by John McCormick
It was a busy weekend of theater-going in Chicago for Sen. Barack Obama and his family.
First, Michelle Obama, the senator's wife, attended Second City's "Between Barack and a Hard Place" on Friday evening, according to an item reported in Sunday's edition by Tribune theater critic Chris Jones.
Then, after a long day of campaigning Saturday in Iowa, the senator took in "The Color Purple," a production presented by his pal Oprah Winfrey at the Cadillac Palace Theatre.
"Last night, Michelle and I went to the Color Purple. We don't get a chance to see a play very often," he said Sunday. "So, Michelle, she said, 'How come we don't get a chance to go out once and a while?' And you know what they say, 'If Mama is happy, everybody is happy.'"
The Illinois Democrat said he enjoyed the production.
"It's a powerful play. I recommend it," he said. "It's powerful. And it's a little tough for the brothers in the audience because all the brothers acted like fools in the play the whole time."
Obama used the play as an example of how violence begets violence, which was the topic of a message he delivered about gun violence to the congregation at Vernon Park Church of God on Chicago's far South Side. The Tribune's report on the church appearance is linked here.
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Comments
At least if Obama's First Lady takes up theater and live arts as her historical benchmark, Obama can at least say he has seen a play. As opposed to GW who's First Lady is a librarian and he's never even read a book.
Posted by: giraffe | July 15, 2007 7:16 PM
I hope Barack still has his security team in place for these outings, GOP stooges like Bruce and Paulo and Little Johnny are still out there lurking around Chi-Town.
Posted by: John E | July 15, 2007 8:20 PM
When are we going to get a Swamp item on the Obamas go shopping at Jewel or Macy's. Or how about the Obama's day at Great America or Nany Pier?
Posted by: John D | July 15, 2007 10:09 PM
Now I am an assassin!!!! Boy Mark Silva, talk about "poisonous posts." No, lame, unemployed weird Johnnny E., I would say if anyone is lurking out there looking to assassinate it would be you. I mean you have stated your idolatry of John Hinckley in here.
Posted by: John D | July 16, 2007 8:43 AM
I really think the hoopla over Obama is over-blown. All of these candidates read books about how to appear presidential. The fact is, we know little to zero about what this man is really about. There are many examples in politics to make us leery -- take Mark Kruzan, mayor of Bloomington, Indiana, for example. Similar charm and charisma, but soon after he is elected he gets sued for sexual harassment by a city employee and civil rights violations by a well-known alumnus of Indiana University and financier, Seth Patinkin.
Posted by: Michael Hoffman | July 16, 2007 11:40 PM
Is this the story about the conspiracy to deprive the property rights of a Jewish landlord? I am familiar with the way things work in Bloomington, Indiana -- totally incestuous system. The Feds should step in and clean up the corruption down there. What a shame that an upstanding guy like Patinkin is not allowed to run a clean, legal business because he is not part of the incest...Do you have a link to the lawsuit?
Posted by: Elene Paxman | July 25, 2007 11:52 PM
Dear Oprah,
I am writing to you about discrimination which has been expressed by the selective enforcement of city ordinances against me with respect to my rental business in Southern Indiana once city officials discovered that I am a Jewish person.
More about me: I was named to the "30 under 30" list by my alma mater and did my PhD work at Princeton Univ. under John Nash. I am a applied mathematician/ entrepreneur in my day job.
In the years since I completed my undergraduate work at IU in 1998, I proceeded to buy a small number of rental properties in Bloomington, Indiana, which I have successfully run as a side business for a number of years.
However, about 2-3 years ago, the normal flow of my side rental business ran into some serious roadblocks.
It started when two housing inspectors made a number of explicit anti-semitic statements to me and to a Jewish tenant at one of my rentals.
Soon thereafter, four (4) groups of my otherwise law-abiding and happy tenants were threatened with $10,000 + fine (assessed PER tenant) for alleged ordinance violations.
Long story short, I was soon stuck with numerous vacancies and left paying the mortgage payments on these properties which were subsequently burglarized and vandalized. At the same time, the Housing Department caused complaint inspections to take place at these properties, identifying dozens and dozens of "defects" in the properties not otherwise noted in previous move-in inspections and causing me to incur thousands of dollars of needless "improvements".
And then the Legal Department went to work on me, filing at least five (5) lawsuits against me for alleged ordinance violations, and at the same time, the Legal Department Chief's wife, over at Student Legal Services, encouraged my erstwhile tenants to sue me for recovery of their security deposits, in spite of their breaches. I was soon dealing with about ten lawsuits at once.
So in April 2007, I filed a lawsuit against the City of Bloomington for violating my right to equal protection of the law, and a number of other civil rights violations. For reasons unbeknownst to me, I have become of the despotism of city government in small town Indiana. My attorneys have recently discovered that my case is not unique. Another Jewish landlord also has a case pending in federal court against the City, regarding the improper withholding of a building permit based upon the impermissible consideration that the prospective buyer of the commercial property in question was a Jewish investor from New York.
My life has been turned upside down by the systematic abuse of ordinances and
judicial proceedings. I find it outrageous that such a negative spirit still thrives in modern America. I would love the opportunity to talk about my story on your show, as I think it is in the public interest.
Seth Patinkin
~~ NEVER STOP LEARNING ~~
jan-p-szatkowski.blogspot.com
markkruzan.blogspot.com
bungerlaw.blogspot.com
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lawbr.blogspot.com
martha-szatkowski.blogspot.com
martha-c-szatkowski.blogspot.com
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patriciamulvihill.blogspot.com
cityofbloomington.blogspot.com
studentlegalservices.blogspot.com
stacee-evans.blogspot.com
marthaszatkowski.blogspot.com
bunger-law.blogspot.com
staceeevans.blogspot.com
margieschrader.blogspot.com
margie-schrader.blogspot.com
jan-szatkowski.blogspot.com
janszatkowski.blogspot.com
Posted by: Seth Patinkin | October 24, 2007 1:11 AM
DEAR MR OBAMA: CAN YOU YOU SAY MY COMERCIAL IS JUST IGNORINT> ECONOMICS IOI IF THE IRAQ GOVERNMENT HAS A SURPULUS OF 79 BILLION? AND THE WAR IS COSTING THEM 10BILLION A MONTH FOR SECURITY HOW MUCH SECURITY DOES IT BY? LESS THEN EIGHT MONTHS PLEASE TELL ME AMERICANS ARE NOT THAT UNEDUCATED TO FALL FOR SUCH A COMMENT SECURITY COST NO MATTER WHO STARTED THIS THE PEOPLE OF IRAQ NEED SOME POTECTION.AND AFTER FIVE PLUS YEARS 79 BILLION SURPLUS IS ALL THEY HAVE TRUST ME WE STILL HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO.IN ORDER TO EVEN THINK ABOUT GETTING THE INFER STRUCTURE BACK ON ITS FEET.SO PLEASE PUT YOUR BRAIN IN GEAR BEFORE YOU MAKE SUCH A STATEMENT THE AMERICAN PUBLIC GETS TIRED OF LAUGHING AT YOU!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Robert Bearden Davis | August 19, 2008 11:03 AM