The Life from Berwyn, Illinois • 10

Papa, 10) The Ufa Weekend Edition Sunday. October 03. 2004 A Tivistod Tforn Our Opinion i 1 I 4t i u- mu Last hurrah for the houiby? This campaign season is brought to you by Logos are how companies mark their territory in the corporate jungle. If we helped pay for something, foe thinking goes, we should get to put our stamp on it. When Nike helped pay for improvements to a Chicago park, the ball field was adorned with the "swoosh" logo.

Televised games have corporate sponsors for different parts of the broadcast from pregame through halftime to postgame wrap-up. There was a time when each kickoff in an NFL game was sponsored by Budweiser. I always imagined them forgetting to sponsor a kickoff and all foe players just wandering around the playing field, lost and confused. Half of the safety protection for NASCAR drivers must come from foe protective layer of logos on their cars and racing suits. Today's racing cars are advertising space for far more than just automotive products.

Domino's is foe official pizza delivery of NASCAR. McDonald's is foe official dnve-forough. There is no official sit-down restaurant perhaps because no driving is involved. But after every meal the official oral care product is foe Oral toothbrush. There is even a Viagra racing car.

When a company springs for political campaign contributions, it should get to put its logo on the politician. One of foe many ways companies can give money to politicians is through Political Action Committees, which are essentially trade groups that make donations to foe politicians who regulate their industry. But when PACs make donations, individual companies don't get the credit This shouldn't be. Companies pay good money for their politicians and should get a little advertising space on the candidate's suit alongside foe standard-issue American flag and yellow ribbon lapel pins. This year; agribusiness firms, which include cigarette makers, have contributed more than $34 million in PAC and individual contributions nationally.

So have energy firms. Corporations under foe Finance Insurance Real Estate heading contributed more than $218 million. Pharmaceutical manufacturers, fearing cheaper imported drugs, have donated $6.7 million to campaigns and budgeted $85 million for lobbying. The securities and investment industry has contributed more than $58 million. This is according to tire Center for Responsive Politics and the Associated Press.

Shouldn't President Bush wear tire Merrill Lynch bull logo? After all foe firm's employee and PAC contributions this year alone top $1.8 million, with $530,000 going to the president, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Wearing logos might have a subtle influence on politicians. "My opponent talks about balancing the budget and getting foe red out just like Visirre, from our friends at Pfizer But he needs to wake up and smell foe Maxwell House coffee, from the folks at Kraft Foods. He's blowing smoke, and not the rich, flavorful kind from a Marlboro cigarette, another fine product from our friends at Altria Group, formerly Philip Morris." Because foe candidate with the most money usually wins, one consequence of requiring them to wear fire logos of contributing companies might be that foe largest candidate win. Government will end up filled with former NFL linemen.

But they wont be able to kick off their campaign until a beer company sponsors it I Paul Halvey is a freelance writer firm North Riverside and can be retailed by e-mail at phdveycomcast.net. The annual houby, or mushroom, festival was started more than three decades ago as a way to celebrate Bohemian culture. Vendors would sell ethnic crafts and food, thousands would come out to watch the parade and young women from Berwyn and Cicero would vie for the chance to be named Houby Queen. Rumors are circulating that this may be the last year of the Houby Day Fest as most remember it, but area residents should embrace the changes that could come. Many of the Bohemians who built the bungalows in Cicero and Berwyn have left, and they cannot expect their traditions to continue in the area where they once lived.

America is built on waves of immigrants, and the Bohemian immigrants have given way to Hispanic immigrants, who have their own vibrant culture. Those who live here now should not I be beholden to the traditions of those who have left. Hispanic cultures have their own food, crafts, music and ways of celebrating a festival. The best way to breath new life into the Houby Festival will be to embrace the new cultures that make up the area. The houby parade used to attract presidential candidates, who would shake hands and kiss babies.

But as more Bohemians have moved away, the more the fest has suffered. To restore the wide appeal of the festival, organizers are going to have to embrace the community and have the celebration reflect the community that is, and not that which was. A nice compromise would be to keep the name "houby" in any festival name, to honor those who built and settled the area. But the houby celebration should also pay tribute those who now make up the fabric of the community. Lifo llowspcpcrs Jsnnllsr LbCesi City Editor (7C3) 447-S310 Joseph DcRcder Editor (G3Q) 3S3-C311 1--.