Stimulus Waste

What a surprise the House of Representatives approved an $819 billion economic stimulus package Wednesday, giving the Obama administration a legislative victory but also giving Republicans a chance to show how they can stick together. The final vote was 244-188, mostly along party lines. All Republicans who were present voted against the bill. They were joined in their opposition by 11 Democrats.

Here are just a few bullet points that illustrate what Democrats consider economic stimulus items...

• $400 million to global warming research (This only stimulates Al Gore)
• $2.4 billion, with a b, to carbon capture projects (If you want to know what this is go to the following link http://www.nma.org/ccs/carboncapture.asp, but I will tell you it is BS)
• $650 million for digital TV conversion (Television is a want not a need and I don't want to pay for some slack jawed yokels ability to convert his rabbit ears)
• $150 million for the Smithsonian (Throw a fundraiser)
• $1 billion for Amtrak (didn't even know it still was used what a waste)

Don't forget the welfare part of the bill giving money to such things as food stamps, child care etc. I am not saying I oppose welfare type items, but one thing is for sure they do not stimulate growth. I also want you to know that some of this is going to be permanent spending when it is written into law.

This bill is going to supposedly create 4 million jobs and if you do the math it is about $290,000 per job. Is that worth it? How about this plan proposed by some House Republicans...

Take the two lowest tax brackets and cut them each by 5%. The 15% bracket would be cut to 10% and the 10% bracket would be cut to 5%. People would actually see this money on their next paycheck and I guarantee they will spend it. That number would be huge and it would have an immediate effect.

The whole point of this posting is to help the uninformed who think this plan is going to save them, it will not and it will put the country and our kids and grand kids further in debt. Please go to www.wewantavote.org and sign our petition to stop the stimulus package.

Give Blago a Break

As Illinois Governor Blagojevich continues on his media blitz you do have to admit that he is getting railroaded. Do I think he should have appointed a Senator? No. I think it should have went to a special election that even Blago agreed to. Here is the problem that I have with the entire scenario...

1. He has not even been indited yet
2. Fitzgerald grandstands how great his case is then asks for more time
3. What if the Fitzgerald case falls apart?
4. He should be first convicted then impeached
5. How great is his hair

When I listen to the tapes that have been released so far I am skeptical because they are out of context. You could also come to many conclusions when you listen to them. With all of that being said I just think there should be a process that gives him a fighting chance and this process basically screws him.

If you don't want to be sick then don't read this!

If you are reading this then it must mean that you want to be sick. President Obama is pushing this stimulus package when the government should be cutting spending. If you go to the web-site www.cagw.org you will want to puke. There are so many useless programs that could be cut to free up money to pump into the economy. It is down right disgusting how our elected officials waste our hard earned money. I am talking on both sides of the isle. You could take a handful of BS projects, cut them, and send a $1000 check to every US citizen.

If you are reading this please go to the site www.wewantavote.org and sign our petition to stop the stimulus plan. We need to be calling our elected officials and telling them we do not support this plan and will not vote for anyone who does. Enough is enough the spending has got to stop. The pet projects that Senators and Congressmen have need to be frozen until we are out of this mess. When you read about some of these so called research projects on the CAGW web-site you will want to cry.

Please join us in the good fight. The fight to stop government spending that is out of control. If we yell loud enough our voices will be heard.

Stop the Stimulus!!

If you are an American citizen and are reading this you need to join the fight to stop this stimulus package. No matter what we are led to believe it is filled with pork and must be stopped. If you don't believe me then you must tell me how putting $200 million toward rehabilitating the National Mall is going to help people stay in their homes? Why will your employer want to give you a raise when the money is being spent on repairing dilapidated Forest Service facilities? That project is going to get $650 million. How about the $87 billion to help states expand their family planning services, how is that going to help? How does spending that kind of cash on contraceptives stimulate the economy? Most of the money is going to be spent on pushing Democratic agendas.

