Greetings from Illinois, the land of equal opportunity corruption. Here in the land of Lincoln it doesn't matter if you are Republican or Democrat, male or female, white or black; if you have the cash you can play. If you have big cash and can get hooked up with the "Combine" you can play in the big leagues.

I know that there are some of you who are from the East Coast and can't believe that any other area could be as corrupt (as Hudson County). But believe me, they are amateurs compared to Illinois Pols.

Here we have an "ex-officio" Chamber of Commerce that is referred to as "The Combine" where politicians from any party can partner with crooks from any denomination. All you have to do to swim in the big pond is to feed the fish.

In today's Chicago Tribune, John Kass refers to Blago as "Governor Dead Meat". I prefer the term "Governor Meat Head" and I'm not referring to his hair. Here we have a guy who knows he's being investigated by the Feds who is blabbing non stop on the telephone (doesn't he watch TV?) about getting money for favors. A few days ago he revealed (on tape) that a representative of one of the Candidates for Obama's Senate Seat, Candidate 5 called re "pay to play" and he would pony up $500,000 and the other guy $1 Million after he was appointed. Then "Meat Head" tells the guy to talk to the representative but to be careful "how he says it" because they are listening.

As I started this post, my Blackberry buzzed. It was a Tribune alert that their sources had identified Jessie Jackson Jr. as Candidate # 5. Now that is "equal opportunity".

Now some people have questione whether or not the "President Elect" was aware of any of this. He says he hasn't talked to Blago but his closest political advisor (Axlerod) is on video saying that he had talked to him. Here we go again! Obama sat in Rev Wrights church for over 2000 sermons but claimed he didn't know that Wright was an Anti-American Racist. He said that Ayers "was just another guy in the neighborhood" so who knows, maybe its early onset of Alzheimers. Even though Obama swam in the same Pond and grazed with the same Fish as Blago, he may be totally innocent and I truly hope that is the case. But he has to come out swinging on government ethics because a large part of our economic and World problems are the result of lack of confidence in our Leaders.

Let's hope that this is the straw that breaks the Combine's back and others across the country who are taking the hard earned money out of the tax payers pocket.

Iraq December 2008

Charles Krauthammer published a post today in which he discusses the recent agreement by the Iraqi Parliament that the US Military Presence should end by December 31, 2011. You can access this post via the following link:
http://townhall.com/columnists/CharlesKrauthammer/2008/12/05/iraq_under_the_radar?page=full&comments=true

This agreement by the elected Parliament of Iraq sends a clear message to the World, especially Iran that they are intent on forming a Democratic Government and appreciate America's support. Many of you know that I did not support our unilateral approach to this issue, however, I also don't support a hasty withdrawal especially under these conditions. While they still have to resolve some major issues such as Oil Revenue Sharing and a Constitution, this recent agreement by a vast majority is very encouraging.

So, what should our incoming President do about his commitment to withdraw our troops in 16 months? Should he proceed with that or should he endorse this decision by the Iraqi Parliament?

Key Issues

My purpose in creating this blog is to discuss Key Issues affecting America. It is not to discuss local politics or personalities. We will of course comment on various political personalities but only in the context of the issue being discussed. Following is a list of the key issues as I see them. Feel free to add to this or to suggest some minor issues that you feel warrant discussion under there own heading.

1. National Defense
2. Energy
3. The Economy
4. Health care
5. Social Security
6. Education
7. Immigration
8. Social Issues (Abortion, Marriage, Gun Control etc.)

Openning Comment

There are so many critical issues in today's world that it is extremely difficult for most of us to stay current. In addition, there seem to be very few media sources that are not only biased but openly support an ideology. The terms Democrat, Republican, Conservative and Liberal are in my opinion outdated in American Politics. On top of this we have not seen true bi-partisan leadership in decades. If one were to write "Profiles in Courage" today, there would be no candidates. Let's hope that our President Elect will surprise us.

I've always believed that an enterprise's success depended not only on defining a strategy, but in having leaders who have the guts and ability to maintain the organization's focus on the key issues. This is particularly difficult in a Democratic Republic when a Congressman is elected by a particular region that has goals that are not necessarily in common with other regions. This is where the "guts" come in. If we have a weak Federal Government then sooner or later that will impact the States. So there are some issues that require total bi-partisan behavior. (I think that perhaps the most glaring example of un-partisan behavior in recent times came from Nancy Pelosi in her reactions to the current financial crisis. Time and time again she started her news conferences by "BLAMING" the Republicans. Never mind the actions of Democrats on the House and Senate Committees.)

Of course, in a Democracy, the final responsibililty is with the Voters. However, as Winston Churchill said, "The best argument against a democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter". Amen to that! Our average voter is not only uneducated on the issues but oblivious to the moral character of the candidates.

For those of us who want to be educated on the issues perhaps we can help each other by sharing our findings and opinions in an objective manner on blogs such as this.

Thanks for sharing!