Chgo’s Mayor Daley: Guns, Not Islam, Caused Fort Hood Massacre

-By Warner Todd Huston

Just like an unprincipled, self-interested, tin-eared politician, Mayor Richard Daley decided to use the massacre at Fort Hood to flog his prosaic anti-gun message in Chicago.

When asked if Islam had anything at all to do with the Fort Hood massacre and if Muslims might expect some sort of backlash or anti-Islamic movement because of Nidal Hasan’s evil act of terror, Daley replied:

“Every day in society people are getting killed, unfortunately. America loves guns, we love guns to a point that we see the devastation on a daily basis. You don’t blame a group, you don’t blame a society… i,i,immigrant community because of actions of one group, uh one individual, you cannot say that.”

So, guns caused the Fort Hood massacre? Of course, this absurd claim does not square with the Major Hasan’s history of radical Islamism, but, hey, if you can use someone else’s “tragedy” to push your political message… what the heck, eh?So, not only was Daley his usually inarticulate self, but he found himself not above using this crime to push his own particular political message; his anti-gun zealotry.
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Chgo’s Mayor Daley: Guns, Not Islam, Caused Fort Hood Massacre”


Jewish Candidate Files Objections Against White Supremacist Opponent

-By Warner Todd Huston

Illinois state Representative Julie Hamos (10th District) has filed objections to the filing petitions of Green Party candidate Richard Mayers saying that his petitions lack the required 31 valid signatures. But Rep. Hamos also objects to Mayers’ past white supremacist ties.

Mayers was charged in 2005 with destroying three public library VHS tapes about the Holocaust and with contempt of court for allegedly making a Nazi salute in an Illinois courtroom…

Mayers has been linked to the white supremacist group The Creativity Movement, which terms Jews and all non-white groups “mud races.”

Hamos told reporters that Mayers has “no interest” in “bringing thoughtful or useful discussion” to the race. “He is merely using this opportunity to spread a vile message of hatred and intolerance,” she said.
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Jewish Candidate Files Objections Against White Supremacist Opponent”


Gov. Crist DID Flip Flop on Stimulus Support

-By Warner Todd Huston

On November 5 on CNN, Florida Governor Charlie Crist told Wolf Blitzer that he didn’t back the $787 billion Obama stimulus bill. Crist has since said that it isn’t a flip flop when he says he supported the stimulus “in concept” but didn’t support the specific bill.

In essence he’s trying to have it both ways. Claiming he wasn’t a supporter of the actual bill, but hedging by saying he felt something was necessary. It seems to be Crist’s way of straddling the line.

Unfortunately, the facts seem to belie Crist’s delicately balanced tightrope act because in February of 2009 Crist was one of 18 U.S. governors (along with the governor of the Virgin Islands) that signed a letter informing President Obama that they supported the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). (See pdf of letter here)

Despite being a signatory of the letter Crist is now saying he didn’t support the specific stimulus bill. After speaking at the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Crist told the press, ““I think the question posed to me was, ‘Did you endorse this specific bill?’ And I said, ‘No, I didn’t,’ but the concept I thought, and still believe, was important, necessary and it helped Florida.”
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Gov. Crist DID Flip Flop on Stimulus Support”


Government As Narcotics Dealer

-By Warner Todd Huston

Since the advent of the Federal Reserve System in 1913, monetary authorities have repeatedly upped the narcotic dosage as a remedy for the pains of easy money and credit addiction.

An exceptionally clear and insightful analysis of the precipitating and sustaining causes of the twelve-year-long Great Depression is to be found in Banking and the Business Cycle: A Study of the Great Depression in the United States. Published in 1937, this book provides a wealth of statistics and quotations from Federal Reserve officials, bankers, and economists of that era. It can be obtained from the Ludwig von Mises Institute via its website.

At the end of World War I, when the Federal Reserve System was only five years old, the Fed decided to prevent prices across the economy from falling back to the levels prevailing before the war. To do so, the Fed pumped so much money into the economy via the banks that total bank lendable deposits more than doubled in the six years from 1914 to 1920. To make the perspective clearer, the Fed pumped more lendable funds into the banking system in six years than had been created in the prior 131 years since the ratification of the Constitution.
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Government As Narcotics Dealer”


It’s 3 Straw Poll Wins in a Row for Andrzejewski

-By Warner Todd Huston

Over the weekend the Federation of Illinois Young Republicans (FIYR) held its annual convention in Bolingbrook. There a straw poll of members was conducted and once again outsider candidate Adam Andrzejewski won. This is the third straw poll in a row that Andrzejewski has won.

