Friends, doctors and politicians

Recovering Barbaro and his friend Edgar Prado visit with each other (left). It's great to see two good friends in a time when caring is so very hard to come by.

Anyone watch Frontline last night? It was probably a re-run, but it was the one about the history of AIDS. It was amazing to watch Ronald Reagan insinuate that AIDS could be contracted through casual contact well after CDC determined that to be untrue and to watch the doctors at CDC and in other medical organizations and research facilities scramble to contradict Reagan. They knew that Reagan was causing AIDS victims additional pain by not only ignoring AIDS as a national problem and blaming the victims, but insisting that there was something to fear from AIDS victims who were becoming impoverished as they grew more ill through job loss and housing loss caused by Reagan induced mean spirited fearmongering. It was also amazing to watch Jessee Helms and Reagan work to stop federal funding of AIDS education. Even conservative Margaret Thatcher in UK supported education and needle exchanges which saved thousands in stricken Edinburgh. The Frontline program discussed the Helms amendment that passed a cowed and cowardly Senate in 1988 with little objection other than from Lowell P. Weicker Jr. (showing us what was to be in our future). They said it is still on the books, but it looks like it was struck down by a federal court in 1992. More on the tragedy of the Helms Amendment here.

To push their extremist right-wing pseudo-religion on the rest of us, they were willing to risk the lives of millions of Americans and people world-wide including children. No small wonder their successors in the Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld/Kirk administration have no problem killing innocents in Iraq. Add the increased presidential powers and unitary executive with tight control over all federal agencies and there is little hope of even the small amount of work on AIDS that was done by the federal government despite Reagan happening if such a situation should arise now. Watching Reagan and Helms last night, I could only think that there must be a special place in hell for them.

Think things in medicine have improved much for the average person since then? Check this out. So guys like Bill Frist can make a bundle and guys like Mark Kirk can get those medical industry campaign contributions, our medical system is coming apart under the unwaivering push for short term profits. There seems to be better medical care available for Barbaro than for us.

Book Banning Cuts to our Hearts as Americans or I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you but cannot show you my deed

The story that is getting the most response from the Tenth District is the one out of School District 214 involving book banning. Let me tell you right up front that, to the credit of District 214, the proposed ban failed, but the story is that a board member named Leslie Pinney, elected under promises to "bring her Christian beliefs into all board decision-making", wanted to remove certain books from the curriculum. Several have asked me what books were in question. The list was in the Herald:

The books Pinney's questioning are: Kate Chopin's 1899 classic “The Awakening”; the Vietnam War books “Fallen Angels” by Walter Dean Myers and “The Things They Carried” by Tim O'Brien; Stephen Chbosky's teen angst tale “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”; the best-seller “Freakonomics”; Toni Morrison's “Beloved”; Kurt Vonnegut's “Slaughterhouse-Five”; “How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents” by Julia Alvarez; and “The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World,” which is being used only at Buffalo Grove High School next year.

But, does it matter what books were on the list or should we focus rather on the fact that a group of people is taking it upon itself to decide what can or cannot be read or thought? The press gives us fake news created by the Bush administration to support their policies and a small group of right-wing extremist religious fundamentalists want to control what is taught and what becomes part of our culture and what dies in obscurity. The desire to limit thought and argument is not an American concept, but quite the opposite of what the founders had in mind. They wanted a marketplace of ideas from which the truth will spring. This whole business of limiting knowledge to canned propaganda stamped and approved by a very extremist element is a message to the rest of us and that message is, if we knew the truth, we'd never buy their story. So, maybe we just shouldn't buy their story right up front for failure to allow us to see all the thoughts, arguments, pro and con and get to the truth.

Sure looks like Anti-Environmental Corporate Kirk is not of recent origin

Mark Kirk has done a pretty good job over the years convincing folks with votes on bills where his vote is not critical that he is a champion of the environment. He's even a marcher in the virtual march to stop global warming. It's easy and cheap to sign up on the web and get a page with your picture on it to show to your constituents. Harder to live by it.

Lately, however, the pressure of being assistant majority whip and probably just from being part of the republican sinking ship, has caused him to be more up front with his anti-environmental votes earning him a 39% approval with the League of Conservation Voters. But isn't this new? Wasn't Kirk historically a champion of the environment?

A gentleman from the Illinois 5th recently sent several of us to a website that seems to counter the notion that Kirk is only caving to pressure in his anti-enviromental votes. The site is that of the Competitive Enterprise Institute. It's a free marketplace group with the goal of keeping business free from governmental regulation. In 1997, when the Clinton Administration was working on the Kyoto treaty, the CEI was rejoicing in a few days of chilly temperatures in Kyoto to make it seem that the idea of global warming was ridiculous and talking about seizing the moment by organizing a seminar:

We're titling it "A Contrarian Briefing on Global Warming Policy" and have pulled together a scratch team from among the tiny number of contrarians attending the conference: Science and Environmental Policy Project's Fred Singer on the scientific issues; the Hoover Institution's Thomas Gale Moore on the beneficial aspects of global warming; Mark Kirk of the House International Relations Committee on the politics of the climate talks; Charles River Associates' David Montgomery on the economic costs of carbon withdrawal; CEI's Fred Smith on climate change prevention versus adaptation/resiliency. We've invited the entire press corps to the event - and expect lots of hostile questions.

On another page of the CEI site, they discuss how Mark Kirk once again attended a "Contrarian Briefing" and helped CEI make a case against Kyoto with information suggesting that the treaty was going to help Saddam Hussein because he would have emission rights due to low emissions after the first Gulf War, a two-fer in the neo-con world of the late 1990s.

Is that referring to our Mark, Mr. LCV Environmental Champion still getting his dwindling number of supporters to write in letters to the editor to the Daily Herald touting him as such even thought the League of Conservation Voters no longer considers him so at a recent 39% rating? I thought I'd better make sure. From his own site:

Kirk began his career on the staff of his predecessor, Congressman John Porter. He later served in the World Bank, the State Department, the law firm of Baker & McKenzie, and the U.S. House International Relations Committee.

From Project Vote Smart we learn that Kirk was in fact Counsel for the International Relations Committee, United States House of Representatives, 1995-1999.

Yup, that was Mark, a contrarian against understanding global warming for CEI, the group that has argued in television commercials it has produced that there is no global warming and the ice is actually thickening.

I am no expert, but I've been to Juneau, Alaska twice and the Mendenhall glacier sure seemed smaller to me the second time, a lot smaller, scary smaller, and there is a lot of data backing up my casual observation. But don't go by me. Al Gore's movie about global warming is coming out in Chicago this week and you can see it at the Renaissance Theater in Highland Park on June 4th at 6pm and participate in a discussion afterward with Howard Learner, the Executive Director of the Environmental Law and Policy Center. Gore's movie is called An Inconvenient Truth. Inconvenient for CEI, Mark Kirk, their corporate buddies and the rest of us, but sadly, true despite Kirk's contrarian background.

