Thursday, December 26, 2013

Matt Bors on the unethical journalism of Wikileaks


Council member Moore vows action to get a grocery store to replace Aldi's

I received the following email from 1st District Council member Denise Moore:

Unfortunately , this decision was made and implemented without the knowledge of the city. In fact, I was the one that brought this to the attention of the city and the media after community members called me. Securing a full service grocery store for the first district has now become a top priority for me and many on the council that have contacted me.

Well, good. I notice that in Chicago, aldermen routinely interject in business decisions and word to secure vital services for their constituents that the unfettered free market, in it's infinite wisdom, would deny them.

In the south side, we have the Shop Rite on Western (a few blocks down from Aldi's, but a vastly inferior store) and Krogers on Harmon Highway, a good 10 minutes away by car.

AlterNet: Food behind bars isn't fit for your dog

Well, I've eaten exactly three meals at the Peoria County Jail. I found them more edible that the warmed-over slop they served us as Glen Oak Grade School, yet less edible than cafeteria meals at Woodruff High School. First think I did when i got out was to go buy a cheeseburger.

Charlotte Silver, AlterNet
Doctors may be overlooking a significant risk factor in disease. READ MORE»

Chris Arnade, The Guardian
I've been reminded that life is not as rational as Richard Dawkins sees it. READ MORE»

Katie Halper, AlterNet
Nothing says Christmas to your right-wing loved one like the gift of a Pat Robertson diet shake. READ MORE»

By Dean Baker, AlterNet
Inequality in America is the result of a whole range of policies intended to redistribute income upward. READ MORE»

By Prachi Gupta, Salon
Fox thinks Christianity is under attack, thanks to non-white Santas, freedom of speech and the word "holiday." READ MORE»

By Jim Hightower, AlterNet
They've decided that the Pope is a "Marxist." What about Jesus? READ MORE»

By Shani Silver, xojane
It's not appropriate to exclaim, "But you're SO pretty! I can't believe you don't have a boyfriend." READ MORE»

By Chris Hedges, Truthdig
Private companies such as Aramark have turned mass incarceration and misery into a lucrative business. READ MORE»

By Tim Radford, Climate News Network
They have taken 60 minutes to do what Nature does -– at great pressures and temperatures -– over millions of years. READ MORE»

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

South Side is losing yet another grocery store

I heard a blurb on the TV. Supposedly, the megber of two Aldi's stores means the closure of the Western Avenue Aldi's store. Really. This leaves exactly NO supermarkets south of West Main Street.

Can the Peoria City Council do ANYTHING to keep this store from closing?

Yes, I know there is Shop Rite Supermarket on Lincoln and Western, which really isn't a place to shop for groceries.

East Bluff resident shot to death on North Peoria ... police do not know how to react

Breaking news:

Sonny T. Ford, 29, was pronounced dead at 4:12 a.m. in the emergency room at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center. According to Peoria County Coroner Johnna Ingersoll, Ford had sustained multiple gunshot wounds.

A resident of 1209 E. Gift Ave., Ford was shot multiple times outside of 805 W. Pine Hill Lane Apt. G at around 3:30 a.m. Both the Peoria Police Department and the Coroner's Department are still investigating the homicide with an autopsy scheduled for later today.

So, we have an East Bluff resident shot to death. Big deal, East Bluffers get shot all the time. But this happened NORTH OF LAKE AVENUE. Normally, a violent crime send the Peoria Police Department into a press-conference-holding tizzy.

What to do, what to do ...

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Here's a list of things to donate to food baskets that they don't necessarily ask for

Seriously. I get Food baskets. And I appreciate things in the food baskets that I cannot buy with a Link card. And I'll just say this: I do not need more more can of green beans. Yet I know every single food basket I get will have at least ONE can of green beans. So if you are thinking of donating items, consider THIS LIST.


Friday, December 20, 2013

A Merry Christmas and hearty 'screw you' from the Illinois Department of Public Aid (UPDATED 3x)

JEHAN GORDON-BOOTH: Will have an opportunity to fix a constituents' problem.
Here's a story from a neighbor of my parents. She lives at Royal Oaks Estates, with her children. One or her daughters is 19-year-old Shannon Forest. Shannon is a single mom, with a 10-month old son.

Well, Shannon qualifies for Food Stamps. No one gets actual food stamps anymore.  You get a debit card, which can use to buy actual food. Seriously. FOOD ONLY. You cannot even use it to buy a 10 cent grocery bag. That's how strict they are.

Well, Shannon used her Food Stamps debit card to buy food for about two or three months. Then, after they deposited some money into her Food Stamps account on December 5, the cashier told her the purchase was denied.

And it happened again, at a different store.

