I agree with her vote, but I love the consequences

While I support Melissa Bean's YES vote on CAFTA, it's humorous to witness the anger she's creating in her own party. Let her fall in love with the praise while the Democrats are lining up someone to run against her.

" . . . we can no longer rely on out of touch politicians . . . "

Melissa Bean

extracted on 7/30/05

from melissabean.com

"She's probably out of touch with her district."

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney

The Political Consequences of Union Divide

Democrats were naturally concerned by this week's decision by the Teamsters and the largest service workers union to bolt the AFL-CIO. The announcement was symbolically planned to coincide with the AFL-CIO’s 25th annual constitutional convention.

The impact to the AFL-CIO has already been felt as members voted this week to increase dues to cover part of the $20 million loss to a $120 million dollar budget.

The biggest loser though may be the Democrats - and not just the national organization. This decision will have significant consequences on the state, county and municipal levels.

The single thing that Republicans fear about their political opponents is their ability to organize and mobilize. On Election Day, Republicans perform their civic duty by voting for the party’s candidates up and down the ballot. Then they go off to work and wait to watch election returns on TV.

For the Democrats, it’s a different story. After reporting to the local ward or township office before dawn, the Democrats spend the day performing critical Get-Out-The-Vote activities such as phone banking, poll watching, precinct walking, and assisting favorable voters to the polls.

Where does this manpower come from? - the unions. Union Democrats get a day off from their normal work on Election Day. On this day, the job is not in the factory or plant; it’s out in the political field.

Banded together, unions can coordinate activities behind specific targeted candidates and ensure a cohesive strategy to get out the vote. Splintered, their power is lost. They risk the political consequences that stem from divided candid support, duplicative grass root efforts and diminished power to affect political change.

All of which has Republicans smirking this week with hopes that there is no pending truce announcement by the warring union leaders.

“I know you’ve got issues in your own family. You’ll work it out.”

-Rod Blagojevich

Addressing the AFL-CIO's

25th Constitutional Convention

July 26, 2005

Quote courtesy of WGN-TV

"We don't run government like this" - John Stroger

Stroger's pick to run the fledgling Provident Hospital is John Fairman, a man whose resume includes more accusations of wrong doing than accomplishment. But Stroger has strongly defended his appointee saying,

“Unless something comes up that we are not aware of that is MORE damaging . . . then I will not withdraw Mr. Fairman.”

Below, the Cirque has positioned Mr. Fairman’s resume against three other qualified applicants. Please vote for your choice to run Provident Hospital in the poll in the right column.

Stroger quotes courtesy of WGN-TV.

A Park Ridge woman . . .

. . . donned a sheep costume as she tries to re-invent herself.

The Liberal Dictionary - "That's Just Fine"

Sometimes the Liberal Dictionary is not needed to translate liberal speak. Such is the case for today's entry which comes courtesy of Judith-Rae Ross, Democrat candidate for State Rep in Illinois' 17th. Ross is a former Niles Township Trustee who is hoping to unseat five-term Republican incumbent Beth Coulson.

No, Judith Rae's quote won't be a regular entry into the Liberal Dictionary. It's going in the Preface with other examples which lay the foundation and background for liberal speak. Says Judith:

"I am a Democrat. That means if there needs to be
programs, that's just fine. "

May 5, 2005

Glenview Announcements

From the same article, there was another Judith Rae quote which is dripping with metaphoric irony:

"She is a formidable opponent," Ross said of Coulson. "On the other hand, do I look like sliced bread?"

It's all chopped liver to me.

Pete Giangreco Disputes Accuracy of Google's New Prediction Tools

Try it for yourself!

Editor's Note: As of Sunday morning, Google no longer suggests the Governor is a one-timer!

Witnesses insist Rod kept a straight face . . .

“He’s (Daley) got some issues now that he’s got to address. But I think the real test of leadership happens when you’ve got some troubles and it’s how you deal with those troubles,” Blagojevich said. “He will retool his administration, and there’ll be some new policies that are going to be better for the taxpayers of the city.”

Rod Blagojevich

June 21, 2005

Daily Herald

Say it ain't so . . .

