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» Illinois
edited by: Douglas Welch, Illinois Editor

The Eleventh Hour

  • Left Out

    Atrios, commenting on Sarah Palin’s political star status:

    …imagine if John Kerry had put Dennis Kucinich on the Veep ticket [in 2004] and then lost. Kucinich would have increased stature in the Democratic party, and probably be quite popular with "the base," but the press would mostly ignore [...]
    Posted: November 13, 2009, 7:08am EST

  • Time to Just Give Up?

    I really think this country is headed toward anarchy. With more and more people becoming detached from reality and believing almost anything they want to, there can’t even be the basis for foundational consensus. Add to this the growing belief that government is inherently bad in-and-of itself (i.e. not because [...]
    Posted: November 12, 2009, 12:04pm EST

  • Stupidity Clebrated

    Oh it just keeps getting better.

    Most of the Republican candidates for Illinois governor flatly reject the idea that human activity contributes to global warming, a position that contradicts the overwhelming consensus among climate scientists.

    Five of the seven Republican candidates claim rising temperatures have nothing to [...]
    Posted: November 12, 2009, 7:03am EST

  • Holy Wars

    What Cenk says:

    Predictably, after the Ft. Hood shooting some idiot conservatives are suggesting that we do some sort of loyalty exam for Muslim-Americans before allowing them into the US military. Who is "we"? Who gets to do this exam? What, presumably more American people like whites [...]
    Posted: November 10, 2009, 12:02pm EST

  • I’m Already Able To Endorse the Dem

    Especially in light of the Blagojevich debacle, I’ve promised to keep an open mind on deciding on who to support for Illinois Governor next year. But I can already tell you that I can’t vote for any of these guys. That didn’t take long. What a bunch of idiots. [...]
    Posted: November 05, 2009, 11:59am EST

  • Bad Ad

    Richard Roeper wonders what I wonder:

    If you watched any football over the weekend, you probably saw a certain commercial for DirecTV once. Or twice.

    Or 20 times.

    For the last three years, DirecTV has been enlisting the services of actors who re-create a famous role in [...]
    Posted: October 27, 2009, 7:02am EDT

  • Post-Racism Racism

    This is last week’s news, but I was fascinated by the story about the justice of the peace in Louisiana, Keith Bardwell, who refused to marry an interracial couple and then declared:

    "I'm not a racist. I just don't believe in mixing the races that way," Bardwell told [...]
    Posted: October 21, 2009, 7:02am EDT

  • Just Say Boobs

    This blog is getting (relatively) heavy traffic today because if you search Google Images for “Meghan McCain boobs”, the fourth pic listed is the photo I used in this post. The post was about Meghan’s fondness for Rep. Aaron Schock (the Monkey) and had nothing to do with the [...]
    Posted: October 15, 2009, 11:51am EDT

  • Fact Checking Parody

    This may be the single best take down of cable news I’ve ever seen. And as a bonus, it’s funny!

    I spend most of my workday lunches in front of the TV flipping between cable news channels. I’m just trying to get me a little information! Mostly I’m [...]
    Posted: October 13, 2009, 7:10am EDT

  • No Phone Zone

    While I’m happy for the residents getting better cell phone service, I always thought it strange that there was this substantial dead zone along I-55 in that same area. Given the traffic on the interstate, I never could understand this. Hopefully, those days are now gone.
    [...]
    Posted: October 12, 2009, 7:15am EDT

  • Chicago Ugly

    Really? Number 4 on a list of The World’s Ugliest Buildings is the Harold Washington Library in Chicago? Really?
    [...]
    Posted: October 12, 2009, 7:02am EDT

  • Worldly

    I love it when the media discovers the world. The childlike awe and amazement is cute:

    (CNN) -- Nearly one in four people worldwide is Muslim -- and they are not necessarily where you might think, according to an extensive new study that aims to map the global [...]
    Posted: October 08, 2009, 7:00am EDT

  • And Where Was Oprah?

