I recently received a campaign letter dated 10-12-2009 from former Governor Jim Edgar (R), endorsing Kirk Dillard in the Republican gubernatorial primary. Governor Edgar (served 1991-1999) was the last decent Governor we had. During his administration a good deal of lard was cut from the state budget and he produced a budget surplus. Since then we have had nothing but shame heaped upon us. I'm proud to say that I voted for him thrice (including once in the primary for his second term as opposed to following the Chicago precinct model, "vote early, vote often"). Governor Edgar is well respected by many Illinoisans, rightfully so. His endorsement of Dillard carries a great deal of weight, particularly in a crowded primary field. As much as I respect former Governor Edgar, I have to decline.
State Senator Kirk Dillard is a solid conservative and has toiled in the government trenches for years. He has been in the Illinois State Senate since December 1993, sixteen years. During that time he has sponsored and helped pass a number of important pieces of legislation. He touts his experience as a key reason to vote for him for Governor. I disagree. That long service in government is not what Illinois needs right now. Illinois needs fresh ideas and fresh eyes on the problems it faces. Kirk Dillard's experience needs to remain in the State Senate to serve as floor leader for the next Governor of Illinois....
Adam Andrzejewski.
Adam Andrzejewski (pronounced And-G-F-Ski) is pushing hard for transparency in government. He is seeking to require all units of government to electronically post where all the taxpayer dollars go. Additionally, Adam will make use of the veto pen. My impression is that it will be one of those imprinted BIC pens rather than the more expensive legislative bill signing pens. Adam is the candidate to be counted on to cut bogus state programs and agency discretionary funds (he calls them "shoe boxes"). Such cuts are something I'm afraid other candidates will not do.
You know what I mean. Nudge, Nudge. Wink, Wink. Senator A wants funds for a bike pathway in his district and Senator B wants funds for a new obelisk in the local town square. They get together to support each others discretionary projects in the usual Chicago method; "you scratch my wallet, I'll scratch yours" and the funds are appropriated accordingly. Later we citizens learn it's a bike path to nowhere and the obelisk looks like a dog named Politico pinched a steamy loaf on a slab of granite.
Adam, as Governor of Illinois will not stand for this, er, crap. Andrzejewski will place fresh eyes on the problems Illinois' faces. He will put forward new ideas to reinvigorate the Illinois economy. As an entrepreneur, Adam knows how to meet a payroll and knows what high hurdles small businesses must face here in Illinois. Unlike other candidates Adam is not part of the modern day aristocracy, that is to say, he is not an attorney.
Adam Andrzejewski is like you and I. Small business people trying to provide for our families in a tough Illinois economic environment. Andrzejewski will provide sunlight on Illinois Government. This will induce a nice sanitizing effect. When the time is right, he will sunset redundant programs, goofy spending and hidden slush funds.
Most Importantly, Adam Adrzejewski will set in motion a strong economic environment that will create jobs and opportunities for business growth and entrepreneurship. This is exactly what Illinois needs.
Adam Andrzejewski for Illinois Governor 2010.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Political Musings
Huckabee 2012 ??
No Way! Conservative commentator, Tom Roeser posited this question in a recent blog on his site, TomRoeser.com. Mr. Roeser is an excellent wordsmith and I have to admit that I agree with him 90% of the time. On this notion of Huckabee in 2012, we depart. I do not think Huckabee has the stones to cut government as it must be. In fact, in my estimation, I do not believe any of the top tier candidates Romney, Palin or Huckabee would be capable of making the necessary cuts. Perhaps former Colorado Governor, Bill Owens or current Indiana Governor, Mitch Daniels would have the tenacity to make cuts to the profligate federal spending.
CATO Institute
The CATO institute, a free-market oriented think tank in Washington, D.C., has come out with a plan to downsize the Federal government. CATO proposes to eliminate the Department of Education, a good portion of the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). I have long advocated the elimination of the Department of Education, ever since President Jimmy "The Cracker" Carter created it. The Department of Agriculture is another matter. CATO proposes to gut most of the department moving most of its functions to the states. For the most part I agree. Where I disagree, is the "Legacy" National Parks. They should be left in Federal Hands. The smaller, so-called National Parks that have been created by US Senators and Congressman seeking to gain favor with the ecotopians, should be left in state hands or as CATO proposes private land trusts. HUD can go and after reading CATO's proposal it makes more sense.