See this Think Progress post on the current disinformation campaign on global warming. Set the thermostat to 65 degrees, gas up that SUV, don't worry, be happy... but be afraid of avian flu and Islamo-facism because in those cases, the money comes from the fear.

Jews on First...they mind

Over the past few years, there been an unwritten theory in the Illinois Tenth that the Jewish community is going to continue to support republicans like Mark Kirk because their warmongering is going to somehow protect Israel (despite all the evidence to the contrary--but I'm not going to get into that now). That theory includes the concept that the rest of the baggage that goes along with right-wing extremist republican rule is going to be quietly accepted by Jews.

I never thought this theory was true because of the long history of Jewish participation in civil rights, labor and peace movements, and protection of the First Amendment. A stable, educated, prosperous world working to eliminate the underclass of have nots has always been the best protection against anti-semitism, not a brutal army. Brutal armies mostly went after Jews in the long run anyway.

Knowing the Jewish community to be peaceloving, fair minded and openminded, I have been a little discouraged over the past few years seeing support for the Bush/Cheney/Delay/Kirk administration in many of the district's synagogues. However, I have come to see that the Jewish groups supporting Kirk are just the groups Kirk wants you to know about and the inherent disorganization of Judaism raises the question of whether any one political group could ever truly dominate.

There are many Jewish groups that don't buy into the repubican theory of Judaism at all. One interesting one is on the internet and they are called Jews on First. Their motto is "...because if Jews don't speak out, they'll think we don't mind." The Jews on First internet site is a rich research library of attacks on separation of church and state, public education, health care and science, civil rights, privacy and the Jewish reaction. Sometimes the language is very direct and strong and they go after the Christian Right pretty hard, however, while looking at it I remembered how hard the Christian Right has come down on traditional American values of freedom, fairness, equality of opportunity and such.

Looking closer, the site is pretty well balanced understanding that not all Christians subscribe to the Bush fundamentalist point of view that Kirk has unwaiveringly supported whether or not he actually believes in it. For example, there is a page about the SBC's push to exit the public schools. The page links to the SBC's arguments for leaving with many linked sites and also links to articles about SBCers who disagreed and how the movement was ultimately unsuccessful.

The site also features the work of Jewish communities around the country speaking out against efforts to insinuate religion into government. They report on Jewish leaders in Kentucky fighting against several religious bills to allow religious displays on government property. The Community Relations Council, the public policy arm of the Jewish Community Federation of Louisville wrote a letter asking Kentucky legislators to "focus less energy on legislating religion itself, and should spend more effort on legislating good policies based on the fundamental moral values shared by all our citizens." Sadly, the report indicates that many legislators know such legislation is wrong, but go for it anyway for fear of political fallout. We really need to ask ourselves how we let extremist minorities gain so much control over us just by being loud.

In Illinois, the issues focused on by Jews on First are the refusal of druggists to fill Plan B and contraceptive prescriptions and the goofy Illinois Marriage Referendum designed to bring out the radical right for Topinka, I suppose.

You might not like their style, but Jews on First say it straight and direct. They are speaking out against right-wing fundamentalist extremism being foisted upon all of us because, yes, they mind.

I think Jews in the Tenth mind too and are not so willing to accept Kirk's baggage under the guise of protecting Israel. They mind Kirk's vote on the Schaivo case, his support of attacks on privacy and a fenced-in police state, his silence on religious extremist takeover of government, his abandonment of the environment, and his support of slave-holding Chinese business interests and outsourcing to India. I think they will tell Kirk in November how very much they mind.

...and I haven't even begun to discuss how the neo-con plan for the Middle East and surrounding areas has truly failed Israel. More about that another time.

But while I'm at it:

Chuck Hagel doesn't think Bush's and Kirk's policies have made Israel safer:

I think you could make a pretty strong case that things are worse off in the Middle East today than they were three years ago. By measurement of Iraq, by Iran, by the Palestinian-Israeli issue, what’s going on in Egypt.

Then, there are those folks who blame Israel for Iraq and everything that has gone wrong there since. One more battle cry for anti-semitic groups, great.

A woman who never ate chocolate in her life

A woman whos son goes to school in Dist 214 sent me this:

My 13 year old son offered a button that said "Open Books, Open Minds" to a woman outside of the District 214 Board of Education meeting last night, where discussion was held about banning books. She said (overheard by two adult witnesses):

"If you open your mind, Satan will walk right in. I have to keep my mind closed and straight."

She refused the button. Enough said.

The books were not banned.

FDR must have eaten quite a lot of chocolate

Thanks to Ohio Steve for the great finds on FDR.

The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it comes strong than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism - ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or any controlling private power. Franklin D. Roosevelt

The only sure bulwark of continuing liberty is a government strong enough to protect the interests of the people, and a people strong enough and well enough informed to maintain its sovereign control over the goverment. Franklin D. Roosevelt

True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made. Franklin D. Roosevelt

The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much it is whether we provide enough for those who have little. Franklin D. Roosevelt

In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way. Franklin D. Roosevelt

Be sincere; be brief; be seated. Franklin D. Roosevelt

A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who, however, has never learned how to walk forward. Franklin D. Roosevelt

Save the country, buy chocolate

Send Bush chocolates.

"...what we have found is that by consuming chocolate you can get the stimulating effects, which then lead to increased mental performance."

Then, send some more to Chris Matthews who compared Bush to Lincoln last week when Bush made his too little, too late, no action attached fake apology. Bush said he was sorry he said "Bring it on" and that his words were misinterpreted. Oh, of course, he must have meant, bring on more chocolates.

Kirk taking away student's rights, but ok with teaching them violence

When I was in jr. high in the early 1970's my neighbor's dad, an attorney, threatened to sue the school district so his daughter could wear pants to school instead of a dress or skirt. He never actually sued because they changed the rule pronto. All the girls in my district could finally wear more comfortable and cheaper clothes to school and were very pleased as were most parents. We wore jeans and even halter tops in the warm late spring and early fall weeks. It was that time. Students actually had some rights, no one searched our lockers, and no one from my class shot up the school, hurt anyone or started a war against a country that was no threat to us and bombed innocent children. I still consider myself very lucky to have been a teen during those times of freedom.

Students can still wear jeans to school (so far), but let them try to put on a t-shirt that voices an opinion against the Bush administration and they are kicked out of school.

Mark Kirk wants to take away student rights and is going even farther than taking away their ability to dress as they please. He wants to take away their Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure. He is sponsoring the "Student and Teacher Safety Act of 2006," HR 5295, which will change the current "reasonable suspicion" standard for searches to a lower standard of "colorable suspicion" which has no historic meaning under US law. What does "colorable suspicion" mean, anyway? Does it not have to be reasonable? I looked it up in the legal dictionary on Law.com..."no word found." Tried here too. "not available in the legal dictionary" Scary, huh? The plain old dictionary defines colorable as "Seemingly true or genuine; plausible". Does that mean that racial profiling is ok? Does it mean that a kid with long hair or tatoos can be searched, but a clean cut Timothy McVeigh type won't be? It is arguable that the opposite is more "colorable" given recent history. Who gets to decide?The whole thing is legal garbage, junk law. Sheesh, Mark.

