Year: 2009

Judy Baar Topinka, Make-Up and All, Running For State Comptroller

Posted on by TL

Judy Baar Topinka is running for State Comptroller.

I wish her luck.  Really.  And have a “Close Encounters of the Judy Kind” story to share.

First, from CBS 2 Chicago:

Judy Baar Topinka, once the main face of the Illinois Republican Party, is staging a political comeback after being defeated in the 2006 governor’s race by the since-indicted Rod Blagojevich. 

But she’s not setting her sights on the top of the 2010 Republican ticket and mounting an “I-told-you-so” campaign this time. Instead, the former three-term state treasurer sees the bottom of the ticket as the place to reinvigorate her political career. 

Topinka is circulating voter petitions to get on the Feb. 2 ballot as a candidate for state comptroller, the post that Democrat Dan Hynes will vacate to campaign against Gov. Quinn in his party’s gubernatorial primary. 

With the soreness of her 2006 loss having eased, Topinka, 65, comes at this election having warned voters — long before his ouster from office and indictment — that Blagojevich was a political time bomb waiting to explode.

She was right about Blago.  I have no idea if she’s right for State Comptroller.

At any rate, a few years ago, during the gubernatorial campaign in Illinois, I had the opportunity to accompany some Young Democrats to the IVI-IPO’s annual awards dinner in Chicago.

As we entered the ballroom, we located our table and found Judy Baar Topinka herself standing right next to our table chatting with folks, holding a 20 oz. cup of coffee.

The Young Dems, a high school group I shepherded for several years, took their seats at their table.

Just then, Judy finished chatting with whoever she was chatting with, and turned and faced those of us seated at this table.

The next moment was strange, and left us all with an eerie feeling.

Ms. Topinka looked at my group seated at the table and swooped her face over us, literally, bellowing, “Hello-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o!”

It was quite odd.  The high school kids just froze and looked at each other. I recall that her make-up looked pasty white.  Pasty white.  No kidding.

The silence lasted a breath or two.

At this point, Ms. Topinka muttered something, and walked away.

After she left, one of the kids told us Topinka said, “Must be a liberal table!” And with that, she strolled away.

Look, I honestly wish Ms. Topinka well in the upcoming election cycle.  Certainly Rod (“What’s she thinking?!?!?!?) Blagojevich was the wrong man for the job.  Judy should have won.  But I’m not about to vote for her for Comptroller out of sympathy.  I’m looking very closely at David Miller right now.

But, Judy?  She needs to remember, in politics and elsewhere in life, first impressions are everything.

And we’ll always have Chicago.

“Hello-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o!”

So All Conservatives Do NOT Worship Rush Limbaugh

Posted on by TL

This is a new blog, and I’m hesitant to even link to them, however, I was intrigued by this headline on a purportedly conservative blog:

Rush Limbaugh Does Not Speak For Conservatives

Yup.  That’s what it says.  Rush Limbaugh does not speak for conservatives.

Don’t know who these people are, and I’m skeptical at this point, but I’m intrigued by this inaugural post (not really inaugural.  I guess this is the second post on the blog.)

‘It’s a Great Day for America, Everybody!’ Craig Ferguson Has a Book Coming Out!

Posted on by TL

It’s a great day for America, Everybody! Craig Ferguson has a book coming out!

It may be a biography. And then again, it may not.

I’m watching him right now, and he’s absolutely hilarious. Honestly laughing, sitting there drinking from his serpent mug.

Buy his book, for heaven’s sake.

He’s wonderful.

Buy his book.

 

Giannoulias Comes Out In Favor of Gay Marriage

Posted on by TL

Technically, I support Alexi Giannoulias for U.S. Senate.  I also supported Barack Obama for Senate.  Obama is governing as a moderate so far.  Obama has yet to find the courage to be liberal.

Alexi Giannoulias recently took a stand on an issue that Obama danced around: gay marriage.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias said Wednesday he favors legalization of same-sex marriage and, if elected, would seek to repeal a federal law that defines marriage as being between one man and one woman.

In an interview, Giannoulias said individual states should be able to decide for themselves whether they allow same-sex couples to marry, but that all states should be required to afford legal recognition to same-sex marriages performed in states where they are sanctioned.