On October 19, Andrzejewski won the McLean County Freedom Coalition Straw Poll in Bloomington and on Nov. 2 he won the Concerned Citizens of America straw poll held in Rockford. Andrzejewski also won the September straw poll held at the governor forum sponsored by the United Republican Fund.

For information on the campaign visit www.adamforillinois.com/.
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It’s 3 Straw Poll Wins in a Row for Andrzejewski”


Last Blago Defender Under Investigation for Petition Violation

-By Warner Todd Huston

Poor Deborah Mell can’t catch a break. First she was the lone defender of former Governor Rod Blagojevich during the state legislature’s impeachment procedures earlier this year and now she may lose her seat over a “glitch” in the filing of her nominating petitions.

State election laws require that a candidate be registered to vote at the same address that is claimed as that candidate’s primary residence. Unfortunately for Mell, she is not registered to vote at the address she claims is her primary residence.

Mell’s rival for the 40th District seat, Joe Laiacona, filed a complaint with the Chicago Board of Elections. Apparently, Laiacona took a page out of Barack Obama’s Chicago Way book. If you can’t beat your opponent in a fair election, find the lacuna in an opponents petitions that violates election law and get your opponent thrown off the ballot!

Mell is the sister of Rod Blagojevish’s wife, Patti and daughter of long-time Chicago powerman Alderman Dick Mell (33rd) of Chicago.
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Last Blago Defender Under Investigation for Petition Violation”


Minus One: Danny Davis Drops Bid for Cook County Board

-By Warner Todd Huston

Too many African Americans running, that is the reason that Congressman Danny Davis (D, Chgo) has decided not to run for Cook County Board President and will instead run for re-election to his 7th District Congressional seat.

He said he did it for “unity” but the real reason that Davis dropped out is because he felt that too many African Americans running for the same seat would spread the votes thin enough that some evil white guy might win the seat.

Currently three other African Americans are running for board president. Incumbent Todd Stroger, Cook County Clerk Dorothy Brown, and Alderman Toni Preckwinckle are all vying for the African American community’s support.

Here are the candidates as announced and filed running for Cook County Board President.
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Minus One: Danny Davis Drops Bid for Cook County Board”


Ill. Governor’s Debate Video

-By Warner Todd Huston

Watch the Illinois GOP Governor’s debate from November 5, courtesy of the Illinois GOP.

Pat Brady, Ill. State Party Chairman, opened with a statement on the state of the state and what the Illinois GOP intends to do henceforth. After that the party began to the tune of the Alan Parson’s Project classic, “Eye in the Sky.” (A bit corny, but it’s all in good fun) Finally WGN Radio’s Chris Roebling, debate moderator, started the night’s event.

Participating are Adam Andrzejewski, Bill Brady, Kirk Dillard, Andy McKenna, Dan Proft, Jim Ryan, and Bob Schillerstrom.


How Your Illinois Reps Voted on Stupak’s Abortion Amendment

-By Warner Todd Huston

One of the compromises that Speaker of the House Pelosi made to smooth the waters for her healthcare legislation was the Bart Stupak (D, Mich.) Amendment that stripped abortion funding from the healthcare legislation.

So which of our Illinois Representatives voted in support of the Stupak amendment?

  • Dan Lipinski (D, 3rd)
  • Peter Roskam (R,6th)
  • Mark Kirk (R,10th)
  • Jerry Costello (D,12th)
  • Judy Biggert (R,13th)
  • Timothy Johnson (R,15th)
  • Donald Manzullo (R,16th)
  • Aaron Schock (R,18th)
  • John Shimkus (R,19th)

And on the final vote, only Lipinski and Costello went on to vote “yes” for Pelosicare.

(For a nice little web resource on Illinois Congressmen, check out www.govtrack.us/congress/findyourreps.)


Some Comments from Illinois Candidates on Pelosi’s Bare Win on Healthcare

-By Warner Todd Huston

Several Republicans and candidates here in Illinois have spoken out on the passage of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s version of Obamacare. Here are a few of them (in no particular order).

Republican State Chairman, Patrick Brady, warned Illinois Democrats that what they have wrought is “wrong for Illinois.”

