UIUC College Dems

Who will Chair the County Board?

2006-12-04T15:30:00.000-08:00

The Champaign County Board will swear in its new members tonight at its organizational meeting. The board will also elect a new Chair, who will serve a two year term. The position of Champaign County Board Chair is a quasi-full time job and pays $30,000 a year. The chair has considerable influence, most importantly the power to appoint members of county boards such as the CUMTD and the Public Health District.

Who will be the new boss? Will it be the same as the old boss? (yes I couldn't resists The Who lyric). As of the time of this post, it looks like this will be the vote breakdown on the first ballot: 12 votes for Republican John Jay (there are 12 members of the Republican caucus), 11 votes for former County Board Vice Chair Tony Fabri (the Democratic caucus minus the Wysocki crew), and 4 votes for incumbent Chair Barb Wysocki (Wysocki, Beckett, McGinty and newcomer Carrie Melin).

It takes a majority, 14 votes, to win election as Chair. That means there will be a deadlock after one round of voting. That means there will have to be some kind of compromise. Either the Wysocki crew will swing their votes to Jay and have a GOP Chair preside over a Democratic controlled board, or they will come to their senses and vote for Fabri, the duly elected choice of the Democratic caucus.

What will happen? It's still anyone's guess at this point, but I should have an update later tonight.

copy/paste

2006-04-15T15:27:00.000-07:00

Your liberal media...

2006-04-12T07:35:00.000-07:00

ON MAY 29, 2003, 50 days after the fall of Baghdad, US President George Bush proclaimed a fresh victory for his Administration in Iraq: two small trailers captured by US troops were long-sought mobile "biological laboratories". He declared: "We have found the weapons of mass destruction."

The claim, repeated by top Bush Administration officials for months afterwards, was hailed as a vindication of the decision to go to war. But even as Mr Bush spoke, US intelligence officials possessed powerful evidence that it was not true.[Link]

George W. Bush is a liar.

Although legal experts agree that the president has broad authority to declassify information, there are limits. For example, it is unclear whether a president can override laws designed to protect certain categories of sensitive information, such as a 1982 statute that makes it unlawful to expose the identity of an undercover CIA officer.[Link]

So were trusting this guy to conduct unwarranted wiretaps when he declassifies sensitive information to silence critics even though Wilson was correct and endangering an operative tracking Iranian WMDs? Nepotism had nothing to do with Wilson's assignment, unlike George W. Bush's entire Presidency.

The notion that President Bush held unrealistic or naïve views about the consequences of war was further advanced recently by a Bush supporter, the evangelist Pat Robertson, who revealed that Bush had told him the Iraq invasion would yield no casualties. In addition, in recent days, high-ranking US military officials have complained that the White House did not provide them with adequate resources for the task at hand.
...
“He told me that as a leader, you can never admit to a mistake,” Herskowitz said. “That was one of the keys to being a leader.”[Link]

We have a LUNATIC for a President.

And then we'll get to the bottom of this and move on. But I want to tell you something -- leaks of classified information are a bad thing. And we've had them -- there's too much leaking in Washington. That's just the way it is. And we've had leaks out of the administrative branch, had leaks out of the legislative branch, and out of the executive branch and the legislative branch, and I've spoken out consistently against them and I want to know who the leakers are.[Link]

Well we sure have gotten to the bottom of it haven't we? George W. Bush is willing to do anything to avoid being held accountable. He puts his person and party over reality while the Right-Wing noise machine and lazy traditional media prevent the American people from ever knowing the truth.

3.31.06

2006-03-30T22:08:00.000-08:00

-So is it Kossacks or Bush who live in a bubble?
-Great satire series at DailyKos.
-Jill Carroll is released then savaged by a lunatic.
-Cool animations about how blue our country is becoming.
-Insurgents in Iraq continue aim at soft targets.
-Seems more like an idol of crass consumerism than pro-life sculpture to me.

3.28.06

2006-03-28T11:03:00.000-08:00

-Bush's chief of staff resigns.
-The immigration bill moving to the Senate has lost much of its teeth.
-Jack Abramoff to be sentenced tomorrow.
-McCain is snuggling up to Jerry Falwell, what a political hack.
-Emptywheel gives a great run-down of the role of pseudonyms in American history.
-PastorDan is promising to take the airwaves back from religious extremists.
-Homeland security is working hard for the pharmaceutical companies.
-We now have a party chairman who will hold Republicans accountable for their actions, which is somehow controversial.

copy/paste update:

2006-03-28T10:31:00.000-08:00

Today: at 8:00pm in 213 Greg Hall, Illini PAC is holding a panel on the Israeli elections (also on March 28th). There will be a debate between the three candidates for Prime Minister of Israel (people playing them obviously) and a vote among audience members.

