Baseball hearings
I didn't watch them but I've seen more than enough clips and commentary. What a complete joke. I want to know who was responsible for our federal government hauling in baseball players to not answer stupid questions that have absolutely nothing to do with the role of our federal government. Whose McCarthyite idea was this to give selfish congress people the opportunity to grand stand and fake outrage and somehow earn some points with a few voters? I guarantee you before the hearing several of those questioners were trying to figure out what questions and reactions would assure them some face time on CNN, FOX, and the networks.
Let's see, a few former baseball players have admitted to steroid use in the last few years so Congress has to make a federal case out of it. Literally.
To put this in perspective here, how would this compare in importance to, say, more than 70 Illinois Republican operatives and Secretary of State employees including the former Governor of Illinois being indicted and convicted of crimes against the citizens of Illinois. Throw in some Mayoral campaign donating friends cheating the minority contract system in Chicago and money flowing to hired-truck contracts that don't do any work besides writing out Mayoral campaign contributions or showing up in Will County to work on a campaign. We even have huge no-bid state contracts going to big time campaign donors of a certain Governor and other big time donors showing up as appointments to state boards and commissions. Look at who a good chunk of the Illinois Arts Council is related to, and I don't care how nice of a person they are.
So the congressional panel was asking these baseball players if they had committed felonies by using steroids in the past and expected them to answer the questions. Here's an idea.
Why doesn't Congress haul in those 70 some license-for-bribes defendents, including Fawell and George Ryan, and ask them some questions about their past behavior so we can get to the bottom of it and halp make sure it doesn't continue to happen? Why not snuff out the Duff's scheme to get minortiy contracts? What reason is there to not stick Governor Blagojevich and his staff in front of an identical panel and ask him if all those donations he is getting have anything to do with the contracts and appointments he's throwing around to his contributors? We have a long history of both the Republicans and Democrats using government employees and resources for campaign work, so why not have Congress questioning Speaker Madigan and his staff about their role during the month long Nader petition challenge, and George Ryan about his challenge of the Libertarian petitions in 1998, and Judy Baar Topinka and staff about the state employees working on the 2002 challenge?
Baseball players using steroids really doesn't hurt anyone else, aside from the psychological argument that people would jump of bridges if baseball players did. Unqualified truck drivers getting licenses because their bribe money went into Governor Ryan's campaign fund does hurt someone else. Blago selling contracts and appointments would be hurting someone else if that is what is happening. Government employees doing campaign work does hurt someone else.
Our brilliant Washington leaders make a federal case over some ball players doing stupid things to themselves and have absolutely no interest whatsoever in the harm people from their two power parties are inflicting on us regular Joes and Janes on a daily basis.
Not that I'm endorsing Congressional hearings on all the regular, constant, political corruption in Illinois. There is no doubt our crooked political leaders in Illinois would pull a McQwire with their non-answers and it would accomplish nothing. I just wanted to point out where your leaders priorities are in comparison to where they should be. Congress needs to leave the baseball players and the rest of us alone and clean up their own corrupt acts.
They want to "get to the bottom of this" scourge steroids is having on our society. I want them to get the bottom of all the corruption that is happening all over Illinois placing a huge "corruption tax" on everyone here. Which do you think is more important in the grand scheme of things?
Maybe I should run for Congress. ;)
Oh wait. Baseball players using steroids is more important than the fact that I would have to collect 15,380 valid signatures in 90 days (about 25,000 raw signatures) to get the ballot while a Democrat needs only 458 signatures, IF they feel like it. If they don't feel like getting 458 signatures they could just stick someone on the ballot (slate them) with a couple pieces of paper. Nah, our ballot access laws don't harm anyone else but a baseball players using steroids does.
And that conjures up an analogy. Our ballot access laws are kind of like allowing the Yankees and Red Sox to let their players use steroids while no one else can (in addition to those teams' vastly superior bank accounts), force the teams that haven't made the playoffs in the past ten years to forfeit all of their games against the Yankees and Red Sox, and require the teams that have managed to make a playoff to play and win 30 times more games as the Yankees and Red Sox just so they get the playoffs again where the Yankees and Red Sox will automatically meet them with a 3-0 game lead in their 7 game series.
