Illinois Review

Chicago Archdiocese opposes ERA

The constituents of those suburban Democratic House members like Kevin Joyce, Kevin McCarthy and Jim Brosnahan as well as Senator Ed Maloney should be all be notified that the Chicago Archdiocese has just put out this statement opposing the ERA: 

Why Barack Hussein Obama should win the Democratic nomination

If Barack Hussein Obama wins the Democratic nomination, we can assume he'll continue his popular "Change for America" theme.  That "change" is that he will slash the U.S. military defense system and we'll all be "Sleepless in America," afraid to close our eyes at night because we'll be at the mercy of armed and dangerous international predators. 

Obama's Inexperience has Real Consequences

by Mark Rhoads

Many IR readers were not able to see the full video of the Saturday Night Live skit posted on IR on Tuesday because NBC quickly asked You Tube to remove the clip as a copyright violation.  During the Feb. 26 Democratic debate in Cleveland, Hillary Clinton, who is not known for her sense of humor, naturally thought the skit was funny. In reality the target was not so much Obama himself as the gaggle of reporters who fawn over Obama and almost literally worship at his feet. 

Cross: Time to Rebuild Illinois (but with union jobs only)

Governor Blagojevich's Executive Order #13 mandates that all state-funded work be done with union contractors. No qualified, non-union construction companies are allowed to even bid. 76 percent of the state's construction workers are non-union. Who will benefit the most from a massive capitalization program with Executive Order #13 in place? Governor Blagojevich's Chicago union buddies.

Why are Republicans encouraging this without any concessions whatsover from the governor? We need roads fixed, no doubt. 

From Leader Cross' office today:

Someone, please take on the Planned Parenthood bully

Who's afraid of or chooses to simply ignore Planned Parenthood?  Apparently, all our state legislators who claim to be pro-life, because not one has stepped up yet to push back a taxpayer-funded classroom bully that is destroying our kids.

Late last fall there was hope when an Illinois lawmaker called, asking for legislative ideas on how to get Planned Parenthood under control.  The Aurora abortion clinic controversy was at its height, audio recordings of Planned Parenthood staff advising a 14 year old minor how she could get an abortion without getting her 23-year-old boyfriend in trouble was emerging, and this lawmaker was hearing outrage from local constituents.  He thought he might want to introduce legislation to slap down Planned Parenthood . . .

That "outsider state," Illinois

H/T Pete Speer

Who will blink in the Cook County budget showdown?

Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica and others continue to hold the line on a Cook County tax increase, frustrating County Board Chairman Todd Stroger and political insiders desperate to hike taxes to balance the county budget by midnight tonight.

The Choice in the 11th Could Boost All GOP Fortunes

by Charlie Johnston

In the classic movie, Jaws, while tossing chum out the back of a boat, Police Chief Brody catches his first sight of the monstrous size of the killer shark he and his two companions are hunting. Shrinking back in terror, he turns to Captain Quint and, in bewildered horror, says, “We’re going to need a bigger boat.” One suspects that New Lenox Mayor Tim Baldermann had much the same feeling as he realized just what was involved in running a competitive race for Congress these days.

"Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire" Foster

The latest television ad from the Foster campaign is not only full of the normal half-truths and distortions that we have gotten used to seeing from them, but it is factually inaccurate.

The false claim in the ad is that somehow Jim Oberweis doesn’t support employer provided health care. However, according to the correction that ran in today’s Chicago Tribune, Foster’s charge is false.   You have to read the fine print, but hey, it's there . . .

NIU Building to be razed

Cooler heads must prevail in wake of NIU's shootings.  The school's Cole Hall will be torn down, Blagojevich said at a press conference yesterday.  He was joined by area State Senator Brad Burzynski and State Rep. Bob Pritchard.   They are asking for $40 million to erase this month's tragic, violent memories. 

There's at least one cooler head in the midst. . .

Dick Durbin Should Support a One Year Moratorium on Wasteful Earmarks

From the Sauerberg for U.S. Senate campaign:

(Springfield, IL) - "The career politicians like Dick Durbin are addicted to wasteful pork barrel spending, and its time for them to kick the habit," said U.S. Senate nominee Steve Sauerberg, M.D.  "Dick Durbin should support common sense efforts to enact a one year moratorium on wasteful earmark spending in the U.S. Senate."