Seems like a Democrat-leaning school district in California’s San Bernardino County will incorporate Ebonics into its curriculum - “Ebonics Suggested For District” . In the article, Mary Texeira, a sociology professor at Cal State San Bernardino states,

"Ebonics is a different language, it's not slang as many believe. For many of these students Ebonics is their language, and it should be considered a foreign language. These students should be taught like other students who speak a foreign language.

Come on, Prof. Texeira - Ebonics as a foreign language! A dissenting board member, Teresa Parra, argued that the district is opening up a can of worms. Said Parra,

"I'm afraid that now that we have this the Hispanic community, our largest population, will say, 'We want something for us.' Next we'll have the Asian community and the Jewish community (asking for their own programs). When will it end?'

As I’m not intimately familiar with it, I did a quick Google search on "Ebonics".

The first hit was a research piece from The Center for Applied Linguistics containing several good background documents.

The second hit was an Ebonics translator . I pulled a sentence from the article. The sentence:

"Because Ebonics can have a negative stigma, we're not focusing on that, Cooper said. We are affirming and recognizing Ebonics through supplemental reading books (for students).” . . . .

Produced

"Because Ebonics can gots uh negative stigma, We be not focusing on dat, Cooper said. We iz affirming an' recognizing Ebonics through supplemental reading books (for students)."

Again, I know nothing about Ebonics, but this can't be what is being advocated for the school district! I personally find this language offensive!

Yesterday, Project 21, which calls itself "a leading voice in the black community since 1992" denounced the plan saying, “Ebonics has nothing to do with African heritage and is simply the legitimization of modern urban American slang that will harm the professional development of black children if it is put on the same level as Standard English”

While I’m glad we don’t have to fight this battle here at home, I couldn’t help but recall one of the funniest scenes from the movie Airplane!

Mayor Daley,

What do you mean by social?

Cook County President John Stroger confirmed that his campaign committee, "Citizens for Stroger", is paying the way for his wife to attend the Counties junket in Hawaii. Unless Mrs. Stroger will be trolling for votes or feeding the Hawaiian poor, one can only deduce that the campaign is picking up her tab as a "Social" purpose. Luau anyone?

Questions for Reverend Meeks

Only Eric Zorn has publicly questioned the accusations Rev. James Meeks has made against the Chicago Police Department for racial profiling. I'm left to wonder what response the Reverend was expecting when he got out of the car and identified himself.

Questions for Reverend Meeks

Did you expect that identifying yourself to the police officer would result in him treating you differently than if he didn't know who you were?

If so, are you asking the Chicago Police Department to have different rules for recognized figures than for unknowns?

At your age and with your experience, don't you know that the surest way to provoke a police officer is to get out of your car during a traffic stop?


Allegations that the officer waved a gun in the face of Meeks are disturbing. But I'm also disturbed to see a free pass given to a public official who blatantly uses the "Do you know who I am?" double standard to his benefit then cries foul when it backfires.

Blagojevich Doesn't Discriminate Among His Broken Promises

We all know about Blagojevich's broken campaign promises, but did anyone expect that he would keep promises delivered to the General Assembly as Governor?


"It Is Time For Honest Budgeting And Long-Term Planning. In The Past, Each Budget Was Designed To Get From One Fiscal Year To The Next. From Now On, Our Budgets Will Build The Foundation For Long-Term Structural Reform."

-Rod Blagojevich

April 9, 2003

"Blagojevich's budget mortgages the future"

Herald & Review

June 5, 2005

"Move to balance budget may cost Ill. residents $7B"

Rockford Register Star

June 22, 2005

"This is the third year for that (borrow now, pay later) shell game."

Northwest Herald

June 4, 2005

“Are they helping me make money? Yeah.”

-Democratic Party Contributor John Simmons
St. Louis Post Dispatch
February 19, 2005

Although not identified specifically in the Dispatch article, one has to wonder who Democrat powerbroker John Simmons is referring to when he asks and answers "Are they helping me make money.? Yeah".

