Mark Kirk's Bid to Be A republi-Democrat Fails and Why Mark Kirk Should Vote for Dan Seals

Knowing we've had enough of the republican congress, Mark Kirk is trying to sell himself to the district as a republi-Democrat. His website is full of references to his bipartisan projects , he constantly drops Demcrats' names, and at the debate he talked over and over again about working with Democrats. The centerpiece of his argument for his Democrat-ness is his failed efforts to override the stem cell veto. The title link will get you to a Buzzflash Editorial titled Wouldn’t a Real "Moderate Republican" be a Democrat? It argues that there are no moderate republicans. Here is paragraph where they talk about what we see with Kirk, voting with the extremist right-wingers when his vote is needed:

What’s more, when their votes are really needed to pass an authoritarian, profiteering or anti-Constitutional Bush bill, they will vote with the caucus if their vote is needed to pass the legislation. "Moderate" votes that don’t affect the actual outcome of legislation don’t count. The extremist GOP strategists are smart enough to know that they have to let "moderates" vote for some "moderate" issues so that they can appear "moderate" come election time. Otherwise, the Republicans will lose suburban (for the most part) districts where there are Republican voters with some sanity.

They actually use Mark Kirk of the Illinois Tenth as a prime example of the fake moderate republican. They go on:

So, here’s the irony, if Seals wins, he would actually be able to pass some of the "moderate" measures Kirk claims to support.

So if Mark Kirk wants to truly achieve his "moderate Republican" goals, he should vote for Seals.

If Mark Kirk disagrees, we’d like to know then why Congress has been run like the Politburo for the last decade – and what Mark Kirk did to prevent the right wing agenda from passing through Congress like a greased pig on a spit, or to protect House pages from pedophiles.

If Kirk is re-elected in another republican congress, none of the proposed moderate legislation he talks about will pass because he will vote for leadership that will prevent it from getting on the agenda. He knows that, so he must not feel too very strongly about it.

Why should we vote to be represented by a fake republi-Democrat when we can be represented by a real Democrat with real ideas to build a strong America.

Judge Mikva Asks for Investigation of Mark Kirk's Aids Threat

Thanks for posting this link, Dylan. I think it deserves a front page post. Click on the title link to read the story of Judge Ab Mikva requesting US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and States Attorney Dick Devine to probe the threat made by Kirk aid Caryn Garber to Seals supporter Robert M. Schrayer, the national chairman of the Tel Aviv University American Council.

Kirk wanted to pass this off as a no big deal mistake in the office, but this isn't an error in paperwork. It was a threat designed to obtain support, a real threat and here is what the article says Judge Mikva said about it in his letter to Fitzgerald and Devine:

Mikva said Garber's note was "an overt threat of revenge against Mr. Schrayer and the university" and may have violated state and federal law "that criminalizes intimidating, threatening or coercing members of the public in an attempt to thwart the free expression of their vote."

What could be scarier? A Review of Mark Kirk's Record Since 2005. Let's Review!

I meant to start a review back in the beginning of October, but so much has been happening with Dan pulling into a narrow lead over Mark Kirk and winning the sole debate Kirk agreed to, Kirk’s aid threatening Robert Schrayer of Tel Aviv University—“revenge is a dish best served cold”—and he keeps her on staff, not to mention the Mark Foley scandal and the Illinois connection with Hastert’s office failing to do anything about Foley after being informed and Kirk being in House leadership and working on bills about kid’s safety with Foley and all, that my review went by the waste side. Barring any other bizarre oddities about revenge or pedophilia, let us review!

Social Security

The First Quarter of 2005 began with Social Security. I wrote to Mark Kirk concerned that his party was going to dismantle the only safety net folks have by turning it into a system of private accounts wherein people borrow against their benefits to invest and, if the investments don’t work out, pay it back. Here were Orwellian buzzwords and republican talking points Kirk used in his response:

• Strengthen the financial foundation of Social Security.
• Sustainable System.
• Keeps Social Security in tact for retirees and assures financial stability for younger workers.

The idea was to scare people into thinking that if they didn’t agree to the republican privatization proposals, there would be no social security and make them comfortable with privatization with business-sounding buzzphrases. This time folks didn’t buy the Bush plan Kirk was sure to endorse, even after they changed the centerpiece buzzword from privatization to personalization, and Bush had to back down. Thing is, it’s still on the Bush agenda and I imagine it will come up again if the republicans keep the House.

Drug Profits Surge in Afganistan and Fund Terrorists and Reservists Get a Whole Lot of Nothing

In January 2005, it was becoming apparent that leaving Afghanistan for Iraq wasn’t such a good idea after all. Even Mark Kirk was amazed by the profits from Afghan poppies, but he would not admit that the decision he supported to move our troops out of Afghanistan to Iraq was a big part of the problem. In his Congressional testimony, Robert B. Charles, assistant secretary of State for international narcotics and law enforcement said, "that drug profits are 'almost definitely' funding the Taliban, which once banned opium farming, and possibly Al Qaeda as well." Charles also testified that drug profits have gone into attacks on US troops in Afganistan through warlords connected with Al Qaeda. What did Mark Kirk do about it? He continued to support war in Iraq and continued to refuse to discuss his reasons with constituents, opting for a trip to Europe.

Kirk sent around a notice taking credit for the Americans in Uniform Act of 2005 which was really sponsored by Roy Blunt and was supposed to provide some relief to reservists. It’s still sitting in committee on the same bench as most of Kirk’s other brags.

Not So Passionate About Separation of Church and State

What better way to placate the impatient religious zealots who man your get out the vote campaigns when you don’t buy into their agenda to begin with…find people who have nothing to do with you or them and are already suffering and insinuate yourselves into their lives to make a political point you don’t really care about in the first place. In March 2005, Kirk and many of his fellow congressman joined Bill Frist and Bush to bring an entire government down on Michael Schiavo, husband of Terri Schiavo who was in a persistent vegetative state. Dr. Frist was diagnosing Terri from old, edited video and Bush actually went off vacation to lead the circus. This shameful event was used for republican party fundraising. Kirk later told an audience at Beth Judea that he was “passionate about separation of church and state”, but it’s clear from the Schiavo case that he’s more passionate about party loyalty. What happened to thoughtful and independent?

Kirk for Outsourcing

Kirk rounded out the First Quarter of 2005 with a vote against eliminating corporate tax incentives for off-shoring jobs. Kirk is a well know advocate of outsourcing jobs to China and India. I recalled my days volunteering as a computer trainer at the Career Resource Center in Lake Forest: “The place was filled with executives whose jobs were eliminated due to off-shoring of jobs. These were mostly men in their 50s with big houses with big mortgages and children off in expensive colleges. I bet a lot of these men voted for Kirk in the 2004 election. They weren't paying attention in 2004. I hope they are paying attention now as Kirk moves further right on the economy, right into the Bushes.” I hope they are paying attention in 2006.