    Just to add a late bit to my snarky post from yesterday:

    I was watching MSNBC at lunch today and they were broadcasting the news conference from Chicago on new efforts to combat teen violence. U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Attorney General Eric Holder, Chicago mayor Richard [...]
    Posted: October 07, 2009, 12:07pm EDT

  • Rural White on White Crime Now Rampant

    With white residents of small towns in Central Illinois shooting and beating each other to death (Ashland, Beason) I think it’s time to hold white community leaders accountable. I expect our media to ask all white people they come in contact with, no matter how unrelated to the incidents, what [...]
    Posted: October 06, 2009, 7:07am EDT

  • Healthcare is Hard Pt. 4

    Opponents of any single-payer health system here in the U.S. often point to the “well-known fact” that Canadians, faced with a medical dystopia in their own country, flock across the border to the US to get the healthcare of which they are deprived at home. I’ve even been told in [...]
    Posted: October 06, 2009, 7:04am EDT

  • Alternate Universe

    Oh, I understand the tragedy of having a relative fall victim to cult of Fox News. There really is nothing even close to the wingnut alternate universe on the other side(s), no matter how hard you try to convince yourself these things are equal.

    And I was going [...]
    Posted: September 30, 2009, 7:09am EDT

  • What’chu Lookin’ at Durbin?

    While eating my lunch in front of the TV most workdays, I tend to flip around the various news channels trying to pick up on something that’s really news. But if it’s a car chase, celebrity gossip, pundit shout-fest kind of day, I often wind up watching the speechifying on [...]
    Posted: September 29, 2009, 7:07am EDT

  • Healthcare is Hard Pt. 3

    I’ve noticed something going on in the healthcare debate that seems to happen with some regularity in such discussions: Even if something “new” here has been done elsewhere quite successfully, there is concern in some quarters that it” either can’t be done or if “it” is done, dire consequences will [...]
    Posted: September 28, 2009, 12:08pm EDT

  • Wanted: Non-Moron Terrorists

    Josh Marshall sez:

    Michael C. Finton, aka "Talib Islam", seems like the type who might have been an able foot soldier in a plot organized by non-morons. But left to his own devices his lack of operational secrecy somewhat undermined his endeavors.

    According to the FBI [...]

    Posted: September 25, 2009, 12:05pm EDT

  • I Hate Decatur Terrorists

    Good on the FBI for getting this guy. But let's not overstate the danger involved here. There was no danger in this plot. It was entirely controlled by law enforcement. There was never any danger this idiot was actually going to blow up Springfield at any time while this' [...]
    Posted: September 24, 2009, 9:21pm EDT

  • Bullet Point

    This country is so fucked up:

    NEW ORLEANS – Bullet-makers are working around the clock, seven days a week, and still can't keep up with the nation's demand for ammunition.

    Shooting ranges, gun dealers and bullet manufacturers say they have never seen such shortages. Bullets, especially for [...]
    Posted: September 24, 2009, 12:10pm EDT

  • Aphid-Davit

    Yes, I was wondering what those things were flying up my nose…

    Been wondering what those pesky bugs are that have been dive-bombing your eyes, flying up your nose and into your mouth as you try to enjoy your child's soccer game or a simple walk around the' [...]
    Posted: September 24, 2009, 12:05pm EDT

  • Train Fax Blog

    Rich Miller weighs in on the great Springfield / Union Pacific high speed rail controversy. The comments are many and contain some out-of-town perspective.

    [...]
    Posted: September 23, 2009, 9:08pm EDT

  • Con-Census

    We don't know all the details yet, but I have a bad feeling about this one:

    A U.S. Census worker found hanged from a tree near a Kentucky cemetery had the word "fed" scrawled on his chest, a law enforcement official said Wednesday, and the FBI is investigating' [...]

