Union president spanks Obama

John Edwards has sucked up to the unions more than any other presidential candidate. In a close second is Barack Obama.

In his book, The Audacity of Hope, Obama discusses meeting some former workers of a Maytag plant in Galesburg, Illinois.

His encounter takes up three pages of his best-seller, and my senator refers back to the Galesburg workers several times in later parts of the book.

Lately Obama has been working in the story of those Maytag employees into his stump speech. But there is one problem: The president of the union that reprsented those workers wants him to stop.

From the Centre Daily Times:

The president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) is urging Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) to dry his crocodile tears over the loss of more than 1,600 jobs when Maytag moved from Galesburg, IL, to Reynosa, Mexico.

"He didn't lift a finger to help those people when they needed help the most," said IAM President Tom Buffenbarger, whose union represented the workers at Maytag. "Even now, he doesn't have a clue and thinks those jobs went overseas and not to Mexico."

In recent campaign speeches, Sen. Obama has repeatedly cited the plight of Maytag workers in his bid to win sympathy and support from union members battered by factory closings and lost jobs.

"This is the same candidate who recently labeled unions as 'special interest' groups with too much influence in Washington, D.C.," said Buffenbarger. "For the last eight years, we've defended our members' jobs, pensions and health care benefits against a political agenda that's been openly hostile to unions and working families. But a Johnny come lately candidate won't solve the problem facing blue collar families."

The IAM is among the nation's largest and most politically active labor unions, representing nearly 720,000 members in manufacturing, transportation, shipbuilding and defense related industries. For more information about the IAM, visit www.goiam.org.

SOURCE International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers

Don't look for this clipping to appear in any Obama press kit. However, the Hillary Rodham Clinton campaign might want to hang on to this one--especially since Buffenbarger and his union endorsed the New York senator's presidential run in August.

On one hand you might want to dismiss this story because of the union's previous endorsement, but don't look for Obama to talk about the Galesburg Maytag workers anymore.

Sometimes sucking up doesn't work out.

Related posts:

NH Obama-Oprah fest will be held in non-union hall--and there will be no pickets

Michelle Obama quits board of big Wal-Mart supplier

John Edwards wakes up to Wal-Mart nightmare

Technorati tags: politics Unions Barack Obama 2008 election John Edwards Obama labor Democrats books Maytag Illinois Mexico méxico Hillary hillary clinton

Run Bloomberg Run

I see that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is still considering a run for the presidency.

He is not going to win.

But if he runs, he'll almost certainly take more votes from the Democratic candidate than the Republican one in the general election.

Run Bloomberg run!

Technorati tags: democrats elections 2008 Politics Bloomberg New York

Marathon news

Some sad news from New York City. Victor Navarra, a FDNY lieutenant and official starter for the last 26 New York City Marathons, died yesterday of cancer.

Hat tip the Third Wave Dave for finding that one.

Typically registration for the Chicago Marathon opens on January 1. But race organizers are still working on assessing last year's debacle, and are pushing back the date to February 1.

The new date should help runners, since a herd instinct has been compelling runners to register very early, perhaps before they've begun training, so then can be assured a spot in the race, which will be held on October 12.

Related posts:

A participant's view of the cancelled Chicago Marathon: UPDATED

Technorati tags: Chicago Marathon running marathon run Chicago illinois news sports NYC Marathon New York

New Year's Eve on Blog Talk Radio with Andrea Shea King

I'm still recovering from the nightmare of spending New Year's Eve in Evanston two years ago, so this year I'll be staying home and joining Andrea Shea King's Blog Talk Radio Show.

The festivities start at 11:30am Eastern Time, 10:30pm for hicks like me in the Central Time Zone.

I'll be calling in to the on-air bash.

Related post:

Hear Marathon Pundit on Blog Talk Radio

Technorati tags: blog politics conservative blog talk radio New Year's Eve new year

Sunday Night's Odds and Sods

Odds and Sods is back. Here's what I've picked up along the blogosphere this evening....

Brett of Majority in Mississippi picks what he thinks are the top ten political stories from his state. Trent Lott's resignation took first place, but his second pick is story that is worth watching:

Internationally known trial lawyer Dickie Scruggs was indicted the day after Trent Lott announced his retirement plans. Scruggs was indicted for, among other things, allegedly bribing a judge to get a favorable ruling on a Katrina settlement. The fall out of this is unknown and it will continue to be a huge story in 2008.

Scruggs is one of the largest backers of trial-lawyer friendly Mississippi Democrats, including the only statewide elected Democrat Jim Hood (who has since decided to remain silent). While Scruggs reputation is already ruined (IMHO), a conviction would be a disaster for Mississippi Democrats who have gladly accepted Scruggs money. Besides Hood, this includes Billy McCoy and Gary Anderson most recently. While we don't know for sure, we can also speculate that Mike Moore- who hired Scruggs in the 1990s to represent the state against tobacco companies- declined a Senate run because of his Scruggs ties.

This story is just beginning in my opinion...

And this story is soooo John Grisham.

I still think Hillary Clinton will win the Democratic nomination, but if former trial lawyer John Edwards comes out of the Democratic National Convention in Denver at the top of the ticket, stories like this will hurt him.

Cambridge, Massachusetts peaked very early. It's where General George Washington took command of the Continental Army in 1775. As Solomonia (via The Radio Equalizer) points out, it's now known as the place that "that banned the Boy Scouts from collecting goods for the troops at polling places." Sol reports on the trip to Bethlehem led by the Cambridge Peace Commission. Special Assistant to the Mayor of Cambridge Omar Bandar was along for the ride. And the vile International Solidarity Movement figures into the mix.

Read Sol's post here.

Wake Up America reports on the continued ascension of Sarkozian France as it suspends diplomatic contacts with terror-state Syria.

Senator Arlen Specter, a sometime Republican from Pennsylvania, just got back from Syria. Israpundit reports the obvious: Specter knows nothing. Fleshing it out a bit, Specter alludes that all Israel needs to do is return the Golan Heights, and Syria will keep an eye on Hamas, Hezbollah....

Specter should talk to Sarkozy.

From Flopping Aces we learn that The London Telegraph did what Time Magazine should have done. It named General David Petraeus it's Person of the Year.

The link is safe for work, but Mark Draughn of WindyPundit finds out the down side of posting a picture of a hottie on his site--having someone hotlink it to another site, eating his bandwith.

Douglas V. Gibbs at Political Pistachio reports on a recent George Mason University Center for Media and Public Affairs study that found that the Fox News Channel is the most fair and balanced news network around.

So when are the Democratic candidates, other than Hillary Clinton, going to end their boycott of the Fox News Channel?

Technorati tags: politics Democrats blogging Israel palestine Hillary hillary clinton Syria France française massachusetts Mississippitrial lawyers John Edwards specter Petraeus Fox News Channel

SCOTUS to hear Indiana voter ID case

The US Supreme Court will hear a case next month that that may have far-reaching ramifications in future elections.

Indiana has a tough voter ID law that was recently put on the books to prevent vote fraud.

From AP:

The mainly Republican backers of the law, including the Bush administration, say state-produced photo identification is a prudent measure to cut down on vote fraud--even though Indiana has never had a prosecution of the kind of fraud the law is supposed to prevent.

The opponents, mainly Democrats, view voter ID a modern-day poll tax that disproportionately affect poor, minority and elderly voters _ who tend to back Democrats. Yet, a federal judge found that opponents of the law were unable to produce evidence of a single Indiana resident who had been barred from voting because of the law.

Off the top of my head two Indiana vote fraud indidents come to mind. The Hoosier State is a reliable Republican stronghold, but the Democrats are the strongest in Northwest Indiana, particularly in Lake County. Guess where the biggest recent vote fraud scandal has occured?

From the Times of Munster:

The Vote Fraud Task Force has had a success rate of almost 90 percent and is winding down its work in the wake of the 2003 East Chicago mayoral (Democratic) primary.

The task force led to charges against 53 people. At a progress report last week, Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter was glad to say, "The bulk of these are behind us."

Of the 53 cases, 38 ended in convictions, three were dismissed, one was found not guilty by a jury, one defendant died, and 10 are pending.

That's good news, but with a dark side. The state of ethics in Lake County is sorry indeed.

This case involves just one guy, but it's a favorite of mine. A former Anderson, Indiana firefighter was found guilty of voting in a precinct where he didn't live.

From the Anderson Herald Bulletin, via FreeRepublic:

"The fact is the man lived in Pendleton and voted in the Anderson city election," (Chief Deputy Prosecutor Mike) Chambers said. "As a good Democrat, he felt the need to vote in the city election."

Below are some related vote fraud posts. All of them involve "good Democrats," except the ACORN entry--and they're a Leftist group.

Some people don't get it. The Daily Kos, the site that my senator, Barack Obama, called "left leaning," is calling the Indiana law part of a "GOP Vote Suppression Strategy."

Related posts:

Obama and the Laborers' Union Ed Smith
ACORN allegedly has some bad nuts
East St. Louis vote fraud update
E. St. Louis hires two ex-cons with vote buying convictions
East St. Louis vote fraudster found guilty of improper asbestos removal
Convicted vote thief joined by top local Dems at his pre-prison going away party
East St. Louis blues
21 month sentence in Kentucky vote-buying case
Another Democrat sentenced in Kentucky vote buying case
Kentucky vote buying update: Alleged jury tamperer accused of attempting to contact members of his own jury

Technorati tags: democrats elections Barack Obama Obama Politics Indiana SCOTUS law legal vote fraud election fraud crime Northwest Indiana ACORN

Cincinnati Post publishes final edition on New Year's Eve

Next year will arrive with one less major metropolitan daily: The 127 year-old Cincinnati Post, an afternoon paper published under a joint operating agreement with the Cincinnati Enquirer since 1977, will issue its last edition on New Year's Eve.

The Enquirer salutes the Post right here.

When I was a boy in the early 1970s, most big cities had at least one afternoon daily--Chicago had two, the Today and the Daily News. Neither survived the decade.

Evening news broadcasts on television, and a shift from a blue collar work force, killed afternoon newspapers.

Thanks for the link:

The Bench
Pajamas Media

Technorati tags: Media news newspapers MSM Cincinnati Ohio

Obama comparing Edwards to Kerry?

John Edwards was of course John Kerry's running mate in 2004. And it appears the indecisive legacy of John "Flipper" Kerry can be used as a weapon against him--by Barack Obama.

From ABC News' Political Punch blog:

"We are less likely also to win an election with somebody who had one set of positions four years ago and has almost entirely different positions four years later," Obama continued, speaking of Edwards. "We've been through that. It's a problem and so if you are concerned with electability having somebody who has been consistent, who has opposed the war from the start so the opponent can't say he was for the war just like I was. Having someone who did not support NAFTA, did not support the China trade deal, did not support a bankruptcy bill that would make it tougher for people to make ends meet. That will give me the ability to go strong in the general election. My intention is not just to have you elect a nominee, my intention is to have you elect a president."

Later Saturday in Keokuk, Obama said of Edwards, "Part of the problem that John would have in the general election is that the issues that he's taking out now are not the issues or the things that he said four years ago, which always causes us problems in general elections."

Interesting.

More from that blog:

To me that sounds like Obama is alluding to Democrats being less likely to win with a nominee who can be tarred as flip-flopping. Looking at a roster of Democratic nominees over the last 30 years -- Carter, Mondale, Dukakis, Clinton, Gore, Kerry -- I can only see one, Kerry, who was tarred as a flip-flopper.

Barack Obama of course, as the Hillary machine likes to point out, had a habit of voting "present" during his legendary (to him) time as an Illinois state senator. Obama represented a liberal district on Chicago's South Side, and to get re-elected, all he had to do was vote the left-wing party line, and take "hard" stands like opposing the Iraq War and NAFTA. (Did those issues ever come up for a vote in the state legislature?) But clearly Obama had his sights on higher office as soon as he arrived in Springfield, which can be the only explanation on why Obama was so "present" there.

Technorati tags: democrats elections 2008 Hillary Clinton Hillary Obama John Edwards Barack Obama John Kerry NAFTA Iraq

One year ago today Saddam Hussein was executed

A vile and evil man, Saddam Hussein al-Majid al-Tikriti, finally saw justice shortly after walking up the steps of a basement gallows in Baghdad on this day one year ago.

Iraq and the world is a better place.

At this time last year Iraq seemed headed into civil war. Thanks to General David Petraeus and "the Surge," the situation is significantly better now. So much so that even Osama bin Laden has taken notice.

And he's not happy about it.

Technorati tags: military armed forces Iraq Saddam Hussein saddam Petraeus surge on this day

New England Patriots are a perfect 16-0

This evening I had the pleasure of watching the play-by-play coverage of the New England Patriots make history at the Meadowlands in New Jersey, as the Pats defeated the New York Giants 38-35.

The Giants gave the Patriots a spirited battle--at one time they held a 12-point lead, the largest any team held over them this year.

The Miami Dolphins were the last team to go undefeated in a season. Two teams had performed the feat earlier, the 1934 and 1942 Chicago Bears, but only the Dolphins were able to move on to win the league championship.

That's what the Patriots need to do if they expect anyone to rank them as one of the NFL's greatest teams.

Technorati tags: Chicago Bears NFL sports new england patriots New York Giants history current affairs

Chicago-New Orleans game brings back bad memories for Saints fans

Along with Chicago Marathon debacle, here's another sporting event from this year that the Chicago 2016 Olympics bid committee won't be touting to the world. The behavior of a few fans, most notoriously the pair in the picture, at January's NFC Championship game, embarrassed the city. A few days after the game, Mayor Richard M. Daley apologized on behalf of decent Chicagoans.

The Bears won the game and went on to the Super Bowl. The Saints fans who made the trip regretted it, as the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports:

Hannigan, like many Saints fans who endured the bitterly cold weather at Solider Field that Sunday afternoon, said she and her party of four were threatened and intimidated almost from the moment they walked into the stadium. One fan intentionally elbowed her husband and others taunted their friends with Katrina-related insults.

Other fans said Bears fans hurled snowballs and went out of their way to instigate confrontations. Others denigrated their hometown and even dropped the Katrina card. One Bears fan infamously carried a sign that read: "Bears Finishing What Katrina Started."