Today is a disappointing day for Illinoisans as Nancy Pelosi, Melissa Bean, Debbie Halvorson and Bill Foster ignored the concerns of voters and rammed a trillion dollar 1,990 page government-run health care bill through Congress ignoring pledges of transparency and bi-partisanship. Illinois for generations will be forced to deal with the consequences of this legislation that increases health care costs, increases taxes on small businesses and the middle class, cuts Medicare and puts a Washington bureaucrat between you and your doctor.

Joe Walsh, candidate for the 8th Congressional District, took the occasion to accuse incumbent Democrat Bean of proving she is a left-winger.
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Some Comments from Illinois Candidates on Pelosi’s Bare Win on Healthcare”


Cook Cnty Board President Loses Powers

-By Warner Todd Huston

For months early this year, Cook County Board President Todd Stroger repeatedly beat back attempts to repeal his onerous sales tax hike that saw Cook County become the highest taxed county in the country at 10.25 percent. The reason president Stroger was able to do this so easily is because the law stated that opponents of the President needed to get four fifths of their fellows to overturn a Stroger veto.

This four-fifths rule has traditionally given the board president nearly unassailable powers as marshaling four fifths of the board to oppose the board president is a herculean task. But now that power has been taken away from the county board president by the governor of the state when Pat Quinn signed new legislation that would change the law from a four-fifths majority to three-fifths.

On Saturday, Quinn signed the new three-fifths rule into law. Quinn said that he is not signing this law to spite Stroger or anyone else. He said he signed it because it was a “fair” law that brought Cook County into line with the rest of the state.


Associated Press Spelling Patrol, Or APs Lack of Military Knowledge?

-By Warner Todd Huston

Looks like the Associated Press has fired all its editors… or at least all the editors that can spell. Either that, or the good folks at the AP are so unfamiliar with matters military that they don’t know that the name for the beginning of the day’s activities in the military is “reveille.” As you can see below, the AP misspelled it “Revile.”



Anyway, I just found it amusing. Probably because I “revile” the Old Media so often.


Dem. Senate Candidate Uses Palin Against Mark Kirk

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that Democrat Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias is trying to use Mark Kirk’s approach of Sarah Palin for an endorsement against him. Giannoulias is attempting to use the Kirk/Palin incident as a fund raising tool.

A few days ago, we reported that Mark Kirk sent a letter to Governor Sarah Palin challenging her to support his candidacy for the GOP nomination for Barack Obama’s old Illinois Senate seat. It seems unlikely that Kirk will receive Palin’s endorsement, though. Being far, far too liberal Kirk is hardly Palin’s sort of Republican.

But Giannoulias thinks that even the slightest connection with Palin will drive his fundraising. The Democrat sent the following email to his supporters (bold in the original):
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Dem. Senate Candidate Uses Palin Against Mark Kirk”


Chgo Trib’s Bios of Ill. GOP Senate Candidates

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Chicago Tribune has put out a few short bios of the current candidates for Illinois Senate on the GOP side of the aisle. And I do mean short. They are more like just an announcement of the candidate’s campaign than a bio. They contain links to the candidates web resources, though. Nonetheless, here are the links:

John Arrington

Patrick Hughes

Mark Kirk

Tom Kuna

Don Lowery

Andy Martin

Ed Varga

Robert Zadek

Not yet covered is Kathleen Thomas‘ campaign.
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Chgo Trib’s Bios of Ill. GOP Senate Candidates”


Video: Cook County Board Presidents Candidate Debate

-By Warner Todd Huston

John Garrido only Republican to attend

Several of the candidates for Cook County Board President attended a debate hosted by The Hispanic American Construction Industry Association (HACIA). It was filmed by Chicago’s ABC News.

In attendance were Republican candidate, John Garrido, current Democrat incumbent Todd Stroger, Democrats Ald. Toni Preckwinkle, and Metro Water Reclam. Dist. Pres. Terrence O’Brien, as well as Green Party candidate Tom Tresser.

Sadly, Republican candidate Roger Keats did not participate. Also not attending were Democrats Dorothy Brown, and Danny Davis — likely because Davis has not yet officially announced his candidacy. Also not attending was Greenie Sean Burke.
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Video: Cook County Board Presidents Candidate Debate”


Steve Rauschenberg: Why is Ill. 46th in Job Creation?