I'm sorry, but I thought American students were Americans first and students second. Sure, we want to protect our kids, but we don't protect our kids by teaching them how to live in a police state. This whole notion that everyone has to be protected from every risk possible is just going too far. Don't write to me about Columbine unless you are prepared to talk about the violence being taught by people like Mark Kirk who have no problem bombing the heck out of a country that posed no threat to us and no problem protecting gun manufacturers from lawsuits seeking damages from shooting victims.

Americans admire courage, no matter how many legs

There have been a slew of recent articles complaining about the Barbaro hype. He's a horse, they say. He won't read his emails and he doesn't need the extra carrots and apples, so don't bother with him. He may not read email and he is already well fed and there are probably hungry horses out there in these strange times, but the rest of the complaints are just a load of horse litter box contents. Barbaro is a hero. All race horses are.

Why?

Because they are fighters that go down fighting. Barbaro would have finished the Preakness and died had Prado not stopped him. He wouldn't know any better not to because he has no internal cautionary device to stop him. Race horses just don't operate that way. The gate opens and they go and go as fast and hard as they can. Race horses don't just quit. Race horses don't give up their desire to win because of an injury. Race horses, unlike people, don't abdicate their responsibilities to an administration of liars and thieves because they are scared or don't feel like doing their duty or simply want to be apathetic or are mad because candidates are not saying things exactly how they'd like them to be said. Race horses just go and keep going. It's not because they are stupid, either. They just have the desire to run and keep going bred into them.

And, strangely, even though Americans have allowed themselves to be bound up in fear, apathy or disgust, they admire those who aren't. Barbaro trusted the world that he could keep going and Prado had to use all his might to stop him. All animals have that trust. I have seen that characteristic in the Democat too as she tight rope walks on the smallest of ledges. I think animals couldn't live without that trust. We are supposed to be the smart ones, but we can take a page out of their book sometimes and there is nothing wrong with sending a giant get well card to a horse with a courageous heart. Horses may not read emails, but they sure know what a present is. The Democat does too. She loves presents and knows what is for her and loves the wrapping paper. Barbaro won't read the emails, but he knows he's getting presents and attention and that will do a world of good for his recovery and his recovery might just help us with our own recovery from these past 5 1/2 years of darkness.

Wanted: Honest attempt to deal with security

What to say about Iraq, Iran and Terrorism? What to do about it? How to campaign on it. Out of Iraq now? Out by the end of the year? Responsible withdrawal? Is there unwarranted and cowardly fear of demanding out now? Is it just stupid or simply inexpedient politics to demand out now? Is it irresponsible to demand out now? Is it irresponsible not to? Do we have to look like tough guys on Iran? Can we Negotiate? Bomb them? Nuke then? An oil embargo? What about terrorism? Do we spy on everyone from the Quakers to kids on My Space? Do we give up our privacy and rights for security? Do we fight for the more traditionally American and courageous approach? Again, Russ Feingold's approach is more studied, more finessed, more workable and more accurate than anything I have heard to date.

My view is that we should appeal to basic American values in the post-9/11 era by saying that we will stand up to this administration's mistakes in strategy in the fight against terrorism; and that we will stand up to this administration's unnecessary assault on the rule of law, in the guise of the fight against terrorism.

But it is what I just called a qualification that is key. And that's what I want to talk about today. And that is that we must show the American people that we care deeply about the most important issue. And that is: The Democrats, if we are able to take over this year, will work with Republicans and do a better job of winning the battle against Al Qaida and the associated networks. Period. We have to be able to not only say that, but say it in a way that is persuasive and valuable to the American people.

That is, our priority will be to literally protect the American people and to make decisions based on our actual national security interests, not some notion of, "This is the opportunity to finally expand executive power," not some exotic theory of how to suddenly change the whole world, and certainly some isolationist or cut-and-run approach that pretends that the 9/11 attackers didn't mean business and that they don't want to kill every one of us if they could.

We must also show knowledge, understanding and dedication and focus in the fight against terrorism so that we can convince the American people that we are up to the job and that we have the strength for the job.

As we do it, we have to show passion and make it very clear to the American people that we care every bit as much about the disaster that occurred on 9/11, that we understand the pain of it and that we are resolved to make sure it never happens again.

Now, I believe as good as Democrats may be on domestic issues, and as bad as the Bush administration has been on domestic issues, and as often dishonest and sometimes even incompetent as they've been on foreign policy, if we do not show both a practical and emotional readiness to lead in the fight against terrorism, we will lose in '06 and we will lose in '08, just like we did in '02 and '04.

The main failure of the Bush administration, and for what he should really be sorry, was their glee in using 9/11 to further an extremist and historically marginalized ideology of presidential power no matter how much they have had to twist Constitutional interpretation and the truth and no matter what was its real effect, however ill, on security and terrorism. We don't need their ideology. The ideology of the founders embodied in the real Constitution and its historic interpretation since Marbury v. Madison has done nicely for us for well over 200 years. We need real defense, real plans to fight terrorism and handle disaster, natural and man-made. Honest attempts to deal with these issues must be a welcome part of any Democratic candidate's platform (forget the republicans who are so buried in lies and failures that their thoughts on the subject are no longer relevant).

Listen to us

Karl Rove polled the suburbs of Cleveland and Philadelphia and came up with teacher checks, baby 401Ks, local crime issues and electronic medical records. Mark Kirk went with it, probably, because he has nothing else in his record or the record of his president that he can go on. Russ Feingold goes around his entire state and around the country listening to plain old regular folks like us all the time. Here is what Feingold had to say to the National Press Club about what he's hearing around the country:

Of course, they are asking us to stand up on domestic issues, especially guaranteed health care for all Americans; a real commitment to alternative energy and energy independence; a desire that we reject these unfair trade agreements that have hurt so many jobs, especially in our part of the country; and a desire that we return to the fiscal responsibility of the Clinton years.

All of these issues and many more are ones that people want us to stand up on.

Having said that, though, the greatest passion is for us to stand up on the critical post-9/11 issues, from Iraq to the USA Patriot Act to the president violating the law by authorizing illegal domestic wiretapping.

I've seen Russ' map and all the pins in it. He has listened to a lot of people in a lot of places. Kirk is listening to Rove and Bush. Hey Mark! It doesn't take a Karl Rove poll to know what is important to Americans. You just have to listen to them.

BREAKING: Lay and Skilling Smartest Guys in the Cell Block

Now we know who will lead the list of pardons when Bush's term is over or maybe that will be Rove, or Cheney or maybe even a republican from Illinois??? Or they will go the George Ryan route and attack members of the jury to hide their crimes behind innocent Americans doing their civic duty.