Wednesday: at 8:00pm in 210 Illini Union, a team of College Democrats will debate a team of College Republicans on a wide range of national issues, from Iraq to Social Security. Come cheer on your fellow Democrats!

A day you will forget in the not too distant future: The Annual College Dems Spring Bar Crawl will be on Thursday, April 6th, we'll send out the schedule next week. The t-shirts will be $10 and will be black. The back will feature an FDR campaign poster promoting his opposition to prohibition and will say "Democrats: The party that ended prohibition" and "celebrating the 73rd anniversary of the 21st amendment." If you would like to order a shirt, please e-mail your size to Jake ( smallhor@uiuc.edu).

Election Results: Well it was a good day for incumbents, boring for us blogger underdogs.

Governor- Rod Blagojevich
Treasurer- Alexi Giannoulias
Cook County Board President- John Stroger
3rd District Congress- Dan Lipinski
6th District Congress- Tammy Duckworth
14th District Congress- John Laesch

What it's like to be poor

2006-03-26T16:35:00.000-08:00

It's hard to sleep at night. Your mind is so anxious with burning thoughts of how to survive can only be calmed by substances, preferable a $1.70 40 oz. of Ice House. Being poor doesn't justify violence, stealing, or vandalism but it affects every action you take. It weighs on your mind like a burden, it forces a fatalism onto your every thought and spoken word. It means walking your sneakers thin and wearing whatever you raided from Old Navy's clearance rack for years. You cling to all your possessions and your past because it's all you have.

Your dreams are haunted with scenarios that you awake from relieved that it's just your weary imagination. But then reality hits and it's little better. You're always on the brink, waiting for the next disaster that if it doesn't kill you, desensitizes you even more. Thankfully, for now, living in poverty in America still provides many comforts, food is plentiful and cheap, the police guard your safety, there are public libraries, and tv or radio to inform and entertain. You probably don't have a car, so you either adventure to work, school, or the store on unreliable, time-consuming public transportation; walk yourself scrawny, or car pool. Car pooling forces you to associate at work with whoever is friendly enough to take you, but most likely your fast-food job has a turn-over rate so high that soon you'll fell like a car-whore. High-turnover jobs force you to become desensitized to the coming and going of the new same-old-face as they come and go.

But maybe instead of working retail of fast-food you're a janitor, which is like being a better paid but less glamorous house-wife: you're only acknowledged when you mess up. If you're paid by the hour but improve your inefficiency you take home less pay, and for some reason it's physically strenuous jobs like Fed-Ex package handling that don't offer health-care.

Human beings are social animals, and that doesn't change when you're poor. We spend to conform in an attempt to feel secure and live comfortably among friends. The poor like everyone make stupid choices in an attempt to fit-in. It's hard having to see the upper-middle class norm in tv shows, magazines, and movies and not become hopelessly envious which clouds our decisions. It's equally hard to watch people drown in New Orleans or come back from Iraq minus a limb and resist the urge to give what little you have to charity when it may mean missing your rent. Our generosity and weaknesses are scientifically exploited by advertisers who prey upon our insecurities and desires. You slap "all natural" or "reinvested directly back" on anything and it's hard for me to resist buying even if it costs an extra dollar that I really shouldn't be paying.

Money is the prime tension between broken families and marriages, and it's not hard to imagine why (except to the Bush dynasty I'm sure). Living with limited resources forces one to adopt a de-facto Social Darwinism philosophy that no matter how hard you try to combat keeps being proved true again and again. You calculate a parents love by comparing what they do for you compared to another sibling. It makes men feel impotent and any sexual act becomes an expression of frustration rather than love. All your social relationships are affected. Any friendship will naturally wane when you can't go out to eat or on that even-modest spring-break trip when others can. Soon you feel like a parasite and act out, hyper-defensively, to prove you aren't, straining the friendship even more. If you ever do crawl out of poverty you wonder if one of the countless friends that disappeared from your life will one day turn-up on your porch to ask for some ridiculous favor. You fear the nightly-sirens are coming for a friend who crossed that precarious line between desperate and criminal. People wonder why you don't talk about yourself and its because you'll just depress them and yourself.

And even though you might be white, strait, and male you too know what it's like to be pre-judged negatively when your credit card bounces at the grocery store or you're flagged and followed at Wal-Mart by "disguised" security guards because of your worn-out clothes. And it makes you fear taking control of your life and planning your future because your past is full of disaster. You lack job-skills because your family didn't have that spare computer to tinker with. Your public school is full of both wonderful teachers and those who couldn't care less about you because they have their own problems, let alone whatever potentially violent adventures you might face walking home or on the playground that day.