"I've never witnessed anything like that," said Hannigan, 53, a New Orleans native whose Broadmoor neighborhood was flooded with 7 feet of water. "They were hurling expletives at us, and everything was Katrina-related. It was a very personal attack. We never leave a Saints game early but we did this time because I was afraid. It was a spark away from an explosion.

"I'll never go to Chicago again," she added. "That city is not going to get another penny from me."

The Bears host the Saints tomorrow in the season finale for both teams. I'm assuming that few of their fans will make the trip. The game means nothing, both teams are out of playoff contention.

Related post:

A participant's view of the cancelled Chicago Marathon: UPDATED

Technorati tags: Chicago Bears New Orleans Saints New Orleans Katrina NFL sports

A little "oops" in the Chicago Tribune

The Chicago Tribune's foreign correspondent, Tom Hundley, has an article in today's edition about former British prime minister Tony Blair and his conversion to Catholicism. He's wrong on one fact:

Mistrust of Catholics and Catholicism is nothing new in Britain, which has had a Jewish prime minister (Benjamin Disraeli) but never a Catholic.

Free registration is required for the link.

Disraeli's parents were Jews, but Queen Victoria's beloved "Dizzy" was baptized into the Church of England as an infant.

Technorati tags: Catholic UK Media history Tony Blair Church of England Disraeli

St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery

I took this photograph of the St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery on Harms Road in Skokie this morning during my run today. A century ago, like many of Chicago's northern suburbs, Skokie, then known as Niles Center, was populated mainly by German-Americans. Many of the tombstones in this cemetery, as well as the United Church of Christ cemetery across the street, have engravings in German.

Related posts:

My Kansas Kronikles: Tiny cemetery near Council Grove

Wreaths Across America and Andrea Shea King come to Arlington Nat'l Cemetery

Technorati tags: photography photos German deutsch gravestones cemeteries Skokie Illinois

Obama nailed on Axelrod's Bhutto quote

Let me put this story into context. Barack Obama's top political strategist, David Axelrod, has worked on so many campaigns that even he has lost count. Quite a few Democrats in Illinois have utilized his services, but outside of the state, John Edwards, Deval Patrick, Eliot Spitzer, Chris Dodd, and Hillary Clinton have taken Axelrod into their campaign camps.

In short, he's not an idiot.

Two days ago Axelrod made a comment that could be interpreted that Hillary Clinton was responsible for the assassination of Benizer Bhutto.

Here is what he said, courtesy of TIME's Jay Newton-Small:

Bhutto's death will "call into issue the judgment: who's made the right judgments," Axelrod said. "Obviously, one of the reasons that Pakistan is in the distress that it's in is because al-Qaeda is resurgent, has become more powerful within that country and that's a consequence of us taking the eye off the ball and making the wrong judgment in going into Iraq. That's a serious difference between these candidates and I'm sure that people will take that into consideration."

Of course Pakistan is the nation that Senator Obama suggested attacking a few months ago.

Axelrod's comments can be interpreted two ways--campaign stress, or he really believes what he said.

CNN's Wolf Blitzer (Obama has the audacity to boycott the higher-rated Fox News Channel) asked the senator to explain those comments. Click on the YouTube link to find out what he said. Obama was less than comfortable, and safe to say, this video clip won't make it into any Obama '08 "Best of" DVD.

It gets worse for the South Sider. The Chicago Sun-Times Lynn Sweet, a big liberal, hammers Obama on his CNN performance. This is the same reporter who worked out next to Obama at Chicago's East Bank Club, and then expressed regret that she was unable to follow him into the men's locker room.

Here's a portion of Sweet's Sun-Times blog entry on Axelrod. What Sweet wrote is italicized:

Obama replied (My note: After Blitzer offered to read Axelrod's comments)—and I think I nailed the quote here—"No, I, I, I, I, I have to, I heard, I heard, I don’t need it, I don't need to hear what you read because I was, I overheard it when he said it, and this is one of those situations where Washington is putting a spin on it. It makes no sense whatsoever.”

(Might you wonder what "I overheard it" means? One should not read this literally. Obama was not standing near Axelrod when he was talking to reporters after the speech. A bunch of reporters were interviewing Axelrod near the press risers at the back of the hall.)

More...

Obama: "Now, first of all, that shouldn't have been the question."

(Disputing a question is a technique Obama has used in the presidential debates when confronted with being asked something he did not want to specifically have to respond to.)

Obama then said, "The question should be, "how is this going to impact the safety and security of the United States," not "how is it going to affect a political campaign in Iowa."

As for Obama's claim that Axelrod "shouldn't have been the question." Not only is Axelrod's political specialty media relations, he's a former Chicago Tribune political reporter.

Short of "Howard Stern" type questions, the media should be able query Axelrod on just about anything.

And Obama, who is supposed to be so smart, blew it again.

Technorati tags: Obama politics Barack Obama Illinois 2008 Election Democrats media current affairs Pakistan اسلامی Bhutto Illinois

Bush defies nine second long Senate sessions, will use pocket veto on defense bill

President Bush does not like the recently passed defense bill, one that throws a bone to one of the Democratic Party's key constituencies--the trial lawyers.

The bill exposes the still-young Iraqi government to lawsuits involving Saddam Hussein era atrocities. That's not a good way to support a fledgling government.

Since the bill was sent to the president after an adjournment, the commander-in-chief doesn't have to formally veto it--normally a bill becomes law if it is not signed or vetoed within 10 days. But Congress adjourned less than ten days ago.

That's not the way the Democrats see it. As I posted a couple of days ago, Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) has been holding one-man only, seconds-long sessions to keep the Senate in session--in his and Harry Reid's mind at least--to prevent Bush from making recess appointments.

Now the Dems are attempting to use Webb's mini-soliloquies to prevent a pocket veto--which are authorized by the constitution.

Related post:

Nine second session makes mockery of Senate

Technorati tags: James Webb virginia senate Bush obstruction Congress politcs Democrats Constitution trial lawyers

Former Iowa congressman likes Ike as a GOP presidential model

Jim Leach is a former Republican congressman from Davenport, Iowa. He's a professor at Princeton University now, and earlier this month he gave a speech there on the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates.

Here's a small excerpt of what he said, which the Quad City Times published today:

Most of the Republican candidates seem intent on identifying with the legacy of Ronald Reagan. Whether the public sees a similarity of articulated charm is yet to be seen. But for what it is worth, my sense is that our times demand more a reconsideration of the Eisenhower than Reagan legacy. Dwight David Eisenhower is the most underestimated President of the 20th century, and the one whose judgment most fits the challenges of this early part of the 21st century. It was IKE, after all, who ran on the pledge to end a war (Korea); it was IKE who called for an end to colonialism and backed the British and French out of Suez. It was IKE who refused to start three wars in three places (Central Europe, China, and Vietnam) despite vibrant advocacy by ideologues far outnumbering the small band of neo-cons who played such a role in this Administration. And it was IKE who quietly integrated the D.C. public schools system and not so quietly that of Little Rock. Republican candidates would be wise to take note.

My take is that there is nothing wrong with a Republican candidate tying himself to the Reagan legacy. Comparing oneself to Reagan is bound to fail because there will never be another Reagan, just as there won't be another Washington or Lincoln

As for Eisenhower, the 34th president had a lot in common with the Gipper. Both leaders were steadfast in their beliefs--and didn't change them to please the fickle beast of public opinion.

That's the type of president we need.

Related post:

My Kansas Kronikles: The Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum

Technorati tags: Eisenhower Reagan history politics elections 2008 Republican Ronald Reagan Civil Rights Iowa

Another Univ. of Illinois military scholarship scandal figure gets a promotion

For almost a year I've been covering the University of Illinois military scholarships scandal.

A very brief summary: In early 2006, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's Chicago Executive MBA program announced that the were offering 110 full-ride scholarships to returning War on Terror veterans. Only about forty ended up receiving them, some vets were accepted, then had their admissions rescinded, got un-rescinded than re-rescinded.

Here are some earlier posts on the scandal:

Broken promises: How "jarheads" got shunted aside at the University of Illinois: A Marathon Pundit series
Marathon Pundit Exclusive: What happened behind the scenes of the University of Illinois veteran scholarship scandal
University of Illinois: "Hookers are Praised as Soldiers" –Marathon Pundit's Third Investigative Report
University of Illinois military scholarships scandal update
Exclusive: Van der Hooning, and Illinois vets, get a hearing at the Court of Claims
Scandal update: Lt. Gov. Quinn wants count of vets in Univ. of Ill. MBA program
Marathon Pundit exclusive: Lt. Gov. Quinn's letter to U of I president about military scholarship scandal

The dean of the College of Business while most of the events in the above posts were occuring was Dr. Avijit Ghosh, who was promoted to serve as vice president for technology and economic development for the three-campus University system.

Taking his place on an interim basis will be Larry DeBrock, who previously served as the associate dean of academic affairs and acting associate dean of the faculty in the College of Business.

Both appointments are subject to University of Illinois Board of Trustees approval. Both press releases are still on College of Business web site, so I think it's safe to assume that both men will be in place in their new jobs on January 1--which is of course the same day the U of I football team will play in the Rose Bowl.

As I've commented before, if you are a fan of the Missouri Tigers or the Florida Gators and you're angry that the Fighting Illini (who lost to Mizzou in September) are in the "Granddaddy of Them All," contact U of I president Joseph White about the jilted veterans at PresidentWhite@uillinois.edu.

As I noted a few months ago, I obtained a copy of an e-mail in which DeBrock referred to his colleagues as hookers.

DeBrock wrote:

So, if you are telling folks they need to drive 3.5 hours... teach 3 hours, and drive back 3.5 hours, they need (to be) compensated. And your 37.5 is nice compensation. But, high priced hookers are still hookers. But, BUT, B U T , if you bring in 70 students and the college nets 3.5 million, the hookers are praised as soldiers. They are cheered by smiling faculty waving UIUC flags lining the roadside while they ride back into town.

Robert van der Hooning, the former associate dean in charge of the veteran's program, told me DeBrock was one of the College of Business senior staff who derisively to the veterans at one time they were so eager to admit into the EMBA program as "jarheads."

Other university officials deny that, but I'm with van der Hooning on this one--as well as everything else on this story.

Technorati tags: Illini illinois university of illinois uiuc Military college education MBA armed forces Chicago Rose Bowl college football bcs Missouri Tigers gators

Hillary's zero tolerance for questions

Hillary Rodham Clinton likes to tout her experience--whatever that entails--over that of her major rivals for the Democratic nomination. Notice I say "major rivals," because if the battle for the blue crown came down to résumés, then Gov. Bill Richardson would win.

But being experienced means to me being able to think on your feet. If you know what you're doing, you don't have to ponder questions or ask for help from aides.

The Los Angeles Times is reporting this morning that since Christmas, the New York Senator isn't taking questions at the end of her speeches.

I can only assume that HRC is trying to avoid another driver's-licence-for-illegals fiasco.

But is this what we want from a president?

Besides, I thought she was some sort of genius?

Here's a question to shout out to Senator Clinton? When are you going to return those International Profit Associates donations?

Technorati tags: 2008 Election Democrats Hillary Clinton Hillary International Profit Associates Bill Richardson 2008 politics

Unitarian Universalists begin advertising campaign

I just can't quite figure out the Unitarian Universalists. Other than what the Abraham Lincoln character in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure said, "Be excellent to each other," I can't get a grasp of them.

The Unitarian Universalists' web site says, "It has no creed."

From the Chicago "free registration reguired" Tribune:

As a melting-pot faith that holds no creed and welcomes all comers, the Unitarian Universalist church hasn't always seen much need to evangelize.

But as the atheists, Christians, humanists and Buddhists in its pews grow older and with the church growing only at a trickle, Unitarians are experimenting with a different approach.

The Boston-based Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations this year launched its first national advertising campaign, placing ads in Time magazine. In another first, the church is sponsoring an ad that will appear in the programs given to college football fans at 13 bowl games.

I haven't seen the ads, but I'm wondering if the message on this bumper sticker I encountered on Chicago's North Side a few months ago, "Searching for a Liberal Religious Home?"--is a part of it. Or will "The Uncommon Denomination" dominate?

Oh, they're using Google ads too.

Technorati tags: religion liberal Unitarian Universalist advertising marketing

Two blue states only ones that lost population in 2006

The demographic trends continue to work against the states that vote Democratic in presidential elections.

Two states lost population last year, deep-blue Rhode Island and not-as-blue Michigan.

Both states are known for their high taxes and burdensome regulation, which serve as an impediment to population growth. Rhode Island is a notoriously politically-corrupt state--which can't help matters for the Ocean State.

The ten states with the highest population increase last year voted were carried by George W. Bush in the 2000 and 2004 elections. Nevada and Arizona were first and second in growth.

From AP

Besides Nevada and Arizona, other Western states that made the top 10 list for fastest growth were Utah (third), Idaho (fourth), Colorado (eighth) and Wyoming (ninth).

In the Southeast, Georgia was fifth nationally, North Carolina was sixth, and South Carolina was 10th.

Texas was seventh.

True it's just one year of data, and it won't effect next year's elections, but people are voting with their feet--and away from the Democratic Party's geographic base.

Technorati tags: politics Election Democrats Rhode Island census Michigan

Dodge City hopes to cash in on name, casino

Like Deadwood, South Dakota, the historic Old West town of Dodge City, Kansas hopes to parlay its name into big bucks by adding gambling to its offerings. Currently Dodge is looking at one casino.

I'm not sure this is a good idea. Not only is Deadwood, which I've visited, is near an interstate highway, but its also in the Black Hills region of South Dakota. Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park, Wind Cave National Park, and the Crazy Horse Memorial are nearby.

During my Kansas Kronikles series, I believe I offered sound proof that there are things to see in the Sunflower State. But the Black Hills has more.

Two groups, the Wichita Eagle is reporting, are interested in building a Dodge City casino. One wants theirs two miles west of town. The other group want to set up shop on the northeast end of town. They don't give the exact location, but it can't be very far from the massive National Beef meat processing plant on US 50. As I noted in my "Beef Kingdom" posts, Dodge City and the other two "Kingdoms", Liberal and Garden City, don't smell very good. "Cow pies" are the cause.

