Where do we go to get our reputation back?

1 comment December 31st, 2008

Where do we go to get our reputation back? Land of Lincoln, I mean. Currently we are Land of Sleaze.

The New York Times provides the latest dose of shame in this editorial: 

I particularly enjoyed the ending: “The state’s Senate seat cannot be filled fairly by such a discredited blowhard.”

Democratic Senators to Blago: DON’T MAKE APPOINTMENT!!!!!

Add comment December 30th, 2008

Here’s what Democratic U.S. Senators have to say on pending Blago appointment of roland Burris:

SENATE DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP STATEMENT ON GOV. BLAGOJEVICH’S APPOINTMENT OF ROLAND BURRIS TO THE VACANT U.S. SENATE SEAT FROM ILLINOIS

Washington, DC—Senate Democratic Leadership - Senators Reid, Durbin, Murray and Schumer – made the following statement today in response to reports that Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich will nominate Roland Burris to fill the vacant Illinois Senate seat.  Earlier this month, all 50 members of the Senate Democratic Caucus called on Blagojevich to step down and under no circumstance make an appointment to fill the seat.  The text of that letter is below the statement:

“It is truly regrettable that despite requests from all 50 Democratic Senators and public officials throughout Illinois, Gov. Blagojevich would take the imprudent step of appointing someone to the United States Senate who would serve under a shadow and be plagued by questions of impropriety.  We say this without prejudice toward Roland Burris’s ability, and we respect his years of public service.  But this is not about Mr. Burris; it is about the integrity of a governor accused of attempting to sell this United States Senate seat.  Under these circumstances, anyone appointed by Gov. Blagojevich cannot be an effective representative of the people of Illinois and, as we have said, will not be seated by the Democratic Caucus.

“Next week we will start one of the most important debates of the year – outlining an economic recovery plan to create jobs and invest in America.  And in the coming weeks, we will be working to protect homeowners and consumers, make America more energy independent, strengthen our national security, and improve health care and educational opportunities.  There is much work to do and a lot at stake.  It is thus critical that Illinois and every other state have two seated Senators without delay.

“We again urge Gov. Blagojevich to not make this appointment.  It is unfair to Mr. Burris, it is unfair to the people of Illinois and it will ultimately not stand.  The governor must put the interests of the people of Illinois and all Americans first by stepping aside now and letting his successor appoint someone who we will seat.”

Durbin in conference call with fellow Democratic senators — will have statement on Burrisbout Roland?

1 comment December 30th, 2008

Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin, D-IL, and other Democratic senators are in a quandary over what to do about Blagojevich’s pending appointment of Roland Burris to the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by Barack Obama.

Christina Mulka, Durbin press spokeswoman, told me at 12:50 p.m. CST that Durbin and fellow Democratic leaders of the Senate are in a conference call right now, presumably to talk about the Burris appointment among other matters.

Mulka reminded me that Durbin was one of the first to call for a special election to name Obama’s replacement.

“It is a risk that a Democrat might not be elected. But there would be no cloud of suspicion. The senator places a high value on the  the people of Illinois electing their next senator.”

 She said that while Senate Democrats did not totally rule out seating a Blagojevich appointee, “they had previously said they may exercise their right not to seat anybody” named by Blago, who is charged with corruption by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and also is facing impeachment by the Illinois General Assembly.

“Technically, process wise, the Senate has authority not to seat someone. It’s happened four times in U.S. history, and two of those rejections were from Illinois,” Mulka said.

“Under the circumstances that Blagojevich finds himself in, it would be very tough to take an appointment he made seriously,” she added.

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Roland Burris to be picked by Baloneyvich for Obama’s Senate seat?

Add comment December 30th, 2008

Da Question: If he names him, will he accept, and will they seat him?

I’m tallking about  Gov. Rod Blagojevich  naming Roland Burris, 71, to the vacant Senate seat held by Barack Obama, soon to be the 44th president.

Burris was state comptroller from 1979 to 1991, and from 1991 to 1995 as attorney general. He also ran, unsuccessfully, for senator, governor and mayor of Chicago. He is CEO of Burris & Lebed Consulting, LLC, in Chicago.

Burris was the state’s first statewide black elected official. He’s indicated to Blago that he’s interested in the Senate seat. Burris would be a respectable choice, and he’s young enough to make a run for the seat when it comes up for election in 2010, should he want to do that.

The immediate question is, will the U.S. Senate seat him? Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, has said that the Senate wont’ seat anyone appointed by Blagojevich.

But with the Minnesota race in limbo, Democrats will need all the votes they can get in the upcoming Congress if they want to pass Obama’s aggressive agenda. The closer they can get to 60, the number of votes needed to invoke cloture and stop a Republican filibuster, the better off they are.  If Obama’s seat is left vacant for months,  that will severely impact Obama’s ability to pass bills.

