Not forgotten

Posting will continue to be light here for the near future. Long hours, low pay and high boredom all factor into a lack of time, energy and motivation.

(Just in case anyone was wondering.)

And so it goes;

One from Column B

After close to examination and some soul searching, I've finally decided to join the ala carte government movement. It just makes sense for those of us with enough resources to do things ourselves.

For instance, I don't use the street lights in the downtown 'historic' district, therefore, I will begin a petition drive to eliminate my neighborhood from having to pay for them and their upkeep. You want lights in your neighborhood, YOU pay for 'em. My porch lights work just fine.

I also don't think I should have to pay for maintenance for the downtown brick streets since I don't use those, either. Petitions are being prepared.

I rarely see police patrolling in my neighborhood, and since crime around here is rare anyway, I think I'll start a petition drive to halt payment for law enforcement. We have a few hunters in the neighborhood, and, using our Second Amendment rights, I think it'd be more cost effective to form our own neighborhood militia.

Snow plows seem to visit our neighborhood usually two or three days after the snowfall, which accomplishes nothing. I shortly will be organizing a petition drive to allow our neighborhood to stop paying for that city service. It's only a service if I want it and it serves me, right?

Streets in my neighborhood haven't had a thing done for them in years. I don't think I should have to pay for street maintenance. Prepare your petitions, gentlemen.

Likewise, street sweeping really isn't necessary since we really don't litter much around here and all of us rake and bag our own leaves. I am wlling, however, to allow the city to pick up my bagged leaves, so I won't be petitioning eliminate that service.

Likewise, I do use the library fairly regularly, so I won't be petitioning out of that service.

I've never applied for welfare or used the local DSC or health district. I don't think I should have to pay for that, either. Petitions are pending.

We've never, to my knowledge, had a flood in our neighborhood. Why should I have to pay for storm sewers? I'm working on that petition as we speak.

My house has never caught fire, nor have any of my neighbors houses, but I suppose just to be safe, I'll agree to keep paying for fire protection. But if something doesn't happen soon ....

I own a couple cars, so I soon will be passing around a petition to halt paying for bus service, since I never use it. Doubt my next door neighbor will like that, though, since their daughter uses the bus to get to college every day, but heck, I never use it, so why should I have to pay for it?

I have no children, therefore I will be petitioning to exempt myself from paying school taxes. It's only fair. It's a service I never asked for, so why should I have to pay for it?

What do I need with city planning and zoning departments? I'm not planning on moving, buying any property or starting any subdivisions. Petitions will be forthcoming there, too.

Since the precedent has been established (thanks, Scott), I really think I have a good chance of reducing my tax bill by about 90 percent, doncha think?

Get ready, Mr. Tapley, I'm expecting you and your little band of tax protesters to help pass all these petitions and campaign for all my issues.

After all, isn't ala carte governnment the only fair way to go?

Stuff'n'Junk

Stuff I thought of when I probably should have been thinking about other stuff.

-- If Scott Cochrane wants to hold his yearly UI student drinking binge and vomit-a-thon, make him pay for it. Pay for extra police, pay for street cleaning, pay to restore the damaged and destroyed city and university property and pay for all the extra emergency room visits by OD'd students. Oh, and pay the families of the dead students as well. For once, I have to agree with Mayor Jerry. Cochrane has no business serving on the city's Liquor Advisory Commission when he has no intention of following city liquor ordinances. He invented a 'holiday' in order to make more money. He never stopped to consider the cost. Binge responsibly indeed.

-- I believe I said a week or so ago that no No. 1 seed would win the NCAA tournament. I was right. But I also said I thought UI's No. 4 seed was too low. Looks like I was wrong. Anyone in America got an intact Final Four bracket?

-- Blago's campaign ads are already hitting the airwaves. His campaign's already taking shots at Topinka. The Topinka campaign's already reeling. Hang on, it's gonna be a bumpy ride to November.

-- If that's not the start of a civil war in Iraq, just what is it? There are like 40 deaths per day with one sect attacking another on a daily (hourly?) basis. OK, so it's a religious war, not a civil war. Hard to tell the difference. And our president says things are going well. Sure.

-- Champaign-Urbana's gonna miss John Lee Johnson. You may not have always agreed with his positions, but you never could argue with his passion. Or his sincerity. He may have cared more for our community than anyone else who's ever lived here.

And so it goes.

Primarily

Some people were surprised at the outcome of yesterday's primary voting.

That surprises me. Because nearly every issue was pretty clear a couple weeks before the election.

Did anyone but a dreamer expect Eisendrath to knock off Blago? The fact that Eisendrath carried Champaign County, I think, was as close to a surprise as I could find. I imagine it was just like me, when Dems pulled the curtain closed and looked at the ballot, they just couldn't, just wouldn't, they were just a little too uncomfortable voting for someone who still needs directions to 'Downstate' after 3 years in office (I almost typed 3 years in Springfield. Ha!)

Did anyone but a blind loyalist expect JudyBT to lose? Really? Why? The big question mark in this primary was the vocal push by state ultraconservatives for Brady or Giddy or even Obie. The problem with that constant vocalization is that the conservative wingnuts may be vocal, but they aren't as numerous as they would imagine. Think about it folks: If the only people you hang around with are right-wing redstate wannabee nutcases, sooner or later you begin to assume that the whole state is composed of right-wing redstate wannabee nutcases. You forget the slapdown the nutcases took a couple years ago with Alan Keyes. Ultra-conservative politics really isn't all that popular with the average Illinois Republican right now. With you and your little band, sure. But it's not a movement in ascension right now. Sorry. Maybe JBT is a little too 'liberal' for some GOPs. But it looks like the other candidates may have been a bit too conservative for the party as a whole. You can argue that the 'conservatives' got more combined votes than Judy. (Was Obie a conservative, or just a real rich nutjob?) But Judy still won. She got the MOST votes. There's a similar argument that other Republicans were afraid of Judy because of her association with George Ryan. So votes not for Judy weren't 'conservative' votes but anti-Ryan corruption votes. Still, more Repubs voted for JBT than anyone else. And you can't argue with that.

If Republicans hope to regain the governorship, they need one candidate that can appeal to more than the fringe right. Is Topinka that candidate? Can't say yet. But there wasn't another candidate to fill those shoes in the race.

Why didn't Brady do better? He's too bland, too conservative, too whitebread and too downstate at this moment. He had little money and not much else to separate himself from the field. He was just another little-known conservative. What WAS his message again? Missed it.

Anyone really surprised at the failure of the Champaign school bond issue? That plan had more holes than a wiffle ball. Come back with a plan that makes sense, a plan with some real thought and a plan that doesn't promise a whole lot more spending in the near future and you MAY have a chance. But don't bet your retirement on it. School district voters showed right now they're pissed. And they don't necessarily trust their 'leaders.'

The closest thing to a surprise was in the county board's District 9 race, where 4 candidates finished in a near dead-heat. Right now, the incumbent Demo-publicans are looking like winners. But it won't be over until Shelden finishes cooking the books in a couple days. Or weeks.

Finally, an aside to those whiners who wanted to vote for some Republicans and some Democrats. This was NOT an election. It was a political primary. It is the way political parties select the candidates for the election. Democrats, for some strange reason, want Democrats to select their Democratic candidates. And Republicans want Republicans to select their Republican candidates, for some strange reason. Go figure. In some places, they do it with caucuses. Others vote. But don't be fooled. This is a political function of the parties, not a general election. Sorry, that comes in November.

Which, given the political climate in this state, can't come too soon for me. Politics in Illinois ain't beanbag. (Unless they've changed the beanbag stuffing lately.)

And so it goes.

How low ...

I'm probably the last person in the blogosphere to see this, but geez, this is really a new low in politics, even for Illinois.

Makes you want to wash your hands (and 'puter screen) after reading it.

And so it goes.