    Posted: September 23, 2009, 8:28pm EDT

  • Sin Tax: Not Just Sentence Structure Anymore

    I’m a fan of sin taxes. If the revenue needs to be raised, this has to be one of the least objectionable ways to do it. As a beer drinking, I pay plenty of sin tax and really don’t mind. Sin taxes are somewhat regressive but it’s on items that [...]
    Posted: September 23, 2009, 7:06am EDT

  • Marriage is So Gay

    This is not a surprise…

    92 percent of Iowans "say gay marriage has brought no real change to their lives.…but how have the other 8% been affected? Maybe they're all wedding industry workers who have seen a substantial uptick in business.

    BUT: 40% say they would vote'" [...]
    Posted: September 21, 2009, 12:05pm EDT

  • The Moon is Just a Candle-Lit Cake

    I recently found this badly faded photo of me taken on my 9th birthday, July 15, 1969 - the day before Apollo 11 lifted off from Florida carrying the fist men to walk on the moon. I was intensely interested in the space program and my mother baked me [...]
    Posted: September 18, 2009, 11:48am EDT

  • All in All, It's Just Another Beck in the Hall

    Glenn Beck back when he was on Kids in the Hall:


    [...]
    Posted: September 18, 2009, 7:14am EDT

  • Obama Wan Kenobi

    I’m really not sure in what contest this picture was taken but I think all presidents should be able to properly handle a lightsaber.

    What’s impressive is that Obama seems to understand the proper stance to be taken by a true Jedi Knight. Lesser presidents might [...]
    Posted: September 17, 2009, 12:14pm EDT

  • Healthcare is Hard Pt.2

    Can we quickly get something straight? Medicare isn’t “going bankrupt” because the government manages it. Medicare is in financial trouble because…wait for it…healthcare costs keep skyrocketing. Imagine that!
    Medicare’s overhead and administration costs (as a percentage) are actually a small fraction of the overhead and administration costs (and huge [...]
    Posted: September 17, 2009, 12:07pm EDT

  • The Duce Noose

    I love this headline in the SJ-R:
    Harsher discipline for next noose, Davlin vowsNEXT noose? I guess it’s not so funny considering a second noose appeared after the firestorm over the first noose. And it’s even less funny that top city officials need to contemplate the response to yet [...]
    Posted: September 16, 2009, 7:22am EDT

  • Lewd Obbs

    In an earlier post I related how it was good that Fox News is finally corralling all of the crazy or less-than-honest TV broadcasters. But, silly me, I forgot one: Lou Dobbs. DropDobbs.com.

    [...]
    Posted: September 15, 2009, 5:15pm EDT

  • Tea Time

    WebMD seems to be a fairly trustworthy site. But I was a little surprised at how emphatic this article is on the benefits for drinking green and black tea. I’ve been drinking tea for about 12 years now and have always believed there was something to its health benefits. [...]
    Posted: September 15, 2009, 12:18pm EDT

  • Healthcare is Hard Pt. 1

    The healthcare reform issue is so massive that one blog post cannot begin to contain it. It’s one of those issues that I’ve had a long interest in and done much informal study on. Because of its size and complexity, I really haven’t been motivated to blog about it. That [...]
    Posted: September 14, 2009, 12:03pm EDT

  • The Eyes Have It

    I think I can follow the flu prevention guidelines pretty well. I wash my hands routinely, I keep sanitizer around, etc. But a chain is only as strong as its weakest link and I don’t think I can learn to not touch my eyes. I’m forever rubbing my eyes. [...]
    Posted: September 14, 2009, 7:06am EDT

  • The Twitter End

    Having now engaged in a couple of political debates over the past few days using the limited capabilities of Facebook (I did not initiate them per my own ground rules), I now want to move on to a wonky discussion on the intricacies healthcare reform using Twitter. Make your point [...]
    Posted: September 12, 2009, 9:46pm EDT

  • Both Sides Are the Same

    It's exactly equal. It always is.