Steve Rauschenberg (R, Elgin) is talking jobs for the Illinois economy. Rauschengerger says in his new video, “For Illinois to have a strong future we need strong job growth in Illinois and today we don’t have it.”

Steve Rauschenberger is running to regain his old Senate seat in the 22nd District which encompasses part of DuPage County and western Cook County.

(Cross posted at RedCounty.com)


Jobs, Education Highlight State GOP Debate

From the Kirk Dillard camp:

(Chicago, IL) – Jobs, healthcare, education and the legacy of Abraham Lincoln highlighted Thursday’s debate among the Republican candidates for Illinois governor. The debate was sponsored by the Illinois State Republican Party and held in Chicago.

Senator Kirk Dillard championed his “Destination Economy” plan to attract new business to the state. “It will be the most ambitious job creation plan in state history,” he said, reminding the audience one out of every 10 Illinois workers is out of a job.

Dillard also suggested healthcare would be part of his budget reforms in Springfield if elected governor. “My first budget will have a bad dose of medicine for Medicaid,” said Dillard, talking about some of the places he will look for significant budget cuts. Other areas include the state pension system. “We need pension reform,” he said.
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Jobs, Education Highlight State GOP Debate”


Union Violates Free Speech, the Right to Vote and Smashes Common American Democracy

-By Warner Todd Huston

There’s not much that union supporters and I can agree upon. But here is one incident where I can wholeheartedly support the aggrieved members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) who have found themselves victims of their own union.

The SEIU wanted to renegotiate a contract with officials of Sonoma County, California for its in-home healthcare workers supported by county funds. SEIU representatives met with and crafted a new contract with the assistance of County officials. This was all done behind closed doors without the general knowledge of or the assistance of the workers themselves.

But that isn’t the main problem here. It’s how the contract was approved that shows how little the SEIU cares for democracy, member’s rights, and the American way.
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Union Violates Free Speech, the Right to Vote and Smashes Common American Democracy”


David Ratowitz Vows to Support State and Individual Sovereignty Rights

Illinois Congressional District 5 challenger signs Tenth Amendment Center Pledge

David Ratowitz, candidate for U.S. Congress to represent Illinois’ 5th Congressional District, today signed the Tenth Amendment Center’s 10-point pledge for prospective and current federal officeholders. The pledge aims to bolster support for the 1791 Bill of Rights component that affirms the U.S. Constitution’s principle of federalism, stating that, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.”
 

“The reason that our founding fathers signed the Constitution and deliberately limited the power of the central government was to prevent just the sort of government-induced breakdown that we face today,” explains Ratowitz. “As a nation of free and independent citizens, we must choose elected officials who pledge to uphold the established laws of the land and honor local authority.”
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David Ratowitz Vows to Support State and Individual Sovereignty Rights”


Last Thoughts on SPN 2009

-By Warner Todd Huston

Some final thoughts on the State Policy Network‘s 17th Annual Conference.

It was invigorating to be able to share a conference with so many folks of like mind, a conservative, free market, liberty-minded mien. And with nearly 500 participants, the biggest conference they’ve yet had, it was something very worth attending if you are interested in furthering these sorts of policies among the various states.

But I have to say one thing that this conference proved and it is something that is, in the end, detrimental for the country. This was a 500 person conference where each participant spent no less than $1,000 to attend, many spent far more. There we saw free market think tanks from every state all trying to find ways to defeat the extreme Obama left. We have all this effort, all this money, all this time spent to defeat liberalism all in evidence at the conference. While that is good because it needs to be done, the sad thing is that it has to be done in the first place. The fact that this conference gets bigger every year and that more and more people from across the country have created state policy organizations to fight the un-American left is sad, when you get right down to it.
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Last Thoughts on SPN 2009″


Mark Kirk’s Yo Yo Campaign (Plus Did He Ask for Palin’s Support or Not?)

**Now with Updates**
-By Warner Todd Huston

Only a few months ago, Representative Mark Kirk voted for Cap and Tax… er, I mean Cap and Trade. Conservatives and Republicans in general lit into Kirk with a vengeance. Then he started running for the Senate and at a subsequent September 5 campaign stop he reversed himself and decided he wouldn’t support Cap and Trade.