Anyway, maybe Lay and Skilling will go to prison and be the smartest guys in the cell block.

This is actually really good news because pundits were saying that the hiding of a fraud in interpretation of accounting practices could confuse the situation enough to allow them to avoid conviction. Fraud is fraud and the jury got that. Let's not forget that so many folks were hurt and not forget that Mark Kirk wants to take the teeth out of the law that is supposed to prevent similar frauds in the future Sarbanes-Oxley.

...and now for something completely different

SORT OF A SPOILER. DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS.

I went to see Monty Python's Spamalot last night. It should be called Spam-a-little because I saw little of what I liked about Monty Python during the '70s when I was in Jr. High and High School. Barely a mention of spam, no cross dressing lumberjacks, not a silly walk among all the walks up and down stage, and no penquins on no telly, this "lovingly" ripped off piece from the Movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail just made the originally intentional silly story just plain stupid. It did have its moments, however, and the singing, dancing and spectacle are really pretty good.

It starts out with a narrative about early plague-ridden England that ends in a brief stint in Finland. After the correction is made, we meet Arthur claiming to be King of the Britons because the Lady of the Lake gave him a sword and proclaimed him king. We then move to plague victims being carted off by a man calling out "bring out your dead." A man tries to convince his associate that he is either dead or soon to be a gonner and should get on the cart. Problem is, the associate and others on the cart are "not quite dead yet." Some insist they may actually recover and then the undertakers and deceased or soon to be deceased break out into song and dance. The alive among them decide to join Arthur as knights of the very round table.

In one of the better and only overtly political scenes, Arthur happens upon Dennis Galahad and his widowed mom. Dennis tells Arthur he cannot be king without the support of the masses and an election in the Monty Python way of using every adjective imaginable. Dennis tells Arthur that no soggy woman, if she really even exists and he is not crackers, can proclaim him king by giving him a sword. Then, Dennis meets the Lady of the Lake, she turns him into a man and he swiftly changes his mind and joins Arthur who knights him on the spot.

The Lady of the Lake played by Pia Glenn, once of Ally McBeal, had a terrific voice, but her role was to complain that she didn't have enough of a role. She periodically came on stage and sang a song about not having been on stage much and how the plot was getting off track. She was correct in the latter, but that didn't make her part any more interesting. Her costumes were terrific and she has one spectacular on-stage constume change near the end.

There were some familiar scenes. The scene about the guards at the French castle was pretty much on track with the original as the knights are frightened and scattered by taunts about bodily functions mixed with stereotypical French sarcasm and they forget to actually get into the Trojan Rabbit before giving it to the French. The soldier who won't quit fighting after losing all his limbs was there and they were pretty clever in how they worked out the special effect. The killer rabbit was there, but I just didn't find it all that funny. There were pretty good special effects, including the giant foot as God with the taped voice of John Cleese, but you had to be sitting right down the center to enjoy most of them.

I think the show went downhill with not all that funny numbers about how every broadway show has to have a Jew and Lancelot finding his true calling. They break through the fourth wall and have audience members as part of the ending. Yawn.

The performances of Micheal Siberry as King Arthur and David Turner as Sir Robin were standouts, but the show fell flat on me for the mostpart, but it's not quite dead and gets 2 1/2 cat treats from the old blog.

Mark Kirk Keeps Information Technology and Manufacturing Workers Out of Work

The Illinois Department of Employment Security released its April 2006 statistics last Thursday (see title link). Employment has generally increased in Illinois for 2006 except for the glaring decrease in employment for Information Technology and Manufacturing workers. Thanks to Mark Kirk's vote for CAFTA and his longtime support of outsourcing to India (see here too), these skilled Tenth District workers will likely have to move to Delhi for employment.

Interestingly, Kirk's recent mysterious support for business interests in China and his long time support for outsourcing to India seem to indicate he is working for interests other than that of the people of the Illinois Tenth District. Maybe he's getting ready for that lobbying job for when he loses his seat to Dan Seals.

More horse blogging

1. The bionic horse?

2. The king is here.

3. More about the plate holding his leg in place.

4. Barbaro's pedigree.

3. Democat's pedigree.

Dan's campaign update and Dan on the issues

Dan Seals running as a Democrat for US Congress for our district spoke to a large and enthusiastic crowd on Monday night at the Tenth Dems Had Enough Yet? event. Not only did Dan speak, he listened which is something the incumbent never does, unless it's to republican party leadership.

Dan gave some campaign updates:

1. He outraised Kirk last quarter raising $379,000.
2. Beltway journalists that used to call this district safe now call it in play.
3. He is getting tremendous support from our famous and beloved Illinois democrats like Durbin and Obama.

Dan wants us to translate our thoughts and feelings to action and get the word out. Well, I thought about it and I guess I need to work more to get the word out on Mark Kirk which everyone knows I just don't do enough of, but I'll try harder.

On the issues, Dan set out his vision for our district and our country and tells us that we can do better:

Iraq: It is a war of ideology that Bush launched, one lacking accountability and that has led to mistake after mistake and we are still not doing better on security. Dan said, "I have never seen a democracy imposed on a people and definitely not in 5-10 years... We are still working on it. Just look at Florida... We need to draw down troops by the end of the year."

Iran: Iraq has caused us to miss opportunities at pre-emptive diplomacy. We need to conduct diplomacy first and foremost. Sanctions are premature. It is too soon to discuss sanctions and it will only aggravate the situation. We must focus on the UN and bring China and Russia to our side and incentise them to stick with us. Dan also pointed out that the high gas prices have given Iran more leverage.

Values: Dan doesn't want to go back. Waxing nostalgic is not good because we have to remember what the world was really like before and that not everyone had it so good. When Dan looks at values he sees: Responsibility -- We have to do something about global warming. Morals -- health care or rather the lack thereof for too many people. Opportunity -- not everyone is participating.

GLBT Issues: Dan is supportive of the GLBT community.

Taxes: The republicans will again vote to raise the debt ceiling and dig us deeper into their deficit. We have to stop deficit spending and look at our investment in our future and the problems that need to be solved.

Will Kirk run on the environment and education? Dan hopes he does. Kirk is now rated 39% by the League of Conservation Voters. I think that the call of his leadership and, perhaps his lack of any real commitment to the environment has caused him to vote against environmental issues including votes for drilling in ANWR, sale of public lands and allowing corporations to exploit Katrina by obtaining reduced clear air standards. As for education, Kirk voted for No Child Left Behind and then voted against funding it. Susan Garrett pointed out that under Kirk's representation special education is funded at only 14% making it nothing better than an unfunded mandate.