Giannoulias also would require the federal government to recognize same-sex marriages, now prohibited by the Defense of Marriage Act he wants repealed. He says this would have the effect, in part, of allowing gay and lesbian couples to file joint federal income tax returns and receive Social Security survivor benefits.

To top it off, he wants to repeal the U.S. military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

I give Alexi credit for taking a stand.  I hope he remembers what he says he stands for after he’s elected.

Some are wondering where the change is.  Barack seems to be very taken with the power of the office of president, and that has me worried.  The ability to wage war must be its own aphrodesiac.

Some are wondering aloud.  From NPR:

Vermont on Tuesday joined five other states that have given same-sex couples the right to marry. That situation was almost unimaginable a decade ago, when, after rancorous debate, the state became the first in the union to enact same-sex civil unions.

But despite the historic gains made by the nation’s gay community, this year has largely been one of disappointment for many whose hopes were pinned on President Obama’s promise of change after two terms of an openly hostile Republican administration.

“People were shellshocked from the last eight years,” says Michael Joseph Gross, a New York-based writer whose recent piece about Obama and the gay community, “Hope and History,” appeared in The Advocate, a national gay and lesbian newsmagazine.

Obama supports civil unions, but he has never come out publicly in support of same-sex marriage. Nonetheless, Gross says, the gay community saw in Obama a fierce ally in the White House. And as recently as June, the president pledged to “bring the full spectrum of equal rights to LGBT Americans.”

“This was supposed to be the easy part,” Gross says.

Obama is one hell of a campaigner when running for office.  He just doesn’t seem to like campaigning for things that are really important.  It’s real important that he appear friendly with people who will never vote for or with him on any issue — like the Movement Conservative Republicans who dominate the Republican Party right now.

What have these ideologically driven conservatives who long ago lost the ability to think critically about any issue given us?

Nothing.

So, I’ll support you, Alexi.  You’ve got guts.  I hope you mean what you say.

Open Wide the Gates of Justice: 9/11 Witnesses Can Sue Ashcroft

Posted on by TL

From WTAE in Pittsburgh (Always the first with the breaking news. So, kudos to them):

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals says the U.S. Attorney General may be held liable for people who were wrongfully detained as material witnesses after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

In a harshly worded 91-page ruling handed down Friday, the justices found that a man who was detained as a witness in a federal terrorism case can sue former Attorney General John Ashcroft for allegedly violating his Fourth Amendment rights.

The suit was brought forward by Abdullah Al-Kidd, a U.S. citizen and former University of Idaho student, who was detained for two weeks in 2005. Al-Kidd said he lost a scholarship and employment opportunities.

The implications of this decision are staggering.

Open wide the gates of justice, and let all who were harmed come forward.

No Release for Dying Manson Murderer Susan Atkins

Posted on by TL

ABC has to be the worst with breaking news.

This is all they have right now on this story:

No Release for Dying Manson Murderer Susan Atkins, ABC Affiliate KFSN Reports

ABC is really great at sending out headlines.  If you click the link above, you’ll see that’s all they send out.

Headlines. Without stories.

So, at any rate, it looks like Susan Atkins will not get out of prison in this lifetime.

D.C. Catholic Church Goes to War Against Gays

Posted on by TL

I’ll let Change.Org cover this one.

From Michael Jones:

Archbishop Wuerl wants D.C. to put the question of same-sex marriage on a ballot, so that voters can decide whether gays and lesbians ought to have equal rights. There’s some of that good-ole religious compassion for ya’. According to Wuerl, only straight people getting hitched can provide the type of loving relationships that keep families and children stable.

To that, here’s a big cry of bullshit. Why? Because as Massachusetts has shown in their state, gay marriage has simply no detrimental impact on marriage or the family. In fact, five years after Massachusetts legalized same-sex marriage, the state has some of the lowest divorce rates. And by low, we mean as low as they were 80 freakin’ years ago.

You’d think the Church would stop for a moment and recognize that. Or you’d think the Church would look up from it’s navel and see that in Washington, D.C., one out of three children live in poverty; the District has some of the highest HIV/AIDS rates in the country; or that high school graduation rates in some areas of Washington stagger around the 55-60 percent mark. Surely those issues have to be more important that whether gays and lesbians have the right to marry, right?

Not if your faith runs as hollow as Archbishop Wuerl’s.

