respublica

"Page-ing" Roland Burris

Tribune columnist, Clarence Page, uses the words of Dr. Suess to tell Illinois senator Roland Burris to give up his seat.

"Can you not see
That your welcome's worn out
Don't make us scream
Do not make us shout!

Roland W. Burris, please
Just get out."

There's more from Page at the link, but no matter how many calls for his resignation, he will not be moved until The Man, President Obama steps in.  Senator Durbin, Governor Quinn, pundits won't budge the guy, it has to be the president himself and he may just feel it's worth the embarrassment as long as Burris is there to vote for his programs

Tea Party in St. Louis

Like many cities across the country today, St. Louis was the site of a 'Tea Party' protest against the stimulus bill.  The weather turned up gray and cold and I debated attending, but I'm glad I did.  1000-1500 people decided to come to the steps of the arch, which is a satisfying number for a working Friday at 11 a.m.  Click to enlarge images for a better view.

St. Louis Tea Party organizer, Bill Hennessy talked to just about every local television news crew, here he talks with KMOV's Mark Cox.  KMOV's video report here.

Lots of signs

And lots of signing in and petition signing

Young people came.

And even younger

As well as the youngest of the young

There were people on the steps and on the grass

There were fired up speakers

 

Dana Loesch got things started with a high energy speech, Dana is the author of the Mamalogues blog and radio host, The Dana Show on 97.1.

Missouri State senator, Ed Lemke in the background with state senate candidate Gina Loudon who was introduced as Missouri's Sarah Palin, and Ed Martin, former chief of staff to Gov. Matt Blunt.

I didn't catch this young man's name, but he was a terrific speaker.

Former St. Louis Cardinals football player, Jackie Smith spoke from the heart.

And then everyone headed over to the river to spill tea as was done back in Boston in 1773

If they didn't bring loose tea, they were asked to tear their teabags so no paper got into the river.

Some chose to watch from under the Arch rather than take a chance on slipping in cold water.

First they raise the taxes and then they come for the deductions

Not only does the new federal budget look to raise income taxes on those the administration considers the wealthiest, those making $250,000 and over, but they also plan to limit the amount of charitable tax deductions those same people can claim.

While most of us make no where near $250,000 a year, we benefit in many ways through the charitable donations the wealthy among us make each year.  Universities, schools, churches, animal rescue organizations, medical research, etc etc.  These entities depend on the philanthropist and help those of us who support and need these things to continue the work.

Audacity for sure.  In reality we'll all be feeling the pain in this plan. 

Major shifts in the student loan program

In the new budget, the Obama administration is planning to effectively take over the student loan program, asking that the Department of Education budget be increased by $500 billion in addition to the current $81 billion already appropriated.  Not all for loans, of course, but a huge jump that reflects the lending ability.

What this does is put private student loan providers out of business, leaving the disbursements of student money to the government.

Why does this make me think of Fanny and Freddie and the home loan fiasco?  Think the DMV of student loans.  Giving government practically total control never works well, think social security, and takes away the personal local/state aspect for students.

Isn't it possible to argue that the loan repayment will be similar to the mortgage industry's mess via Fanny Mae which lost 57.8 billion last year and now wants 15.2 billion more in bailout money?

Around $100 billion will show up on the government's balance sheets for student loans.

According to a new Rasmussen poll 59% of Americans believe government is not the solution to our problems, government is the problem.  This applies to the new student loan grab by the federal government as well. 

Missouri-puppy mill capitol

Yesterday a third horrible puppy mill in southern Missouri was raided and 200 dogs and puppies taken from an unlicensed breeder.  This is the third such raid in that part of Missouri in two weeks.  Hundreds of dogs living in horrible conditions are now in the hands of various humane societies and rescue groups. 

When will the state of Missouri put a stop to this by enacting some sort of enforceable laws regarding the dog breeding business? 

The Kennel shut down yesterday has a website showing photos of cute and healthy looking Springer Spaniels.  Just because a dog selling business has a website means nothing.  Do not be swayed by these cute pictures when looking for a dog.  Here's a glowing description of the same kennel on a gundog site. 

When we first started looking for a dog after Christmas I fell in love with a frightened, skinny Golden who had been rescued from some puppy mill in the fall.  His face, oh, his face.  But he was said not to be adoptable, no one thought he could ever be socialized.  He was never mean, just so very scared. 

After many visits he finally came to the door and licked my hand, then moved back and stood facing the wall like a schoolboy who had been told to go stand in the corner.  Then one visit he was gone. 

The good news with Matt is I am sure I saw his picture on the Dirk's Fund Golden Retriever rescue site this week.  Tell me this isn't the same dog.  Bob has him and dedicated volunteers will love him and train him into a trusting, loving dog.  I know they will.  What a huge relief it was to see Matt's picture at Dirk's Fund, the place we adopted Ferdie.  God bless Bob and everyone at Dirk's.  Matt's in a wonderful place now.

What would we do without studies?

The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (!) did a two year study which found...wait...this is being called a landmark study...

...which found that people can lose weight on a variety of diets — including low-fat plans and low-carb ones — as long as they consume fewer calories.

Next up, the Institute of Silly Walks will be reporting on their study:  Exercise burns calories.

Who do we believe can best lead us to a better future?

According to a new We Media/Zogby poll:

Nearly two-thirds of Americans (63%) said small business and entrepreneurs will lead the U.S. to a better future, while 52% said the same of science and technology leaders. Americans are far less optimistic about the leadership of government (31%), large corporations and business leaders (21%), or traditional news media such as newspapers, television, radio, and magazines (13%).

St. Louis Tea Party

Updated:  Photos from the event can be found here.

A St. Louis version of a nationwide protest against the stimulus will be held on Friday February 27 at 11 a.m. on the steps of the Arch.

Attendees will join others from cities around the country in these Tea Parties.

St. Louis blogger, Bill Hennessy has organized this local event. 

Dinner guests to help you compost

Ecology run amuck.  I am very much in favor of recycling, reusing, composting, but this new product is changing the definition of "a nice quiet dinner at home."

Artist Amy Young has designed at composting table which allows you to toss that left over food down a hatch in the middle.  The food goes into a composting bag which hangs down under the table and in which are "a living ecosystem of worms, sowbugs and bacteria.

"The bacteria and sowbugs begin breaking down the wast and the worms soon join in to further digest it into a rich compost that sprinkles out of the bottom of the fabric bag that hangs beneath the table."

You can download the construction design for this table on Young's site should you want to have one of these in your own kitchen. 

"A cross-section of the activity inside the top 9 inches of the compost is made visible using an infrared security camera connected to an LCD screen built into the table.  On the screen, viewers can see the live movements of the worms and sowbugs inside. 

Bon Appetite everyone."

Mayor John Miller's new website

Added to the list of local Collinsville candidates who have websites and Facebook pages is Mayor Miller's new site.

It can be found here and has been added to the original list which is here.

Joy Springer, another candidate for mayor, also has a Facebook page.  Her listed location says St. Louis which threw off my search for candidates on Facebook.