Rahm Emanuel Can't Run For Mayor Of Chicago, Court Rules

Rahm Emanuel, former Congressman and Chief of Staff in The Obama White House, in a really shocking turn of legal events, can't run for Mayor of Chicago as of this writing. Here's the video by The Associated Press:



According to The New York Times, an Illinois Appeals Court, in overturning the decisions of the Chicago Board Of Elections and a Cook County Judge, had ruled that Emanuel can't run because he didn't meet the basic state residency requirements.

Rahm, who has a wide lead in polling and fund-raising, has said that his time working in The White House should not, essentially, be held against him because he was doing national service.

Now, the matter is certain to go to the State Supreme Court.

Boy, you can imagine what choice cuss words Rahm had for the two judges who went against him. Bet the house he threw something - maybe a paper weight.

But all kidding aside, this blogger can't think of a single time a white house staffer has quit to immediately run for local public office. This is without precedent, and therefore subject to wide legal interpretation.

The news comes just at the time when Rahm's the leader in both polling and in fund-raising, and by a wide margin. It's reported that Emanuel has raised $11.4 million to date. By contrast, Gery Chico, his closest challenger, has scored four times less money from donors than Emanuel.

YouTube Video Mendenhall Humps Roethlisberger Draws Varying Comments

(Rating: NC-17) Rashard Mendenhall, the Pittsburgh Steelers best running back, decided to dry-hump his teammate and QB Ben Roethlisberger toward the end of Sunday's AFC Championship game against the New York Jets. If you've not seen the video, here's my version, asking for your comments, which have been posted on the YouTube video:



While the reason for Mendenhall action, which has went viral on the Internet (it's still on Google Trends and has been since Sunday evening) and on YouTube, and has not yet been publicly explained, many have offered comments on it and at Vloggerheads.com and YouTube.

Here's a sample:

Now you know how it feels Roethlisberger
CMCCvideos 2 hours ago


i think tosh from tosh.o dressed up as mendenhall for that play
50redraider 2 minutes ago


the ref runs over to try and get a closer look
slamshrk31 29 minutes ago


People seriously did stuff like that on my high school football team lmao. I wouldn't call this proof that he's gay, this is just what happens when you have a bunch of huge guys with testosterone bleeding out of their eyeballs lol.
edAVP1138 14 hours ago


LOLOLOL, I don't believe he is gay. Just having a little to much fun. I just hope he doesn't do that in the locker room, then for sure he is gay.
fieldx200 2 hours ago


@fieldx200 Exactly. He's just messin' around.
cwarren 1 hour ago

In a way, the variation in reactions shows what American society is willing to tolerate in 2011; the bar is much higher.  It may be due to the constant daily presentation of sex and sexual images in mainstream online platforms.

It's hard to find a good, definitive study on this, and most of what's out there focuses on how men react to women, and if not that then porn.  But the middle ground: the constant presentation of ideas and lifestyles associated with sex - from sex tapes to sex scandals, racy celeb photos, sex issues, and Gay and Lesbian sexuality - and its impact isn't studied, or if it is, the study's not widely known.

But it's an important matter that deserves serious consideration and conversation.  It should not be buried. Advances in communications technology are presenting a giant social mirror.  The question is what will we see next and can we handle what we see?

99er Nation / Tier 5 PepTalks Continue: Jobless Talk Rant by Paladinette

The 99er Nation / Tier 5 PepTalks continue via the most recent version of the Jobless Talk Rant by Paladinette, this weekend.

The rant for this week is titled: Fight Back wisely and features Key talking points and the current 99er campaign.

The latest in a series of rants uploaded to encourage the weary 99ers into battle mode begins with a clip from Martin Luther King that is as relevant today as when MLK spoke the words nearly 25 years ago.

"My rants are intended to be weekly pep talks for Americas unemployed especially those in the 99er nation."

• Fighting back wisely means relentless focus upon our stated goals: Jobs for the Nation and until those Jobs are available - BENEFITS for the Duration!!!



• Be Visible & Take Action -- GET OUT THERE into the home offices of all your own Congressional reps in the House and Senate and NEVER forget they work for YOU!!!!!!

Strength in Numbers - Listen to The definition of SOLIDARITY as Webster describes it: "unity or agreement of feeling or action, esp. among individuals with a common interest; mutual support within a group"


• No More infighting / divisiveness within the 99er Community!

• Peaceful protests against banks on bonus hand out days! Look for upcoming articles from the Unemployment Examiners on this very soon and then ACT on them PLEASE!

