How to be a good Democrat.:

1. You have to be against capital punishment, but support abortion on demand.

2. You have to believe that businesses create oppression and governments create prosperity.

3. You have to believe that guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens are more of a threat than U.S. nuclear weapons technology in the hands of Iran or Chinese and North Korean communists.

4. You have to believe that there was no art before federal funding.

5. You have to believe that global temperatures are less affected by cyclical changes in the earth's climate and more affected by soccer moms driving SUV's.

6. You have to believe that gender roles are artificial, but being homosexual is natural.

7. You have to believe that the AIDS virus is spread by a lack of federal funding.

8. You have to believe that the same teacher who can't teach 4th-graders how to read is somehow qualified to teach those same kids about sex.

9. You have to believe that self-esteem is more important than actually doing something to earn it.

10. You have to believe that Mel Gibson spent $25 million of his own money to make "The Passion of the Christ" for financial gain only.

11. You have to believe the NRA is bad because it supports certain parts of the Constitution, while the ACLU is good because it supports certain parts of the Constitution.

12. You have to believe that taxes are too low, but ATM fees are too high.

13. You have to believe that Margaret Sanger and Gloria Steinem are more important to American history than Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Edison.

14. You have to believe that standardized tests are racist, but racial quotas and set-asides are not.

15. You have to believe that the only reason communism hasn't worked anywhere it's been tried is because the right people haven't been in charge.

16. You have to believe that homosexual parades displaying drag queens and transvestites should be constitutionally protected, and manger scenes at Christmas should be illegal.

17. You have to believe that this message is a part of a vast, right-wing conspiracy.

Vacancy at 5th and Jackson, Springfield, IL

Vacancy:

Desired downtown residence. Spacious. Multiple bedrooms and bathrooms. Historical district. Furniture included. Vacated since 2002!
______________________

Lawmakers have called on Blagojevich repeatedly to stay at the Executive Mansion, a state-owned home for Illinois' governor located two blocks from the Capitol. Blagojevich has said previously he prefers to stay in Chicago to be with his family.

"I don't feel I'm insulting if I say, 'Governor, if you're here, I think you can be part of the process. If you're not here, I think you're being part of the problem,' " said Rep. Bill Black (R-Danville).

The non-binding resolution, sponsored by Rep. Sandra Pihos (R-Glen Ellyn), passed by voice vote but not before a handful of Democratic allies to the governor raised a stink on the House floor.

Full Story

Michael Moore no fan of Hillary...

One of the differences between Michael Moore's forthcoming "SiCKO" and his previous films, he writes in the publicity materials, is that "there's not one character or company to hate in SiCKO," which I caught at a screening yesterday. And indeed, most of the politicians appear as anonymous figures in suits, with price tags indicating their contributions from the drug industry. Billy Tauzin, predictably, takes a bit of a beating.

And so, less predictably, does Hillary Clinton.

Moore's brief political history of American health care policy at first seems to lavish praise on Clinton, if with a satirical, and gendered, edge. (She's introduced as "Sassy...smart...sexy.")

But his conclusion is that she sold out. After her defeat in the first Clinton term, he says, she fell silent on the issue. And "for her silence, Hillary was rewarded. And she has been the second-largest recipient in the Senate of healthcare industry contributions."

The movie, which like most of his movies, is powerfully made, will probably drive some debate on the issue when it's released at the end of this month. It's basically a commercial for Western Europe, with an over-the-top ode to Cuba tacked onto the end. And Moore isn't personally in sympathy with any of the Democrats.

"They don't seem to want to grapple with the real issue. It's very sad," he says of the presidential candidates in the publicity package distributed at the screening. "Even the well-intentioned people like John Edwards -- his plan seems to be to take our tax dollars and put them into the pockets of the private insurance industry."

Moore, needless to say, is for single-payer.

Get Free Opinion Polls

Al Gore's Fuzzy Utility Bills...

