by Jennifer Laesch, posted on Monday, March 1st, 2010 at 10:02 am
I want to thank everyone who voted to elect me as the Democratic State Central Committeewoman for Illinois’ 14th District in this past February 2010 election. If you voted for my opponent because you liked her platform better than mine, I would like to hear some of those ideas and I want you to know that I am also here to serve you.
When I ran for this seat, I had no idea that I would be in a position to help select the next Democratic nominee to run for Lieutenant Governor in Illinois. After Scott Cohen won the nomination on February 2, a past arrest record was used to pressure him to step down.
This decision by Mr. Cohen puts the 38 Democratic State Central Committeewomen and Committeemen in a unique position to help slate the Democratic nominee to run on the ticket with Governor Quinn.
by Downtowner, posted on Thursday, February 11th, 2010 at 8:56 am
to distract me, so now I am back to studying my Hultgren. Could be boring, after yesterday’s excitement, if it weren’t for some of the stuff that actually comes out of Hultgren’s mouth. Really, Hultgren? You actually said that? Details to follow…
by Downtowner, posted on Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 at 11:38 am
So I just got done reassuring a friend that this was no doubt a freak incident and then I found this on the USGS website.
1909 Jun 26 14:42 5.1M Intensity VII
Aurora, Illinois ( 41.6N 88.1W )
This earthquake has been related to the La Salle anticline in the Illinois Basin. Many chimneys fell, a stove overturned, and gas line connections broke at Aurora, west of Chicago. Several chimneys were downed at Forreston, Naperville, Streator, Triumph, and Troy Grove, and one fell at Waukegan. Brick walls cracked at Bloomington, and sidewalks cracked and many chimneys were damaged at Freeport. At Platteville, Wis., about 130 km northwest of Chicago, an old building was cracked; houses were jostled out of plumb at Beloit, Wis., about 240 km northwest of Chicago. Felt from Missouri to Michigan and Minnesota to Indiana.
and this
1912 Jan 2 16:21 4.5M Intensity VI
Near Aurora, Freeport, Morris, and Yorkville, Illinois? ( 41.5N 88.5W )
The highest intensity was reported at those towns in Kane, Stephenson, Grundy, and Kendall Counties, respectively. Slight damage to chimneys was reported at Batavia and Geneva, Ill., north of Aurora, in Kane County. Two distinct shocks were observed at some places. The stronger shock also was felt in parts of Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky (Fulton County), and Wisconsin.
Thos are both pretty damned closeright here. The USGS calls the 1909 quake perhaps the strongest to ever occur in Illinois. Leaving me to wonder why I know quite a bit about the New Madrid fault, but have never heard of the LaSalle anticline in the Illinois Basin.
by Downtowner, posted on Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 at 6:00 am
Not of the political variety. An actual earthquake. Something one just does not expect in Northern Illinois.
I was awake - went to sleep at a freakishly early hour last night, and woke up at about 3:45, and was at my computer, checking in on a few sites and on my e-mail, trying to decide whether to try to go back to sleep, glanced at the clock and it said 3:59 a.m. and thought, yeah, I really should try to go back to sleep, then BAM!
Really. BAM! Felt like the building was exploding - my first reaction was that the roof had collapsed under snow, but then the shaking continued, and I was just ready to go outside and see if the roof had collapsed or if something in the building exploded when my daughter called from Geneva - it woke her and the hubby and kids up.
My dog is still shaken, she’s right at my heel if I so much as go in the kitchen to make coffee.
USGS is saying epicenter four miles east of Sycamore, and since I’m in St. Charles, that’s pretty damned close.
UPDATE: Google map from USGS pinpointing epicenter, which I’d say offhand would most probably be in a cornfield, but yes, very near St. Charles.
by Downtowner, posted on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 at 11:27 pm
The Trib has Dillard ahead in the Repub Governor primary. I know Dillard. Shared an office building with his state senator’s in-district office, Rep Patti Bellock’s office (trivia, Patti is a Comisky, and her office is chock full of White Sox memorabilia), and the local Chamber - that was it, not a terribly big building. So not many of us in there. Once I watched Dillard and staff do a stellar job of manoevering every which way through the state legislature on an issue I was quite familiar with. He’s well-liked, well-respected, and well-connected.
Update: Brady pulls ahead of Dillard. Still a ridiculously tight race, but then so is the Quinn/Hynes matchup
by Downtowner, posted on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 at 10:52 pm
Not the best of news for Foster, since the same factor making Ethan lose (overall disgust with Daddy and Daddy’s friends gushing ridiculous amounts of cash in an attemt to purchase for Baby Boy the equivalent of a title of nobility) would have doubly ensured his loss in the general.
Along those same lines, too bad for Dems that Giannoulias-the-annointed is continuing to remain rather smugly ahead of Hoffman. The Repubs are gonna shred Alexi to teeny tiny pieces, then bury him in his own dirt, come the general.