Don't do it Blago
The Guv has backed himself into a corner on his supposed campaign finance reform in Illinois, and even Michael Madigan of all people is telling Blago to give the money back he has gotten from businesses with state contracts. Bernie at SJ-R adds to the discussion. One Man pointed me to the Sun-Times article and JoinCrossBlog has something to say on https://www.jasminlive.mobi/ blog.
In none of the discussion is the fact that taking money from businesses with state contracts is no different from taking money from the unions with state contracts and taking money from businesses regulated by the state. Is Michael Madigan going to give back all the money he gets from the Teachers unions and government employee unions and SBC and gambling and ....? Nope. To me, Blago is no different from anyone else in that regard. His response to Madigan should be I'll give back those campaign donations if you give back yours.
I tend to think that businesses, PACs, and the like do not and should not have the same rights as individuals, so I'm inclined to believe that only individual people should be allowed to donate to candidates. Government is there to protect our individual rights, not to protect corporations, unions, and special interests at the expense of our individual rights. That said, individuals should be free to give as much money of their own as they want to whatever candidate they want.
Do people realize how most lobbying works? All lobbyists do is remind politicians that they will lose campaign donations if they vote the wrong way on the issue important to the lobbyist. A good 80% of our politicians have been gerrymandered into a district they can't lose and don't have to worry about independents or opposition party candidates running against them pointing out how far they bent over for special interests because of our anti-democratic election laws. They don't need the lobbyist, special interest money, but their party does to gain more power and control somewhere outside of their district.
Any campaign finance reform Blago proposes isn't going to do much if any good, just like McCain Feingold hasn't. What we need to do is end gerrymandering and encourage more political competition by easing anti-democratic ballot access laws. I believe that would go further in reforming the corrupt nature of the system the Republicans and Democrats have set up than limiting what an individual can do with his.her own money. It's typical for them to blame everyone else but themselves for the problem.
Maybe I should run for Governor. ;)
The Bloomington Pantagraph takes a look at how the law requiring cats and dogs to have microchips implanted is working. It isn't. Apparently the only method government can use to enforce this law is to shut the animal shelters down.
I'm opposed to this law on several levels, but they key issue is the added cost ($25-$40) for someone to adopt a pet. Ridiculous. I also noted that the proponents of this bill keep saying it's a great way for lost dogs and cats to find their homes, yet I've yet to hear one instance in which a microchip has been successful in that regard. Get rid of the law. It's unenforcable. It's discourages adoption. It's costly. It flat out doesn't work.
Another very generous offer has allowed the BlogAd to be run over at Sun-Times Watch sometime soon. The Sun-Times Watch bloggers were very kind to comp the BlogAd so be sure to pay them a visit. That's another blog I need to visit more often. Putting an image of the Sun-Times front page up everyday is really cool and you gotta love the Sneed shots they get in. Come election season I hope to give them some material to link to about how Scott Fornek and their other political reporters completely omit some candidates on the ballot in their reporting.
Illinois Blog Lobby 4 Fair Elections
Thank you for your interest in Free and Equal Elections and for visiting to learn more about our action in Illinois. There is a lot of information below, but it all comes down to one thing. Fair Elections. Three State Representatives, Democrats Mike Boland and Jack Franks, and Republican Paul Froehlich, are taking their oath seriously to defend the statement below.
Illinois Constitutio
Article III. Section. "ALL ELECTIONS SHALL BE FREE AND EQUAL."
There is a bill in the Illinois House right now, House Bill 758 introduced by Mike Boland with Franks and Froehlich joining, that will make our Illinois elections less oppressive to independent and third party candidates. Right now our ballot access laws hugely favor Republicans and Democrats, while making it almost impossible for independent and third party candidates to run for some offices. In one State Representative District a Democrat needs 300 signatures to run for office while an independent would need 6,040 and a third party candidate would need 3,020. To run for a US House seat an average of 13,123 signatures in 90 days are needed from independent and third party candidates, while Republicans and Democrats often need less than 600 signatures.
This simply isn't fair and sets a horrible example around the world to countries like Iraq and Afghanistan showing them how to keep competition off the ballot. Did you know that 70 of the 140 State Rep and Senate races in Illinois were unopposed in 2004? 50% of our voters had NO CHOICE on their ballot. Competition is better for everyone and we need your help convincing our elected leaders to stop only thinking about their lust for power and to start doing the right thing.