It tourists don't flock to Dodge City, the casino will have no choice but to herd the locals--many of them recent immigrants--inside. Casinos are in the busy of making money, gambling house customers walk through the doors to lose it.

Closer to home, you can only imaging how I feel about expanding gambling into Chicago pay finance state government. An example: A man who managed a condominium in my hometown is in prison now for skimming from a building he was managing on Chicago's North Side to pay for gambling debts incurred while he was a "player" at a river boat casino west of here.

There's a hidden cost to legalized gambling. As for the Chicago condo, insurance covered only some of the thievery. Even if it covered all of it, guess who pays in the end?

And finally, every time a casino opens, the law of diminishing returns comes into play.

Related posts: The Beef Kingdoms:

Dodge City, Beef Kingdom

Liberal: Kansas' second Beef Kingdom

Garden City, Kansas' third Beef Kingdom

Technorati tags: Kansas travel byways Americana history Great Plains Dodge City Old West beef business gambling casinos

Bhutto assassinated

The cause of democracy suffered a vicious blow today when a suicide bomber killed former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto and 19 others at a political rally.

May she and the others rest in peace.

No mercy should be given to the plotters behind the attack. And may the homicide bomber suffer in Hell.

Technorati tags: current affairs Pakistan اسلامی Bhutto news breaking

Nine second session makes mockery of Senate

Congress' approval ratings continue to tank. Harry Reid and his obstructionists have a lot to do with that.

As the Chicago Tribune's Swamp blog reports, President Bush hope to use a recess appointment during the Thanksgiving break to get his surgeon general nominee, James W. Holsinger Jr., into his office. The Democratic-controlled Senate used quickie sessions, more politely called pro forma meetings, to prevent that from happening. A sixteen year-old controversial paper about homosexuality has the Dems worried.

The Democrats Christmas victim is Steven G. Bradbury, the president's choice for Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel. Most of Congress has gone home for during the Christmas and New Year's break. Virginia Senator James Webb headed home to, but he does that every day after his work in the Senate is done. But Webb lives just across the Potomac in McLean.

He "hurried back" to the Capitol today to keep the Senate open--and prevent Bush from using a recess appointment to get Bradbury on the job.

Today's session lasted nine seconds.

This type of "democracy" is not what the Founding Fathers had in mind in 1787 in Philadelphia.

Technorati tags: James Webb virginia senate Bush obstruction Congress politcs Democrats

Farrakhan ordered to court over son's car crash case

I generally steer away from stories about relatives of well-known people getting in trouble unless it directly involves the actual famous person.

For instance, often I'll stumble across a story about an adult son or daughter of a judge getting arrested for drunk driving. Unless the accused received special treatment, the public official should not be the focus of the story--but it often is. Most journalists disagree with me, based on the plethora of articles like this I read on the internet.

But here's a story that's worth commenting on.

From the Times of Munster, Indiana:

Minister Louis Farrakhan, the spiritual leader of the Chicago-based Nation of Islam, has been ordered to appear in Hammond federal court next month to explain why weekly cash stipends given to his 48-year-old son are not considered income.

It's an issue because the son, Nasir Farrakhan, was ordered by a federal jury in Hammond last year to pay a Gary couple $350,000 in punitive damages for crashing his father's Hummer into their car in 2003 on the Indiana Toll Road and then fleeing the scene.

Nasir Farrakhan has said he can't pay the debt because he has no income, has never been employed and has no checking account or savings.

He argues the $1,400 in cash he receives from his father each month is legally considered "charity," even though Nasir Farrakhan has acted as head of the minister's 20-man security force for many years over the past several decades.

My advice to Messrs. Farrakhan is to pay up now. The discovery process could be unpleasant for the Farrakhan family--and the Nation of Islam.

Technorati tags: Nation of Islam louis farrakhan farrakhan Indiana Northwest Indiana law legal news

Green Party prez candidate McKinney not pressing for an advantage

Nutjob and conspiracy theorist Cynthia McKinney is running for the Green Party nomination for president.

She must not want the job that badly.

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

But McKinney's aversion to the mainstream press has frustrated many Greens who see her as the only one of the five declared candidates who can bring the party the kind of attention it got when Ralph Nader was at the top of the ticket in 2000.

Instead of calling a press conference, when she announced her candidacy McKinney posted a seven-minute speech on YouTube.com and her campaign Web site, runcynthiarun.org.

When a reporter called her campaign aide, Hugh Esco, for a comment about the announcement, he hung up.

"Put it this way," said Green Party national director Brent McMillan. "I'm not into the press blackout."

Related posts:

Georgia's Cynthia McKinney Parkway may be headed for the exit ramp
Police brutalizer Cynthia McKinney to lead protest of police brutality
Uh-oh. Green Party candidates multiply in Illinois
Cynthia McKinney and the Greens
Massachusetts Green Party: Enough to make you puke
Still in the 1960s: 2008 Green Party convention coming to Chicago: UPDATED

Technorati tags: Green Party Cynthia McKinney politics 2008 election

On this day December 26

A year ago today former president Gerald R. Ford died at the age of 93.

Also, today is the thirty-fifth anniversary of the death of another former president, Harry S Truman, who died at 88.

Rest in peace.

Technorate tags: on this day history Harry Truman Gerald Ford on this day

Delaware River prevents Washington's crossing

History might have turned out much differently if the Delaware River behaved the way it did on Christmas Day 2007. For the last 55 years, reenactors have staged the pivotal Battle of Trenton, which took place on Christmas Day 1776.

Historians, as well as the docent I encountered at New York Museum of Metropolitan Art, have pointed out the inaccuracies of the famous painting pictured here. Washington's Continentals staged a night attack, the sun rays that shouldn't be there are coming from the south, which means that Washington is crossing from New Jersey to Pennsylvania, instead of the other way around.

And the amount of ice--well, that's a lot of ice for December at that latitude.

Today the reenactors had to face their own inaccuracy--a fast current that wouldn't let the first of the three boats make it across the Delaware to Trenton. The mission was promptly aborted.

But in 1776, the Continental Army routed the Hessian mercenaries for Washington's first battlefield victory in months.

Let's hope the reenactors had a Merry Christmas all the same. It was certainly a better Christmas than the Hessians had 231 years ago.

The Historical Marker Database has more on the Battle of Trenton.

Technorati tags: Christmas holidays history art revolutionary war news UK George Washington

Merry Christmas!

I was hoping to take a photo today of our White Christmas, but not only is it sunny, almost all of the snow melted over the last last week, and the little snow we've received since doesn't even cover up suburban grass. So I have to settle for this photo taken a week ago in Glenview Woods, with once again the North Branch of the Chicago River.

That being said, Merry Christmas!

And in the spirit of my last post, I've found some more presents under the blogosphere tree.

First the bad news: Sisu is suffering from Pie Dough Derangement Syndrome.

Along that light, Mr. Right has a whole sack full of Christmas-themed videos, including some Mr. Bean Christmas fun.

Gaius over at Blue Crab Boulevard tells a story of two surprise Christmas Eve weddings for a Wisconsin couple.

Deebow at BlackFive has a lump of coal for the nine congressmen, all Democrats, who voted against the support of Christmas resolution earlier this month. My Democratic congresswoman, Jan Schakowsky, had the courage to vote "present."

And LaShawn Barber notes reminds us that Christmas is a religious holiday, and through Luke, spreads the Good News."

Technorati tags: Christmas blog blogging humor humour religion Congress

Christmas Eve Odds and Sods

Earlier this month I started a new Sunday feature, Odds and Sods, where I take a trip around the blogosphere. I was busy the last two Sundays, and today being Christmas Eve, I thought it would be a good time for a journey.

Cao over at Cao's Blog has a YouTube video of President Ronald Reagan's 1981 Christmas message.

From there I found CatHouse Chat's Carnival of Christmas.

Christmas Eve is old news for John Ray of Australian Politics. It's already Christmas Day afternoon there. I wonder if he'll be watching a fireworks display like the Hoggett family enjoyed in the film Babe?

For people older than 45, the Apollo 8 mission, the first manned orbital mission to the Moon, is a favorite Christmas Eve memory. The commander of Apollo 8 was Gary, Indiana native Frank Borman. As a retirement hobby, he collects and flies World War II and Korean War era aircraft. That brought him to Hazen, North Dakota on this year's Christmas Eve, which Dakota Lifestyle: Beyond The Weather reports on.

If you are a parent, Sigmund, Carl, and Alfred, better known as "Siggy," has a meaningful Christmas post for you.

Christmas is also a time for friends, and Jonn at This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here talks about his blog pals, both old and new.

Technorati tags: Christmas holidays history Ronald Reagan family friends parenting blog blogging

Ron Paul: Clueless on Abraham Lincoln

Geoff Elliott at the Abraham Lincoln Blog dissects the comments presidential candidate Ron Paul (R-TX) made about our 16th president while appearing on "Meet The Press" Sunday.

However, Congressman Paul uttered some shocking, if not downright bizarre, comments yesterday during his interview. He claimed that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 had everything to do with government taking over property rights and nothing to do with race relations. He claimed that Ronald Reagan was a "failure" because he didn't bring down the federal government to "constitutional levels," whatever that means.

Even more surprising and dismaying to me is Congressman Paul's complete lack of understanding about Abraham Lincoln and the reasons for the Civil War. Paul stated in the interview "Six hundred thousand Americans died in a senseless civil war…. [President Abraham Lincoln] did this just to enhance and get rid of the original intent of the republic," Paul said. "Every other major country in the world got rid of slavery without a civil war. I mean, that doesn't sound too radical to me. That sounds like a pretty reasonable approach."

Let's dissect this. Paul claims that Lincoln started the Civil War. In a matter of weeks after Lincoln was elected president, southern states began seceding from the Union. In his first inaugural address, Lincoln told the south that in their hands, not his, lay the "momentous decision of Civil War." The South responded by attacking federal government property, culminating with the bombardment of Fort Sumter. Dr. Paul either buys into neo-Confederate beliefs about the war or shows a complete lack of knowledge about it.

You're wrong again, Dr. Paul.

UPDATE December 25 7:00 PM CST: Billy Dennis of Peoria Pundit, a self-described "small L" Libertarian, has the "Meet the Press" video up, and he all but says that what Paul said on Sunday has ended his "flirtation" with the the Paulies.

Related posts:

Andrew Ferguson video on his new book, Land of Lincoln
Book review: Andrew Ferguson's "Land of Lincoln: Adventures in Abe's America"
Thirty hours in Lincoln's Springfield, Illinois
Bush to kick off Lincoln bicentennial celebration next Feb. 12
Abraham Lincoln birthplace site
Abraham Lincoln birthplace site's log cabin
"My earliest recollection is of the Knob Creek place"
I found this bit of history in downtown Chicago today
Lincoln Bicentennial Commission playing with Lincoln Logs
Illinois lagging in Lincoln bicentennial celebrations

Technorati tags: Abraham Lincoln history politics elections 2008 Republican Ron Paul Ronald Reagan Civil Rights

Merry Christmas, you're fired

Chicago Bulls coach Scott Skiles showed up to work today and found a pink slip in his Christmas stocking.

In his four years as coach on Chicago's West Side, Skiles did something no Bulls coach had done since the Michael Jordan era--he took the Bulls to the playoffs. Twice.

Technorati tags: Chicago Bulls nba sports news Christmas holidays Chicago basketball

Christmas Eve, 2007

Merry Christmas everyone.

Meijer is in a big box of trouble: It secretly funded a recall effort

It's pretty easy to glean from this blog that I'm a strong supporter of the free market, and that government should for the most part leave the private sector alone.

For the most part.

Here's an example of a company that needs to be spanked: Regional "big box" retailer Meijer, which operates stores in Illinois, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Ohio, and Michigan.

I've shopped in a couple of them, one in Rolling Meadows, Illinois near my home, the other in Three Rivers, Michigan near Kalamazoo. Like Wal-Mart Supercenters, Meijer stores are big box retailers that sell groceries.

Meijer wanted to build one more store in Michigan, near Traverse City, in the northern part of the state's lower peninsula.

From the Traverse Record-Eagle:

Retail giant Meijer secretly funded a plan to orchestrate last February's recall of Acme Township's elected officials, a potential violation of state campaign finance laws.

Meijer paid a public relations firm at least $30,000 in a failed effort to remove Acme's board after years of zoning disputes over Meijer's plans to build a store along M-72 in Grand Traverse County. Meijer's public relations firm crafted recall language, devised election strategy, wrote campaign literature, and used local residents as figureheads in the recall.

Meijer never reported its contributions to the recall effort. Michigan law requires reporting of all campaign contributions and bars corporations such as Meijer from contributing to political campaigns.

The Grand Rapids-based firm on Saturday said it settled a lawsuit filed by Acme Treasurer William Boltres and acknowledged its improper financial contributions to a pro-recall group.

And that's how capitalism works. In Vladimir Putin's Russia. Just over 4,300 people live in Acme Township. It's a dangerous thing when a large firm tries to pull a fast one in sparsely populated jurisdictions, because even a little money goes very far in such places.

Meijer faxed an unsigned statement to the Record-Eagle, which read in part:

... Meijer wishes to note that prior to this month, senior company officials believed that no financial contributions had been made to a local taxpayers group.

We apologize for this error. Meijer is completing its review of the facts and will meet any reporting requirements that emerge.

This is a story I'll be keeping an eye on.

Technorati tags: politics elections retail business big box Meijer Michigan Traverse City ethics

Pajamas Media's Deep Background with author Michael Knox Beran

To everything, turn, turn, turn
There is a season, turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven
The Byrds, "Turn, Turn, Turn," 1965.

(Yes, I know Pete Seeger wrote it.)

And now it's time for Blog Week in Review to turn into something else. The podcast has morphed into "Deep Background." Col. Austin Bay still is the moderator, and Ed Driscoll is the producer.

And the show's first guest is Michael Knox Beran, a contributing editor to City Journal magazine, and the author of Forge of Empires 1861-1871: Three Revolutionary Statesmen and the World They Made.

In October Beran wrote a fabulous article for the City Journal, "How Lincoln Saved the World."