    And this is lovely...


    Update: This is good too:

    ' [...]
    Posted: September 12, 2009, 8:32pm EDT

  • Norb!

    I’m not sure why, but the only place I’ve seen the news that Norb Andy’s is reopening downtown is on Facebook. But then, I don’t pay a whole lot of attention to local media outside of the SJ-R and WMAY. Still, I’m really happy Norb’s is back.
    [...]
    Posted: September 11, 2009, 12:05pm EDT

  • Split Cyber Personality

    Well, as you have probably noticed (since you’re reading this) I’ve decided to fire up the blog again after a two month hiatus. And while I hope to post regularly, I doubt it’s ever going to be at the pace I used to post. For one thing, this blog used [...]
    Posted: September 10, 2009, 5:06pm EDT

  • Stossel-ectomy

    John Stossel is moving to Fox News. I’m shocked! Simply shocked, I tell ya!

    With Glenn Beck and Stossel finally coming home, it’s good to know I can now find all my TV wingnuttery all in one place now. Stossel, unlike Beck, occasionally (when he [...]
    Posted: September 10, 2009, 12:11pm EDT

  • U Lie 2

    Josh Marshall at TPM posts this message he received from a reader:
    You note…that Joe Wilson's angry outburst was wrong on the substance. And that's an important point.

    But I think it's worth contemplating that for a moment. What led Wilson to allow his "emotions get the best" [...]
    Posted: September 10, 2009, 7:16am EDT

  • “You Lie”

    Your modern Republican Party. But I'm sure a Democrat once thought to himself that George Bush was lying, so it's all even. No difference.

    Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) shouts at the president
    during his speech to the joint session of Congress.' [...]
    Posted: September 09, 2009, 8:46pm EDT

  • Railroaded

    Based on what the Union Pacific railroad is saying (via this SJ-R article), I’m fine with letting the project die. I never thought I’d say that about a high speed rail project, but you can’t just destroy a city. Of course, I don’t really believe UP has to be [...]
    Posted: September 09, 2009, 11:50am EDT

  • Centrism in the Defense of Liberty Is No Vice!

    There's nothing wrong with having opinions that aren’t all firmly attached to one camp (left) or the other (right). While what camp a political position is associated with usually makes ideological sense, I find it preferable to judge issues on a case by case basis and I respect people who [...]
    Posted: September 08, 2009, 12:09pm EDT

  • Thoma Time Meets Miller Time

    Well, WMAY gives in and abandons another local live time slot. Springfield will soon be treated to the syndicated Dennis Miller show from noon to 3:00 weekdays. I didn’t even know the not-funny comedian even had a radio show. He has a couple of defunct TV shows under his belt. [...]
    Posted: September 08, 2009, 7:04am EDT

  • Springfield: Boring By Design


    Matt Yglesias explains our problem here:

    But as someone interested in cities, it is interesting to think about the different ways in which this works. One model, seen in France and the UK, is of a single dominant city. Another model, seen in Italy, [...]
    Posted: July 16, 2009, 7:05am EDT

  • The Department of Law

    Palin: Even Dumber than Bush:

    Palin said there is a difference between the White House and what she has experienced in Alaska. If she were in the White House, she said, the "department of law" would protect her from baseless ethical allegations.

    "I think on a national" [...]
    Posted: July 07, 2009, 7:11am EDT

  • Insurance Scam

    I know we need insurance for a variety of things (home, auto, health) to help level the rough financial spots in life. But I’ve always had a bad attitude toward insurance companies because, well, they seem to always have a bad attitude toward me.

