Marathon Pundit

Thursday, July 09, 2009

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that Sen. Roland Burris (D-Blagojevich) will not run for a full term next year.

Blogging from my Blackberry Bold.

New RNC web ad: "Nothing"

Upon hearing the news the the federal government is spending $18 million to upgrade the Recovery.gov site--which like those "campaign signs" I see on road construction sites throughout the Chicago area is nothing more than advertising for Barack Obama's reelection--the Republican National Committee has produced a web ad on the ~~stimulus~~ boondoggle.

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Democrats

news

Obama's health care woes adding up

The Washington Post explains that the Obama administration has been busy making deals to get its government run health care plan enacted, but it still faces hurdles.

No single development appeared likely to kill Obama's signature domestic agenda item, but the relentless barrage of challenges that seemed to hit hourly served to demonstrate why no president since Lyndon B. Johnson has been able to enact large-scale health legislation.

From the outset, Obama has declined to dictate the details of a health-care bill to Congress, but he and his most trusted advisers have worked aggressively to shape its parameters and build political support. At the core of their strategy has been a series of side agreements aimed at extracting revenue, neutralizing potential adversaries and signaling to lawmakers that when the difficult votes come, they will have the political cover of industry support.

"All the constituencies that have been the most vocal critics of any form of health reform in the past are now invested in its success," Emanuel said in an interview.

Yesterday, (Vice President) Biden trumpeted an agreement by the nation's hospitals to contribute $155 billion to the cost of health reform, but it was quickly undermined by skepticism in the industry.

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Obama

universal health care

health care reform

The Skokie cemetery where Baby Face Nelson's body was dumped

Last week the Johnny Depp film "Public Enemies" was released, I saw it at a theater in Skokie, Illinois on Saturday.

Which is quite ironic, because unlike the movie version of the death of gangster George "Baby Face" Nelson, the real story is that the man born as Lester Gillis was wounded in what has become known as The Battle of Barrington several months after John Dillinger was gunned down after seeing "Manhattan Melodrama" at Chicago's Biograph Theater. Nelson later died of his wounds in a Winnetka, Illinois safehouse, and his body was dumped on the north end of St. Paul's Lutheran Church Cemetery in Niles Center, Illinois, which is pictured above.

Niles Center later changed its name to Skokie.

Most internet sources place Nelson's corpse in a ditch adjacent to St. Peter's Catholic Cemetery, which is in downtown Skokie.

But the better sources, including this one, this one, and this one convinces me that Nelson's body was dumped at St. Paul's on Harms Road, which is about three blocks from where I live.

It's a tiny cemetery, really a country cemetery that was swallowed by suburbia. Most of the gravestones have German names, some of the inscriptions are in German.

Related post:

St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery

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America is an Obamanation: Elephant Man's estate makes bid on Jacko's remains

The Rev. Right of America is an Obamanation reports that the estate of the Elephant Man, Englishman Joseph Merrick, has placed a bid to purchase the remains of Michael Jackson.

At the time of his death, Jacko was more popular in Britain than he was here, so the bid makes sense.

Related (non-satirical) post:

Sunday night at the Michael Jackson home in Gary

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Obama's poll numbers heading south

To be fair, President Obama's approval numbers are no where near as low as they were from George W. Bush during the last couple of years of his presidency, but if this trend continues, Obama and the Democrats are in trouble.

It's been the popularity of Obama that has helped push the stimulus bill and cap-and--trade along in Congress. Without out that adoration, which Obama seems to crave, it could be a very difficult mid-term election for the Dems.

From the American Spectator:

Is President Obama's long honeymoon finally coming to an end? It's a question I've been hesitant to ask so far in his presidency, and I only do so now with caution. It's important to keep in mind that approval ratings fluctuate week to week and Obama still remains generally popular. That said, we now have a flurry of recent data suggesting that his support is starting to wane.

Yesterday, I noted a Quinnipiac poll in the political bellwether state of Ohio showing Obama's approval rating dropping to 49 percent, and today Rasmussen finds that he received his lowest rating ever in the firm's "Presidential Approval Index." While Rasmussen has been criticized by some for releasing polls that tend to skew Republican, Obama's approval rating has dropped to 56 percent in the latest Gallup daily tracking poll, also a new low. At the same time, his Gallup disapproval rating has climbed to 36 percent, its highest ever. While, taken individually, each of these polling results could be seen as a blip, taken together, they indicate public perception of Obama is slipping -- something that can be seen in the Gallup chart below.

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Obama

Obama's phony stimulus

The Wall Street Journal throws some common sense, a commodity in short supply in Washington, on the Barack Obama ~~economic stimulus~~ boondoggle.

With the economy weak and the labor market continuing to decline, there is now talk of a second stimulus (which is actually the third, counting President Bush's 2008 tax rebates). This would be a mistake. The truth is there hasn't been any stimulus to speak of so far this year. Moreover, what's being called stimulus is just a smoke screen for a permanent expansion of government. (Emphasis mine.) Let's start with some facts.

By June 26, about $56 billion was spent on the stimulus from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, passed Feb. 17. A large proportion of that actually reflects mere transfers from the federal government to state governments, so the amount that has gotten into the economy is significantly lower.

But even if we call all of the $56 billion spending, it's still not enough to make a meaningful impact. By this point of the year in 2008, the Bush administration's tax-rebates got out about $80 billion. Most economists believe the rebates had a positive but hardly dramatic effect on the economy.

The Obama stimulus, being significantly smaller, cannot possibly be expected to turn the economy around. The economy will improve. But it will do so because the financial sector is recovering, largely due to the Fed policies to enhance liquidity and the success of the Bush administration's Troubled Asset Relief Program, continued by the Obama team, in helping to recapitalize the banks.

Like the national energy tax bill, the stimulus bill was hurried through Congress even though most legislators who voted for it hadn't read what was in it.