This week, Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) announced plans to offer an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2009 Budget Resolution that will impose a year-long moratorium on congressional earmarks.  "Last year, Dick Durbin and his friends in Congress passed out nearly 12,000 earmarks that cost the American taxpayer more than $17 billion," continued Sauerberg.  "It is time to end this shameful special interest shell game."

Prince Harry Tries To Do His Duty

by Mark Rhoads

The government of Britain announced  today that an English citizen by the name of Harry Windsor, better known in his country as Prince Harry, has been secretly serving with his Army unit in Afghanistan since December. 

Harry is now 23 and he pestered his superiors for not letting him go with his unit last June when they were deployed with other NATO forces in a forward area facing Taliban rebels.  His commanders explained they had very specific threat against Harry and he might be a danger to himself and his unit because he would draw extra attention from Taliban fighters if they knew where he was.  Killing Harry would be a propaganda coup for the Taliban.

IR Reader Query on 527s

This is a dangerous, scary query to post on Illinois Review, but we think it may be one of the only legal ways (according to McCain-Feingold campaign finance law's brilliant transparency provisions) to find the answer to this question:

Are there any 527s that will be working against Democrat congressional candidate Bill Foster in the 14th CD as there are radical leftwing MoveOn.org-type groups that are focused on blasting Republican Jim Oberweis?

Please list info in comment section if you are aware of any.  We'll have to keep the Oberweis campaign and the IL GOP from reading IR . . . not that they do anyway.

Thanks!

Obama campaign's pivotal moment

Thursday morning, Barack Obama told talk show host Ellen DeGeneres he's quit smoking and that dancing on her show last fall was pivotal in his presidential campaign, Associated Press reports (here).

Here's that history changing moment for us all to ponder...

The slaughterhouse rules

by Jill Stanek

Well, I just watched an undercover video filmed by the Humane Society at a California beef plant where cows were supposedly tortured and killed, and I must say I'm disgusted.

Prime-time news shows aired clips of this video last week with no warning of its graphic nature. I'm glad my 7-year-old grandson wasn't around, or I might have had to explain where hamburger comes from.

What's wrong with these Humane Society people? Don't they have better things to do with their time? Perhaps they could alleviate this problem, if there really is a problem, by pasturing their own cow herds if they really cared.

Anyway, I'm quite sure this video is a fake.

And even if not, I don't believe cows feel pain when being plowed by forklifts. No one can prove to me that they do. Flinching when prodded with pokers is a visceral response. Struggling when dragged by cow hooks is a primal reaction, certainly not related to pain. Cows can't talk; therefore cows can't feel pain. That's just a fact....

Continue reading my column today, "The slaughterhouse rules," on WorldNetDaily.com.

The Unfunded Bridge to St. Louis

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says Governor Blagojevich and MO Governor Matt Blunt will announce the building of a new bridge over the Mississippi River.  How will we do it?  Well, if you're wondering why we're over a billion dollars behind in making Mediciad payments to hospitals, doctors and pharmacies, it's evidently because $262 million of our tax dollars have been tucked away for this project, or so the SLPD reported.

Has the governor no shame?  He panders to pipefitters, promises new projects and new jobs in Illinois, while leaving unpaid a billion dollars in previous obligations. . .

Estrogen pollution crisis being ignored

by Bill Beckman

Have you become aware of the latest environmental threat?  Most likely, you have not, because this one is not politically correct.  While the focus has been placed on issues such as over-population (totally untrue), global warming (evidence in dispute), and other popular crises, the estrogen from birth control pills has been deforming fish and polluting our water.  Where are the crisis headlines?  Where are the public hearings and calls for action?

Why is everything so quiet when it comes to negative impacts of contraceptives?  The UK Environment Agency confirmed the contraceptive pill as a pollutant back in 2002.  The Agency warned then that fish stocks in British rivers were showing signs of gender ambiguity as a result of high levels of estrogen in the water.  A survey of 1,500 fish at 50 river sites found more than a third of males also displayed female characteristics.