What needs to happen is a spending freeze. We need to look where every cent is going and ask if it is necessary. Last year we spent 18 billion on NASA, what did we get in return? The list could go on and on. The government needs to stop greasing the palm of every Tom, Dick & Harry that has their hand out. If wasteful spending was under control every US citizen could probably get a nice stimulus check.

Another problem with the package is it will be spent over the next couple of years and not right away. Only 7% by the end of the year and the bulk of the money will be spent by the end of next year. I am not an economist so someone needs to explain to me how that is going to help? It will help Democrats in the 2010 mid-term elections. How convenient that they will be dishing out all of this money right at election time. Are they worried if they give it out now they will be forgotten come election time.

We are looking down the barrel of a $2 trillion deficit. Our great grand kids will be paying that off. We need to stand up right now and say enough is enough. Go to www.wewantavote.org and sign the petition to stop the stimulus plan.

What do you do about Gitmo?

President Obama's first day is now done and one thing that he put into action is to close Guantanamo Bay detention camp with-in one year. I must say I am on the fence about this issue. Two things that I know for sure is that I do not want these guys brought to the US and I also don't want them to be set free because we don't know what to do with them. With that being said something needs to be done with them. You can't leave them to sit in limbo forever. It should be decided on a case by case basis what happens to them. If the guys in Gitmo knows what is good for them they will beg to stay there. Let's compare being confined at Gitmo to say a US prison...

Gitmo

• Get to pray to Mecca with out disruption
• Ping Pong & Basketball
• As much time outside as they want
• Lemonade
• The list go on and on

US Prison

• Solitary confinement so they are not killed
• At most an hour a day out of the cell
• No ping pong or basketball
• You can still pray to Mecca but there will not be an arrow to let you know what direction it is in

What should be done about Gitmo is process these guys. Have military tribunals and either find them guilty and put them in a long term confinement situation or decide them not a danger and let them go. Not to sound like a bleeding heart liberal right now, but these guys do deserve some sort of end to this. They are there for a reason and if the reason is good enough we should have nothing to worry about. By that I mean we should have enough evidence on these guys to put them away for good.

Let me know your position on this topic.

Change is here and all we will have left

So Barack Obama is now the President of the United States and with that comes big spending. Change is here and I am afraid that is all we are going to have left in our pockets. In the coming days you will see changes made to my site, www.wewantavote.org, those changes are going to start a new fight, a fight to curb government spending. As voters if we stand up and say enough is enough our voices will be heard. I do not care if you are Republican or Democrat there is no way you can truly say you agree with out of control government spending. If you are reading this posting and you know of government spending that has gone out of control you need to let me know. Grass root efforts are the only way we are going to stop the current government from making a debt so large that our children's children will not be able to pay off.

Keep checking www.wewantavote.org for the revolution to start. The revolution of true change in America. Change being the people saying enough is enough stop spending our money!

Is Nancy Pelosi a moron?

The answer to this question is YES! Today on "Fox News Sunday" she said she was receptive to the idea of prosecuting Bush administration officials for various crimes. Among those crimes taking the nation to war against Iraq and instituting aggressive anti-terror initiatives. Rep. John Conyes, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee said he is also on board with the idea of a commission to investigate these allegations. You know what I say, get over it! For the love of God Bush is on his way out and I think we have more important things to deal with. We have an economy that is in the toilet and these idiots want to talk about the past. How many tax payer dollars will be wasted on this? Look what Ken Starr spent on the investigation of Bill Clinton getting a BJ in the oral office. $40 million in case you did not know. Enough is enough these GD politicians needs to stay focused and fix what's wrong with this country. I will tell you one thing that is not wrong currently and that is the safety of all American citizens. Bush had aggressive anti-terror policies and they worked. If anyone reading this thinks that there were no plots to harm Americans since 9/11 then you are also a moron. I am sure if we knew half the stuff that Bush knows we would throw him a party and not try to prosecute him and his staff.