Beran discusses three great statesmen of the 1860s, Abraham Lincoln, Prussian chancellor Otto von Bismarck, and Czar Alexander II. Lincoln freed the slaves and saved the Union, Bismarck created the German state, and Alexander II freed the serfs. But only America has been a free nation since then, and contemporary Russia is slipping into a dictatorship. We all know what happened to Germany.

How did America succeed and the two others fall into darkness? Listen or download here to find out.

Or subscribe for free via iTunes.

Technorati tags: iPod itunes podcast blog Pajamas Media Abraham Lincoln history Germany Deutschland Russia Росси́я books

ACORN allegedly has some bad nuts

Sharp-eyed Metro East Illinois blogger Respublica found this chestnut about one of my least favorite groups, ACORN. FrontPage Magazine's Discover The Networks describes ACORN as the "largest radical group in America."

From KMOX Radio St. Louis:

Eight people face federal voter fraud charges for work they performed in support of a Missouri minimum wage ballot item in 2006.

The indictments unsealed Friday morning say while collecting signatures for ACORN and Project Vote, the defendants submitted false names and addresses to the Board of Election Commissoners in St. Louis city and county.

Hat tip to Respublica and McHenry County Blog.

Technorati tags: crime vote fraud elections election fraud St. Louis missouri ACORN

IIlinois' "Governor for a Day" reigns on December 26: UPDATED

On the day after Christmas, the winner of the Illinois Republican Party's Governor for a Day will have a day like Governor Rod Blagojevich. The itinerary is below. Just like our real governor, Mike Messuck won't have to do any work. But Messuck, who will be accompanied by his daughter, won't have to tend with federal prosecutors looking into his campaign fundraising apparatus, nor will Messuck have to pay any fees to his defense lawyers.

So on December 26, "Governor" Messuck will certainly have a better day than Governor Blagojevich.

Who: Governor for a Day Winner Mike Messuck and daughter

What: Enjoy being ILGOP's Governor for a Day

Where: Chicago

When: Wednesday, December 26, 2007

GOVERNOR FOR A DAY SCHEDULE
Wednesday, December 26, 2007

9:40am

Arrive Kiva Day Spa
196 East Pearson Street, Chicago
312-840-8120

10am

50 minute Deep Tissue Massage for Mike Messuck
Manicure for Ms. Messuck

11:30am

Lunch at RL – Ralph Lauren Restaurant
115 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago
312-475-1100

Free time to browse Michigan Avenue

2pm-5pm

Metropolitan Limo Tours
Driver will meet Messucks at the Wrigley Building circle
410 N Michigan Ave., Chicago

800-437-1700

7:30pm

Chicago Blackhawks vs. Nashville Predators game
United Center, 1901 W Madison St., Chicago,
(312) 455-4500

Nice work if you can get it.

Hail Governor Messuck!

UPDATE 10:55 AM: In the spirit of Time Magazine naming a bad guy, Vladimir Putin, for "Person of the Year," the Chicago Sun-Times has made their choice, Rod Blagojevich.

As runaway recipient of Moocher of the Year, the governor elevated the art of accepting favors and freebies to new heights -- without showing a wink of shame or self-consciousness.

Blagojevich freely used the state plane, at taxpayers' expense, to fly around friends and fund-raisers. For $5,800 of our money, he had himself flown from Springfield to Chicago and back for a recent Blackhawks game -- the one he was at the night legislators struggled to avert a CTA meltdown at a meeting he called.

More recently, Blagojevich unapologetically accepted free tickets to the sold-out Hannah Montana concert -- a controversial show because tickets were so scarce that parents shelled out hundreds of dollars to brokers -- so he could take his daughters. "Being a good dad is a heck of a lot more important to me than being a good politician," he said.

And Dan Curry of Reverse Spin is calling for Blagojevich's resignation. From his blog:

U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald’s track record on corruption prosecutions in Illinois is nearly spotless. This document, if read carefully, leads to the inescapable conclusion that Blagojevich, Kelly and a handful of other Illinois insiders will ultimately be indicted. It also portends, in the short-term, the indictment of Blagojevich’s campaign fund, which has been receptacle of much of the corruption.

It was already quite clear that Blagojevich’s "Barry Bonds-like" fundraising prowess was fueled by cheating. His pay-to-play on steroids scheme is being dismantled, piece by piece. It’s only a matter of time now.

Related posts:

Illinois' "governor who cannot govern" doesn't seem to even work

Prairie fire in Illinois over Blagojevich--the governor who cannot govern

Chicago Tribune: Change law, then recall Gov. Blagojevich

Technorati tags: Illinois Chicago Blagojevich Democrats politics Chicago Blackhawks leisure corruption

Fair and balanced solar power article in the Las Vegas Sun?

I suppose I wouldn't have noticed what appears to be a pro-Clinton, or make that pro-Clintons slant to a seemingly innocuous Las Vegas Sun article about solar power, had the Nevada Democratic Caucuses not occurring less than a month from now.

But notice it I did.

Here are the opening four sentences of Phoebe Sweet's article:

Bill Clinton predicted it.

The Nevada Development Authority has promised it.

Solar power developers are praying for it.

Now some experts say it's nearly here: a new clean-energy economy for Southern Nevada.

Yes, Ms. Sweet's editors may have cut portions of her article on how and when Bill Clinton predicted the solar energy boom for Nevada, but since there Democrats will be reporting to caucuses in the Silver State on January 19, the piece could have been written a little differently. And more fairly.

Not in name, but clearly Bill and Hillary Clinton are running, at least as far as HRC's campaign message, as another "two for one blue plate special."

Sweet's article seems to be written to serve as a subtle boost to Ms. Clinton's presidential effort, subliminally perhaps, but journalists, opinion columnists excepted, are supposed to avoid that.

Technorati tags: politics Illinois 2008 Election Democrats corruption Hillary Hillary Clinton Nevada Bill Clinton energy solar energy media bias renewable

Obama goes negative after complaining about campaign negativity

Two days after Barack Obama complained about the negative turn that the Democratic presidential campaign has taken, the Illinois senator went negative on one of his rivals, John Edwards. He raised some valid issues regarding the Edwards effort, but the staff and supporters of the former North Carolina senator will view things much differently.

From AP:

Opening his latest presidential campaign swing through Iowa, Democrat Barack Obama singled out rival John Edwards for criticism, arguing that the former North Carolina senator doesn't have a track record to back up the sharply populist themes he sounds on the campaign trail.

"I've got a track record," Obama said. "I don't just talk the talk, I walk the walk. John does not have the same track record."

The Illinois senator and his aides also singled out a new television campaign they said is being launched on Edwards' behalf, accusing him of hypocrisy.

"John said yesterday, he didn't believe in these 527s. Those are these independent groups that raise money with no disclosure, nobody knows who is giving them. He said, 'I don't believe in them,'" said Obama. "We found out today there's a group buying three-quarters of a million dollars worth of television and the individual running the group used to be John Edwards' campaign manager."

Technorati tags: elections Obama barack obama John Edwards democrats 2008 politics

Blogger Blithe Spirit recovering from fall

Chicago blogger Jim Bowman of Blithe Spirit is recovering from injuries suffered from a recent fall and is putting his blog on hiatus for a little while.

Drop by and wish him a Merry Christmas during this tough time for him.

Tehnorati tags: Christmas Chicago blog blogging

Interstate 35: The highway of believers

Outside of a couple of trips to Minnesota's Twin Cities, until this summer I haven't driven more than a few miles on Interstate 35, which bisects the nation north to south, running from Laredo, Texas to Duluth, Minnesota.

Dallas minister Cindy Jacobs noticed something while reading Isaiah Chapter 35, Verse 8:

A highway shall be there, and a road, and it shall be called the Highway of Holiness.

Interstate 35 runs passes trough Dallas, which got Jacobs wondering if the interstate was the highway referred to in the Bible.

The CNN news story shows a Texas prayer vigil taking place along side of the road.

I didn't see such get-togethers when I traveled through the lovely country (It is nice) south of Des Moines to Kansas City, nor in the short bit I took in Kansas from El Dorado to Wichita.

The significance of the highway has been interpreted differently by people fearing American submission into a North American Union--and that I-35 would end up turning into a "NAFTA superhighway."

But as thoughts turn to travel--and Christmas--this holiday weekend, the true meaning of Interstate 35 is something you can ponder: especially if you're driving from Minneapolis to Dallas.

Related posts:

Happy Monday from Topeka, Kansas

In search of the real El Dorado, Kansas

My Kansas Kronikles: Goodbye to Kansas, the last of a 39 post series

Technorati tags: Kansas travel interstate highways Americana Kansas City Texas Iowa Minnesota Christmas religion Bible I-35 Wichita

UPDATED: Illinois corruption watch, Blagojevich smoking gun?

As I noted in the below post--actually, a whole bunch of posts--Illinois is a pretty corrupt place.

Is this the smoking gun that could land an indictment against our governor, Rod Blagojevich?

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Gov. Blagojevich told a prominent Democratic fundraiser that the governor "could award contracts, legal work and investment banking to help with fund-raising," according to a federal court document released Friday.

The court filing offers a detailed overview of the evidence federal prosecutors expect to introduce in the upcoming trial of Antoin "Tony" Rezko, a former key fund-raiser and adviser to the governor.

Blagojevich is not referred to by name in the document, but only as "Public Official A" as he has in previous government court filings

The governor has denied he is "Public Official A."

Here is the latest court filing of The United States of America vs. Antoin Rezko.

UPDATE Dec. 22 9:30am:

The ring is closing on the Illinois Democrat. The Chicago "free registration required" Tribune has more:

In a 78-page court filing that identifies the governor only as "Public Official A," federal authorities detailed the accusations of the two former political operatives who have already pleaded guilty in a shakedown scheme and are cooperating with prosecutors.

Blagojevich told one of the men he "could award contracts, legal work and investment banking to help with fundraising," according to the filing.

"You stick with us and you will do very well for yourself," Blagojevich replied, according to the court document.

Technorati tags: politics Illinois Democrats Tony Rezko corruption Blagojevich

Hillary vs. Obama

If this was an episode of the old Batman TV series, there would be graphics of a fight with "Pow," "Boom," and "Bash" dominating your computer screen.

But not only is it not that show, I don't have the computer graphic skills to create the special effects.

Yesterday my senator, Barack Obama, told the Associated Press that he's disappointed that the presidential campaign has turned negative. The quip "Politics ain't bean bag" goes back to the 19th century. Surely Obama has heard that line.

If he's sorry things have ended up this way, then he picked the wrong profession. Of course it could be that Obama was bolstering his spot on the high road against his chief rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The timing of his lament could be tied a story in today's New York Times on how Obama as a member of the Illinois State Senate, voted "Present" 130 times on standard "Aye" or "Nay" votes. Bold leadership? Probably not.

Yesterday ABC News reported that the HRC campaign registered two web domains Votingpresent.org and Votingpresent.com, that can only mean that if these sites go live, they will be anti-Obama platforms for the New York senator.

I've remarked a couple of times that Obama should stop bringing up his Illinois Senate career as he campaigns for the White House. True, other than his 2 1/2 years in Washington, it's about all the political experience he has. But since Illinois is probably the most corrupt state in the union, it leaves him exposed to speculation that he hasn't divorced himself from Prairie State sleaze. Tony Rezko comes to mind.

But Mrs. Clinton is more interested in Obama's "present past" as she digs into Obama's years in Springfield.

No one has claimed that Obama has done anything illegal--the same cannot be said about Hillary Rodham Clinton--Whitewater anyone?

And HRC's checkered past betrays one of her weaknesses as a candidate. An attack on the ethics of a rival leaves her exposed to return salvos.

Obama, because of his Rezko connection, faces a similar problem, but on a smaller scale. But since indictments of Illinois public officials and political insiders are a regular occurrence, and lately it's been his party and people tied to hit that have been feeling the brunt of the heat from the US Attorney's office, the issue of corruption could be a headache for Obama if he succeeds in winning the Democratic nomination.

Meanwhile on the Republican end--the general election gunpowder is nice and dry.

Pow. Boom. Bash.

Technorati tags: Obama politics Barack Obama Illinois 2008 Election Democrats Chicago Tony Rezko corruption Hillary Hillary Clinton New York Times

On this day in 1945: George S. Patton died

Third Wave Dave has a fabulous post about General General George S. Patton, who died on this day in Germany from injuries suffered in an automobile accident.

Click here. There's a lot there--and it's a perfect place to re-visit over the weekend.

Related post:

My Kansas Kronikles: The Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum

Technorati tags: history Americana World War II military Patton on this day

Lt. Gov. Quinn in Germany meeting with troops

Illinois' Lieutenant Governor, Patrick Quinn, is a huge supporter of our military. The Democrat is in Germany for the third time since assuming his current office visiting our troops.

Here's what he told CBS 2 Chicago:

I think it's important that we let our men and women know that we care about them, especially in the holiday season, when they're not able to be home.

And if you are angry that the University of Illinois, rather than say the Kansas Jayhawks or the Missouri Tigers, will be playing in the Rose Bowl, click on the below posts and blow off some stream in a productive fashion.

Related posts:

Marathon Pundit exclusive: Lt. Gov. Quinn's letter to U of I president about military scholarship scandal

Scandal update: Lt. Gov. Quinn wants count of vets in Univ. of Ill. MBA program

Technorati tags: Illini illinois university of illinois uiuc Military college education MBA armed forces Chicago Patrick Quinn Mizzou Jayhawks College Football Rose Bowl

Obama talking cabinet

At a town hall meeting last night in Manchester, New Hampshire, Barack Obama said if he's elected president would consider naming some Republicans to his cabinet. He mentioned three: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nebraska senator Chuck Hagel (He's a Republican?) and Indiana senator Richard Lugar.

Yesterday I posted an entry asking who would Obama appoint as US Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. Seems small, but since his friend Tony Rezko is being prosecuted by that office, it's a question that needs to be asked.

And who would Obama appoint as Secretary of Treasurer? Alexi Giannoulias?

Technorati tags: Obama politics Barack Obama Illinois 2008 Election Democrats Tony Rezko Hagel Lugar Schwarzenegger

Tancredo to end presidential run

Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) will end his presidential run tomorrow, sources within the campaign are telling Associated Press.