IR's Man in Iraq receives Bronze Star

Lt. Colonel Joe Maun, "IR's Man in Iraq," is on his way to his Steger, IL home in two weeks. But before, as he says, he "folds up his uniform for the last time," he sent us a photo of what happened yesterday in Iraq: He received a Bronze Star.

Joe (on the right), a 57 year old member of the Army Reserves, served us and the Iraqi people in an exemplary way. See below the fold exactly what he did.

Congratulations, Joe. We are so proud of you and grateful for your service to us all. We look forward to your return.

ERA would affect Social Security for stay-at-home moms and widows

by Phyllis Schlafly

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has made it clear that ERA would abolish the homemaker wife's and widow's benefits in Social Security.  This is the benefit that most mothers and grandmothers rely on.

The Social Security Act is sex-neutral -- employed women receive exactly the same Social Security benefits as employed men.

But what about the homemaker wife who is financially dependent on her husband for much or most of her life, who may work in the labor force only a few years or only part-time, and therefore does not build up enough credits in Social Security to receive a significant retirement check based on her own earnings? 

William F. Buckley, Jr. -- Rest in Peace

by Mark Rhoads

I had expected this news but still I was sad to hear that William F. Buckley, Jr. passed away in his study early this morning at the age of 82.  It is hard to describe just how huge an influence that Buckley had in promoting the conservative movement since he founded National Review magazine in 1955.  He has written dozens of books both fiction and nonfiction and thousands of articles and columns.  I once had a chance many years ago as a student in his audience to ask a question on his long-running TV program called Firing Line.

Smaller classes not the cure-all claimed

Not good news for teachers' unions when a Northwestern education analyst studies data and finds that smaller class sizes is not the cure-all they were cracked up to be.  What if legislators figured out teachers' unions'  long acclaimed formula of smaller classes + more teachers = higher student achievement really was only smaller classes + more teachers = more union members?

Reviewing data from Project STAR—a longitudinal research study on class-size reduction in Tennessee and the most famous experiment on the topic—Spyros Konstantopoulos, an assistant professor of education and social policy at Northwestern University, in Evanston, Ill., said that it’s “tempting” to think that having fewer students assigned to a teacher will reduce the achievement gaps between students.

Instead, he found, “manipulating class size” doesn’t appear to narrow those gaps. In fact, the range from the lowest achievers to the highest achievers—what he calls “variability”—was greater in the smaller classes of 13 to 17 children than it was in larger classes of 22 to 26 students.

Link: Education Week: Class-Size Reductions Seen of Limited Help on Achievement Gap.

JCAR fires back at Governor

Tuesday, Illinois General Assembly's Joint Committee on Administrative Rules rebuffed Governor Blagojevich's plan to skate around the legislature to get his expanded health care program enacted whether they like it or not.  JCAR'S pushback is seen as "input" to the governor, who signalled immediately he would find another way to spend that money we simply don't have for a socialist program that's bad for our state -- to heck with balance of power.

Who says the battle against power-obsessed dictators and the war on legislative terrorism is across the globe?  Think Springfield.  It started among the power-crazed Democrats in January 2003.

Tuesday’s 8-2 vote marked the second defeat of health care expansion by the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules in recent months in a battle that’s being waged both at the Capitol and in the courtroom. But the Blagojevich administration, which has insisted it has the authority to expand the program on its own, indicated it would do just that.

“JCAR has provided its input,” Blagojevich spokeswoman Rebecca Rausch said. “We will move forward and continue to, within the parameters of the law, assist the uninsured in getting access to affordable coverage as well as helping to protect coverage for working parents within the FamilyCare program.”

Some lawmakers predicted such a move would prompt the Legislature to push back as well, possibly creating more fighting and discord this year.

Link: Kane County Chronicle - Local News and Video for Kane County, Illinois - Legislative panel again rejects Governor Blagojevich's health care expansion.

Call state lawmakers on HB 5615 . . . and ERA

From Illinois Family Institute:

Representatives Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago) and Rosemary Mulligan (R-Des Plaines) recently introduced HB 5615,  the so-called "Reproductive and Justice Access Act." Lobbyists for the nation's largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, are working intensively to pass this pro-abortion legislation.

TAKE ACTION: Please CLICK HERE to contact your State Representative to ask him/her to vote AGAINST this pro-abortion bill.

