An important shipping point for lumber and iron ore, Escanaba is the Upper Peninsula's third largest city. It's on the Lake Michigan shore, on the so-called "Banana Belt," the part of the U.P. which is, compared to the rest of the peninsula, relatively warm. 
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Now, the series--which will conclude next week--takes an artistic turn.
Liberal Chicago Tribune columnist Clarence Page takes a look at some troubling poll numbers for the Democrats.
Once again, I have to say it: This could be America in 2020. 
I was fortunate to see Lloyd Marcus perform "Twenty Ten" at the Tea Party Express' Mishawaka, Indiana rally in September. Here's a video montage with Marcus' song:
Today I might be mad
Christmas, Michigan is a small town east of Munising that got its name from a long-gone factory that made holiday gifts. Some of the businesses in the town honor the Christmas theme, including Santa's Workshop, which is the second picture down on the right.
Throughout the Upper Midwest, there are homes and businesses built as log cabins. Google "Log cabins, northwoods' and you'll see this is a popular architectural design 
Yesterday, Alexi Giannoulias, the leading Democratic contender for the US Senate seat currently held by Rod Blagojevich appointee Roland Burris, released his tax returns from the last four years.
Regular readers of this blog know that I am a huge Kinks fan. Watch and listen as Ray Davies, the genius frontman of that late, great band, discusses and then performs "Thanksgiving Day."
In September I was in the audience at the Tea Party Express rally in Indiana when Kenneth Gladney, who was selling Gadsden flags at a town hall held by Sen. Russ Carnahan (D-MO) in suburban St. Louis, told us of his being attacked by SEIU thugs.
Hey, when I think Texas, I think..dairy farming.Good friend of the blog Michelle Malkin names her five Turkeys of the Year. 
Last year, the Chicago chapter of the American Lung Association received 650 donated cars from August through October. This year during the same three months the charity collected only 455 cars--a forty percent drop. 
Three years ago I listened to Alexi Giannoulias on WBBM-AM's "At Issue" program where he repeatedly stated, "We need a banker as Illinois Treasurer." The political novice, who never voted in an election until his name was on the ballot, was a loan officer at his family-owned [...]
The Illinois Republican Party has an inquiring mind today.
There are several Indian reservations on Michigan's Upper Peninsula, but the only one I traveled through was the L'Anse Indian Reservation on Lake Superior's Keweenaw Bay.
For many reasons, wind power is not the answer to our energy needs.
With the possibility of snow on Thanksgiving, it's fitting that man-made global warming alarmist Al Gore will be in Chicago on Tuesday, plugging his latest epic, "Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis."
I've been from coast to coast a hundred times or more 
The honeymoon is definitely over for Barack Obama on Saturday Night Live.
Everything new is old again...or something like that. My guess is that when this neon sign went up sixty or so years ago, it was viewed as garish and tawdry. Unless you are a slave to political correctness, it's seen as classic Americana.
And the union people crawled away.
A few minutes ago, 60 Senate Democrats--but no Republicans--voted to proceed with debate on the Harry Reid health care bill. 
Quite a few liquor stores on Michigan's Upper Peninsula call themselves "Party Stores," such as this one in Seney. I don't know if fairly recent use of the word "party," as in "Let's Party," comes from the U.P., but I won't rule it out.Saturday could be a pivotal day in the history of our republic. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) says there are 10 things you should now about the Senate health care bill:
Below is just a portion of a great editorial written by the Omaha World-Herald. It has one person in mind, Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE).
Roland Burris (D-Blagojevich), who nominally represents me in the United States Senate, at best got a hand-slap from the Senate Ethics Committee for giving evasive and dishonest answers when he explained how he ended up getting appointed to Barack Obama's former seat.
By the shores of Gitche Gumee, 
Yes, sometimes even the Marathon Pundit can't think of anything to say.If you oppose Gitmo North in Illinois, as I do, then please sign an online petition here.
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I support the work that the Illinois Policy Institute does--and I'm humbled that they chose my most recent Chicago trade show post as a must read for today.
Despite the plethora of "Putting America Back To Work" signs across Illinois, our state unemployment rate is now at 11 percent, the highest in over 26 years. One year ago it was at 6.8 percent. 
Get on the blue highways, follow the blue highways
This Republican Senators' video reminds us that Americans don't want higher taxes and health insurance premiums. 
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'Cause that union man's got such a hold over me
Adam Andrzejewski's campaign released a poll that shows Jim Ryan leads the other Republican candidate for Illinois governor. 
As I wrote yesterday, our national debt exceeded $12 trillion. Today, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is suggesting we do something about it.
Sault Ste. Marie has been mentioned more than any other city in Upper Peninsula Upventure. But I've neglected to mention who founded it, Father Jacques Marquette, who came to the New World as a missionary in the late 1600s.Yesterday the United States reached an unhappy milestone, or if you prefer, millstone. Our national debt went over the $12 trillion mark. 
The Cook County Board of Commissioners voted 12-5 to repeal half of the hated "corruption tax," which stuck Chicagoans and suburban Cook residents (such as myself) with the nation's highest sales tax. This is the third time that the board has voted to scale back the [...]
Seven days ago I appeared on CBS 2 Chicago. Jay Levine interviewed me about union price gouging at Chicago's McCormick Place convention center. I was hoping that the story would make a difference reverse the trade show exodus from Chicago. 
Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, a Republican, has suggested merging several state universities, which would cut the number of public colleges in his state from eight to five. 
In many ways, Alexi Giannoulias is channeling Barack Obama as he runs for the US Senate. He mentioned Obama five times during his when he declared his intention to run for the president's old seat, one of his earliest supporters was Obama's favorite union, SEIU, he even [...]
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