The Tennessee Center for Policy Research, an independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan research organization, issued a press release late Monday:

Last night, Al Gore’s global-warming documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, collected an Oscar for best documentary feature, but the Tennessee Center for Policy Research has found that Gore deserves a gold statue for hypocrisy.

Gore’s mansion, [20-room, eight-bathroom] located in the posh Belle Meade area of Nashville, consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year, according to the Nashville Electric Service (NES).

In his documentary, the former Vice President calls on Americans to conserve energy by reducing electricity consumption at home.

The average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of Energy. In 2006, Gore devoured nearly 221,000 kWh—more than 20 times the national average.

Last August alone, Gore burned through 22,619 kWh—guzzling more than twice the electricity in one month than an average American family uses in an entire year. As a result of his energy consumption, Gore’s average monthly electric bill topped $1,359.

Since the release of An Inconvenient Truth, Gore’s energy consumption has increased from an average of 16,200 kWh per month in 2005, to 18,400 kWh per month in 2006.

Gore’s extravagant energy use does not stop at his electric bill. Natural gas bills for Gore’s mansion and guest house averaged $1,080 per month last year.

“As the spokesman of choice for the global warming movement, Al Gore has to be willing to walk to walk, not just talk the talk, when it comes to home energy use,” said Tennessee Center for Policy Research President Drew Johnson.

In total, Gore paid nearly $30,000 in combined electricity and natural gas bills for his Nashville estate in 2006.

Promises made... promises broken!

Interesting article in today's Politico

Pelosi vowed that five-day workweeks would be a hallmark of a harder-working Democratic majority. So far, the House has logged only one. Lawmakers plan to clock three days this week.

The speaker has denied Republicans a vote on their proposals during congressional debates -- a tactic she previously declared oppressive and promised to end. But... Pelosi has opened the floor to a Republican alternative just once.

Pelosi set a high standard for herself when she pledged to make this "the most ethical Congress in history" -- a boast that was the political equivalent of leading with her chin. And some critics have been happy to hit it.

She is drawing fire for putting Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.), who had $90,000 in alleged bribe money in his freezer, on the Homeland Security Committee. And The Washington Post reported during the weekend that she is helping chairmen raise money from donors with business before their committees.

Pelosi can count several big changes designed to curb abuses that plagued the Republican majority before it was dethroned in last fall's elections, including new limits on gifts from lobbyists. But her debut has not quieted skeptics who see her and the new majority failing to make the clean break with the deeply ingrained congressional culture.

When Dems attack... EACHOTHER!!!

Senator Joe Biden was in rare form a few days ago in an interview with a New York publication. He offers his thoughts on his opponents for the Democratic Presidential Nomination:

On John Edwards: “I don’t think John Edwards knows what the heck he is talking about...”

On Barak Huesein Obama: “I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy, I mean, that’s a storybook, man. " But—and the “but” was clearly inevitable—he doubts whether American voters are going to elect “a one-term, a guy who has served for four years in the Senate,” and added: “I don’t recall hearing a word from Barack about a plan or a tactic (regarding Iraq).”

ENTIRE ARTICLE

Kane County Smoke Free???

From the Beacon News

GENEVA -- A special Kane County Board panel is being created to study banning smoking in public places in unincorporated parts of the county.

Board member Gerry Jones, D-Aurora, chairman of the Public Health Committee, will serve on the subcommittee. Also on it will be board members Jan Carlson, R-Elburn, and Bob Kudlicki, R-Hampshire, both representatives of the largest unincorporated areas of the county, and an as-yet-to-be-named member of the Public Health Committee.

Jones told Health Committee members Tuesday the subcommittee will "look at the possibility of exemptions" in an ordinance banning smoking in public places.

That ordinance is under review by board members. It is based on the same ordinance being considered in Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles, Sugar Grove and Elgin. The city councils of the Tri-Cities could consider passage as early as next week.

The county's timing is coordinated with a month of education about secondhand smoke by the Health Department. Paul Kuehnert, Health Department deputy director, said officials are hoping to have hearings on a ban and get exemptions in place by the end of February.