Israel: Dan is not only a supporter of Israel when it comes to its security, but he is also a friend to the principles of Israel and the Jewish people. Dan believes in Tikkun Olam which, to him, represents the civil rights movement that allows him to be where he is today. Dan grew up playing at the JCC with children of all races and religions as is the Jewish custom. Dan believes in the Jewish values of peace and justice. (I can just about hear my (now deceased) Grandma cheering for Dan!) That is the Judiasm that I grew up with.

Concrete Plans for our future:

Universal single payer health care. Dan says to see Physicians for a National Health Program for a detailed plan that he favors. This is the plan supported by Dr. Quentin Young and Dr. David Gill running in the Illinois 15th. To Dan this is a moral issue.

Energy independence:. Dan want us to pull subsidies to polluting energy industires and put the money into research for more efficient and environmentall friendly sources of energy. He directed us to the Apollo Initiative for more information about the program he favors.

Dan saw Joe Biden speak last week. Biden told the group that he has spent about 15 hours alone with the President and just a couple of aids and Biden has concluded that, not only is he incompetent, he is "dangerously incompetent." That is Mark Kirk's mentor and leader and Biden thinks he's dangerously incompetent. Is that what we want for our district and our country?

Barbaro Update: He's doing all the horse things but still in danger

UPDATE: Cards, letters, emails, gifts of carrots and apples, and donations to the large animal hospital (University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center for Large Animals in Kennett Square, Pa) in his name are being showered on Barbaro.

"He's doing all the things a horse should do, including eating and nickering at the mares near him," said the centre's chief of surgery, Dr Dean Richardson, in a statement.

"While we are optimistic, we remain cautious about his prognosis and are watching for signs of infection at the surgical site, laminitis and other possible after- effects of the surgery."

Above, Barbaro gets a pre-injury bath. It's easier to bathe a horse than a cat.

Dan Seals greets the Tenth District at Office Open House

For more Barbaro blogging scroll down.

Dan Seals drew a nice crowd on this beautiful (but chilly) Sunday in May for his open house at his new Wilmette office.

While I was there, there was much discussion about health care. While Mark Kirk continues to support the pharmaceutical and corporate medical providers, a large source of his campaign financing, Dan Seals wants to work for Tenth District businesses and Tenth District people.

For seniors, Seals wants to see a real drug benefit run by Medicare, not the plan Kirk supported that is run by the pharmaceutical industry and disallows price negotiation as Medicare had always done for services in the past. The Kirk plan forced Seniors to make snap decisions among many confusing private plans or be penalized for not having picked a plan fast enough. Picking a plan means finding a plan that covers the prescription drugs needed by a senior. For seniors taking multiple drugs, that could mean that some are covered under a plan, but not the others. To find a plan covering all a senior's prescriptions, it takes some research and long waits on hold.

Seals' prescription plan makes more sense because Medicare will act as an advocate for seniors and negotiate fair prices for its bulk constituency. That was what Medicare has always done for services in the past and is how Medicare is supposed to operate. The current plan controlled by the industry is nothing more than a salespitch in a game where being confusing lines their pockets.

I also heard that Dan is talking about single payer universal access to health care. It only makes sense. The current system of private insurance funded by employers is hurting US business trying to compete in a world where all other developed countries have a single payer universal system. Our current system supported by Kirk and his campaign contributors hurts US businesses constantly having to pay more and more to cover their employees and, of course, the unemployed and part time workers who have no coverage at all.

Dan Seals for Congress. It's a no-brainer if you care about Tenth District seniors, workers and businesses. Dan is for health care. Kirk is for corporate campaign contributions.

A few things

Dan Seals open house is today at 2:00PM in his new office at 1213 Wilmette Avenue, 2nd Floor, Wilmette.

Did you catch racist v. racist on Meet the Press this morning? Rep. Charlie Norwood, R-GA, played the "we hate them and want them gone" racist and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC played the "we hate them and want them to be our slaves" racist. Norwood was asked what he thought of Harry Reid's comment that the national language bill was racist and he said "who cares what he thinks!"

Someone just sent me this about Jeffery Sachs' book The End of Poverty - Economic Possibilities for Our Time. Sachs believes we can end extreme poverty by 2025 by appropriately allocating existing resources. In 1948 under "The Marshall Plan, defense spending and foreign aid consumed an equal % of GDP. In 2005 that ratio was over 30-1. The US spends over 5% of GDP (and over 55% of discretionary spending) on defense while committing around .15% (that is 15 cents for every $100) of GDP on foreign aid." That's something to think about as we watch republicans jump all over each other with their varying degrees and types of racism never mentioning that creating economic justice for Mexicans in Mexico would solve the problem straight away.

Kentucky Derby Winner Barbaro fights for his life in a Pennsylvania large animal hospital

UPDATE: Barbaro was trying to bite in his stall and even showing interest in a group of mares who stopped by to visit. "There's some mares there, and he's extremely interested in the mares," Richardson told ABC's "Good Morning America."

UPDATE: "A metal plate was put in, 23 screws were inserted and the ankle joint was fused, meaning it will not be a joint anymore if the fusion is successful." Even if Barbaro survives, his racing career is over. His leg is in a cast from just below the hock to the hoof and he's resting comfortably, but still has only a 50/50 chance of survival.

UPDATE: Barbaro is out of surgery and appears to be doing well. The surgeon said he "practically jogged back to the stall."



Last I read, Barbaro has 3 (not 4) fractures in is rear right leg. The good news is that the skin was not broken. All the rest is bad news. Most horses in this condition never make it off the track alive.

A Kentucky Derby winner is a special horse and you can see that in the picture of Barbaro to the left on a far better day.

Here are the lyrics of the famous Dan Fogelberg song about the Kentucky Derby known as the Run for the Roses. From the horse point of view (sort of).

"Born in the valley
And raised in the trees
Of Western Kentucky
On wobbly knees
With mama beside you
To help you along
You'll soon be a growing up strong.

All the long, lazy mornings
In pastures of green
The sun on your withers
The wind in your mane
Could never prepare you
For what lies ahead
The run for the roses so red --

And it's run for the roses
As fast as you can
Your fate is delivered
Your moment's at hand
It's the chance of a lifetime
In a lifetime of chance
And it's high time you joined
In the dance
It's high time you joined
In the dance --

From sire to sire
It's born in the blood
The fire of a mare
And the strength of a stud
It's breeding and it's training
And it's something unknown
That drives you and carries
You home.

And it's run for the roses
As fast as you can
Your fate is delivered
Your moment's at hand
It's the chance of a lifetime
In a lifetime of chance
And it's high time you joined
In the dance
It's high time you joined
In the dance -- "

Run For The Roses Lyrics
Artist(Band):Dan Fogelberg

I took horseback riding lessons for years at Don Peebles stables that used to be in Wilmette. I wanted to be a jockey long before I ever wanted to be an attorney (I was sure short enough). My friend Janet and I had a party for every race of the triple crown every year for several years and that is how I learned how to cook. We made various recipes out of our children's version of the Betty Crocker cookbook for dinner and always chocolate brownies for dessert. We were fortunate enough to have watched both Majestic Prince and Secretariat win triple crowns. I particularly liked Majestic Prince, a red horse like the horse I rode as a girl named Big Red (after I graduated beyond riding a little short gray mare named Misty). I never got a picture of Big Red, probably because I was always sitting on an English style saddle on his back. Above and right is a picture of Majestic Prince after winning the Derby. Big Red was far from Majestic Prince but that's how it felt to me to sit on tall tall Big Red body leaning slightly forward posting with knees pressed into the sides of the saddle and heels down and out in proper English style. Ah the 60s and 70s, great horses and Democrats in control.