While I’m by no means a fan of choosing to vote based on electibility issues any reasonable analysis demands they be looked at, and at this point it seems next-to-certain that Dems will lose Obama’s former Senate seat. That they may possibly watch Hastert’s former seat - a seat I think would have remained safe for Foster if he was running against Baby Boy - flip back in the Repub column as well makes this suddenly a race to watch.
by Downtowner, posted on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 at 3:59 pm
I got a phone call about the importance of health care legislation from Organizing for America yesterday morning. Now, I’ve quite recently ranted about both phone calls from OFA and health care reform, so I was prepared to lambast the poor volunteer, as soon as she had finished with her request.
But then she did finish her request, which was, specifically: “Will you call your representative and speak to him about the importance of health care reform in whatever direction you think that should take from here?”
er.
So instead of tearing into her I said yes. Although, to be brutally blunt about it it my idea of where health care reform - in it’s present form - should go is some sunshine free area of someone or the other’s anatomy, I didn’t see anything in the volunteer from OFA’s request that would do anything but encourage me to express exactly that.
Which is exactly my point: Way to display clarity of message and leadership on an issue, guys. Although who “guys” are is also in question. Is this the administration? Or is this the DNC? Or is it all of the above?
This strikes me as a clear signal that the administration is taking charge by expanding it’s brialliantly executed circle jerk of a sort of vaguely expressed hopiness that we can somehow achieve real reform, without rocking any important contributor boats, all the way down to the rank and file.
But at least we have Obama’s Awesome On-Line Organizing Community to join the circle jerk, eh?
I’m positively tingling with enthusiasm. And hopiness.
by Downtowner, posted on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 at 3:10 pm
A day or so before registration closed for the primary a woman came in to the library where I work part-time to change the address on her voter registration. Process completed, she thanked me and said: “we just moved, but this has to be the most important primary ever so I had to make absolutely sure I got my address changed in time.”
She walked away and a co-worker, who I happen to know is a pretty active Dem, said: “Huh, guess she must be a Republican.”
I couldn’t really disagree with her and still can’t, as I am neither feeling, nor seeing, anything like enthusiasm from most Dems of my acquaintance.
I could be wrong though. Lack of real enthusiasm on my part for any of the candidate offerings could just be lack of effort on my part toi dig for information sufficient to get me excited. But then again I could argue that a failure to get through to me - not so hard to do as getting through to the average voter since lots of local party insiders know exactly where to find me - indicates a failure to, er, do the job.
Anyway, I did vote, of course. I took care to wait until after 9:00 a.m. to avoid any crowds. While I wouldn’t say I ran into “crowds” I was surprised to find more than half a dozen - perhaps seven or eight - other voters there. And that’s not counting poll workers, actual pollwatchers (not so common in this neck of the woods even in generals) and the press taking photos.
Still, early reports are that turnout is low.
Back later with results. Not the least factor in my lack of excitement is the fact that I bet I could post them now with little fear the voters will have proved me wrong when the last vote is counted.
Progressives have some allies right now, even if it sometimes feels like we don’t. There are people in Washington who understand how movement politics actually works. They understand the story Chris relayed about the interaction between President Clinton and then-Rep. Bernie Sanders in 1993 — that continuing to push on health care will get us closer to short-term and long term goals, whether we achieve those goals on this bill or not.
Progressives and Democratic partisans should be able to respectfully disagree on the tactics and process — specifically on whether the Senate bill should have been voted up or down (and you’ll note, those saying the Senate bill should have been sent back to the drawing board have been largely respectful, while the other side has been increasingly enraged and vitriolic). But the value of having at least some progressive voices pushing hard and demanding more is absolutely undeniable.
Movement politics versus partisan politics. That’s the heart of the matter.
by Downtowner, posted on Sunday, December 20th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
In terms of why it’s bad strategy for progressives to fall into line on the health care fiasco vote, this kinda says it all. On the other hand, it leaves me wondering where the screaming and yelling and Liebermanesque holding-out is from elected Progressives.
Where are they?
Is Dean - not holding any office at all at the moment and hardly a model of a progressive - really the strongest voice we have to scream “kill the bill?”
by Downtowner, posted on Saturday, December 19th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
Just got home from work and am wondering if you are all feeling festive yet?
No?
Well, if you are, say, male, and are feeling left out of the opportunity to contribute something (like the right to control your body) to the effort to funnel billions of dollars to corporate America, don’t despair: there’s something in here for you too.
If you are, like me, so uninsurable that the only policy you will be offered will be junk insurance at punitively high premiums, you’re in there: the penalty for paying to keep more of your money to pay for your health care out-of-pocket (because your “policy” won’t) is up - reputedly to offset the fact that it’s much more expensive to give away lots of cash to our insurance overlords without the public option. So they had to raise more cash to offset that.
Or, if you are a union member, you too get to contribute to the Giant Giveaway. Those good insurance policies you have, via trading wage increases to get them, are going to be taxed at a higher rate - also to help offset the more expensive non-public-option Giveaway.
