Ain't Nobody's Business
Eric Clapton 1995
Ella Fitzgerald in Berlin 1986
Otis Spann 1966
YouTube Variety Girl Ysabellabrave as Maryanne 2006
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Chicago trader, car nut, sports fan and political junkie. "Flying Debris" refers to warning signs behind the staging areas at drag strips. I happen to enjoy the sign reading "Caution Flying Debris Please Stand To The Right". Others may take amusement and solace in the sign over on the left side of the drag strip. Please don't look for much (if any) quarter mile blogging.
Labels: 10th Congressional Democrats, Bear Down Chicago Bears, Chicago Bar Association, Democratic Corruption, Democrats, Ellen Beth Gill, Ellen's Illinois Tenth Congressional Blog, Jay Grodner, Vandalism
Labels: California Gold Rush, Gold Standard, Panic of 1857, Ron Paul
Labels: Terry Armour
Labels: Exorcism
It's that time of year again. The snow is on the ground, the holiday spirit is in the air, and the gift-giving is underway.
And nowhere is this gift-giving more apparent than Congress' most recent spending bill, which gave billions of dollars in pork to the big special interests and lumps of coal to our children, grandchildren, and future generations to come.
That's right. Just this week, Congress sent a spending bill to the president that contained a side-splitting 9,000 earmarks, pet projects of individual members of Congress that are slipped into legislation at the last minute, financed with taxpayer money, and never debated or scrutinized before being signed into law. Given that we as a nation are already in debt, future taxpayers, like my kids, will pick up the bill.
Some of these earmarks surely go to good projects. But too many of them don't. The problem is that the process of earmarking doesn't give us any way to tell. That's because the decisions about what gets funded and what doesn't get made behind closed doors and without debate. That is an invitation for waste and abuse.
The Democrats that took control of Congress in 2006 point out that they have taken steps to reform this process. They have not gone far enough. The system of earmarks should end. 9000 earmarks isn't a victory for anyone, but it is a definite loss for the taxpayer. I can think of no good reason why we should continue supporting a system that encourages waste and abuse.
Our Congressman, Mark Kirk, can apparently think of 140 million reasons. He asked Congress for a staggering $140 million in pet projects to be funded by taxpayer dollars. Again, I'm sure there are some good projects in there. But if so, why not bring them into the light and have them voted on? The only one who has anything to lose is the project that shouldn't receive any funding in the first place. And that's the way it should be. But this is Congress, where it is better to take than to give. It's one more reason why we need a change in Congress.
Labels: Dan Seals, Illinois 10th, Mark Kirk
Labels: Defense Bill, Democratic Corruption, Democratic Party, Frank Lautenberg
Labels: Edelman, Politics, Primaries, T and T, Toby Moffett, Tony Blankley
Labels: Christmas
Labels: Bridge to Nowhere, Dan Seals, Democratic Party, Ellen Beth Gill, Ellen's Illinois Tenth Congressional Blog, Team America's Tenth District Blog
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Labels: Blitzen, David Petraeus, Putin, Time Magazine, Tyranny
Labels: Alexi Giannoulias, Barack Obama, Broadway Bank, Democratic Corruption, Democratic Party
Labels: 10th Congressional Democrats, Dan Seals, Democratic Party, IL 10th, Jay Footlick, Mark Kirk, Teresa Kerry
Labels: Arnage, Le Mans, Porsche, Porsche Phone
Labels: 10th Congressional Democrats, Alex Giannoulias, Barack Obama, Democratic Party, Ellen Beth Gill, Ellen's Illinois Tenth Congressional Blog, Mark Kirk
Labels: Britain, Buck Henry, Don Pardo, John Belushi. Delicatessen, Samurai
Labels: 10th Congressional Democrats, IL 10th, Team America's Tenth District Blog, Terry Link
Labels: 9/11, Abu Zubaida, Democratic Party, Harry Reid, Torture, Waterboarding, World Trade Center, WTC
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Labels: Otis Redding, the Bar-Kays
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Labels: Democracy, Democratic Party, Dick Simpson, UIC
Mr. G is the personal pet, sorry, "candidate", of rock star senator Barak Obama. You know, Mr. Clean, voice of a new generation, blah, blah. There is NO WAY Obama, scion of Ricahrd II's Chicago dynasty and beloved of the patroage army that toils there, is clean of the filth of Chicago and Illinois politics, among the most corrupt in the nation. This is just the tip of the iceberg.
Labels: Alex Giannoulias, Barack Obama, Democratic Corruption, Mortgage Fraud
Labels: Civilian Contractors, Code Pink, Code Pink Christmas, Democratic Party, Harry Reid
Labels: Alexi Giannoulias, Barack Obama, Mortgage Fraud
Labels: Alexi Giannoulias, Barack Obama, Democratic Corruption, Mortgage Fraud
Labels: Captain Morgan, Islam, Kes Gray, Mohamed the Mole