The hearings and educational open houses will be held four times throughout the county during the month. They are scheduled for 5 to 8 p.m. on:

• Feb. 5, Prisco Community Center, 150 W. Illinois Ave., Aurora.

• Feb. 6, The Centre, 100 Symphony Way, Ballrooms N and S, Elgin.

• Feb. 19, Sugar Grove Fire Protection District, 25 S. Municipal Drive, Sugar Grove.

• Feb. 20, Eagle Brook Country Club, 2288 Fargo Blvd., Geneva.

The Health Department will have educational material and displays these open houses. There also will be places people can give oral or written testimony on a smoking ban.

Speaker Hastert Recovering from Gall Bladder Surgery: Looking forward to watching the Bears on Sunday

From The Beacon News:

U.S. Rep. J. Dennis Hastert is recovering from gall bladder surgery at Rush University Medical Center, according to his office.

Hastert's press secretary, Brad Hahn, confirmed that Hastert had his gall bladder removed Friday, and is still in the hospital recuperating. He is expected to make a full recovery, Hahn said, although no time has been set for his release.

Hahn said that Hastert is anxious to get back to work.

"He's restless," Hahn said. "It's just a matter of when the doctors give him the green light (to go home)."

As it stands, Hastert is uncertain where he will spend Super Bowl Sunday, and Hahn wouldn't rule out the possibility that the congressman might have to watch the game from his hospital bed.

"He's a big Bears fan," Hahn said, "and he is looking forward to watching the Super Bowl, wherever he is."

And so it begins...

From the Beacon News:
House OKs minimum wage hike, would rise to $7.25 in 26 months

WASHINGTON -- The Democratic-controlled House voted Wednesday to increase the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour, bringing America's lowest-paid workers a crucial step closer to their first raise in a decade.

The vote was 315-116.

"You should not be relegated to poverty if you work hard and play by the rules," said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md.

The bill was the second measure passed since Democrats took control of the House, ending more than a decade of Republican rule.

The measure, which now goes to the Senate, would raise the federal wage floor by $2.10 from its current $5.15 an hour in three steps over 26 months....

-- ENTIRE ARTICLE --

Blago comes out of the closet...

From today's Daily Herald:

After more than four years, Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s public political rhetoric finally is matching his actual governing philosophy.

Earlier this week, Blagojevich promised “an activist government” in his second term just moments after being sworn in.

During his first four years and throughout a successful re-election bid, Blagojevich took pains to avoid using the kind of language that would scare moderate suburban swing voters, the folks who could make or break him at the polls.

Now safely ensconced, and unlikely to run again (two terms is about the shelf life for a modern governor), Blagojevich apparently feels he’s got the green light to bust out terms like “activist government.”

-- ENTIRE ARTICLE --

Blair agrees with Bush on new war strategy...

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said that US President George W. Bush's increase of troops in Iraq "makes sense", in a television interview on Thursday.

"Given the conditions in Baghdad at the moment, I think it makes sense for them to increase the number of their forces, provided it's to back up an increasing Iraqi capability," Blair said.

Bush is sending 21,500 extra US troops to Iraq, while Britain's policy is to pull back troops and hand areas including the second city of Basra over to Iraqi control.

But Blair emphasised that Britain's situation in Basra, southern Iraq, was different to the one faced by the US and said it would be a "misunderstanding" to say that the two countries' policies were diverging.

"The truth is the conditions in Baghdad are different from those in Basra.

"The reason why the Americans are having to surge forces in Baghdad is because the security condition there is completely different," Blair told Westcountry Television during a visit to southwest England.

Blair said that in Basra, "we don't have the same type of sectarian fighting, we don't have Al-Qaeda operating in the same way" as in Baghdad.

Asked about a report in The Daily Telegraph newspaper that Britain would pull out around 2,700 troops from southern Iraq by the end of May, Blair would only say it was right that Britain moved to a "support role" once the Iraqi authorities could handle their own security.