Who knows how many other lovely opportunities there are for Americans of all descriptions to do their part to create a festive season for the insurance industry. You can go read the manager’s amendment here and see if you can find more.
by Downtowner, posted on Saturday, December 19th, 2009 at 11:01 am
More on the concessions to ensure Ben Nelson gets greater control over my body (at least if I live in a Red State) from NYT.
Under Mr. Reid’s proposal, health insurance plans are not required or forbidden to cover abortion services, but there is a major exemption that would give states power to prohibit abortion coverage in the insurance markets, or exchanges, where most health plans would be sold.
Oh, also, Reid was also apparently required to sweeten the deal by outright buying Nelson off:
Mr. Reid’s amendment also includes a substantial increase in federal contributions to Nebraska’s costs of providing Medicaid coverage to the poor.
Which, of course, does not extend to abortion coverage. Because, you know, they are poor.
by Downtowner, posted on Saturday, December 19th, 2009 at 10:46 am
Well, CNN is reporting that Ben Nelson is feeling a bit more in control of my body, so a happy camper overall.
He says:
“Anyone who is in the exchange who also gets a federal subsidy because they’re poor, if they choose a private insurance policy and want any kind of abortion coverage, they have to write that part of the premium from their own personal funds.”
Offhand I’d say that means most poor women getting subsidies will elect not to write that additional check for the coverage - can’t afford to, really, if you are poor.
No word on whether Nelson’s other demands, such as cutting the aforementioned subsidies, have also been met.
by Downtowner, posted on Saturday, December 19th, 2009 at 8:43 am
Harry Reid has indicated that he anticipates a vote on the Senate’s Festive Giant Insurance Co. Giveaway on Christmas Eve, making that a really big day for celebration by Insurance Inc.
But today is a big day too; Harry Reid says he has his 60 votes and today will unveil the final version of the Festive Giant Giveaway.
Of course, neither we nor Harry can really know that it’s final until Lieberman and Nelson have issued their public responses to the “final” version Harry thinks they’ve agreed to. We will then learn what additional perks we will have to provide to Big Insurance in order to get our money on it’s way to them.
I plan on monitoring events throughout the course of the day and hope to be back with updates, comments, despair, panic, as the situation warrants.
by Downtowner, posted on Thursday, December 17th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
I need health care. Which the Senate bill will neither provide, nor provide access to for uninsurable people like me.
Sorry to put the “Breaking” into the title, but this appears to be news to so many diarists and commenters that I thought it was justified.
Also, sorry to be repetitive, as I posted much of the same appeal here recently, but there seem to be so many people deluded by the belief that at least the Senate bill offers access to care for the uninsured that I can’t help thinking someone, possibly lots of people need to repeat this, in real terms, until we are debating reality.
This is a piece of junk legislation, that will lead to junk “coverage” and continued lack of care for people who are currently most damaged and most at risk because they have been uninsurable - in some cases for quite a long while. In short, for people like me, uninsurable people, it is worse than the status quo.
by Downtowner, posted on Thursday, December 10th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
My youngest daughter, Kate, is 31. She’s married with three children. She has Type I Diabetes and was medically bankrupt at the age of 20 when she fell into a coma and spent two weeks in intensive care while uninsured. She is the principal breadwinner for her family, and despite her health challenges and past financial hardships they are doing okay now. In fact, Kate is doing so well right now that the most pressing personal family problem on her mind is that her brother will be deployed to Afghanistan this spring. And that is weighing heavily on her mind, though I won’t here go into what Kate thinks of the Afghanistan escalation.
Up until the 2008 election there was no force on earth – including me - that could move Kate to so much as vote. Her take on it: there is no point, big business owns government, and nothing will change. But in 2007 Kate changed, radically, sharply, suddenly, changed her mind.
by Downtowner, posted on Thursday, December 10th, 2009 at 1:46 am
I was a bit fascinated by Illinois Media Progressives posting of this item on their blog, now cross-posted here on Progressive Fox. I can’t say I disagree with anything in the post, but I can say this: It doesn’t go far enough.
I know the author of the post, in fact in the interest of my own full disclosure I’ll point out that I first met the author when we were both working on John Laesch’s 2008 primary campaign, which is when he also first met John Laesch. My acquaintance with Laesch goes a bit farther back – to the 2006 campaign. Which is part of the reason I think the post does not go far enough: the author of it was not in the room when Rich Miller’s favorite Republican 18 second John Laesch YouTube sound-bite was taped. I was.
by n0madic, posted on Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 at 9:21 pm
A couple of years ago, I was lucky enough to be in the audience when Annie Leonard’s The Story of Stuff was screened in public for the very first time. The film was an animated version of a short, fast, and riveting talk that Annie had developed about consumption — and all the “externalities” that conventional economists commonly leave out of the story. The Story of Stuff is due out in book form next March.
Now, on the eve of Copenhagen, Annie has a new story to tell: The Story of Cap & Trade. Check it out.
is due out