Listening to Dan and Mark Kirk on WBBM Radio

Click on the title link to listen. They appeared separately on Craig Dellimore's show because Mark Kirk won't even be heard next to Dan so I suppose that means he's even worried about his voice not sounding as good.

Dan went first and answered questions on the Iraq War, immigration, access to healh care, energy, taxes and other budgetary concerns.

Mark Kirk spoke separately from his Northbrook office. He talked about his prior wins and touted Deleting Online Predators, more security in place of education. Dellimore tried to get him to answer the question of Kirk's votes with Bush, but Kirk wouldn't really answer choosing to again made his claim that some votes don't count.

On Iraq, he had the same non-answer he had in the debates. He finally got the memo and was using the new Bush Administration word--Benchmarks. What was really interesting was that Kirk said that we had to complete our work in Iraq so we don't end up having to go there again. Good point Mark. What about your support for leaving Afghanistan and allow the Taliban to take it back?

Ha ha. He talked about "when he has a townhall meeting". When exactly was that Mark? Did you just forget to tell the entire district about that townhall meeting?

On immigration. Kirk still supports the 700 mile wall along a 2100 mile border. Get that man a calculator!

Dellimore tried to get Kirk to speak toward health care, but he avoided the question. More lies about the estate tax, calling it a death tax as if the name matters more than the numbers, and failing to point out it barely affects anyone at all, including small businesses. From the IRS site:

Presently, the amount of this credit reduces the computed tax so that only total taxable estates and lifetime gifts that exceed $1,000,000 will actually
have to pay tax. In its current form, the estate tax only affects the wealthiest
2% of all Americans.

And guess what...the IRS and the Internal Revenue Code actually calls it the Estate Tax. There is no such thing as the "death tax".

Lying on TV. Lying in person. Now, lying on the radio.

Mark Kirk's Votes for the Industries that Fund His Campaign and How Lobbyists Took Over Our Country

Over the past year, Kirk has touted among his accomplishments Medicare D. That is the failed prescription drug plan for seniors that penalizes seniors and enriches the pharmaceutical companies. However, it no longer appears on his candidate website. Wonder why?

Well, it could be that the bills for next year are out and they contain higher copays and they raise the amount you need to get to spend before obtaining catastrophic coverage. So the donut gets smaller and the donut hole gets larger. If you are a senior and feel it's time to make a better batch of donuts, think about this: the law that brought you Medicare D was part of the Bob Ney/Tom Delay/Jack Abramoff network of legislative favors and disgraced lobbyists:

It’s well known that in his crusade to pass the bill, DeLay drew on more than 800 pharmaceutical-industry lobbyists, millions of dollars in campaign contributions, and the efforts of numerous business and healthcare groups. But this grossly flawed legislation could never have passed without the help of the same players who were central to Abramoff’s lobbying operation: Tony Rudy and Ed Buckham. Using a nest of nonprofits flush with corporate cash, the discredited lobbyists played a vital, albeit hidden, role in whittling down congressional opposition to the bill for more than a year before the final vote.

You should also remember that the Medicare bill was one of the bills that passed in the middle of the night after the voting time was illegally extended.

Well Abramoff and Delay are politically ruined, in legal trouble and out of government once and for all (we hope), but their system of handing over the country to lobbyists and running it for profit is not. A Kirk apologist commenting on this site recently bragged about the amount of campaign dollars Kirk has to run his racist ads against Seals. Those campaign dollars are nothing to brag about if you care about good government.

Kirk obtains most of that money from industry PACs. As Dan Seals pointed out in in the debate last Thursday, Kirk gets most of his campaign money from 3 industries: energy, pharmaceutical and insurance. A look of Kirk's voting record for subsidizing big oil and diluting environmental laws to benefit energy companies, Medicare D and ending all dialogue on providing reasonable health care for the 46 million uninsured Americans is testament to the control these industries has over his votes.

Kirk's next big idea is to avoid any serious dialogue on covering the uninsured by extending COBRA for those who have lost their jobs indefinitely. Lifetime COBRA, at 150% the already high cost of coverage, is not much help to someone who has lost his job and cannot find another one. Kirk's lifetime COBRA idea is nothing more than another way to further enrich the insurance industry at the expenses of vulnerable folks who have lost their jobs and avoid the real dialogue this country needs on how to best insure the uninsured. That is how Kirk's moderate republicanism operates and why it must be rejected.

A vote for Mark Kirk is a vote for the system of lobbyists that enriched guys like Ney, Delay and Abramoff. A vote for Dan Seals is a vote for an independent voice that will answer to the district.

Insomniacs Open Thread

Have at it. I've been campaigning all day and my feet and knees are killing me. I'm going to sleep.

Rock the Vote!

Bring a canned good for the Shields Township food pantry and Rock the Vote with Dan Seals on October 28, 2006, 8:30 PM Deer Path Middle School.

Here's the Line-up:

Second City Teen Ensemble
Improv Playhouse Teen Performance Ensemble
Lake Forest High School Improv Troupe
Improvisers from New Trier Township

Dan Seals Accomplishes The Impossible! Kirk Is Out From Under The Bed

Dans Seals has accomplished what most thought was impossible. He brought Mark Kirk out from under the bed. Kirk was sighted shaking hands and getting a piece of people's minds at the Northbrook train station. Apparently, talking to consitutents is not Kirk's thing as he was described as looking "spooked".

Well the Seals grassroots volunteers will be out and about in the precincts this afternoon and tomorrow. Hug your Democratic precinct committeeman!!

Stealing Other Folks Glory And Stretching the Truth

It cannot be denied that Mark Kirk was in overdrive at the debate last night stealing other folks glory and overstating his accomplishments. For one thing, he used a Daniel Patrick Moynihan quote without attributing it to him and misused it to boot because it was Kirk making his own facts.

Case in point: Impact Aid.

This is the bill that Seals reminded everyone is still in committee. Since March. Kirk is crediting himself for extending an already allocated amount of impact aid under a hold harmless provision, but under that procedure the impact aid is only secured for 36 months. A new law is needed to secure impact aid for the Illinois Tenth school districts that are affected. In North Chicago, the impact aid is only part of the solution because there are other issues with property tax that cause the schools to have a shortfall each year and Kirk made it very clear that his only idea of education is school security.

