CHICAGO FINAL SCORE: A TIE - NATO 0 PROTESTERS 0

   You wouldn't have thought such a stalemate was possible unless you had seen it, smelled it, read about it, and walked in it, but it's true, the world just witnessed two jauggernaut's exert herculean efforts, millions of dollars, thousands of man-hours only to both fail miserably, resulting in a japanese-esk tie score of NOTHING TO NOTHING.   Congratulations to the enemy combatants, you're both incompetent.
   I KID YOU NOT!   NATO managed to accomplish nothing other than for Obama to make it clear that America was in the mix for another hundred years or however long it takes to civilize a people whose primary contact with technology is an AK-47.   On top of this, Barack finally decided to invite Pakistan President Zardari to the conference at the last minute over Pakistan's refusal to allow daily re-supply convoys from Karachi to Kabul.   This cut off Zardari even further from any support leaving him at the mercy of Islamic radicals, the military, and ISI (Paky CIA), thereby entrenching the Taliban working hard to kill our servicemen fighting an endless and unwinnable war, at least the way we are fighting it.
   All this has done is make our allies that much more determined to pull out and leave us on our own, because they know a rat hole when they see it, something this administration (and the last one too) turn a blind eye towards.   The only thank you we get is the back handed compliment from the President of Afghanistan for America's "taxpayers money."
   THE PROTEST:   If you didn't get to go, you didn't miss much.   I've not heard such roaring and screaming since visiting the Pachaderm House at Brookfield Zoo... and the elephants and hippo's made more sense.   We heard it all Sunday.   Down with government, global warming, recorded messages from convicted murders, socialists unite, free bread, free health care, free education, often at the end of very poorly performed raps and rants.   People were actually shaking their heads at a lot of the stuff, others where just looking to get out of the Sun, scattered amongst them were guys trying to score with some of the chicks.   Sure there were about 400 true believers down in front of the stage, but no more than the 1864 convention to draft Samuel P. Chase for President against Lincoln (for historical perspective).
  But after hours of these rants in the sun the march finally got underway.  And as many reporters who were on the scene interviewing people and making the rally look and feel like something important was going on, the only thing that didn't end up on the editing room floor was some kids getting their heads busted by a line of cops, or some kid busting his fist on some cops helmet. 
   In the end, it was a tie, and neither side accomplished anything.  Therefore, I have nothing to report other than both sides, after a great deal of anticipation, drew to a grandly staged apathetic failure and accomplished absolutely nothing, nothing, nothing.  
  So congratulations to both warring parties!
  Now it's our turn and we'll see if we can do better.  I don't know how we can miss.