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Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Bloggers' conference call on health care with Roy Blunt and Cathy McMorris Rodgers

As I wrote in my last post, this is becoming a health care blog of sorts.

Late this afternoon I participated in a second bloggers' conference call, this time with Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO).

McMorris Rodgers is the fourth ranking Republican in the House of Representatives. She started the call, and gave a rundown of the committee maneuvers regarding the Democrats' health care reform bill that are occuring on Capitol Hill. The general public doesn't know much about what's in their proposal, McMorris Rodgers cautioned, for instance, mandates: An eight percent income tax that will be slapped on to companies that do not offer health insurance. Individuals without health insurance, McMorris Rodgers added, would pay a two percent income tax.

What happened to Barack Obama's campaign promise that Americans earning less than $250,000 would not have to pay more taxes?

Like McCarthy in the earlier call, she mentioned The Lewin Group study that predicted a government run health option would drive 114 million Americans out of the health care plan they are on now.

Blunt used more symbolic language. After apologizing for using the GOP symbol as a metaphor, the Missourian likened the Dems' health care proposal to "An elephant in a room full of mice." He continued, "The smart mice get out of the room as quickly as they can, and the slower mice eventually get crushed by the elephant."

That's what would happen to private insurers if the government starts competing with them.

Blunt declared that the GOP health care plan involves more choices, more options, more choices of doctors, and no mandates

Those mandates could be devastating to the economy, "4.7 million jobs would go away," Blunt warned.

In a recent op-ed, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) goes into more detail about those job losses.

Blunt added, "We believe that government run health care leads to rationing, it leads to standing in line."

It also leads to financial headaches for doctors and hospitals. McMorris Rodgers made an important point about a current government health care program, Medicare. "I believe on average the government reimburses maybe 50 to 60 percent of the cost." She continued, "That has the impact of limiting access and ultimately creating waiting lists." Which is becoming a big problem for some of her constituents in eastern Washington state.

And it will probably lead to fewer doctors and specialists, Blunt warned. Health care providers don't throw in the towel as soon as government-run health care is initiated. Citing what happened in Canada and Great Britain, "It takes about eight, nine, ten years before you realize, 'Wait a minute, there aren't as many 32 year-old doctors as there used to be,' and you're standing in line."

I was fortunate enough to ask a question in this call. My query was about Republican defectors--would there be any when the health care bill comes to the floor of the House? Blunt said he didn't know--once the bill is formally introduced, that will of course change.

But Blunt praised the work of ordinary Americans who flooded Congressional phone banks and e-mail servers during the run-up to the cap-and-trade vote.

So we know what do do this time.

As for cap-and-trade, that victory may be a Pyrrhic one for the Dems.

Related post:
Report from the GOP Whip Team bloggers' conference call about health care

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universal health care

cathy mcmorris rodgers

missouri

washington state

New online TV show, "Senate Doctors"

Marathon Pundit is quickly becoming a health care blog. Seriously, expect a lot of posts on this subjects as the Democrats try to foist government run health care on us.

Sen. Lamar Alexander's office sent me a press release about a new online show called "Senate Doctors."

WASHINGTON – Senate Republican Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) announced today a new, live, online show – "Senate Doctors" – broadcasting here every Tuesday and Thursday at 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. The first show will air tomorrow July 9, 2009 at 4:00 p.m. (EDT)>

Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) – an orthopedic trauma surgeon and former president of the Wyoming Medical Society – and Senator Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) – a family practice physician specializing in obstetrics – will be regular hosts, with guests making appearances. The show will focus on policy discussions, with constituents sharing their questions, stories, concerns, and comments about health care proposals being debated in Congress.

Barrasso said, "We all agree that health care needs reform. Having practiced medicine for over two decades in Wyoming, I know that the devil is in the details. Doing nothing is simply not an option. We must be careful, we must be thoughtful, and we must be deliberate about the changes we make. Health care is a very complex and intensely personal issue. It deserves a serious, open, and transparent national debate. 'Senate Doctors' will allow more Americans to participate in that discussion."

Coburn said, "As a practicing physician, I know that the doctor patient relationship is at the heart of medicine. Unfortunately, some in the Senate want to sever that relationship and put unaccountable and unqualified politicians and government bureaucrats in charge of medicine. Having a government board dictate medical treatments based on abstract economic data – not medical knowledge, or years of experience – is wrong for Americans and my patients. Republicans are committed to making health care more affordable while letting doctors and patients call the shots."

For more information, to submit questions and comments, or to tune in, visit http://republican.senate.gov/doctors/. Viewers can send questions and comments via e-mail, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter from this site. Barrasso and Coburn will respond to a sampling of questions in future episodes.

universal health care

Wyoming

barrasso

senate

Report from the GOP Whip Team bloggers' conference call about health care

A new month, and another GOP Whip Team blogger conference call.

This afternoon's topic was health care reform, and each of the three Republican members of Congress cautioned against the Democrats' "hurry up offense" that served their party well, but not taxpayers, in getting the economic stimulus and cap-and-trade bills moved along.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), the Republican Chief Deputy Whip, began the call and said that the first maneuver in the House on health care could begin next week.

McCarthy then handed the phone over the Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL), who discussed the death of her husband, Harvey Waite, of pancreatic cancer. "The wonderful health care system that we have here in the United States" extended his life. Brown-Waite then made a reference to an article in yesterday's Wall Street Journal that notes Great Britain, which has government-run health care, uses a mathematical formula to cap the amount to be spent on a patient suffering from a life-threatening illness. That amount is $22,000.

"Let me assure you," Brown-Waite stated, "that I believe my husband's life was worth more than $22,000."

Caps like that one is a result when government rations health care. Our current system, which most people are happy with, doesn't ration.

Rep. Charles Boustany (R-LA), a heart surgeon, then took his turn. The doctor says that Americans want health care reform, but not a "mad rush" to get something through.