To test Kirk's other comments about his accomplishments, you need to do the Mark Kirk Search on Library of Congress website, Thomas Legislative. You can search for sponsored bills by representative. Search Kirk and you will find 30 bills for the current congress. Click on the bill number and you get a page with a table and several hot links. Click on Major Congressional Action or All Congressional Action. What do you get:

H.CON.RES.177 Referred to committee. I suppose this is the bill to lay the groundwork for the gas embargo on Iran.
H.CON.RES.265 Referred to committee. Appreciation for Chinese art and culture.
H.CON.RES.415 Passed the House. Condemns repression of the Iranian Baha'i. Definitely a worthy cause and I am sure Dan Seals cares about Iranian Baha'i too, so this is not a point of difference on which to judge them. It should be noted that some believe this is the beginning of the case for the Iran War. Could it be possible that Kirk was selected to push the case for the Iran War too?
H.CON.RES.425 Referred to committee. Nothing further.
H.RES.550 Referred to committee. Nothing further.
H.R.390 Introductory remarks in committee.
H.R.1360 Working through the subcommittees to find a home.
H.R.1996 Committee Agreed to Seek Consideration Under Suspension of the Rules, by Unanimous Consent.
H.R.2329 Passed voice vote. Allows an officer or employee of a foreign government to receive a reward under the Department of State Rewards Program. You can decide how helpful this is to your everyday life.
H.R.3112 Referred to subcommittee. Involves duties on decorative plates and such.
H.R.3113 Referred to subcommittee. Involves duties on cups and saucers. No joke!
H.R.3114 Referred to subcommittee. Involves duties on flags.
H.R.3115 Same for clocks. I guess someone in Congress has to have duty duty.
H.R.3116 Same for glass.
H.R. 3117 Same for more glass. I will never argue that Mark Kirk doesn't support imported glass.
H.R. 3118. More duty for Music Boxes. Around the holidays, how can we be without our music boxes?
H.R. 3126 Same re liquidation or reliquidation of certain entries.
HR 3141 Introductory remarks in committee. Booting Brazil from developing nation status in the Trade Act of 1974
H.R.3303 Referred to subcommittee. Re anti dumping duties on wire rod.
H.R.3619 Referred to committee. This is a good one: To permit each State to provide a statue of an individual representing that State to be displayed in the Capitol Visitor Center, and for other purposes.
HR 4535 Referred to House Government Reform December 2005. This is the pension bill for convict congressmen.
H.R. 4771 Introductory remarks in committee. This is the balast water exchange bill.
H.R. 4972 This is the impact aid bill still in subcommittee.
H.R. 5199 Referred to House Small Business. This is the Chinese language, culture and education bill.
H.R.5278 In committee. "UNRWA Integrity Act"
H.R.5717 Referred to subcommittee. This is the technical correction to NCLB.
H.R.5734 Referred to subcommittee. This is the sewage dumping one.
H.R.6136 Referred to committee. If you are a fan of Maggie Thatcher you'll be glad to know she's up for an award. If you live in the IL Tenth you know not to holdyour breath till she gets it.
HR 6172 Referred to House Government Reform. More re felon congressmen.
H.AMDT.711 to H.R.4939 Passed on voice vote. Increased funding for the Drug Enforcement Administration in one of the emergency Iraq War and hurricane recovery funding bills.

So where is H.R.5319, Delete Online Predators? Kirk did not sponsor the legislation. He was one of 39 co-sponsors and was among the members that introduced the bill.

It's complicated who gets credit for a bill and MOCs are always claiming they authored bills or bill parts, but the above is what a quick search of Thomas will get you and gives an idea of Kirk's leadership abilities by showing you for what he gets official credit.

Blog commenter, Corinne, nope I would't get out that crown too fast (but you knew that, didn't you?).

If you like imported music boxes and glass, by all means vote for Mark Kirk. If you want results, time to change the course and vote for Dan Seals.

Melting Melting in the Illinois Tenth

Wednesday evening, I heard from some friends that Kirk was sending out massive emails asking his supporters to come out to the debate and come very early to crowd out the Seals supporters. I took that seriously and made sure I got to the debate early to get my seat. I got a surprise. Compared to what I was expecting, very few Kirk supporters came out at all, although the event ended up well attended. My pet theory about this is that the Kirk supporters did not want to come out in the rain and get wet because the Kirk campaign already seems to be melting...melting....

And speaking of melting, the local news stations were pretty nice to Kirk because they did not show his meltdown during the debate. There was a question about the most pressing issue in the Illinois Tenth and Kirk answered security in schools. Dan was talking about providing a real education and talked about the stalled impact aid legislation that Kirk could not get passed. The next question was about North Korea. Instead of answering the question, Kirk lost his composure and went into a whining ramble about how he saved the still uncertain impact aid and moderator Cindi Canary of LWV had to pull him back into the rules to which he agreed--no demanded--no rebuttal.

Could Kirk's meltdown have had anything to do with Thursday mornings news reports of his aid being caught shaking down a council member of Tel Aviv University or is it just the pressure of a campaign that is melting?

Sorry Mark, It just wasn't your room

Overheard on the Kirk side of the room: "Seals won."

Yup, I sat near the Kirk supporters and heard the above as folks were filing out. The Kirk folks filed out immediately after the debate and Kirk made a swift beeline for the door. Dan Seals stuck around to talk to everyone and anyone who wanted to talk to him and the Seals supporters and independents with questions stuck around too.

First of all, the place was packed, over 2000 people in total. In the main room, a 500 seat capacity auditorium, was full and there were 2 overflow rooms. Many people also listened to the simulcast radio broadcast. I was in the main room having taken great pains to get there very early. You know how an auditorium has one main section and two smaller side sections? It was pretty clear with the reactions to the opening statements that Seals carried the large middle section and one full side section with a few more interspersed. Kirk had a chunk of supporters in the stage right side section. The crowd was loud and boisterous leading moderator Cindi Canary to say she was rushing back to Chicago, but I sort of think she really had fun.

One thing I will say Kirk did, he ran the classic Madison Avenue advertising campaign. I started my career in advertising before I became an attorney and know that a favorite advertising techinque is to take a large issue and spin an intimate personal story around it. Kirk likes to tell those types of stories and told a few during the evening. He described the problem of N. Korea as a little girl with a blanket and to deflect his support for the torturer in chief, he told a story about his experience in military training where he had to go through a role play as a POW. He just doesn't seem to get that there is a big difference between role playing with your own military and being a real POW in the custody of folks you think are really going to kill you.

