Call It A Comeback
You know, you can put cameras out there and record the magnitude of a storm without sticking Anderson Cooper on a balcony in Panama City Beach, telling us how much flying sand hurts when it’s hitting you at 135 mph.
Hence, I keep hoping for a Category 5 where it’s hitting him at 150 mph.
Bob Novak covers the situation of Chris Smith of New Jersey. It seems that Smith had the temerity to criticize the Bush Administration because it was shortchanging veterans and, well, Smith ended up with sleeping next to the Horse’s Head. To his credit, Smith isn’t backing down.
Okay, Novak has done something useful besides be evil.
This would make it difficult to impossible for ?teams? of riders to work together to help their best rider, but who cares? Teams are antithetical to all forms of racing except relays.
Somewhere after 50 years of tradition you quickly overcome objections that teams are antithetical to rall forms of racing except relays.
And the Chicago Marathon would have to be more like a bunch of 10 mile races over 21 days with steep climbs, sprints and cobblestones.
Only Americans would diss a legendary race that has more history than any major sports event in the US with the possible exception of the World Series.
I don’t get very upset that the Governor raised money under the current rules, but proposed stricter rules–that’s the history of campaign finance reform and unilateral disarmament never won anything in Illinois–just ask Glen Poshard. Russ Feingold and Jim Leach (R-IA 02are the only two I know of who have abided by such unilateral rules and even Leach’s last tough race included outside expenditures.
That said, the legitimate issue to criticizes the Blagojevich Administration for is that they’ve held onto donations from those shown to be corrupt. Tony Rezko’s Crucial, Inc. was just decertified as a minority owned business and declared a front company for Rezko.
An executive working for a politically connected restaurant owner has been accused of operating as a front for a Latino food concession at O’Hare International Airport to secure a lucrative minority business contract for her boss, city officials said Saturday.
Jennifer Tremblay, an assistant vice president for restaurant management at O’Brien’s Restaurant, participated in name only in Camino Latino, which is owned by a company controlled by the O’Brien family, said Breelyn Pete, spokeswoman for the city’s Procurement Services Department.
The company–MADO Management–may have to shut down Camino Latino and its principals could lose their right to operate in O’Hare, Pete said.
Peter O’Brien, vice president of the restaurant chain and a frequent campaign contributor to Gov. Rod Blagojevich and other Democrats, did not return phone calls Saturday for comment. He is the brother of Daniel O’Brien Jr., a prominent Chicago politician during the 1970s and ’80s before he was killed in a 1989 car accident. Daniel O’Brien Sr., who died in 1990, also was a heavy Democratic campaign contributor for decades.
Under MADO Management, the firm has given Blagojevich $20,000 since 2003 with owner Peter O’Brien giving another $2000. Dan Hynes has also received several contributions from MADO and should return those as well.
The key issue here is that a core Democratic value is ensuring equality of opportunity for all citizens. Minority contracting is a key tool to ensure that small business holders with disadvantaged backgrounds have opportunity for contracts that public entities issue. It is a core value of the party and those that attempt to subvert that process do not share the Democratic Party’s values. To accept money from them is wrong because the individuals in question aren’t donating to promote the Party, but themselves.
Return the money.
Extra Credit for Cynicism: How does Jackson Jr. attack Daley for it while defending Blagojevich?
While Holland’s audit of CMS received some press, it didn’t create a wave either , but today, almost 2 1/2 months after the Auditor General’s report, the Pantagraph runs a tough editorial with the audit and the power washing scandal front and center.
Illinois Department of Transportation executive Robert Millette is in the middle of this one because the firm doing the work, PWS Environmental Inc., is run by his brother-in-law. But the firm was hired by CMS, the governor’s supposed business arm, not IDOT. They may be different arms, but they belong to the same body.
PWS and its president, William Lologousis, have contributed more than $30,000 to the campaigns of the governor and his father-in-law, Chicago Alderman Ricahrd Mell, according to The Associated Press.
This is just one more instance of the smelly deals the efficiency experts in CMS have been involved in.
A recent audit by the independent state auditor general should have been enough for the governor to clean house at CMS. Perhaps the hesitation is because his own Office of Management and Budget also appears up to its ears in the problems pointed out by the auditor general.
Both CMS and the governor have said repeatedly that CMS efficiencies have saved taxpayers millions of dollars. Too bad the auditor general can’t substantiate the claims.
But the zinger is at the end
Gov. Blagojevich was right when he said he wouldn’t put up with the “business as usual” in Springfield’s politics. He has allowed it to get worse.
The danger of the original audit wasn’t the audit itself to the Blagojevich administration. It was that it came just as the Lege was getting out and reporters had the time to track down corruption stories. The PWS scandal is the first, and it’s causing lots of talk in political circles. If more pop-up, drastic action is going to be needed to demonstrate a significant change in attitude by the administration.
If IL-18 opens up, the Dems top candidate is listed:
Sources say Peoria County State’s Attorney Kevin Lyons has Hastert’s office nervous. Lyons is a well-known, well-spoken area figure and widely considered the Democrats’ best shot at undoing an 80-year Republican lock on the seat.
The Gore-Bush numbers in 2000 were 43-54 and I’m guessing that hasn’t changed much, or a slight drift towards Republicans—we’ll have to wait for the 2004 numbers later this summer unless anyone has them handy. It’ll be a tough race for any Democrat, though a strong moderate with labor credentials could make a race of it. .
