Self-Advice from Representative Bean

"Travel was a major issue in the 2004 campaign in which Bean unseated 35-year incumbent U.S. Rep. Phil Crane."

Northwest Herald

June 16, 2005

"Bean's first trip was a $3,670 expedition to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in January."

Northwest Herald
June 16, 2005

"I will work harder. . . . And I will do better."

-U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean
retrieved on 7/28/05

from melissabean.com

Mayor Daley's Richards

With Mayor Daley recently announcing that the city was posting the pictures of Chicago's "Johns" on a city website, the Cirque thought it would be appropriate to post a photo collection of the city's. . .

Richards

Photos will be added as new scandals develop (if server storage space permits).

Now There's a Wonk . . .

An acquaintance who’s been reading the “Cirque” asked me over the weekend if I was a political wonk. "I’m just writing about liberal goings-on with a humorous angle", I said. I hadn't heard the word in some time, so I checked out how "wonk" was being used by today's writers. A recent article by Carol Marin about my State Representative, Julie Hamos, brought me up to speed:


"Hamos is a 56-year-old attorney, a quintessential lakefront liberal and public policy wonk . . ."

Chicago Sun-Times

June 1, 2005

It's meant to be a compliment.

Senator Durbin "relegated" to Jane Fonda Status

June 24, 2005

Senator Durbin,

As one who was held in a North Vietnamese prison for nearly seven years and whose definition of torture and bad treatment is somewhat at variance with yours, I deplore your senseless comments about alleged "barbaric treatment" at our terrorist detention facility at Guantanamo.

Your remarks comparing Guantanamo to the regimes of Stalin, Hitler and Pol Pot are outrageous. I tried to think of why a rational human being could make such an outlandish statement but I keep coming up short. I thought I'd seen it all when Howard Dean performed his infamous scream in Iowa but your diatribe yesterday eclipsed Dean's moment of Hannibal Lecter lunacy. And your moment of pique will be infinitely more damaging to members of our Armed Forces serving in harm's way.

I noted, when searching for your contact information, that the first item Google came up with was al Jazeera's joy at your comments. You, sir, for having aided and abetted the enemy in time of war, have been relegated in my mind to the status of Jane Fonda and your colleague, John Kerry as contemptible traitors.

I hope not too many of our valiant members of the Armed Forces have to suffer for your stupid comments. Shame on you.

Sincerely,
Paul E. Galanti Commander
U.S. Navy (Ret.) 21 Maxwell Road
Richmond, VA 23226

http://www.nampows.org/pgbio.html

Al Jazeera Doesn't Miss the Opportunity . . .

إطار هذه المدينة. فمثلا، لو أراد المستخدم أن يبحث عن كتاب على الإنترنت فستأتي له النتائج بمنافذ بيع الكتب القريبة التي توفر هذا الكتاب، وليس كل المكتبات في شتى أنحاء الأرض.

-ALJAZEERA.Net

Doha, Qatar

June 16, 2005

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/796AA4AC-531C-4E6F-B855-7FBC52506824.htm

English Translation :

“US Senator Dick Durbin on Wednesday refused to apologise for comments he made on the Senate floor referring to Nazis, Soviet gulags and a "mad regime" like Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.”

There's NO truth to the rumor . . .

. . . that Rep. Melissa Bean has hired an 8th District fencing contractor as part of her advance team to ensure that all upcoming speeches can be delivered from "both sides of the fence”.

"I represent the views of my constituents."

-Rep. Jan Schakowsky (from her website)

Just wondering how Jan Schakowsky justifies her position that "It's time to bring our troops home" on Page 1, Paragraph 2 of her 22-page manifesto posted on her website - "Iraq: The Truth About the War".

On the same site, she posts the results of her most recent constituent survey conducted by her district office which found that among 9th district respondents:

76% believe that we should NOT "Immediately withdraw our troops from Iraq"

and

68% believe that we SHOULD "Secure Iraq before removing U.S. forces"


It does beg the question - Congresswoman Schakowsky, do you represent the views of your constituents?

Now That I've Apologized . . .

. . . Please send me your money to take on Republicans who are "way outside the mainstream".

On the very day Americans heard Dick Durbin publicly apologize for his inflammatory remarks about the U.S. military, "I have come to understand that was a very poor choice of words", Democrats received a second message from the Illinois Senator. In an email to financial supporters (full text below), Durbin asked for money so that Democrats could stop the Republicans "radical agenda". Republican priorities, wrote Durbin, "are way outside the mainstream."

Honorable Senator Durbin - Couldn't you have waited 24 hours after your tearful apology before you hit up the Dems for more money?

A Special Message from Senator Dick Durbin
June 22, 2005
By Dick Durbin

As the Senate Democratic Whip, it's my job to count the votes we have for our position on all the controversial issues we face in the Senate. I've been on the job for six months, and I've learned one very important thing in that short time: We need more Democrats in the United States Senate in order to put a permanent stop to the right wing agenda supported by George Bush, Bill Frist, and Tom DeLay.

Taking back the Senate in 2006 is the sole mission of the DSCC. This is the only national party organization that legally can give hundreds of thousands of dollars directly to the candidates facing the nation's tightest Senate races. According to the FEC, it's called "441a(d) authority" and with it, the DSCC is the only national organization that can contribute money directly to Senate races. Not even the DNC, which is busy with a number of other campaigns, contributes directly to Senate candidates. We need your help to get your dollars where they need to go. Please make a contribution and help us meet our goal today.

http://www.dscc.org/stopthem

If we're going to elect a Democratic Senate, we need the DSCC's nationwide perspective to know just what needs to be done and when we need to do it. You and I both know that our nationwide campaign to take back the Senate won't be easy and it won't be free.