I know you are reading this Pelosi and I am telling you to focus on the future and not the past. You won, your precious Obama is in office and he is going to be the second coming. Sit back and enjoy the next four years instead of trying to relive the last eight. America has far bigger problems than Bush trying to keep us all safe. Please shut up and fix those problems! Have you noticed that there is a financial crisis going on in this country? You know what I doubt that you have.

For all of you reading this thinking that I am being harsh you should also be outraged. All the problems facing this country right now and we are going to look back. Look back and try to imprison someone for keeping us safe! Maybe if Bill Clinton had a tough stance on terror 9/11 may never had happened. I can guarantee you that the whole plot was not planned in the 9 months that Bush was in office.

That is all for tonight. Make sure to visit www.wewantavote.org.

Obama Mania!!

So many have accused Fox News of being anti-Obama, but you would not know it if you have had it on for even five minutes in the last 24 hours. I realize that this is an historic event, but 24/7 coverage until Tuesday? I hate to spoil the grand event, but come Wednesday we are in store for $1 trillion more dollars being added to the already huge debt that we the tax payers are going to have to carry on our back for so many years to come. Here is an overview...

The $1 trillion economic stimulus package includes an onslaught of federal grants, outlays and loans. The enormous federal spending plan includes money for federal construction and research projects, homeland security and alternative energy but also casts a larger and wider safety net with new money for social welfare, education and public health programs and services.

The list includes new and extra federal money for:
• $79 billion for states to fund schools and other education programs. Who decides where the money should be spent? Will the children be better off with more money or should we just hold teachers accountable?
• $18.5 billion for renewable energy and energy efficiency research, programs and improvements to buildings. Would this be better off left to the private sector?
• $6 billion in federal money for mass transit systems improvements and expansions. More info please. There is no mass transit where I live so shouldn't this be taken from tax payers in the cities that this mass transit is in?
• $5 billion for public housing construction and improvements. The new Cabrini Green Projects?
• $16 billion in extra college financial aid for needy and other students as well as higher student loan limits. Anyone in the middle class will not see a dime of this money. To get these types of grants you have to have 3 illegitimate children from 3 different men.
• $13 billion in new K-12 education spending for disadvantaged students.
• $1 billion to renovate and build new public health centers. More info please.
• $3 billion in construction grants for airports. Capt. Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III should get a cut otherwise let the airlines pay for the improvements.
• $4 billion for governments and housing agencies to deal with foreclosed and abandoned homes. Shouldn't that money come from the first bailout?
• $1.2 billion for state and local summer jobs programs for youth. Summer job programs? McDonald's is always looking for help. Maybe these kids are already holding out for a management position.
• $1 billion extra for Head Start, preschools. Where will the oversight come from?
• $8.4 billion for various water grants related to drinking water. Evian spells naive backwards.
• $4.5 billion for defense construction projects. More info please.
• $1.5 billion for worker retraining programs. This program will only benefit corporations. You retain employees by treating them with respect and giving them a decent wage. That piece of wisdom is free.
• $1.5 billion in extra federal money for services and shelters for the homeless. I will say it is about time someone mentions the homeless. Gay marriage is an issue when people are living on the streets?
• $3.8 billion to build new military and veterans hospitals. My father & father-in-law are vets and I have been to some of these hospitals and can say they need upgrades. These are the guys that keep us safe and make it possible for me to bitch on my blog.
• $300 million in grants for railroad improvements. Union Pacific, one of the nations largest railroad companies, posted a 38% earnings growth by the end of October last year. Let them spend the money to improve the railroads.

As Americans we need to stand up and say enough is enough. Put me in charge of the nations budget and spending and I guarantee I will find plenty of pork that can be cut out.

Did racism get Burris seated?