Batavia Looks to crack down on smoking... Debate continues

From the Daily Herald

The debate was between medical health and economic health Wednesday as Batavia residents and business owners aired their views on the city’s proposed ban on smoking in public places.

Batavia is working with Geneva and St. Charles to craft identical ordinances that would prohibit smoking in all indoor public spaces, including restaurants, bars and bowling alleys, with an eye toward enacting the ban by May 1.

“I would lose my business,” Debbie Dinske, owner of the downtown Stoplite tavern, told Batavia aldermen during a committee hearing on the proposal....

ENTIRE ARTICLE

Democrats look to strike funding from our troops overseas...

It didn't take long for the "conservative" Democrats to show their true colors in the nation's capital. After recieving news of President Bush's new plan to send further troops to stabilize Iraq, the Democrats immediately voiced their opposition.

Senator Durbin told CBS news that the Dems would ask questions of the administration that have never been asked before. That's funny, I thought the obstructionists in his party have been questioning every move President Bush has made since he took office.


Daily Herald:

WASHINGTON -- Illinois' Democratic senators expressed skepticism today on a proposed Iraq troop buildup, even as Defense Secretary Robert Gates said it remains unclear how long it will last.

But Gates said that the United States should know pretty soon whether Iraqis were living up to their part of the deal and increasing their own forces.

Illinois Democratic Senators Barack Obama and Dick Dubrbin voiced deep skepticism over the buildup.... ENTIRE STORY

Mary Richards

The Kane County Republican Central Committee is saddened by the loss of our dear friend and loyal supporter Mary Richards.  Mary served her community on the Kane County Board until retiring in 2004.  She will be missed.

Funeral services for Mary Richards will be this Saturday, January 13, at 10:00 a.m. at:
 Holy Angels Church
 180 South Russell Avenue, Aurora, IL 60506
  (630) 897-1194
 
There will be no wake. 

Condolences may be sent to Mary's husband, William (Bill) Richards at:

 460 W. Downer Place
 Unit 5A
 Aurora, IL  60506

Senator Lauzen: First, do no harm

From the Voice From the Senate Floor:

In the next six months, I anticipate that there will be a vote in the General Assembly to legalize spending $125,000,000 of taxpayer funds to conduct controversial and speculative embryonic stem cell research. Although financial experts have recently made the case that Illinois is insolvent considering only its current obligations, our attention will be diverted from education, property taxes, safe transportation, and reduction of pervasive corruption by seductive promises of cures for diseases like diabetes, Alzheimer's, and even cancer.

I support privately-funded stem cell research that does not destroy innocent human life. Obviously, we all want cures for diseases; the question is, "What are we willing to sacrifice to get them?"

A human embryo, a fertilized egg, unites the essential genetic material that defines an individual human being. In the process of embryonic stem cell research as it is currently practiced, scientists replace and discard the original life within the egg with foreign genetic material that they prefer to grow there instead. The unique identity of an individual human being vanishes for eternity.

Naturally, we all want cures for diseases. My grandfather suffered from diabetes. My brother suffers from it now. My sister survived juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. It was tragic to watch my father slowly debilitated by a neurodegenerative disease. Every person who reads this newspaper has a stake in the success of scientists, although eventually each of us will lose our struggle with immortality.

There are at least three major areas of reason why all conscientious legislators ought to hesitate before they leap onto the bandwagon of approving $125,000,000 of taxpayer money to fund embryonic stem cell research, i.e. moral compromise, scientific productivity and non-destructive alternatives, and fiscal irresponsibility.

Ask yourself the question, "When is the cure for my disease more important than your life or your individual human identity?" Responsible human beings have recognized from the beginning of medicine that there need to be limits to what some are willing to do to others in the name of research. Hippocrates, the Greek philosopher and father of medicine, taught the first medical ethic, "First, do no harm", in his Hippocratic Oath. The unique identity of an individual human being is the first casualty to this research as it is currently done.