    The idea behind insurance involves [...]
    Posted: June 25, 2009, 7:12am EDT

  • Crazy Trail

    This has quickly become my favorite story in the news. Living in Illinois has made me appreciate crazy governors. It’s nice that other states have them too.
    [...]
    Posted: June 23, 2009, 7:17am EDT

  • People’s Court

    Two WTFs from the court system:

    First, check out this Supreme Court decision…

    In 1993, William Osburne was convicted of kidnapping, assaulting and raping a woman in Anchorage, Alaska. He spent the next 14 years of his life behind bars. Osburne insists that he is innocent, the [...]
    Posted: June 19, 2009, 12:05pm EDT

  • Shorter Fritz Pfister

    On WMAY this morning:

    There is no need for unemployment insurance because you can get your buddy who owns a paint store to give you credit for materials to do home painting and then go door to door painting houses to feed your family. Also most people who file [...]
    Posted: June 19, 2009, 7:23am EDT

  • Walter

    It’s not like he hasn’t had a long, wonderful and prosperous life, but it’s still sad to see this…Legendary CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite, 92, long known as the "Most Trusted Man in America," is gravely ill, according to multiple CBS News sources and published reports.Let’s hope the reports are [...]
    Posted: June 19, 2009, 7:09am EDT

  • The Race to War

    Wasn't it also Charles Manson's objective to start a race war?
    Earlier this afternoon, Zack Roth reported on the murder charges against two leaders of 'Minuteman American Defense' stemming from an incident over the weekend in which they staged a home invasion in Arizona, killing reputed drug dealer' [...]
    Posted: June 17, 2009, 11:55pm EDT

  • Upchuck

    While looking at a Father’s Day gift site, I ran across this:

    I guess if your dad is a delusional rightwing asshole, it’s perfect. [...]
    Posted: June 11, 2009, 12:01pm EDT

  • Bussed

    I agree with this:

    …most Americans have tremendous class bias against public transit, especially buses, and that's large reason that people won't use it. I actually don't think this is as true as people think, but in any case in places which have decent high frequency service the' [...]
    Posted: June 10, 2009, 12:08pm EDT

  • Tip of the Day

    Jim Leach is on his radio show railing against the practice of tipping. I’m somewhat agnostic on this issue but I will admit to having been somewhat stunned to see a tip jar on the counter of the ice cream truck the other day.


    [...]
    Posted: June 10, 2009, 7:09am EDT

  • On the Schmidt-List

    Eric Zorn is not happy that Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Schmidt is taking so long to decide whether to indict Sen. Roland Burris.

    It was Feb. 17 when Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan sent impeachment committee documents and transcripts to Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Schmidt so that [...]

    Posted: June 08, 2009, 12:05pm EDT

  • Burris on My Desk

    Not sure WHY you would want this, but you can now have a Papercraft Roland Burris of your own.


     [...]
    Posted: June 05, 2009, 11:02pm EDT

  • The Need for a Blood Enemy

    This is exactly right and has been so for many years.

    Mark Kleiman: “Hezbollah, Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, John Bolton, Hugh Hewitt, and the Republican Jewish Coalition, and John Boehner all disliked the President’s speech.”

    And, look, it’s no coincidence. Extreme elements on both [...]

    Posted: June 04, 2009, 9:03pm EDT

  • Guilt By Blago Association

    Is Patti Blagojevich really this radioactive?

    CHICAGO -- The charity for which former Illinois first lady Patti Blagojevich ate a tarantula on an NBC reality competition show has rejected the money.

    Blagojevich ate the dead spider for Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation on “I’m a Celebrity ... Get Me [...]

    Posted: June 03, 2009, 7:02am EDT

  • Blowhards

    Hurricane season starts today so I need to refer everybody back to this post from a few years ago on how I think we can easily prevent killer hurricanes.

    And here are the Atlantic hurricane storm names for 2009. This year, I’m going with [...]
    Posted: June 01, 2009, 7:23am EDT

  • Elect a Democrat and the Terrorists Win

    Well, the wingnuts were right: Terrorism has indeed returned to our shores now that Obama is president. Funny how all the domestic right-wing terrorism of the 1990s subsided while they were in power, but it seems to be on the uptick again under a Democratic administration. They kill because [...]
    Posted: June 01, 2009, 7:10am EDT

  • Oh Home on the Plains

    Because I used to live in Pleasant Plains, I thought I would contribute to the effort to come up with a slogan for the village:

    Pleasant Plains – Almost Ashland!

