The Diplomatic Times Review

Phyllis Schlafly is Still Alive?

Jo Mannies of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says "Phyllis Schlafly is keeping up the fight." I didn't know the old girl was still alive.

Scholar: Patronage and Clout Has a Long History in Chicago

Dick Simpson, a former alderman and political science professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, says in a January 31, 2005 article in the Chicago Sun-Times

Patronage and corruption [in Chicago] are an inevitable part of machine politics. When the first Republican and Democratic Party machines were born after the Chicago Fire of 1871, both patronage and corruption were part of the system. Patronage and corruption were hallmarks of the Richard J. Daley machine of the 1950s.

"And so patronage and corruption continue to flourish today under the new Richard M. Daley machine," Mr. Simpson added. Here's more.

The Cover Story That Sent a Politician Over the Edge

Here is how the Miami New Times, a weekly, led off the article that is believed to have led former Miami City Commissioner Arthur Teele, Jr. to kill himself in the lobby of the Miami Herald on July 27, 2005:

Art Teele is a man of very big appetites, and because of them he is now in very big trouble. As the investigative report below indicates, the once-powerful politician is possessed of a seemingly insatiable craving for all things illicit -- adulterous sex, illegal drugs, bribery and extortion.

The article by Francisco Alvarado is headlined "Tales of Teele: Sleaze Stories: Male prostitutes and multiple mistresses, drug money in Gucci shopping bags, bribery and extortion conspiracies. And you thought you'd heard it all about Art Teele."

Columnist Sees 'A Grisly Lesson forJournalists' in Politician's Death

Columnist Leonard Pitts, Jr. sees "A grisly lesson for journalists" in the July 27, 2005 suicide of former Miami City Commissioner Arthur Teele, Jr. in the lobby of the Miami Herald.

The Herald Describes Relationship With Arthur Teele, Jr.

Here is a Miami Herald article on former Miami City Commissioner Arthur Teele, Jr.'s relationship with the paper. Mr. Teele committed suicide in the Herald's lobby on July 27, 2005. The paper said he criticized and courted the media

It Could Have Been A Scene From Miami Vice, But It Was Real

In describing the July 27, 2005 suicide of former Miami City Commissioner Arthur Teele, Jr in the lobby of the Miami Herald, David Adams of The Times Online of London said,

"it could have been a scene from Miami Vice, the television series inspired by the city's days as a mecca for drug dealers, organized crime gangs and shady politicians.

Instead, the dead politician on the polished terrazzo floor of the lobby of the Miami Herald was very real. The Herald has feasted on the city's colorful reputation, making it one of the best-known newspapers in the US and earning it more than a dozen Pulitzer Prizes. But no political drama had ever come this close to its own doorstep.

Mr. Adams said, "The dead politician, Arthur Teele, 59, a former Miami city councillor, had walked into the building, put a gun in his mouth and committed suicide in front of a security guard.

"He had been indicted on July 14, [2005] along with a contractor, on federal charges of lying to get more than $20 million (£11.3 million) in contracts at Miami International Airport that were supposed to go to minority-owned businesses." Here's more.

Herald Editor Sees A tragedy of Multiple Dimensions' in Teele's Death

Miami Herald Executive Editor Tom Fiedler called former Miami City Commissioner Arthur E. Teele, Jr's July 27, 2005 suicide in the Herald's lobby "A tragedy of multiple dimensions." His defense of his decision to fire Herald Metro columnist Jim DeFede for secretly taping Mr. Teele is quite interesting.

Bolton Will Get His U.N. Post

"President Bush plans to sidestep Democratic opposition to his nomination of John Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations by making a recess appointment not subject to Senate confirmation, a senior administration official said Friday." July 29, 2005, according to the Los Angeles Times.

It will be without the consent of the Senate but I guess it will work. According to Fox News.Com, "the president is expected to make the appointment before this Tuesday [August 2, 2005] The appointment will last until January 2007, when this Congress ends," Fox said, adding: "Republicans say the Democratic filibuster justifies use of a recess appointment."

Muslim Leaders Must Be More Connected to Congregations

Abdul Malik Mujahid, chairman of the Chicago-based Council on Islamic Relations, is quoted in Arlington Heights, Illinois Daily Herald as saying:

I think it is the responsibility of the leaderships of mosques to be more connected to the congregations, to make communities safe on an individual basis, and to keep an eye out for people under stress and make sure they channel it in a nonviolent way.

I have heard Mr. Mujahid speak many times at the Downtown Islamic Center in Chicago and have always thought he was sincere. Here's more.

The Rove Controversy Is Really About The Iraq War

Veteran commentator Daniel Schorr told his Christian Science Monitor readers on July 15, 2005, "Let me remind you that the underlying issue in the Karl Rove controversy is not a leak, but a war and how America was misled into that war." I totally agree. See "Rove leak is just part of larger scandal" for more.