Cry Me An Ocean

-- Bumper sticker of the week: A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking.

-- Quote of the week: ''And why would President Bush and Dick Cheney not want to clean up corporate sleaze? Because they are corporate sleaze.'' Molly Ivins

-- After years of showing character in office, Senator Carl Hawkinson tries to make off with more of our tax dollars: In what is already a scandalous pension system for state legislators, Sen. Hawkinson takes a brief and ill-timed appointment that will boost his State of Illinois pension (having worked only 12 years) some $7,000, to a total of $70,000 per year. Never let it be said that these people don't take care of themselves. If he doesn't do the right thing and decline the appointment, his political career should be over. Hopefully he'll enjoy his retirement. At our expense.

-- The United Way comes up short: Here's an agency that doesn't make any of its overhead known to its contributors, and doles out way too much money to non-needy organizations, wondering why it is faltering. I've personally never felt a middle man is needed when it comes to giving. It is far better for a person to take his or her contribution to the source. You might actually see what's going on and get involved.

-- The City of Galesburg immediately starts down the wrong road in what will be a long and hard next four years: The mayor appoints yet another committee, of, guess who, everyone who has already been involved in taking us to where we are at, with obviously little luck. We elect officials who, if I'm not mistaken, we look to for leadership and who in the end must make the decisions anyway. If the mayor wants to run the town by committee, we should do away with electing council members. Otherwise, they need to get on with it. Do something! Just about anything but appointing a committee would do.

-- Here's a new term antiquers are using: Shabby chic! I think it basically means, ''I got some trash I hope you pay good money for.'' Shabby chic is in about the same category as ''cool'': Stupid white man sayings.

-- Never mix religion with politics unless you plan on pissing off God.--

Maytag is going to sell, just you wait and see.--

Some things Galesburg needs, real bad:

­­ Galesburg needs someone to take charge. That should be the mayor.

­­ Galesburg needs to support small businesses, both new and old. Let the big suckers go elsewhere.

­­ We need to cut back on city administration and freeze wages. We are a city that is losing ground, not gaining.

­­ Over the next several years, tax dollars need to be used to help people who are out of work. The council should be persistent in demanding that Maytag put up some of this money.

­­ Priorities need to be carefully selected by the city council. Bricking Seminary Street was not one of them.

­­ We cannot continue to raise property taxes. Someone needs to demand that the state legislature do something. Anything.

­­ The council needs to take control of the city. The city administration should work for the mayor and council, not the other way around.

­­ City and county government need to cooperate more fully on a whole host of issues. Actually, first they need to meet one another. Who knows what could happen?

­­ We could use a mountain or two, maybe an ocean, with a year round temperature of about 72 degrees. Then maybe we would get some business at that $400,000 tourism center.