What is going on in the Land of Lincoln?

Political corruption is an industry that thrives on the banks of Lake Michigan. The Daleys, Otto Kerner, George Ryan, Dan Rostenkowski, and now, Rod Blagojevich.

With all the wit and charm of a used car salesman, Blago was recorded by the feds trying to sell the senate seat vacated by Comrade Barry. Veteran FBI agents involved in the wiretaps and bugging were shocked by the outright salacious tone of Blago's sales tactics. Based on the content of the affidavit filed by the U.S. attorney he may as well have rented billboard space along I-55, dropped leaflets over downtown Chicago and robo-called every household in Cook County.

In Chicago, if you're not cheating, you're not winning. This industry has produced a fair share of bottom feeders. And now, a spawn of this revolving door has found his way to the highest office in the land. Make no mistake about it, Barry Obama is part and parcel of Chicago politics. Nobody rises to the levels he has risen in that region without writing a few IOUs along the way. How many will come due on 1/20/09?

Blago's wife Patty, the First lady of Illinois, chooses a book each month for the Children's Reading Club. Her choice for this month - How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

What he said

Ted Nugent is the voice of reason. Yes, you heard right. The Nuge is the most rational free thinking individual since Ronald Reagan. I just finished his book, Ted, White and Blue, and it was excellent. If I were to ever hire someone as a spokesperson it would be Uncle Ted.

He wrote an article today declaring open war on RINOs. A RINO (Republican In Name Only) is a great pretender. Someone who takes a conservative position for the sake of political expediency. They are an insult to true conservatives.

The narrow minded, intellectually flawed Comrade Obama cultists will deride Ted's stream of consciousness thinking, but that is strictly out of fear and the lack of a substantial counterargument. We need you, Ted. Now more than ever!

Buy the book here. Read the article here.

Confirmation

Barry can no longer duck and bob and weave. He has no plausible deniability. He has confirmed it to all of America. He intends to redistribute income as president. Watch and listen for yourself right here. I weep for the future.

Great minds think alike

I married wisely. Check out my better half's blog here.

Character Counts

I'll admit that this election is slipping away for John McCain. His campaign has had some missteps lately. They have been slow to react to events. The candidate himself has been off point and unable to connect. But, for the most part, he has been a victim of circumstance. A feeble economy is a severe drag on the party that occupies 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

All of these events have made me more resolute. I am fully prepared to go down with the ship. But I will keep a stiff upper lip, and, as Winston Churchill said, "never, ever give up". This steadfastness is in stark contrast to the emotionally shallow left. I recall reading news articles in the days following the 2004 election about Kerry supporters, so overwhelmed with despair at Bush's reelection, flocking to psychiatrist offices by the thousands. Well, I don't have a therapist on speed dial, nor will I need one. I know a thing or two about disappointment. I'm a Philadelphia sports fan.

This brings me to another severe character flaw on the left - a severe lack of common courtesy.

CBS News correspondent Dean Reynolds has spent most of the last year traveling with the Obama campaign. He recently moved over to the McCain campaign and wrote a recent article about the behind the scenes differences between the two. He writes that Obama's "national headquarters in Chicago airily dismisses complaints from journalists wondering why a schedule cannot be printed up or at least e-mailed in time to make coverage plans." He also says that "aides who deal with the national reporters on the campaign plane are often overwhelmed, overworked and un-informed about where, when, why or how the candidate is moving about."

And this little tidbit doesn't seem very environmentally friendly - "I would love to have someone from Obama's campaign explain why the entire press corps, the Secret Service, and the local police idled for two hours in a Miami hotel parking lot recently because there was nothing to do and nowhere to go." Mr. Reynolds states that incidents like this are not isolated.

He contrasts these with the McCain campaign, saying:

"The McCain folks are more helpful and generally friendly. The schedules are printed on actual books you can hold in your hand, read, and then plan accordingly. The press aides are more knowledgeable and useful to us in the news media. The events are designed with a better eye, and for the simple needs of the press corps. When he is available, John McCain is friendly and loquacious."

As for Obama's give and take with the press:

"Obama holds news conferences, but seldom banters with the reporters who've been following him for thousands of miles around the country."

Oh, and Obama's campaign plane stinks.

There is much more. I encourage you to read it here.

Hmmm, sitting around, idling, because there is nothing to do or nowhere to go. Why do I feel this is a portent of what is to come over the next four years?

CYA

Expectations were set low for Sarah Palin in last night's VP debate with Lunch Bucket Joe. But who set those expectations? Was it Sarah Palin? No. John McCain? No again. It was, in fact, your friendly, unbiased (sarc) mainstream media pundits. There pre-debate take was if Palin was able to walk out on stage without falling on her face, that was a victory.

This is classic Cover Your Ass mentality. Either way, if she underperforms or if she does OK, they don't see their prediction as incorrect or off the mark. But what do you say when she not only holds her own, but takes it to her opponent? What do you do when she knocks it out of the park? You get angry and demeaning!

The bitter trio over at MSNBC were caught flat-footed after Palin's excellent turn and, as most libs do when they can't counter with substantive arguments, tried to marginalize her through personal attacks.

Chris Matthews referred to her as a "dolt" for looking into the camera when responding to questions. Rachel Maddow said she looked "cartoonish". And Keith Olberman? Well, Keith just wears too much make-up to be taken seriously.

The MSNBC experiment has been an abject failure. Fox got the jump in the late 90's with the "Fair and Balanced" mantra. I'll freely admit that they lean right. But they offer dissenting opinions from the left. MSNBC saw the success over at Fox and tried to mimic this format. Except, they went left. Very left. And, in the process, got shreaded in the ratings.

How many times can you hear someone say Bush is a liar, a war criminal, a moron? Those on the left are bitter. No question about that. They're eager to point out what is wrong with this country. They look to cast blame. But they don't offer solutions, just vitriol. And who wants to listen to that? Obviously, not many.

Mad Cow

Enough politics and economic woe. Let's get to some real human interest stories. I think this one would be a good launching point. Enjoy!