On the Republican side, Bomke would be formidable, though the article points out that Bomke may raise regional issues for many being from the Springfield area.
I would rate LaHood as one of the two potential frontrunners in the Republican primary. One interesting issue raised in the article is that Hastert is pushing LaHood to stay put to avoid another open seat.
UPDATE: Fixed Bomke’s name.
Ed Secretary Margaret Spelling addressed the American Federation of Teachers and said the administration is willing to alter how states measure progress under the NCLB act. The current system is irrational at best and the administration is giving into a lot of pressure–including pressure from suburban Republicans.
While I’m very critical of NCLB, I also recognize the need to have yearly testing. While high stakes testing has many problems, there are no other objective tools to measure performance. By adjusting how that data is used, one hopes that the system will be returned to being rational.
Okay, the site is coming and going so if you can’t post to comments and have something really important to say, send me a note at archpundit@yahoo.com.
I’m probably going to rebuild the entire site in a few so the site might be erratic tonight.
Dan Proft writes in:
Archpundit,
You’ve completely missed the point of what Steve meant and, frankly, said because, unlike you, I was in the room for the Aurora Beacon News sit down.
He did not blame Topinka for recruiting Keyes…how silly. Everyone knows Topinka opposed Keyes even at the end when the choice was Keyes versus Barthwell.
The blame lies in throwing Jack Ryan under the bus without a plan B…you’ll recall the Hobson’s Choice of Keyes versus Barthwell came after SIX WEEKS of the ILGOP’s inability to find an acceptable candidate to replace Jack. The issue was jumping without a parachute which is not usually the example you want set by your ostensible party leader.
And since, again unilke you, I was actually at the epicenter of the draft Keyes movement, I can say your characterization of Steve’s role is inaccurate.
If the nominee had been Barthwell, that logic still holds up fairly well.
regards,
dan proft
Dan said he was having problems with posting comments–there are technical problems right now so I apologize to Dan and everyone else who is having a problem. The simple explanation is that a new build for the underlying site build is not integrating with the databases. I’ve been assured it will be fixed shortly, but don’t know the time frame.
Dan and I agree on virtually nothing, but I do appreciate his comments.
Where Dan and I begin to disagree is over what happened with Jack Ryan. Ryan wasn’t thrown under the bus–he played a game of chicken with the press bus and lost. He knew what was in the file and would give reporters little winks and nods that it wasn’t that bad. When it did hit (as was obvious it would–the Trib had a solid case), he tried to play it down with party leaders including Jim Edgar.
I argue the blame lies with Ryan and no one else (including Proft and Pascoe who I often jab). Then you had a series of party leaders who refused to get in–remember, even when Edgar declined that took a couple days. Hell, it took a couple days to figure out if Dillard was going to run.
In terms of the version of events at the Courier News, I think Dan’s primary issue is with the Courier News. I believe the context in the story leads one to believe he’s criticizing the choice of Keyes. If that’s not the case, I’ll take Dan’s word for it.
Dan indicates that the version I present of how the draft Keyes movement is incorrect–well, then the version Rich Miller and Aaron Chambers have presented is incorrect as well.
Given Manzullo is the primary source for the Chambers article, either Manzullor or Chambers is wrong.
The Pantagraph runs a strong editorial calling on Jerry Weller to abstain from the vote on CAFTA. Weller is married to Zury Rios Sosa, a Guatemalan lawmaker and the conflict of interest should be obvious.
However, it could look like his vote is influenced by his wife serving in the government of another country that is party to the pact.
We don’t know what kind of ethics laws Guatemala has or whether the Guatemalan Congress would vote on CAFTA. But it would seem Weller’s wife should excuse herself from a vote there, too.
Nearly a year ago, when Weller’s engagement to Rios Sosa became a campaign issue, Weller spokesman Telly Lovelace said, “If there is any obvious conflict of interest, Congressman Weller will do what’s appropriate.”
This is his first test.
The “appropriate” thing for him to do is sit out this vote
Where I disagree is what his first test was–shaving.
His second test was continuing his membership on the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee and continuing as Vice Chairman on that subcommittee.
His wife isn’t just any random lawmaker. She represents the Party of her father )(he founded the party) and when Rios Montt ran for President in 2003 (and the Bush administration admirably opposed him because of his genocidal history) Zury R?os Sosa spoke before him at rallies and serves in the Guatemalan Legislature under his party. During that campaign, the FRG Party rioted to have Rios Montt included in the vote after being banned for being the head of the 1982 coup.
And damn funny that her web site has her going by a different name:
http://www.zuryrios.com/: Zury Rios Montt.
Even more bizarre is that the majority of her adult career has been supporting the party of her father starting in 1989 when he founded the FRG:
1989-1990. Public Relations Secretary of the political party Frente Republicano Guatemalteco (FRG) in the presidential campaign.
Weller has tried to say she isn’t her father, which in a strict sense is true, but everything about her career is about supporting her father, a genocidal dictator and political thug. He held up his hand with purple paint to signify his solidarity to the Iraqi people–too bad he has no such solidarity those in Guatemala who faced the same kind of persecution Saddam practiced.
ArchPundit