respublica

Governor's race poll

A  Rasmussen poll taken after the March Illinois primary has Judy Baar Topinka leading Rod Blagojevich 43-41 percent. 

 

But will this help them get to the World Series?

Wrigley Field the most beloved of all baseball parks...sorry Fenway...now has brand names on their bleacher seats.  Cub owners sold the naming rights to the recently expanded bleachers to Anheuser-Busch and the bleachers will now be called, "Bud Light Bleachers."   Bwahahahahaha.  Look out Cub Fans, this is a subliminal plot by the Cardinals to get into your heads.  Hahahahaha.

Or, it might have something to do with the fact that the Tribune Company, owner of the Cubs, is in some financial trouble.  There are rumors flying that the Tribune may even be considering selling off the Cubs although the company denys this.  They're just selling off a pristine piece of baseball lore...the bleachers.

"I watch the cows stop to watch me. I see birds fighting. I listen to the creeks"

Gary Long of Fenton Missouri got fed up with being fat, 360 pounds of fat to be exact and decided to try to lose half that weight by walking across the country.  He left home on February 15 and arrived in Washington Indiana yesterday, having lost 20 pounds in those 6 weeks. 

"Who'd have thought I'd even get this far?" said Long, 51, as he folded his tent on a cool Tuesday morning 20 miles east of Vincennes, Ind. "But here I am. I'm now completely confident that I can walk the whole way. I'm almost afraid to stop walking.

I'm not sure what he plans to do when he makes the east coast, maybe take a plane to the west coast and then walk back to Missouri, but he deserves a lot of credit for his nerve.  He has his wife update his website when he has the opportunity to send dispatchs and photos back home.  It's worth a look to see how he physically changes as time goes by.
 

Prayer: "There are no scientific grounds to expect a result"...

Lots of media attention to the results of a study by medical researchers on whether or not prayers for the sick does any good.  The 2.4 million dollar study under the auspicices of Dr. Charles Bethea of Integris Baptist Medical Center in Okalahoma City found no benefit to intercessory prayers on the recovery of the sick.

Thankfully, Dr. Harold Koenig, director of the Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health at Duke University countered with this reaction to the findings:  "Science is not designed to study the supernatural."

1 Corinthians Chapter 1

19 For it is written:
   "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."^[c] 
20 Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.

Habitat on campus

Concordia Seminary had a real life glimpse into what goes into Habitat for Humanity projects thanks to a walk through exhibit created by Thrivent Financial.  The company came with a large semi-trailer which contained a simulated example of the type of living conditions many beneficiaries of Habitat homes live in.  There were first person videos of actual families who have been a part of the program.  Quite informative and the display generated much interest by those who attended in doing some hands on house building.

The outside of the huge exhibit truck.

Example of the type of housing many people live in before gaining ownership in a Habitat home.

One of the tour guides does some explaining.

Jan Hoffmann of Concordia Seminary greets a visitor.

Seminary and Thrivent and Missouri District people meet at the red truck.

In the forgiving business

Has there ever been a whimpier "shock jock" than the recently fired David Lenihan at KTRS?  Kicked out of his job within twenty minutes of accidently calling Condaleeza Rice a "coon" when he meant to say "coup", Lenihan has now joined the NAACP.  All to prove his worthiness in the "I'm not a racist" club.

The NAACP has accepted his membership after initially praising his firing from the radio station.  "I'm in the forgiving business," added Sam Moore, an NAACP member.

Oh, please.  At a news conference:
"How old are you?" asked KMOV's Craig Cheatham.

"Thirty-eight," Lenihan replied.

"So, at 38, you just decide to join the NAACP?" Cheatham asked.

Lenihan:  "This is not a publicity stunt."

Maybe not, but this groveling is becoming embarrassing.  His fifteen minutes is up.

No more carping about dinner

Illinois state senator, Mike Jacobs (D-East Moline) is looking for $750,000 in order to purchase the machinery needed to churn out carp patties. Asian carp patties to be specific.  Seems someone came up with the swimmingly good idea that one way to keep the Asian carp population, which is flourishing in Illinois rivers from heading into the Great Lakes, was to make them a part of local prison diets.

The Asian carp are hungry predators who "gobble up all the food in sight, starving out other fish".  So, it makes sense on some level to serve them up to human predators prisoners.  Asian Carp, some of which can get to one hundred pounds, "are attracted to motor boats and tend to jump out of the water striking people and causing injury".  Irony in a fish story.

New fangled voting machines will have to wait in St. Louis County

Many areas of Missouri will be having municipal elections on April 4th.  According to a story in the P-D, most voters will be using the new optical scan or touch screen machines.  Only voters in St. Louis County will still be handed a punch card ballot. 

Although St. Louis County, which encompasses much of the area outside the city limits, has recently purchased the new machines, they will not  be ready for use until June.  How is it possible that most of the state including the city of St. Louis has their electronics up and running, but the county does not?  Elections director, Joseph Goeke is calling next week's election "Our farewell to chads."  Much too long a goodbye.

So the voters in the county will be using the new machines for the first time during the primary in August.  Maybe.  With the normal amount of adjustment needed to understand the technology by election officials and voters it can only be hoped that St. Louis County doesn't wait until the November general election to debut the optical/touchscreen machines.  They should take note of the difficulties Illinois had in the March primary and be prepared to prepare.

Potty parity

Update March 31:  Cardinal owners have decided to add more women's bathrooms so that there is an equal number for men and women. 

What passes for front page, above the fold, news in St. Louis.  Bathrooms in the new Busch Stadium:  Men v Women.  39 fewer stalls for women than men.  Add to that the new Busch violated Missouri law which dictates an equal number of "water closets" (ha, water closets, hahaha) in places of public amusement. 

Women may not be amused when they find themselves standing in lines outside restrooms while men waltz in and out quickly.  St. Louis building commissioner, Frank Oswald, says he didn't know there was a parity law while his predecessor in that office at the time the plans were approved, Ronald Smith, said "The city doesn't enforce the statue."  Alrighty then, welcome to St. Louis, Perfectly Centered, Remarkably Connected...use the restrooms in Illinois before entering the state.

St. Louis-the nation's fulcrum

St. Louis is in the process of unveiling a new city slogan aimed at boosting the area economy. 

"St. Louis: Perfectly Centered.  Remarkably Connected"

Like St. Louis itself, a bit uncertain of its identity and a having a bit of an inferiorty complex, local advertising experts have a backup plan if the new slogan and ad blitz has little effect in luring business to the region and that is to court national journalists and local business leaders to push this area to their national associates.

I would hope that the energetic "sell" by real people working and owning business here is more than a backup plan.  If all St. Louis has is a new logo and slogan with nothing behind it everything remains the same. 

Meanwhile, MODOT is certainly not helping the region by once again insisting that a new bridge across the Mississippi connecting the Illinois counties to St. Louis be funded with a toll.  Illinois residents who make up a large part of the work force on the Missouri side are naturally opposed to this as are Illinois lawmakers. Remarkably Connected.   Not yet.