Any of you wary of joining the U-Cubed Union of the Unemployed - PLEASE REALIZE that U-Cubed is FREE and is simply a means to the desired end. The committed and creative leadership within this organization is even greater than that of the American99ersUnion - and that is NO Disrespect for that entity. I belong to that union too and support all of their efforts. It is just that U-Cubed has the money, the presence and the dedicated Tech support, Administration and KNOW HOW of dozens of dedicated professionals with years of experience of how Washington Works, what it takes to fight this fight wisely and lead the charge. We need the support of every unemployed and underEmployed person in this country and all those who love and support us in this fight for our very survival - to join forces into an entity that Cannot be ignored any longer...

To that end PLEASE - Join Today 


U-Cubed on:


FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/ucubed


TWITTER: @U_Cubed 


WEBSITE: http://www.unionofunemployed.com



Paladinette ends this RANT with a humorous “Blast From the Past” that should bring back fond childhood memories for many in the 99er Nation.



[The donation button below is for Paladinette. If you like what I write please donate so I can keep on fighting for the 99ers! Thank You!]

Jay Cutler Eviscerated On Twitter And On NFL Network After Packers Bears

Chicago Bears Quarterback Jay Cutler's image is taking a massive beating in the wake of his leaving the NFC Championship Game with a knee injury in the 3rd Quarter. 

Cutler's being eviscerated on Twitter and on the NFL Network, which looped telecast game recap continues to communicate NFL player dissatisfaction with Cutler's decision to take himself out of the game.

The Twitter tweets are just plain blunt and mean:

Megakingordie BIG JAY
#cutler man couldn't handle the pressure if not the offensive coordinators are horrible cuz everytime I watch #cutler mans gettin sacked


jazzypoohstar Jasmine
The thing that got me bout #cutler knee injury in ok u injured but u standing up straight on sidelines wtf #fake #fail your team
12 minutes ago

And that last tweet is notable because it did look like Jay could move around, and the question is would it have been enough for him to play from the Shotgun the rest of the way? To millions, including NFL Network's Deion Sanders, it looked like he quit on his team and the City of Chicago.

As Deion so well put it, there's a difference between perception and reality and the perception is that Cutler just quit. The Jacksonville Jaquars Maurice Jones-Drew's tweets were particularly hard on Cutler:

Jones_Drew32 Maurice Jones-Drew
RT @DoObieGibson: Jay Cutler's injury status: Bruised Ego <--- man so critical yet true 10 hours ago 

Jones_Drew32 Maurice Jones-Drew Hey I think the urban meyer rule is effect right now... When the going gets tough........QUIT.. 10 hours ago 

Jones_Drew32 Maurice Jones-Drew All I'm saying is that he can finish the game on a hurt knee... I played the whole season on one... 10 hours ago

Bears Defend Cutler

One group coming to Jay Cutler's defense are the Chicago Bears players. After the NFC Championship Brian Urlacher said "Nothing like jealous people at home watching. Players around the league you said right? Yeah, I love jealous people when they are watching our game on TV while their season is over...Jay was hurt. I don’t question his toughness, he’s tough as hell. He’s one of the toughest players on our football team. He doesn’t bitch, he doesn’t complain when he gets hit. He goes out there and plays his ass off every Sunday, he practices every single day, so no we don’t question his toughness."

Bears Head Coach Lovie Smith said "For us, Jay hurt his knee, he couldn’t go. He tried to go, that last series there of the first half, took a shot to the knee, tried to go, went in and worked on him a little bit at the half but he came out. He just couldn’t go, team, doctors and all, there was no decision really. He was injured."

Jay Cutler's NFL May Be Not-For-Long

While the words may die down, they will not go away. This game will haunt Jay for the rest of his life. Until he makes a gutsy performance, Jay Cutler will always be defined by his play and decisions made on Sunday January 23rd, 2011 during the NFC Championship Game. If Jay has any heart for the game, he's going to be called on to show it again and again.

Cutler's up against the enduring image of Brett Favre playing on bad knees yet running around the field like a little kid at play. Or Phil Rivers playing on a torn ACL in the 2008 AFC Championship Game.

That last fact is the most damning one for Jay. Cutler's image is in the tank; he's got to lift it out of there next season.

Super Bowl XLV Dallas / Arlington: Welcome To A Spread-Out Super Bowl

This blogger has formed the Oakland bid to host the 2005 Super Bowl (we lost to Jacksonville), and attended six Super Bowl games. Of all Super Bowls, Super Bowl XLV, pitting the Pittsburgh Steelers against The Green Bay Packers in Arlington, Texas, will be the most "spread out" one in NFL history.

"NFL Major Events," are split primarily between Dallas, Arlington, and Ft. Worth, and while Dallas itself will be the Super Bowl party center, the happenings are so spread between cities that the overall economic impact (commonly said to be $300 million) of the contest will be dampened.

Still, a little benefit is better than none.

