2011

Boo Hoo

ArchPundit May 27, 2011 No Comments

Kirk on the new map:

“The draft map is the unfortunate result of cynical partisans who want to override the decision of Illinois voters who elected fiscal conservatives to Congress.  Its main purpose is to force Nancy Pelosi back into power.

“The map senselessly divides dozens of Illinois communities and denies our growing Hispanic community their rightful opportunity to be fully enfranchised with a second Congressman.

“This map was gerrymandered to ensure suburban voters will have little voice in Congress.”

Actually the outstate part of the map is far better than the last map in making more geographically compact districts.

Now That’s a Map

ArchPundit May 27, 2011 No Comments

Capitol Fax has the proposed Congressional Map up.  It’s a good map for Dems. I think there are 12 likely Dem seats.  Bobby Schilling is gone with this map and Adam Kinzinger has to primary either Manzullo, Schock or Shimkus. If he had to primary anyone he wanted Tim Johnson, but he has no real ties to the Johnson areas.   More later, but take a look over at Rich’s site.

Scenes From The Blagojevich Trial Today

ArchPundit May 26, 2011 No Comments

Absurd Human Being

ArchPundit May 26, 2011 No Comments

Check out Stacy St. Clair’s recent tweets:

Here

Steans Forced to Mandate Biology Lessons

ArchPundit May 26, 2011 No Comments

Via Rich

I’m baffled that if a school was going to discuss sexual health, it wouldn’t discuss contraceptives that are used and accepted by 80 percent of the population.

Legislation requiring sex education classes to discuss contraception in addition to abstinence passed the Illinois Senate Wednesday over objections from some Republicans who want local school boards to decide what material is best to teach.

“There’s been some suggestion that perhaps this isn’t needed, that there’s not a problem. Well, I’d like to give you the facts that suggest very much why this bill is needed,” said Democratic Sen. Heather Steans of Chicago, who sponsored the bill.

Steans argued the measure is needed because significant numbers of Illinois high school students are having unprotected sex.

The bill calls for “age appropriate” and “medically accurate” materials that emphasize not only abstinence but also contraception to avoid pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases in sex education classes in grades six through 12. The legislation passed 30-28 and now goes to the Illinois House.

Once again, reality has a liberal bias.

Daily Dolt: Tribune With Dan Rutherford Close Behind

ArchPundit May 26, 2011 No Comments

I generally think Dan Rutherford is a decent guy and so this his effort to stop the state from consolidating bills was a bit of a surprise.  The Tribune’s editoral page, yesterday, kept up it’s absolute inability to comprehend state finances with this slop:

You used to be able to lead a long life without ever knowing the name of an Illinois state treasurer. Now, though, you owe considerable gratitude to the current treasurer, a Republican first-termer named Dan Rutherford. This week, he blew a very loud whistle. In so doing, he made it harder for Illinois lawmakers and Gov. Pat Quinn to sink you even deeper in debt.

Rutherford first calculated that the pols who run Illinois have amassed nearly $200 billion in debt. That includes some $45 billion in bond debt, $8 billion in unpaid bills and $140 billion in unfunded pension and health care benefits for public employees. Every household in Illinois owes $42,000. Don’t get us started on your share of the debts run up by your profligate local and federal governments.

What the Trib and apparently Rutherford don’t get is that the state already owes the money it is considering borrowing to pay bills already incurred. Instead of borrowing from people willing and capable of loaning the state money, we are borrowing from state vendors, doctors and other health care providers who treat state employees and all sorts of other people and organizations the state pays money to.  The state can consolidate that debt into a reasonable package without incurring any further costs that it won’t have to pay anyway according to state law.

I know this because my mother is currently dealing with patient, but incredibly persistent medical providers who keep billing her until the state gets around to paying out.  She’s fine and everyone seems to be willing to wait, but it is stress.  We owe it to the people and organizations that do business with the state to pay on time. That means a big consolidation loan that can be effectively payed down.  The Tribune’s refusal to understand this only shows how shallow and stupid it’s editorials have become.

Msjournalist Susan Berger Has All the Longggg Details

ArchPundit May 26, 2011 No Comments

She’s live tweeting Blagojevich’s life story.

Painful work, but someone has to do it.  It will make the book easier though.

Update: She noted the filibuster as well.

Trumped

ArchPundit May 26, 2011 No Comments

Eric Zorn reminds us of Blagojevich’s flailing in front of Trump

As #blagojevich charms and dazzles on direct examination, I invite y’all to remember how he wilted under Trump’s semi-tough questioning.

Strategy: Bore Everyone To Death

ArchPundit May 26, 2011 No Comments

Progress Illinois

Update 1 (10:49 a.m.): Blagojevich dives into a lengthy diatribe of his life story. From his first job as a shoe shine boy at 9 years old (“it teaches you how to be more responsible with your work”) — to his NBA aspirations (“reality check” when he was cut from Lane Tech’s basketball tryouts), the verbose former governor spent 25 minutes just to get to his “life story” as of 1974.

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It is possible he thinks he can filibuster his trial through the rest of his life.

Blagojevich on the Stand

ArchPundit May 26, 2011 No Comments

If only there was video in federal courtrooms.  For those in the room–is the prosecution drooling?

Great quote so far:

“I think when I was governor, of the 50 of us in America, I was the only one who could spin a basketball on his finger,” Blagojevich interjected.