Over shadowed by the news of the Hudson River plane crash Roland Burris was made a Senator today. I am going to pose the question, did accusations of racism get him in or was there just no legal reason to keep him out? I would say a little of both. As reported in an earlier post when Durbin and Reid were accused of being racist they folded immediately. They stated that there was no way he would be a Senator and now they have egg on their face. In the name of all that is holy Durbin threw him an banquet after the swearing in. Could Durbin be anymore fake and transparent? Bobby Rush knew what he was doing when he called them out as racist. There was really no legal reason to keep him out, but I think that he should have been honorable and said that he would not take a position that no one really wanted him to have. When I say no one I am talking about the people of Illinois. I could care less what Durbin and Reid wanted because they don't have the people's best interest at heart. The people of Illinois wanted a special election and instead of doing what the people wanted, like they are supposed to do, Durbin & Reid held out. They didn't think that Blago would appoint someone and they would get him impeached. When out of office they could have a say in who took the seat. I said this before and I will say it again Governor Blagojevich was all for a special election. The reason it did not happen is because Democrats feared they would not win. Blago sat back and waited until he said screw it I'm appointing someone. That someone was Burris who Blagojevich had many dealings with in the past. Dealings that were never fully investigated. Now the people of Illinois have a Senator in which they had no say in whether or not he should be a Senator. Mark my words, there will be more information to come on the Burris/Blago connection and if Burris runs in 2010 Republicans will win.

I would like to say that when I started the web-site www.wewantavote.org it was intended to draw attention to the fact that the people wanted a vote when it came to Barak Obama's replacement. Now that the people's voices have been muffled by a pillow over the face I will turn the site to the next debacle that or government is engaged in. Whether it is the ongoing out of control spending or the tapping of a foot in a men's bathroom, former Senator Larry Craig, I will be there too bitch about it. Someone once told me I was a big mouth and keeping true to that watch for the site to be updated in the next few days.

Burris the Senator

It is official. Roland Burris is now a United States Senator. He was sworn in at about 1 p.m. central time today. He has gotten what he wanted and Blago may have gotten paid who knows? Trying to prove he is not a racist Dick Durbin is going to throw him a banquet. I would love to know if the tax payers are footing the bill. More to come on this tonight.

Global Warming?

I just looked at the my local temp and it is 6 below zero. Tomorrow the high is going to be 2 below zero, yes I said the high! Last winter my community had record breaking snow fall and we are going to beat that record this year. So will someone please explain to me why the winters are getting worse if there is this huge global warming problem? Hello Mr. Gore are you out there? I need an explanation. For the first time in my life I am not intentionally being a smart ass I just don't understand. Could it be that many of the people that spout off about global warming need it to stay in a job? Does the threat of global warming scare enough people that they are willing to throw money at the problem with out any hard statistics?

The World Meteorological Organization says cold weather does not mean that global warming has abated. WMO says people should not confuse weather with climate. People in Europe are shivering, while people in North Asia and parts of Australia are sweltering. Scientists say these weather extremes are to be expected and neither phenomenon can be used as a case for or against global warming. I say this WMO is making excuses to stay in business.

Let me know what you think. If I am wrong tell me why.

Durbin & Reid need a spine!!

Is everyone ready for an obscure reference? Do you remember the episode of the Brady Bunch in which the kids find out that a trading stamp company is going out of business. A fight breaks out over who should get all of the saved stamps, the boys or the girls. If the girls get them, they plan to buy a sewing machine. If the boys get them, they plan to buy a rowboat. But who will get them? The winners are decided in a match to build a house of cards. When Tiger, the Brady's dog, knocks down the boys house of cards the girls win the stamps. At this point you are probably wondering what in the hell I am talking about. Well I took the long road to get to the short answer and that is Durbin & Reid are like that house of cards, it doesn't take much to make them fold. We have come a long way in a short amount of time from the day when Reid stated he would not accept any appointment made by Governor Blagojevich.

I am sure Reid & Durbin will say that the law made them do it, but I would say the race card made them do it. For those of you who are faithful readers you will remember my posting on January 6th that spoke to the fact that Jessie White, Secretary of State in Illinois, did not want to endorse Burris. You will also remember the other fact that I pointed out, Jessie White is an African American. This is not and never was a race issue!! It was a bunch of crap made up primarily by Bobby Rush to get his way. There is no other way to describe it, but as dirty politics.

