Laugh the Vote, or Something

An excellent study today from the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press on what voters think about campaign coverage and what sources they use: Not too surprisingly, more and more people think news coverage of the presidential race is slanted. The difference from four years ago: Democrats (who see a right-wing bias) are joining Republicans (who think leftists run the media) in complaining about it. But what I find most interesting is this finding:

“…One-in-five young people say they regularly get campaign news from the Internet, and about as many (21%) say the same about comedy shows such as Saturday Night Live and the Daily Show. For Americans under 30, these comedy shows are now mentioned almost as frequently as newspapers and evening network news programs as regular sources for election news.”

I love it: News you can trust from Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon.

Back to the Blog ……

Back to Berkeley from Chicago, where I spent Friday and Saturday at Bill Hogan’s memorial and funeral. What was great about it:

–Met lots of the religious people and activists with whom Uncle Bill spent his life. Many priests who were ordained in his class at St. Mary of the Lake Seminary (1952) or immediately before and after. Many people from the civil rights movements. Even a few from the Communist Party USA, one of Bill’s latter-day affiliations.

–Met a few only dimly known relatives, including Joe O’Malley, one of my mom’s first cousins, who saved her from drowning in Lake Michigan in 1939 (she was 9, he was 17; four other members of her family did drown)

–In talking to the people at the memorial, managed to come up with what I think is a workable parallel for the life Bill led. Everybody talked about what an activist he was, his humor, how interesting he was, how constant in his principles, how ready always to start a protest or join a protest (one person claimed that Jesse Jackson nicknamed Bill “instant picket” back in the ’60s). What I hit on was this: Yes, Bill did fight for freedom and lead a free life. But one aspect of doing that is pure terror (for most people, at least, including myself): Like Jesus in “The Last Temptation of Christ,” you let your actions be guided by a voice no one else can hear, by a vision no one else can see. To others, you look crazy or extreme. To persist in following that course is one definition of courage.

Chicago Then

By way of Disarranging Mine:

Charles W. Cushman Photograph Collection:

“Charles Weever Cushman, amateur photographer and Indiana University alumnus, bequeathed approximately 14,500 Kodachrome color slides to his alma mater. The photographs in this collection bridge a thirty-two year span from 1938 to 1969, during which time he extensively documented the United States as well as other countries.

“There’s an easily searchable index. He took thousands of pictures in Illinois, most in Chicago, a few in Springfield. They’re all beautiful.”

The Hitchhiking Lie

A story in the Washington Post, about a group of latter-day hitchhikers meeting in bleak southeastern California, got me thinking: From January 1973 through December 1979, I hitchhiked all over the country. It’s hard to believe now. Everyone then thought the country was dangerous and had lost its innocence, compared to the Kerouac era; but it was a great adventure, in its way, and my brothers started thumbing everywhere, too. I finally quit, in large part because I found myself in one too many stupid, nearly desperate situations (and heard similar stories from my brothers). But today seems so much worse somehow — people seem more isolated from each other than ever, much less willing to trust strangers and maybe wisely so. I hardly ever see hitchhikers anymore, and I haven’t picked one up since 1985. So here’s a guy with a hitch-hiking site , sponsoring gatherings and sort of promoting the culture the way hoboing used to be promoted (and romanticized) as a lifestyle/transportation mode.

The FBI’s Almanac Alert

Cryptome.org, a site dedicated to getting inside-government info into the public domain, just posted what it says is the FBI’s Christmas Eve “intelligence” bulletin on terrorists and almanacs. Excerpt:

“… The use of almanacs or maps may be the product of legitimate recreational or commercial activities; however, when combined with suspicious behavior or other information such as evidence of surveillance activities, these indicators may point to possible terrorist planning. The practice of researching potential targets is consistent with known methods of Al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations that seek to maximize the likelihood of operational success through careful planning. “

I love the note that using almanacs may be ordinary, lawful behavior: Citizens with books, seeking information. It may not be a menace.

More on Uncle Bill

The death notice we sent to the Tribune:

Hogan, Bill

The Rev. Bill Hogan, a former Roman Catholic priest in the Chicago archdiocese, died Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2003, in Chicago. Throughout his life, Bill was guided by a fierce sense of justice and bore witness to his faith by living Christ’s injunction in Matthew 25 to comfort and lift up all his brothers and sisters. Bill was born in Chicago on Jan. 9, 1927, the son of Edward D. and Anne O’Malley Hogan. He attended St. Kilian’s School before following his vocation at Quigley Preparatory and St. Mary of the Lake seminaries.