Kirk tells a good story, but the problem with his stories is that they sound scripted because they are scripted. Many people commented that he sounded like a recording. His opening statement sure sounded like a recording and I got the impression he thinks we are going to vote for him because he went to New Trier. I don't know about that. I went to Niles East.

One attendee described Kirk's presentation as arrogant, petty and fear factor. At one point he broke the rules of the debate by doing a rebuttal and he was really upset. Cindi calmed him down and got him back on topic.

Another attendee described Seal's performance as gentlemanly and dignified and added that she felt he really talked to the people, not over them. He was to the point and offered plans, not stories.

It was really interesting when on all the education questions, and there were many, Kirk made our schools sound more like the county lockup. He never talks about real education, just locking up our district's kids and asking their parents to fear drug gangs and teachers (he forgot to mention congressmen from Florida). Then, he went on about drugs in our schools describing snortable heroin from Afghanistan, but forgot to mention that the poppy farms are thriving over there because his leadership cut and ran from Afghanistan before the job was done to move on to Iraq so we could destroy their country.

Notable to me was Kirk's new Iraq plan which he must have just made up this afternoon because he's been all quiet on Iraq as the place has been crumbling all around our soldiers. He first spinned the Iraq issue into a Middle East issue, but then said we were between stay the course and a plan for defeat. He forgot to mention who got us there. Now, he seems to be saying that the country is going to end up being split into 3 segments, Shia, Sunni and Kurdish. Seals brough up the NIE report that showed our presence was actually endangering these communities Kirk says he wants to strengthen and called for a clear strategy and clear milestones. Seals said the Iraqis need to know that this is not an open ended commitment. "As N. Korea reminded us, it's a big world and we can't leave the back door open."

I have to go feed Democat, but there is so much more to talk about it, so I'll post more on the debate later. I'll leave you with the ending. Dan made the final closing speech where he went back to his opening comment that the election is all about priorities calling for change, a responsible transition out of Iraq, strong fiscal discipline and an investment in our future. The crowd leapt to it feet cheering Dan. Sorry Mark, it just wasn't your room.

"Revenge is a dish best served cold." Kirk staffer threatens Tel Aviv University Council Member

Oh Wow. Did you read Lynn Sweet today? The title quote is from that column attributed to Kirk staffer, Caryn Garber. Go ahead and read the story about the threat to Robert M. Schrayer national chairman of the Tel Aviv University American Council and on the board of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago. It does not appear to be a bodily threat, but one to funding for the Tel Aviv University and to Schrayer's position therein.

What strikes me is that Kirk, while he said he disagreed with Garber and was upset, is not quoted as profusely apologizing. Rather this is the quote from Kirk:

I am in a difficult position" because Schrayer "is now a passionate supporter of my opponent".

What difficult position is Kirk in? Is Kirk's support for Israel this flimsy?

Debate! How do you call it?

What do you think?

Will Seals win the debate with vision and common sense?

Will Seals win because Kirk's aids are unable to get him out from under the bed in time for the debate?

Will Kirk lie about Iraq like he did in his debate with Hank Perritt? Will he just use the same lie and change the Q to an N--IRAN?

Will George W. Bush show up in Kirk's place because that is who effectively is our congressman anyway?

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America Grade Kirk

and they give him a: C+

Not a very good grade.

Good thing he's going back to school to learn from Dan Seals:

The Stevenson High School Political Action Club and the League of Women Voters will play host to the only debate this fall between U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk and Dan Seals at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26 in the West Auditorium. The event is open to the public. The debate also will be broadcast live on WAES-FM (88.1), Stevenson's student radio station.

The Failure of Mark Kirk's Suburban Strategy

An AOL Poll:

Will the Iraq war be a factor in your vote?
Yes 81%
No 19%
Total Votes: 110,304
Note on Poll Results

Lunchtime Updates

Check out Ironwood Tree who has started an interesting discussion on Mark Kirk and the Iraq war. Can Mark Kirk now back away from the war he so wanted, pushed and supported?

Also, check out November North Shore Magazine's article about Mark and Dan titled Hide and Seek. Here's how it starts:

My congressman won't return my phone calls. He won't return my letters or e-mails, either. Press releases, like rep. Mark Kirk's public appearances this election, have been few and far between, making it nearly impossible to get information -- denying constituents the most important electoral food.

The author, Susan B. Noyes, ends her article by calling Kirk's campaign "a stealth campaign."

Not Exactly Mayberry

OK, I'll admit it. I was a child of the early sixties who spent some time with the folks down in Mayberry, on television that is, and on occassion, I still watch The Andy Griffith Show on Nick at Night and my idea of sheriff pretty much comes from that show--that and my 22 years as an attorney. On Sunday, as I watched the Lake County Sheriff debate in Libertyville, I learned that it's not always that nice and friendly down at the old sheriff's office. The place was packed for the sheriff debate as there is great interest in the contest.

The major issue of the race is ethics as just this past August the Illinois Attorney General and Lake County State's Attorney released their report Regarding Allegations of Misconduct and Mismanagement in the Sheriff's Office of Lake County. Democratic challenger Mark Curran mentioned the report and urged people to read it for themselves. Basically, the report reveals extraordinary sloppy finances and mismanagement.

At Sunday's debate current Sheriff Gary Del Re answered Curran's comments about the report by reminding the audience that no illegal conduct on his part was reported. Basically, he wasn't indicted.

Well, good for you and as a Lake County resident, I'm glad to hear it Sheriff Del Re. However, I don't know too many jobs for which the standard for keeping the job is that the employee was not indicted. I also don't think that is a great campaign slogan: "Vote for me. I wasn't indicted!" I further don't think Andy Taylor would have run things that way in Mayberry.

I think this endorsement for Mark Curran says it all: The Fraternal Order of Police Lake County Sheriff's Police Lodge 66 Endorses Mark Curran for Lake County Sheriff.

How about this one

On of my wonderful readers said she was sick of the photo. OK, I aim to please. How about this one:

Kirk Lying About Townhall Attendance Like He Lies About His Accomplishments

Kirk sent this letter to members of my family thanking them for participating in his townhall meeting. You know, the one he ran by robo call during the time Dan Seals was on television in what was supposed to be a debate, but that Kirk would not attend. This letter claims that 5000 people attended that telephone townhall. BIG PROBLEM with that number. It apparently does not subtract the number of people who simply hung up on him as my family members did. If Kirk counted as an attendee every person to whom he sent this letter, he is overcounting.

He's also overstating his accomplishments including the saving of the veteran's hospital which veterans have told me was part of a larger deal involving other veterans hospitals in other states and involving many more people than just Kirk. We've already discussed the cleanup of Waukegan Harbor and how Kirk overstates the help he furnished.