And from the comments of Booman Tribune, you can find the original essay here:

Being poor is getting tired of people wanting you to be grateful.

Being poor is knowing you're being judged.

Being poor is a box of crayons and a $1 coloring book from a community center Santa.

Being poor is checking the coin return slot of every soda machine you go by.

Being poor is deciding that it's all right to base a relationship on shelter.

Being poor is knowing you really shouldn't spend that buck on a Lotto ticket.

Being poor is hoping the register lady will spot you the dime.

Being poor is feeling helpless when your child makes the same mistakes you did, and won't listen to you beg them against doing so.

Being poor is a cough that doesn't go away.

Being poor is making sure you don't spill on the couch, just in case you have to give it back before the lease is up.

Being poor is a $200 paycheck advance from a company that takes $250 when the paycheck comes in.

Being poor is four years of night classes for an Associates of Art degree.

Being poor is a lumpy futon bed.

Being poor is knowing where the shelter is.

Being poor is people who have never been poor wondering why you choose to be so.

Being poor is knowing how hard it is to stop being poor.

Being poor is seeing how few options you have.

Being poor is running in place.

Being poor is people wondering why you didn't leave.

This is the sad reality of our current system:

Being poor means having to pay your bills with money orders because all the banks have you blacklisted and won't let you open a checking account.

Being poor means having to pay a fee to a check-cashing service because you can't open that checking account.

Being poor means having to pay your car insurance bill monthly, including the $3 service charge that you wouldn't have to pay if you could pay the whole bill at once.

Being poor means late charges.

Being poor means higher interest rates.

Being poor means no sick days; if you don't go to work, you don't get paid.

Being poor means having to pay a $50 fine becuase you got a ticket for a busted muffler that you couldn't afford to fix in the first place.

Being poor means throwing mud on your license plates because you couldn't afford to renew them on time, and hoping that you don't get stopped in a roadblock.

Being poor means higher heating bills because you live in poorly-insulated housing.

Ides of March

2006-03-15T15:46:00.000-08:00

-So basically the Government now has Googles sex searches, which lord knows what they're going to do with it. If they really are just using it to prevent children from accessing pornography then I suppose it's a good thing. Especially considering this DISGUSTING revelation (gee I wonder why they acted now?). Imagine having those leaked to your mom!
-Disputed number of Iraqi's killed.
-Problems with our only 9-11 Trial, thank goodness bin Laden promised to save us the trouble (good I say, since I oppose capital punishment).
-Read this.
-Why I love the internet.
-Bush caught in another war exaggeration (at least).
-Heh, Clooney's post explained.
-Support Feingold's censure.

Gill's volunteer appreciation night:

2006-03-12T17:47:00.000-08:00

Last night I attended the Dr. David Gill Volunteer Appreciation night at our Champaign office. David Gill is an emergency room physician running to unseat Rep. Tim Johnson in IL-15. In true grassroots fashion we're making the most of our money and energy even though "political insiders" don't think it's a winnable race. But progressives must stand up for their beliefs in every district, we know no "red state/blue state". So that's what we're doing.

We had some pizza, ate some brownies/frozen peaches, soda, and watched Outfoxed. I unknowingly took the last slice of pizza, but hey, ya snooze you lose (my finances are such that I rarely pass up free food). I'd say at one point there were maybe 30 people there, basically 4 seniors, a middle age couple, and about 20-25 of us college kids. After the movie the room naturally divided into those below 25 and those not, except a women who deals with healthcare issues in the area approached us and began asking us questions about local politics. She was very smart and at one point commented "What do people under 25 see their role as in a future neo-conservative world?" Well I gave a lot of thought to that and basically my answer is: either you're a lawyer, engineer, in the military or you're a bitch. Boy, I hope we never reach such a world! My thoughts on Outfoxed below...

I hadn't seen Outfoxed, I prefer "objective" to propaganda documentaries, although if I remember correctly the film's directors did try to interview Fox executives (still, it's not like that's they only "pro-Fox" source you could get). But Fox played with fire, so they were just asking to get burned. The film is basically setting up Bill O'Reilly and his lesser cohorts at Fox to look stupid or maniacal, but that's what Fox has been doing to it's competition for years and all is fair in love and war. The film inspired a new understanding of people like Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, and Ann Coulter.