The Louisianan noted a number of problems with the Dems' proposal, including the anemic Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements that don't cover providers' costs, and likend the Democrats' health care plan to an unfunded liability. More taxpayer dollars would eventually be needed to fund the whole thing, Boustany reasons.

McCarthy jumped in, and mentioned an unfortunately little-known study by The Lewin Group, which says two out of three Americans would be forced out of their current coverage and placed in the government-run plan. That report came out on the day Michael Jackson died, so its release was buried by the Jacko news.

McCarthy noted the better survival rates--and that's what health care is supposed to be about, right?--in the United States compared to health care rationer Great Britain. The Californian noted that women with breast cancer have an 83.9 percent breast cancer survival rate, in Britain it's 69.7 percent. As for prostate cancer, American men have a 91 percent survival rate, in the UK it's just 51 percent.

There is no need for a hurry-up offense.

I was able to get in a question, mine was about the proposal by Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), who has suggested that the health care benefits of unions be exempt from taxation. As I mentioned several times here, the Democrats are considering taxing these benefits--currently they're not taxed--which is something John McCain proposed last fall--and Barack Obama vehemently denounced him for suggesting it.

McCain of course did not propose that union members get a pass from the tax.

Dr. Boustany replied "The bottom line is that most of the unions are happy with the coverage they have, and they know what the Democrats are proposing will disrupt that tremendously."

Exempting union members from such a tax, "Is just plain wrong."

Here's the takeaway from the call. Although health care reform is needed, most Americans are happy with their current health care plan. A hurry-up offense should not be utilized to force government-run health care on us.

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universal health care

Ex-Blago chief-of-staff pleads guilty, will testify against ex-guv

More bad news for disgraced former Governor Rod Blagojevich. His former chief-of-staff John Harris changed is corruption plea to guilty, and will testify against the hair-brained Chicago Democrat.

Although few noticed it at the time, Harris was arrested the same day Blago was last winter.

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law

crime

Source: Mark Kirk to run for US Senate

Until his vote for the national energy tax known as cap-and-trade, a Mark Kirk run of the US Senate would have meant a Republican Primary that would have been little more than a coronation.

But Kirk was one of eight "cap-and-tr8tors" who voted for it.

He'll have to spend a lot more time explaining his vote, particularly in downstate Illinois, which not only has huge coal deposits, but many coal-fired power plants.

That's because according to Greg Hinz of Crain's Chicago Business, Kirk is running for the Senate seat currently held by Roland Burris (D-Blagojevich).

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan was expected to make a run, but the Chicago Democrat, in a surprising move, announced will run for a third term as AG.

Morton Grove businessman Andy McKenna, the State Republican chairman, is also considering a run. Cook County Republican Party co-chairman Eric M. Wallace and political gadfly and nutjob Andy Martin have already thrown their hats into the ring.

As for Kirk's district, the Chicago North Shore 10th, look for the race to succeed the Highland Park resident to be one of the most watched contests next year. It's been held by the GOP for years, but the area has been trending Democratic for the last decade.

If McKenna's Illinois Republican Party wants to draw a line in the Congressional sand, this is the place to do it.

Related post:

Cap-and-trade Tea Party at Rep. Mark Kirk's office

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Sen. Sessions on Sotomayor and PRLDEF

Sen. Sessions of Alabama is the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee. His office released a thorough press release on the radical Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (PRLDEF).

--PRLDEF is an activist legal organization that has taken highly controversial positions on a wide range of legal issues, including in cases remarkably similar to the New Haven Firefighters case.

--From 1980 through 1992, Judge Sotomayor served in a variety of leadership roles in PRLDEF, including Chairperson of the Litigation and Education Committees.

--According to the New York Times: “[f]or 12 years she was a top policy maker on the board of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund,” and was an “involved and ardent supporter of their various legal efforts,” “frequently meeting with the legal staff to review the status of cases.” J. Hoffman, A Breakthrough Judge: What She Always Wanted, The New York Times, Sept. 22, 1992.

--Also from the New York Times: “…Ms. Sotomayor stood out, frequently meeting with the legal staff to review the status of cases, several former members said. . . . And so across her 12 years on the board . . . she played an active role as the defense fund staked out aggressive stances on issues like police brutality, the death penalty and voting rights.” Hernandez and D. Chen, Nominee’s Links With Advocates Fuel Her Critics, The New York Times, May 29, 2009.

--As has been widely reported, Judge Sotomayor ruled against the New Haven Firefighters and sided with the City of New Haven’s decision to throw out their promotions. Judge Sotomayor did not provide a legal rationale for her decision. But, Judge Sotomayor was Chairperson of the PRLDEF’s Litigation Committee in 1987 when its active litigation docket included the following cases that may shed light on her judicial approach:

In Hispanic Society of the Department of Sanitation v. N.Y.C. Dept/ of Sanitation, the Fund represented the plaintiffs “in regard to a claim that the Supervisor Examination has a severe disparate impact upon Hispanic test-takers.” In support of its claim, the report noted that “Hispanics comprised 5.2% of the test-takers and only 3.8% of the passers[.]”

In Hispanic Police Society v. New York City Police Department, PRLDEF represented Hispanic police officers “challenging the examination of sergeant in the New York City Police Department as discriminatory and not job related.” Following discovery, the parties entered into a settlement that “provid[ed] for positions of sergeant consistent with the percentage of Hispanic test-takers.” To do so, the officers in question had to be advanced beyond others with higher scores.

In Hispanic Police Society v. New York City Civil Service Commission, PRLDEF represented the plaintiffs in a “Title VII employment discrimination case challenging the validity of the examination for lieutenant in the New York City Police Department.” The report indicated that the parties entered into a settlement “allowing plaintiffs the opportunity to participate in the preparation of a new lieutenant’s test.”

-- Judge Sotomayor supported the Fund’s efforts to oppose reinstatement of the death penalty in New York. The Fund based its opposition on factors including world opinion, the “inhuman psychological burden” it places on offenders, and the “evident racism” with which it is associated.

