Letters & Commentary

Capitol Fax

Rich Miller's commentary on State Government

"Tea party fever" is to the Republican Party what the H1N1 Flu is to the general populace. It's spreading fast and it's potentially dangerous.

Establishment Republican politicians all over the country are becoming more freaked out by the angry, anti-tax, anti-illegal immigration, anti-Obama, anti-whatever tea party protestors and are mimicking their rhetoric. Even in Illinois, where top GOP politicians mostly took a pass on the harsher aspects of the "Reagan Revolution" rhetoric of the past thirty years - not wanting to alienate the general electorate - the trend is becoming obvious.

At a recent Republican gubernatorial forum sponsored by a tea party group, the normally staid and ever-mainstream conservative state Sen. Kirk Dillard (R-Hinsdale) actually called President Barack Obama a "Socialist." Dillard, you may recall, appeared in a TV ad for Obama during the presidential campaign. Dillard revealed last week that he knew Obama was a Socialist all along because Obama's health care proposals in the Illinois Senate were so far to the left. That one left me scratching my head. Why would Dillard knowingly push an obvious commie for President of the United States?

During that same tea party debate, and at another forum two days later, state Sen. Bill Brady (R-Bloomington) vowed to stop the federal government from dragging Illinoisans into any federal health care reform plans no matter what. Brady also said the tragic shooting at Fort Hood last week might have been prevented with concealed carry laws, even though the military base is in Texas, a state which allows concealed carry. The very next day, another lone gunman shot up an office building in Florida, killing one and injuring several others. Florida also allows trained citizens to carry concealed weapons.

Also at the tea party debate, DuPage County Board Chairman Bob Schillerstrom, who is the only pro-choice candidate in an otherwise staunchly pro-life group of candidates, denied that humans have anything to do with global warming. The other candidates agreed.

Former Illinois Republican Party Chairman Andy McKenna, who hobnobs with more insiders than just about anybody, continued to insist last week beyond all available evidence that he is a true political "outsider."

Former Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan declared that if elected he would roll back the minimum wage by 75 cents per hour.

And then there was Republican Congressman and current US Senate candidate Mark Kirk practically begging for kind words from the far Right's darling, Sarah Palin. Kirk had said some nice things about Palin when she was first named as John McCain's running mate last year, then flip-flopped and said harsh things, but there he was last week once again cozying up to her.

The politics of this aren't too hard to figure out, particularly for the gubernatorial candidates. The GOP's right wing is angry and energized and will vote in comparatively large numbers in the February primary. Alienate them and off the island you go.

Even so, the candidates all need to take a deep breath and try to realize how silly they'll look to general election voters if they keep this up and do manage to win that primary race. They're so fearful of being attacked from the Right that they're in danger of making themselves unelectable when the rest of the voting public enters the picture.

On paper, at least, the Republicans have a good chance of winning next year. Disgraced former governor Rod Blagojevich goes on trial in the summer. Both Democratic candidates for governor - Comptroller Dan Hynes and Gov. Pat Quinn - are fighting over who has the "better" tax increase. Every Democratic US Senate candidate has flaws that the GOP can easily exploit.

Also, last week's national off-year results showed horrific turnout among Democrats and African-Americans in the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial elections. The African-American vote was almost thirty percent lower in Virginia compared to four years ago.

But if the Republicans aren't careful, they're going to spout one too many far-Right talking points and demonstrate to Illinois general election voters that they can't be trusted. I know they gotta do what they gotta do to get past the primary, but they need to keep their eyes on the big prize.

Guest Commentary

The Gathering Storm

By Jerry Wilson

Friends & Fellow Americans,

When the storm finally hits (and it will), those of you who supported the Obama administration will be affected as well. It won't just be us gun owners or Fair Taxers, or Pro-Lifers that get hit. You'll be right there next to us.

You see, you all thought the Conservatives were nut cases. You know, all of us who believe in God, small government, the Second Amendment, etc. And you thought you could just go back to sleep after the election was over. In your world, America will continue as before. You'll still have the same rights, the same nice house, the same big screen television ­ it's all good. After all, your high school football team won and the other team lost ­ go team! Even if you have bothered to look up from the daily grind since Nov 4th, you dismissed everything that has occurred as "politics as usual" ­ "the same old stuff".

In the end, it'll all be OK won't it?

