Testing … testing … 1 … 2 … 3 … Is this thing on? Chicago Public Square’s back after a break.
■ If you unplugged from the news over the last week-and-a-half, catch up by scrolling back through the Square account on Bluesky, where you’ll find items such as …
■ … the Tribune’s retrospective (gift link), “Operation Midway Blitz, one year later: A changed Chicago forges on after the resistance” …
■ … the Sun-Times’ look-back, “68 days, 4,000 detained, 2,700 deported” …
■ … USA Today’s staff cuts as search engines send fewer readers newspapers’ way …
■ … Ms. Magazine founder Gloria Steinem’s final essay …
■ … a 1992 interview with Steinem’s successor, Robin Morgan, who died just days after Steinem …
■ … an obituary for Garry Lee Wright, former WXRT on-air partner to your Square columnist …
■ … and much, much, much more.
Now, the news of today:
‘A digital surveillance machine.’ Popular Information flags an Elon Musk-funded website encouraging people in key states to check their registration status.
■ Better options: The federal Election Assistance Commission’s Vote.gov …
■ … or, here, the Illinois Elections Board’s site.
‘Something new is happening.’ Columnist and former Illinois Republican U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who voted to impeach a president from his own party: “Republicans are stopping me to say thank you.”
■ Dispelling long-held Republican confidence, The Associated Press says the fight for control of the U.S. Senate’s wide open.
■ As Republicans convene in Dallas this week, the AP reports that Trump wants voters to pretend he’s on the ballot—and the party’s going along.
‘Trump has been posting on social media at a frantic pace.’ Historian Heather Cox Richardson surveys the president’s latest AI-generated slop.
■ The Onion: “Agriculture Dept. Puts Trump’s Face On Soybeans.”
■ Satirist Andy Borowitz: “Trump Defends Natalie Harp After She Posts Nuclear Codes on Instagram.”
Cheese squeeze. Pledging to match Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods dollar-for-dollar, Canada’s imposing $20 billion in fees on U.S. goods—including steel, aluminum, appliances, clothing, cosmetics, farm equipment and cheese.
■ They took effect at midnight.
‘Customers are scared.’ A new report finds that a year of immigration oppression has cost Cook County businesses $1.2 billion.
■ Read the details here from the Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois Chicago.
‘They didn’t give a damn about the health of the people down there.’ U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler says newly released documents confirm that New Yorkers were falsely reassured about the quality of New York’s air in the months after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001—25 years ago this week (New York Times gift link).
■ The AP surveys how every U.S. state suggests teachers deal with 9/11.
■ Illinois recommends but doesn’t require marking the date with instruction, activities or events.
‘I’m fine with freedom of religion as long as there is also freedom from religion.’ Columnist Eric Zorn has a problem with Cardinal Blase Cupich’s opposition to Illinois’ assisted suicide law.
■ Today, Sept. 8, is 988 Day—dedicated to raising awareness of the the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
‘Score one for artificial intelligence.’ Frustrated in a search of Encyclopedia Britannica, columnist Neil Steinberg gets the answer he sought from AI: “I expect there will be a lot of that in the years to come.”
■ Among The Onion’s tips for detecting AI scams: “If there was really a problem with your taxes, the government would have kidnapped you by now.”
‘No reason to show these new Trump-dictated names anywhere outside the U.S.’ Daring Fireball columnist John Gruber says this is how Google and Apple should have responded to Trump’s edict renaming Lake Ontario.
■ Now he wants to rename New Mexico.
‘Don’t watch.’ Columnist and former Chicago TV news exec Jennifer Schulze calls for a boycott of the overhauled 60 Minutes—“now being run by people with a Trump-friendly political agenda and little respect for fact-based journalism.”
■ CNN files a preview here.
■ McSweeney’s is promoting a new book, Advance: How to Survive (and Thrive) Under Authoritarianism: “Discover the joy of total value betrayal.”
■ McSweeney’s is promoting a new book, Advance: How to Survive (and Thrive) Under Authoritarianism: “Discover the joy of total value betrayal.”
Hype alerts. Treat Hollywood’s swagger with skepticism: Yeah, summer box office cash hit a record, but the number of tickets sold remains way down from pre-pandemic levels.
■ DJ and culture critic Bob Lefsetz: “There is no CD listening revival. None whatsoever. Sorry.”
Star Trek at 60. NBC aired the show’s first episode on this date in 1966 …
■ … making this an apt time to revisit not one but two of your Square columnist’s interviews with Trek creator Gene Roddenberry—including his explanation of why he wanted Spock to look a little devilish …
■ … and a 1995 interview with Trek historian Mark Altman.
Didja miss Square last week? Your support keeps it coming back.
■ J.E. Pederson and Mike Braden made this edition better.