A More Transit Connected D-FW Metroplex

This blogger got his undergraduate degree in City Planning from The University of Texas At Arlington before heading to Cal-Berkeley for the Master of City Planning Program. What I know about what's called the Dallas - Ft. Worth Metroplex is that it's large and mostly car-oriented, but it's not LA. It's 15 miles between Dallas and Arlington and another 15 miles from Arlington to Ft. Worth.  Those cities are served by the I-30, which is now called The Tom Landry Freeway.  It's the central traffic spine of the Metroplex.

In the 80s, mass transit was a new concept to Texans, and DART was the subject of public meetings (some I attended) before it was formed in 1988.  Rail travel was a dream then and the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) System was a desired model.  But now the Dallas Area Rapid Transit System connects North and South Dallas, and something called the Trinity Railway Express (TRE) connects Dallas, Irving, the DFW-Airport, and Ft-Worth.

The one problem is the TRE doesn't have an Arlington stop, and that's where the Super Bowl will be played. The D-FW Airport is 10 miles north of Arlington, and to this day, there's no major rail connector between it and Arlington.

Still, kudos are due for the planners for the "North Texas Super Bowl" for at least trying to form a mass-transit oriented experience in a metropolitan area known for its freeways. But as a massive Super Bowl Party-goer it's obvious that the best bet is to rent a car, and then get ready to pay through the nose for it and for gas because you're going to be driving everywhere.

For example the NFL Experience, the giant interactive NFL family-fun convention, commonly located next to the stadium, is 15 miles away from it in Dallas, at the Dallas Convention Center. The "Taste Of The NFL" where you can enjoy foods from top chefs in various NFL cities, is in Ft. Worth. The "Sports Career Expo," is in Richardson, Texas.

You get the idea.

All of this also means that you should have no problem getting a hotel room somewhere in the Metroplex. Heck, maybe you can land a sublet dorm room at UTA for cheap (just kidding). But the wide geographic spacing of Super Bowl events, great for spreading the event wealth, is going to make for a very confusing experience for Super Bowl, attendees, both veteran and rookie.

Stay tuned.

Rashard Mendenhall Dry Humps Ben Roethlisberger After Steelers - Jets Game

(Parental note: this is for anyone over 17.)

Rashard Mendenhall Dry Humps Ben Roethlisberger After Steelers - Jets Game!?! After the Pittsburgh Steelers lined up in the "Victory" Formation and snapped the ball, Steelers Running Back Rashard Mendenhall wound up spread eagle over Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. But rather than help his QB to get up, Mendenhall, who played a key role in the win as the leading rusher, decided he was going to dry hump Roethlisberger.

In fact, as the video shows, Mendenhall was so "into it," he didn't stop until another teammate intervened.

This brings up a number of questions. First, is Rashard Mendenhall Gay? Second, does this mean UC Berkeley Professor Harry Edwards was right when he said that there was a homosexual element in sports that's not talked about? Third, what does Ben Roethlisberger think about what Rashard Mendenhall did? Fourth, what do you think?

This blogger thinks it's hilarious. It reminds me of the line the late Dennis Hopper's character Frank said in the classic Blue Velvet "Let's fuck! I'll fuck anything that moves!"



 But the question of "the Gay element" in the NFL has, of late, lurked just below the surface of normal media view. Rashard Mendenhall's dry hump act is bound to bring it back to the surface.

Pittsburgh Steelers 24, NY Jets 19: Steelers Run Defense The Difference

In the wake of the Pittsburgh Steelers AFC Championship win over the New York Jets, the talk is how Steelers Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger somehow finds a way to win big games. But for this blogger, one number, and only one number, describes their win: 70.

As in 70 yards rushing allowed by the Steelers Defense.

The Jets, known for their punishing ground game, averaging 4.4 yards per carry, were held to 3.2 yards on 22 carries. Then the Jets had to take to the air to slow down the clock, score, and make the game close, let alone stand a chance to win. Jets QB Mark Sanchez threw 33, completing 20, for 233 yards and two touchdowns, but it wasn't enough.

Indeed, had the Jets used their offensive strategy of the second half, in the first half, they may have won the game. Junking their run-based game plan, the Jets went to a five-wide-receiver shotgun formation, and smartly threw short passes, none over five yards. New York feasted off the receiver runs-after the catch, and when they wanted to fool the Steelers, they went play action, then rolled Sanchez out. There he threw the touchdown pass to pull within five points of Pittsburgh in the 4th Quarter.

But it was not enough, too late.

The Pittsburgh Steelers were able to run out the clock and win the 2011 AFC Championship Game.

But encapsulated in the victory is one offensive play set that could give the Steelers Defense fits if they don't prepare for it.

Stay tuned.