Not this time. There are a growing number of citizens in the US that are ready to fight to shut down the government's grab of personal freedom, it's blatant abuse of the constitution, and it's attempt to replace the American way of life with socialism. You have to listen carefully to hear them, but they are there. I won't start that fight, but when it goes down I will join it.

As for you, why . . . you'll be shocked because you didn't see it coming. And eventually you'll be saddened when you see that we have truly lost the way of life with which you grew up. You'll be saddened that your children and grandchildren live in a socialist, government-controlled gulag where their every movement from cradle to grave is tracked by the government. But most of all, you'll be saddened by the death of friends and relatives who are brave enough to fight and die for something they believe in.

You know, McCain wasn't much of a candidate. I'll give you that. He was the lesser of two evils for most of us. I don't blame you for not voting for him since, at the time, you didn't know what we all know now. But at least John McCain was an American. He was a supporter of the American way of life and he understood that you can't negotiate with terrorists. He understood and appreciated the sacrifice made by my father and other members of the Greatest Generation.

Mark my words friends. All across America groups are forming. They are forming out of anger and out of desperation at the thought of losing America. They're not militia groups, terrorists as the Department of Homeland security would have you believe; they are Americans, loyal to the constitution. They are mothers and fathers and grandparents. They belong to groups like the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps, the Patriotic Resistance, the Constitution Party, the Young Conservatives, the 9/12 Project, and Grassfire. Right now they are fragmented, each focused on their own cause. But sometime in the next two years, our government is going to do something really stupid and these groups will come together. Watch for it, wait for it . . . get ready. It will happen.

When that event happens, whatever "it" is, our great country is going to plunge into chaos for a while. I pray to God that we make it through that time and emerge a stronger, smarter country.

Jerry Wilson

Ozark, Missouri

Live Free or Die Fighting

jerrywilson@centurytel.net

Publisher's Note: I received an email from a reader of www.pacc-news.com that contained a letter called "A Warning To All Americans," written by Jerry Wilson. I contacted Mr. Wilson to ensure that he was, indeed, the author.

Jerry wrote back, saying "My original message was entitled 'The Gathering Storm.' The 'Warning' message to which you refer is a combination of that message and verbiage appended by an unknown person. I agree with everything that they wrote, I just wish they hadn't published it in conjunction with my piece and under my byline. I have attached my original for clarification."

Jerry's "The Gathering Storm" message was written in early June and sent to 30 friends. One of those friends took the message and posted it on a nationally read website. Since then, he has been receiving responses from all over the United States ­ almost all of them favorable. "The message itself was not especially powerful from my viewpoint," Jerry said, "but it has moved over 500 people to contact me. Clearly, something in the piece resonates with a lot of people. Good luck to us all. You have a friend in Ozark, Missouri."

The Real Cost of Global Warming Taxes

By Dennis T. Avery

The leftish Brookings Institution and the U. S. Chamber of Commerce basically agree that the energy taxes in the House Waxman-Markey bill could total $9 trillion over ten years. As an economist, I look at these forecasts and wonder "How can we possibly know?"

These estimates cover only the costs of the "user permits" that companies will have to buy. They don't even try to measure the massive reduction in our economic output as energy costs double and triple with scarcity.

Let's look at a couple of "case studies":

First, we use a lot of natural gas to make fertilizer, pulling 90 million tons per year of natural nitrogen from the air (which is 78% N). The world has only about one-third of the cow manure needed to nourish today's crops, so nitrogen fertilizer is feeding 2 billion of the world's 6.5 billion people through higher food yields per acre.

Imagine that ten years from now the carbon taxes have eliminated half of the nitrogen fertilizer: global food production has fallen massively say by 25­30 percent; world food prices have tripled; and storage bins are empty. What price would we pay to keep the other half of the nitrogen fertilizer so our kids won't starve?

Would farmers and the public defend the remaining fertilizer factories with roadblocksor even firearms? Will governments overcome the "fertilizer fanatics" with force? How would the governments convince troops to fire on their own people? By giving the troops food the public can't get?

Moreover, the BBC has just admitted what careful observers already knewthe planet hasn't warmed since 1998! Many climatologists say we're in a 30-year cooling driven by Pacific Ocean cycling. Will "global warming" come to be viewed as just a "weapon of mass taxation"?

Second case: Britain is supposed to lose 40 percent of its electrical generating capacity in the next eight years. All but one of its nuclear plants is due for decommissioning, and the EU declares that nine of its big coal-fired plants emit too much CO2. As the blackouts spread across a shivering winter countryside, will the UK government carry through its fossil-reduction commitments while elderly people are dying in their homes?

