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In her speech, Clinton talked about her childhood in Park Ridge, using it to focus on issues such as immigration reform — a concern paramount to the huge Hispanic community in California.

She recalled Park Ridge was surrounded by farms that relied on migrant labor and that she used to baby-sit the workers’ children, an experience that awakened her to the complexities of the immigrant experience.

Let’s say she started babysitting in 1961, when she was 15. Park Ridge was surrounded by Edison Park (Chicago), Niles, Glenview, Des Plaines and O’Hare Airport. All of them were well-developed suburbs with no farms to speak of. A 1961 History of Park Ridge shows that the city of Park Ridge’s interests had little to do with farming for years before the book was published.

So she babysat the children of migrant workers in Park Ridge in the 1960′s. What else do you want to tell us, Hillary?

I was in Mexico over the weekend, and while I didn’t need to try that hard to find out how the Cubs fared against the Cardinals, I decided it wasn’t worth the effort. I’m sure the perfect beach weather, sufficient access to drink and food, and a number of friends I don’t see often contributed to it, but all kinds of other distractions (like my honeymoon, as my wife has continually pointed out to me*) have never taken my eye off the ball, so to speak.

In November, my father-in-law picked Joanna and I up at O’Hare, and reported the big news of the day: Alfonso Soriano was a Cub. I might have expressed more excitement if he had told me that Danny Jackson had signed a long-term contract.

As the season drags on, it’s obvious: this team isn’t very good. We have another 90-loss season underway, and unlike past seasons, I see little hope. Rich Hill has been impressive, and this guy could become one of the top 10 starters in baseball shortly. There’s Carlos Zambrano, a guy you’d love to have on your side. So far, he’s been terrible, and I am willing to put money on him wearing another uniform by April at the latest, and as soon as June 1.

Then there’s Michael Barrett, the dumbest guy on the roster, behind the plate, working with a pitching staff that is still purported to be a strength. I blame part of the Cubs’ 2004 collapse on Barrett’s inability to call pitches. I blame him for a handful of 2005 losses. He can hit, but he’s a detriment to the team.

The main reason for the alarming lack of interest is the sudden disappearance of electricity surrounding this team. Remember the buzz on days that Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, Greg Maddux or Carlos Zambrano would start? I like Ted Lilly, but I wouldn’t rearrange my day to watch him start a game against Pittsburgh. Derrek Lee is quietly one of the best players in baseball, but besides him and Zambrano there’s no one else on the team worthy of my support.

Maybe it’s that I’m an “experienced optimist” (that is, a pessimist). I see less hope on this team than I saw on the 1994 team and the 1997 team. The 2000 team was terrible, but for some reason I was even more interested then than I am now.

Looking at how empty the park has looked the last few games that I have seen on television, I’m not the only one. The window that the Cubs had with the nucleus they had from 2001-2004 has shut. In fact, it shut when Michael Barrett screwed up a rundown in a game at Philadelphia in August 2005. They stuck with a manager who was more interested in saving his own skin than winning ballgames, and they failed to act when they had opportunities to make the club much better. I wasn’t the only one who saw this offseason as a desperate, cynical attempt to fool the fans into believing the Cubs can contend. Lou Piniella has won elsewhere, but Jim Hendry has just done the equivalent of hiring Rick Mears to win the Indy 500 with a 1995 Nissan Sentra.

Fact is, people will talk about the 2001-2005 Cubs much the same way as they talk about the Cubs of 1967-1972. Great talent. Missed opportunities. Tragic falls from grace for many of the team’s stars. Teams that their own fans could love intensely before hating every last ballplayer. I remember my honeymoon, when I spent seven of the 10 days in Hawaii watching the Cubs play in the NLCS. I caught Jayson Stark on ESPN Radio before Game 6 saying that there was no chance that the Marlins could beat both Mark Prior and Kerry Wood. That this Cubs team was not like the Cubs of old. That they could not, would not choke. And then he said something to the effect of how scary this team will be to the rest of the National League as Wood and Prior spend the next five or 10 years together. I wonder how many games the two have started back-to-back since then? Now comes word of Prior’s injury. His career in Chicago is done. He might try to catch on somewhere else, but he won’t be the dominant pitcher he was for 1 1/2 seasons.

When Rick Talley wrote his book The Cubs of ’69 in 1988, these Cubs of the 1960s and 1970s were forgiven by Cubs fans and actually revered. The 1969 Cubs are probably more beloved by Cubs fans than the 1969 Mets are by Satanists Mets fans. Anyway, I’m sure Kerry Wood will be a fixture in Chicago, similar to Ron Santo, in 2030. Sammy Sosa will be long forgiven, and I’m sure we’ll see Aramis Ramirez’s son shipwrecking as a free agent acquisition before getting picked up for DUI in Glenview. The best bet is that we’ll have a few dozen nostalgic looks at this team. Talley couldn’t locate Don Young, the emblem of the Cubs’ collapse in 1969, even though his nightmare game occurred weeks before they led the division by eight games.

