We are now down to two GOP candidates for Country Board District 1. Per the NG, Gary Maxwell has withdrawn, and endorsed Stephanie Holderfield. She will face Chris Doenitz, the GOP incumbent.
This will be an interesting race, and could come down to door-to-door, get out the vote, politics.
Rich Lowry at NRO nails it on Obama's health care plan:
This makes it all the more remarkable that he often appears unable to understand how his health-care program threatens private insurance. At a recent press conference, Obama argued that the very notion of it doesn’t compute: “If private insurers say that the marketplace provides the best-quality health care, if they tell us that they’re offering a good deal, then why is it that the government — which they say can’t run anything — suddenly is going to drive them out of business? That’s not logical.”
This is exceptionally brazen sophistry. Private insurers are at a disadvantage vis-à-vis the federal government because they don’t have the power of the government to dictate prices to doctors and hospitals. That’s what Medicare does, and why it pays less for health services than private insurers.
Does Obama really not understand this concept, or if he is just an exceptionally good liar? Lowry's call is pretty obvious.
Rush just reported that Tim Johnson is "on the fence" on the Cap and Trade bill before the House today.
This bill would have terrible effects on the US economy, including moving plenty of manufacturing to countries with much looser pollution standards than ours.
I was able to send his office an email, but currently his website won't load.
The State Journal-Register is reporting Mark Kirk is considering a run for Gov. He has been seen as a possible candidate for US Senate.
I think I could warm to the idea of Gov. Kirk.
At the Republican caucus in Mahomet, Chad Coit challenged Chris Doenitz for the Road Commissioner nomination. Coit was not in attendence - instead having his representative vouch that Coit wanted the position. Coit lost the caucus vote.
Now Coit is running for the position on the April ballot as an independent. It is my understanding that this would not be possible if Coit had actually attended the caucus - if you attend a party caucus, you can't run as an independent.
So, Coit found a loophole. He got to run in the caucus, and now has the independent run as a backup plan.
Does this bother anyone else? I think either election law should change so that if you run for a position in a caucus you can't run in the general as an independent, or caucus rules should change so that you can't run in the caucus unless you are present.
George has written a couple articles lately I have found pretty interesting.
Yesterday, a piece about the morality of sex and food. He observes:
Today "the all-you-can-eat buffet" is stigmatized and the "sexual smorgasbord" is not.
Not sure about the conclusions reached, but an intriguing point.
Today, he returns to the global warming debate, and pulls U of I in:
Citing data from the University of Illinois' Arctic Climate Research Center, as interpreted on Jan. 1 by Daily Tech, a technology and science news blog, the column said that since September "the increase in sea ice has been the fastest change, either up or down, since 1979, when satellite record-keeping began." According to the center, global sea ice levels at the end of 2008 were "near or slightly lower than" those of 1979.
This claim was challenged by the NY Times and also by a letter to the editor in our very own NG recently. It seems to me this ought to be a fact beyond dispute (one way or the other) - the huge political battle over this issue really does make it hard for the average guy.
Neat article at NRO by Mark Hemingway, who showed up to observe local liberals drafting their Democratic Party platform. He accidently ends up working in the healthcare group, and making some headway with conservative arguments.
He concludes:
Would they have listened to me if they knew I was a writer for the flagship publication of modern American conservatism? Judging from the majority of emails and letters to the editor I get from liberal readers, the answer too often is no.
So I don’t know whether my time as a make-believe Democrat is encouraging or amounts to a lament. But I do know that it’s a shame that we often have to lie about where we’re coming from in order to talk honestly to each other about where we think the country should be headed.
Gov. Rick Perry of Texas is fighting against the ethanol mandates. You can argue about his motives, and about the policy itself. But I'd like to focus on this line from a NY Times article:
LHT Inc., an infrastructure company, said it never would have spent tens of millions of dollars developing delivery pipes for ethanol without the mandated increases. “How do we get our money back?” an executive asked.
I personally hate the ethanol subsidies and usage mandates, but do feel for this exec. He made a business decision based on the mandates, and invested huge dollars. Should Congress reduce the mandate, LHT gets screwed.