    Pleasant Plains – The Two-Lane Commute Lover’s Dream

    Pleasant Plains – Not Great, [...]
    Posted: May 29, 2009, 12:02pm EDT

  • The Patti Brand

    Patti needs to realize that we are interested in only one thing about her:

    [Patti] Blagojevich told MSNBC Thursday that viewers of reality show "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here" will expect her to use obscenities. But she says they'll be disappointed.

    Blagojevich spoke [...]
    Posted: May 29, 2009, 7:13am EDT

  • Perfect Constitution

    Even getting past that minor detail about slavery, if the Constitution is never flawed then why do we have so many amendments and the ability to add more? The GOP continues to really reach in its effort to discredit President Obama.

    [...]
    Posted: May 22, 2009, 7:19am EDT

  • Barack Obama: Slow Driver

    Hmmm...
    White House life means Malia and Sasha now see their dad practically every day, which wasn't the case for most of their lives, [Michelle Obama] said. [Barack] Obama was a five-hour drive away from their Chicago home when he served in the Illinois state Senate in Springfield, before' [...]
    Posted: May 21, 2009, 10:40pm EDT

  • Tree-Topple-Us

    A bad day for trees:
    CARBONDALE - The May 8 wind storm left about 3,100 trees downed in the Carbondale. In the wake of that loss, city officials announced last week that the city would launch an effort to plant trees throughout town.And Carbondale is what - a fifth [...]
    Posted: May 19, 2009, 12:09pm EDT

  • Zoho Writer

    I'm testing Zoho Writer from Zoho.com and I plan to publish this post to my blog directly from the Zoho Writer application.

    Zoho Writer is an online, word processing application that offers me the advantage of being able to retrieve my documents anywhere. And that would matter if' [...]

    Posted: May 19, 2009, 7:15am EDT

  • He Makes HOW Much?

    Here. Now you can easily go look up exactly (not just a pay range) how much your state worker friends make. Search by name or postition or agency or location or all of the above.
    [...]
    Posted: May 18, 2009, 12:09pm EDT

  • Straight Down the Middle

    Folks unwaveringly entrenched in dogma drive us all crazy, but I find the triangulating “centrist” even more so. If Mr. Left says the sky is blue and Mr. Right says the sky is yellow, then Mr. Center will feel smugly confident in assuming the sky is, in fact, green without [...]
    Posted: May 18, 2009, 7:14am EDT

  • A Little Chicago With That Whine?

    Living downstate, I’m well aware of how horribly put-upon we are by those bad people in Chicago. But get this:

    Armed with a study by the legislature's research office, state Sen. Martin Sandoval, D-Cicero, said that between 1999 and 2007, road fund expenditures in the Chicago area ranged' [...]
    Posted: May 15, 2009, 12:08pm EDT

  • Hairgo Blago

    The dude is really branching out. I feel his impeachment and removal from office has allowed him to blossom and realize his full potential. [...]
    Posted: May 14, 2009, 12:06pm EDT

  • Don’t Do The Crime If You Can’t Do The Time

    I don’t fully agree with it, but I understand the Obama administration’s reason for not wanting to release the controversial detainee photos right now. It may save some American lives. Fine, I get that. But let’s think about the bigger picture here.

    If we hadn’t been abusing prisoners, [...]
    Posted: May 13, 2009, 12:15pm EDT

  • Looks at Books

    Kevin Drum says you must read books to be smart. I disagree.Understanding "broader categories" — the context into which individual pieces of knowledge fit — requires you to read books. Full stop. Maybe someday it won't, but it does now.

