Skip navigation

Monthly Archives: October 2012

Preckwinkle


Preckwinkle has backed off of the surcharge on bullets but still wants to levy a $25.00 charge on all guns sold in Cook County. Here we are again with the legal firearm owners being charged for the fiscal irresponsibility of the city. Preckwinkle needs to go back to the drawing board and perhaps levy a fee on bicycles, motor scooters or archery equipment. Those will make as big an impact on the mortality of the citizens of the State of Chicago. We on the outside of the State of Chicago can take care of ourselves.

Who Will Remember?


Does anyone remember Dan Quayle? Will anyone remember Paul Ryan? These two gentlemen have something in common except Mr.  Quayle made to the white House and Mr. Ryan hasn’t yet. Mr. Ryan’s ideas are a bit off-center (hard to tell which way). His proposals for fiscal change will result in bigger problems than we have now but the extreme conservatives of all sorts are for it no matter how it affects the famous 47%.  I believe it is better to go with a known quantity than an unknown at this point. The economy no matter how slow, is growing yet the aspirants to the White House are inserting the auto companies into the fray with incorrect information and allegations. The auto company’s have answered with the truth so who do we want leading us, some with a poor to non existent grasp of the situation or some one who has put us on a path to fiscal health? it is important to understand that even after Mr. Obama’s second term there will still be some uphill climbing to be done, lets hope the next office holder continues forward.

Does Willard Romney Really Care?


The recent weather disaster should give pause to folks who are considering voting for Mr. Romney. Under the guise of  suspending the politricking, he asked for food donations at his rally, this is to be distributed in the communities affected by the adverse weather. The real President suspended his election activities to do what Presidents do, guide and watch over the weather related problems. Any person who is on the fence should see that we already have a President who is doing the work  that is required up to and including the so called “OBamacare”. The health plan is named “The Affordable Health Care Act” and has afforded healthcare for millions of folks already. If Mr. Romney prevails all of that will be lost and the country’s health care will be in shambles. There are now people who are judging the actions of the President in this problem as politics but what should he have done? Remember Katrina?, its aftermath is still in evidence in the areas affected. I consider myself an independent voter but I spend a lot of time reading several papers and poring over  many websites to glean middle line information and facts yet I sometimes miss items. Consider what information the people who do not search for truth are getting and acting on. These are the folks that lean toward or are behind Mr. Romney. It does not matter to me who people vote for as long as they have done their due diligence in determining the facts.

What Is Really Wrong


matter who is in the White House, you will still have same old Congress. The economy is picking up as predicted and it is slow going as predicted. Our old Congress through the graces of millionaire donations which are the funneled into anti Obama ads while supporting pro Romney ads are showing what is really wrong. Our Congress does not want change because they would lose their sweet deals and perks provided through the auspices of wealthy donors. If we voters (no matter what party we support) would realize that through ads, misinformation and sometimes outright lies we never get all of the information required to be an informed voter. These campaigns are playing to our biases and ignorance of certain facts. The current stalemate in Congress is on hold until the old guard sees who is elected. If it is Mr. Romney then it will be business as usual, if it Is Mr. Obama then the same hedging as before. It is the right of the people to yell, scream and write to your representatives and get the changes needed. Splinter groups do it all of the time and get things done that do not necessarily reflect all of our opinions and views. The real way to change no matter who is in the White House is to weed out the old guard , put in some new people and demand changes that more reflect the original purpose of Congress.

Lyman Hubbard Sr.


A recent article in a local paper reported the idea of displaying the war memorabilia of one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen. These Black Americans or “Red Tails” as they were called due to the bright Red paint on the tails of their aircraft. The local airport director is quite open to the idea and should be applauded for embracing the idea. Looking back when the war was on (WWII), these men were treated with the disrespect that most Black Americans suffered. These men who saved countless lives by escorting bombers to and from air raids yet were still treated with disdain and hatred by most of their peers except the bomber pilots whose butts they covered to and from their air raids. This idea of displaying Mr. Lyman’s memorabilia is especially fitting since he was not initially allowed to fly out of the Springfield airport as a member of the Air National Guard because he was Black. This article could have been just about the work this man did for All Americans without regard to color but it brought in the Race issue which detracted from the importance of this life lived to the fullest and put on the line for all of us. Thank you  Mr. Hubbard and your comrades who are patriots who should not be forgotten.

