Chicago also doesn't pretend to be upholding the law. Never has.
When I was a kid, it was "common knowledge" that all or most of the bag men for the bookies were cops. It was also possible to get out of just about any traffic ticket for a small fee. Was any of it true?
We know that enough is/was true to say that upholding the law was not always the top issue in Chicago. I mean we have long-standing bribes-for-business conducted between the cops and tow truck drivers. Jon Burge and Co. etc.
What Blagojevich is accused of doing is brazen certainly, but not out of character for a Chicago politician. Patronage is a tradition in Chicago.
And corruption? Remember that Kennedy only beat Nixon in 1960 because all the dead people in Chicago voted for him - giving him Illinois and its electoral votes.
"Vote early, vote often" isn't just a joke in Chicago.
I'd prefer the Mob, honestly. At least when the Mob extorts money out of me, they then pay a big ugly guy to keep other people from fucking with me. When the State does it, they pay some dumb schmuck explicitly to fuck with me.
"Ok, so, we'll take 45% of everything you earned last year, and hire a wide swath of fascist batboys to keep you from smoking weed or making your guns shoot more than one bullet at a time. For your own good, of course."
Motherfuckers, if I wanted those services provided, I could do them myself for free!
The Mob invests a lot of good money in judges for judicial muscle, Unions for thug-muscle, politicians for muscle-heads, and BANKS for financial muscle - they already have an ownership stake in Gubb'mint. Who kept the money laundry running when the NY Stock Exchange and Chicago Mercantile was closed for the night? The Pacific Exchange stayed up late and took it to the Chinese Laundry. There's a reason why the Chicago families and family-workers didn't get across the CA state line in the 20's and 30's - we already had our own "traditional family structure." When some junior Runner spouts off about leaning on another one of the Family's own assets he's embarrassing the Family - and he's in for a short trip to the shoe factory.
Bank of America was formerly Bank of Italy, he shouldn't have threatened the pisanos...
ReplyDeleteChicago also doesn't pretend to be upholding the law. Never has.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid, it was "common knowledge" that all or most of the bag men for the bookies were cops. It was also possible to get out of just about any traffic ticket for a small fee. Was any of it true?
We know that enough is/was true to say that upholding the law was not always the top issue in Chicago. I mean we have long-standing bribes-for-business conducted between the cops and tow truck drivers. Jon Burge and Co. etc.
What Blagojevich is accused of doing is brazen certainly, but not out of character for a Chicago politician. Patronage is a tradition in Chicago.
And corruption? Remember that Kennedy only beat Nixon in 1960 because all the dead people in Chicago voted for him - giving him Illinois and its electoral votes.
"Vote early, vote often" isn't just a joke in Chicago.
Murray Rothbard was right.
ReplyDelete"The State is a gang of thieves writ large."
Do you have your "Enemy of the State" t-shirt?
http://www.mises.org/store/Murray-Rothbard-T-Shirt-Black-P217.aspx
Someone once mistook Murray's mug, on the t-shirt, on my body, for Henry the K's (Kissinger).
I couldn't STOP laughing.
I'd prefer the Mob, honestly. At least when the Mob extorts money out of me, they then pay a big ugly guy to keep other people from fucking with me. When the State does it, they pay some dumb schmuck explicitly to fuck with me.
ReplyDelete"Ok, so, we'll take 45% of everything you earned last year, and hire a wide swath of fascist batboys to keep you from smoking weed or making your guns shoot more than one bullet at a time. For your own good, of course."
Motherfuckers, if I wanted those services provided, I could do them myself for free!
The Mob invests a lot of good money in judges for judicial muscle, Unions for thug-muscle, politicians for muscle-heads, and BANKS for financial muscle - they already have an ownership stake in Gubb'mint.
ReplyDeleteWho kept the money laundry running when the NY Stock Exchange and Chicago Mercantile was closed for the night? The Pacific Exchange stayed up late and took it to the Chinese Laundry. There's a reason why the Chicago families and family-workers didn't get across the CA state line in the 20's and 30's - we already had our own "traditional family structure."
When some junior Runner spouts off about leaning on another one of the Family's own assets he's embarrassing the Family - and he's in for a short trip to the shoe factory.