I’m thinking that Reid & Co. could very well reconsider should they be faced with a Burris appointment. He’s somewhat of an historic figure, being the first black statewide elected official. He had a successful run at comptroller, to which he was elected three times, and as attorney general.

I’m assuming here that Burris will actually accept the appointment! Some people think that no one in their right mind would take a job offered by Blago. We’ll see later today.

More on the weather from a guy who works at the paper

3 comments December 21st, 2008

The responses to the last post on weather scaremongering were fascinating. One of them, I think, must be a weathercaster, oops, meteorologist.

The whizbang, “War of the Worlds”  hype, combined with way too much useless information about the wind chill in Tulsa and the dew point in Nome,  numbs me and most other people I talk to about it. By  the time they get to the weather forecast for Rockford and suburbs, I’m no longer paying attention. When I want the weather, I go to my computer and go to NOAA, which I’m already paying for.

See, when I was a kid, Rollie Spongberg did the weather on Channel 13, and Bob Kevern did the weather on Channel 39 (now 17.) Neither were “chief meteorologists,” or even soldier meteorologists. Why did they need to be? The weather information came from, and still comes from, the government’s scientists. It’s free content for TV, courtesy of the taxpayers.

 The highlight of Rollie’s show was his magic trick, and his tag line on behalf of his sponsor, “Butternut,, the coffee deeeeeeeeelicous.” He also delivered the weather forecast. He didn’t attempt to scare anyone, or tell them what to wear, or otherwise lecture them. Rollie wasn’t your mommie.

Kevern spoke with velvet tones. He wore a high collar shirt and a narrow tie, which was the fashion in the early 1960s. Bob was also  respectful of the intelligence and common sense of his  audience; he reported the weather, and the viewers decided what to wear, or whether to go outside in the elements.

There are times to warn the viewers, such as when a tornado is bearing down on a nearby town.  But they’re issuing so many warnings and watches that turn out to be nothing, that when the real thing comes, we won’t believe it.

 TV weathercasters, both on the Weather Channel and on local TV, are causing retail businesses to lose valuable customers when they urge people to stay inside and watch their channel instead.

And to answer the one responder who said I’m just a writer, not a journalist. Well, of course. I think “journalist” is an uppity word, sort of like “chief meteorologist.” When people ask me what I do for a living, I say the same thing I’ve said for 25 years: “I work at the paper.”

It’s winter in northern Illinois. DANGER!!!!!! DANGER !!!! WATCH TV!!!!!!!

6 comments December 21st, 2008

Hey, I know the weather’s cold and snowy, but would you TV weather readers , er, “meteorologists” out there back off on the DANGER DANGER DANGER nonsense?

It’s winter in northern Illinois. It gets cold. It snows. Every year. Some years it’s snowier than others.

But the fact is, we’ve known this since birth. We put on winter coats, gloves, scarves and hats and go out in the cold. Today, with almost all our vehicles having front-wheel drive, we can reasonably expect to get around OK if we drive sensibly. Tell us the road conditions, but don’t scare us with the “sky is falling” routine, because we don’t believe it. Save the scary stuff for really bad conditions.

That “wind chill factor” you use to scare the heck out of us is a phony number that only means something if you’re outside in your bathing suit and nothing else. Which we are not, because it is WINTER.

“Wind chill factor” just makes the temperature sound colder than it is.

Why not just report the weather without the histrionics? Oh, and by the way, it’s not “My” Sunday, or Tuesday, or Thursday. 

Me suspects that the aim of all this danger talk is to get us to stay inside and watch your TV station all night.

Conness to make bid for Rockford Township highway commissioner

2 comments December 16th, 2008

Veteran Rockford Alderman Dan Conness, D-14th, will run  in 2009 for Rockford Township Highway Commissioner, a post currently held by Republican Pete MacKay.

Conness may have a shot at winning the post, because it’s not a sure bet that the popular MacKay will be the GOP candidate. Republicans, you see, abandoned their primary election and opted instead to have a party caucus. One reason they’re doing that is to dislodge MacKay, who they see as not a loyal Republican because he sometimes votes with Democrats in his other role as Winnebago County Board member.

There’s anger building against the Repubs who put in the caucus, and it could backfire if someone other than MacKay ends up being the Republican nominee. In that case, the advantage goes to the Democrat, Conness.

If, however, MacKay wins at the caucus, which will be Jan. 13 at 5 p.m. in Flinn Middle School, he’d be the odds-on favorite to win in the April 4 general election against Conness.

Conness’s best hope is that the Republicans unseat MacKay in their caucus.

