LEAVE IT TO PEEVER
Galesburg sells itself
— Bumper sticker of
the week: The end of an error: January 20, 2008
— Quotes of the week:
ÒAs a matter of principle, I never attend the first annual anything.Ó ÒHonesty
may be the best policy, but itÕs important to remember that apparently, by
elimination, dishonesty is the second-best policy.Ó George Carlin
— Our developer
friend from Tennessee, working on the North Seminary Street development, has
confirmed the suspicion I have held for years, that Galesburg sells itself.
Where I come from, thatÕs called prostitution. Here itÕs called economic
development.
— Dangerous trains:
The biggest threat to GalesburgÕs security are trains carrying hazardous and
explosive materials. ItÕs hard to guess, but there has to be countless railroad
cars passing through our community on a weekly basis carrying lethal and
explosive materials. A derailment, explosion, and/or terrorist act could have
potentially devastating effects on Galesburg and the surrounding area. In an
effort to make Galesburg residents aware of this ongoing danger, the new mayor
should immediately appoint a Railroad Hazardous Materials Study Committee so we
can begin to address what is likely the most dangerous situation confronting
this community.
— The Lincoln Park
Zoo: Chicago is quickly becoming famous for the zoo that is fatal to animals.
The Lincoln Park Zoo has lost three elephants, at least two gorillas, a camel,
and three Francois langurs. IÕm not a big zoo fan to begin with, but I
definitely dislike death camps. Hopefully the City of Chicago will hire someone
to investigate the zoo. Preferably someone not related to Mayor Daly or
beholden to him for a job. Someone objective, say, like me. Or PETA. IÕm
thinking like maybe a penalty of locking the director and some of his cohorts
up in some of the available cages, for say, 2-3 years, might be a fitting
penalty for their incompetence. See how they like it. I would insist on
everyone being nice to them. No throwing marshmallows or peanuts.
— Newsweek should not
apologize: One would have to be naively stupid to believe that the Koran was
not used as a form of humiliation during the despicable behavior demonstrated
by our soldiers at Guantanamo Bay. Of course, the Bush administration jumps
right on the story. How can this be? Newsweek must apologize. They want them to
make public their methods of investigation to correct what went wrong. In like
manner, the Bush administration should open up our prisoner of war camps for
the Red Cross and other third parties to investigate and make public what went
wrong. WhatÕs good for the goose is good for the jackass. White House spokesman
Scott McClellan didnÕt mention that during his scathing condemnation of
Newsweek. He must have forgot.
— Galloway hits
Washington: A breath of fresh air recently hit Washington. I always did like
Parliament better than Congress. Congress is a bunch of weasels who call one
another gentleman. Parliament is a bunch of weasels who call one another
weasels. Galloway, a member of the British parliament, who is too liberal for
the Labor party and was expelled, started his own party. I like that. Anyway,
the U.S. has accused him of taking kickbacks from the UN oil for food program.
He in no uncertain terms told the Senate Homeland Security Affairs Subcommittee
that they are full of shit. He condemned them for waging an illegal war that
has cost the lives of 100,000 people, including 1600 American soldiers. The
subcommittee chairman, Norm Coleman, is a well known hater of the UN, eager to
find anything that will advance the notion that the U.S. should pull out and
not pay our long over-due bill. Galloway had the boys squirming in their seats.
I think a few of them peed their britches. I thought it was great. What fun
those British can be.
— Memorial Day: A day
of remembrance for those who have died in our nationÕs service. The observance
of Memorial Day has diminished over the years. I can remember the local
Memorial Day service in my hometown as being a really big deal when I was
young. There were still some WWI veterans alive, and the WWII veterans had only
recently just returned home from a victorious war, having stopped a psychotic
tyrant and an aggressive Japanese army. With Korea, Vietnam, and now, Iraq, war
has increasingly lost much of its hurrah. Where once there were clear-cut and
compelling reasons to step forward and potentially give your life for your
country, todayÕs battle lines are increasingly blurred with domination politics
and pathological liars. I take my hat off to all those who has stepped forward
and given their lives, or been injured physically or psychologically, for what
they believed were just causes. Their heroism and courage and strength under
hellish conditions are to be respected, regardless of how one feels about war
or killing. If a soldier acts with dignity, humility, and humanity, in the most
trying of circumstances, he or she is to be commended, and most certainly
remembered.