Although illegal immigration has become a high profile issue, one that Tancredo embraced before almost anyone, the Colorado Republican was never able to escape being tagged as a single issue candidate.

Pajamas Media's Richard Miniter believes Tancredo will now endorse former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson's campaign.

If that's true, I wonder if Tancredo decided to back Thompson before this Roger Simon article was published?

I figured Tancredo's campaign was in trouble when I received an e-mail from another blogger three weeks ago asking for volunteers to gather signatures to get him on the ballot in Illinois.

UPDATE Dec 20 3:20PM CST: AP was wrong, Tancredo says he's endorsing Mitt Romney.

Technorati tags: politics Tom Tancredo Republican Fred Thompson 2008 Election illegal immigration immigration

Bridge over placid water

This was part of what I saw during my run this afternoon. Once again, that's the North Branch of the Chicago River, this time in Morton Grove's Linne Woods.

Technorati tags: Chicago River rivers Illinois photography photos Morton Grove nature

President Obama, January, 2009: Who will he appoint as US Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois?

I believe that Barack Obama will still be representing me in the US Senate on January 20, 2009, but clearly Obama is doing better in presidential opinion polls, and his graduating up to the presidency--at the time of this writing--can't viewed as a long shot.

One of the duties that would face a President Obama is to appoint federal prosecutors in the dozens of jurisdictions across the nation. When President Bush assumed office, at the recommendation of Sen. Peter Fitzgerald, Obama's Republican predecessor, the controversial Peter Fitzgerald (no relation) was selected to serve as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.

Of course outside the Land of Lincoln, "Fitzmas" is best known for his stint as the special prosecutor in the Valerie Plame "outing" case, one that ended up with the perjury conviction of Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff, Scooter Libby.

But in Illinois, Fitzgerald's reputation is that of a bi-partisan corruption crusher. Republicans, including former Governor George H. Ryan, felt the heat from Fitzgerald (and his predecessor) during the Operation Safe Roads investigation. Fitzgerald's office prosecuted the Kankakee Republican, who began his 78 month prison sentence last month.

Chicago's City Hall, run by Democrats, hasn't escape Fitzgerald's hard gaze. The Hired Truck Scandal was another front on his war on graft, and Fitzgerald's pursuit of justice led to the conviction of Mayor Richard Daley's patronage chief and at least 22 others.

Although he vowed to "govern as a reformer," George Ryan's successor, Democrat Rod Blagojevich, has been anything but that. He lied. Fitzgerald's office is prosecuting two two chief "Blago" fundraisers Christopher Kelly and Antoin "Tony" Rezko.

He was first indicted fourteen months ago on various charges in what Fitzgerald called "play to pay on steroids." In short, the indictment alleges that if money was given to Blagojevich's campaign fund, the doors to state business and jobs would open.

Rezko can arguably called Obama's first political sponsor, he reached out to Obama in the early 1990s while he was still in law school. Obama was a fundraiser for Obama's early campaigns, and the pair had lunch together once or twice a year.

Rezko's North Shore mansion was the location of an important 2003 fund raising event for Obama's senate campaign. It was an ironic time to hold such a function, as the Chicago Sun-Times reported last year--which I reported on this blog:

At the time of the party, the state was in the process of foreclosing on a low-income apartment building Rezko's company rehabbed in Obama's state Senate district -- a rehab project on which Obama's law firm worked. Rezko had also abandoned many other low-income apartments, leaving numerous vacant units in need of major repairs.

Fitzgerald isn't just investigating Kelly and Rezko. Two close Rezko associates who donated $5,000 to Obama's Senate campaign, Ali Ata and Abdelhamid "Al" Chaib, are also being prosecuted by Fitzgerald's office.

Rezko's corruption trial is scheduled to begin in late February, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was delayed. Also, future indictments of Rezko can't be ruled out: Just last week he was indicted on six additional charges. No trial dates have been set for Chaib or Ata.

Which means of course that there is a very good chance, if of course he is elected president, that Barack Obama could be appointing the person who will be prosecuting Rezko, Chaib, Ata, and others tied to Blagojevich era corruption.

In a meeting last year with the Chicago Tribune editorial board, John Kass asked Obama if he'd keep Fitzgerald as US Attorney. He hedged on the question.

That meeting came about after questions were raised about the 2005 real estate deal the Obamas and Rezko's wife conducted that had the Obamas purchase their South Side Chicago mansion, with Rita Rezko purchasing a comparatively narrow strip of land south of the home. Up until that purchase, the land and the home were always sold as one parcel. A few months later, the Obamas purchased 1/6 of the "Rezko lot." It's my opinion the Obamas couldn't afford the home, so he used his Rezko connection to have Rita buy that land, and it was the Obamas' plan to slowly repurchase the strip.

That not only looks like a favor, but a loan to a man who was a member of the nation's most elite club: The United States Senate. The arrangement was legal, but quite sleazy. And it's very important to remember it was common knowledge within Illinois political circles that Rezko was under federal investigation.

Now that Obama's presidential hopes are looking better, it's time to ask the senator how would he handle the appointment of the US Attorney for Northern Illinois. Or will he keep Fitzgerald?

The 12 million residents of Illinois deserve good government, and Obama shouldn't let personal relationships affect the operations of this crucial office.

Related posts:

"Rezko lot" next to Obama's home for sale
Ill. corruption watch: Obama donates Rezko associate's contribution to charity
Obama donates more Rezko tainted donations to charity
Obama gives up donation from man with Rezko ties
Obama ditching more Rezko linked cash, but what about Hillary and IPA?
Rezko cash three times what Obama claims
Obama can't shake Tony Rezko
Obama vows to clean up Washington as president
"Consigliere" Rezko still shadowing Obama
Ex-Gov. Ryan in prison, but will his successor be indicted?
Feds hit Tony Rezko with six more charges
Obama and the Laborers' Union Ed Smith
Obama's state treasurer pal needs a memory upgrade

Technorati tags: Obama politics Barack Obama Illinois 2008 Election Democrats Chicago Tony Rezko corruption real estate Patrick Fitzgerald Blagojevich

East St. Louis vote fraud update

Election day in 2004 and the weeks leading up to it were an exciting time in East St. Louis, Illinois, as they had been in previous years.

The longtime tradition of the ESL Democratic party paying voters, supplemented with cigarettes and alcohol, to vote the "right way" was enthusiastically carried out by party chairman Charlie Powell and several others that fall.

Yesterday a federal appeals court affirmed the convictions of those involved with the conspiracy. However, Chairman Powell's sentence was vacated by the court, and he will be re-sentenced. Federal prosecutors claimed the federal district judge misinterpreted the guidelines when he dished out Powell's punishment.

The case heads back to district court, and Powell may end up with a longer prison stay. Currently he's being incarcerated at a federal prison in Marion, Illinois.

Free elections are considered a sacred right of any democracy. Those who violate this benefit of living in such a society deserve a harsh sentence.

H/T to Cal Skinner of the McHenry County Blog.

Related vote fraud posts:

E. St. Louis hires two ex-cons with vote buying convictions
East St. Louis vote fraudster found guilty of improper asbestos removal
Convicted vote thief joined by top local Dems at his pre-prison going away party
East St. Louis blues
21 month sentence in Kentucky vote-buying case
Another Democrat sentenced in Kentucky vote buying case
Kentucky vote buying update: Alleged jury tamperer accused of attempting to contact members of his own jury
Illegal Wisconsin voter speaks from prison

Technorati tags: Democrats crime corruption vote fraud elections election fraud Illinois East St. Louis Metro East

Navy rescues Ill. girl off Mexican coast

No, it wasn't Santa Claus who performed a Christmas miracle for Laura Montero, 14, of downstate Illinois. She was suffering from appendicitis, and sailors from the USS Ronald Reagan--which was 550 miles away at the time--traveled by helicopter to the cruise ship, and brought her back to the aircraft carrier named for another child of rural Illinois. Montero was treated on the Reagan, and is expected to make a full recovery.

She's convalescing at a San Diego hospital, and is expected to be home by Christmas.

H/T to Third Wave Dave for the story.

Techorati tags: Navy USS Reagan Illinois emergency

John Edwards love child scandal?

From the National Enquirer, via Drudge...

From the headline of the new National Enquirer:

Exclusive Presidential Race Bombshell...John Edwards Love Child Scandal...Woman linked to candidate pregnant and in hiding.

And the publication has photos.

The National Enquirer is the publication that broke the story of Jesse Jackson's illegitimate child, so we shouldn't immediately dismiss this report because it's the Enquirer.

However, the edition that's still on newsstands has an article claiming that Oprah doesn't love Stedman Graham anymore--Barack Obama tore them apart.

Uh, yeah, right...

Back to Edwards. You can be sure his campaign staff will be up all night over the "Love Child" story.

UPDATE 11am CST: Here is the link to the National Enquirer story.

Thanks for the link: Backyard Conservative

Technorati tags: elections Obama barack obama John Edwards democrats 2008 Oprah politics

Glenn & Helen Show podcast with John McCain

John McCain has had a good go of it during the last few days. Instapundit's Glenn Reynolds and Dr. Helen Smith rang the senator up during a recent campaign swing in South Carolina.

McCain talks about his national security credentials, the importance of appointing conservatives onto the US Supreme Court, and how he was right about the surge in Iraq.

And he was.

Listen to or download the podcast here.

Or subscribe for free via iTunes.

The podcast is sponsored by Volvo Cars.

Technorati tags: elections 2008 Republican McCain iPod itunes podcast blog Volvo SCOTUS

PBS filmmaker Ken Burns endorses Obama

Ken Burns, the documentary filmaker behind such popular PBS programs as "Baseball," "The Civil War," and "The War," has endorsed Senator Barack Obama for president. Burns is a New Hampshire resident, and adds fuel to the fire that PBS has a liberal bent with this move.

Technorati tags: PBS politics barack obama obama New Hampshire Ken Burns

Downstate Illinois town wins new clean coal plant: UPDATED

Here's a strike, however small, against the OPEC nations. FutureGen, a clean-coal plant will will be built, and the east central Illinois town of Mattoon is the winner in the competiton to land the facility. This a big deal for Mattoon.

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

A consortium of the world’s largest mining companies and electric utilities chose the small east-central Illinois town of Mattoon for FutureGen — a $1.75 billion coal-fueled power plant that will be among the world’s cleanest.
Michael J. Mudd, chief executive of the FutureGen Industrial Alliance, made the announcement Tuesday morning at a news conference in Washington D.C., ending an 20-month odyssey for four towns that were among finalists competing to host the project.

Winning the FutureGen derby means the biggest economic jolt for Mattoon in years, including an estimated 1,300 temporary construction jobs and 150 full-time jobs when the plant begins operation in 2012.

The U.S. Department of Energy proposed FutureGen in 2003 as a way to prove the feasibility of producing electricity and hydrogen from coal with near-zero emissions in hopes that it can jump-start similar projects on a larger scale in the U.S. and around the world.

UPDATE 6:30 PM

Uh...not so fast here...From the Chicago "free registration required" Tribune:

Just hours after Illinois won a national competition for a cutting-edge clean coal project, the Department of Energy today cautioned that costs were getting out of hand and it wasn't ready to sign off on the $1.8 billion FutureGen power plant.

"Projected cost overruns require a reassessment of FutureGen's design," read a statement from Energy Department official James Slutz. He said the department would provide more details next month on plans to restructure FutureGen.

The downcast statement quickly soured the party atmosphere in Downstate Mattoon, which just hours earlier had been picked by a consortium of utilities, coal companies and the Energy Department as the site for the plant designed to test whether abundant coal can be used to make power with little pollution.

Federal officials had asked the consortium to delay today's announcement, but were rebuffed. The private power firms largely control the project, though the Energy Department will pay most of the costs and has the power to stop it from going forward. As costs have risen, the department has tried to get the private sector to pick up a greater share, but has so far not been successful.

Technorati tags: Illinois energy coal mattoon

Judicial Hellholes list released

The American Tort Reform Association this morning released its annual list of "Judicial Hellholes."

Excessive awards from lawsuits are a drag on our economy, stifle business growth, drives up the cost of health care, and in the end, it is you who ends up paying the bill. Okay, that's my opinion, but I'm not alone in my thoughts.

Here are this year's Hellholes:

South Florida

Rio Grande Valley and Gulf Coast, Texas

Cook County, Illinois

West Virginia

Clark County, Nevada

Atlantic County, New Jersey

But there is some good news, and the ATRA didn't overlook it. Perennial denizen of the Hellhole list, Madison County, Illinois, which is near St. Louis, didn't make the cut. Along with neighboring St. Clair Couny, Madison County is on the 2007 Hellhole watch list.

From the ATRA's press release:

Besides naming two new Judicial Hellholes this year, the biggest headline may be the fact that Madison County, Illinois is no longer a Hellhole," noted ATRA president Sherman "Tiger" Joyce. "In each of the last five years Madison County was cited as a leading Hellhole. But led by Chief Judge Ann Callis and Judge Daniel Stack, the courts there have undertaken several positive reforms which justify moving the county this year to the report's ‘Watch List.'

In 2005, President Bush gave a speech in Madison County and had this to say:

The number of class actions rose 5000% from 1998 to 2003 even though the vast majority of defendants were not actually from Madison County.The proper place for massive class actions is not in local court but in federal court.

But of course the scorecard is mixed in Illinois, since Cook County, where I live, made the ATRA roll of dishonor.

Technorati tags: tort lawsuit legal law Illinois Cook County Las Vegas Nevada Texas Florida West Virginia Metro East Bush

Defections continue as Castro ponders retirement

He's 80 years old and hasn't been seen in public in 16 months. Is the post-Fidel Castro era of Cuba near? It just might be.

In a letter read on state television, the dictator said:

My elemental duty is not to cling to positions, or even less to obstruct the path of younger people, but to share experiences and ideas whose modest worth comes from the exceptional era in which I lived

That "exceptional era" saw Cuba fall from having one of the highest standards of living in the western hemisphere to one of the lowest.

However, in that letter he referred to Brazilian architect (and Communist) Oscar Niemeyer, who turned 100 two days ago, "I think like Niemeyer that you have to be of consequence up to the end."