The Official George W. Bush Day Left in Office Countdown

Dear Mark,

You emailed my mother with your newsletter. She never signed up for your emails and doesn't want them. She's wondering how you got her email address. Could it have come from the ISP? Are they selling data to loyal republicans?

Anyway, mom is going to unsubscribe from your newsletter and she wants you to know she wouldn't vote for you if you were the only candidate running.

Sincerely,

Ellen

p.s. Mark, I could have told you not to cross my mom.

Sad milestones from a sad republican government

The republican controlled Senate just passed the English is the National Language Bill on a 63-34 vote. That after Arlen Spector restricted a hearing on the Marriage Protection Amendment, S.J. Res 1, a proposed amendment to the Constutution that will prohibit gay marriage and civil unions , and led the way for its passage out of the Senate Judiciary Committee despite his comments that he is totally opposed to it. Both are sad milestones from this sad republican government writing hate and racism into US laws and the US Constitution.

Many have said that we should respect Spector and look to him as a guard of the gateway that will prevent the republican extremists from succeeding with their hateful agenda. Mike Malloy broadcasting on AAR a few months ago called Spector a "poodle" and warned that we should not look to him for any help, safety or guidance. I reserved judgment. Now, I agree with Malloy. There seem to be no republicans we can look to for sanity. They are all caught up in the frenzy to mollify religious and racist extremists to keep power at all cost. If you know of one who isn't, please post in the comments with an argument as to what they have done to save America from extremists. I'd like to see at least one. It's not Mark "Discrimination is OK" Kirk. He's all for that sort of stuff and well steeped in the anything for campaign dollars and extremist votes. He belongs to the group, like Spector, that is worse because they know better and do it anyway.

Working overtime messing up other's work

At about 1:02am Thursday morning, Mark wrapped up a night of hard work by passing his leaders' budget. The vote was 218-210 so there was likely no small amount of work for the assistant majority whip in whipping up votes for the likes of Hastert, Blunt and, of course, Bush. Bet Mark was tired afterward.

Not too tired, though, to get out his newsletter touting his suburban strategy late this afternoon. Here it is in all its glory:

§ Teacher Checks.

§ 401Ks for babies.

§ Electronic medical records.

§ Ending teen use of MySpace.com.

§ Local grant programs to protect suburban open space.

§ Gang laws.

§ Tax breaks for charitable donations of open space.

Thing is, Mark probably should have opted for the sleep. The states are handling these matters far better. North Suburban Illinois state legislators Susan Garrett, Karen May, Elaine Nekritz, and Julie Hamos spoke to a group earlier this week to describe state efforts and the harm to be had by federalizing local issues simply to distract voters for the 2006 election. State Senator Garrett pointed out that such federalization would do nothing more than create additional unfunded mandates and continue underfunding of needed federal programs. She added that Kirk's suburban strategy is misleading because it insinuates that the states are not addressing these issues. The strategy was based on polls taken by Rove in suburban Cleveland and Philadelphia. They never even stepped into the state.

Nekritz said state legislators don't need Rove's polls to tell them which issues are important to local communitites. As a State Representative, Nekritz talks about education, health care and such from her constitutents all the time. They call her when their insurance companies deny claims and when the chronically ill cannot get coverage at all. They cannot get coverage because congressmen steeped in medical industry campaign contributions like Mark Kirk insure that there will never be a sensible national health care plan.

Karen May wants the federal government to catch up. I understand her comment because I have walked precincts with Rep. May, my representative, and have seen her talking with constitutents. Once we came across an oncologist. He was so frustrated because the federal government was cutting down on out-patient chemo increasing the costs of chemo to unaffordable levels for patients. He was really concerned. May took his information and followed up. Where was Kirk? Taking contributions from the industry that buys the legislation that increases medical costs.

Julie Hamos reminded attendees that the suburban strategy is nothing more than a distraction from the national issues in which they have failed like Medicare D and the Bush energy program, missteps in the handling of Katrina, not to mention the "misguided, expensive war in Iraq." Hamos ended observing that Kirk's suburban strategy is nothing new and not much of a grand vision for America.

So, what did Kirk really accomplish beyond all the hot air and ballyhoo of his tired, old suburban strategy? The budget was passed. Here is what was in that:

§ It makes the deficit worse. The planned deficit for 2006 is $372 billion, and $350 billion for 2007.

§ It wipes out all thought of the debt ceiling calling for an additional $653 billion increase in the debt limit, and by 2011, total increases in the debt subject to limit would hit $5.3 trillion.

§ Provides no additional funding for the Labor-HHS appropriations bill even though great concern over the cuts caused recognition of the need be placed in the bill. (ie. talk is cheap)

§ Cuts appropriations for domestic services by $9.4 billion while keeping funding to Medicare providers despite the requirement that they cut costs. (Mark's campaign contributors will love this one.)

§ Cuts in education, veterans health care, funds for the Center for Disease Control, (and we though they were concerned about Avian flu), and environmental programs.

So, even if we should have our US Representative take up state and local issues, federalizing everything in a stunning departure from traditional republican sentiment, Kirk's undone his own work and that of the state legislators by helping to pass that budget. No wonder Garrett, May, Nekritz and Hamos were exhasperated. They have to work twice as hard to undo all the damage Kirk and Co. do in the US House. They are going to be pooped.

Hats off to atcenternetwork.com for posting the video for all us folks who have to work downtown and cannot attend all this good stuff from our state legislators.

City built on cynicism

My loyal readers probably figured out that I went to Vegas last week on a business thing. I had never been there before. Now, I'll admit that the 99 degree weather bias me against the place right off, but the truth is that, to me, Vegas is just a bit of fancy, of questionable taste, construction built over a crock of cat litter box contents.

It was nice to go to good restaurants and browse through stores like Prada, Fendi and Jimmy Choo (no, Mom, I did not buy the $695 Jimmy Choo shoes even though they looked great on my little size 5 feet), but all along the streets positioned so you could barely walk around them were pimps flicking cards assuring each male passer-by that some girl was looking for precisely him. There were also advertising trucks everywhere with pictures of scantily clad girls claiming that they are seeking YOU YOU YOU and only YOU (yeah, right). The organization of it all also made it look likely that the working girls don't see much of the profits either. You are supposed to bring your kids to Vegas now, but I dont' know how a parent is supposed to explain that sort of stuff to an eight year old.