Basically you have these people who wake up, read the newspaper or watch those cheesy Morning News shows, then write an opinion on whatever they find distasteful (it's not like this would even be hard...). They then go to their radio show and repeat the same opinion, then their Cable TV show and repeat the same message, and that's in between their book tours which are just a collection of those same opinions. They have a large, collectively-wealthy, niche who can comfortably support all their advertisers and buy their books! They've created this niche by basically demonizing 49% of Americans, but what I just don't get is what do these people have to be so upset by? I remember Ann Coulter writing something along the lines "I wish I was doing as well as Cindy Sheehan" financially. But if I had to guess, I'd say Ann Coulter is already more wealthy than Sheehan will ever be. No wonder her biggest concern is Islamic terrorism, she's made a career on personally provoking it! Mean while the rest of us who aren't worthy of making millions for simply repeating our formulaic opinions over and over, again, have to worry about other things in addition to Israel and Iran. You know like school loans, depleted uranium and health care.

I really liked O'Reilly's line "Hey, I believe in global warming," it struck me with the sincerity of "I'm not homophobic I read Andrew Sullivan." Conservatives attitudes toward energy alternatives to oil and nuclear power basically amounts to "why bother?" Well we have to start some time and just imagine if conservatives got half as excited about energy inventions as compared to latest way to bomb a country into a democracy. I was also struck by just how boyishly charming George W. Bush can be, I had never seen some of that footage. Like O'Reilly and his ego-maniac ilk, I too like to write my opinions into my writing, but unlike them, I enjoy being corrected where I'm mistaken and my personal rants edited by others where they seem to think their opinions are beyond reproach. It's definitely worth renting or buying.

3.10.06

2006-03-10T15:56:00.000-08:00

When she's on she's on, Cindy Sheehan has a great diary at Daily Kos about her recent UN protest:
Why was I targeted for the abuse? Is it revenge for my work at exposing the lies of BushCo, of which John Bolton is a leading co-criminal? Or is it to discourage other activists from taking the same path I have taken: demanding an end to the illegal and immoral occupation of Iraq, and demanding that our freedoms be returned to us? I wish the Senate had the courage to stand up to the fascists in our government--or are the 90 who voted "Yea" to extend the Patriot Act also co-slitherers into fascism?
...
When we were in the cockroach and feces-decorated jail system in NYC the other night, we met some other women who felt they had to resort to crime to try to survive in BushWorld. We met intelligent young women who felt their last resort was to resort to victimless crimes. Now for their petty thefts, they will have to spend months in institutions where they are stripped of any human dignity or comfort. All of the women we met knew they broke the law and were resigned to their punishment but where is the justice in our system where all people are supposedly equal?

However, we four white, middle-class women were the lucky ones. We only had to spend one night in jail and we knew our lawyers would be there in the morning to spring us. When we were heading for court, we walked by our sisters in the holding cell and our hearts sank, because we know what it is like to spend even one night in jail. Our souls also connected with our sisters and brothers all over the world who are imprisoned in far worse conditions by the policies of BushCo and are being inhumanely tortured by these same medieval and draconian policies.

Even if John Bolton, L. Paul Bremer, George Bush, Halliburton execs, etc. ad nauseum are ever punished, we all know the conditions won't be (but should be) as harsh as those of the other people who live in subhuman conditions because of them. These people operate on the standard of having all the money and all the power and they don't care for anyone who they victimize on their way to obtaining their obscene and ill-gotten gains.

UIUC Democracy for America's latest newsletter makes clear why any one who actually values lives other than their own should vote Democrat in the fall.

There have been some incredible Daily Kos diaries the last couple days:
Urban Education, Slate sucks, Iran summary, georgia10 slaps Melhman, and I dug up this gem.
~~I actually found a great Pajama's~~ media story (I guess he's not with Pajama's)last week.
Great tag.

Illinois Gov Primary

2006-03-09T22:10:00.000-08:00

So I thought I'd let everyone know about Edwin Eisendrath who's running to replace Blago as the Democratic candidate for Governor. He's really an amazing guy, here's an excerpt from a Daily Kos diary:

On state funding of the education budget, Eisendrath wants to increase education revenues by $2 billion by diversifying the tax base. Currently most education revenues come from property taxes, which he believes is not only detrimental to the business environment, but creates a school funding gap from wealthy to poor areas. By using the state's general fund, education would be paid for from all state revenue sources, thereby providing broader funding distribution, and ensuring that schools in economically depressed areas are not short changed just because they are in neighborhoods with low property values. Eisendrath also pointed out that he was once a Chicago public school teacher. In fact, much of his professional career has been in the educational and public service fields.

After graduating Harvard University, Eisendrath taught in the public schools of Chicago, spent 8 years as an alderman on the city council, and was involved in the creation of the "Clybourn Corridor," one of the most successful commercial areas in the Midwestern US. He was appointed by President Bill Clinton to be Midwest Regional Director for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, where he oversaw the task of cleaning up the corrupted Chicago Housing Authority. By the time Eisendrath was finished, the Chicago Housing Authority received its first "clean audit" in more a decade. By his tone, you tell could it was something he takes great pride in. He now works as a college administrator, and pointed out that the IT director of his college, an Illinois National Guardsman, was just called up to serve in Iraq. He also stated emphatically that he has always been against the war and can see the toll it is taking among the Illinois National Guard.