The destruction of an embryo is not necessary to derive the greatest portion of research benefits in two ways. First, patients with 58 different medical conditions have been helped by adult and umbilical cord stem cell research, where an embryo is not destroyed. However, no clinical cures have been produced so far as a result of embryonic stem cell research. Secondly, researchers like Professor Kevin Eggan at the Harvard University Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Dr. George Daley of Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School are working on techniques like fusion regeneration and parthenogenesis which represent a third, non-destructive alternative where the embryo is not sacrificed. When they succeed, this entire divisive debate will disappear.

A truly extreme position in this controversy would be to stubbornly insist upon controversial and speculative research that requires the destruction of a human embryo.

Finally, beware of what proponents are actually promising. They speculate that spending $125,000,000 of taxpayer money will produce cures. However, they know that these results are not guaranteed. Politicians promise to balance a budget, but don't deliver. They promise to properly fund education, but don't deliver. They promise to provide utility rate relief, but don't deliver. And, they promise to pay their current Medicaid obligations to local health care providers on-time, but don't deliver. These promises are relatively straightforward and have been broken. But now, with this latest proposal, they want us to believe that our tax money will produce cures for every disease. How many times do we need to be disappointed before we discern the consistent pattern of the unreliability but constant overreach of distant government?

Most of the people I serve distinguish between good research that heals physically and spiritually, and bad research that destroys. They recognize that the most immediate therapies are from adult and umbilical cord stem cell research, and in the long-run from non-destructive embryonic stem cell research. We need to approach these decisions with humility and patient hard work. We should study and incorporate the thoughts of our best ethicists, scientists, fiscal experts, and moral leaders. Now is the time for these men and women to have their voices heard.

A similar proposal was defeated by majorities in the Illinois House and Senate in November 2004. I also join Congressman Hastert and President Bush in their defense of human life by opposing the unnecessary destruction of human embryos with federal funds. We must act now to avoid choosing a path that leads to regret about what we have sacrificed and might become in the name of unbridled scientific experimentation.

Chris Lauzen
Illinois State Senator
25th District

Will the real Barak Obama please stand up?

Illinois' freshman Senator has people around the nation buzzing about how wonderful he is, but very few people realize the truth behind his story.

Obama was born Aug. 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii, the son of Barack Hussein Obama Sr. of Nyangoma-Kogelo, Siaya District, Kenya, and Ann Dunham, of Wichita, Kan.

Obama senior met his wife, when he was a student attending the University of Hawaii. Obama junior was born in Hawaii.

When he was two-years old, Obama's parents divorced and his father returned to Kenya, where he eventually served as a senior economist in the country's Ministry of Finance.

When Obama was six, his mother, an atheist, married Lolo Soetoro, an Indonesian Muslim and moved to Jakarta, Indonesia. Obama's half-sister, Maya Soetoro was born after the family moved to Indonesia.

Soetoro enrolled his stepson in one of Jakarta's Muslim Wahabbi schools. Wahabbism is the radical teaching that created the Muslim terrorists who are now waging Jihad on the rest of the world. Obama later attended a Catholic
school in Indonesia for two years.

At age 10 Obama was sent back to Hawaii to be raised by his maternal grandparents and to attend the prestigious Punahou Academy.

He attended Occidental College, followed by Columbia College and Columbia University.

After Obama's parents divorced when he was two, he spent only one month with his father before his father's death in a vehicle wreck when Obama was 20.

After college, Obama entered Harvard Law where he was elected president of the Harvard Law Review. He received his law degree in 1991 and moved to Chicago where he took a job with a civil rights law firm.

Obama was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1996. He lost in a bid for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000 and was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004.

Obama says he is a Christian with "deep faith rooted in the Christian tradition." He is a member of Trinity United Church of Christ of Chicago, which on its web site declares to be a "congregation which is Unashamedly Black and Unapologetically Christian" and "an African people" who "remain 'true to our native land,' the mother continent, the cradle of civilization."

Trinity United Church of Christ adopted a "Black Value System" which pledges allegiance "to all Black leadership who espouse and embrace the Black Value System" and a "personal commitment to embracement of the Black Value System."