Kirk has so few accomplishments, he has to embellish and overstate and downright lie about them. No reason to believe his count of the attendees of his robo call townhall.

What you get when you start a war for internal political reasons

It not subject to any serious or reasonable dispute that Bush started the war in Iraq for republican party politics and members of congress in the republican party, like Mark Kirk, supported that war for the same reasons. With all the variations in the articulated reasons for the war from non-existent WMD to non-existent protection to non-existent democracy, the only reason that holds water for this war is its use to help republicans keep power and break down constitutional checks and balances and First Amendment protections that could put any kind of limits on that power.

Now, we are seeing casualties in Iraq increase every day with this month being the worst. Many are saying that our upcoming election is causing the increase in violence.

Well, what do you expect when you start a war for purposes of controlling internal political matters? You get a war that is affected by and has an effect on our own internal politics.

Those who started, supported and benefitted from this "war for politics" should now answer to the families of all the soldiers who died or were injured in Iraq and even more so for the soldiers who died or were injured this month.

Arrogance of Power

Watching the Lake County candidate debate in Libertyville on Sunday reminded me of the phrase "the arrogance of power." Case in point, the current Lake County Clerk, Willard Helander. This is the same person who refused to let me not meet her in a parking lot on Sunday morning. However, that little incident was nothing but funny, the idea that a voter has the right to not meet a candidate never crossed Helander's mind. If US Congressman Mark Kirk has the right to not meet a constituent, I think a constituent has the right to not meet an office holder.

Anyway, things got far worse on Sunday afternoon during the debate.

Candidate Sharon Narrod brought up several problems in Helander's office that she, Narrod, considered to be ethical problems. I'll discuss two.

First, the robo calls. Narrod charged that Helander was making robo calls that seemed like early voting reminders from the clerk's official office. However, at the end of the call is an endorsement of a candidate of her own party and herself. Helander did not dispute this charge, but claimed that predecessors did the same thing. Difference that Helander did not point out was that she made her calls sound like a PSA for early voting in her official capacity as Clerk.

Second, Narrod brought up a lawsuit against Helander (Zessar v. Willard R. Helander, Lake County Clerk, Case No. 05 CH 1917) brought by a Lake County voter after the 2004 election. The case alleged that the plaintiff's absentee ballot was challenged, but he did not receive the postcard notifying him of the challenge until mid-January 2005 and his vote was not counted. Later all parties agreed that the ballot was erroneously rejected. Narrod revealed that in a press meeting taped and on the record, Helander said the case did not matter because it was dismissed as being moot. "Moot" in the legal sense means that the case is "without legal significance, through having been previously decided or settled". Helander was referring to a motion made on her behalf to declare the case moot because of recent changes to the applicable state law (PA 94-1000).

Problem was that the motion to determine mootness had not yet been decided when Helander made the comment to the press. Further problem was that the case was later determined to be not moot as can be seen in the Memorandum Opinion and Order in Case No. 05 CH 1917 dated October 10, 2006. The Court said that the case was not moot because of lingering questions regarding a pre-deprivation hearing for a challeged voter. Specifically, that an absent voter could be absent during the entire time before the Clerk's final canvass of votes and the details of conducting a pre-deprivation hearing, including the ability of local election authorities to provide a panel of election judges after the election to decide disputes.

At the time of the debate, Helander's motion was decided and the case declared not moot. So, needing a new way to deflect discussion of the issue, Helander passed it off as not being specific to her office. She said it affected every clerk and was not about her procedures. However, the case title is Zessar v. Willard R. Helander, Lake County Clerk. The facts of the case involve Mr. Zessar's ballot not counting in Lake County Illinois because of actions by the office of the clerk, specifically that the postcard notifying Zessar of the erroneous challege, although prepared on election night, was not timely received by Mr. Zessar (and the facts recited by the court in its Memorandum Opinion and Order dated March 13, 2006 explain what happened and it was not the post office, but preparation for a potential challenge by a republican candidate who lost and later decided not to challege his loss). Helander relied on the lack of details in the then applicable state law as a defense, and Zessar countered that the law then is not constitutional. None of that means that the case was not about what happened to Mr. Zessar's ballot in the office of the Lake County Clerk and the court takes a lot of time in its March 13, 2006 Order describing what happened in the Lake County Clerk's office which it would not have done if none of that mattered.

It should also be noted that, in the case, Helander claimed that the state should not require a post-election procedure to hear challeges to rejected absentee votes because it would be "an untenable burden." If counting all valid votes is too much of a burden for Helander, perhaps we should replace her with someone willing to make the effort.

Helander likes being Clerk, likes meeting people (I learned that up close and personal), and likes having the power to help her party as Clerk, but is not so keen on the actual work of the Clerk. Let's elect a Clerk who wants the job, not the power. That would be candidate Sharon Narrod.

Questions on Stay the Course: Does Bush Betray Kirk Or Is He Helping Him Out?

Do you think Mark Kirk feels betrayed by the President now seemingly abandoning "Stay the Course" when Kirk has been his standard bearer for the Stay the Course strategy?

Kirk's aid told a group of us who went to see him last September in DC that Kirk believed we should "stay the course". Then, the Herald recently reported:

Republican Congressman Mark Kirk voted to authorize the war in 2002, backs the Bush administration’s plans to stay the course by keeping troops in Iraq and says Iran and North Korea pose the next threat.

Now, Bush seems that maybe, he is abandoning the stay the course plan. Then sometimes he says otherwise. Now that the republicans are finding themselves in election trouble (because war trouble is of no concern to them), Bush is trying to create confusion. The folks who want to hear "stay the course" get to hear that and the folks who want to believe otherwise, hear otherwise.

Well, no confusion here in the Illinois Tenth where Kirk has been "stay the course" from the beginning and has never said otherwise. We can only vote on that basis here in the Illinois Tenth. But does Kirk feel betrayed by Bush in changing the message Kirk has stuck to so very loyally? Not a chance, he benefits from the confusion.

Rock the Vote--October 28, 2006

Bring a canned good for the Shields Township food pantry and Rock the Vote with Dan Seals on October 28, 2006, 8:30 PM Deer Path Middle School.

Back to Saturday in Waukegan with Dan Seals

Dan Seals answered questions at the rally. Now maybe that is not very rally-esq, but it is very Dan-esq. Dan is very responsive to the district and intends to stay that way when in office. He was very clear. He will reinstate the tradition this district has had of frequent Town Hall Meetings Mark Kirk has dropped.