He was ordained in 1952 and assigned to Holy Angels parish on Oakwood Boulevard. He subsequently served at St. Martin de Porres, St. George on the Ryan, and Our Lady of Lourdes, all in the city. But Bill’s work as an agent of Christ stretched far beyond the congregations he served. He carried his faith into the major social and political struggles of our time: the movements to establish civil rights and economic justice for all, to stop the Vietnam War, and to end the evil of nuclear arms. This part of Bill’s ministry took him from Chicago’s South Side to Selma and Montgomery, Alabama, to Washington and far beyond; it also put him into conflict with both civil and religious authorities; he was arrested many times during protests and suspended by the Chicago archdiocese.

Eventually reinstated, he decided to continue his work outside the church, and married. He taught briefly in Chicago high schools before finding his next professional calling, working in Cook County’s adult probation department. He was enthusiastic, stimulating, challenging, brilliant, and steadfast in all his roles in life: priest, husband, stepfather, brother, uncle, friend, colleague, adviser, ally, parishioner and choir member (at St. Bride’s in his adopted South Shore neighborhood). Most of all, his life reflected a deep and abiding optimism.

Bill is survived by his wife, Jackie Bartholomay, and stepson Jeff and stepdaughter Katie Bartholomay; by his brother-in-law, Steve Brekke; by his cousin, Jack Fitzgerald; by niece Ann Brekke and nephews Chris, John and Dan Brekke; and by great-nephews and -nieces in Chicago, Brooklyn, N.Y., and Berkeley, Calif. Bill was the last surviving of six siblings: brothers Dick, Tom, and Ed, all ordained Roman Catholic priests, and John; and one sister, Mary Alice Hogan Brekke. Visitation will be held from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 9, 2004, at St. Bride’s Church, 7811 S. Coles Ave., Chicago (773 731-8822), with a prayer and memorial service from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. A funeral mass will be said at St. Bride’s at 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 10. Bill gave to many, and it would be fitting for his friends to make donations in his memory to causes of their choice.

Remember Bill: “Keep your eyes on the prize.”

Possum Rage

A couple days ago, The New York Times ran a story about Brasstown, N.C., which celebrates New Year’s Eve with a possum drop. No blood sacrifice involved: just the lowering of a marsupial from a gas-station roof in a Plexiglas box; after said event, the marsupial is set free to resume its life of dodging cars. But People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals saw this as an exercise in cruelty, called the organizer and threatened to sue. The designated New Year’s possum was set free, and an unlively substitute starred instead. Not all is lost, though: While you ponder whether there really is any way to interact ethically with a possum, you can shop for possum drop merchandise.

Bill Hogan Obits

Updated with story images, May 2022.

Both the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times ran obituaries on my Uncle Bill Hogan this morning — see below. The paper versions of the stories were supposed to include pictures that my sister Ann (and her family) ran down to the paper’s on New Year’s afternoon. The Trib’s version of the story uses some of the paper’s old clips, notably Jack Star’s magazine profile of Bill from 1973. The Sun-Times version follows the obit material I sent pretty closely.

So now I only hope that no one in Bill’s wide circle of acquaintance gets bent out of shape because their viewpoint wasn’t represented.

Image of Chicago Tribune obituary for Father Bill Hogan, 1927-2003.
Chicago Tribune news obituary, Jan. 2, 2004.
Image of Chicago Sun-Times news obituary for Father Bill Hogan, 1927-2003.
Chicago Sun-Times news obituary for Uncle Bill Hogan, published Jan. 2, 2004.

Luminaria

What are they? Little paper bags with sand and votive candles inside. This definition from the American Heritage Dictionary says they are “commonplace” in American neighborhoods during the holidays. I don’t know how “commonplace” they are, but we go out with our neighbors and line our street with luminaria (or farolitos, if you like) every Christmas Eve. We started in 1992 or so and have done it every year since; and in the last few years, nearby streets have started putting out luminaria, too. Last week, though, it was pretty wet on the appointed evening and the display almost didn’t happen on Holly Street. Determined and optimistic neighbors braved soggy sidewalks and the threat of more showers to put the lights out, but most of the other blocks did not. Some of those areas waited till last night to put out their luminaria, as I discovered walking home from BART about 8:30. Kate and I walked through the neighborhood early, then again late. We passed the house shown here, on Lincoln Street, about 11:30 p.m.