You can also contact your State Representative by calling the Capitol switchboard at 217-782-2000.

More info at www.illinoisfamily.org

[IR Editor:  Tell them to also vote "NO" on the ERA while you're on the phone.]

Barack Hussein Obama: No! No! No! Says John McCain

The Bill Cunningham incident in Ohio this past weekend pokes a stick in the eye of hardcore Republicans who were trying to find reasons to like John McCain.  He didn't make it any easier, as Huckabee supporter Dan Zanoza writes in RFFM.org today . . .

You see, during a McCain rally in Ohio, a popular radio talk show host, Bill Cunningham (“The Big Show” with Bill Cunningham) was warming up the audience for McCain. While doing so, Cunningham used Obama's full name, Barack Hussein Obama, three times and pointed to the fact the American mainstream media has given the junior Senator from Illinois a virtual pass on the issues. Cunningham also said the national media needed to “peel the bark off Barack Hussein Obama.”

After the event, McCain held a scheduled press conference and issued an apology for Cunningham's performance even though McCain had not heard Cunningham's rally warm-up. McCain went on to talk about what an honorable man Obama is and he praised Hillary Rodham Clinton in the process. . .

Link: RFFM.ORG: Barack Hussein Obama: No! No! No! Says John McCain.

And the Oscar goes to: Very few people watched

by Mark Rhoads

Just how bad were the TV ratings for the Oscars?  The worst ever by any measure.  Nielsen says only 32 million people watched the Oscars show, fewer than watched the premier of American Idol.  In 2003, when Billy Crsytal hosted and the winner was Titanic, 55 million people watched the show.  That number of 32 million viewers this year was an all time low since the numbers have been tracked in 1974.  Richard M. Nixon was president on the night of the Oscars show in 1974 and on his way to a resignation in August.  The population of the U.S. in 1974 was just shy of 214 million.  In 2008, we have 87 million more people than we did 34 years ago in 1974.  So an audience today of 32 milliion is far less as a percentage of today's 301 million population than it would have been in 1974 with a much smaller population.  Already the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is trying to lay blame on the writer's strike for problems with the show.  No sale.  It was a boring show honoring mostly boring movies.  They tried to balance leftie John Stewart with soldiers who served in Iraq and it was a nice gesture but fell flat for the same reasons that people see through Stewart as typical of the real Hollywood attitude.  I am glad Juno won for Best Screenplay and I am glad it has so far grossed more than $100 million in the US.  But I am very glad the Oscar show was a record ratings flop because that is the only thing that ultra liberals in Hollywood sometimes respond to--bad numbers. 

Nader questions Obama's "pro-Palestinian" influences

While Barack Obama tries to be on both sides of the Israel/Palestine conflict, one can't help but wonder how much influence his Trinity United Church of Christ Pastor Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright's radical pro-Palestinian teachings had on Obama over the years. 

Wright wrote here in his July 2005 church newsletter The Trumpet:

The Israelis have illegally occupied Palestinian territories for almost 40 years now. It took a divestment campaign to wake the business community up concerning the South Africa issue. Divestment has now hit the table again as a strategy to wake the business community up and to wake Americans up concerning the injustice and the racism under which the Palestinians have lived because of Zionism.

JTA.org challenges Ralph Nader's views on Obama mentioned this week on "Meet the Press":

Obama, the Democratic presidential hopeful and U.S. senator from Illinois, was "pro-Palestinian when he was in Illinois before he ran for the state Senate. Now he's supporting the Israeli destruction of the tiny section called Gaza with a million-and-a-half people," Nader said said. "He's not taking a leadership position in supporting the Israeli peace movement, which represents former Cabinet ministers, people in the Knesset, former generals, former security officials, in addition to mayors and leading intellectuals."

Link: Breaking News - JTA, Jewish & Israel News.

Foster Bails Out of Debates, Will Only Appear “Behind Closed Doors”

More news from the Oberweis campaign today . . .

Running from his Record of Extremism, Foster Refuses to Publicly Discuss His Liberal Agenda

Washington- With less than two weeks until Illinois' 14th Congressional District special election, Democrat candidate and liberal scientist Bill Foster is running from his extreme agenda and has committed to only debating “behind closed doors.”  Bill Foster’s refusal to participate in public debates is a clear illustration that his radical left-wing agenda is far too out of touch with the voters of Illinois.