People in Waukegan wanted to know what Dan could do for them. Dan looked at the long term and short term. In the long term, Dan wants to support the schools and make sure the area gets its share of impact aid. Dan said: "Schools are the heart of our community." To Dan, schools make families move in and employers employ. In the short term, Dan believes we need to stimulate growth by developing the lake front, making use of enterprise zones.

Another person asked about outsourcing. He was concerned that parents whose jobs are lost through outsourcing cannot provide the education for their children they wanted and expected to provide. Dan said that current tax policy encouraged companies to move their operations outside the US, but cautioned that changing that would not put an end to outsourcing. Dan said what we should focus on is planning for the jobs we will need in the future and becoming competitive. "India and China are not playing for second place." Dan said that smart choices would be to 1. invest in education not tied to one profession, but giving students the tools to adapt and add to their knowledge base; 2. invest in todays workers by helping them to sharpen their bankable skills; and 3. encourage industry to invest in technology and research and not just short term gains.

Dan also talked about Iraq and immigration. Immigration is a very big issue in Waukegan. Dan talked about the mixed messages we give immigrants, on the one hand offering them jobs and on the other criminalizing them. Mark Kirk's solution was earmarking funds for a wall, that is the $1.2 billion set aside to build 700 miles of fencing and barriers along the 2,000-mile southern border with Mexico. Dan did the math: 700 miles of fencing for a 2,000 mile border. Dan talked about a mature relationship with Mexico where they take some responsibility for the border too.

Dan shared the spotlight as other candidates had their chance to speak too. Mark Curran, candidate for Lake County Sheriff was there talking about his plan to clean up the sheriff's office, make it more responsive and more cost efficient. Sharon Narrod, candidate for Lake County Clerk (pictured above), discussed removing partisanship from the Clerks office and improvements necessary to make the Clerk's office more responsive to and proactive for county voters. Narrod also pointed out that there is only 1 early voting location in Waukegan and no early voting location in N. Chicago. Del Parra took his time to talk about Mark Kirk--the two faces of Mark Kirk--on the one hand he talks about uniting grandparents with children and on the other hand he supports the republican immigration program to keep them apart.

State Rep. Eddie Washington talked about how Kirk excludes Washington and his community and how Kirk did not really help on the impact aid and did not include Washington on those issues despite the impact on his district. Washington really struck me as a representative that fights for his district.

Others spoke as well. One man identified himself as someone who initially tried to work with Kirk, but saw as the Bush administration began to push the Iraq war, that Kirk's relationship with the Waukegan/N. Chicago community chilled. A veteran got up and talked about how our the troops in Iraq are being used to man checkpoints leaving them vulnerable to IEDs and sniper fire when Iraqi troops should be manning checkpoints because it is not a highly skilled job in the first place.

It was a rally again as Patricia Jones Waukegan Township Supervisor led the cheers for Dan and all the other candidates, but it was much more than a rally as Dan and the other candidates spoke seriously about issues and took all the questions folks had.

Someone asked where Mark Kirk was. He sure wasn't answering questions for the people of Waukegan. Democat's guess: he's still hiding under the bed.

Sunday morning with the republicans

I went to a candidate forum this morning at a synagogue where the republicans were out in force. Willard Helander practically chased me down the parking lot so as not to leave a voter unmet or unsold. Robert Skidmore running for treasurer was there touting the online real property tax payments, but he couldn't tell us why it costs so much in convenience fees to pay taxes online. It's a full 2% of our already very high Lake County taxes, not just some token flat fee. I don't know anyone who wants to pay that price to pay taxes online.

At the conclusion of the meeting, one of the men led the prayers. Everyone prayed that we should share our food that no one go hungry and that we should work for peace in the world. Since Mark Kirk has presided over one of the greatest shifts in wealth from the poor and middle class to the richest 1% of the country and is for the Iraq war, I cannot imagine anyone reading those prayers and voting for him.

Great Day Continued

Here's a picture from the Seals rally in Waukegan. Pictured up front are our candidates Del Parra for Lake County Board, Dan Seals for US Congress and Sharon Narrod for Lake County Clerk. The tall guy in the back is Lake County Sheriff candidate Mark Curran.

It was a great time in Waukegan, a town not used to visits by the republicans who have been ruling Lake County for a while now. They were very happy to see our candidates and tell them what is on their minds.

More on this later!

A Great Day when you can vote for a great person and friend, Sharon Narrod

Today is already a great day for me. I voted. One of the votes that made me extremely happy and proud to make was my vote for Sharon Narrod for Lake County Clerk. I first met Sharon in 2003 and have been friends with her ever since.

Sharon is a terrific choice for Lake County Clerk for many reasons. Here are a few:

First, she is meticulous. I don't know too many other people with such an attention for detail. That is important for the clerks position because it is in charge of the vote and all the details for making sure the vote is fair and accurate.

Second, Sharon is a former school teacher and the school teacher in her will not allow her to be anything other than fair.

Third, Sharon is curious and knowledgeable. She is very aware of the voting technologies and the pros and cons of them and best practices for a clerk's office. She is always looking into the new issues and making sure she understands the details.

Fourth, Sharon is a caring person. I was not feeling well one day and had scheduled a movie watching event at my house. I started to call people to cancel, but Sharon did not want me to be unwell alone and came over anyway, with food. That meant a lot to me.

Fifth, Sharon loves our country. She loves democracy as more than just an idea, but a living and breathing way to live our lives.

Sharon Narrod won't let us down as Lake County Clerk and that is one of the major reasons I rushed out to vote for her this morning.

The other reason....pictured with Sharon above.... ;-)

Octobers

On October 20, 1973, Richard Nixon fired independent special prosecutor independent special prosecutor Archibald Cox, and the forced Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus to resign all to protect him from the Watergate investigation. This October, here in 2006, it's another republican trying to protect himself from investigation. From Think Progress:

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerry Lewis (R-CA) has abruptly suspended the contracts of “60 investigators who had worked for his committee rooting out fraud, waste and abuse, effective immediately.” The investigators were “brought on to handle the extraordinary level of fraud investigations facing the panel.”

Lewis is being investigated as part of the Duke Cunningham investigation, steering earmarks and such:

Lowery's firm has collected millions of dollars in lobbying fees from public institutions and businesses that received money through the House Appropriations Committee that Lewis chairs. Lowery, in turn, arranged hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations to Lewis' political causes.

See this too:

The UNION TRIBUNE has a source inside the federal investigation that is putting together the case against Lewis and they say there is no doubt that Lewis has been consistently steering earmarks towards "certain entities" that were steering a great deal of cash towards a certain right-wing Republican congressman, namely Jerry Lewis.