--The Fund has filed numerous briefs on abortion-related cases before the Supreme Court, and has consistently argued that it “opposes any efforts to overturn or in any way restrict the rights recognized in Roe v. Wade.” PRLDEF has also argued aggressively against limitations on the public funding of abortions.

--When New York Mayor David Dinkins criticized members of a radical Puerto Rican nationalist group and called them “assassins” because they shot members of Congress, the Fund criticized not the assassins, but the mayor. The President of PRLDEF, at a time when Judge Sotomayor was an active leader of the organization, claimed that it “lacked sensitivity” to call those individuals “assassins.” He also explained that for many people in Puerto Rico, these men were fighters for freedom and justice.

For more on the New Haven firefighters case, read this press release from Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

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law

Lisa Madigan won't run for Senate, Ill. guv

Here's a surprise...Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who is the daughter of state house speaker Michael Madigan, won't be running for governor or the US Senate.

She had been courted by the White House to challenge the embarrassing Roland Burris in next year's Democratic Party while she was considering a run for governor.

But she won't be doing either, she's going to run for a third term as AG.

But the Madigan camp has one thing going for her--they must read Marathon Pundit. Instead of using a government-paid spokesperson to announce this political decision, Madigan used a political one.

Related posts:

Illinois sleaze: Attorney general using government spokesperson to comment on political matters

Joe Birkett to run for Illinois AG--I'm endorsing

Joe Birkett on Blago: Hold the enablers accountable

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A little competition is good for the GOP

One bad habit of the Republican Party is to always defer to the top dogs in the party, whether it's an incumbent or someone who has been around forever.

The top of the pyramid gets soft, and the other side takes over.

For more information, google search "2006 Democratic takeover of Congress."

Politicians need to be reminded that they work for us, and they need to be always looking over their shoulder.

With that in mind, I'm going to start small, with an Illinois legislative race in taking place thirty miles north of where I live. The Democrats run everything here, perhaps it's time to look at a different strategy to take back Springfield.

From a press release:

Overtaxing the people is immoral” says Lake County Man.

Lake County, Illinois-Paul Mitchell, of Hainesville, a candidate for the Republican nomination for State Representative in the 62nd District, spoke before an estimated 200 people this past Independence Day at the Palatine Tea Party about the importance of morality in government.

Quoting John Adams famous remark that "Our Constitution was made only for a religious and moral people. It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other," Mitchell told the cheering crowd, "I say, taxing the people into destitution is immoral!” Mitchell went on to stress the importance of morality as an element of the conservative agenda. He told the crowd that they must work for a culture of life, a culture of liberty, and a culture of prosperity.

Mitchell told the crowd, gathered under rainy skies for the demonstration, that they must find conservative candidates to support, even if that meant running for office themselves, as he is doing.

Later, Mitchell explained that he is running against two-term Republican Repesentative Sandy Cole of Grayslake, whom he describes as "a social liberal", noting that she had this session voted in committee for an extremely pro-abortion bill, which later died in the House.

"That bill," explained Mitchell, "would have repealed Illinois' parental notification law on abortion, it would have mandated sex education beginning in kindergarten, and it would have protected abortionists who harm women from malpractice suits, among other bad points. Whether you count yourself as pro-life or pro-choice, that bill was pro-abortion, and extremely so. I don't believe that Lake County voters want a pro-abortion extremist representing them in Springfield."

A spokesman for his campaign said, "Paul Mitchell is a regular guy who is stepping out of his comfort zone to offer an alternative to the arrogance of the entrenched liberals on both sides of the aisle. Paul is “change you can believe in”; changing from a culture of death to a culture of life; from a culture of crushing taxation on the middle class and the poor to a culture of keeping what you earn; from a culture of oppression to a culture of liberty. Three things that always accompany tyranny, he says, are economic depression, a culture of death, and religious oppression, and where we find one of these, the others will be advancing."

We are experiencing that in Illinois, says Mitchell, but it is not too late to turn it around.

Visit his website at http://paulfor62.com

For more on the Palatine Tea Party, see http://www.teapartypalatine.com

For media inquiries, contact: click here to email

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Tuesday, July 07, 2009

UK paid Gypsies to to attend seminar on health and schools

After eight years of Obamaism, we may be reading stories likes this taking place not in the United Kingdom, but in the United States.

From the Daily Mail:

Gipsies and travellers have been paid £60 each of taxpayers' money to attend a conference telling them how to see a doctor and send their children to school.

Dozens turned up at the day-long summit yesterday after they were offered the fee.

It advised them how to find a GP, dentist and a school for their children while moving between illegal sites.

Organisers of the Traveller and Gipsy Awareness Day handed out the money because they feared that few would attend without the financial incentive.

I kept the Daily Mail spelling of "Gypsy."

The paper reports that food and drinks were served to the Gypsies, many of whom left after lunch. They were probably laughing hard as they did so--after all, they had just scammed the British government.

Present day America may be made up by a bunch of Homer Simpsons, but we're not dumb enough to conned like the Brits.

At least yet.

Related post:

UK government health care nightmare: Gypsies first

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universal health care

Dems misread economy, says Biden

On Sunday while I was in Indiana, Vice President Joe Biden appeared on "This Week with George Stephanopolous," where he had the unenviable chore of defending the Obama administration's economic stimulus plan. You know, the $787 billion boondoggle that was supposed to cap unemployment at 8 percent.

We're at 9.5 percent now.

