Day: November 27, 2002

Homina, homina, homina Homeland Security Department

/ Kevin B. O'Reilly

Let me get this straight.

The INS can’t even get the FBI and the CIA to do background checks on people applying for immigrant status and who are coming from countries with known terrorist cells, and we’re supposed to expect that the behemoth, mammoth, gigantanormous Homeland Security Department is supposed to work? There are 22 different agencies being folded into this monster! Yet another layer of bureaucracy in the federal morass to help us all feel a little safer.

Way to go, Dubya. Don’t you have a pointless war to fight in Iraq?

One el of a site

/ Kevin B. O'Reilly

Remember when the Internet was supposed to be educational and whatnot, before it degenerated into a wasteland of spam, pornography and blogs?

In case you had lost all hope, let me introduce you to Chicago “L”.org, “the internet’s largest resource for information on Chicago rapid transit system!” Yes, it’s as geeky as it sounds. The site boasts, for example, “A History of fares, tickets, collection equipment, and more!”

But really, there’s lots of fascinating stuff here, including pictures of old “L” cars, a history of “L” mishaps, accidents and unusual occurrences, old advertisements for elevated rail, and — my favorite part — a history of each “L” station.

Also, find out if it’s spelled “L” or “el.” Fascinating. I side with the “el” faction, by the way, in spite of CTA propaganda.