If You Would Only Read


The current and recent past Presidential election has shown how un evolved we are. The bonobo Chimpanzees have more moral turpitude than we do in election seasons.  Some of us  have shown our true “colors” during this campaign yet refuse to acknowledge that you could be Racist. If this is your true being then live it or give it up. There  are  some of us who through ignorance or pejorative preference  cannot understand the real reasons for voting. The advertising of candidates has presented what each candidate wants us to hear and unfortunately many of us do not avail ourselves of any additional available information to corroborate or disprove what is being presented. If life was like a school , many of us would be failing. Life teaches us many things but not necessarily how to live, how to progress or even exist. These things come from our homes, teachers and parents even then there is room for personal reconciliation of the facts and ideas presented. If we would only read, explore the wonder of newspapers (notice this is pluralized) and news magazines, each presents a different slant on current events but it allows for a well-rounded view of a topic. There is always time for a quick read instead of accepting the information presented by a distinguished looking man or nice looking woman as fact. You barely believe the weather person yet any other information presented is accepted as fact. Finally why is that many of us want the worst to be true because it fits our personal biases?

Lance- The Final Blow


The recent vacating of Lance Armstrong’s tour victories is at once disturbing and not completely understood. Why after all of this time did many participants emerge to supposedly confirm the extensive doping?  There still has been any definitive information on this yet the oversight agencies have leapt into the fray and made decisions that affect more than just the riders. I believe that the French have been upset that an American won the tour so many times. They (the French agency) has been crying foul since the beginning. If it is definitively proven that Mr. Armstrong doped then put it out there and I would accept it but this stripping. The evidence is based more on hearsay and seemingly baseless information than fact. In the process of pursuing the allegations the USADA has effectively hurt American cycling and the charity Mr. Armstrong founded. If there is positive proof , I say put it out there and not use the words of supposed co-dopers who were not initially charged at all.

Who Is Kidding Who?


The recent coverage of the lack of minority  participation in the bid process to construct a new school in Springfield, IL appears to be business as usual. The minority contractors have long been shut out of building projects as workers and sub contractors in the Capital city. This has nothing to do with reparation or affirmative action it just has to with apparent exclusion. With all of the rhetoric from the city and the state  there still exists the tacit exclusion of minorities in many areas of construction and the bid process. I am sure there will be rebuttals if this is printed but no matter what is said in rebuttal, I say ” let he who is without sin cast the first stone”. The past actions in hiring and bidding in  Springfield has always been suspect but now it seems that hiding the facts is no longer an option and has arrived center stage with a “so what” attitude. The current administration seems to be as inept as the last one with the added twist of  conducting business as usual.

I Am Tired!


In the last several months of this election season I have heard, read and seen a lot more uninformed blather  coming from the Republican side. The current campaign has painted The president as the killer of the coal industry but the reality is that the coal companies are the real reason for the downturn in coal production. The companies recognize that the coal seams are farther down and harder to reach which costs more money in time and equipment. To maintain some profitability, they have closed some under producing mines and therefore laid some folks off. These layoffs no doubt hurt the individuals and communities but there are  alternative jobs available at the same pay scale, many at a lesser rate and sometimes no jobs at all. The Republican party shored up financially by some of the wealthiest industry leaders has attempted to paint the President as the reason and fomenting a Racial bias which has nothing to do with the loss of work. We will always have Racism in some form but to stir that pot for political gain in order to line their pockets while continuing the monetary rape of the American public is unconscionable. We have many organizations spending millions to put the contender in office so they can carry out their nefarious work unencumbered. Consider what  the millions of dollars spent on electing “their guy” could do for the economy if used to create jobs. To that end they have usurped the power of the people to read and think for themselves by playing on their basic distrust of one another. This is America and its time we ALL acted like Americans no matter the religious beliefs or skin color neither of which dictates a person’s character.

Independent Business Done In BY The Chain Store


The upcoming new super  market scheduled for the MacArthur business area will have a convenience store and a gas station. At the corner of that site (which once was a Kmart) was a Shell gas station which had been in place for years. As I understand it the owner approached the grocery chain but never received any response. Of course this just an opinion on my part but if an established business exists and could be included in the new building plan, why not do it? The new company will still have a gas station and a convenience store however the 40 years of service and goodwill built up by the Town and Country Shell station (a full service facility) goes the way of the Dinosaur