Already, an outpouring of support from the Illinois Blog Community is happening with posts from all over Illinois. HB758 is a bill everyone can and should support from all over the political spectrum. Read what the Republican and Democrat and Libertarian and Independent bloggers all have to say about HB758. (Any jasminelive.online bloggers out there?)
Illinois Blog Lobby 3
If you can't trust your Leaders to hold free and equal elections, what can you trust them with?
Call your State Rep. right now and ask them to co-sponsor HB758 to make Illinois elections a better example for Iraq, Afghanistan and the world.
We're still gaining some steam and educating even more people about our anti-democratic election laws in Illinois. Eric Zorn and Rich Miller and ArchPundit and Chicagoist and Peoria Pundit and Chicago Report and Gapers Block and One Man could take some notice that 9 Illinois bloggers have already joined the Illinois Blog Lobby on the first issue proposed and thousands, maybe even tens of thousands, of people have been exposed to an issue or bill they otherwise wouldn't have known about but is important none the less. I think this bodes well for using blogs to educate and lobby about important issues.
Bruno from Extreme Wisdom has joined in with a precisely correct statement. He has a knack for those in other areas of interest to him so check his site again and his radio show while you're at it. 70 of the 140 (50%) State Reps and Senators in 2004 had NO COMPETITION ON THE BALLOT!
This is simply a democracy/ballot access issue, and the Lord knows that both the Republican & Democrat parties in IL need all the competition they can get.
My DrugWarRant friend Pete Guither, (Can I say that now that we've met?) has joined in with the positives HB758 would also have on his pet issue - drug policy reform. I KNOW if there were more Libertarian candidates there would be more talk about medical marijuana, industrial hemp, decriminalization, madnatory minimums, big drug war budgets and the like. Some Greens and independents would go there also. In fact, the Republican candidate in State Rep District 11 was positively open to some decriminalization. In that race the Democrat was the only one of the three that wanted to escalate the drug war.
But you know what? It's a good idea anyway. And it doesn't matter if you support Libertarians or some other third party, or even one of the major parties from chaturbate rooms.
If you're interested in drug policy reform, you want improved ballot access. Third party candidates (and Libertarians in particular) are much more likely to support drug policy reform publicly. (When I did drug policy-based voting guides, it was mostly the Libertarian candidates who wrote me to thank me for the endorsement. Not a single Democrat or Republican did.) Democrat and Republican politicians not only won't discuss drug policy reform, they often don't have to because they're running unopposed in Illinois. Even a Libertarian candidate that doesn't have a chance of winning can ask the questions and start the dialog.
So I'm 100% behind this idea. If you're in Illinois, do your part to help out. Here are the instructions from Jeff:
Blago's Blunders appropriately asks "Is anybody else in favor of ending the two-party system in Illinois?" That's just about precisely what the Republicans and Democrats have done with these extreme ballot access laws for everyone but themselves. They know they can't just outright ban opposing political parties and throw people in jail for trying to escape two power party rule, so they make it next to impossible for opposing parties and independents to even run for office. How can we trust anyone who supports putting that extreme limit on democratic elections and the principles that founded this country? More competition might not even allow other parties more victories in Illinois, but it will without a doubt make the two parties better.
IlliniPundit forcefully adds his opinion. Take his word for it if mine aren't strong enough. :) I'm all about that!
Jeff wrote today,
"And yes, there are issues much more important to the average Joe and Jane Illinoisans than anti-democratic ballot access laws."
That's a load of crap. There is nothing - nothing - more important that the rules by which we elect our leaders. Urbana's Primary just proved that.
Please contact your State Representative and State Senator to ask them to support this important piece of legislation. Call the Governor, too, just for good measure.
XBip has joined the ever growing revolution. "Competition is always good for the public." Sorry I hadn't noticed XBip before but I sincerely appreciate you noticing me. Blogroll link added and I'll be checking back as well. As a proponent of the freedom to homeschool I'm happy to see XBip has a category devoted to the topic.
Blog Ads at ArchPundit, Peoria Pundit, Chicago Report, and Spoons are $15 for two weeks. Look for those soon. I might even manage the $75 for a month at Reagan Review, $50 a week for a couple weeks on Gapers Block, and $110 for two weeks at Chicagoist. If you are creative and want to design the blog ad, I'd love you for it. I like the slogan that begins and ends this entry, but I'm game for better.
And the previous results did get a rise out of the JoinCrossBlog crew, or 'Chris Rhodes' more precisely. They didn't blow us off so that says something. It says a lot about them and their great efforts to be involved with and hear the blog/internet community, most importantly.