According to ontheissues.org, Obama has proven himself to be a nearly perfect leftist democrat. He is pro-abortion, anti-gun, against ban of same-sex marriage, against teaching family values in public schools, against ban of flag burning, against privatizing Social Security, against the death penalty and three strikes laws, for hiring more women and minorities, for increased funding for health care and for campaign finance reform.

He believes in the separation of church and state - except when he campaigns in black churches.

Who is Barak Hussein Obama? Well, he's not the bright shining star that the media likes to make him appear to be.

Promises made... promises BROKEN!

Democrats ran to expand the work week in the House to 5 days.

But guess how long that lasted?

Not even one week!

"Culture Shock on Capitol Hill: House to Work 5 Days a Week" front-paged the WASHINGTON POST in December.

Majority leader Steny Hoyer said members of the House will be expected in the Capitol for votes each week by 6:30 p.m. Monday and will finish their business about 2 p.m. Friday.

Explained the POST: "Forget the minimum wage. Or outsourcing jobs overseas. The labor issue most on the minds of members of Congress yesterday was their own: They will have to work five days a week starting in January."

But on the morning after the night before, on the first full week of the new congress, Hoyer has pulled back from his vow!

A Hoyer press release obtained by the DRUDGE REPORT boldly declares: "Monday, January 8, 2007: The House is not in session."

Hill sources claim The House is taking Monday 'off' this week, because of the championship football game between Ohio State and the University of Florida.

And, of course, the following Monday is the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

100 hours...starting...soon

*Article featured on www.drudgereport.com

Not all rosie for Democrats...

When you lie down with pigs, you end up dirty. The Democrats allied themselves with Cindy Sheehan and now they wonder why she isn't playing nice...

Protesters disrupt press conference on lobbying reform
Washington Business Journal - 3:07 PM EST Wednesday
by Kent Hoover
Washington Bureau Chief

House Democrats tried to unveil their lobbying reform package today, but their press conference was drowned out by chants from anti-war activists who want Congress to stop funding the Iraq war before taking on other issues.

Led by Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a slain soldier, the protesters chanted "De-escalate, investigate, troops home now" as Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., began outlining the Democrats' plans to ban lobbyist-funded travel and institute other ethics reforms. The press conference was held in the Cannon House Office Building in an area open to the public.

Emanuel finally gave up trying to be heard over the chants, and retreated to a caucus room where Democrats were meeting.

Sheehan says she has nothing against lobbying reform, but she and her fellow anti-war activists want Democrats to know they will keep pressuring Congress to end the war in Iraq.

"We wanted the Democrats to know they're back in power because of the grass roots," Sheehan says.

The anti-war activists held their own Capitol Hill press conference earlier in the day before deciding to attend the lobbying reform press conference as well.

Before the chanting started, Sheehan got a hug from Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., the new chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

Hillary downplays Obama Candidacy...

From the New York Times:

According to participants, Mrs. Clinton has pressed to find out everything from whether former Vice President Al Gore will run again (he is inclined not to, people tell her) to how much support remains for Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, the party’s 2004 candidate, among Democratic leaders (anemic, she has heard).

Mrs. Clinton told Democrats that she viewed her two strongest potential Democratic opponents as Senator Barack Obama of Illinois and John Edwards, the former senator from North Carolina. They said that she viewed Mr. Obama as her biggest obstacle to the nomination, but that she believed the threat of his candidacy will diminish as voters learn how inexperienced he is in government and foreign affairs.

Without mentioning Mr. Obama by name, Mrs. Clinton and her camp are already asserting that experience will be a key attribute for any successful candidate during difficult times — an argument that her team will no doubt make in a more aggressive way against Mr. Obama if they both jump into the race.

With Clinton known for her aggressive campaign tactics, do you think that she will set out to destroy Obama? Since Obama is considered the best chance for a African American to become the first credible Democrat challenger for the White House, how do you think Clinton's actions will sit with the nations African American voters?