Archive for December, 2008
Illinois upsets Purdue 71-67 in overtime
Did anyone else watch the Illini upset Purdue? What an exciting game. Tisdale was huge, Mike Davis was fantastic. We overcame a huge disadvantage in free throw attempts by taking great care of the ball. Chester Frasier had 7 rebounds and I think 7 assists with one turnover. The team played fantastic defense, and it seems like McCamey may have learned a tough lesson from riding the pine. And the Bruce coached his butt off.
This should be our stepping stone into the top 25.
Flash–Illinois Governor Appoints New US Senator
Building for the Future
Earlier this month president-elect Barack Obama announced that he intends to enact a new economic stimulus package to create 2.5 million jobs and help stabilize our flagging economy. This stimulus package is on a truly massive scale. Initial numbers ran in the $700 billion range, but more recent reports suggest $775 billion or eventually $1 trillion.
So the government is about to spend a gajillion dollars and the transition team is probably thinking up how to target the investments to get the most bang for the buck. Many have suggested using a chunk of it to help states or to fund proposed and planned infrastructure projects. Funding infrastructure projects has the benefit of putting large numbers of people directly to work in construction. Indirectly it will stimulate demand and create jobs in other sectors that supply materials as well as in service sectors as people spend the money they’re earning with their nifty construction jobs.
Failing to Lead on Israel
There are a lot of political incentives for Israel to drop bombs on Palestinians and kill hundreds of them: there’s an Israeli election coming up in February, and Hamas has been firing rockets aimlessly into Israeli territory (killing nobody). There are also a lot of political incentives for Hamas to welcome this bombing: the more brutal Israel becomes, the more radicalized the Palestinian population becomes, and therefore the more supportive of Hamas.
An escalating conflict that kills hundreds (i.e., what’s been going on the past few days) would therefore be unsurprising. That’s obviously not in the best interests of the United States, nor is it in the best interests of the Israeli or Palestinian people. But because the political interests of the Israeli government and Hamas are, in this instance, at odds with the interests of their respective people, it’s unlikely that they will arrive at a peaceful solution. Unless, of course, some influential third party could put pressure on Israel and/or Hamas.
The United States has a great deal of influence over Israel. Israel is bombing Gaza and killing hundreds in a disproportionate response to rocket attacks that have killed nobody. The US could therefore probably prevent a lot of Gazans getting blown up if it told Israel to knock it off. Such a resolution would be in everybody’s best interests.
And yet we’re not doing that.
It’s obviously antisemitic to say this, but it’s almost as though an irrationally pro-Israel group of people – let’s call them a “lobby” – is exerting an undue amount of influence over American political leaders, preventing them from practicing responsible foreign policy.
IL Special Election Joint Resolution?
Can a legislative joint resolution trump a state statute? The answer to this question is almost always an immediate “No.” But we may have a special case in Illinois. Read more…
Comment on Capitol Fax’s Question of the Day
As the Blagojevich circus continues to unfold, I want to recommend that our readers check out the updates at the Capitol Fax Blog. Today, two of our contributors, John Bambeneck and myself, have been debating on the threads. I hope you’ll join in.
Impeachment hearings *** Monk’s cell phone tapped? ***
The question of the day is based on a proposal by State Rep. Will Burns, who I got to know when I was working in Springfield. Will is a creative and bright young rising star in the Democratic party. And I always thought he was also a genuinely nice guy. Read more…
Drunk Driving in the Chicago ‘Burbs
I was in car accident this week. No one was hurt thankfully, but our cars were scraped up badly. Word got around about my accident and one of the first things a few acquaintances asked me was, “Were you drinking?” – my answer was an absolute, “No”. I was startled by the question believing it to be a character attack—but then realized the question was not out of line given how commonplace drunk driving is in suburban Chicago.
I looked up the numbers of drivers arrested for DUI in Cook, DuPage, and Kane Counties. These three counties’ DUI arrests combined amounted to 43% of the state’s DUI arrests between 2004 and 2006. (I do realize that these particular counties have large populations compared to the rest of the state and have not run numbers on DUI arrests compared to population yet.)
Here are the numbers from the 2008 Illinois DUI Fact Book (interesting read, by the way)
Drivers Arrested in Illinois for DUI
Cook County: 15,219 (2004) — 15,258 (2005) — 14,144 (2006)
DuPage County: 5,254 (2004) — 5,166 (2005) — 5,285 (2006)
Kane County: 1,240 (2004) — 1,497 (2005) — 1,702 (2006)
Cook, DuPage, & Kane: 21,713 (2004) – 21,921 (2005) – 21,131 (2006)
% of DUI of state totals: 43% 44% 42%
State-wide: 50,147 (2004) — 50,192 (2005) — 50,109 (2006)
I think the high prevalence of drunk driving in the Chicago suburbs is a by-product of not having reliable or accessible public transportation. (Sure, there are taxis, but I honestly only know one person who actually calls one when he has had a few too many.) Illinois has tough DUI laws like revoking licenses and my favorite—a new law requiring first-time DUI offenders to install a Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Device in their cars starting 1 January 2009. A DUI is embarrassing—there are clear stakes at hand. I think if potential drunk drivers had a choice to take public transportation or face a DUI, they would take the public transit.
My question is: where are the “late night” or “all-night” busses that stop at a variety of suburban locations or the inexpensive or free “impaired driver” taxi cab ride? Should the local government offer transportation assistance to those under the influence? Should places that serve liquor band together and create some safe transportation network for their patrons?
The Year in Film
This was not a year of perfect, universally adored movies. The best films of the year all contain the kinds of quirky appeal that tend to divide audiences, and all of them are flawed. But quirky, flawed movies can often be the most compelling, interesting, and endearing.
Peeing for welfare
Today I talked to my cousin Brent, a no-nonsense former Marine with a generally conservative perspective. We had a spirited political discussion, where we both tossed out some unconventional ideas. I told him I’d post one of them on the blog and send him your reactions, so please react.
Brent thinks that anyone on welfare who wants to keep getting a welfare check should have to consent to a drug test, and random future drug tests. He is confident the cost savings would pay for the testing several times over. It would reduce drug use in the ghettos and keep some tax payer dollars from going to drug dealers.
The Year in People
A look back on the year’s most influential and newsworthy people in America and around the world.