Here's what the Republican Senate blog says about Biden's statement:

VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: “We Misread How Bad The Economy Was.” (ABC’s “This Week,” 7/5/09)

Administration Said Stimulus Was Needed To Prevent “Catastrophe”

PRESIDENT OBAMA: “If We Do Not Move Swiftly To Sign The American Recovery And Reinvestment Act Into Law, An Economy That Is Already In Crisis Will Be Faced With Catastrophe.” (President Obama, Remarks To House Democratic Caucus, 2/5/09)

• OBAMA: “And economists across the spectrum have warned, if we don't act immediately, then millions more jobs will disappear, the national unemployment rates will approach double digits, more people will lose their homes and their health care, and our nation will sink into a crisis that at some point is going to be that much tougher to reverse.” (President Obama, Town Hall Meeting, Fort Myers, FL, 2/10/09)

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: “If We Don't Do Anything, Every Economist Says We're Going To Lose 4 To 5 Million More Jobs This Year.” (“NBC’s “Today Show,” 2/25/09)

Administration Predicted The Unemployment Rate Would Not Go Above 8 Percent If The Stimulus Passed

“Just 10 Days Before Taking Office, Obama’s Top Economic Advisers Released A Report Predicting Unemployment Would Remain At 8 Percent Of Below Through This Year If An Economic Stimulus Plan Won Congressional Approval.” (“Biden Says ‘Everyone Guessed Wrong’ On Jobs Number,” The Associated Press, 6/14/09)

“The Unemployment Rate Rose In June To 9.5 Percent, Making It The Worst In 26 Years.” (“Unemployment Reaches 9.5 Percent, Highest In 26 Years,” U.S. News & World Report, 7/2/09)

The Administration Predicted The Stimulus Would Create Up To 4 Million Jobs

LARRY SUMMERS, Director Of The National Economic Council: “Yeah, The Plan Will Create 3 Million To 4 Million Jobs.” “Yeah, the plan will create 3 million to 4 million jobs more than the economy otherwise would have had, and that's before you get to the financial recovery approach.” (NBC’s “Meet The Press,” 1/25/09)

3,382,000 Jobs Have Been Lost So Far In 2009. (U.S. Dept. Of Labor, “Employment, Hour, And Earnings From The Current Employment Statistics Survey (National),” Accessed 7/6/09)

The Administration Promised “Unprecedented Responsibility” In Stimulus Spending

PRESIDENT OBAMA: “Now, what is required in return, what I will need from all of you, is unprecedented responsibility and accountability -- on all of our parts. The American people are watching. They need this plan to work. They expect to see the money that they've earned, that they've worked so hard to earn, spent in its intended purposes, without waste, without inefficiency, without fraud.” (President Obama, Remarks, Washington, D.C., 2/20/09)

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: “We Know Some Of This Money Is Going To Be Wasted … Some People Are Being Scammed Already.” “‘We know some of this money is going to be wasted,’ Biden said during a roundtable discussion in New York with business leaders aimed at promoting the two-year stimulus plan. … ‘There are going to be mistakes made,’ said Biden. ‘Some people are being scammed already.’” (“Biden Says Some Waste Inevitable Part Of Stimulus,” Reuters, 6/2/09)

The Dems dropped the ball on the stimulus. Are you going to trust them with health care, card check, energy...or a second stimulus.

Or a third?

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Des Plaines Obama stimulus "campaign" sign falls

According to Mrs. Marathon, who took both photographs, one of two Obama ~~economic stimulus~~ 2012 campaign signs in Des Plaines, Illinois has been lying face down for at least a week.

Each sign costs $300.

Let me remind you that this blog does not advocate vandalism or law-breaking of any kind.

If you're with the Illinois Department of Transportation and you want to put the sign back on display, look for it on Mannheim Road between Touhy and Oakton.

Tell the world Marathon Pundit sent you.

Related post:

Des Plaines, Illinois' two Obama stimulus "campaign signs"

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Northwest Chicago Suburbs

Obama ambassadorships go to fundraisers

So much for "change" in Washington now that Barack Obama is president, as the Washington Times points out:

President Obama's campaign to bring change to the nation's capital hasn't kept him from continuing the Washington tradition of handing out ambassadorships to political friends and fundraisers.

An old college roommate, the head of an entertainment production company and a lawyer whose family made its money selling vacuum cleaners are among more than a dozen people who have won ambassadorships after raising a total of at least $4 million for Mr. Obama's presidential campaign, according to public records.

The practice has been common for both political parties.

Since the Kennedy administration, presidents have given political appointees about 30 percent of the roughly 170 ambassadorships globally. While analysts say it's too early to say how Mr. Obama's administration will compare, government watchdog groups contend that the practice seems at odds with the president's populist rhetoric against "special interests."

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Obama

Monday, July 06, 2009

Packaging CEO: We're better without a union

It's time again this evening to crank up Strawbs:

Now I'm a union man
Amazed at what I am
I say what I think
That the company stinks
Yes I'm a union man.

When we meet in the local hall
I'll be voting with them all
With a hell of a shout
It's out brothers out
And the rise of the factory's fall.
Strawbs, "Part of the Union," 1973.

Writing for Newsweek, Kevin Kelly, a packaging CEO, tells us life is better without a union:

Why go through all this effort? Like most businesspeople, we don't want a union coming between us and our employees. We worry that a union might attempt to drive up wages higher than we can afford, or foist a health care plan on us more expensive than our thin margins can handle. Our past experience with a union taught us—and many of employees said as much—that too often the union protected employees with the lowest production or worst quality. We also know that some union contracts strictly limit the ability of managers to help run or setup machinery, something that would deeply hurt our company, where supervisor's often wield wrenches.

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Labor looks to Bonoir to fix its problems

For thirty years, former Michigan Congressman David Bonoir was the go-to guy on union stuff in Washington. That didn't escape onetime presidentital candidate John Edwards, who tapped Bonoir to run his 2008 campaign.

As the Barack Obama juggernaut begins to lose steam, unions are looking to Bonoir to fix their problems while the president remains popular. As Congressional Quarterly notes, it's being done with the "tacit support" of the White House.

Bonoir is the leader of the National Labor Coordinating Committee.