So, Shannon and her mom went down the the Illinois Department of Public aid and stood in line for 25 minutes to an hour to speak to a human being, who told her it was fixed, and she got a new card.

And it happened again . Another wait in line. Another card. Another wait in line. Another card. At the Illinois Department of Public Aid, they tell Shannon and her mom that they don;t know what is causing this and they don't how to fix it. They contacted State Sen. David Leitch, who tells them the Illinois Department of Public Aid is run by idiots, but he can't fix it either.

I recommended she talk to State Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth, and well she if she has more pull than Leitch does.

If this doesn't work, I recommend hanging the people from the nearest lamp post.

Because letting single mom's go hungry while lard-assed bureaucrats and dumb-ass politicians collect their salaries seems kinda stupid.

UPDATED: Gordon-Booth's office called her back TODAY with the name of two grocery stores that will accept her Link card.

UPDATED 2: Sen. Leitch contacted the family, and apparently, they will get the money that's been put on their LINK card that they can't get at.

UPDATE 3: Apparently, Leitch chewed some ass. I always like hearing about politicians chewed bureaucrats' ass.



Thursday, December 19, 2013

Now playing! At landmark Cinema!

Landmark Cinemas
Schedule for Friday, December 20, 2013 until Thursday, December 26, 2013 
Walking With Dinosaurs (PG) 
Justin Long • John Leguizamo
- 80 minutes
Fri - Mon: 11:25 AM1:157:00
Walking With Dinosaurs 3D (PG) 
Justin Long • John Leguizamo
- 80 minutes
Fri - Mon: 9:30 AM3:055:008:50
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (PG-13) 
Will Ferrell • Steve Carell
- 119 minutes
Fri & Sat: 9:35 AM12:002:254:507:15,9:40
Sun: 12:002:254:507:159:40
Mon: 9:35 AM12:002:254:507:159:40
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug in 3D (PG-13) 
Martin Freeman • Orlando Bloom
- 161 minutes
Fri - Mon: 10:30 AM1:304:307:30
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (PG-13) 
Martin Freeman • Orlando Bloom
- 161 minutes
Fri & Sat: 9:45 AM11:00 AM12:452:00,3:455:007:00
Sun: 11:00 AM12:452:003:455:007:00
Mon: 9:45 AM11:00 AM12:452:003:45,5:007:00
Saving Mr. Banks (PG-13) 
Emma Thompson • Tom Hanks
- 120 minutes
Fri - Mon: 9:30 AM12:002:254:507:15,9:40
Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas (PG-13) 
Tyler Perry • Chad Michael Murray
- 105 minutes
Fri - Mon: 9:45 AM12:002:204:557:15,9:30
Out of the Furnace (R) 
Christian Bale • Woody Harrelson
- 116 minutes
Fri - Mon: 8:00 PM
Frozen (PG) 
Kristen Bell • Idina Menzel
- 108 minutes
Fri - Mon: 10:00 AM12:152:304:457:00
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (PG-13) 
Jennifer Lawrence • Josh Hutcherson
- 146 minutes
Fri - Mon: 11:00 AM1:504:407:30
Philomena (PG-13) 
Judi Dench • Steve Coogan
- 94 minutes
Fri & Sat: 10:00 AM12:152:455:007:00,9:00
Sun: 12:152:455:007:009:00
Mon: 10:00 AM12:152:455:007:009:00
Spinning Plates (NR) 
Grant Achatz • Thomas Keller
- 93 minutes
Fri - Mon: 12:051:503:355:207:10
All Is Lost (PG-13) 
Robert Redford
- 100 minutes
Fri - Mon: 12:052:154:307:00

Support citizen journalism by donating to The Blog Peoria Project

So, here's the deal. Blogpeoria.com is down. That means NONE OF THE MEMBER BLOGS CAN POST ARTICLES OR BE READ. This is because I cannot at the present time pay my hosting bill. I am unemployed and cannot find an employer willing to hire me (diabetes, a stroke, bad back, fatigue, etc). Now, I have a temporary blog on Blogger I use when this happens (you are reading this temp site now).  I still need to get caught up on hosting. I need some luckily employed persons to donate amounts equal to $57.10. You can donate by going to the Website listed here and clicking on the yellow donate button at the top of the right sidebar. Or, contact me and make a donation in person and I'll get the money paid to my host. I'm gonna do great things with this WordPress Multisite when I get some money coming in. Trust me. It'll be great.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Drew Barrymore update: Latest Drew movie is, well ....

Look, maybe it's true that the latest Drew Barrymore/Adam Sandler movie "Blended" is no good. I get that. But that doesn't mean I won't travel to Hollywood of where ever this blog originates from and beat the holy crap out of this blogger who dared to make fun of my lovely Drew.

Here's a boudoir photo I snapped on out honeymoon. At least, that's the story I'm telling.