The article points out that after giving state Dems more than $900,000 (including $28,000 directly to "Friends of Blagojevich"), the governor allocated $3 million towards a new stadium in Marion "that would become the property of Metro East lawyer John Simmons." Said Simmons in the article,"I want to avoid the appearance of impropriety".

Helps explain a little bit more about the deep friendship among the "Friends of Blagojevich".

Democrat Alter Egos

With U.S. Representative Lane Evan’s campaign committee agreeing to pay a $185,000 settlement for FECA violations, the FEC contended that a Democratic committee was illegally set up as an “alter ego” for the Evans campaign. According to the FEC, the 17th District Victory Fund accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in corporate contributions which would have violated election laws if they had been received directly by the Evans campaign. The FEC further charged that these funds were subsequently expended on efforts to re-elect Lane Evans to office.

Democrats have setup similar “victory” funds in other CD’s and one of the striking similarities between these funds and the illegal schemes of the 17th District Fund is the common thread of vendors and contributors.

In a post to follow, the Cirque will shed light on the common thread of the so-called alter egos (hint pictured above). Stay tuned . . .

Evanston “Street” Kids Help Mayor Morton Wrap Up Liquor Investigation

"I want to know what role liquor played in this."

-Evanston Mayor and Liquor Commissioner Lorraine Morton,

following a weekend murder at Evanston’s “The Keg”

Chicago Tribune
June 20, 2005

“Morton told the (Evanston) Review before Monday night's council meeting that she could only take further action ‘if it is related to liquor. From what I heard from kids on the street, who know about this stuff, it has nothing to do with that’.”

Evanston Review
June 30, 2005

UPDATED: Mayor Daley's "Richards":

Last week, the Cirque introduced a new photo series entitled “Richards”. With Mayor Richard Daley humiliating the city’s “Johns” by posting their photos on a city website, we thought it would be appropriate (and fair) to maintain another first name picture gallery. “Richards” are City Hall’s scandal plagued cast of characters.

This week’s contribution is actually a show of support for the Mayor of Chicago. In a press conference last month, Daley was unmistakably clear that he was not personally connected to the drug trafficking ring which resulted in federal charges for three Water Department employees.

“I didn't sell it. Don't ever accuse me of selling heroin”, asserted Mayor Daley. While the court of public opinion has understandably and justifiably accepted the Mayor’s denial of wrong-doing, it didn’t prevent us from adding to the ever-growing collection of the City of Chicago’s . . .

Richards

There's No Truth to the Rumor . . .

. . . that Rep. Jan Schakowsky became upset during Evanston’s 4th of July parade at her placement behind a group of angry Illinois bankers flying kites constructed from checks from Illinois Public Action.

The Liberal Dictionary

It's easy to spot examples of liberal speak in our daily papers. From time to time, I’ll post the most flagrant examples here and offer a translation.

Last week’s Op-Ed piece by Barack Obama in the Chicago Tribune, “Why I Voted Against CAFTA” affords my first opportunity to translate liberal speak via . . . The Liberal Dictionary.

Senator Obama - “We must decide whether we will sit idly by and do nothing while American workers continue to lose out in this new world, or if we will act to build a community where, at the very least, everyone has a chance to work hard, get ahead and reach their dreams.”

Translation/Analysis
Without big government you will no longer be able to work hard to reach your dreams.

Senator Obama - “The imbalance in this administration's policies, as reflected in the CAFTA debate, fails to provide American workers with their shot at opportunity. It's time we gave them that shot.”

Translation/Analysis
Blame Republicans and convince Americans that the administration is taking away their “shot at opportunity”. Remember, opportunity is not created by individuals– it’s legislated.

Senator Obama - "If we are to promote free and fair trade--and we should--then we must make a national commitment to prepare every child in America with the education they need to compete in the new economy; to provide retraining and wage insurance so even if you lose your job you can train for another; to make sure worker retraining helps people without getting them caught in bureaucracy; that it helps service workers as well as manufacturing workers and encourages people to re-enter the workforce as soon as possible."

Translation/Analysis
Use long, disjointed sentences to convince the reader that personal will and drive are no longer valid in this country. Only government can save Americans from themselves and “encourage” them to take action.

In case you missed the "Wild Thing"

Click TV above. What a circus.