Syverson, Burzynski react in disgust to Dems’ rejection of special U.S. Senate election

6 comments December 16th, 2008

Illinois Senate Republicans are howlin’ mad over the Democrats’ decision to scrap a special election to fill Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat. In the wake of Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s arrest, virtually no one wants the disgraced governor to appoint Obama’s successor.

After Blago’s arrest, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-IL promoted the idea of a special election. Senate Republicans introduced a measure to hold the special election alongside the April 4 municipal and township elections.

But with disgust at Blago nearly universal,, Democrats fear they’d lose a special election, and the GOP sees a chance to pick up a much needed vote in the U.S. Senate. Popular suburban Republican congressman Mark Kirk has indicated an interest in running for the seat.

The Rockford area’s two state senators, both Republicans, reacted with anger to the Democrats’ refusal to consider a special election:

In a statement,  Sen. Dave Syverson, R-Rockford, said:  “Last week we had strong bipartisan support for a special election to give the people the opportunity to choose their next senator,” Syverson said. “President-elect Obama and Sen. Durbin were both supportive of a special election, and the public continues to be strongly in favor of it. By blocking a special election, President Jones and Speaker Madigan are denying the public a voice, and embarking on the same insider political games we’ve seen these past six years under Gov. Blagojevich.”

Sen. Brad Burzynski, R-Clare, added in his statement:

“Last week we were told we’d be returning to focus our efforts on creating a special election to fill the president-elect’s seat. Instead, Senate Democrats didn’t even debate or touch the issue. It’s clear they are interested in still giving the seat to a political insider rather than letting the citizens of Illinois decide. It’s shameful that despite all that we’ve learned from the U.S. Attorney’s Office about alleged misconduct surrounding Blagojevich and the selling of Obama’s vacant seat that the Illinois Senate Democrats still insist on leaving him with that power. Voters ought to have the right to decide, because it’s become obvious Senate Democrats are only interested in preserving Blagojevich’s power to the bitter end.”

What do you think is a reasonable price to pay for gasoline?

2 comments December 15th, 2008

Gas prices are as low as they’ve ever been. When I started buying gas in 1966, I paid 33 cents a gallon. Using the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis’s handy-dandy inflation conversion chart,I should be paying $2.20 a gallon today. Instead, I’m paying $1.55.9.

So, if the roller coaster peaked at $4.59 in July, it could go lower. But eventually prices will stabilize.

What do you think is a reasonable price to pay for gasoline, today, and during the next five years?

Blago the “reformer” surrounded himself with “dese and dosers.”

1 comment December 13th, 2008

When I went on a campaign trip to cover Rod Blagojevich in 2002, I flew with several other reporters to southern Illinois for a whirlwind Saturday of rallies in six towns. I was impressed with Blagojevich as a campaigner; he was outgoing, seeming to be genuinely interested in people. He was very good at self-deprecating humor, he knew the names of the prominent Democrats at every stop. In the van, as we careened from town to town with police escorts courtesty of friendy Democratic sheriffs, Blagojevich regaled us with minute details of every Elvis song, when it was recorded, who were the session men, how many copies the record sold.

But I remember thinking, “Hmmmmm” when we talked about issues relating to state government. He seemed unfamiliar, and generally repeated rehearsed sound bites, saying the same thing as he had been telling people at the rallies.

All things considered, though, I ended that day thinking that Blagojevich was an impressive candidate, running a good campaign, and that he would probably make a decent governor.

When he won, I traveled to the Finkl Brothers steel mill on Chicago’s Near North side, where Blagojevich held his victory rally.

As the ballots were counted and the crowd rolled in, certain of a Blago victory, I noticed something about them. These were not the kinds of people I would generally associate with the word “reformer,” which Blagojevich had touted himself as.

Nope. These were the “dese and dosers,” people with hardened faces, big hair — men and women — and leather. Lots of leather. 

That crowd, it turns out, said a lot more about Blagojevich than anything he could have said from the podium. The folks at Finkl Brothers expected something, and were prepared to pay to play.

Part of Blago’s problem is that after 26 years of Republican rule, there was a whole generation of Democrats who had been shut out of state government’s executive branch. No patronage. No consideration, no contracts, no nothing.

The pressure on him to deliver jobs and contracts to Democrats was enormous. But he proved up to the challenge, and then some. He cashiered professionals who called themselves “Republican” because that’ what they had to be, in favor of two-bit Democratic politicians from Rockford to Cairo.

And now we know what we suspected all along. State government under Rod Blagojevich was for sale. Everything and everyone had a price.

It will take us awhile to put Illinois back together again. To start that ball rolling, Blago must resign or be kicked out of office, pronto.