QC Examiner

For some reason there is a lot of news and legislating about smoking—-cigarettes. Two articles in today’s Dispatch give us the low down.

The ridiculous exercise in nannyism that would criminalize adults smoking in a car with children went down in humiliating defeat for local sponsor, Mike Boland. The final vote was 91-18. Boland was stunned. “I was really shocked…..(t)his one I thought was really just common sense….” In a really outrageous example of moral equivalence, Boland compared smoking in your car with children to “(w)e don’t let people beat their kids, or starve them.” Beat your kids, starve your kids, smoke in the car with kids—-it’s all the same in Bolandworld. Sheesh! Rich Miller at Capitolfax says the main problem with this bill was Boland. Miller says he’s heard from other legislators that Boland cannot be trusted. Just sayin’, but whatever the reason, this turkey deserved to go down in flames—-and I’m a non-smoker.

In further smoking news, a bill that would ban smoking in bars, restaurants, casinos and workplaces has passed the Senate 34-23 (see Capitolfax above). Personally, I have to say that my last place of employment ran on cigarettes and coffee, so I don’t know how this will go down. But here’s what Our Good (Democrat) Senator Jacobs said about this bill: “It’s disastrous for my community because the smoking ban could drive customers across the Mississippi River to Iowa restaurants and bars.”

But here’s what the Republican Senator from Geneseo (Todd Sieben) had to say about the bill: “I think the preponderance of the evidence is so overwhelming about the health hazards of second smoke that it was time to move forward and make all of Illinois smoke free.”

What’s going on here? Democrats standing up for Illinois business, but Republicans standing up for the NannyState?

Truly we are living in the End Times.

In an article in Wednesday’s Dispatch, Our Good Senator Mike Jacobs had some harsh words for a bill that won overwhelming approval in the Senate—-there were only two dissenting votes and Our Good Senator was one of them.

The bill would put tighter restrictions on those under 21 who apply for or have a driver’s license (no problem if you’re an illegal worker, though).

Here’s what Our Good Senator had to say about this bill: “This one-size-fits-all, politically correct government has completely gotten out of hand.” And further, “I don’t like the idea of a person who is able to serve in Iraq, to drive a Humvee in Iraq every day, and gets two traffic tickets in Illinois and can’t drive. That seems somewhat ridiculous to me”.

So what’s going on here? Why is Our Good Senator talking like he is the spokesman for the Cato Institute? Pragmatism? Midlife crises? Desire to separate himself from the Democrat herd? Delayed rebellion against all previous generations of Jacobs politicians? Recent head injury causing him to talk sense?

When a born and bred life-long Democrat starts talking like a libertarian, inquiring minds want to know why. 

You would think with all the trials and tribulations we face in the 21st Century that the Democrats, having finally wrestled one branch of government away from the GOP, would focus like a laser on problem solving for the future. But no. You would be wrong.

According to an article in The Washington Post activists and some Democrats want to revive the hoary ERA Amendment. As you may remember, this turkey came to a screeching halt in 1982, yet this is where Democrats choose to spend time and attention, ignoring the serious problems we currently face. This is just another sad example of the Back To The Future Democrats. Are they even capable of creating new policies or ideas? Are they so bereft of intellectual vigor that all they can offer is refried ’60s liberalism?

It seems so.

While it may or may not be true that money can’t buy love, it appears that money can buy an endorsement.

According to KCCI in Des Moines, Hillary Clinton has agreed to pay off Vilsack’s $400,000.00 campaign debt. Of course all parties deny the endorsement and money are linked.

OK. Sure. Whatever.

Saw “300″ on Saturday and it was the most unusual movie I’ve seen. It was a strange mix  of live action and digital. The color was a burnished gold tone. There were familiar features—-venal, weaselly politicians, bellicose women, buff guys with washboard abs wearing red capes and leather briefs.

There was extreme violence—and lots of it, but it was depicted as ballet, or maybe performance art. Maybe cartoonish.

But the violence and the actors were not the focus of “300″—-the story was the focus.  The story being how 300 Spartan warriors held off a massive Persian army until betrayed, and how freedom isn’t free.

Over the past several years, I’ve seen various “war” movies; Troy, Cold Mountain, Flags of Our Fathers, Letters from Iwo Jima. Most of these have had an underlying theme of the cost of war and the futility of war. What made “300″ so different is that it was out-of-the-box that some things are worth fighting for—-you don’t get this message very often from Hollywood.  

According to Scott Reeder, our specially selected Senator Mike Jacobs says that voting for Blago’s business tax hike would be “political suicide”, would devastate the state’s economy, especially a bi-state economy like the QCs. But wait!

Jacobs says he will vote for Blago’s tax if Blago will cough up the full $75 mil for WIU’s new Moline campus.

Are our representatives the best money can buy—or what?

Ya get what ya pay for!

Had dinner tonight at an upper RICO restaurant with a very nice river view.

The wind was blowing so hard the river appeared to be running NORTH!

Some interesting things I’ve seen in the Moline Dispatch since I’ve been trying to figure out this internets tubes thing:

1.  The Quarter in East Moline is back from the grave and ready to party thanks to a $10 mil cash infusion. Instead of fantasizing that people would flock to this desolate area to build expensive homes, a developer is going to build condo units in the $180,000 range, which is more reasonable. Drive out to the The Quarters sometime—-you have to drive through a swamp to get there and “there” is surrounded by warehouses/industrial detritus, plus there is no river view. Maybe a race car track would be the highest and best use of this property, but good luck to East Moline anyway with those condos.

2.  The Passion of the Democrat Taxmen continues.  Pat Verschoore is promoting a new, improved tax for schools that would allow counties to add up to 1% to local sales taxes to be earmarked for school construction and renovations. Isn’t this what Preacher Rod’s GRT is supposed to do? Wasn’t that what riverboat gambling was supposed to do? How many times are they gonna pull this stuff? Yeah, let’s do it for the children, sure, whatever.

3.  An Augie professor and his wife were arrested on drug charges after they called the police regarding a break in and cops found—-well, incriminating evidence.  I’m no doper myself, but I know plenty of people who are, or have been, so my suggestion is that since Preacher Rod sez the State O’ Illinois is  in dire need of cash,  he should promote a bill that legalizes and taxes marijuana.  He’d never have to worry about financing his socialist agenda again. This is a golden opportunity for the needy yet aggressive governor—how long will the Democrats have absolute control of all three branches of government? Strike while the iron is hot, Rod. Just sayin’….

4. Which is why the civil unions bill is moving along at a fine clip. I’m ok with civil unions as long as   the legislature doesn’t make this an affirmative action/reparations thing where gays have all the rights of staights but none of the responsibilities. No doubt the American Bar Association is lobbying the heck out of this bill—–more “marriages” mean more business! 

5.  A brief AP report notes that Tom Vilsack has endorsed Hillary Clinton for POTUS. The AP moves into fantasy/commentary when it says that “the endorsement will go a long way to establishing Clinton’s bona fides with average Iowans.” Where do they get this stuff? Didn’t Vilsack poll FOURTH in Iowa  before he finally dropped out of the race? Bona fides, indeed!

6.  Finally, I’m not sure who writes the headlines at the Dispatch for AP (and other) stories, but kudos to the person who wrote the headline for Saturday’s AP story about the pork-filled “war-spending bill” that George Bush promised to reject: House Passes Veto Bait. Ya gotta have a sense of humor in these times, I’m tellin’ ya! 

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