More from CQ:

It was scarcely surprising that Bonior was the choice — with the White House’s tacit support — to heal the schism that opened in union ranks when seven dissenting unions split from the AFL-CIO in 2005. But it remains to be seen whether he can find a way to balance competing leadership ambitions and the differing perspectives of industrial unionists, service workers and white-collar professionals.

The idea behind the Bonior-led National Labor Coordinating Committee is to build a united front among more than 16 million union members to capitalize on a recent growth in membership and to reconfigure the traditional union model for a post-industrial, service-providing economy.

Not incidentally, a reunited labor movement might also advance an agenda that puts special emphasis on health care and stimulating the economy. Meanwhile, all of labor’s factions share the objective of passing the Employee Free Choice Act, the politically charged card-check bill that would rewrite labor relations laws to help unions add to their numbers.

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Sunday night at the Michael Jackson home in Gary

After our day trip to Indiana Dunes State Park, the Marathon Pundit family decided to visit the former Michael Jackson home at 2300 Jackson Street in Gary.

The King of Pop had died ten days earlier, but as you can see in the picture, the home is still a shrine.

It was 9:30pm when he parked--a block away from the home--Jackson Street is cordoned off from 23rd Street to 24th Street--a police car with flashing siren lights was parked on the corner of 23rd and Jackson.

We were there for about twenty minutes, for the most part there were always about a dozen people on the lawn--the grass is dead, no doubt crushed to death by Jackson mourners.

The mourners we saw were predominately African American, like Gary itself, but it looked like one of every four of them were white.

The scene was quite respectful. Most just walked up to the police tape guarding the home, stared, and took pictures.

Only one person showed emotion--a fifty-ish man who repeatedly uttered, "We miss you Michael...We miss you."

Across Jackson Street was a souvenir stand selling T-shirts and CDs.

On the political front, Gary Mayor Rudy Clay has been promoting 2300 Jackson as a Graceland type tourist destination.

If they'll come for the King of Rock and Roll, they'll do the same for the King of Pop, he reasons.

Uh, no.

Mark Kiesling of the Times of Northwest Indiana explains:

Graceland has always been an attraction. The house at 2300 Jackson St. in Gary has been an eyesore for years. I can imagine people shelling out good money to get the first bus away from it.

Memphis has experienced a renaissance of its Beale Street area, once rundown but now a thriving night-life district with blues clubs, bars and restaurants.

Looking for Gary's entertainment district? Let me know how that turns out for you.

Gary for the most part is blighted, but the city has two casinos and a couple of minor league sports teams, but those pursuits take place on the northern end of Gary, far away from 2300 Jackson.

I've been to Memphis, but not Graceland, but from what I've heard, the mansion is located in an affluent area, and it's a big home--well, it is a mansion.

The Jackson home is tiny, not much bigger than Elvis' birthplace in Tupelo, Mississippi--which I have visited.

If Gary is going to proceed with their Jackson temple, Tupelo is the model to use. But if a visitors center, gift shop, and a parking lot are going to be built, that will mean tearing down homes.

Or the house could be moved to the once bustling main drag of Gary, Broadway. But the home won't be at 2300 Jackson Street anymore.

UPDATE July 7: According to TrogloPundit, there is a Michael Jackson sighting group. Is he really dead? I didn't see him in Gary two nights ago, but then again, once his family left Northwest Indiana, he didn't spend much time in the steel hub.

Related posts:

Bury Michael Jackson in Gary?

My Mississippi Manifest Destiny: Elvis Presley's birthplace

My Mississippi Manifest Destiny: Where Elvis bought his first guitar

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Sunday, July 05, 2009

Indiana Dunes sunset

This afternoon the Marathon Pundit family journeyed to Indiana Dunes State Park in Porter County, about 20 miles east of Gary.

If you ever wondered that the Chicago skyline looked like at sunset from a top a dune 50 miles away--then today is your lucky day.

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Niles Illinois' Obama stimulus "campaign sign"

Yesterday I saw "Public Enemies," which about half of which was set set in Chicago. The J. Edgar Hoover character says early in the film something along the lines of "there's a crime wave in America and Chicago is at it's center."

The Barack Obama campaign also emerged from Chicago, and even though he won last fall, the campaign continues--as I've noted many times, these stimulus signs are nothing more that campaign advertisements for Obama 2012 effort.

Our newest entry was taken yesterday, right after I watched the Johnny Depp film. You can see it on Touhy Avenue in Niles, just west of Niles.

About "Public Enemies." I enjoyed it immensely, although I'm a sucker for films about Chicago. The performances, starting with Depp, were convincing, although the there was not much character development of the supporting cast.

As with all Michael Mann directed films, the cinematography was was first rate.

But I have one beef with the movie, there are way too many historical inaccuracies.

Pretty Boy Floyd and Baby Face Nelson were shot to death after Dillinger's famous departure from the Biograph Theater, for instance.

Let me end with the campaign. In his report, 100 Stimulus Projects: A Second Opinion, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) wrote, signs are popping up everywhere.

Indeed they are. There are four of these placards within two miles of my home. In its rebuttal to Coburn's report, the White House claimed such signs are "customary."

But in my years on this planet, I've never seen such a proliferation of these "campaign signs." But The Chosen One has only been president for six months.

Related posts:

Lake Forest, Illinois' Obama stimulus "campaign sign"
Obama stimulus "campaign sign" on Chicago's Northwest Side
Skokie's second Obama stimulus "campaign sign"
Morton Grove, Illinois' Obama stimulus "campaign sign"
Des Plaines, Illinois' two Obama stimulus "campaign signs"
Obama stimulus "campaign sign" in downtown Chicago
Park Ridge, Illinois' Obama stimulus "campaign sign"
Illinois "Obama campaign signs" make Sen. Coburn's waste list
Illinois' Obama campaign signs ranks #3 on Hannity's Waste 101 list
Obama's 2012 reelection campaign and stimulus sign in Libertyville
Obama stimulus campaign sign in LaSalle, Illinois
Obama signs, Obama signs, everywhere Obama signs
Lincolnwood's Obama stimulus "campaign sign"
This stimulus project has been brought to you by the perpetual Obama campaign

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Saturday, July 04, 2009

Morton Grove fireworks show

A huge crowd--maybe 10,000 people--attended tonight's Independence Day fireworks in Morton Grove, Illinois. An enormous turnout, just 22,000 live in the Chicago suburb.