Three Cubans, Taras Domitro, Hayna Gutierrez and Miguel Angel Blanco of the The National Ballet of Cuba, decided Sunday night not to wait "up to the end." After performing in Ontario, they crossed into the United States at Buffalo, New York, and defected.

Technorati tags: Cuba cubano Castro ballet performing arts Buffalo

More Gov. Blago problems: Flights to Springfield may be taxable

When Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D-IL) applied for his current job, that is, when he allowed his name to appear on the ballot, he knew that capital of Illinois was located in Springfield.

But after winning that election in 2002, "Blago" decided to break 150 years of precedent by choosing not to live in the governor's mansion. Instead, he and his family chose to continue living on Chicago's Northwest Side.

Blago regularly flies from Chicago downstate on days when he's actually working, which isn't a lot, based on reports.

But the IRS might be interested in Blago's expensive commutes, if they are commutes.

From AP:

On Memorial Day, Gov. Rod Blagojevich huddled with legislative leaders in his Capitol office in what turned out to be another futile attempt to negotiate a state budget deal.

Then Blagojevich did what millions of people do after work: He went home. The difference is that the governor flew 150 miles to Chicago on a state plane, then used it to return to Springfield the next day.

That trip and dozens of other flights over the past five years could create tax headaches for Blagojevich and wind up costing Illinois taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars, according to an Associated Press analysis and interviews with tax experts.

The problem? The Internal Revenue Service might consider Blagojevich's flights to be personal trips and a taxable fringe benefit.

The AP analysis covers nearly 1,000 flights on state aircraft by Blagojevich, his family and guests. It found personal travel that could be considered extra income to the governor of at least $225,000, based on the cost of hiring private planes in Illinois.

As is his wont, Blagojevich responded through a spokesperson, who says the governor's office is in Chicago, not downstate.

But the state capital is in Springfield.

Related posts:

Illinois' "governor who cannot govern" doesn't seem to even work

Illinois corruption watch: Top adviser to Gov. Blagojevich indicted: UPDATED

Bad day for Blagojevich: Feds subpoena gov's campaign records

Technorati tags: politics Illinois Democrats Blagojevich IRS tax taxes Springfield

Hillary showing desperation, appears on Fox News Channel

Hillary Rodham Clinton made the rounds of the morning talk shows, and in a sign that she knows her campaign is in trouble, for the first time in eleven years, HRC appeared on the Fox & Friends show.
Within the last year or so, the Democratic presidential candidates, spurred on by the netroots, have been boycotting the Fox News Channel, because of what the Daily Kos crows views as right-wing bias.

Technorati tags: politics cable news 2008 Election Democrats Hillary hillary clinton Fox News cable news

Hear Marathon Pundit on Blog Talk Radio

Last night I was the guest of Eric Odom on the Illinois GOP Network's Blog Talk Radio Show. The first half of the program features Eric Odom of the Sam Adams Foundation, I drop by in the second half. Mark Johnson is the host.

Click here to listen or to download.

We discuss the University of Illinois military scholarships scandal, DePaul and Thomas Klocek, the Chicago Marathon, Barack Obama, and conservative blogging in Illinois.

For more on the Illinois GOP Network, click here.

Technorati tags: podcast blog politics barack obama obama Illinois conservative blog talk radio

Chicago food desert update: Hyde Park Co-op to close

Although Chicago has been covered in snow for over two weeks, remember that there are food deserts throughout the city. The generally agreed definition of a food desert is an urban area with no nearby store selling inexpensive groceries.

Late last year the Mari Gallagher Research & Consulting Group identified a whole bunch of food deserts within Chicago, and it must have been less-than-impressed, as I've been, with the Hyde Park Co-op, because that grocer is right in the middle of a food desert.

Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood, home of the University of Chicago, is well-stocked with intellectuals. Until making that ill-advised move to his Kenwood mansion a few blocks away, the Obama family lived in Hyde Park, right in the middle of the desert.

This is the same Obama who opposes Wal-Mart, a company that wants "in" on Chicago's food deserts. Wal-Marts use a non-unionized workforce.

But the co-op, which presented itself as more than a grocery, will be closing soon, perhaps as soon as next month. Members of the co-op were presented with two choices, dissolve, and the university will forgive its debt, and let the university lease out its retail space to another grocer, or go through a painful restructuring--with no guarantee of success.

From the Chicago "free registration required" Tribune:

The co-op was founded during the Great Depression as one of a number of alternatives offered for what seemed like capitalism's failure. The U. of C., now known for its intellectual sponsorship of free-market economics, was an incubator of political freethinkers in the 1930s, most of them left of center. Among them was Paul Douglas, an early co-op member and subsequently a U.S. senator.

The co-op's ideological roots date to 19th Century England, where factory workers opened their own grocery as an alternative to the owner's company store.

Despite that idealism, the co-op more recently succumbed to a heady expansion that some found at odds with its philosophy. The co-op opened two satellite stores, whose failure saddled the membership with an unbearable debt load. It owes the university $1.2 million in back rent.

The Chicago Sun-Times adds this hors d'oeuvre:

Meanwhile, some Hyde Park residents, who complained about the co-op's above-average prices and sometimes subpar service, didn't see what was worth saving at all.

More proof that socialism doesn't work.

The Hyde Park Co-Op is unionized, and the two grocers the U of C, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, are in negotiations with to take the co-op's space are Safeway-owned Dominick's and Treasure Island.

Dominick's stores are union shops, but five months ago, Treasure Island employees overwhelmingly voted to decertify the United Food and Commercial Workers Union from all six of its Chicago locations.

The Hyde Park Co-op is closing. But it could mean one less food desert in Chicago.

Related posts:

Edwards wants to lure supermarkets into food deserts
Chicago's "food deserts" well known to Obama
My book report: The Wal-Mart Revolution: How Big Box Stores Benefit Consumers, Workers, and the Economy
The good life of working for the UFCW
Union leaders don't share their members pain
Big-box shy Chicago facing "food desert"
Chicago food desert update: Hyde Park Co-op may close or file for bankruptcy: UPDATED

Technorati tags: Wal-Mart unions labor politics elections retail business Obama barack obama democrats Chicago Illinois food deserts big box Safeway

McCain bags another one: Lieberman endorsement

This one is impressive: Coming a day after collecting two important newspaper endorsements, news comes tonight that Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Democratic Party nominee for the vice president, will be endorsing his Republican colleague from Arizona, John McCain, in his presidential run.

The announcement from Connecticut senator, nominally still a Democrat, will come tomorrow. That begs a question about the general election: Could Lieberman endorse McCain, or another Republican over a Democrat this fall?

Lieberman is an anomaly, a pro-war Democrat, but a man with supporters from both parties.

Very interesting news indeed.

Austin Bay made an interest post about a McCain-Lieberman National Union presidential ticket--four months ago.

Very interesting.

Technorati tags: democrats elections 2008 Republican Lieberman Connecticut Arizona

Study: Half of players named in Mitchell report saw improvement

Here's something to chew on for those people who think findings obtaine by he Mitchell report on steroid abuse aren't a big deal.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Just more than half of the 90 Major League baseball players named in the Mitchell Report boosted their performances within the first two seasons after they were linked to performance-enhancing drugs, a Journal Sentinel analysis found.

More than one in three players - 33 in total - immediately improved in the first season compared with their career averages.

The list of 27 hitters and 19 pitchers who allegedly "juiced" and raised their statistical performances includes stars such as Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Jason Giambi.

But performance-enhancing drugs didn't just launch superstar careers. They also might have extended them, not just among superstars but also journeymen.

I call that cheating.

Technorati tags: baseball mlb sports

Wreaths Across America and Andrea Shea King come to Arlington Nat'l Cemetery

Just look what is on top of (as I write this) of Michelle Malkin's site tonight. A post about Wreaths Across America and our friend, The Radio Patriot, Andrea Shea King, arriving at America's Most Hallowed Ground: Arlington National Cemetery.


H/T to Third Wave Dave.



Here's a poem about Christmas at Arlington by Chicago's very own Jake Jacobsen of Freedom Folks:

Rest easy, sleep well my brothers.

Know the line has held, your job is done.

Rest easy, sleep well.

Others have taken up where you fell, the line has held.

Peace, peace, and farewell…

Every time I look at this picture I start crying. Have a Merry Christmas everyone, and keep this picture in the back of your mind as you celebrate.

Technorati tags: Military armed forces cemeteries virginia arlington Christmas

McCain bags two big endorsements

The Boston Globe and the Des Moines Register announced the presidential primary endorsements this evening. Both influential newspapers endorsed John McCain on the Republican end of of the field. As for the Democrats, Hillary Rodham Clinton finally got some good news: She won the Des Moines Register's nod, but the Boston Globe chose Barack Obama.

Technorati tags: democrats elections 2008 Hillary Clinton Hillary Obama Barack Obama McCain Republican Iowa Boston

Obama, Giuliani lead in Illinois poll

The Illinois Primary is on February 5, and the Chicago Tribune, in conjunction with WGN-TV, has a new poll out.

Free registration is required for the Tribune link.

Barring a catastrophe, Illinois is a lock for Barack Obama. He's at 50 percent among Democrats, which is double what one-time Illinois resident Hillary Clinton has. Everyone else is so far behind they don't rate a mention here.

On the Republican side, things are more muddled. Rudy Giuliani leads with 23 percent, and Mike Huckabee is within the margin-of-error with 21 percent.

I thought Mitt Romney and John McCain would be doing a little better here. Much of the Illinois Republican establishment is behind one of those candidates. Romney polls at 14 percent, McCain at 12--followed by Fred Thompson with 11 percent. The other candidates are way back.

Family-values voters in Illinois traditionally make up 1/3 of the GOP electorate, and if Huckabee contiunues to gain strength, he could win the state. Guliani is doing well in the Chicago area--and that's where most of our voters live.

Technorati tags: democrats elections 2008 Hillary Clinton Hillary Obama John Edwards Barack Obama Chicago illinois McCain Romney Huckabee Giuliani

Ill. corruption watch: Obama donates Rezko associate's contribution to charity

There has been an air of suspicion surrounding Abdelhamid "Al" Chaib for a while, a former business associate of Barack Obama's onetime political mentor, Antonin "Tony" Rezko. So I find it odd that Obama's campaign waited until the day after Chaib's indictment to donate a 2003 campaign contribution from Chaib to charity.

Obama donated his Rezko cash to charity a couple of years ago.

Related posts:

Obama donates more Rezko tainted donations to charity

Obama gives up donation from man with Rezko ties

Obama ditching more Rezko linked cash, but what about Hillary and IPA?

Rezko cash three times what Obama claims

Obama can't shake Tony Rezko

Technorati tags: Obama politics Barack Obama Illinois 2008 Election Democrats Chicago Tony Rezko corruption

Pajamas Media Blog Week in Review with Bill Roggio

I just got back from a hard-charging 10 mile run, while struggling among the ice and snow on the local running path.

During the my 10-miler, I listened the latest Pajamas Media Blog Week in Review with Austin Bay and his guest, journalist Bill Roggio, who operates the Long War Journal site. Roggio has been embedded with the US Army several times in Iraq, plus an embed with Canadian force in Afghanistan.

Roggio talks about the "emerging success" in Iraq, as well as the murkier situations in Pakistan, Iran (and the National Intelligence Estimate), as well as Afghanistan, and how all this fits into next year's presidential election.

Listen to or download the podcast here. Or subscribe to Pajamas Media Blog Week in Review for free from the iTunes web site.

As always, Ed Driscoll produces the podcast.

Technorati tags: war on terror iPod itunes podcast blog Pajamas Media Military أبو ظبي Afghanistan افغانستان iran Persian خبر سياسی زنان iraq politics

Hillary: The lioness in winter?

If it was any other candidate, I'd hesitate to make such a proclamation, but the the Clintons, anything is possible.

Did Bill Shaheen, the husband of a former governor of New Hampshire, hurl himself onto a hand grendade to move Hillary Clinton's campaign ahead?

Two days ago, former Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe, who is heading the national HRC campaign, was telling the world, "We are the frontrunner, everybody's been going after us. We feel very good about where we are."

From Fox News:

But just one day later, Clinton found herself personally apologizing to Obama for comments made by her adviser and New Hampshire co-chairman, Bill Shaheen, who said in published comments that Democrats should be wary of nominating Obama because Republicans would use his admission of past drug use, including cocaine, against him in the general election.

Shaheen resigned Thursday, after the Obama campaign called his comments an act of desperation.

Shaheen's departure follows a pattern. The campaign asked two volunteers to resign earlier this month after they forwarded a hoax e-mail suggesting Obama is a Muslim bent on destroying the United States. The Clinton camp also had to condemn actions by its staffers after it was discovered the campaign planted a question on global warming at an event at Grinnell College in Iowa last month.

The Washington Post reported Thursday that a handful of Clinton campaign workers were even recommending pro-Clinton postings on the New Hampshire progressive blog Blue Hampshire.

The response from the Clinton campaign was the usual: These are the actions of individuals, not the campaign, and they will not be repeated.

When Bill Clinton was president, it had been said more than once that there was a lot of smoke surrounding him, but you could never find the fire. The former first lady doesn't have Bubba's velvet touch, and yes, there is more than smoke to be found with this Clinton.

Technorati tags: Obama politics Barack Obama 2008 Election Democrats Hillary hillary clinton New Hampshire Iowa

Cynthia McKinney speaking in Chicago tonight

Someone I've been blogging a lot about lately, Cynthia McKinney, will be in Chicago tonight. Cynthia McKinney is running for president under the Green Party banner.

From an Illinois Green Party press release:

During her swing through Chicago, McKinney will speak at a fundraiser
held a Decima Musa, 1901 South Loomis (19th & Loomis), in Chicago's historic Pilsen neighborhood. The event will be held Friday, Dec. 14, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

More..

At an event last week in Carbondale, Ill., McKinney was endorsed by 2006 Green Party gubernatorial candidate Rich Whitney, who earned the support of over 10 percent of Illinois voters in that campaign.