I know, I know, "live by the (gov't) sword, die by the (gov't) sword". Still, gov't needs to remember that their actions don't exist in a vacuum. People and businesses make decisions based on new laws and regs. And once these mandates and subsidies and programs and tax credits get started, people will wail if they are taken away. I think better not to start these things at all.
How often do we see this in the report of a traffic fatality:
Coile said Black was also issued tickets for driving under suspension, operating an uninsured motor vehicle and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.
Usually unreported, but generally understood:
All those are petty traffic offenses.
It is a painful pattern to watch. Guy gets arrested for DUI, and is hammered with that draconian punishment of having his driving priviledges suspended. Yeah, big deal. The punishment for driving without a license is a PETTY TRAFFIC OFFENSE. So he just keeps driving. And, often, repeats the drinking and driving that got him in trouble in the first place. The guy that killed the Elsworthy girls didn't have a valid license, as I recall.
This needs to be tightened up - seriously tightened up. If you are caught driving on a suspended license, I think some jail time is in order. That's a bit gentler than taking the car - my other idea. These people have a blatant disregard for the law - let's get them off the road one way or the other.
Traded for another big-time starter
Best record in the National League, and bunch of guys going to the All-Star game, Kerry Wood has 22 saves, and Soriano should be back from the DL soon.
How many cars will be turned over and burned in Wrigleyville when the Cubs win the World Series?
OK, IP has already stated he doesn't much care for soccer, so I will hope for info from other readers here.
Is there a good place in town to watch a soccer game, a place where the serious fans show up (and where I can get lunch at the same time)? I have tried Guidos and Buffalo Wild Wings, and each had the radio on and TV volume down. I want to go somewhere tomorrow to watch Russia v Spain and really enjoy myself. Any ideas?
Let's hear it - what do you want the President to do when elected? No name calling, just issues - be specific. (Ignore the politics of it, and the restrictions imposed by Congress - let's just assume the Pres is King and can make it happen.)
Withdraw from Iraq?
Cap and trade regs?
Open up the US for drilling?
Nationalize the oil business?
Make the tax rates permanent?
Soc Sec, health care, education, immigration, roads and bridges,...
The editors at NRO wrote a bit about McCain's recent speech, and his cap-and-trade policy proposal. They were not impressed. Their piece concludes:
The scariest sentence in the speech was: “If the efforts to negotiate an international solution that includes China and India do not succeed, we still have an obligation to act.” This is posturing in the place of thought. It puts us in the worst possible negotiating position, and confirms that Sen. McCain is not engaging practically with the costs and benefits of his own policy. It indicates a foolish willingness to sacrifice trillions of dollars on the altar of fashionable, though uniformed, opinion and political expediency.
Once you leave reason behind, there is no logical stopping point, and his Democratic opponent will always be willing to one-up him. Sen. Clinton’s reaction to his speech (literally before it was even delivered) was: “Senator McCain’s proposal simply does not go far enough…”
Consider this the Maroons at State discussion thread. I have the radio on, and the DVR set.
totally personal question - but I know there are some technology "geeks" (and I mean that in the kindest of ways) that may be able to help me.
I want to get a Slingbox so I can watch TV anywhere in my home with my new laptop. My initial plan is just to get the old Slingbox Tuner version, which connects to the coax cable. It won't interfere with my kids watching on the digital box, and would be convenient to the home network connection.
Here's my question - will the pending conversion from analog to digital broadcasting have any effect (or is it affect?) on the Slingbox tuning whatever comes thru my cable?
Any wisdom would be appreciated. Thanks.
So, we have this big task force formed to plan for the future of Unit 4 schools. And here is what we get from the NG story:
But perhaps the biggest dilemma facing them is how to change negative perceptions of the school district....
"I believe the challenge of misperceptions is huge," said Imani Bazzell, who is active on several school committees, including its equity committee.
"The biggest challenge is separating perceptions from reality," she said. "You counter rumor, you counter innuendo, you counter misperceptions with facts."
There it is. We don't have actual problems in our schools. It's just that there are so many stupid parents (the customers) making uninformed decisions. We need better PR, not better discipline or responsiveness or security or safety.