$100 Oil is still Coming
In my last post I said it was on the way. Now the US Dollar is getting pounded even more. Commodity prices are on the rise. As the rest of the world is beginning to show signs of recovery from the Bankers Flu (swine flu, if you wish), the US still putters along while the Obama administration does nothing.
Charity begins in Your Community!
Even as we all struggle in this troubled economy, please remember to give to those organizations in your community whose mission is to help the less fortunate. Even if you only have clothing items or other materials, it is important that we continue to help the "Independent Sector" grow.
No Way! Conservative commentator, Tom Roeser posited this question in a recent blog on his site, TomRoeser.com. Mr. Roeser is an excellent wordsmith and I have to admit that I agree with him 90% of the time. On this notion of Huckabee in 2012, we depart. I do not think Huckabee has the stones to cut government as it must be. In fact, in my estimation, I do not believe any of the top tier candidates Romney, Palin or Huckabee would be capable of making the necessary cuts. Perhaps former Colorado Governor, Bill Owens or current Indiana Governor, Mitch Daniels would have the tenacity to make cuts to the profligate federal spending.
CATO Institute
The CATO institute, a free-market oriented think tank in Washington, D.C., has come out with a plan to downsize the Federal government. CATO proposes to eliminate the Department of Education, a good portion of the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). I have long advocated the elimination of the Department of Education, ever since President Jimmy "The Cracker" Carter created it. The Department of Agriculture is another matter. CATO proposes to gut most of the department moving most of its functions to the states. For the most part I agree. Where I disagree, is the "Legacy" National Parks. They should be left in Federal Hands. The smaller, so-called National Parks that have been created by US Senators and Congressman seeking to gain favor with the ecotopians, should be left in state hands or as CATO proposes private land trusts. HUD can go and after reading CATO's proposal it makes more sense.
$100 Oil is still Coming
In my last post I said it was on the way. Now the US Dollar is getting pounded even more. Commodity prices are on the rise. As the rest of the world is beginning to show signs of recovery from the Bankers Flu (swine flu, if you wish), the US still putters along while the Obama administration does nothing.
Charity begins in Your Community!
Even as we all struggle in this troubled economy, please remember to give to those organizations in your community whose mission is to help the less fortunate. Even if you only have clothing items or other materials, it is important that we continue to help the "Independent Sector" grow.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
100 Dollar Oil !!
Yes. It is coming to a gas pump near you, the pricing impact of $100 per barrel OIL. It will hit us by 2Q 2010 and will negatively effect our troubled economy in a big way.
As of this writing oil is sitting at $73.96/bbl. The economies in other countries seem to be showing some signs of recovery. In particular, the emerging economies of the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) are again on a forward growth path. Consequently, demand for oil is rising and the price is rising along side this increased demand. Not only will we feel a price impact at the pump, but prices for other products derived from our petro-chemical industries will also rise. We will certainly feel it in the plastic products we buy and other distillate products we use.
What has our government in Washington, DC done since Oil hit the $147/bbl mark last year? Not much. Oh, there was some elements of the so-called stimulus plan that may help, a little. But for the most part all that has emanated from Washington, DC has been a lot of hot air. [Now if only we could harness this hot air, we could heat the Capitol building for a decade]. Since oil prices dropped below $60/bbl it has been business as usual. Now they are on the rise.
Washington should lead by example and convert all government vehicles to alternative energy sources. Since the Post Office is running such a significant deficit, this should be the first quasi-agency to go alternative. All of their trucks and delivery vehicles could convert to CNG (compressed natural gas) or LNG (liquid natural gas) as a fuel source.
Additional tax incentives should be put in place to encourage private sector businesses to convert to alternative fuel sources thereby reducing our reliance on foreign oil. To sit and emit hot air on this issue will only cause greater harm to our country.
As of this writing oil is sitting at $73.96/bbl. The economies in other countries seem to be showing some signs of recovery. In particular, the emerging economies of the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) are again on a forward growth path. Consequently, demand for oil is rising and the price is rising along side this increased demand. Not only will we feel a price impact at the pump, but prices for other products derived from our petro-chemical industries will also rise. We will certainly feel it in the plastic products we buy and other distillate products we use.