So when are we going to invade Iran?

2006-03-09T11:41:00.000-08:00

From Intel Dump:

And, incredibly, Bush was re-elected based on the impression that he was better at national security. War with Iran is now increasingly likely, and war with Iran risks the very survival of our republic. All because 19 guys with box-cutters flew some planes into some buildings, and people who have never known fear got scared.

Well here we are, 3 years later with a fresh new war for BushCo to frighten people into voting Republican in the mid-term elections. It's interesting that those of us who opposed the Iraq war from the beginning were implicated as racists who didn't believe Iraq could achieve democracy. Even though last time I checked, it's people who think they can benevolently bestow democracy on other cultures they don't even understand who are probably racist, or at the very least completely ignorant.

If we were to begin a war of choice 3 years ago it would have made much more sense to support the once rising pro-US youth of Iran, but no doubt Bush has shredded whatever respect Iranian reformers had for the United States. If only Iran had Iraq's oil reserves, we'd probably be there already, but heaven forbid they develop nuclear power to you know, power hospitals and schools and stuff, Bush just can't allow that!

2.21.06

2006-02-21T13:07:00.000-08:00

-Hilarious, now you too can become a Republican.
-Smoking Gun unearths this great guy.
-Why I fear the future...gotta stop sitting behind a computer after a few beers...
-George W. Bush threatens his possible first veto.
-We have created a monster.
-Favorite blog I found this week: Post an Apology

So has anyone mentioned that...

2006-02-19T14:36:00.000-08:00

Justin is running for Student Senate?

Does anyone know what his platform is? Replacing the "Chief" with Paul Konerko? That's my hope.

Sunday Morning Comics:

2006-02-18T22:20:00.000-08:00

(click on image to enlarge)

Sutton Impact:

Minimum Security:

Tom the Dancing Bug:

Wonkette:

This Modern World:

Frerichs Launches Website

2006-02-18T19:18:00.000-08:00

Champaign County Auditor Mike Frerichs of rural Gifford, the Democratic candidate for Illinois State Senate, has officially launched his campaign website.

TV Ad Wars

2006-02-17T10:24:00.000-08:00

Well it's officially primary campaign season now that the TV ad wars have begun. Here's the UIUC College Dems analysis of the various ads:

Bill Brady- The "tough on termites" reference is a little bizarre and slightly confusing, but overall this is pretty good ad. The message is good and Brady is telegenic. The question is how many more of these wil Brady be able to pay for? Overall grade: B+

Judy Baar Topinka- This ad is highly conventional, but I think it will be fairly effective. Topinka reminds GOP voters that she is by far the most experienced candidate, touts her fiscal conservatism, attacks the governor, and speaks directly into the camera. There's also a good shot of her with Jim Edgar. Overall grade: B+

Ron Gidwitz- Gidwitz had poured millions into TV ads over the last six months and most of them have been unimpressive: too flashy, not enough substance, unattractive graphics. The newest ad stands out because it is the first by any candidate to go negative on Topinka. The claims are a bit shaky and Gidwitz has gotten some negative media coverage over this, but if seen by enough GOP voters the ad may reinforce some of their apprehensions about Judy. Overall grade: C+

Rod Blagojevich- The governor has finally admitted that he's running for reelection with the launch of his first TV ad yesterday. At 60 seconds it's a tad long and the tone could be more upbeat, but the message is clear and presents an image of a strong record. His mea culpa is also a good preemptive move. Overall grade: A-

Edwin Eisendrath- He may be a first time statewide candidate and his campaign is underfunded, but even conceding those two points, this ad is just plain awful. He's not looking into the camera, he sounds heavily scripted, the message is all over the place, and it looks like it was filmed in a damn ski lodge. Plus this ad is only airing on cable in Chicago. Laurel Prussing ran a better ad for Mayor of Urbana. I give this one a D.

College Dems Endorse Kirchner/Bell

2006-02-14T16:12:00.000-08:00

The UIUC College Democrats voted unanimously to endorse challengers Bob Kirchner and Lisa Bell in the Democratic Primary for two seats in Champaign County Board District 9.

In a related story, the News-Gazette reported today that County Board Chair Barbara Wysocki was caught using county resources for political purposes. Wysocki used county stationery and the county postage meter to send a campaign letter to the UIUC College Democrats asking for our endorsement.