Who will be in hiding in 2003? My bet is on Mark Prior.

* As for my Honeymoon, we planned an October wedding despite warnings to my wife that the Cubs could be playing a playoff game on the day of the wedding. She thought the chances of this happening were remote. She was warned.

What have I missed talking about? Indiana basketball? Not much to talk about, except D.J. White will be back for one more year (yay!).
The Cubs? What should I say about them? What’s not been working? I’ll let Sweet Lou answer that one.
Don Imus? Of course, because not enough has been said about this over-the-hill radio guy making a tasteless off the cuff remark on a show only the political listens to because they love hearing themselves talk.
Virginia Tech? Really, what pearls of wisdom can I offer? And I’ll be damned if I let my 2 readers get into a shouting match over the 2nd Amendment.

That still leaves a few things to talk about: the Olympics possibly coming to the Midwest, Lance Briggs fatigue, the hopefully improving weather allowing me to get ready for my 50-mile bike ride, Fred Thompson’s health, thoughts on some interesting people I’ve heard speak recently, my last-minute decision not to vote today, and other stuff. I will be posting more. I promise.

Without getting into too much detail, I agree with Thompson on many issues, and his demeanor might be just right to charm the 30 percent of undecideds that vote.

Many will roll their eyes and say “Great, another Reagan…” To that, I’d respond with a “Great! Another Reagan.” I’d also point out that unlike Reagan, Thompson is a lawyer by trade and an actor by hobby. He’s very good at his hobby, but as a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, he still has his bonafides.

I hope Thompson sits out for a little while longer and lets a groundswell build. Already, I see a couple of “Draft Fred Thompson” sites. But once the summer ends, look for Thompson to be in this race, in a dead heat with McCain and Giuliani.

Without getting into too much detail, I agree with Thompson on many issues, and his demeanor might be just right to charm the 30 percent of undecideds that vote.

Many will roll their eyes and say “Great, another Reagan…” To that, I’d respond with a “Great! Another Reagan.” I’d also point out that unlike Reagan, Thompson is a lawyer by trade and an actor by hobby. He’s very good at his hobby, but as a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, he still has his bonafides.

I hope Thompson sits out for a little while longer and lets a groundswell build. Already, I see a couple of “Draft Fred Thompson” sites. But once the summer ends, look for Thompson to be in this race, in a dead heat with McCain and Giuliani.

During that magical 1991 season, Essian picked up a number of admirers.

Award-winning sportswriter Andrew Bagnato, then with the Chicago Tribune:

“Some might think the ‘race’ for third place is a joke, but not Essian!”

Late Chicago Tribune columnist Mike Royko, longtime Cubs fan and no stranger to most liquor-licensed establishments in Chicago:

“[Jim Essian] acts like the the master of ceremonies in a strip joint.”

Hall of Fame baseball writer Jerome Holtzman, now the official historian for Major League Baseball:

“Essian has been critized for his ‘nice-guy approach.’ He also has come under fire because of the way he stands in the dugout and claps his hands in approval of a good play. What’s wrong with that?”

San Diego Padres pitcher, Greg Maddux, then the ace of the 1991 Chicago Cubs:

“It wasn’t Essian’s fault.”

Then-Chicago Tribune columnist Bernie Lincicome.

“Solitarily enthusiastic.”

With endorsements like these, it’s curious why Jim Hendry won’t pull the plug on this ridiculous Lou Piniella experiment and install Jim Essian as the next manager of the Chicago Cubs. Essian won 59 games while wearing number 41. Only two other Cub managers have worn No. 41: Tom Trebelhorn (49 wins) and Piniella (no wins). It’s obvious that Essian is not only the best choice to manage the club, but that John McDonough should act quickly to set up a “Jim Essian Day” at the ballpark. No other Cubs manager should be able to wear the number 41 ever again.

Fortunately, noted blogger Bad Kermit has taken the initiative. After helping run Dusty Baker out of town, Kermit realized that running a guy out of town without thinking of a good replacement only spelled doom. Lou Piniella was hired, and Kermit set out to get Piniella canned, too. While that job is not yet done, Bad Kermit has turned his attention to something more constructive: bringing in the right manager for the job. Hire Jim Essian is born!

Not only would going to Hire Jim Essian further a very worthy cause, but you’re far more likely to read enjoyable stuff there than you might find here.

I support this cause wholeheartedly.

He wants Lou Piniella to get fired!

And look at this: somehow he conned Lou Piniella himself into writing for this blog!

It gets even better:

People think he’s serious!