The Marathon Pundit family had a good view of the show, and these patriots helped a lot with this picture.

Happy Fourth of July!

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McCain on Iran and July 4th

While President Obama has been taking baby steps expressing support for Iranian pro-freedom protesters, John McCain, in the weekly Republican radio address, is much more forceful.

Which is not surprising. While running for president, Obama said he'd meet with Iranaian leaders, who by the way our supporters of terrorism, without preconditions.

Today, we stand with the millions of Iranians who brave batons, imprisonment and gunfire to have their voices heard and their votes counted. They do not ask us to arm them or come to their assistance with anything other than public declarations of solidarity, and public denunciations of the tyrants who oppress them. We have a moral obligation to do so.

Hat tip to The Astute Bloggers.

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July 4, 1882: Buffalo Bill Cody and the birth of the rodeo

Time to hop into the "way-back machine" to a previous July 4 that had a profound effect on our nation.

Not to Philadelphia in 1776, nor Vicksburg in 1863, but to North Platte, Nebraska in 1882.

From Robert A. Carter's "Buffalo Bill Cody, The Man Behind the Legend":

At that time in American history, the birthday of our republic was one of the most celebrated days of the year. Plans for its observation usually were made well in advance, and communities vied with each other to see who could stage the most spectacular celebration--and every community hoped to outdo its celebration of the year before.

There are varying stories concerning the celebration in North Platte in the summer of 1882. According to Nellie Snyder Yost, "Some say the town hadn't gotten around to making definite plans for the Fourth before the Honorable W.F. Cody came home for the summer." Others say plans were already under way to do something big for the occasion but the planners were waiting until Cody arrived to help them decide what to do.

The Honorable W.F. Cody was of course Buffalo Bill, also known as The Colonel. He was thirty-six then, and already a legend. As a boy he rode a wagon train with Wild Bill Hickock, then he was a rider for the Pony Express. He fought with the Union as a teenager in the Civil War, participating in the Battle of Tupelo in 1864 and in numerous engagements in Missouri. After the war, he killed 4,280 buffalo (hence the name) in 18 months for the hungry workers building the Kansas Pacific Railroad. He was a scout for Colonel George Custer and General Phil Sheridan in the Plains Indian Wars, and received a Congressional Medal of Honor for his efforts. Yet Cody still found time for a stint in the Nebraska legislature.

And he was a top theater attraction.

But his best days were ahead of him. More from Carter's book:

In the West of 1882, roping, racing, and bucking contests were regular Sunday affairs, where "the cow-boys," gathered at one ranch or another to try their skills "just for the fun of it"; to see who could rope, throw, and tie a steer the quickest, or who could ride the roughest bucking broncs. Similarly, cowboy sports sometimes were presented before gathered crowds, usually as Fourth of July celebrations. One was held in Deer Trail, Colorado in 1872. Other early contests took place in Pecos, Texas, and Prescott, Arizona. The exhibition that Buffalo Bill mounted in North Platte that summer is considered the beginning not only of the Wild West Show but also of the rodeo, although that word was not applied to the contests until 1911.

And the Wild West Show framed the picture of what the American West was. Cody's shows, which traveled throughout America and Europe, elevated the image of "cow-boys," who were viewed before July 4, 1882 as little more than scoundrels on horseback.

Indians were part of those shows too. Ask a 21st-century 10 year-old to draw a picture of a Native American, and what will be handed back to you will be a recreation of a Plains Indian with a feathered head dress, not a Georgia Cherokee or a Michigan Chippewa.

Buffalo Bill and his show inserted that image of American Indians into the minds of millions, and nearly a century after his death, that iconic perception of Native Americans hasn't changed much.

Remember what the newspaper editor character in John Ford's last great Western, "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance," said: "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend."

The Wild West Show wasn't just about cowboys and Indian warriors--Annie Oakley, "Little Miss Sure Shot," smashed Victorian beliefs of what a woman's place in the world should be.

Speaking of Victorian, the future Edward VII was so impressed with the Wild West Show by a private performance in London that a second one was arranged--for Queen Victoria.

For many years Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show featured an Indian attack on a stagecoach.

Hmm...that sounds familiar. Did you think John Ford operated in a vacuum?

Portrayals of Cody in movies and television are consistent, he's usually shown as a bigoted buffoon.

The Native Americans in his shows played savages and killers, but the Colonel's opinion of Indians was not typical of men of his era. As he explained, "In nine cases out of ten where there is trouble between white men and Indians, it will be found that the white man is responsible. Indians expect a man to keep his word. They can't understand how a man can lie."

Back to Robert Carter A. Carter:

"Do you believe that women should have the same liberty and privileges men have?" was the leading question put to the Colonel by a prominent feminist. "Most assuredly I do," Cody replied. "I've already said that they should be allowed to vote. Why of course, if a woman is out earning her living she keeps up with what is going on in the world, and she knows the best man to vote for...What we want to do is give our women even more liberty than they have. Let them do any kind of work that they see fit, and if they do it as well as men give them the same pay. Grant them the same privileges in their home life that men have and we will see them grow and expand into far more beautiful and womanly creatures than they already are."

The Colonel died a few months before our entry into World War I. It was an ironic time for him to die, because the German Army studied the logistics of the set-up, tear-down, and the transport of the Wild West Show. Lessons from the show would soon be utilized with deadly efficiency against American doughboys in France.

Buffalo Bill held the first rodeo on this date in July 4, 1882. And the Wild West Show began as well.