What has our government in Washington, DC done since Oil hit the $147/bbl mark last year? Not much. Oh, there was some elements of the so-called stimulus plan that may help, a little. But for the most part all that has emanated from Washington, DC has been a lot of hot air. [Now if only we could harness this hot air, we could heat the Capitol building for a decade]. Since oil prices dropped below $60/bbl it has been business as usual. Now they are on the rise.
Washington should lead by example and convert all government vehicles to alternative energy sources. Since the Post Office is running such a significant deficit, this should be the first quasi-agency to go alternative. All of their trucks and delivery vehicles could convert to CNG (compressed natural gas) or LNG (liquid natural gas) as a fuel source.
Additional tax incentives should be put in place to encourage private sector businesses to convert to alternative fuel sources thereby reducing our reliance on foreign oil. To sit and emit hot air on this issue will only cause greater harm to our country.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Chicago Loses Olympic Bid
Chicago did not even make it to the medal round in its bid to win the 2016 Summer Olympic games.
Much has been said and written over Chicago's failure to win the bid. Here in Chicago we were caught flat footed when tossed in the first round of voting. Rio de Janiero, Brazil had a more impassioned and better bid. They took the gold home.
Could Chicago have won the bid? Yes. With a much more impassioned and targeted plea to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark. Was it President Obama's fault as many of the talking heads blame? No. He gave a nice talk pitching Chicago on behalf of the United States. I disagree with the boneheads that argue he should not have made the trip, citing he had more important things to do. Hey folks, the President doesn't sit in coach twiddling his thumbs waiting to touch down. No, he is working the phones, meeting with key staff, and conducting the business of the USA.
First Lady, Michelle Obama, gave the most impassioned plea and knocked the ball out of the park. In the process, saving Chicago's overall bid presentation. If it weren't for her, Chicago would not have even got the 18 votes in the first round. Mayor Daley gave a boring Chicago-centric speech. The type of parochial effort you would hear by a Chicago ward boss.
Did they play a great game? NO.
If the Chicago 2016 committee wanted to give 110% effort (a type of effort required to win the gold in the games) they would have targeted their appeal to the IOC members. You see, 42 voting members of the IOC have participated in the games, many of which have won medals. The Chicago presentation should have made with these members in mind. A little less feeding of political egos and a lot more Olympic athletes making presentations. The athlete presentations should have included US and non-US members of past Olympic teams. The ultimate goal being how Chicago would best benefit the Olympic movement. Having more focus on the International sporting events that the Chicago Metropolitan area has successfully hosted would have greatly aided the overall presentation. All of this would have sealed the deal.
I am not sure Rio is ready. It has far more problems to solve before 2016. Hopefully they can get them resolved before the games begin. In the end, it was Rio that played a much better game.
Much has been said and written over Chicago's failure to win the bid. Here in Chicago we were caught flat footed when tossed in the first round of voting. Rio de Janiero, Brazil had a more impassioned and better bid. They took the gold home.
Could Chicago have won the bid? Yes. With a much more impassioned and targeted plea to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark. Was it President Obama's fault as many of the talking heads blame? No. He gave a nice talk pitching Chicago on behalf of the United States. I disagree with the boneheads that argue he should not have made the trip, citing he had more important things to do. Hey folks, the President doesn't sit in coach twiddling his thumbs waiting to touch down. No, he is working the phones, meeting with key staff, and conducting the business of the USA.
First Lady, Michelle Obama, gave the most impassioned plea and knocked the ball out of the park. In the process, saving Chicago's overall bid presentation. If it weren't for her, Chicago would not have even got the 18 votes in the first round. Mayor Daley gave a boring Chicago-centric speech. The type of parochial effort you would hear by a Chicago ward boss.
Did they play a great game? NO.
If the Chicago 2016 committee wanted to give 110% effort (a type of effort required to win the gold in the games) they would have targeted their appeal to the IOC members. You see, 42 voting members of the IOC have participated in the games, many of which have won medals. The Chicago presentation should have made with these members in mind. A little less feeding of political egos and a lot more Olympic athletes making presentations. The athlete presentations should have included US and non-US members of past Olympic teams. The ultimate goal being how Chicago would best benefit the Olympic movement. Having more focus on the International sporting events that the Chicago Metropolitan area has successfully hosted would have greatly aided the overall presentation. All of this would have sealed the deal.
I am not sure Rio is ready. It has far more problems to solve before 2016. Hopefully they can get them resolved before the games begin. In the end, it was Rio that played a much better game.
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