Bill Foster rejected an invitation by the Elgin League of Women Voters to publicly debate:

"The Foster campaign turned down the Elgin League of Women Voters' invitation to participate, according to Janet Poyner, president of the LWV.” (Aurora Beacon News 2/26/08)

Bill Foster’s Spending Solution: “Throwing Money at It”

Foster’s Toxic Spending Formula Would Result in Runaway Spending, Bloated Government, and Higher Taxes

Washington— Bill Foster, liberal scientist and Democrat congressional candidate for Illinois’ 14th Congressional District has concocted a faulty formula when it comes to fiscal responsibility. Foster’s solution for fixing any problem is “throwing money at it.” Bill Foster’s big-government, spend-happy agenda is a clear illustration that he would be just another willing pawn for the liberal Democrat leadership in Washington. Bill Foster’s reckless spending formula would cripple the hard-working taxpayers and families of Illinois’ 14th Congressional District. At a candidate forum, Bill Foster unveiled his reckless and negligent spending formula:

“There’s nothing in life that can’t improve by throwing money at it.” (Candidate’s Forum, 1/8/08)

Foster’s declaration is just the latest example of his tax-and-spend agenda and expresses just how out-of-touch he is with the voters of Illinois 14th Congressional District. At a time when the economy and jobs are of chief concern to the people of Illinois, Bill Foster’s negligent spending solution is a formula for disaster.

Bill Foster appears to have adopted the liberal fiscal policies of the wildly unpopular Democrat-led Congress, which has voted for a budget that included the largest tax hike in American history as well as billions of dollars of increased excessive federal spending. Foster would be nothing more than a reliable vote for Nancy Pelosi and the liberals in Congress as they work toward growing the size of government and raising taxes in order to pay for it. Illinois voters can’t afford more of the same in Washington.

From the NRCC

What's a "Domestic Partner"?

Because of the confusion as to who is covered by state employees health care programs, and because domestic partners of state employees have now been included in state employees' plans, there's evidently clarification needed.  Who exactly qualifies as a "dependent" for taxpayer-funded health plan coverage?

What exactly is a "domestic partner"? 

In this case, non-discrimination = special rights, at least when it comes to Senator John "Smoking Ban" Cullerton's newly-introduced re-definition of the term "domestic partner" in SB 2263.  With Cullerton's proposal, "domestic partners" will be a special class of folks who are 19+ years old, both of the same sex, not married or family members and in an at least one year long "exclusive, committed relationship."   

Senator Cullerton's bill raises lots of questions.  But don't throw it out.  A few years ago no one would have believed Illinois would ban public smoking, and thanks to Senator Cullerton, that's Illinois law today.

So, how will the state verify a relationship's "exclusivity" and "committed-ness"?  If Illinois opens the way for same-sex marriage, will domestic partners still receive these special rights?   If so, why wouldn't this special right for non-married opposite sex couples apply? Could two college roommates sign up to share health care benefits? 

Is there no return from this moral cliff's edge?

SNL's Media Obamaniacs

In case you missed SNL Saturday night . . . a taste of MSM's ongoing "Yes We Can!" hysteria.

Mandatory Mental Health Screenings: Are We Crazy?

by Susan Ryan

This plea will likely be ignored, but is directed towards Senator Durbin, Senator Obama (better known and much more engaged as the likely Democratic presidential candidate) and any other legislators who are of the "I'm from the government and I'm here to help" variety. In Illinois, that might include those from the Republican Party.

I'm not sure why this bill popped up at this time in watch lists, but any time seems like a good time to point out these sort of bills.  Particularly since Illinois is a hotbed in pursuit of social/emotional standardization of our children's minds. 

In 2006, Senator Durbin responded to my concerns about universal mental health screens. 

Lefty blogger's first defense: Name-calling IR Editor

While I support the First Amendment right for Archpundit to call me a liar to his heart's content, such irrationality and paranoia is usually evidence of a blogger running low on arguments, patience, needed meds or a visit to his leftist counselor or, better maybe, leftist "consoler." 