    ...I'm generally a scourge of cranky elders who [...]
    Posted: May 12, 2009, 12:16pm EDT

  • Derecho: Land Hurricane

    The other day, when Facebooking/blogging about the storm that slammed into Southern Illinois, I noted that its winds were hurricane force. Well, check this out:

    Ok, technically it was not a hurricane that ravaged Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Kentucky, it was an event known as a [...]
    Posted: May 11, 2009, 12:01pm EDT

  • Computer Bug

    I’m probably going to kill the soul of this story by over explaining it, but…

    I have a HP TouchSmart PC. As the name suggests, it has a touch screen.

    Yesterday, I left my office window open to let in some fresh air. Unfortunately, it also let [...]
    Posted: May 11, 2009, 7:19am EDT

  • Shorter Kev 05/11/09

    For some reason, I’m among those who fail to understand that State of Illinois workers are taxpayers too.

    Kevan Kavanaugh’s commentaries can be heard regularly on AM 970 WMAY.

    [...]
    Posted: May 11, 2009, 7:11am EDT

  • Marriage Adveristy

    I found this statistic interesting:
    According to the latest state figures, through September 2008, there had been 12,167 same-sex marriages in Massachusetts — 64 percent of them between women — out of 170,209 marriages in all. Maybe there are just more lesbians than gay men, but what I think [...]
    Posted: May 10, 2009, 10:45pm EDT

  • Devastating Carbondale Storm

    In case you haven't heard, Carbondale, IL was hit with a strong storm that may have involved a tornado. 100 mph winds were reported and lots of damage. My daughter goes to SIU there and told me what was going on. Rather than live blogging what I knew, I live' [...]
    Posted: May 08, 2009, 5:15pm EDT

  • NIMBC (Not in My Brave Country)

    David Kurtz has a couple of statistics for comparison:

    Number of Gitmo detainees that the GOP hopes to keep off mainland U.S. soil with its "Keep Terrorists Out Of America Act": roughly 250.

    Number of Axis POWs detained in camps on the U.S. mainland at [...]
    Posted: May 07, 2009, 12:12pm EDT

  • Bad Pictures

    Pssst…Hey, SJ-R. Most of the new color photos in your online obits section look REALLY bad. Just sayin’.

    [...]
    Posted: May 07, 2009, 7:08am EDT

  • How Low Can He Go??

    Rod Blagojevich DOES TOO have standards:
    Dennis Hof is the owner of the Moonlite Bunny Ranch, made famous on the HBO series "Cathouse." Hof says he wanted to hire Rod Blagojevich as his apprentice, whatever that means, but Blago's people turned him down.But some people don’t:
    Hof told WBBM-AM,' [...]
    Posted: May 06, 2009, 7:11am EDT

  • Movie Genres I Just Can’t Stand

    Mob movies (The Godfather, Scarface)

    Outside rebel changes rigid, small-minded town (Footloose, Chocolat)

    Superheroes (Batman, The Hulk)*



    *The campy, 1960s Adam West version of Batman is good, however. [...]
    Posted: May 05, 2009, 12:19pm EDT

  • Tube Testing and the Age of the Mr. Taylors

    I was reminded today that their used to be TV repairmen who came to your house and fixed TVs. They all faded away by the mid 70’s or so because, well, TVs mostly stopped breaking from anything other than old age. But I remember growing up during the 1960s having [...]
    Posted: May 05, 2009, 12:10pm EDT

  • Lady with the Crazy Eyes

    If people who comment in the online SJ-R had their own congressional district, Michelle Bachmann would be their representative. I wish I could find a Best of Bachmann video compilation.