Illinois Republican Party Chairman Andy McKenna said the decision to seat Blagojevich's choice, "Democrats chose to trust a madman over the people of Illinois."
"Today's endorsement of Rod Blagojevich's handpicked choice for U.S. Senate confirms what Republicans have been saying for years -- that Illinois is in dire need of change," he said.

He could not have gotten it more on target. Instead of letting the hard working, Illinois state loving, taxpaying people have the final say in who takes Obama's seat we are letting a man surrounded by scandal do it.

I do want to say one thing about Governor Blagojevich and that is he is innocent until proven guilty. Some will argue that is why Burris needs to be seated and I would like to remind everyone that thinks that of one thing. When this scandal first broke Blagojevich said he would agree to a special election. Dems dragged their feet because they feared they would not win that election because of all the scandals in Illinois politics that involve their party. Blago then said screw it and appointed Burris and Democrats found themselves in quite a mess.

I was on the Sean Hannity radio show today and briefly spoke to Sean about this whole mess. He does not support the general election because he felt Democrats would win it anyway. I tried to remind him that it is not about Republican or Democrat it is about the people. Politicians are in place to give the people a voice and they are not doing it in Illinois. Their civic duty is to do what the people want and put their own self interests aside. Sounds like a great concept, doesn't it?

Well my legs are tired from standing on my soap box for so long. Please remember if you live in Illinois go to www.wewantavote.org and sign the petition. After you do that call Dick Durbin and Harry Reid and tell them how unhappy you are. You will find their contact information below. Remember Burris is not seated yet and we need to keep fighting the good fight until our voice is heard.

Dick Durbin

• DC 202-224-2152
• Chicago 312-353-4952
• Springfeild 217-492-4062
• Marion 618-998-8812

Harry Reid

• Reno 775-686-5750
• DC 202-224-3542
• Carson City 775-882-7343
• Vegas 702-388-5020

More on the Burris/Blago connection.

We already had Brangelina and now we have Blagurris. Yes there is more information on the two headed monster that is Governor Blagojevich and Roland Burris. No I am not going to talk about how Brangelina snubbed Seacrest at the Golden Globes, but I will say OMG how rude!

Let's review what this "reporter" has informed the faithful readers of this blog of over the past few days...

• The Governors office paid Burris & Lebed Consulting at least $300,000 in consulting fee's for what was described as help with road projects. Sounds like BS to me.
• Roland's partner in that consulting firm allegedly helped Patti Blagojevich get a job with CCIL after her real estate career went belly up.
• Burris allegedly donated $15,000 to the Governors campaign in 2006.

Now keep in mind the above items have just trickled out since Thursday and Friday. As the days roll on the further questionable connections between Burris and Blago keep surfacing. In the Chicago Tribune Sunday edition they reported that Burris in 2006 did opposition research for Blago against his opponent in the 2006 Governor race, Judy Baar. Opposition research is research done using public documents from your political opponent and using it against them. Now I realize back in 2006 Blagurris could not have known that this Senate seat was going to come available, but it never hurts to do the Governor favors. You could look at it as an emotional bank account that Burris is now cashing in on. Dr. Stephen Covey speaks about these emotional bank accounts in his book "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People". The emotional units that Covey speaks of are centered around trust. When we make emotional deposits into someone’s bank account, their fondness, trust, and confidence in us grows.

I realize that as some read this they think that it all sounds like a bunch of conspiracy theories, but as the days go by more and more comes bubbling to the surface. Do we want Burris to already hold the Senate seat when something blows up? Or should we take a step back and look at this Blago/Burris connection a little bit closer? In all reality is Burris going to be an effective Senator? What will a few more days or even a week hurt? The more the citizens of Illinois make their voice heard the better chance we will have a Senator that deserves the seat.