This action was clearly in violation of the county ethics statute, which "prohibits the use of any county "property or resources" in "support of or in connection with any campaign for elective office." Penalties for violating the ordinance can include up to 364 days in jail, a fine of up to $2,500 and discipline or discharge.

State's Attorney Julia Rietz has refused to investigate even though the State's Attorney's Office conducted an investigation of County Clerk Mark Shelden in 2004 for a similar offense. Rietz has endorsed Wysocki and former law partner Steve Beckett.

2.10.06

2006-02-10T13:56:00.000-08:00

-Well I'm feeling lazy today so I'll just link to Kos's open threads.
-I urge everyone to check out Soap-Blox Chicago and start reading it daily (this goes for me too).

Well I may be gone for bit, and while none of you are asking "When will I be back?" I'll tell anyways. When I get my PC fixed and hooked up with linux so I can start blogging for real (I've decided to have as little to do with Microsoft as humanly possible).

A parting blow: Illini Pundit proudly presents us with the definition of a pundit (because you know, you're too dumb to know it already):

pundit: (noun) an expert or opinion-leader, particularly in the field of political analysis.

What's interesting is to see the site evolve from being run by a public official (illegal), to copy/pasting emails, and now gratuitous key-board orgies. Now compare this to ArchPundit, who can somehow gather political information expertly without the slaves of college-Republicans that Illini "Pundit" has come to rely on. Perhaps while they're upgrading they should change the definition of Illini to "a group of people who think they're way smarter than they actually are," at least then they'd get points for being honest.

Can you tell the difference?

2006-02-10T11:11:00.000-08:00

So let's contrast what discussion looks like on a Democratic Blog versus what gets posted on Illini Pundit:

In the comments of this thread you can find this exchange:
(The quotes are from "anonymous")

McCain called out the bi-partisan poser...Barak Obama. McCain has a long history or working with Democrat on bills and has the voting record to back it up. What has Obama done to back-up his words of "one America"? He's voted party line every time. He SAID he would work with a bi-partisan group for ethics reform, but then DOES the opposite and decides to only support the Harry Reid bill, which if funny considering Reid has been in bed with Jack Abramoff for years -http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/02/09/D8FLR3380.html - Obama tried pulling his poser BS with the wrong guy and got called on it. The shine on this guy has dimmed greatly. Now he just looks like another Democrat. Sorry kiddies.

Interesting point "anonymous," if I follow your logic it's the DEMOCRATS who have been working in a bipartisan fashion for 10 or so years plus McCain.

The logic is that there are some Senators who DO work in a bi-partisan fashion and some who TALK about it. Obama is part of the latter while McCain is part of the former.

If you say so...sorry if Obama's thinking, disagreeing and changing his mind blows your[s] ~~mind~~.

Barak Obama...the next great Democratic flip-flopper!

"sorry if Obama's thinking, disagreeing and changing his mind blows your mind."
- No, betraying your word and your rhetoric just plain blows, espically when thats all you have to offer.

"Flip-flopping," BETRAYL, rhetoric! Poor anonymous, have you been reading Illini Pundit all day again? Because you can't seem to think beyond its posts. Here is a gratuitous copy/paste job so you don't even have to go there anymore:

More Better Cops

Out of nowhere the following comment recently appeared in an open thread:

Does anybody know why there is such a sharp contrast between Urbana police and Champaign cops?
Every time I’ve interacted with an Urbana police officer, I’ve been pleased with the experience. They seem to be well-trained, educated, diplomatic, and intelligent.
When I’ve dealt with Champaign cops, in contrast, I’ve generally been pretty dissatisfied. They seem to be hostile, intolerant, illogical, dumb, and uneducated.
I just don’t get it.

Notice that Urbana has police and Champaign has cops. I was in a helpful mood, so I replied as follows:

Dear I Have a Question,
Have you tried moving the venue of your criminal activity from Champaign to Urbana? I have found that commission of a crime has a noticeable effect on an officer’s demeanor.
The other possibility is that since you are running into people who are “hostile, intolerant, illogical, dumb, and uneducated,” you might be mistaking a heretofore undiscovered tribe of badged aborigines for police officers. Just because these people are in donut shops does not mean they are policemen.
Do a little further research and let us know what you discover.
John (Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the inexcusable rudeness) Bramfeld

Another poster then weighed in with this showstopper:

Consider the possibility that one might have occasion to interact with, and observe the behavior of, police officers without engaging in criminal activity.
Try again.
I agee with the post. Urbana is a much better run community than Champaign, in every possible way.

So now the gauntlet has been thrown. Not only must we decide whether the Champaign Police are“ hostile, intolerant, illogical, dumb, and uneducated,” we must decide whether Urbana is “a much better run community than Champaign, in every possible way.”

I will start the ball rolling, but before I flatten anyone with it, let me tell you my background so you may fairly evaluate my opinion as coming from a superior vantage point.

I lived in a trailer in Urbana for three years.

I lived in a house on Vermont St. in Urbana for 14 years.

I practiced law in Urbana for 23 years.

I have lived in a house in the center of Champaign for 16 years.

I have practiced law in Champaign for 9 years.

I am the current Chairman of the Fire and Police Commission for Champaign.

I apparently flunked the Urbana Police employment test in 1975.

I have a degree in Administration of Justice,.

I have received one ticket from an Urbana Police officer and too many to remember from the Champaign Police.

OK, now let’s get briefly back to the initial charge against the Champaign Police, duly seconded by some anonymous or other: They, and this probably includes me and Chief Finney, are ”hostile, intolerant, illogical, dumb, and uneducated.” Because this complainant is obviously intelligent and educated, we should assume when he accuses the police of being “dumb” he is not simply repeating his “illogical” charge, because that would not be particularly logical or educated. Thus, based on my experience, we can knock out the charge that Champaign policemen are unable to speak. That leaves ”hostile,” “intolerant,” “illogical” and “uneducated.” Speaking in my official capacity for both myself, Chief Finney and all policemen west of Wright St., all I can say is “What’s wrong with that?”

Now that I have demonstrated beyond a doubt that the Champaign Police are superior in every way, it is time for citizens to step forward and tell us why Urbana, or Champaign, is “a much better run community in every possible way.” Before you liberals start crowing about your human rights record in Urbana, keep in mind that there is now twice as much Wal-Mart per capita in Urbana than Champaign. And you Champaign residents, let’s make Jerry proud.

That's really interesting John Bramfeld, did you orgasm all over your key-board after writing that? Oh, and anonymous, it's Barack Obama, as I found out the hard way yesterday. And believe it or not, just because someone is dealing with the police doesn't mean they've broken the law. I can't believe that even needs to be said, especially if half of his jizz-fest post is true. Ever try to return a lost dog jack-ass (probably not because he wouldn't even care to)?

2.9.06

2006-02-09T16:33:00.000-08:00

-Nora Ephron on why men get all weak-kneed at the sight of John McCain (and yeah, it's probably the torture thing).
-King George on the political corectness of leaking.
-Informed Comment gets a little creative.
-On music and group-think (shhhh, let's hope Fox doesn't figure this out).
-EFF sues AT&T to stop surveillance.
-The "Austin Mayor" posts on Abramoff/Republicans.
-Favorite blog I found this week.

Update: It's nice to have our first copy/paster, here I'll even link to it (oops...another one of my spelling mistakes).

Few of you will notice, but I have a strict policy of never linking to New York Times' articles because they're put up behind a firewall after a certain amount of time. It's bad enough that your paper has been publishing right-wing conspiracies on the front-page for years, but The Gray Lady is the most over-rated piece of trash on the planet and isn't even worth registering for, sorry (but the Village Voice...).

John McCain is the Idiot.

2006-02-09T09:47:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I expressed some frustration with Armando for copy/pasting quotes of Dean and Obama from a horrid NY Times article, then calling them idiots with no real explanation. While I understand the need to vent and sympathize being frustrated with Democrats who fall into Republican narratives, calling Dean and Obama idiots just perpetuates a culture of victimization that we as Democrats need to get over.

So who do I think is an idiot? John McCain. While I think his intentions are sincere and fully-respect his service to our country, he is Bush's biggest tool. And that was before his attacks on Barack Obama.

First to summarize the exchange of letters between Obama and McCain (from georgia10's post):

Obama:

I know you have expressed an interest in creating a task force to further study and discuss these matters, but I and others in the Democratic Caucus believe the more effective and timely course is to allow the committees of jurisdiction to roll up their sleeves and get to work on writing ethics and lobbying reform legislation that a majority of the Senate can support. Committee consideration of these matters through the normal course will ensure that these issues are discussed in a public forum and that those within Congress, as well as those on the outside, can express their views, ensuring a thorough review of this matter.

So McCain blows-up because Obama won't sit on his precious government-committee (instead wanting to work on real legislation):

Dear Senator Obama:

I would like to apologize to you for assuming that your private assurances to me regarding your desire to cooperate in our efforts to negotiate bipartisan lobbying reform legislation were sincere. When you approached me and insisted that despite your leadership's preference to use the issue to gain a political advantage in the 2006 elections, you were personally committed to achieving a result that would reflect credit on the entire Senate and offer the country a better example of political leadership, I concluded your professed concern for the institution and the public interest was genuine and admirable. Thank you for disabusing me of such notions with your letter to me dated February 2, 2006, which explained your decision to withdraw from our bipartisan discussions. I'm embarrassed to admit that after all these years in politics I failed to interpret your previous assurances as typical rhetorical gloss routinely used in politics to make self-interested partisan posturing appear more noble. Again, sorry for the confusion, but please be assured I won't make the same mistake again.

