While on Fox News yesterday afternoon, Durbin said that most of the critics of Gitmo North have never been to Carroll County, where Thomson is located.
Include me in that group.
However...I've been 10 miles north of the county line, at Blanding's Landing, near Hanover in Jo Daviess County. What's that area like? Very un-Illinois like, rolling hills but agricultural, kind of like a Grandma Moses painting.
Ten months ago I was in Galena, which is 50 miles north of Thomson. It's best known as where Ulysses S. Grant lived when re-enlisted in the Army in 1861. At the end of the Civil War, the grateful residents of the Galena built him a small mansion, pictured on the left. That home, like the rest of the town, hasn't changed much since the 19th century, which has made Galena a popular tourist attraction. If you like antique stores, gift shops, craft boutiques, and bed and breakfasts--then Galena is for you. Durbin says that Gitmo North in Thomson would be an "historic economic boost to our region."
Now let's talk about jobs: Durbin is a chief sycophant for the Obama administration, which has been caught lying--repeatedly--about the number of jobs it's so-called stimulus has "saved or created." Why should we believe Durbin?
Durbin was the first politician to call for a special election to erase the stain from Illinois after then-Governor Rod Blagojevich was arrested for allegedly peddling the Senate seat formerly held President Barack Obama. But once he figured out that a Republican could win that election, Durbin clammed up, which allowed Blago to appoint party hack Roland Burris to that seat, who has gone on to embarrass the state.
Which is also what Durbin has done. Four years ago he compared our military to "Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime—Pol Pot or others."
But Durbin says Gitmo North is a "dream come true" that will bring 3,000 jobs to northwestern Illinois. But be skeptical of anything that comes out of his mouth.
There's been talk that Gitmo Illinois might make Chicago, which is 150 miles away, a terrorist target.
Quaint Galena is much closer.
Oh, I almost forgot. Durbin also said that Gitmo North would present an "opportunity to dramatically reduce unemployment, create thousands of good-paying jobs and breathe new economic life into this part of downstate Illinois."
Downstate? A slip of the tongue perhaps. Durbin was just in Thomson, so I assume he knows it's roughly at the same latitude as Chicago.
But as I said earlier...Be skeptical of anything that comes out of his mouth.
Related posts:
Galena, Illinois
Midwestern Presidential Pathway: Where Grant worked as a clerk
Midwestern Presidential Pathway: Mrs. Butterworth
Midwestern Presidential Pathway: Ulysses S. Grant Home
Galena, Illinois homes
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1 comment:
Please.
Fifteen minutes with him, alone, in a locked room.
No holds barred.
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