Poor Larry, he's driven once again to distraction and name-calling the IR editor . . . this time it's over a piece I wrote Saturday in the Southtown laying out the decades long, proven-to-be-true arguments against the passage of the ERA.

Mr. Archie, it wasn't our side that resurrected the long dead ERA in the Illinois House last week, it was your unsatisfied and giddy-with-Democratic-power side.  We are simply responding to your sides' first fire.  Is the fact we're responding so scary that your side has to begin name calling?

Judge St. Eve discloses Blagojevich and Kjellander in Rezko trial

Federal Court Judge Amy J. St. Eve began pulling back the veil on the Rezko case yesterday, naming Governor Rod Blagojevich as Public Official A and disclosing what the feds say happened to some of the $809,000 Bear Stearns awarded GOP National Committeeman Bob Kjellander  . . . $600,000 of the fee allegedly went to Rezko pals.

In another surprise, St. Eve disclosed prosecutors believe that much of $809,000 that went to Springfield Republican consultant Robert Kjellander in connection with the sale of state bonds was funneled through Glenview businessman Joseph Aramanda to four Rezko "assignees." The money was reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission by the Bear, Stearns investment firm as a fee for Kjellander.

But prosecutors said that $600,000 of the money went to the Rezko assignees. Bear, Stearns handled the sale of $10 million in state bonds. Just what Kjellander's role in the sale was had never been made clear. Kjellander is the former treasurer of the Republican National Committee and has been one of Springfield's most influential lobbyists.

Link: Daily Herald | Judge names Blagojevich as 'Public Official A' in corruption case.

Electoral College Follies

by Charlie Johnston

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has the chance to do something right. Last month Illinois became the third state to pass the National Popular Vote Bill, which would direct a state’s presidential electors to cast their votes for whoever wins the national popular vote. But in Illinois, unlike Maryland and New Jersey, the bill has not yet become law. In this state the governor has not yet signed the legislation – and has told reporters he is not sure if he will.

On most matters we show a certain reverence for the founders. Well we should. They created the first democratic republic in history that did not rapidly degenerate into chaos and end in dictatorship. Their achievement is profound: while the United States is one of the youngest nations on the planet we have the oldest continuous form of government. That achievement is doubly impressive if one is aware that, historically, democracy has been one of the most volatile, unstable forms of government known to man. The founders somehow managed to separate the nitro and the glycerin of freedom and create something that would last rather than blow up every time it is jarred.

When in high school I, too, thought the Electoral College a strange, antiquated institution. While in college I came to recognize some of the magnitude of the founders’ achievement. Rather than assuming they had tossed it into the Constitution as some sort of bizarre joke I thought it more useful to do some investigation on what, exactly, was on their minds. (Incidentally, when he was a senator, the late Pres. John Kennedy wrote a very lucid explanation of the Electoral College and why it has served the nation well). The group behind this push, National Popular Vote, Inc. (NPVI), helpfully explains that among the main reasons the Electoral College was originally needed was because of the lack of cell phones, computers, calculators, the internet and other modern inventions. Can they possibly be that stupid?

Helping Daley, Beavers and Sims Find the Waste in the Cook County Budget

by Tony Peraica

Last week, Cook County Finance Chair John Daley and Commissioner Deborah Sims admitted they were having trouble finding the “political hacks” in Cook County. This follows the assertion several months ago by Commissioner William Beavers that “there is no more patronage. The county has been cut to the bone."

Perhaps Daley, Beavers and Sims haven’t been reading the newspapers or watching the local news, so we’ve assembled a list of just some of the most notable reported cases of waste, fraud and abuse in Cook County:

For example, let’s take a look at just some of the widely reported stories of millions in wasted tax dollars that could have gone to support frontline health and safety workers:

Pray to get out of this hole

Chicago Trib columnist Dennis Byrne writes today about the governor's Alfred E. Neuman-esque "What me worry?"  budget address last week when Blagojevich, in one of his more delusional moments said: 

"Let's make our bridges safe.  Let's repair our roads. Let's build schools. Let's put people to work."

Byrne responds: 

"Let's pray, because divine intervention is the only way to climb out of this hole,"

Amen.