And:

As I noted, I initially believed you shared that goal. But I understand how important the opportunity to lead your party's effort to exploit this issue must seem to a freshman Senator, and I hold no hard feelings over your earlier disingenuousness. Again, I have been around long enough to appreciate that in politics the public interest isn't always a priority for every one of us. Good luck to you, Senator.

Funny how "anti-big-government" McCain's writing is full of jargon and confusing sentence structures (a sign of his growing senility?) while Obama's is clear, to the point, and respectful:

[I] am puzzled by your response to my recent letter. Last Wednesday morning, you called to invite me to your meeting that afternoon. I changed my schedule so I could attend the meeting. Afterwards, you thanked me several times for attending the meeting, and we left pledging to work together.

As you will recall, I told everyone present at the meeting that my caucus insisted that the consideration of any ethics reform proposal go through the regular committee process. You didn't indicate any opposition to this position at the time, and I wrote the letter to reiterate this point, as well as the fact that I thought S. 2180 should be the basis for a bipartisan solution.

I confess that I have no idea what has prompted your response. But let me assure you that I am not interested in typical partisan rhetoric or posturing. The fact that you have now questioned my sincerity and my desire to put aside politics for the public interest is regrettable but does not in any way diminish my deep respect for you nor my willingness to find a bipartisan solution to this problem.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama
United States Senator

So, let's get this strait, the Republican Party for the past five years has been:

Rushing to war with Iraq.

Fucking up that war.

Living a life of unabashed decadence.

Violating every imaginable ethics-law.

Living off of pork (something McCain supposedly fights so hard to stop).

Untold amounts of unwarranted spying on American Citizens with no meaningful judicial review.

Systematically destroying the environment.

Bribing columnists to promote their failed education policies.

Celebrating McCain's birthday while Hurricane Katrina flooded New Orleans.

Ignoring any real steps toward energy independence.

Ignoring the impending Medicare crisis in order to dismantle Social Security.

Outsourcing torture (which McCain has failed to stop).

And John McCain is upset that Obama won't sit on a government-committee? It's interesting that he's so worried about "bi-partisan" reform while his entire party is corrupt to the core. Don't forget it's King George who's campaign allowed slander to be spread about him and it'll be interesting to see what he does when Karl Rove does it again when McCain runs for President.
---
From the comments:

You fully respect John McCain's service to the country then call into question his commitment to ending torture?

I'm willing to bet John McCain got the shit kicked out of him in Vietnam more times than you can count, just so you have the right to post ridiculous hyperbole.

If Obama were smarter, he would realize that McCain can help him get things done in the Senate. Isn't a strong record of bi-partisan legislation what Obama will need when he runs for higher office? Looks like he made a freshman mistake.

I agree completely, McCain helped make the "blogosphere" with his and Feingold's campaign finance bill, but his letters to Obama were just rude and misinformed, sorry (but I'll moderate the ending's tone, thanks).

2.8.06

2006-02-08T20:11:00.000-08:00

-Bush proposes cuts in Social Security for widows an orphans, how compassionate.
-Jack Abramoff emails reveal he and Bush were friendly after all.
-Funny how there's always more money in the budget for the Pentagon.
-BagnewsNotes analyzes Bush at Coretta Scott King's funeral.
-Armando and I battle (he wins of course).

Oberweis: Spank 'Em

2006-02-08T12:12:00.000-08:00

GOP gubernatorial hopeful/perennial candidate/dairy man Jim Oberweis' solution to Illinois' education woes: corporal punishment!

In response to a questionnaire from the Daily Herald, Oberweis suggested that teachers in public schools should be able to spank children whose parents approve specific methods and waive liability.

Well there you go, Oberweis has now officially been sapped of any remaining credibility as a candidate for public office.

Heh...

2006-02-08T11:04:00.000-08:00

My apologies to those over at Illini Pundit...I'll admit that as of now I don't have much knowledge of local/Illinois politics. I was more involved in Howard Dean and Barack Obama's campaigns, and reading national blogs. It is indeed Rod Blagojevich and not Rob as for some reason I always thought...oopsies. And I don't mind being corrected or admitting when I'm wrong. The internet and blogosphere is a strange land where we all get caught up in our own musings and mistakes. I think it's most important to not take it personally, have fun, and remember it's just a blog.