Mark Paul of the Tenth District drew my attention to the Lewis firings and scandal and reminded us that Mark Kirk is on the Appropriations Committee. Paul said:

Let's not ask Kirk what he'll do about it. Too late for that. Let's simply tag him as a guy who hung around and apparently saw nothing. Yet another version of the empty suit.

And let's not forget, Cunningham and Ney will be collecting their pensions even while the government is taking care of their room & board. Yet another bill Kirk likes to take credit for that never made it into law, where it matters.

Paul is right about Kirk who simply doesn't care what corruption goes on in his party so long as the money is there for his re-election campaign. Well, I don't think Richard Nixon's finest moment was on October 20, 1973 and that action was nothing to emulate...or sit silently by while being emulated.

Open Thread

Blogger comments have been having some problems, so here's an open thread for you to spill.

One Year of BAPCRAPA

It's been one year since the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2005 went into effect. You might remember that the Act was titled: Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA). The Chicago bankruptcy bar has changed the acronym to BAPCRAPA because that is their opinion of the law. Others have another name for it.

Sure, you could pass it off as sour grapes. Bankruptcies fell off after the effective date of October 17, 2005. However, bankruptcies are again on the rise and, even with their business booming once again, the bankruptcy bar is still mad. It's not the lost business. It's the lousy law.

Congress overhyped the bill so they could look like they were doing something for us when they were really just doing something for another industry of campaign contributors. In reality, the law is expensive for both debtors and taxpayers; it is riddled with mistakes and vagaries and courts are having a lot of trouble figuring out what it all is supposed to mean.

First, there was the surprise, or the non-surprise, that the vast majority of bankruptcy cases are filed by people who really need to file bankruptcy, people with medical bills and job loss. It seems that only a very small percentage of cases are failing the means test. The high incomes and expenses in many major metropolitan areas increase the averages used for the test and people in rural areas are getting the benefit.

Then, rather than decreasing bankruptcy costs and getting more creditors fully paid, more money is going toward additional costs and fees. There is pre-petition and post-petition counseling to pay for, the additional record keeping costs for debtors and their employers and attorneys and there are the additional attorneys fees to sort it all out. Taxpayers are paying for the increased case load and difficulty the courts are having in deciphering the law.

One of the favorite discussion points for bankruptcy lawyers and judges is what they are calling the "hanging paragraph". It's at the end of Section section 1325(a)(9). No one can figure out what it means because no one can figure out to which part of the subsection it was meant to apply. The law is riddled with similar problems and judges are getting mad that congress has left them this mess to clean up. Other anomalies have led to creditors actually getting less money.

Another problem is the lack of flexibility leading to bad results because the new law stripped bankruptcy judges of all discretion in favor of a means test formula. A mere mistake of one day in obtaining a credit counseling certificate can force a dismissal. It is also now more difficult for a debtor to keep an asset by keeping up the payments.

The real bankruptcy problem in this country was and still is easy credit. Lenders are making a bundle on it so congress had no intention of touching it.

Congress wrote a lousy law that is ineffective, costing us a bundle and hurting people in need. Mark Kirk voted for it, so he probably should be fired like any employee who has done a lousy job.

Say hi to the Thinker

Say hi to The Thinker!

Concern for the Constitution and Balance in Deerfield

Wednesday night I attended a non-partisan political discussion on the issues. There was a speaker, but most interesting to me were the comments and questions from the crowd. One woman made an impassioned speech about the Bush administration "trashing the Constitution." She was particularly concerned about the signing statements Bush is using to avoid the check and balance of the legislative branch. The lack of balance in our government was a big issue at the event. There is a general concern that one party has been too entrenched in all branches and for too long a time.

One man, a WWII veteran from the British army stationed in Africa, made the point that he thought after WWII there would never be another war. Then, there was Korea and Vietnam and now the war in Iraq, which is a war like we have not seen before. He is now convinced we need a woman president to end our long cycle of war.

Another person brought up the issue of Israel. It was pointed out (and not even by me as I was on a listening campaign) that the Kirk campaign seems to be misrepresenting Dan Seals position on Israel and that it is incumbent upon all of us to make sure we know the candidate's positions on the issues. Yet another person brought up the concern that the 18-21 year olds do not seem to be engaged and do not vote. With all the trouble in the world and the potential for an eventual draft, one woman said she would think the young people should be very concerned about the issues and the election.

Folks seemed very disappointed that Mark Kirk would not participate in more debates with Dan Seals. Sure they get it that the incumbent doesn't want to give a challenger any face time, but they were more concerned with the need for the public to be informed and the general feeling was that all candidates have a duty to the public to engage in public debates to fully discuss the issues.

Finally, the largest concern voiced by the group was the lack of governing. As one attendee pointed out, the government seems to exist more for its own re-election rather than the every day decision making and implementation for the good of the country.

I think the folks in Deerfield are concerned about that "blank check drawn against our own freedom" handed to Bush and based on lies (do click on this link and read Keith Olbermann's Special Comment on the end of habeas corpus--yup--the end of the ancient natural right of man and woman--the one that Mark Kirk willingly threw away in his vote for the Military Commissions Act-- and its consequences).

Now, they sit in Deerfield and hope for balance.

Time to stop hoping and get out the vote.

The difference

A Majority Watch independent poll is calling the Seals/Kirk race a dead heat at 44/46 with a margin of error +/- 3.09% and a sample size of 1,004. So, what does Dan Seals do? He goes on WTTW Ch 11 with Phil Ponce to explain his positions on the issues to the public with a chance for an educated, well-informed moderator to ask questions.

What does Mark Kirk do?

He push polls, misrepresenting Dan's positions on Israel and Medicare D, and continues to hide under the bed refusing to face Seals but once and refusing to answer questions on Iraq, while casualties in his war for nothing mount.

..and Kirk's war keeps rolling on

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE: Watch this 1947 PSA about right wing racism and divisiveness making our country less secure.

UPDATE UPDATE: The Bush legacy will be militarized space. John F. Kennedy rolls in his grave.

We believe that when men reach beyond this planet, they should leave their national differences behind them.~~John F. Kennedy

UPDATE: Ten more soldiers killed in Iraq yesterday.

*****************************

Per CNN:

The death toll for coalition military forces in Iraq hit 3,000 Monday, according to a CNN tally.

The combined death toll includes 2,759 U.S. troops and seven American civilian contractors of the military.

and

don't forget the 655,000 Iraqi dead

and

the girl blogger known as Riverbend from Baghdad Burning has not blogged since August 05, 2006. Many fear she is dead or missing. If you have not read Baghdad Burning, you owe it to yourself and your country to do so. When last she left us, she was talking about the freedoms taken away from her as a woman and the goodbyes between friend and relatives who have finally decided to leave Iraq.