    [...]
    Posted: May 04, 2009, 5:41pm EDT

  • Flu as Hype

    Matt Y.:

    Now that the “swine flu” epidemic is maybe looking not-so-bad, there are signs in the air of a backlash against the speed with which the US government, the World Health Organization, and other government agencies worked to ring the alarm bell. I think that would be [...]
    Posted: May 04, 2009, 12:10pm EDT

  • Serious Insights: Troll Edition

    I’m so glad my stupid troll is gone from these pages. He still makes his ignorant arguments in the SJ-R comments sections, but that’s OK as long as he isn’t allowed to use my name anymore.

    [...]
    Posted: May 04, 2009, 6:46am EDT

  • Tan Lines

    These people are going to look funny when they take their masks off. But the won't have the flu!

    ' [...]
    Posted: May 01, 2009, 7:02pm EDT

  • Cable News Follies

    There’s really no shortage of bad things to say about cable news channels in 2009 and I particularly like the way they can be so easily manipulated and used. A few years ago, say seven to ten years ago, when these channels would seek out a Republican spokesperson of some [...]
    Posted: May 01, 2009, 11:55am EDT

  • SJ-R FAIL

    Updating my post from yesterday on the imposter posting comments in the SJ-R online:

    The SJ-R, 24 hours later, still has not removed the bogus comments attributed to me [see Update II below]. Apparently, all they did was close the imposter’s account. How long will it be before [...]
    Posted: May 01, 2009, 7:19am EDT

  • Serious Insights: Statehouse Coverage Edition

    Well, I guess Rich Miller should just give up now.
    [...]
    Posted: May 01, 2009, 7:03am EDT

  • I May Need to Sue the SJ-R

    I’m serious. They let some asshole, pretending to be me, use my full name in their online comments section. Oh, but there could be someone else who has my name, right? Not in conjunction with the name of my blog. Ridiculous comments were made to which, of course, other commenter’s [...]
    Posted: April 30, 2009, 6:51am EDT

  • Psychedelia is for Everyone

    Now that there is a Democrat in the White House, can we have a Dem version of the Psychedelic Republicans cards?
    [...]
    Posted: April 29, 2009, 5:38pm EDT

  • When Pigs Flu

    Ha, ha...The first step in preventing swine flu would be to avoid this.

    [...]
    Posted: April 29, 2009, 11:47am EDT

  • Sorry, But You’re Not MY Father

    I’m going to do two things I don’t normally do: Link to this guy and disrespect the dead. The person in question was a cruel, petty, rigid, vengeful man who was really, in my opinion, a horrible teacher as well. I wouldn’t be writing this if I didn’t still [...]
    Posted: April 29, 2009, 7:17am EDT

  • Serious Insights: Stupid Connections Edition

    If the swine flu turns out to be not so serious, how long will it be before climate change deniers use that to “prove” climate change doesn’t exist and/or is being unnecessarily hyped?


    [...]
    Posted: April 27, 2009, 7:20am EDT

  • Some Like It Cold

    Heading into the grocery store late Saturday afternoon, I overheard a woman coming out of the store complaining to her companion, “It’s SOOO hot? How long is this going to last?”

    Sigh. It was 85 degrees, not all that humid and very breezy. Where is this woman from, Nome, [...]
    Posted: April 27, 2009, 7:18am EDT

  • Shorter Kev 04/24/09

    I’d like to take some of your time to shamelessly and randomly slam Chicago since that always plays well in Springfield. I’m outraged that that Mayor Daley would take time to declare a Shakespeare Day. Doesn’t he have something better to do? Don’t I have something better to do than [...]
    Posted: April 24, 2009, 7:15am EDT

  • Enjoy Your $2 Gas

    I’ve been thinking this too.
    More recently, energy prices have stopped that kind of rapid ascent, but they’ve done so because global growth is moving backwards. If the economy moves toward recovery, we have every reason to believe that it will continue to escalate.

    And this is part [...]
    Posted: April 23, 2009, 5:18pm EDT

  • John Shimkus: The Giant Tool

    Why do you people keep electing this guy? What an ass.
    [...]
    Posted: April 23, 2009, 12:08pm EDT
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