None of the taxes, remember, will bring fossil fuel use down enough to actually forestall man-made global warmingeven if the embattled Greenhouse Theory was valid. The energy taxes will be "all pain and no gain."

Remember, too that the "Green alternatives" aren't working out well.

- Denmark's massive investment in wind turbines has produced electricity mainly at night, when no one wants it.

- Biofuels nearly doubled world food prices when the U.S. corn ethanol plants were all running. The proposed energy taxes will quickly drive gasoline and corn back up to food-inflation levels again. They're supposed to.

Meanwhile, the natural, moderate 1,500-year climate cycle predicts only 0.5 degree C of warming over the next several centuries. The ice cores and seabed fossils tell us this has all happened many times in the pastincluding five natural global warmings in the last 9,000 years.

Politicians can pass fossil fuel taxes through today's "tame" legislaturesbut they can't make the public obey those laws after they clearly begin to violate human rights and common sense.

Dennis T. Avery is an environmental economist, and a senior fellow for the Hudson Institute in Washington, DC. He was formerly a senior analyst for the Department of State. He is co-author, with S. Fred Singer, of Unstoppable Global Warming Every 1500 Hundred Years, Readers may write him at PO Box 202, Churchville, VA 24421 or email to cgfi@hughes.net

Why Your Representatives Should Make You Mad as Hell

By John W. Whitehead

October 29, 2009

"I want you to get up right now, sit up, go to your windows, open them and stick your head out and yell, 'I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore.' Things have got to change. But first, you've gotta get mad!...You've got to say, 'I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!' Then we'll figure out what to do about the depression and the inflation and the oil crisis. But first get up out of your chairs, open the window, stick your head out, and yell, and say it."Howard Beale, Network (1976)

Imagine a world exempt from parking tickets, where gym membership is free and health care is second-to-none. In order to receive these benefits, you also only have to work two, maybe three days a weeka time period during which you will be shuttled around in a nice car. The other days of the week you can spend at home with your family. Luckily, every weekend is a long weekend and you won't have to be back at work until Tuesday evening.

This job description might seem too good to be true, but for our so-called "representatives" in Congress who enjoy incredible job perks ranging from free meals to membership in swank health clubs, all at taxpayer expense, it seems that there is such a thing as a free lunchliterally and figuratively!

Congressional salaries are certainly generous enough, with members of Congress receiving $174,000 a year on average, and people in leadership positions making more. However, for many Congressmen who belong to the so-called "Millionaire's Club," this is negligible in comparison to their net worth. (Senator John Kerry (D-MA), who heads up the club, has a net worth of $167.8 million, while Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI), at the lower end of the spectrum, boasts a net worth of $5.6 million dollars.)

Incredibly, American taxpayers are underwriting lavish perks for these very same millionaires, as well as their congressional cohorts. The perks being enjoyed by those in Congress have provided comic relief for many a talk-show host, but contrast these perks with the plight of the average taxpayer struggling just to make ends meet, and you'll find this is no laughing matter.

For example, while veterans were being forced to suffer poor service and deplorable conditions at Walter Reed Army Hospital, politicians were being whisked up to Ward 72 at the very same hospital via a "golden elevator," where they can enjoy medical treatment surrounded by chandeliers, fine china and original artwork. Should members of Congress or their staff not be able to make the trip to Ward 72, a private, on-call doctor is also on hand at the Capitol. Furthermore, while 47 million Americans struggle without any kind of health insurance, those in Congress receive superb, discounted health coverage which cannot be denied them because of their age or a preexisting condition.

On top of their six-figure salaries and the millions in taxpayer dollars spent to maintain offices in their home state and in the nation's capital, Congress also enjoys other benefits such as free life insurance, a generous retirement plan for life, 32 fully reimbursed road trips home a year, and travel to foreign lands. Then there are the "extras," including discounts in Capitol Hill tax-free shops and restaurants, free reserved parking at Washington National Airport, use of the House gym or Senate baths for $100 a year, free fresh-cut flowers from the Botanic Gardens, and free assistance in the preparation of income taxes.

Unfortunately, there's more. While more than 15 million Americans are currently out of work and the rest of the nation is laboring longer hours for less pay, Congress enjoys a three-day, Tuesday-to-Thursday work week. Believe it or not, since returning to session, the only time the House of Representatives has actually voted on a Friday was when they approved a 5.8 percent increase in their own budget.