Then, there are the casinos with rows and rows of pretty, shiny slot machines that are supposed to be beckoning, but everyone knows that they are fixed to favor the house providing only a few moments of pleasure and perhaps a test market for Diebold's new line of voting machines.

So, what am I saying here? Heard all the anti-prostitution, anti-gambling stuff before and I'm supposed to be a liberal? Problem as I see it is that this is what our leaders seems to be seeing for our future. Legalized gambling is spreading throughout the country and all those fake religious lobbyists supposed to be preventing it were really just out for the swindle. Las Vegas is the most growing city in the country. They are trying to turn Biloxi into the same thing since Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans could go the same way.

For all the fake religious ballyhoo that is getting so bad that you cannot even go see a movie without being heckled, they are quick to turn a blind eye to anything that creates corporate profit like gambling and organized prostitution. Put some big fancy buildings and elaborately lit fountains around it and you can low key the vice squad stuff and make a bundle.

Las Vegas is a city built on cynicism and the republicans are working to lay a foundation of cynicism for the rest of the country and rake in the profits.

...and the stuffed squirrel? That's our department's mascot Jenny who (that) has been turned into a roaming gnome of sorts, taken with anyone who goes out of town. She's (it's?) been to Hawaii, Florida and now Vegas. Heading to Alaska this summer.

What Many in the District Don't Get about Mark Kirk

Mark Kirk has spent the last 6 years in the shadows. He tries to give the impression that he is not one of the hard core, extremist, right-wing, whacko republicans that do not do well in our district. He portrays himself as a moderate. He claims to be a social moderate and is always getting in the papers claiming to be saving fish and such. That all sounds nice. We are supposed to want to encourage moderate republicans to prove that we can still live within the traditional two party system and be ok with republicans winning their share of congressional seats and presidencies.

To continue his shadowgame, Kirk is now concentrating on a suburban strategy to show us that he is out their fighting the system for us. We are "under attack" and he is going to rescue us with child 401Ks, suburban open space protection and databases of child predators.

What he does not advertise on the front page of his website is that he is the Assistant Majority Whip of the House. He's Roy Blunt's man to twist arms for votes for all sorts of good old hard core, extremist, right-wing, whacko republican wish list items. If past behavior is any prediction of future behavior in the republican whip, it will be for votes like tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and crumbs for the rest of us, bankruptcy changes that hurt people with medical emergencies for the benefit of predatory lending credit card companies, failed medicare programs for the benefit of pharmaceutical companies, energy bills that exploit hurricane victims for the benefit of oil companies, not to mention past illegal holding open of votes for hours to pressure congressmen for their votes. I cannot imagine, and cannot imagine Kirk not imagining, that the latter will also be expected of him.

Upcoming are votes on immigration reform and the unending votes required to continually fund Iraq and soon, Iran. Kirk will be right there for Roy Blunt, Karl Rove, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and George W. Bush pushing for votes to implement the remains of their dangerous and harmful agenda.

Mark Kirk is not the friendly, district-focused DC outsider he claims to be. He is nothing more than the point man for getting the votes for the final implementation of the extremist republican agenda.

What Mark Kirk Doesn't Get with his Suburban Strategy

Kirk is traipsing all around the country with his new message that we are supposed to ignore what is happening in DC and focus on local issues that affect suburbanites (which sort of begs the question of why the traipsing). 401K accounts for babies and teacher background checks are in his focus, but he doesn't want to talk about the war, NSA spying, failed prescription drug plan and a non-existent healthcare plan, and tax cuts for the wealthy.

Kirk has said: "Suburban families feel they are under attack and believe they need a voice in Congress," and he is correct in that statement, but what Kirk doesn't get is that all the important national issues are causing huge problems affecting all people, including suburbanites.

Bush and Kirk's war in Iraq has caused a tremendous financial burden on the country that little suburban children will pay for the rest of their lives. Decreases in funding of education programs to pay for that war hurt the same little suburban children's chances to go to college. Kirk may want to fund their learning of Chinese, but under Bush and Kirk, more needed subjects like science and math are being deemphasized and many teens are being discouraged from going to college so they may very well end up in low paid jobs not unlike the Chinese worker that made your made in China inexpensive summer capris pants.

What does NSA spying have to do with anything that hurts suburbanites?

Government Accountability.

As the government increases its control over the people, it decreases its accountability to them and their recourse for injury. That is what happened in the old Soviet Union. There was no accountability to the millions injured by the nuclear accident at Chernobyl because over years and years of oppression, the people knew the government was not accountable to them. They had no recourse and no protection from government and connected corporations. We are seeing it now in decrease in regulations over corporations and are seeing the affects in our environment and we will have no recourse to sue for our damages. Governments that oppress can get away with anything and it goes from global issues like war and the national budget and trade deficit to family issues like health, safety and personal issues like the right to die and the right to marry.

Out here in the suburban Illinois Tenth, we are not on the cutting edge of world affairs, and none of us are dodging bombs like the folks in Iraq; most of us will not have to send our children there (so far), and our schools are better than average and our kids still probably have a pretty good chance of going to college. We are mostly, trying to make a living and a life for our families, so yes, national issues can seem pretty far away and life can be pretty mundane in the suburbs. In fact, more mundane than they want us to believe. Check out atcenternetwork.com on child safety and you will find that the far greater risk to a child in suburban Tenth District is his bike or skateboard, and not Kirk's MySpace or child predators. Bush and Kirk want us to feel we are in a special situation, specially dangerous and scary, so we willingly give up our freedoms, rights and recourse. However, our real issues are as they have always been, preventing the kids from killing themselves on their bikes and helping them make it through college, paying the mortgage, putting food on the table and gasing up the car. Thing is, the national issues that Kirk wants us to ignore are exactly the issues that are making suburbanites feel under attack, not the lack of child 401Ks.

It's the totality of the downturns and backwards thinking of the Bush and Kirk reign that has been the disaster for the entire country, including the suburbs. The precise national issues that are missing from Kirk's suburban strategy, the budget deficit, trade inbalance, backward unscientific thinking causing us to give up our role as a world innovation leader, loss of opportunity, lack of healthcare, lack of secure good jobs, oil prices increasing the cost of everything, and the deflation of our national spirit, are the issues that matter to us and under their rule adversely affect us and will continue to adversely affect us every day until we throw off the yoke of them and go back to sensible American freedom with an accountable government.

Not legally permissible

Under the Bush administration enforcement of laws has gotten a bit...shall we say...strange.....

Is legally permissible under Bush:
1. War based on lies
2. Torture of prisoners
3. Outing a CIA agent working on the nuclear threat in Iran
4. Shooting a hunting buddy while drunk
5. No-bid contracts to Bush and Cheney family connected companies.
6. Spying on tens of millions of Americans, including journalists, while claiming they are only spying on people with terrorist connections.