Kirk is not a strong pro-life supporter, he is bad on the Second Amendment, Kirk is only middling on free trade, and he has drifted back and forth on sometimes support for Obama’s left-wing, big spending agenda in Washington.. though he is sometimes good on national defense. In all, Kirk is not quite as bad as N.Y. 23’s Dede Scozzafava, but he is no Illinois Dough Hoffman if you want a current analogy.

Now comes a November 4 report by the Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza that Kirk sent a memo to Fred Malek attempting to get Governor Sarah Palin’s endorsement for his (Kirk’s) Senate run. Cillizza claims that this Kirk request shows Palin’s power and Kirk’s worries for his campaign.
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Mark Kirk’s Yo Yo Campaign (Plus Did He Ask for Palin’s Support or Not?)”


Pelosi Health Care Bill Raises Taxes $730 Billion

-By Warner Todd Huston

From the Mark Kirk Campaign:

On Thursday, I introduced the Medical Rights and Reform Act (H.R. 3970) – a centrist alternative for health care reform that lowers costs and expands coverage without raising taxes.

When Speaker Pelosi unveiled the final version of her government health care bill (H.R. 3962), she told us it cost less than $900 billion. Hours later, the Congressional Budget Office reported the bill would actually cost $1.05 trillion.

Take a look at the following list of tax increases we found inside Speaker Pelosi’s 1,990-page bill — nearly $730 billion in new taxes on individuals and small businesses.

Top Ten Tax Increases Included In H.R. 3962
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Pelosi Health Care Bill Raises Taxes $730 Billion”


SPN 2009 Conference: Final Day

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Wednesday session began with a breakfast address by James K. Glassman the former Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, U.S. Dept. of State during the George W. Bush administration. He spoke on Internet freedom (as opposed to net neutrality) and expressed his hope that a thousand Internet flowers would bloom without onerous regulation squelching it all. (I’ll add some photos later once I return home. All the camera stuff is packed up for the trip home at his time)

Mr. Glassman is about to begin his new role as the executive director of the forthcoming George W. Bush Institute to be housed in Dallas, Texas at the soon to be built G.W. Bush library.

I asked him if he could keep in mind the danger that state taxation presents to the Internet and urged him not just to focus on the federal threat that the Obama administration is presenting at this time. He agreed and I am hopeful that this subject will form a part of his future strategy.
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SPN 2009 Conference: Final Day”


Maine Rejects Gay Marriage

-By Warner Todd Huston

The news for Republicans and conservatives was pretty good with most of the elections yesterday with a landslide for the Virginia GOP and a great win in New Jersey. Conservatives and Republicans did well in other parts of the country, too. One of those other areas was in Maine where the voters rejected a gay marriage proposal.

Voters in Maine repealed a state law that allowed gay marriage, becoming the 31st state to reject gay marriage via popular vote.

As of USA Today’s report, with 87% of the votes tabulated, the opponents of gay marriage had 53% of the vote.

Nearly every state that puts this issue up to the voters finds the majority opposing gay marriage. In Maine’s case, the law was put in place by the state legislature and Tuesday’s vote was the first time the voters got a chance to put in their say on the matter.
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Maine Rejects Gay Marriage”


Illinois Parental Notification for Abortions Delayed AGAIN! Call Springfield Now!

-By Warner Todd Huston

(Passed on from my friend Eunice Conn)

It took 14 years to get the Parental Notification Bill of 1995 passed in August(of this year) in Illinois. Then, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation decided to enact a 90-day “grace period” to give abortionists time to prepare for the new policy.

That grace period should have ended today (Tuesday, Nov. 3) but….well you know our Illinois Gov’t. They approved another extension.

Tomorrow, they will decide how much time they need.

If you are so inclined contact Gov. Quinn and urge him to instruct the Dept. of Financial and Professional Regulation to end the delay.

Govern Quinn, Springfield Office : 217-782-0244

Governor Quinn, Chicago Office: 312-814-2121


Cook County Board President Race: Who’s In, Anyway?

-By Warner Todd Huston

Here are the candidates as announced and filed running for Cook County Board President.

Republicans
John Garrido – Policeman and lawyer ( garrido2010.com/)
Roger Keats – Securities Industry (www.keatsforcook.com/)

Democrats
Dorothy Brown – Clerk of Circuit Court of Cook County (Friends of Dorothy Brown)
Danny Davis * – Congressman (www.davisforpresidentofcookcounty.com/)
Terrence O’Brien – President of Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (www.obrienforcookcounty.com/)
Toni Preckwinkle – Chicago Alderman (www.tonipreckwinkle.org/)
Todd Stroger – Cook County Board President (strogerforpresident.com/)

Green Party
Tom Tresser – Community organizer, arts activist (www.tom2010.us/)
Sean Burke – Research and development
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Cook County Board President Race: Who’s In, Anyway?”