Then there's the way Congress manages the nation's checkbook, running up deficits and spending outlandish sums of money on pork barrel projects. If you or I were to manage our finances this way, we'd quickly find ourselves out on the streets.

As for abuses of office, they run the gamut from neglecting their constituencies to engaging in self-serving practices, including the misuse of eminent domain, earmarking hundreds of millions of dollars in federal contracting in return for personal gain and campaign contributions, having inappropriate ties to lobbyist groups and incorrectly or incompletely disclosing financial information.

Pork barrel spending, hastily passed legislation, partisan bickering, a skewed work ethic, graft and moral turpitude have all contributed to the public's increasing dissatisfaction with congressional leadership. Thus, it is little wonder that a recent CNN poll shows Congress with a 29 percent approval rating. You'd be hard-pressed to find employees with such dismal performance evaluations getting a pay raise of any kind. Conveniently, Congress doesn't have to worry about that since they voted in 1989 to give themselves an automatic raise every year.

Congress should be America's representative body, yet too many of its members bear little resemblance to those they have been elected to represent. Many of our politicians live like kings. Chauffeured around in limousines, flying in private jets and eating gourmet meals, all paid for by the American taxpayer, they are far removed from those they represent. Such a luxurious lifestyle makes it difficult to identify with the "little guy"the roofers, plumbers and blue-collar workers who live from paycheck to paycheck and keep the country running with their hard-earned dollars and the sweat of their brows.

Does this make you mad as hell? It should. There is no reason why the American people should be taking this kind of abuse from people who supposedly are representing them.

The average American understandably feels helpless and disconnected, yet whose fault is it really? As the old maxim goes, people get the government they deserve. For too long, Americans have failed to hold their elected representatives accountable. Thus, the onus is on us, "we the people."

Let this be the starting point for you to turn the television sets off and do something about these problems. Whether or not you agree with their politics, the Tea Party Protesters have set a good example for what needs to be done. Get involved. Get organized. Find out who your representatives are. Contact their offices. Review their records. Keep track of what they're doing and how they're voting. Make your voices heard to the representatives who are doing a poor job of representing you, and if they don't listen, take action and remove them from office.

Historian's Retort

I would like to comment on a few of the statements made by Kathy Hood in her letter to the editor in your 28 October issue:

- People have been taking flu shots and other vaccinations for many years. They work but, of course, are not totally risk-free.However, when one considers the elimination of diseases that have plagued mankind for thousands of years, like smallpoxandpolio,the value of vaccinations is overwhelming!

- The New Deal has NOT been proven to have prolonged the Great Depression!! This economic catastrophe was unprecedented in our history. Not all of the New Deal measures were effective, but so dire was the situation in 1933 that without President Roosevelt's efforts a far, farworse situation would have occurred! (Besides having to deal with the Great Depression,FDR also led the Allies to victory in World War II!)

- The fighting in theRevolutionary War did NOT end in 1776!The war, basically,ended when Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown on 17 October 1781 over five years after 1776; the Peace of Paris, which formally ended the war, took effect on 3 September 1783.

- The reason for calling the Constitutional Convention in 1787 was simply that the the nation could not be governed successfully under the weak Articles of Confederation and wise men like Washington, Franklin, Madison,Hamilton, and others realized it! Important powerssuch astaxing, borrowing, coining money,regulating interstate and foreign trade, establishing courts, creating a navy and army, declaring war, and making treaties with foreign nations were given to the federal government. These are MAJOR powers that were NOT given to the states!Clearly, thewriters of the Constitutionintended that the states would be less powerful than the federal government! Examples of the framers giving specificpowers to the states in the U.S. Constitution are hard to find!

Yours truly,

Bill Sparboe

Mount Carroll, IL

Right To Vote Denied

It's pretty scary when we have elected County Board members who believe the voters of Carroll County should not have the right to vote on issues affecting the County (3 letters re: Port Authority, Nov. 4, 2009).

What happened to Democracy?

Could their reasons be selfish, or do they believe the majority of the voters in Carroll County are not smart enough to make an intelligent decision?

Whatever the reason, it is still scary, when we start to lose our right to vote.

Gerald Bork

Mt. Carroll, IL

Thank You, Ogle County Earth Angels

Each year we come together,not just as a community, but as a family . . . as individuals, businesses, sponsors, volunteers, young and old, etc. We reach out to those who might need an Earth Angel to sponsor them.We open our hearts, devote our time, contribute endless efforts,assistance, donate withheartfelt generosity to make it once again a successful year. We faithfully come together, evenas each yearseemsto be morechallenging than the year previous,especially during these most trying, difficult times and economic situation.