If this is the consensus of the task force and the board, nothing will be changed. Pitiful.
UPDATE: As of 2:30 pm, it is apparent that this is not the consensus of the task force and board - and that is a good thing. There is still hope.
Liam Julian writes a piece about NCLB today at NRO. One startling bit of info:
A new study, The Proficiency Illusion, shows among other things that some state tests are simply getting even easier from one year to the next.
and
Take Illinois for example. Between 2003 and 2006, Illinois’s proficiency cut scores on its state math tests plummeted, i.e., the 2003 assessment was significantly more difficult than the 2006 assessment. Thus, even if student test scores remained the same over that three-year period, the tests would show increases of 8 percentile points in grade 5 and a whopping 27 percentile points in grade 8. And sure enough, over the past three years Illinois has reported similar gains: 10 points for fifth graders and 25 points for eighth graders. (Illinois publicly lowered its grade-8 math cut score.)
In reading, declines in test rigor have occurred, too. Because of the downgrade of proficiency, even if Illinois students actually performed no worse or no better over the past three years on the state assessment, the test scores would show gains of 17-percentile points in third grade and 14 percentile points in eighth grade.
Julian concludes with:
America is awash in achievement “data,” yet the truth about our educational performance is far from transparent and trustworthy. It may be smoke and mirrors. Gains (and perhaps slippages) may be illusory. Comparisons may be misleading. Apparent problems may be nonexistent or, at least, misstated. The testing infrastructure on which so many school reform efforts rest, and in which so much confidence has been vested, is unreliable — at best.
When federal dollars are on the line, would it be surprising to think that states, especially Illinois, would be willing to "cheat".
So, are Unit #4 schools improving, or not???
A piece by Victor Davis Hanson today at NRO about education - one quote I particularly like:
We should first scrap the popular therapeutic curriculum that in the scarce hours of the school day crams in sermons on race, class, gender, drugs, sex, self-esteem, or environmentalism. These are well-intentioned efforts to make a kinder and gentler generation more sensitive to our nation’s supposed past and present sins. But they only squeeze out far more important subjects.
He also discusses teacher qualifications and tenure. I know, I know, basic right-wing stuff, but I just like to see it in print every now and again.
Right after that first game, La Russa called Ankiel's return the Cardinals' greatest joy in baseball "short of winning the World Series." This, from a manager (as chronicled in George Will's classic "Men at Work") not given to happy talk. La Russa is the ultimate baseball logician, driven by numbers and stats. He may be more machine than man, but he confessed at the postgame news conference: "I'm fighting my butt off to keep it together."
Great personal story.
Side note: watch out Cubs :-)
WDWS just reported Blago is going to line-item veto out all the member initiatives (yeah!), some more expenditure items, and then add back his universal healthcare initiative (boo!).
Not sure how he can do that, but I am sure we will hear all the details soon.
UPDATE and BUMP by IP: From the State Journal-Register:
Gov. Rod Blagojevich will veto $500 million in "pork" from the fiscal year 2008 budget passed last week by the General Assembly and use that savings to expand health care to help 500,000 people.
The governor said he will use his "executive authority" to institue programs that would expand the Family Care program, provide up to $1,000 grants to families who can't afford to buy health insurance, and expand breast cancer screening programs. The inititiatives would help a total of 500,000 people, he said.
The governor was flanked by Senate President Emil Jones, D-Chicago, who said he agrees with Blagojevich's plans and won't call any veto override motion in the Senate. The formal veto will be filed later this week, Blagojevich said.
If Jones won't call any votes on veto override, than essentially Blagojevich can do whatever he wants. The House can override him all day long, but if the Senate doesn't vote, then the veto is sustained. I wonder if Jones' members will allow him to block all veto override votes?
ANOTHER UPDATE by IP: More from CapFax Blog:
The governor can’t just take $500 million from other parts of the budget and spend it on healthcare. He has a 2 percent transfer authority in this budget, but the transfers have to be germane.
Again, we have a press release that wasn’t accompanied by any official language - which is his usual modus operandus. Until we see that actual language, I gotta figure this is pure posturing.
Two questions from me:
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