?Didn't you talk to Stratton?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-47556518140120383542018-03-24T06:11:39.029-05:002018-03-24T06:11:39.029-05:00My wife is one of the most intelligent people I kn...My wife is one of the most intelligent people I know. Scratch that. She is the most intelligent person I know. And she supported J.B. right from the start. She said she knew something about the good he's done with his wealth, and she likes him. Well, that was good enough for me. I think she will be proven right. I've never seen her proven wrong. Also, she joined me in supporting Marie Newman for congress. Now we will support Dan Lipinski despite his anti-LGBTQ bigotry and distrust of women to make their own reproductive choices because 1) he is running against an actual nazi holocaust denier and 2) he has a truly great record on animal welfare, something my wife and I care deeply about. I think folks who supported Dan Biss or Chris Kennedy can find much more in J.B. worth supporting than we can in Bill Lipinski's son. And as a bonus, J.B. is not Rauner.PadraigElliothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02129677070567100371noreply@blogger.com