Is not legally permissible under Bush:
Extending the deadline for Seniors to enroll in a confusing maze of prescription drug programs before they are charged a penalty.

and there is more...

The tens of millions of Americans allegedly involved with Al Qaeda (because the administration would never just spy on ordinary Americans, would they?) also include (apparently) ABC News, The New York Times and The Washington Post because they collected their phone records too. Don't forget the spying on all the Al Qaeda connected Quakers, either. So those 80% or so of people who said they think the spying program is good because we need the government to protect us from terrorists need to buck up and smarten up. The spying has nothing to do with terrorism or protection of Americans. It's just to protect the republican party from dissent from its extremist agenda. We need a little more Land of the Free, Home of the Brave around here.

The Kirk folks are so desperate now that they have lauched a hate site against Dan Seals. Difference from this site where I talk about Kirk sometimes is that I stick to actual votes, law, actual quotes with reliable sources and try to do it funny and cute. The Kirk site is just lies, rumor, and misquotes with no actual cites from any sources. They must be really scared because no one is buying his fake suburban strategy and it's not causing folks to ignore what is happening in DC which is the real intent of the suburban strategy. Hey Mark, stop underestimating the smarts of your district! (Oh, and I always give Mark helpful hints and sound advice. New Orleans is about 346.7 miles east of Houston, join Murtha in calling for a redeployment, leave the republican party etc. He just never listens.)

While you were out

Some folks get their house redecorated. I got this:

1. USA Today prints a story about NSA spying putting it all over the news for several days (finally). While, the confused pubic still seems to be in favor of the illegal practice, several congressmen are against it. Could there be some leadership happening here? CAVEAT: "Anything you want Mr. President, Sir" Kirk is all for NSA spying never caring what happens to the country as long as it could help his career. Best line of last week from Sen. Leahy in response to administration assurances that only suspected terrorists are being wiretapped: ''Are you telling me that tens of millions of Americans are involved with al Qaeda?''

2. Rove is either to be or already is (not publicly just yet) indicted. Is "Shoot 'em Up" Cheney next?

3. Illinois Statehouse Democrats talk about the real Suburban strategy today at 1:00 p.m. at First Student Transportation 2800 Old Willow Road, Northbrook, Illinois 60062. Wish I could go. If you do, please report back in the comments.

4. Al Gore is President.

5. Mark Kirk doeesn't even think he should be reelected:

From the Chicago Tribune May 10:

"If you are solving the main problems of the American people, you should be re-elected," said Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), who represents the North Shore and is organizing efforts by House Republicans to appeal to suburban voters. "If you're not, you should suffer."

Whatever happens...

...in Vegas, stays in Vegas or gets on the blog.

Jenny after quite a night.

Bush: Rated worse than Nixon and worse than H.W. and he still doesn't get it. Neither does Mark Kirk.

AOL, usually fairly conservative, asked the question and got the answer:

Who will history judge more favorably?
Richard Nixon 62%
George W. Bush 38%

So, AOL members answering think history will judge the nearly impeached Nixon better than Bush. Well, China was opened under Nixon and the EPA was created under his administration. Nixon was a paranoid nutcase, but there were some accomplishments.

I cannot think of a single accomplishment under Bush. Wait, maybe....

he's improved the social class and education status of the homeless on the streets because now homelessness can happen to anyone of any status, education and background.

Bush thinks he's just great and still touts accomplishments. Look at the White House web site. When he flies over a disaster, he thinks he really did something. He actually thinks he's helping in Darfur despite the completely neglected genocide. He also thinks he's accomplished something for seniors with the failed Medicare D. It's like when his father H.W. said that there was nothing wrong with the economy when people were losing jobs in droves. It was then clear that H.W. was out of touch and he was booted after his first term. W had more experienced and professional election thieves, so he got a secong term, but how does this grab you? AOL asked another question:

Who will history judge more favorably?
George H.W. Bush 75%
George W. Bush 25%

Worse than Nixon, worse than H. W., and no matter what he does, Bush still has a fan in Mark Kirk. Why? Because they have the same friends. Doug Freedman and the good folks at MoveOn have scheduled a protest of Kirk's acceptance of campaign donations (currently $191,427 ) from pharmaceutical companies and vote for Medicare D.

See details about their event here.
Skokie Blvd & Dundee Rd
11 May 12:00 PM
Rep.Mark Kirk accepted campaign donations from pharmaceuticals companies--and then voted for Bush's corrupt Medicare prescription drug program. 43 different plans. For seniors? No--many seniors are sick and lack internet access. Phone waits are long, and calling in is often unhelpful. The built-in-inefficiences and penalties are designed to KEEP seniors from getting the benefits they need. Bush's plan is designed to help drug companies, not seniors. We're going to Kirk's office to tear up a check symbolic of his take from the drug companies--and to let him know that betraying the 10th district's seniors to benefit greedy special interests makes us see red. It won't take long--about half an hour, most likely. Do come!

A little inside joke for Ellen's IL Tenth CD Blog insiders

Democat and friend.

Super Kirk counting on us being super forgetful or super stupid

Either Mark Kirk doesn't get it or he is hoping that we don't get it and will reelect him on all his good deeds. Problem is that all the good deeds are subterfuge for prior bad judgment and bad votes. Kirk's good deed du jour is his grand fight against Afghan heroin and the press releases are out and true to form the press reports without questioning why he was in favor of our diverting most of our forces in Afghanistan to Iraq.

Rep. Mark Kirk, a Republican from suburban Chicago, calls Afghan heroin "a unique danger." He says emergency room visits related to heroin use have jumped 400 percent over two years in Chicago's heavily populated suburbs.

"Suburban kids find needles to be extremely offensive, and that has proven to be a strong barrier to suburban heroin use," he says. "But Afghan heroin comes in the purest form, and now that it is entering the country it is allowing drug dealers to offer heroin to new markets."

Kirk reacts strongly to those who question whether there's a mounting problem from Afghan heroin: "Someone who says that reminds me of someone sitting in a bar in New Orleans saying they've heard of Hurricane Katrina but it hasn't hit yet."

No, I am not questioning the problem of heroin and I am not advocating heroin in any way. However, I am saying that Kirk was all rah rah in favor of the Iraq War never thinking about the consequences of neglecting Afghanistan, the coutry from where the 9/11 hijackers found their training and much of their inspiration and the country from where this heroin comes. Afghanistan was a well known producer of heroin well before 9/11 and the subsequent wars. Kirk did not care then. What Kirk does care about is looking like he is distancing himself from the unpopular Iraq war that he supported and the unpopular president that created it.

Mark, why don't you just make it easy on yourself and be honest for a refreshing change? Say you were wrong on the Iraq war and join Rep. Murtha in calling for an immediate end to this debacle. While you're at it, you may want to reconsider your joke about hurricane Katrina because it was your party that left those folks to die, still leaves many of them homeless and you did bring the water to Houston and not New Orleans where it was needed.