"I have long felt that Cynthia McKinney was a Green at heart," Whitney commented recently. "Unlike most Democrats in Congress, Cynthia has long been a principled, tireless advocate for peace, civil rights, and the fundamental right of the people to vote and have their vote count – accurately. She has long been a fighter against corruption, injustice, environmental destruction, the imperial presidency and the corporate aristocracy in this country. Her voting record was impeccable. She was, and is, a true representative of the public interest."

Eventually Whitney will regret those comments, in my opinion. The posts below should explain why.

Related posts:

Moonbat McKinney visits her home planet: "Truther" World
A bleak day in Carbondale, Illinois: Salukis lose, McKinney arrives: UPDATED
Georgia's Cynthia McKinney Parkway may be headed for the exit ramp
Police brutalizer Cynthia McKinney to lead protest of police brutality
Uh-oh. Green Party candidates multiply in Illinois
Cynthia McKinney and the Greens
Massachusetts Green Party: Enough to make you puke
Still in the 1960s: 2008 Green Party convention coming to Chicago: UPDATED

Technorati tags: Green Party Cynthia McKinney politics 2008 election democrats Chicago illinois

Headline of the day: Butts declared incompetent in toilet paper theft case

Yes, that's a real headline. "Butts declared incompetent in toilet paper theft case" comes from the Des Moines Register.

Technorati tags: humor humour funny Iowa news

Feds hit Tony Rezko with six more charges

Considering the volume of indictments flying out of US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald's office yesterday, it's understandable if a few accusations went unnoticed--temporarily. But tucked away among allegations against Illinois Tollway restaurant operator Abdelhamid "Al" Chaib, were six new charges involving Antoin "Tony" Rezko.

According to the indictment, Chaib and Rezko attempted to artificially raise the value of six Rezko-owned Papa John's restaurants in a scheme to obtain loans.

Outside of Illinois, Rezko is best known as Obama's one-time property neighbor--scroll down three posts for more on that--as well as someone who can arguably be called the presidential candidate's earliest political sponsor.

Although Fitzgerald won't say it, the focus of his wide ranging probe has to be Governor Rod Blagojevich, who is indentified as "Public Official A" in the indictment involving former Bear Stearns employee P. Nicholas Hurtgen, according to a person close to the case.

Rezko is pictured above, whispering into the governor's ear.

Jay Stewart, executive director of the Better Government Association, had this to say about Blagojevich:

It's like the game Battleship, and the shots are landing all around him. If [the investigation] isn't directed at the governor, it's sure coming close to him.

Blagojevich's predecessor, Republican George Ryan, began serving his 78 month prison sentence last month--he was convicted of various corruption charges. One of Ryan's attorney's was another former Illinois governor Jim Thompson, who began a 26 year run of Republican governors in the Land of Lincoln, broken by Blagojevich in 2003. Thompson's predecessor Dan Walker also served time in prison: for looting a savings and loan. Two governors prior, another Democrat, Otto Kerner, was sent to prison for accepting a bribe.

Jim Thompson hasn't been accused of anything--except bad judgement. "Big Jim" served on the board of directors of Hollinger, whose CEO, Conrad Black, was sentenced to prison this week after being convicted on fraud charges.

Uniquely Illinois.

Technorati tags: Obama politics Barack Obama Illinois 2008 Election DemocratsChicago Tony Rezko real estate corruption Patrick Fitzgerald real estate crime Blagojevich Bear Stearns

Daley against state purchase of Wrigley Field; Black Sox swag sold

While Major League Baseball suffered yesterday what is probably its worst day since the Black Sox scandal broke--Thursday saw the release of the Mitchell Report on steroid abuse among MLB players, there were a couple of Chicago baseball stories worth reporting on.

As I blogged yesterday morning, Governor Rod Blagojevich, who had almost as bad of a day as now tainted Roger Clemens did--read below to see what I'm talking about--is considering a state purchase of Wrigley Field, where the Chicago Cubs play. Of course the state is essentially broke, and fellow Democrat, Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago, is not too juiced up about the idea of Illinois owning a second baseball park. It already owns the South Side stadium where the White Sox play.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Calling Wrigley Field a "gold mine," Daley said there is no danger of a new owner moving the Cubs and, therefore, no reason for a deal that would amount to "taxpayers helping out the Cubs."

"We can’t even get any money for the CTA (the city's public transit division) and they're worried about the Chicago Cubs? They've made money every year. It's very profitable and some way, we're supposed to bail them out? I've never heard [of that] . . . I don't think they’re leaving. They just increased the price of tickets," Daley said.

"We have a crisis at the CTA right now. It's hard to believe . . . that people are now talking about taxpayers helping out the Cubs. The Cubs are not gonna move. It's a gold mine. . . . If you're gonna start holding this issue over the heads of passengers of the CTA and this crisis we’re in and they want to start talking about whether or not taxpayers are gonna buy [Wrigley Field] — that’s hard to believe."

Looks like Blagojevich's idea is a strike out. Even with Daley's support, the unpopular governor can't be expected to round up enough votes to get this through the state legislature.

Chicago's other baseball team, the one that won the World Series two years ago, was in the news on Thursday.

In 1920, it was discovered that eight Chicago White Sox players had conspired with gamblers to "throw" the 1919 World Series. Although a jury found the players innocent of conspiracy charges, the eight, including the legendary Shoeless Joe Jackson, were banned for life from Major League Baseball.

An auction of previously unkown documents, letters and memos detailing the scandal was held in suburban Burr Ridge, Illinois. The winning bidder was the Chicago Historical Society, which promises to display some of the artifacts, make the rest available to researchers, and to send photocopies of the entire cache to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Related post:

White Sox win World Series!

Technorati tags: illinois baseball mlb Cubs chicago cubs sports Chicago White Sox world series white sox Illinois Politics politics Blagojevich Daley history

Illinois corruption watch: Top adviser to Gov. Blagojevich indicted: UPDATED

Just breaking on a very busy news day. It looks like the feds are closing the ring on the nation's worst governor, Democrat Rod Blagojevich of Illinois.

From AP:

Christopher G. Kelly, a top adviser and fundraiser to Gov. Rod Blagojevich, has been indicted on federal tax fraud charges.

For more on the corruption of sleaze in Illinois, scroll down one post.

UPDATE 2:15PM

Crain's Chicago Business has a lot more:

The U.S. attorney’s office charged Christopher Kelly with understating his personal and business income by more than $1.3 million over five years, in part by concealing his efforts to disguise shifting corporate funds to pay gambling debts. Mr. Kelly stepped down about a year ago as head of the governor’s political campaign fund.

Mr. Kelly, who ironically had represented Gov. Blagojevich in early talks several years ago about expanding gaming in Illinois, was not indicted for any impropriety regarding state government. The charges focus on his tax reports and his gambling debts.

Mr. Kelly has never been an elected or appointed state official.

And there is this, which figures into the below's entry:

Abdelhamid Chaib, a close business associate of Blagojevich fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko, also was indicted on corruption charges.

UPDATE 6:20PM: Also indicted today was P. Nicholas Hurtgen, a former senior official with Bear Stearns & Co. He allegedly participated in a shakedown scheme against Edward Hospital.

UPDATE December 14: Dan Curry of Reverse Spin has a summary of his posts on Chris Kelly.

Curry observes that Blagojevich's top two fundraisers have been indicted. He writes:

Now that U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has his left flank fully in place, he can proceed upon his prey, Governor Rod Blagojevich. Does anybody seriously doubt how this is going to turn out?

Technorati tags: politics Illinois Democrats corruption Blagojevich Christopher Kelly crime breaking

Obama's pal Tony Rezko back in the news

Yesterday a top adviser to the Hillary Clinton campaign, Bill Shaheen, brought up Barack Obama's past drug use, something the Illinois senator wrote about in his book, Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, and made the observation that if he becomes the Democratic nominee, the Republicans will use that against Obama in the general election.

The Clinton camp quickly disassociated themselves from Shaheen's comments, and the governor later apologized for his remarks.

However, here's something the Clintonista's should be focusing on: Antonin
"Tony" Rezko.

The indicted Democratic political insider was back in the news today, through a former associate, Al Chaib. He's a former Rezko business partner, and Chaib owns several fast-food outlets located in state-owned tollway rest areas, despite the fact he owes over $300,000 in state taxes.

Shocking? Not in Illinois.

For the uninitiated, Tony Rezko and his friends raised buckets and buckets of cash for Governor Rod Blagojevich, and became a trusted adviser to the Chicago Democrat. Rezko is accused of shaking down businesses for political contributions so these firms could receive state contracts. He was indicted in 2006, and his federal trial is scheduled to begin in February with Judge Amy St. Eve--who this week sentenced Conrad Black to 78 months in prison--presiding in Chicago. The office of US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald will handle the prosecution.

It was commonly known that Rezko was being investigated by the feds as early as 2004, but the didn't stop Obama to use the Rezko family a year later to assist him in purchasing the house above in 2005.

The Obamas purchased the house, but Rezko's wife Rita bough a portion of the lot on the same day from the same owner. Clearly, it appears the Obamas couldn't quite afford the house and the property--so Obama called Tony Rezko to make it happen. A few months later, the Obamas purchased 1/6 of the Rezko lot. Until the Chicago Tribune broke the story late last year, one can make the assumption the Obamas were going to slowly purchase portions of that lot until they owned it all. In short, Rezko-Obama deal was a loan.

When confronted with the revaletion on these real estate transactions, Obama called it a "boneheaded move." It was.

Rezko was one of Obama's earliest supporters, he sought out Obama while he was still a Harvard law student.

Cleary, Obama's lack of judgement on the Rezko real estate deal should be an issue.

Sound judgement is what we need from our chief executives. Does Obama have it?

And unless the trial is delayed, in a couple of months, the Rezko trial will remind voters, daily, that the "rock star" has played a few sour notes.

Related posts:

"Rezko lot" next to Obama's home for sale
Obama vows to clean up Washington as president
"Consigliere" Rezko still shadowing Obama
Obama gives up donation from man with Rezko ties
Obama donates more Rezko tainted donations to charity
Obama's letters for Rezko show favors
Rezko cash three times what Obama claims
Chicago Tribune catches up to Marathon Pundit

Technorati tags: Obama politics Barack Obama Illinois 2008 Election DemocratsChicago Tony Rezko real estate corruption Hillary hillary clinton Patrick Fitzgerald real estate

State may buy Wrigley Field

The Chicago Cubs are for sale. Currently owned by the Tribune Company, officials from the firm have been in touch with Governor Rod Blagojevich (Hey, they found him), a huge Cubs fan, and "Blago" is considering an offer, according the Michael Sneed of the Chicago Sun-Times, to buy the team's home park, Wrigely Field.

The state of Illiois is broke, however. And despite a couple of special sessions of the state legislature this fall, it has been unable to find a way fund the Chicago area mass transit system.

Technorati tags: politics Blagojevich illinois Chicago Democrats Illinois Politics Chicago Cubs cubs baseball mlb

"Fake, but accurate" in the art world

A major story in the art world today is the revelation that a supposed Paul Gauguin sculpture, a prized possession of the Art Institute of Chicago, is in fact the creation of the lesser-known Shaun Greenhalgh of Bolton, England.

But there is a story from Germany that I find more interesting, as it reminds me of the "Fake, but accurate" Killian memos that sank Dan Rather's CBS News career.

From Expatica, here is a new Grimm tale:

The Museum of Ethnology in the port city of Hamburg, which has been embarrassed by worldwide attention, put up a sign Wednesday that the figures were copies.

The German-based company that supplied the figures had admitted they were not originals, although the contract it concluded with the museum stipulated they were original, a statement by the museum said.

Yolna Grimm of Centre of Chinese Arts and Culture (CCAC) claimed the Leipzig, Germany firm had never said the figures were original but that they were "authentic."

He said the contract with the museum promised "authentic ceramic figures made of original material."

The latter word meant Xi'an clay, he said. "To us, authentic means they are ceramic, life-sized and comparable with the originals," added Grimm.

Herr Grimm: Just say it, "Fake, but accurate."

Technorati tags: art crime Hamburg Germany Deutschland Bolton museums England forgery China 中國 中国 Chicago

What you should be listening to tonight

WGN-AM's Milt Rosenberg "Extension 720" is on the air now as I write this entry. If you live anywhere within 1,000 miles of Chicago, you should be able to pick up the signal where you live--especially in your car.

The show started a little at 10pm EST (9pm Central) and runs for two hours.

Or if you are sitting at a computer, you can listen to Rosenberg's show online--which is what I'm doing right now--and hear friend-of-the-blog and Chicagoan Richard Baehr of the American Thinker, along with Emanuele Ottolenghi the executive director of the TransAtlantic Institute--who is visiting from Belgium, and another local, Charles Lipson of the University of Chicago.

The topic tonight is the New Anti-Semitism--and all three guests, and the host, agree is with it exists. It's worse in Europe, they all agree, but bad here too.

If you've missed the show, in a few days, you can listen to the podcast here.

Technorati tags: podcast radio politics anti-semitism Milt Rosenberg Emanuele Ottolenghi Richard Baehr WGN Radio Charles Lipson

Ron Paul summarized

Sometimes it takes a foreigner to offer a concise viewpoint of a phenomenon occurring in another nation, and that is what Toby Harnden has done about Ron Paul in the London Telegraph.

On the plus side for Paul, no where in the article does Harnden state that Paul has no chance of winning the Republican nomination for president--although the best hope Harnden gives him is scoring "a major upset by leaping ahead of one or more of the major contenders." And he's talking about Iowa and New Hampshire, not a big state like Florida or Illinois.

On the downside, Harnden makes the inevitable, but accurate, comparison to the 2004 Howard Dean phenomenon:

Instead, the voters found Dr. Paul and his campaign, like that of Howard Dean, the early Democratic front runner in 2004, has been taken in a direction the candidate himself had never anticipated.

Like Dean, Paul will flicker out too, he'll be largely forgotten after February 5. Oh yeah, sure he may run as a Libertarian in the general election--and end up with 2 percent of the vote.

Paul's signature issue, Iraq, is slowly moving off center stage in the minds of most voters. And other than lowering taxes--hardly on original idea among Republicans--Ron Paul doesn't have much of an economic plan. Now there's a topic on the minds of many voters.