Link: With his budget governor really goes for broke -- chicagotribune.com.

Some find "separate, but equal" learning best

At the very same time lawmakers are considering whether Illinois should remove from state law any differences based on gender by passing the Equal Rights Amendment, just down the road, Springfield's Jefferson Middle School is finding their kids excel when learning differences between genders are accentuated. 

Educators are finding there may be good reasons to have "separate, but equal," educational experiences because girls and boys learn differently.  The State Journal Register reports:

What you may have missed over the weekend on IR

Over the weekend, you may have missed some Illinois Review posts on topics such as what's going on in the Cook County GOP: Liz Gorman Not Running for Re-election, Cook County GOP chairman mystery and Feedback on the Gorman Case

• The ERA raises its ugly head in the Illinois General Assembly for the 36th year in a row..."How will passing the ERA better Illinois?"
• Ralf Seiffe's review of shooting down the satellite gone awry in "Reagan's Legacy Realized"
• Mark Rhoads':  And the Oscar goes to: I could care less
• The latest on Barack Obama:  Obama's growing list of questionable associates and America Hater and Obama Hero Farrakhan Endorses Barack.
• An anecdotal piece from Eunice Conn:  Just for Fun: what you get for giving to charities
• A couple of YouTubes for your enjoyment/frustration:  Dancing in Liberia and Mariachi Obama.
• And Dave Diersen's Daily Clips: for  February 24, 2008 and February 23, 2008.

America Hater and Obama Hero Farrakhan Endorses Barack

by John Ruskin

Hate monger Louis Farrakhan, who was recently celebrated by Obama's church and pastor, has endorsed Obama for President noting that the U.S. will "change" if he's elected President.

One can only imagine what kind of America Farrakhan and his "guy" Obama have in mind.

And the Oscar goes to . . .

Mark Rhoads wrote he could care less about who wins at the Oscars tonight, but I'm pulling for the Best Film award to go to a movie I haven't had a chance to see yet, but one that has grossed $120 million +, "Juno."

Juno is the movie Jill Stanek branded "the movie pro-aborts will hate."  Juno's message goes against a world obsessed with protecting the right to kill preborn children.  The movie is pro-life.

Juno's success is astounding.  The screenplay was written by a young unknown, a former stripper/now writer Diablo Cody, who is living the rags to riches fantasy so many dream about.

Obama's growing list of questionable associates

While Barack Obama loves to laud his humble southside Chicago community activism work, his current home base is where his roots are the deepest -- in the liberal intellectual elitist neighborhood of Hyde Park, where two former Weather Underground domestic terrorists now peacefully dwell as they indoctrinate our next generation -- one at the U of I-Chicago and the other at Northwestern.

The story of Obama's growing list of questionable associates is a long and tangled one. . .

They disappeared in 1970, after a bomb — designed to kill army officers in New Jersey — accidentally destroyed a Greenwich Village townhouse, and turned themselves into authorities in 1980. They were never prosecuted for their involvement with the 25 bombings the Weather Underground claimed; charges were dropped because of improper FBI surveillance.

Both have written and spoken at length about their pasts, and today he is an advocate for progressive education and a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago; she’s an associate professor of law at Northwestern University. But — unlike some other fringe figures of the era — they’re also flatly unrepentant about the bombings they committed in the name of ending the war, defending them on the grounds that they killed no one, except, accidentally, their own members.

Link: Obama once visited '60s radicals - Ben Smith - Politico.com. 

Dancing in Liberia

Once again George Bush dances like, well, a Texan while visiting this week with Liberia's President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf . . .

Just for Fun: what you get for giving to charities

by Eunice Conn

Now that the Primary Election is over and I have nothing to do (if you believe that, you’ll believe anything) I decided to have some fun. If all you read is political “stuff” stop right here. But if you’d like to smile (or maybe cry alligator tears) read on.

I decided to count those return mailing labels you get from different Charities. Wow! I’m impressed. I currently have 5,145. I have to start writing more letters!

Let’s see, at 41 cents for stamps it will only cost me $2,109.45. Better get THAT done before May when postage rates go up.

Mariachi Obama

We're assuming the Mariachi Obama is leading the way for only legals to vote on March 4th in the Texas Democratic primary, right?