If you are reading this and live in the state of Illinois go to http://www.wewantavote.org/ and sign the petition so that a general election will be held to fill the vacant Senate seat in Illinois.

Does Dick Morris Read My Blog?

On Wednesday I reported about a connection between Roland Burris and Governor Blagojevich in which Burris & Lebed Consulting listed the Governor's office as one of their clients. I contacted Mr. Lebed via email and surprisingly he got back to me right away. I asked him if he indeed helped Patti Blagojevich get her job at CCIL and he told me that he did not know about her getting the job until after it happened. I would love to take him at his word, but anyone involved in the Chicago machine is questionable to say the least. I also asked him what kind of consulting work he and Mr. Burris did for the Governor's office. He told me he would get back to me on that question and guess what he never did.

Here is where Dick Morris comes in. Today I am listening to the Sean Hannity radio show and Morris is on right after the very bizarre Blagojevich press conference. He starts talking about Burris and this connection with the consulting firm. In my world he was reading my blog from the other night and thought this guy is on to something. He then put together a crack team of investigators, which I could never afford to do, and they uncovered more information about this Burris/Blago connection. Remember I said in my world. In reality I am sure he was 5 steps ahead of me. I guess that is here nor there, but what is important is what he found out.

Burris received $300,000 from Blago to help consult on researching some BS roads project. One could ask themselves if it stems from the $15,000 that Burris allegedly donated to Blago when he was running for office. Who really knows? All I know is that this kind of stuff is not in the media enough and I hope that the spotlight is shined on it in the very near future. Do we really want another corrupt politician in office?

I will be the first one to admit that I hate conspiracy theories, but here comes one. With all the pay for play talk that is going on who is to say that Blago did not get some kind of kick back from that $300,000? Once the money is given to the Burris/Lebed Consulting firm who the hell knows what the money was spent on? I did not hear these sort of questions being asked in the Blagojevich impeachment hearings yesterday. Why not? Burris was asked if he was involved in any pay to play stuff with the Governor and he said no. Shocking! Even if he is did they really think he was going to admit it? I have seen tougher questioning in J-Walking cases.

With all of that being said I would would like to thank Mr. Morris for reading and I would implore any one living in the state of Illinois to go to www.wewantavote.org and sign the petition for a special election to be held. Every day that goes by Burris is one step closer to being seated and I really believe it needs to be stopped.

Burris & Blago-The connections they don't want you to know about.

As I research Mr. Burris I am finding many connections between him and the Governor that have not been widely reported in the media. Let me break them down for you.

Mr. Burris is a part of a business consulting firm called Burris & Lebed Consulting. On their web-site, http://www.burrislebed.com/, you will find the following information...

"Burris & Lebed Consulting represents numerous clients in front of the Chicago City Council, Cook County Board of Commissioners, suburban local governments, other governmental units across Illinois, Illinois General Assembly, the Governor’s Office and other local elected and appointed officials."

The item that intrigues me in this statement is they list the Governor's Office as a client. What exactly did they do for the Governor's office? I have contacted the office of Burris & Lebed but at this time have not received a reply. If they indeed do work for the Governor they would have been paid with tax dollars so this information should be out there for the public.

The second item that is rumored in certain Chicago circles is that Mr. Lebed, the soon to be Junior Senator's partner, helped Patti Blagojevich get a job with the non-profit CCIL. Was she qualified or was it a favor done for the Governor to be paid back at a later date? After all she went from working in real estate to helping the poor. Can someone please tell me the connection between real estate and the poor other than the fact that the poor cannot afford any real estate.

In light of this information I would say that before Burris is given such an important job he should have to answer some important questions. I am going to make sure to contact Representatives throughout Illinois and demand that there is an investigation. Will they listen? Probably not, but we as citizens cannot sit by and do nothing. To contact your local Illinois government official click on this link http://www.illinois.gov/ and go to your government section which is located half way down on the left side. This will help you find your representative.