Each year, we begin, withone bell that rings with the first contribution or donation. Each year, on Christmas morning, we stand tall, with pride in our hearts. We all listen carefully and can hear the crescendo of bells ringing as each child that has been sponsored, opens their gift and knows that Santa hasn't forgotten them after all.

It is therefore, with much pride, and heartfelt deepest gratitude to share the following story with each of you.

The weekend of Fri. 4/24 thru Sun 4/26/2009, I was humbledand deeply honored, having beeninvited (as their guest) to attend the Annual Illinois National Guard State Family Conference.This past year it was held at the Chicago Hilton-Indian Lakes Resort located in Bloomingdale, Illinois. I was presented a commemorative awardplaque on behalf of Ogle County's Earth Angels, forall our collectiveefforts over the past few years.

There was also a formal banquet dinner on Saturday night, where all the soldiers were

in their dress blues and spouses in their formal attire, and ohhh, what a sight to behold!

The whole weekend was fantastic, and Ihad the pleasureof meeting in person, a lot of thevoices I have dealt with on the phone over the past years.

This award presented to me, and accepted on behalf of Ogle County Earth Angels (meaning

ALL OF YOU), would not have come about, if it wasn't for everyone's collective efforts in participation and generous opened hearts. It is I, that congratulate all of you!

Good job everyone! Once again, IThank You and God Bless.

Most Sincerely,

"Granny"

(a.k.a. Linda Straith)

Capitol Report

By Jim Sacia, State Representative, 89th District

In my seven years as your State Representative, I have, on four previous occasions, received the dreaded call giving me the news of a fallen warrior from our district who was killed in service to our country; Lance Corporal Neil Petsche of Lena, Sergeant Andrew Lancaster of Stockton, Lance Corporal Andrew Patten of Byron and Specialist Norman Cain of Freeport.

The fifth call came from my good friend Tony Carton. My heart, like yours, breaks for the family of Devin Michel and the Stockton Community, at the loss of this young trooper who gave his last full measure in far-off Afghanistan. Devin's grandfather Elmer and I have been friends for years, and, of course, I promised him I would be there Saturday for the funeral. I don't even have to contact the Governor's Office. I know he'll be there. He hasn't missed any one of the over 250 funerals for our fallen heroes across the state since it all began in 2003.

We finished our veto session Friday, October 30^th, after a bitter and contentious Thursday afternoon and evening, due in large part to Senate bill 1466, the so-called ethics reform. I had my "speak" light lit during the early part of the debate, letting the speaker know I wanted to speak on the bill, but after some twenty speakers I shut my light off. I felt it had all been said and I could add nothing more. The legislation was sponsored by Speaker Madigan, and many of my colleagues had pointed out that not only was there no real reform, the bill would actually make a bad situation even worse.

The Campaign for Political Reform had endorsed the bill. The folks from Change Illinois had reluctantly done the same. These are intelligent people. How could they make such a mistake? Peter Bensinger, the Co-Chairman of Change Illinois, is quoted on October 8^th as stating "We will not be part of any agreement which limits contributions from everyone except legislative leaders and political parties." Guess what the bill they endorsed does? You got it-exactly that.

Those who voted for this sham actually took a horrible situation and made it far worse. Simply put, fundraising abilities are curtailed for all rank and file legislators, but the four leaders; the speaker of the House and Minority Leader, the President of the Senate and Minority Leader have no limit on how much money they can funnel to their chosen candidates in the general election. You thought we had a "good ol' boy" system in place now, just wait until this kicks in.

Representative Lou Lang (D-Skokie) was the final speaker listed to speak on the bill, and when he chose to personally attack Republican Leader Tom Cross, my anger flared and my "speak" light went back on. I make no apologies for defending Tom or for castigating Change Illinois and the Campaign for Political Reform for buying into one of the worst pieces of legislation I've seen in my career. My final comments on the floor: "the media will eat us alive as well they should." My words were met with applause, but in the end it did little good. The bill passed. Now the real test of Governor Quinn's leadership is to veto this terrible bill.

As always, you can reach me, Sally or Barb at 815/232-0774 or e-mail us at jimsacia@aeroinc.net. You can also visit my website at www.jimsacia.com. It's always a pleasure to hear from you.

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