LEAVE IT TO PEEVER

Testicular virility — our gov’s got it

— Bumper sticker of the week: Back off, I’m allergic to right-wing Republicans.

— Quote of the week: “Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes that you can do these things. Among them are a few Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician businessman from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid.” Dwight Eisenhower

— Governor Blagojevich claims to have the “testicular virility” to make “hard” decisions. I guess that’s good.

— Reasons why President Bush will be remembered as the worst president this country has ever had:

1. History will record that he was not elected fairly to begin with. You remember, Florida, problems counting the votes, his brother being governor, the Supreme Court deciding the election.

2. He will become known as the worst environmental president. He is a champion of fake science.

3. It will become clear that President Bush has done more to make the rich richer and the poor poorer than any previous president.

4. We know he got us into a war over a blatant lie. He’ll be known for that for quite some time.

5. He has done more to blur the lines between church and state than any previous president, pope, king, or Baptist minister.

6. He will have taken more vacation time away from the White House than any previous president.

7. He will be known as the president who raised the national debt to an all-time high.

8. He will have done more damage to the social security system than any president since its inception.

9. He will leave office with the lowest overall approval rating, ever.

10. He will be known as the president who brought torture back into the art of war.

11. He is the first president to openly defy and make known that he despises the United Nations.

12. Still, in spite of this despicable performance, I suppose we should consider ourselves lucky that Dick Cheney is not in charge. (Supposedly). Thank God that grenade didn’t work.

— Making Galesburg more livable: We have green spaces, in fact about 25 are listed on the internet, but none of them are designed to attract a diverse crowd, on an ongoing basis. Most of our public places are segmented, designed to attract only one segment of our demographics. Standish Park would have good possibilities, but the only thing I know of that happens there is Art in the Park, which is nice, but only a one time event. The same for the little park on East Main that hosts the Wednesday food and music events. Nice, but not near enough. Lake Storey has some good possibilities, but hosts very little. Grant Park is beautiful, but very few things take place there. All of these ingredients must come together: inviting, accessible, diverse activities, diverse participants, safe, comfortable, visible, and a place you can count on. Galesburg is seriously deficient in ongoing, diverse, entertaining, community activities in our green spaces. This is one of our biggest economic development shortfalls, ranked just under GREEDA and the Chamber.

— Dear Governor Blagojevich: Please muster up some of that “testicular virility” you claim to have and raise the state income tax and lower real estate taxes. You cannot run state government on ill-begotten gambling money and expect good things to come of it.