Kirk's "stay the course" Iraq policy was, apparently, a bad idea after all.

The Iraq Study Group (ISG), headed by James Baker, a former Secretary of State in president George H Bush's government, is expected to advise the current president to change his policy.

We tried to tell him last year, but he just laughed at us by proxy. His scheduler laughed at our group while on the phone with him and his aid stonewalled us and repeating "stay the course". Problem with stay the course was that it was creating more terrorists.

Our energy policy that does little more than subsidize the oil industry? The energy policy that Kirk voted for? It created more terrorists by funding them.

Kirk was one of the original most constant advocates of Bush's Iraq policy. He has said "stay the course" for years and will only depart from that when Bush says otherwise, but Bush vows to stay. So, a vote for Kirk is a vote to stay the course against the advice of both Democrats and republicans.

Mark Kirk, Push Polling for Votes

Apparently, so desperate for a poll that shows him in any sort of lead, Mark Kirk is push polling.

A push poll is where, using the guise of opinion polling, disinformation about a candidate or issue is planted in the minds of those being 'surveyed'. Push-polls are designed to shape, rather than measure, public opinion.

Push polling is not considered polling by the American Association of Political Consultants. Here is their statement on push polling. Here's a quote from that statement:

The AAPC Board urges the news media [that would probably include the News-Sun] and the public to take note of these distinctions and to refrain from characterizing persuasion or advocacy phone calling as "polling." These two campaign services are totally different and should not be confused with each other.

Push polling brought us those most famous stretches of truth beyond the imagination like McCain fathering an illegitimate black child (adopted Bangladeshi daughter) and John Kerry had an affair (ah...bad timing, the prostate cancer operation got in the way). Since the president, Kirk's leader, became famous for his push polling, I guess it is not beneath the dignity of a US congressman to use this most notorious of tactics to win his re-election. The truth wouldn't work for Kirk here because it shows how out of touch he is with his own district what with votes to put extremist religion in government, votes against the environment, votes to end Fourth Amendment protections. Maybe Kirk and his wife should move back to the district so they can get to know us again. DC is a lot farther away from the Illinois Tenth than a couple of blocks in Wilmette.

Gadzooks! Ellen's Blogging Football

All the men I know, and most of the women, are rolling on the floor laughing about now, but here's my blog about football and I am somewhat qualified (maybe) because left you will see my Most Valuable Player football trophy (really).

Well, I watched that game from the beginning to a few minutes after the Bears made the extra point that put them in the lead. In the first quarter, the media team calling the game spoke the praises of Matt Leinart, the Arizona quarterback. They said if he could get the ball down the field just once, like he did in the first quarter, then he'd be a huge football hero and his career would skyrocket. Then, he did just that. Then, he did it again several more times and Arizona went up on the scoreboard while the Bears gave up a bunch of turnovers. Then, expectations went up and the Monday Night Football guys started talking about Arizona actually beating the Bears and every mistake of Leinarts became the worst mistake in the world.

Finally, one of the Bears defensive players, Urlacher I believe, made up his mind he was not going to lose to the Arizona Cardinals. The Bears started to turn it around and eventually Leinart became, not the hero, but the goat. Then, afterward the Arizona coach melted down in front of the media and they are laughing at him this morning. Poor guy. His team was the better of the two at least last night, and Matt Leinart was terrific, but just couldn't hold out till the end or overcome Urlacher's will to win and. Of course, the media had to tear Leinart down and running the Bears down the field just once like they originally claimed would make him a hero was not enough. Pundits and fans are fickle and in our society it is whether you win or lose, not how you play the game.

Voters are fickle too and sadly republican leaders stop short of nothing to win, but this time voters know their votes are for real and the continuation of America as land of the free home of the brave depends on them. Voters know they need to study all the issues and make thoughful decisions, not spur of the moment off the top of their head decisions like the sports pundits who called last night's game and turned Leinart from hero to goat in under 3 hours.

Early voting began yesterday and runs through November 2. The election is on November 7.

Dan's commercial looked great and Dan looked his adorable self.

No Surprise That The Elite Ruling Class Also Lied To Their Religious Base

Charges by David Kuo, former deputy director of the White House Office of Faith-Based Initiatives, that the Bush administration used evangelical Christians for votes and then privately mocked them and intentionally broke promises made to them, are no surprise. The ruling republicans have been very clear that they see themselves as an elite ruling class subject to no rules, not even the rules they make for us. Their mockery of the religion they claim to champion is just par for the course. They swore to uphold the Constitution and immediately broke that pledge.

In the Tenth District, there are many faithful, but separation of church and state is still one of our major issues. Both the religious and not so religious people that I have met fear that our country is moving away from the separation of church and state that contributed to our nations peace and prosperity. They fear that their beliefs and observance will come under the control of government bureaucrats making decisions about prayer in our public schools and government sanctioned religious observance and they fear that extremist beliefs will be imposed upon them. Some worry about how gag orders on birth control and abortion hurt women's heath worldwide and others decry ending federal funding for stem cell research, yet others bring up the proposed control over every aspect of our lives from birth to death.

While wrapped in the Christian bible claiming a religious agenda, this holy-er-than-thou group is busy lying and disobeying our Constitution and laws to push their less than less than holy agenda of power brokering, war, racism and divisiveness. We can call it hypocrisy, but it is far more dangerous than simple hypocrisy. It's using the deeply rooted beliefs of people to manipulate them into the very totalitarian government the fight against which is their birthright.

Mark Kirk claims to be a moderate, claims a "passion" for separation of church and state, and attempts to divorce himself from the religious extremes of his party through token safe votes. However, he does not escape the religious extremism and manipulation of his party because he votes with them far more than he votes with his district. Kirk voted to have the government intervene in the care of a brain dead woman, voted to spend federal education dollars on religious schools, voted to purchase land with federal money for the purpose of maintaining a large Christian cross, voted for a national day of prayer, voted for religious discrimination in federally funded programs and voted for the very faith based intitatives that Kuo claims he used to get out the vote for republicans.

Kirk is no different than the fake religious ruling elite of his party that manipulate their base through religion. Kirk claims to champion the moderation and separation favored in our district and then rejects it in his actions and his votes.

Dan Seal's Television Debut During Monday Night Football--Go Bears!!

Dan's dad was a Chicago Bear from 1965 to 1971 (rookie card left), so it's only fitting that Dan makes his television advertising debut on Monday night Bears football.

For those of you unused to following Monday Night Football, it's on tonight on Channel 7 between 7:30 and 10:30 p.m.

Seals Television Ads Start Today