Technorati tags: elections 2008 politics Republican Ron Paul war on terror Iraq economy UK

Indy mayor to be sworn in under military backdrop

Republican Greg Ballard, who shocked Indianapolis by ousting a heavily favored incumbent in last month's election, is not shying away from his military background. Ballard is a retired Marine lieutenant colonel, and he will be sworn in at the Indiana War Memorial.

Related post:

How the GOP can take back Illinois

Technorati tags: republican elections politics Indianapolis indiana Greg Ballard military Marines

Mayor Daley's son being deployed overseas

Patrick Daley, the son of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, joined the Army in 2004, after graudating with honors from the University of Chicago MBA program.

Yesterday the mayor acknowledged media reports that he as been deployed overseas, but won't say where. Chicago Sun-Times columnist Michael Sneed, however, says Patrick is headed to Afghanistan.

Technorati tags: Chicago military politics army Daley war on terror

Moonbat McKinney visits her home planet: "Truther" World

Media coverage of Cynthia McKinney's Green Party presidential campaign has been quite favorable to the former Democratic congresswoman from Georgia, despite her whacked out and repugnant views.

McKinney lives in California now, but spiritually her home just might be Madison, Wisconsin--one of the most liberal cities in America. Today Mothership McKinney touched down in Wisconsin's capital, and AP reporter Scott Bauer didn't ignore her infamy.

McKinney supporters brought plenty of moonlight to her Madison press conference, foremost among the pack was Kevin Barrett, a 9/11 "truther"; he believes the attacks on that day were an "inside job." In 2006 Barrett, who was then a part-time instructor at UW, taught a course on Islam that incorporated some of his "revisionist theories" about what occurred on that horrible morning.

From Bauer's AP story:

Supporters held signs that said "9/11 Truth Now" and "Impeach."

McKinney accused President Bush of ignoring warnings of the Sept. 11 attacks because friends in the defense industry would profit from a war. She has hosted numerous panels on Sept. 11 conspiracy theories, which Barrett champions.

"I asked a very innocent question," McKinney said Tuesday. "I asked what did the administration know and when did it know it about the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001. And I was excoriated."

And she deserved it. During a March, 2002 interview for a radio station in Madison's sister city, Berkeley, California, Moonbat McKinney had this to say:

We know there were numerous warnings of the events to come on September 11th. . . . What did this administration know and when did it know it, about the events of September 11th? Who else knew, and why did they not warn the innocent people of New York who were needlessly murdered? . . . What do they have to hide?

And there is this statement, made a few weeks later, which Bauer hinted at in his story:

It is known that President Bush's father, through the Carlyle Group, had–at the time of the attacks–joint business interests with the bin Laden construction company and many defense industry holdings, the stocks of which have soared since September 11.

Today will be the day that will be remembered as the one where the crazies, her core group of supporters, came out for Moonbat McKinney, Green Party candidate for president.

Good.

Related posts:

A bleak day in Carbondale, Illinois: Salukis lose, McKinney arrives: UPDATED
Georgia's Cynthia McKinney Parkway may be headed for the exit ramp
Police brutalizer Cynthia McKinney to lead protest of police brutality
Green Party makes political threat against Rep. Schakowsky
Uh-oh. Green Party candidates multiply in Illinois
Cynthia McKinney and the Greens
Massachusetts Green Party: Enough to make you puke
Still in the 1960s: 2008 Green Party convention coming to Chicago: UPDATED

Technorati tags: Green Party Cynthia McKinney politics 2008 election democrats Georgia conspiracy 911 Wisconsin madison Bush truthers Kevin Barrett

Democratic congressman appears on Fox News Channel

Since early this year, there has been an unofficial boycott of the Fox News Channel by Democratic politicians. The irony here is that network gets much higher ratings than CNN and MSNBC.

The issue came to a head when first John Edwards, then Barack Obama, announced they would not appear in a Nevada Democratic presidential candidate debate because they believe Fox has a right wing bias.

Ironically, CNN, not Fox News, was embarrassed by its November debate debacles. One was a Democratic debate, the other was for the GOP.

But the Democratic netroots, driven by MoveOn.org and the site that Barack Obama, in his latest book, had the audacity to only call "left leaning," The Daily Kos, have put the word out: Stay away from Fox News.

But Rep. Bobby Rush, (D-IL) was on Fox News early this afternoon. He was discussing a bill that's hard to oppose--legislation that would test lead levels of imported children's toys.

As you'll read in the below posts, I've been very tough on Rush, a former Black Panther who is best known now as the answer to a trivia question: Who defeated Barack Obama when he ran for a House seat?

But I'm glad he followed his instincts, and appeared on the nation's top-rated cable news network.

Related posts:

Former Obama opponent, Clinton pal, now backing Barack

Moron on Cong. Bobby Rush--Christian minister voted against House Christmas resolution

Cong. Bobby Rush no longer facing double foreclosure

Moron Congressman Bobby Rush

Technorati tags: Bobby Rush Fox News Channel Congress democrats Obama barack obama Daily Kos Chicago illinois netroots politics media

Vote now for the 2007 Nanny Awards

This story comes from the Center for Consumer Freedom via Townhall.com.

The group in charge focuses on food issues. And they explain their rationale here:

The competition is fierce. Vying for the title: Overzealous state legislators pushing bans on common food ingredients; health officials prohibiting full-grown adults from eating dessert; prominent food activists caught in acts of rank hypocrisy; and animal-rights fanatics using the force of law to make food companies conform to their radical anti-meat dogmas.

The first nominee is the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), and if the name sounds familiar, it should. With impeccable timing and an astute skill at attracting media attention, the CSPI knows how to get its name out.
For instance, it's the group who nine years ago, shortly before Thanksgiving, issued a press release about the "dangers" of a turkey dinner. "Fact challenged" is a fair criticism of the group.

From the Center for Consumer Freedom:

Michael Jacobson, "No Yummies for Dummies' Tummies" Award -- It would be quicker to list all the foods the Executive Director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) didn't attack in 2007. Chinese take-out, margarine, quesadillas, and caffeine all made it onto his blacklist. In February, Jacobson told CBS Radio that "restaurants have every right to make these foods and you have every right to eat them." But CSPI's lobbying efforts suggest otherwise. The group has sued restaurants for using margarine (trans fat) and is petitioning the FDA to control how much salt you can have.

Pamela Anderson, "Tuna Tacos Make Merry Marriage" Award -- The publicity-starved spokes-blonde for the animal rights wing nuts at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) was caught yet again flouting her veggie “principles.” In June, Anderson got married (for a third time). The menu at her post-ceremony dinner? Pigs in a blanket, tuna tacos, and lobster.

Dan Kinburn, "Suing Everything Under the Bun" Award -- A lawyer for the PETA-affiliated Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) has been encouraging trial lawyers to use California’s Proposition 65 (a notorious "bounty hunter" law) to sue "virtually every restaurant in the state of California that is not serving an all-vegetarian diet."

Click here for the entire list of well-deserving nominees.

Related posts:

Nanny state update: Chicago legislator wants to ban aluminum bats for kids under 13

"Nanny State" book is out

Chicago's foie gras faux crisis

Trans fat next to be banned in Chicago?

Technorati tags: Nanny State society food life cooking restaurants PETA vegetarian Pamela Anderson trans fat

Good news on eminent domain abuse

Behind an eminence front
Eminence front - it's a put on
The Who, "Eminence Front." 1981

It appears the Alderman Eugene Schulter's front collapsed, or maybe just cracked last week after meeting with some Western Avenue business owners from Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood.

From Chicago's News Star:

Alderman Eugene Schulter, 47th, backed down from a plan to condemn privately owned businesses on the 4800 block of North Western Avenue and hand them over to private developers--sort of.

After more than 100 angry Lincoln Square residents marched on Schulter's 47th Ward service office following a heated community meeting on Dec. 5, Schulter reassessed the situation.

After meeting with affected Lincoln Square business owners Dec. 10, Schulter announced later that day that he would revise a proposed acquisition ordinance making any city acquisition of properties north of 4807 N. Western Avenue "voluntary."

Schulter said that in consideration of the changes in the acquisition ordinance, the matter would not go before the full City Council on Dec. 12, but will return to the Committee on Housing and Real Estate for review.

Tom Mannis of The Bench reports that the City Council probably won't vote on this issue tomorrow, but a property rights rally will still take place at City Hall.

From The Bench:

RALLY
at City Council
Wednesday, December 12th, @ 9am
Outside of City Council Chambers
2nd Floor Elevator Lobby
City Hall
121 N. La Salle Street
Chicago, IL 60602

For more information, visit the Save Lincoln Square web site.

Remember: Our government official may appear to put on a tough front on eminent domain. But if ordinary citizens fight back, odds are, we'll find that it's just a put on.

Thanks for the link: Windypundit

Related post:

St. Louis seeks to eliminate anti-eminent domain sign

Technorati tags: eminent domain property rights real estate real estate blogging Chicago illinois

Radio Baehr

Friend of the blog Richard Baehr, who writes for the American Thinker, will be an easy man to find. Later today, he'll appear on Rick Moran's radio show on Blog Talk Radio. That will be at 4:15pm EST, 3:15 Central. Follow the link here. A podcast of the show will appear later on the same site. The presidential election will be the topic.

Wednesday night, Baehr will be a guest on Milt Rosenberg's WGN-AM 720 show with Emanuele Ottolenghi. WGN is a 50,000 clear channel station, so if you live between the Mexican and Canadian borders and you're east of the Rockies, you have a good chance of picking up the signal. Rosenberg's show will be on 10pm-12:00 AM EST, 9pm-11am Central. Or listen online, or a few days later you can check out the podcast version.

For this show, Baehr and Ottolenghi will talk about the new anti-Semitism.

UPDATE 7:00pm CST: I just got finished listening to Rick Moran's program. Moran lives in Algonquin, Illinois, and he had a lot of ice at his home at airtime. Like myself, Baehr lives close to Lake Michigan, which (so far) has warmed the ground just enough to let the rain stay rainy.

Baehr and Moran talk about every important angle of the presidential campaign, and throw in some Iran talk as a bonus.

Moran blogs at Rightwing Nuthouse.

Technorati tags: podcast radio politics 2008 election anti-semitism Milt Rosenberg Emanuele Ottolenghi Richard Baehr

Sharpton threatens to block Chicago's Olympic bid

Mayor Richard M. Daley hopes the 2016 Summer Olympics will be the crown achievement of his many years in office. My guess is he'll still be mayor then.

Knowing that, the Reverend Al Sharpton, who's been spending a lot of time in Chicago, is threatening to to do something, although he's unclear on what that will be, to derail the city's bid for the 2016 games, because of the recent brutality scandals involving the Chicago Police Department.

One of Sharpton's demands is for the mayor to hire a new police superintendent. Daley did that just last week. Jody Weis, a former FBI agent who investigated corrupt cops, is now in charge of America's second largest police force.

Mayor Daley put the Sharpton brouhaha into perspective, though:

The Olympic movement is separate from any personal political problems that anyone may have. China has the Olympics. Is anyone questioning China?

The Chicago Police Department has a few rogues, but if I'm ever arrested--not that I expect to be--I'd prefer the Chicago Police over some ChiComm cops.

Technorati tags: Sharpton Daley chicago Olympics sports politics current affairs China 中國 中国

Conrad Black gets 78 months in prison

Lord Conrad Black, the onetime publisher of the London Telegraph, the Jerusalem Post, Canada's National Post, and the Chicago Sun-Times, has been sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison by Judge Amy St. Eve in a Chicago federal courtroom.

Prior to the sentencing, the judge received testimonial letters from George Will, Elton John, William F. Buckley and former Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney.

Black was convicted of various fraud charges several months ago.

Thanks for the link: The Bench, where you will find his photos of the media circus.

Technorati tags: Conrad Black crime law Canada UK Media Chicago law Elton John William F. Buckley

Nanny state update: Chicago legislator wants to ban aluminum bats for kids under 13

An article in this morning's Daily Herald gives horrifying details about a high school pitcher's facial injury that resulted from a line drive from a ball hit from a aluminum bat. The ballplayer was 17 at the time.

State legislator Robert Molaro (D-Chicago), wants a ban on aluminum bats for kids under 13--and the coaches or parents who ignore the ban "during a recreational baseball game" face a $500 fine.

Would this ban cover me? Several times last summer I lobbed some pitches to 11 year-old Little Marathon Pundit. She was using an aluminum bat. Would my homeowner's policy cover a $500 punsishment?

Some believe that baseballs come off aluminum bats with more velocity. Possibly. What's for certain, is that little-leaguers 13 and under don't hit the ball with as much force--they're well, littler.

From the Daily Herald:

Several local little league directors, coaches and parents say such a ban is unnecessary and that there's no difference between the safety of a wood bat versus that of a metal bat.

But proponents say wood bats are safer because the ball doesn't come off as fast or go as far as those hit off metal bats. Wood bats also are better for teaching children the game, they say.

Phil Rizzo, who runs Little League District 13 -- covering 18 leagues in Bartlett, Hanover Park, Streamwood, South Elgin, Carpentersville and other suburbs -- wants coaches, players and their families to speak out against a state ban on metal bats.

"If we didn't believe it was safe, we would have gone to wooden bats a long time ago," Rizzo said.

A North Dakota high school organization bans the use of metal bats. Pennsylvania recently legislators rejected such a ban, but the New York City Council passed a bill prohibiting the use aluminum bats in high school games.

Interestingly, aluminum bats are used exclusively in NCAA college baseball, much to the frustration of Major League Baseball scouts, who are forced to ponder--"What kind of hitter is this guy going to be using a wooden bat?"

This is not Molaro's first brush with nanny-ism--Early this year he introduced a bill to ban the goose liver delicacy foie gras in Illinois.

For more on Nanny-ism, I recommend the book, Nanny State: How Food Fascists, Teetotaling Do-Gooders, Priggish Moralists, and other Boneheaded Bureaucrats are Turning America into a Nation of Children.

Technorati tags: Chicago illinois books Nanny State society baseball North Dakota

Sunday night's Odds and Sods

A trip around the horn tonight on an ice-stormy (for me) Sunday night. Down in Kentucky, it's foggy, as Prairie Bluestem writes--and she has a picture to prove it.

Why was the launch of the space shuttle Atl