Even though the North Platte show wasn't called either of those things.

When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.

The Colonel's effect on America was indeed profound--he changed the way Americans think of themselves.

As for Buffalo Bill himself, he was boastful, confident, and not afraid of a challenge--he was just like America.

UPDATE 10:00am: The Radio Patriot takes a look at The Liberty Bell. ARRA salutes the Adams family. Yep, one "d."

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Friday, July 03, 2009

AFL-CIO pension funds sign $500 million letter of committment on Olympic housing project

One has to wonder if a $500 million investment, which to me is quite risky, is in the best interest of the workers who paid into various AFL-CIO pension funds.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

This week, (Chicago Mayor Richard) Daley took an $86 million gamble with taxpayers' money that a moribund housing market will come roaring back -- by closing on the purchase of Michael Reese Hospital to pave the way for construction of a $1.1 billion Olympic Village.

That's a drop in the bucket compared with the risk the AFL-CIO is about to take with its pension funds.

The AFL-CIO investment trusts and the labor-owned Union Labor Life Insurance Co. have signed a "letter of commitment" to pump $500 million into building the Olympic Village, a project alternately viewed as the riskiest element of Chicago's Olympic bid and its enduring "physical legacy."

Olympic Village projects in London and Vancouver have run into trouble because of the worldwide credit crunch, forcing both cities to ride to the rescue.

The Sun-Times reports the move could protect the City of Chicago from a similar problem, but what if the project collapses?

Besides, the AFL-CIO has other problems.

Related posts:

Financially ailing AFL-CIO funding push for Obama's health care plan
"Creative accounting" creates problems for AFL-CIO
AFL-CIO meeting at luxury hotel in Miami Beach
Nonsense from a South Dakota AFL-CIO official about card check
Report from the bloggers' conference call on EFCA and under-funded pensions

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Palin bailin'

Hmmm...I didn't see this coming. Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is quitting, effective July 26.

The speculation is that she will now focus on a national political run, which can only mean the presidency.

It's an odd move, since lack of experience was one of the knocks against her during her vice presidential run.

But she's come from nowhere--no Ivy League education, no family with clout, to get where she is, so don't count her out.

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Saluting the troops in Niles, Illinois

There are hundreds of United States flags on the lawn of Notre Dame College Prepatory High School in Niles, Illinois, this photograph captures only a few.

The school does this every year--God bless them.

Tonight at 6pm there will be a veterans mass at Notre Dame, followed by a musical salute to the men and women who've served our great country.

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Illinois corruption update: Office of elected Cook County schools official raided

Even as we roll into a holiday, the corruption in Illinois doesn't stop. One of the many things wrong in Illinois is that there are too many elected offices, for instance, the position of Cook County Regional Superintendent.

This post should be abolished, and now that this news has hit, it just might be, as ABC 7 Chicago reports:

The offices of Cook County suburban school superintendent Charles Flowers were raided on Wednesday.

Flowers is accused of using county money for personal vacations, rental cars and restaurant bills.

The Suburban Cook County Regional Office of Education's purpose is to provide teacher certifications and support for suburban Cook County schools. But investigators suspect the educator who runs it used the place as a personal piggy bank for friends and family.

More...

"All the Superintendent did upon his election was to feel like he won the lottery, hiring his family and friends and padding the payroll," said Cmsr. Liz Gorman, (R) Orland Park.

I'm glad ABC 7 made the effort to identify Gorman as a Republican. But nowhere in this article, and they're not alone in this omission, is Flowers' party affiliation mentioned.

He's a Democrat.

Although I'm not an attorney, my legal advice to Flowers is to say that he was just trying to enact his own economic stimulus plan.

Related posts:

Illinois corruption update: Cook County worker with clout collected salary while jailed
Hack that Obama endorsed bringing Illinois politics to new low
More on Stroger's cousin and her busboy
Todd "Corruption Tax" Stroger dragged into municipal election
Hey Obama! Speak out on proposal to impose nation's highest sales tax in your hometown: UDPATED
More Cook County waste
Todd Stroger: More Chicago Democratic sleaze
Another update on America's worst government--Cook County
Rita Rezko's contribution to America's worst government, Cook County
The latest from America's worst governmental body, Cook County
Bid to rescind Cook County corruption tax fails: UPDATED
T-Day in Obama's hometown: Highest sales tax of any big city in America
Patronage hiring still thrives in Cook County
Another thing for Obama to be silent on: Cook County summer jobs going to pols' kids
Update on America's worst governmental body, Cook County
Palatine wants to secede from Cook County
Something else for Obama to be silent on: Chicago will have the nation's highest sales tax
Say no to higher Cook County taxes
No fat in Cook County budget?
Beavers leaves it to the race card as America's worst governmental body gets worse
Your Cook County tax dollars at work
Stop the proposed Cook County phone tax
"Is anyone watching out for Chicago taxpayers?"
Time for me to shop...outside Cook County?
Marathon Pundit Chicago River dumping follow up
Obama and Chicago's "We Don't Want Nobody Nobody Sent" culture
Cook County sues Cook County
My day as a Cook County juror

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Joe Birkett to run for Illinois AG--I'm endorsing

DuPage County State's Attorney Joe Birkett announced yesterday that he is an candidate for Illinois Attorney General.

He's a seasoned prosecutor, and the Republican will be an effective law enforcement office for the state's 12 million residents.

Birkett has my support, and yes, this is an endorsement.

The 54 year-old ran for AG in 2002, losing to Lisa Madigan, who still holds the post. Four years later he was gubernatorial candidate Judy Baar Topinka's running mate, but the ticket was defeated by the corrupt money machine of Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Current governor Pat ?Quinn was Blago's running mate.

Vote Birkett in 2010.

Related posts:

Illinois sleaze: Attorney general using government spokesperson to comment on political matters

Joe Birkett on Blago: Hold the enablers accountable

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