For the life of me, I don’t know why Wuerl is making this move, except to remind Rome that he’s still there, and still does not have the Red Hat.  I have a friend who knew Don Wuerl many, many years ago.  Back when Don Wuerl was Cardinal John Wright’s fair-haired boy.  He says Wuerl’s middle initial might just as well be “A” for “Ambition.”  Wuerl wants to be a Cardinal.  And maybe Pope.  That’s all he wants.

This attack against our LGBT friends is nothing more than an attempt to draw attention to himself, nudge the pope to make him a Cardinal.

This is not about Wuerl’s opposition to homosexuality.  This is about Archbishop Wuerl making a career move.  The ultimate career move Wuerl has been hoping for his entire life.

And he will succeed.

One of his predecessors in Pittsburgh did something equally inane.  In the 1980s, Bishop Bevilacqua came up with the brilliant notion that women should not have their feet washed in church on Holy Thursday.  I’ll not go into the absurd reasoning he used, but it was really silly.

Bevilacqua was eventually rewarded with the Red Hat, and he eventually became Cardinal Archbishop of Philadelphia.

The next year, Pittsburgh went back to permitting women to have their feet washed on Holy Thursday.

Look, Don Wuerl wants to be a Cardinal in the Catholic Church.  That’s all he’s ever wanted.  He’ll cry tears of joy when he finaly gets the Red Hat.

And our LGBT friends will have his shoe-prints on their faces.

Rachel Maddow’s Amazing Interview with Former Sec. of Homeland Security Tom Ridge

Posted on by TL

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Ridge on what happened during Katrina.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Ridge and Maddow debate the decision behind the Iraq War.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Commentary

This interview was nothing short of amazing. The exchange was brilliant on both sides. Rachel Maddow is one of the most intelligent political minds in this country. Ridge elaborates on what he wrote in his book, and answers questions calmly and directly.

Former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge appears on the show to share his interpretation of what he wrote in his book, The Test of Our Times: America Under Siege…And How We Can Be Safe Again, published today. The book is well-reviewed, and I actually may pick up a copy.

Watch the video above. Enjoy as two brilliant minds who share very different viewpoints debate and discuss.

Bringing Clean Water to People in Developing Countries

Posted on by TL

This young lad deserves some serious kudos for answering the call.

From ENEWSPF:

When Sam Girmai-Jones was in church one Sunday in March, the priest talked about the church’s ministry to Africa where wells were being built to provide clean drinking water to the residents. Nine-year-old Sam was surprised to learn that many kids his age didn’t have safe drinking water in their homes and that some had to walk miles each day to get clean water at the nearest well.

The Park Forest, IL, resident felt compelled to help. His mother took him to the library where he researched solutions. That’s when Sam learned about LifeStraw. He was amazed by the simple device which worked like a straw while filtering out impurities to make water safe to drink. He decided to raise enough money to send 1,000 individual LifeStraw water filters to people in need. To achieve this goal, Sam will need to raise $7,000.

On June 13, just one month after Sam launched his campaign, he presented a check for the first $1,000 raised to his family church,

Sam’s mother Yvette helped her son formulate a fundraising campaign. Together, they contacted LifeStraw manufacturer, Vestergaard Frandsen, and were sent background information about LifeStraw from the company. Sam then put together a presentation he’d share with groups to convince them to donate to the cause.

Says he was at the Park Forest Library with a friend one day and saw LifeStraws featured in the book Cool Stuff 2.0: And How it Works. He says he remembered seeing a factoid at church about life in Africa, “When we first joined the church, we saw people in Africa drinking dirty water. Later, I found out about this, and remembered all the way back about that [factoid].”

I had to copy over the video above to show how this incredible product works.

Read the full story here.

And answer the call.

Another Life Lost: Aurora Teen Charged in Gang Killing

Posted on by TL

Another life lost.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

A 16-year-old from Aurora has been charged as an adult in what authorities say was a gang-related shooting that killed one man last June and wounded two others.

Christopher Contreras was 15 when he allegedly approached a house in the west suburb on June 24 and opened fire at several people sitting on the front porch, Aurora police spokesman Dan Ferrelli said today.

Killed in the shooting: 38-year-old Donald Franklin, who lived in the home. Two other men, ages 36 and 45, were wounded but survived, Ferrelli said.

Police said the killing appeared to be gang-related, but disclosed nothing else.

Another life lost.