That's why I'm asking for your help today. We need resources now so that we can build the best possible campaigns in order to defeat the Republicans in 2006 and put a stop to their radical agenda. Plus, if we can meet our goal, we'll have the upper hand as the individual races heat up. Please help us beat $500,000 by making a contribution today.

http://www.dscc.org/stopthem

The Republican Party's right wing priorities are way outside the mainstream.
After we elect a new Democratic Senate in 2006, we'll be able to shift the nation's focus to issues that truly matter: restoring our nation's honor abroad; securing quality, affordable health care for every American; and protecting our precious natural environment.

When you help us meet our goal, we'll gain an important victory now, but we'll also be primed to win the biggest victory of all in November 2006. I hope I can count on your support.


Sincerely,

Dick Durbin

P.S. We also need your help to bring more people into our campaign to elect a Democratic Senate. Send an email to your friends and family today. Ask them to make a secure online contribution and help us put a stop to George Bush's right wing agenda.

Quoteth Schakowsky

"As DNC chair, [Howard] Dean would be in a position to clearly and confidently articulate the party platform."

-Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (IL-9th)
January 11, 2005

"A lot of them [Republicans] have never made an honest living in their lives."

-DNC Chairman Howard Dean
June 1, 2005

Hawaiian Boondoggle Forewarned

Don't blame the National Association of Counties for not warning John Stroger and his staff about taking heat for the upcoming county junket in Hawaii. According to talking points available on the Association's website, attendees to the this year's annual meeting in Hawaii are advised to "Be prepared for some skepticism or innuendo about going to a nice destination. Have at least one or two strong examples of what you did, saw or learned that benefits the entire county".

Upon his return, could one of Stroger's "strong" examples be a lesson in not wasting tax-payer money on exotic island boondoggles? Stay tuned . . . .

Time to go, Mayor Morton

Add another one to the list of Democrats blaming inanimate objects instead of taking personal responsibility for their own missteps. What was 86-year Evanston Mayor Lorraine Morton's reaction to this weekend’s shooting and murder at Evanston’s “The Keg”? "I want to know what role liquor played in this. Nobody in Evanston has any business with a gun”, proclaimed Morton.

No, Mayor Morton. As Commissioner of Evanston’s Liquor Control and Review Board you’ve had no business renewing the liquor license for an establishment that has a track record for underage drinking that dates back to my days as an undergraduate at Northwestern. You don’t have to wait for Sunday’s Tribune quoting a 19 year old Evanston girl referring to “The Keg” as a watering hole for “high schoolers” before you take action.

Police now have identified their suspect. Surprise, surprise, he's a nineteen year old.

"When a situation like this arises you have to do something", proclaimed Morton. No, Mayor Morton. This hasn’t “arisen”, it’s ancient history. Stop blaming guns and liquor as the problem and look at your own lack of leadership, negligence and culpability.

Evanston residents deserve a hands on, proactive Mayor running its city and it Liquor Board.

Garrett's Gender Double Talk

Which mouth this time, Susan? Last year, State Senator Susan Garrett criticized her governor for insulting women in his comments regarding the Madigan/Blagojevich/Madigan feud over mortgaging the Thompson Center.

"A jab at a woman or any other group is a style which many politicians use when they're trying to make a point . . . and I disagree with that style", proclaimed a sanctimonious Garrett.

Less than a year later, it was the same Garrett who faulted men for their leadership skills in finalizing the state budget. "I am 100 percent positive that if women ran the Illinois Statehouse, we would not be here on Memorial Day weekend, trying to figure out what the next step is", charged Garrett.

Maybe there are two set of rules when it comes to taking jabs at others to try to make a point.

Not Personal?

Kudos to The Chicago Tribune for it's double entendre headline today - "Truck, time-card scandals aren't personal to Daley". Funny that the scandals aren't personal when a central figure in the taxpayer rip-off scheme is the brother-in-law of Daley's brother, John.

I can understand why the mayor would not feel this is "personal". Firing his cousin, former Water Department supervisor Mark Gyrion, for allowing his mother-in-law to lease a city truck back to the city for $1 million, probably felt closer to home.

What's in a Name?

Not too long ago, my next door neighbor told me that he and his college friends had set up a blog to reminisce and muse about their college days. "What's a Blog?", I asked. A "web log" I learned, was a new way to leverage the Internet to disseminate thoughts, ideas, and observations. One day, I visualized, I would create a "blog" to muse not at my college days at Northwestern, but at Democrat misguidance, ineptitude and follies in Illinois and close to my North Shore home.

There's little creative element to publishing a blog about Democrat missteps in this state. Mike Madigan, The Schakowsky/Creamer contingency, and Mel Reynolds remind us that Scott Fawell isn’t the only one Illinoisan capable of “bending” the rules. And Daley, Blagojevich and Terry Link (future Link posts to follow) are the poster children for the "Did he really say/do that?”

Yes - a regular look at the Democrat bumblings in three rings - Chicago, Springfield and Washington – could be quite entertaining. Bumblings and clowns that often resemble a three ring circus. Today, Cirque du Democrat is launched.