And yes, there are issues much more important to the average Joe and Jane Illinoisans than anti-democratic ballot access laws. But when people find out Republicans and Democrats in Illinois have no problem making an independent candidate get 6,040 signatures in 90 days during the winter to run for State Representative while they only need 300 signatures, it lowers the trust in government even more. When they find out a Green or Libertarian has to get 15,380 signatures in 90 days to run for US House while they only need 458, the people distrust that Leaders like Tom Cross have their best interests in mind when they are dealing with more important issues. People start thinking, well, if they would skew ballot access laws to benefit themselves, then they skew medical malpractice reform, or gambling, stem cell research, or education, or healthcare to benefit themselves at others' expense also. Who with a fair mind can be opposed to a bill like HB758 anyway? AHA, so why aren't Leader Cross or Chicago Boss Madigan helping make our elections free and equal? They care more about power than fairness and democracy is the only logical explanation.
Ballot access laws aren't a big issue for most people but democratic elections are the core of our system of government. If you can't trust your Leaders to hold free and equal elections, what can you trust them with?
Illinois Blog Lobby
My last post gave me an idea. An Illinois blog lobby. How much influence could be cast if the Illinois blogging community could come together on an agreeable issue and use their blogs as an internet lobby, so to speak? Rich Miller was on track when he was bothered by the Illinois State Board of Elections not allowing direct links to campaign reports.
So I've got an issue for us to start out on. HB758. :)
Tom Cross could help this bill tremendously, and thanks to his crew we have a bit of access to him. We can throw more traffic to the Join Cross Blog (good) while also pressuring Cross to do the right thing in helping make our election laws less Fidel Castro like, and more free and equal democratic election like. (Thanks for the response letter from the Honorable Tom Cross by the way.)
If you agree that independent and third party candidates shouldn't have to get 30-40 times the signatures to run for office as Republicans and Democrats, I ask you to help me "blog lobby" for HB758 that would reduce those requirements to only double what the Democrats and Republicans need. I'm going to start tracking down email addresses (for the first time) and ask for help there also. If you have an issue or bill you are pushing that I would and can help with, I'll certainly do so.
You can help by posting an entry on your blog about HB758. Such as:
House Bill 758 is a bill that would reduce the petition signatures that independent and third party candidates need to get in 90 days so they can appear on the ballot. Currently, independent and third party candidates often need 30 to 40 times the number of signatures that Republicans and Democrats need. In the recent Iraq election ALL candidates had the exact same requirement. HB758 would reduce the signatures needed to only double what the Republicans and Democrats need. Passing HB758 is simply the right thing to do.
Blog world connections
Our LP state convention was last weekend, and I had the pleasure of finally meeting a couple fellow bloggers in person. For me, this really demonstrates the hidden potential behind blogging and the "side effects" if you will, of having an Illinois blog community. Michael Van Winkle from Chicago Report and The Illinois Policy Institute and Pete Guither from DrugWarRant both spoke at our convention on their areas of expert knowledge. I can probably say we wouldn't have hooked up without the blogging community here in Illinois. They both really added a lot to our convention exposing us to their perspectives on issues of common cause and I know they were appreciated and want to thank them again.
This silly blog thing I jumped into has resulted in numerous relationships. I don't know that that aspect of blogging gets much credit. Eric Zorn probably wouldn't know me from Lyndon LaRouche. I'd guess Michael Van Winkle's colleague, Greg Blankenship, wouldn't know who I am and wouldn't have thought to include me with the Leave Us Alone Coalition activist group. That group has allowed me to form relationships with several others also. It would be my guess that Van Winkle and Blankenship got hooked up because of the blog community also. I think Pete Guither came across some rant of mine on the failed drug war, so we became familiar. Rich Miller probably wouldn't still think I'm an ass and I'm sure he'll give me some negative press in the future. Bill Dennis was a big inspiration and we did meet once in person at a press conference and I'm sure will meet up again.
I'd be willing to bet that I'll eventually be meeting some of the other Illinois community bloggers in the not so distant future one way or another, and we may end up collaborating on some common cause.
...and many more I'm forgetting or don't know about yet.
Anyway, blogs can help build mutually beneficial relationships and are a whole lot more than just regular Jane and Joe outlets. That's not talked about much, but it's there.