One last connection before I go. It has reported, but not confirmed, that Burris gave a $15,000 donation to Governor Blagojevich's campaign at some point. If this donation was made Burris should disclose this information when he testifies in the impeachment hearings for Blago on Thursday.

That is all for tonight. I plan to keep fighting for a vote to fill Obama's Senate seat and as long as Burris is not seated hope is still alive. Please do not forget to sign the petition on www.wewantavote.org.

Mr. Burris goes to Washington

Before I enlighten the masses with my intellect and wit I would first like to thank CBS 23 WIFR out of Rockford, IL for the news story they did about my site, http://www.wewantavote.org/. The story talked about the site and what we are trying to get accomplished. If you would like to see the piece go to http://www.wifr.com/, the video should be posted soon and if not make sure to email them and request it be posted. Now on with the show...

So Mr. Burris goes to Washington and he is rejected and not even warned not to let the door hit him in the ass when he leaves. So as I watched this unfold in the media today I could not believe that anyone was giving any weight to the fact that this is about race. For the love of God we have elected the first black president!

This is not about race at all and some of the "Junior Senator's" colleagues eluding to that are complete morons and are using dirty politics to get what they want. This is about a Governor being tainted by controversy and not about Mr. Burris at all. Burris is a pawn in this whole game. A pawn being used by Blago to stick it to the Dems. The Dems did not want Blago to appoint anyone so when he did do it he made sure that it was someone that Democrats would not like. Do you really think that Blago would have picked Burris if there were no wire taps? Hell no.

I am going to ask a question of the class at this point and I want you to think long and hard about this. Is Jessie White, Secretary of State in Illinois, racist because he is rejecting any paperwork from Burris? If you said yes you are either blind or have no idea who Jessie White is. I will give you a clue to the answer...



Oh my God he is black! That's right Jessie White is black. So if you are saying this whole issue comes down to race what do you say about Secretary of State White? The fact is Mr. White is the person this all really hinges on. Mr. Burris is going no where without his signature.

Here is the real reason that Burris should not get the seat. He did not earn it. The fact that the Governor still picks the replacement for a vacant seat is so out-dated and it should be changed. The people of Illinois want a vote and that is what they should get.

Mr. Burris if you are reading this and I know you are. It is not that anyone is claiming you can't do the job it is the fact that Mr. Blagojevich is so tainted the people should pick President Elect Obama's replacement. There is a petition on www.wewantavote.org that the people of Illinois are signing in order to have their voice heard. You should listen and step aside and let it come to a vote. No one will stop you from running for the Senate seat and hell you already have a leg up you have had the national spot light for how many days now. Do the right thing and step aside and let the vote happen.

Government pondering a gas tax increase?

When I was watching Fox News this morning all I could think was WTF. There are some within our glorious government proposing a 50% increase to the gas tax. Someone should tell these morons that just because the price is low now it is not always going to stay that way. Are their memories so short that they cannot remember this past summer? The taxes would go to help pay for roads, bridges, five guys to watch one guy shovel, etc. My question is where in the hell are the taxes from tobacco, alcohol and gambling going? Most importantly where is the money from the state lotteries going? Our tax dollars are so mismanaged my son who is just a year old shakes his head in disbelief. If the everyday Joe's in America performed at their job the way our government does they would be canned before you could say misappropriation.

When Obama and the new Congress take office later this month the first thing they are going to do is pass a $1 trillion stimulus package to help create jobs. Below is a wish list where the Mayor's would like the money to be spent...

• $30 million for 16 projects to build tennis courts
• $718 million for 54 projects directed toward museums
• $193 million for 12 stadium projects
• $110 million for 34 projects related to the construction, renovation or retrofitting of golf courses
• $87 million for 56 projects for bicycle paths
• $6 million to heat a swimming pool in Maui, Hawaii (No that is not a joke)

The list goes on and on, if you want more information about this stimulus package go to www.cagw.org. The bottom line is this where we the American tax payers want our money to go? I say hell no and so should you. Until we flood our local representatives offices with calls, letters, emails and even visits it is not going to stop.