State Policy Network Conference Update

-By Warner Todd Huston

I have been ensconced in meetings on grassroots organizing, fundraising, tech and all sorts of things here at the SPN 17th annual conference in beautiful Asheville, North Carolina organized by the State Policy Network. I have to thank my host Adam Radman, Programs and Communications Manager of Americans for Tax Reform, for giving me this great opportunity to network with state policy organizations from every state of the Union.


The opening speech was given by Robert Levy, Chairman of the CATO Institute. He spoke on Libertarian-conservative perspectives on federalism, the enumerated powers in the Constitution and the possibilities of tort reform. Annoyingly a fellow in the audience asked of Levy why we should favor federalism over liberty. Levy patiently explained that the talk he gave was narrowly constrained on the topic and wasn’t in any way meant to posit that federalism was more important than freedom and liberty. There’s always one in the crowd, isn’t there?
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State Policy Network Conference Update”


The 17th Annual State Policy Network Conference

-By Warner Todd Huston

The first half of this week I’ll be attending the State Policy Network’s annual meeting, this year in Asheville, North Carolina. It is being held at The Gove, a fantastic (and huge) hotel/resort complex here in the beautiful North Carolina hills.

I will be attending all sorts of interesting seminars on the New Media, organizing, funding, etc. It’s a pretty jam packed schedule, so I am not sure how much time I will have for reporting back.

The Gove is a testament to American can-do spirit that has been stifled by government today. This humongous complex was built by a family in a years time with the aide of one steam shovel and a crew of men with mules, pulleys, and ropes.

In any case, I hope to get back to the hotel here and write a bit about the first day later tonight.
____________
Warner Todd Huston is a Chicago based freelance writer, has been writing opinion editorials and social criticism since early 2001 and is featured on many websites such as RightWingNews.com, CanadaFreePress.com, StoptheACLU.com, TheRealityCheck.org, RedState.com, Human Events Magazine, AmericanDailyReview.com, and the New Media Journal, among many, many others. Additionally, he has been a frequent guest on talk-radio programs to discuss his opinion editorials and current events and is currently the co-host of “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Conservatism” heard on BlogTalkRadio. Warner is also the editor of the Cook County Page for RedCounty.com.

He has also written for several history magazines and appears in the new book “Americans on Politics, Policy and Pop Culture” which can be purchased on amazon.com. He is also the owner and operator of PubliusForum.com. Feel free to contact him with any comments or questions : EMAIL Warner Todd Huston

Fair Use: This site may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material available in my efforts to advance understanding of political, human rights, economic, democracy, and social justice issues, etc. I believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research, educational, or satirical purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site/blog for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.


Chicago Aldermen: We Are More Important Than You Lowly Citizens

-By Warner Todd Huston

Chicago’s alderman are mad and they aren’t above letting director of Administrative Hearings Scott Bruner know about it. You would be too if you had to mix with the great, unwashed masses like these poor, put upon alderman have been forced to do. Why, it’s unseemly, don’t you know?

As it happens Chicago’s aldermen are being forced to go through the metal detectors to gain entrance to the central headquarters for administrative hearings. It’s a travesty of what’s good and decent, they say.

Last week during the City Council budget hearings, director Bruner was chastised by Alderman Howard Brookins (21st Ward) and several other aldermen for being forced to go through the detectors.

“Why am I searched as an alderman and as an attorney?…I don’t want to be searched going through a city building. There’s only 50 of us and we all have gold badges,” said Ald. Howard Brookins (21st).

… Budget Committee Chair Carrie Austin (34th) was so “offended,” she warned Bruner what might happen if he fails to “take another look at your policy.”

“It’s not a matter of giving anybody any preference. But us that are aldermen—we are the ones who set your budget. If we’re the ones setting your budget maybe we’ll take an adjustment” downward, if the policy is not rescinded, Austin warned.

The Sun-Times piece reminds us of another recent incident where aldermen thought they should be afforded premium service.
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Chicago Aldermen: We Are More Important Than You Lowly Citizens”