Let's see, what does "our nation" (nuestra nacion) really mean to "Amigos for Obama"?

Cook County GOP chairman mystery

by Robert Shirtliffe

Even though Cook County GOP's convention is less than two weeks away, no one knows yet who's vying for the not-so-coveted chairman's spot. 

Liz Gorman informed township committeemen that she's not running for re-election. There's talk that Tony Peraica has the votes sown up to become the new chairman, but many encourage him to focus on his state's attorney race. 

Some are saying 25 year old Lee Roupas is backed by Worth Township committeeman and Gorman bosom buddy Maureen Murphy.  Others say a north suburban candidate could be drafted for the job.  (Who's got enemies like that?)

Here's the list of possible chairman candidates:  they're all the Cook County GOP township committeemen and Chicago ward GOP committeemen. 

Help us here. . . anybody know what's gonna happen on March 5th?    

UPDATE 1x:  Sorry we didn't catch this before, but thanks to Jimbo, we see ChicagoGOP's take on the Cook County chairman's bid here.  What's the Northfield Township chair like?  Is she interested in running people for office, or will she follow Liz Gorman's philosophy of discouraging GOP candidates from running in Cook County? Anyone know?

And the Oscar goes to: I could care less

by Mark Rhoads

I have always been a big movie fan, or so I thought.  I used to enjoy watching the annual show of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.  I had my own opinions about the films and actors nominated and enjoyed seeing if I guessed right as to who would win.  In my day, it was often Bob Hope who was the host and he was genuinely funny and topical as always and he helped stitch together the endless thank you speeches.  But when I looked at the list of films nominated for best picture on Sunday night, I realized I had not seen a single one of the films.  Not one.  Nor was I much aware of them nor did I feel I had missed anything.  In the category of actor in a leading role, I have not see one.  In the category of actor in a supporting role, of the five nominations I have seen only Philip Seymour Hoffman in Charlie Wilson's War and I liked his performance very much. But that's it.  I have seen none of the films or performers nominated for actress in a leading or supporting role, director, or any other category.  I must have missed a whole year at the movies and yet I went whenever I thought there was something good.  How about you?  Have you seen any of the nominated films and were any of them any good?

Reagan's Legacy Realized

by Ralf Seiffe

This week’s shoot-down of a defunct spy satellite reminds us why conservatives so revere Ronald Reagan’s memory.  Regardless of the actual technology employed, the dead-bang hit of the falling satellite’s gas tank stunningly realizes the 40th President’s vision of a “Star Wars” missile defense plan.  The reaction from our enemies, past and future, confirms the profundity of the Navy’s miracle accomplishment and for Americans who understand a new storm is gathering, it’s a moment to celebrate.  Indeed, the events over the Pacific serve as a metaphor for the coming contest between Barack Obama and John McCain.

Liz Gorman Not Running for Re-election

From Gorman's communication to Cook County GOP yesterday:

However, I believe strongly that our Party organization must function smoothly, promoting a unanimity of purpose and singularity of voice. From the court house to the White House, we must not be distracted from electing Republicans at every level. It is critically important at this time that the attention of the voters be focused on the candidates and the issues, not internal Party matters.

My brief tenure as chairman has laid a foundation for building and uniting the Cook County Republican Party. And with this foundation in place, I believe I can step aside so that new leadership can continue this work and so we can place all of our energy into the important tasks leading up to the November election.

How will passing the ERA better Illinois?

From Saturday's Southtown-Star "Always Right" column:

The list of offended constituents will grow in the days ahead as the ERA debacle raises the debate once again. The state of Illinois settled this decades ago when our state capitol was plagued by out-of-control feminists who wrote anti-ERA legislators' names in pig's blood on the floor of the Capitol rotunda and chained themselves to the Senate doors.

One has to ask: Why now? Why must the state of Illinois go through this again? How will this make our lives so much better if the ERA becomes law?

Feedback on the Gorman Case

With the rebuke of Ridge Chrysler Jeep and Dodge by the 7th U.S. District Court of Appeals judge the other day, there are calls for Cook County GOP chairwoman Liz Gorman to step down from her position.

Chris Robling wrote here on IR: