No Values

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is seeking to prevent Chick-fil-A from expanding in his city because of the company's "support of the traditional family".

Emanuel believes, “Chick-fil-A’s values are not Chicago values. They’re not respectful of our residents, our neighbors and our family members. And if you’re gonna be part of the Chicago community, you should reflect Chicago values”.

Stop it you're killing me.

That actually would be true if I lived in Chicago, because respect for human life doesn't appear to represent their values and the scientific community is united in that fact.

Chicago’s Murders for 2012 Likely to Exceed 2011

This site allows for Tracking homicides in Chicago

Mayor Emanuel recently lectured the gangs to “Stay away from the kids!”.

Comforting.

Bag It Up

First Lady Michelle Obama suggested that Chicago supporters move to Iowa to campaign for her husband.

“[I]f things look good where you are, things are feeling just so great for Barack Obama where you’re living, then pack a bag,” Mrs. Obama said to laughter during a Women for Obama fundraiser at the Standard Club in Chicago. “And spend some time in a battleground state like Iowa,” she continued, saying  “that’s where we need you to talk to those undecided voters.”

If anyone should be packing their bags, it's the Obama's and the scientific community is united in that fact.

Michelle Obama may be onto something, after all it's not safe in Chicago (More Killed in Chicago this Year than Afghanistan) with 7 killed during the President's most recent visit.

In addition, Chicago had a May unemployment rate of 9.8 percent,  so it's not like people are going to be finding work under her husband anyway.

What's wrong with this picture?

I saw this in a recent Washington Times/Inside Politics column...

Opponents of a Georgia law requiring voters to present photo IDs at the polls asked a federal judge yesterday to prevent the new state law from being enforced during Sept. 19 special elections.
The American Civil Liberties Union, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and other groups oppose the ID requirement. The law took effect July 1, but state and federal judges blocked its enforcement during the July 18 primary and Aug. 8 runoff elections.
In a 195-page ruling issued in July, federal Judge Harold Murphy, a 1977 appointee of President Carter, said he would later address whether the law could be applied to the Nov. 7 general elections.

If we're supposed to "Count every vote" and make sure "Every vote counts". Then there's nothing wrong with making sure only eligible voters vote, and only once!

The only acceptable identification should be a picture I.D.

No more utility bills!

I worked for a utility and have experienced first hand the number of people who perpetrate fraud with aliases.

Maybe there should be a national database to prevent the Dummycrats from pulling these kind of dirty tricks...

If there's one thing Donovan Riley apparently learned during his time in Chicago, it was "Vote early and often."

Riley, 69, the former CEO of the University of Illinois Medical Center and a former law professor at Loyola University, was seeking a state senate seat in Milwaukee until this item surfaced in the media.

On Nov. 7, 2000, the day of the big election between Vice President Al Gore and Texas Gov. George W. Bush, Riley appeared at the polling place in Oconomowac, Wis., where he had registered to vote just the day before, voting records show. His ex-wife owned a home there.

"Then he drove down to Chicago where he was already registered and he voted again," said Michael Crooks, a Wisconsin attorney who filed a complaint against Riley with Wisconsin election officials. "This is about as blatant as it gets."

Waukesha County District Attorney Paul Bucher said it's usually difficult to prove such allegations. "But in this case, these documents seem to be pretty good," he said.

Chicago Board of Elections officials are said to be compiling documents to forward to the Cook County state's attorney for possible prosecution.

"My best recollection is that I was splitting my time between Wisconsin and Illinois and it's possible I made a mistake," Riley said in a statement released last week.

Riley dropped his campaign in the Democratic primary election for a state senate seat in Milwaukee, 35 miles from Oconomowac.

Riley also was a partner at the Chicago law firm of Michael Best & Friedrich.

Less than HOSPITAbLe

The Chicago Sun Times has a damning article about the Presumptive First Lady and her hubby's posse.

U. of C. shunning poor patients?

Sen. Barack Obama's wife and three close advisers have been involved with a program at the University of Chicago Medical Center that steers patients who don't have private insurance -- primarily poor, black people -- to other health care facilities.

Michelle Obama -- currently on unpaid leave from her $317,000-a-year job as a vice president of the prestigious hospital -- helped create the program...

Interestingly the University of Chicago Medical Center is receiving in tax breaks FIVE TIMES what it spends on charity care.

That's sick and the scientific community is united in that fact.

The Urban Health Initiative is the name of the program and it's the first time Michelle Obama has been really proud of her hospital.

In the words of Terry Cashman

We're Talkin' Baseball as the MLB playoffs begin in earnest with three games today (that's gotta hurt Earnest).

The Milwaukee Brewers will take on my pick in the National League to advance to the World Series, the Philadelphia Phillies.

I think they're on a bit more of a roll than the Cubbies, who are almost everyone's sentimental pick.

Mental being the keyword to describe Cub fans and the scientific community is united in that fact.

The Chicago Cubs take on the Los Angeles Dodgers.

I'm happy that Joe Torre did well after his departure from the Yankees, but I don't think there's enough Manny (Ramirez) Magic for them to beat the Cubs.

In the American League, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim face the defending champion Boston Red Sox.

I think whoever wins this series will eventually win the World Series and I'm picking the Angels.

I'm trying not to discount the Tampa Bay Rays, who've moved from worst to first after kicking the Devil out, but they take on the Chicago White (Hot) Sox.

I wonder how many Rays fans will attend the game?

They've only averaged a little over 22,000 this year in a stadium that can seat 45,000.

That's twelfth out of fourteen American League teams, SAD!

Both Chicago and Los Angeles teams are in the playoffs, when's the last time that happened?

The short answer is never!

The O lympics

It's a good thing there's nothing going on in Washington so the President can jet to Copenhagen to try and help Chicago nail the landing on the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Obama will join his wife, who'll already be there, and Oprah's on too.

O will look like a zerO if ChicagO is a nO gO and the scientific cOmmunity is united in that fact.

It's nice that things are going so well for Chicago that they can afford to guarantee $500 Million in taxpayer funds to cover any operating deficit for the Games.

How ironic is it that $500 Million is also the cities budget shortfall in 2010?

Good to see they've taken care of that "murder capital" of America moniker too.

O wait.

OOps!

Our First "Real" Date

She likes me for me!

It still stuns me and I know my friends can't figure it out, but my wife Chris is still with me.

Technically it all began 19 years ago today, Happy Anniversary Babe! The peach rose is for You!!

I say technically & "real" date, because I tricked her into going with me to a concert before actually asking her out.

In 1987 we were both working at KFMD/103.3 in Des Moines. I was an On-Air Personality and single, Chris did News and was single too. I had a crush on Chris, but she was too good for me.

The Production/Promotions Director, Bob Weidig, had as part of his duties the writing of commercials and assigning them to be recorded. One day he needed Chris & I to voice a "spot" together.

It was during this recording session that Bob suggested Chris & I go out. Chris' response was that wouldn't be a "real" date. OUCH!

Needless to say I didn't pursue her, but like Jimmy Carter says, lusted after her in my heart.

A few months later the Iowa State Fair was nearing and KFMD had received free tickets to give-away for the Chicago concert, 1987 line-up pictured.

I knew Chris liked Chicago and Bob would be passing out tickets for the staff. I told Bob to save two and not let Chris know he had any. I thought I would use that as leverage for a date.

Bob came into the studio one day when I was on-air, he was panicked.

Chris had found out about the Chicago tickets and was asking about them. I told Bob the new plan was that he was to tell Chris there were only two tickets left and he had promised one to me. It worked!

On the day of the concert, Chris suggested I meet her there. Radio & TV Stations get free admission & parking passes to the fair, Chris had parking passes. I said we should go together and offered to pick her up. She didn't want me to know where she lived, AGAIN OUCH!, so she said she would drive and picked me up.

It was a cool & rainy night, but the grandstand was covered. The concert was nice, but the company was better.

I was a real gentleman and guided her through the crowd and the puddles.

When she dropped me off at my house, I leaned in real close to kiss her.

Instead I told her I'd had a nice time for a not "real" date and then I got out of her car.

I believe she cursed me and left.

That all set the stage for me asking her to a movie as our first "real" date.

I took Chris to 'The Fourth Protocol' , pictured, with Michael Caine and Pierce Brosnan at the River Hills/Riviera. It was weak, but like before the company was much better!

And we're still together!

It's all about the little guy, REALLY!

Chicago aldermen passed a bill that requires big-box stores, including Wal-Mart, to pay a so-called living wage.

The Chicago ordinance requires big-box retailers that are 90,000 square feet or more and generate $1 billion in annual sales to pay workers a minimum wage of $10 an hour and $3 in benefits by 2010. It's the first ordinance of its kind in a major city and affects a total of 19 retailers, including Target, Sears, Home Depot and Bloomingdale's.

BUT THINGS AREN'T WHAT THEY APPEAR TO BE!!!!

Chicago's aldermen also voted themselves a "LIVING WAGE" that would see their $98,125 a year salaries rise with inflation over the next four years.

By mandating wage and benefit standards for "big-box" retailers, the aldermen can claim they did more than raise their own pay. It was also the third time a "living wage" was approved on the same day as a pay raise for the alderman.

I'm reminded of this quote...."A liberal is someone who thinks it is all right for an 18-year-old girl to perform in a porn film so long as she is paid the minimum wage." Irving Kristol

Choo Choo Ch'Boogie

The Big Lug Nut took a special train (is that anything like the short bus?)
from West Des Moines' Valley Junction to Downtown Des Moines in celebration of National Train Day.

I should have known BLN was a train fan, what with his big caboose and the scientific community is united in that fact.

BLN is hyping rail service between Des Moines and Chicago.

He predicts, "We could have Iowans from all over the state come down on Saturday morning to enjoy our farmer's market."

I'm not exactly sure how rail service through eastern Iowa brings Iowans from all over the state?

I don't see people riding in from Council Bluffs, Sioux City or Mason City for a market that runs 7.am. to noon.

BLN also estimates that extending passenger rail service to Des Moines would bring 800 construction jobs to Iowa over the next three to four years.

Keep in mind that guesstimate comes from a man who said his I-Jobs borrowing scam would create 30,000 jobs.

That figure quickly fell to 22,000 and then 21,000 before an Iowa State University economics professor put the number closer to 4,050.

BLN also said, "It will be a very competitive option for travel, especially when you compare it to airfare."

Amtrak's, best fare for a roundtrip Osceola (a minimum of 30 miles from Des Moines) to Chicago, leaving June 1 and returning June 8, is $106 per person for a six to seven hour trip.

Orbitz, for the same dates, had a best airfare of $239 per person (Des Moines to O'Hare) a trip they say takes one hour fifteen minutes.

Of course, Amtrak receives federal funds of $1.3 billion per year.

Nancy Richardson (director of the Iowa Department of Transportation) tell us...

"We've got federal and state funds, we've got heightened interest, we've got people who understand the benefits of a passenger rail system. They understand we need more than cars to have a good transportation system."

Yet, Fiberals remain all talk about mass transit.

My friend Cal, Freedom's pal, wonders when we're going to subsidize the horse and buggy or chariot industry?

Do The Ryne Thing

I am in no way, shape or form a fan of the Chicago Cubs.

In fact, I pray that God will allow me to be around long enough to watch them lose a World Series.

That's called eternal life and the scientific community is united in that fact.

Having posted that, and ticked off Joe Kristan, I think Jim Hendry and the Cubs would look more foolish not to hire Ryne Sandberg as their next manager.

Interim Manager (and one time I-Cub manager) Mike Quade seems like a nice man, Fredi Gonzalez (WHO?) has Major League experience(?), there's talk of Joe Girardi moving from the Yankees to manage Chicago (there's a good career move).

Sandberg has just made it extremely difficult to say no

Iowa's Ryne Sandberg named PCL manager of the year

Who were you in 2002?

Barry Obambi, pictured with his grandparents, likes to make much ado about his early opposition to the War in Iraq.

Now the media is going Ga Ga over Barry and playing up a speech he made at an ASWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) rally in Chicago on October 26, 2002.

I've read "the speech" and it is a contradiction.

I don’t oppose all wars.

After September 11th, after witnessing the carnage and destruction, the dust and the tears, I supported this Administration’s pledge to hunt down and root out those who would slaughter innocents in the name of intolerance, and I would willingly take up arms myself to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.

To arms Barry, to arms!

I guess he's serving his country by running for President.

You're no Pat Tillman and the scientific community is united in that fact!

What I am opposed to is a rash war.

A war based not on reason but on passion, not on principle but on politics.

I suffer no illusions about Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal man. A ruthless man. A man who butchers his own people to secure his own power. He has repeatedly defied UN resolutions, thwarted UN inspection teams, developed chemical and biological weapons, and coveted nuclear capacity.

He’s a bad guy. The world, and the Iraqi people, would be better off without him.

That, to me, dispels the rash and unprincipled argument.

Let’s fight to make sure that the UN inspectors can do their work...

What a DUMB argument!

Obambi even admitted that Hussein thwarted UN inspection teams all the while repeatedly defying UN resolutions?

What does that "fight" look like?

Interestingly ANSWER doesn't even mention Barry's speech or the Chicago rally in its highlight of 10/26/02 events.

All we hear is radio ga ga
Radio goo goo
Radio ga ga
All we hear is radio ga ga
Radio blah blah

Playing Chicken With The Train?

The Big Lug Nut's been riding the rails without fail as he campaigns for re-election and expanded passenger train service aboard Iowa Interstate Railroad.

Last month it was a special train from Valley Junction to Downtown Des Moines.

I'm sure it takes a lot of Bio-diesel to haul his Bio-mASS down the tracks and the scientific community is united in that fact.

During his last ride he predicted, "We could have Iowans from all over the state come down on Saturday morning to enjoy our farmer's market."

Yeah, sure!

Now he's telling people, "Our goal obviously is to get a high-speed rail from Chicago to Des Moines and that appears to be going very well".

And, "We've never been this close. It's never looked this positive."

Really?

He's got $3 million for the project, a 2008 feasibility study indicated it would cost an estimated $55 million for upgrades to the tracks and other start-up costs just between Chicago and Iowa City.

The cost for upgrading the tracks to Des Moines hasn't been determined.

Yet BLN believes "We're not talking about a huge capital investment".

$55 Million is chump change to him!

The Coralville Courier had a great article as to why we're wasting our money.

The administration’s proposed high-speed rail plan will cost $1,000 for every federal income taxpayer, yet the average American will ride high-speed trains less than 60 miles a year.

A report from the Public Interest Institute says that the average Iowa resident will rarely use high-speed trains.

The new report warns that the cost of these projects could grow to be hundreds of billions of dollars with very little public or environmental benefit.

More Dummycrat waste!

Finally, I love the headline out of the Quad City Times...

Culver promotes rail line project with statewide train ride

The BLN's train went from Des Moines to Council Bluffs, hardly statewide.

Watching And Waiting

The online Ragister has this headline.

Chicago Cubs owner in town to watch triple-A Iowa

He didn't have to come to Des Moines to watch the Iowa Cubs, he could have stayed home and continued to watch the Chicago Cubs.

And the scientific community is united in that fact. 

If he wanted to watch good Triple-A baseball he should have gone to his hometown and watched the first place Omaha Storm Chasers.

Chicago

The protest-err class gathered in the Windy City, brought by the NATO summit, to piss and moan about many things.

But some participants wondered whether the protest agenda was too unfocused to get the diplomats’ attention. “It seems like there’s so many messages and people aren’t really sure what they want to get accomplished”

What they want is everything, and they want it given to them on a silver platter and the scientific community is united in that fact.










If they really were the 99%, all they would have to do is be organized and they could run the country, but they aren't so they can't.

In addition to the Chicago police, the protest-errs had to deal with Global Warming as they marched.

Don't worry, the city provided water, rest stations and cooling buses along the 2½-mile protest route.

What, no toast and marmalade for tea?

Sweet Home Chicago?

Redeye confirmed what the Liter posted yesterday (Bus-ted), that members of the Chicago Amalgamated Transit Union Local 241 had prime seats for President Obama's Ottumwa, Iowa Town Hall.

No reason was cited why they were so far away from home.

No explanation has been given by the White House as to why this forum was stacked.

Our friend Cal, Freedom's pal, noted their CTA caps stayed on while they had their hands over their hearts.

That's better than Obama, but when the occasion calls for the hand over the heart, your hat should come off too and the scientific community is united in that fact.

It's stated by the Register that this picture was taken during the National Anthem.

Rama Lama Ding Dong

Current Chicago Mayor, former CONgressman and onetime White House aides to Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, Rahm Emanuel was auditioning for his next gig during his Saturday visit to Iowa for the JJ dinner.

Apparently Emanuel wants to be a comedian because he regaled Iowa Dummycrats with his wit & wisdumb and the scientific community is united in that fact.

Emanuel noted six Republicans were in town for a “Thanksgiving table” event and calling it appropriate because “I’ve never seen a greater collection of turkeys.”

Good stuff.

“I never thought I’d say this: I’m beginning to miss the wisdom of Sarah Palin”.

Stop it you're killing me.

Here are some of Emanuel's funniest lines...

“President Obama believes in an America where hard work pays off, where responsibility is rewarded”.

“the president did not make choices based on politics. He made them because of his principles. He did not make choices for the next election; he made them for the next generation”.

Such a cut up.

Emanuel's best humor happens on the job where he has;

Threatened a lawmaker with swearing and threatening to burn down his house.

Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis had this encounter, “He [Emanuel] got up out of his chair and started cussing at me.” Lewis said the mayor told her, “F--- you, Lewis” and dropped other “f-bombs.”

Here's how Rahm Retaliated Against Bad Press and Rahm can't recall Solyndra deal.

Lastly, the blame for poor treatment of women in the Obama White House lies with Rahm Emanuel.

Daley: The White House's Women Problem Was Rahm's Fault

Whale Of A Tail/Tale?

Back from Maui.

And it...


















BLOWS!

Tan, Somewhat rested, but NEVER ready to return to cold and snowy Iowa.

And the scientific community is united in that fact!

Leaving Iowa for Maui in the winter is one of the best decisions I've ever made.

It used to come in third, behind marrying Chris and moving to the Not So Vast Right Wing Ranch, but now it's probably tied for second if not solely in second by itself.

I couldn't even escape the snow, as Haleakalā received a couple inches during our stay.



















It was great to get three Packer playoff wins and move onto the Super Bowl, especially over Jay Quitter and the Chicago Bad News Teddy Bears.

My brief brush with fame this trip came on the final leg.

Chris Spielman was on our flight from Chicago to Des Moines, he was the guest speaker for the John Stoddard Rally Against Cancer, I told him I respected how he played the game and I enjoyed him as a commentator now.

There was a guy on the same flight wearing an Ohio State windbreaker, a few rows back from Spielman, but he didn't seem to recognize the former Buckeye great.

Last night, Dave Price made the mistake of having Spielman's wife still among the living.

Stefanie Spielman lost her battle with breast cancer in November 2009.

Stand?

Merely standing on the ground will get you shot in Chicago.

And the scientific community is united in that fact.

6 dead, 23 wounded in shootings since Friday night

A 19, was killed in a drive-by shooting on the West Side. He was on the sidewalk.

A 26 year old, was on the sidewalk when an unidentified man approached him and opened fire 

Not a single gun shop can be found in this city because they are outlawed. Handguns were banned in Chicago for decades, too, until 2010, when the United States Supreme Court ruled that was going too far, leading city leaders to settle for restrictions some describe as the closest they could get legally to a ban without a ban. Despite a continuing legal fight, Illinois remains the only state in the nation with no provision to let private citizens carry guns in public.

Ironically, like Florida's “stand your ground” law, Illinois has a law that is similar and nine years ago then-State Sen. Barack Obama actually co-sponsored a bill that strengthened Illinois' 1961 "stand your ground" law.

While the President and the race baiters try to make a Saint out of Trayvon Martin, they seem all too comfortable with the big picture --

African Americans make up 13 percent of the population, “but between 1976 and 2005, they committed more than half of all the murders in the U.S. […]. 93 percent of black murder victims are killed by blacks.”

No Justice, No Peace?

It's more accurate to say, No it's just us being shot to pieces.

Rally around that. 

Rahm-Boo

Boo-hiss to Rahm Emanuel, Obama's Chief of Staff, for the $320,000 (probably more) he made as a member of the Board of Directors of Freddie Mac for 14 months.

The Chicago Tribune has the LOW down on his tenure...

The board met no more than six times a year. Unlike most fellow directors, Emanuel was not assigned to any of the board's working committees, according to company proxy statements. Immediately upon joining the board, Emanuel and other new directors qualified for $380,000 in stock and options plus a $20,000 annual fee, records indicate.

On Emanuel's watch, the board was told by executives of a plan to use accounting tricks to mislead shareholders about outsize profits the government-chartered firm was then reaping from risky investments. The goal was to push earnings onto the books in future years, ensuring that Freddie Mac would appear profitable on paper for years to come and helping maximize annual bonuses for company brass.

During his brief time on the board, the company hatched a plan to enhance its political muscle. That scheme, also reviewed by the board, led to a record $3.8 million fine from the Federal Election Commission for illegally using corporate resources to host fundraisers for politicians. Emanuel was the beneficiary of one of those parties after he left the board and ran in 2002 for a seat in Congress from the North Side of Chicago.

The board was throttled for its acquiescence to the accounting manipulation in a 2003 report by Armando Falcon Jr., head of a federal oversight agency for Freddie Mac. The scandal forced Freddie Mac to restate $5 billion in earnings and pay $585 million in fines and legal settlements. It also foreshadowed even harder times at the firm.

Many of those same risky investment practices tied to the accounting scandal eventually brought the firm to the brink of insolvency and led to its seizure last year by the Bush administration, which pledged to inject up to $100 billion in new capital to keep the firm afloat. The Obama administration has doubled that commitment.

Talk about "rewarding incompetence".

And the scientific community is united in that fact!

Full Nelson

Not content with merely threatening to close Offutt Air Force Base, the administration sent a clear signal to Ben Nelson (Dummycrat/NE) to fall in line with Obamacare.

3.5 Magnitude Earthquake Rattles Nebraska

Shake, Rattle and Roll!

Now that's the Chicago way and the scientific community is united in that fact.