Archive for April, 2011
Saturday Open Thread: April 30th, 2011
Last day of April. Wow!
What’s on your minds this Saturday?
What are people talking about in your part of the world?
State Senator Roger Keats kisses Illinois goodbye
Roger Keats
Roger Keats was a Republican state senator in Illinois….the operative word being “was”. He has had enough of the shady and criminal activity of Chicago and the overall condition of the state of Illinois and has decided to move to Texas. He decided to write an open letter to the people of Illinois to explain exactly why he is leaving the state. Neal Boortz did a segment about this on his radio show a few days ago. I think the letter was written back in March so it may be a bit of old news but I thought it was worth putting up for those who haven’t read it.
GOOD BYE AND GOOD LUCK
As we leave Illinois for good, I wanted to say goodbye to my friends and wish all of you well. I am a lifelong son of the heartland and proud of it. After 60 years, I leave Illinois with a heavy heart. BUT enough is enough! The leaders of Illinois refuse to see we can’t continue going in the direction we are and expect people who have options to stay here. I remember when Illinois had 25 congressmen. In 2012 we will have 18. Compared to the rest of the country we have lost 1/4rd of our population. Don’t blame the weather, because I love 4 seasons.
Illinois just sold still more bonds and our credit rating is so bad we pay higher interest rates than junk bonds! Junk Bonds! Illinois is ranked 50th for fiscal policy; 47th in job creation; 1st in unfunded pension liabilities; 2nd largest budget deficit; 1st in failing schools; 1st in bonded indebtedness; highest sales tax in the nation; most judges indicted (Operations Greylord and Gambat); and 5 of our last 9 elected governors have been indicted. That is more than the other 49 states added together! Then add 32 Chicago Aldermen and (according to the Chicago Tribune) over 1000 state and municipal employees indicted. The corruption tax is a real cost of doing business. We are the butt of jokes for stand up comics.
We live in the most corrupt big city, in the most corrupt big county in the most corrupt state in America. I am sick and tired of subsidizing crooks. A day rarely passes without an article about the corruption and incompetence. Chicago even got caught rigging the tests to hire police and fire! Our Crook County CORPORATE property tax system is intentionally corrupt. The Democrat State Chairman who is also the Speaker of the Illinois House (Spkr. Mike Madigan) and the most senior alderman in Chicago each make well over a million dollars a year putting the fix in for their client’s tax assessments.
We are moving to Texas where there is no income tax while Illinois’ just went up 67%. Texas’ sales tax is ½ of ours, which is the highest in the nation. Southern states are supportive of job producers, tax payers and folks who offer opportunities to their residents. Illinois shakes them down for every penny that can be extorted from them.
In The Hill Country of Texas (near Austin and San Antonio) we bought a gracious home on almost 2 acres with a swimming pool. It is new, will cost us around 40% of what our home in Wilmette just sold for and the property taxes are 1/3rd of what they are here. Crook County’s property tax system is a disaster: Wilmette homes near ours sell for 50% more and their property taxes are ½ of ours. Our assessed home value was 50% higher than the sales price. The system is unfair and incompetent.
Our home value is down 40%, our property taxes are up 20% and our local schools have still another referendum on the ballot to increase taxes over 20% in one year. I could go on, but enough is enough. I feel as if we are standing on the deck of the Titanic and I can see the icebergs right in front of us. I will miss our friends a great deal. I have called Illinois home for essentially my entire life. But it is time to go where there is honest, competent and cost effective government. We have chosen to vote with our feet and our wallets. My best to all of you and Good luck!
Well said Mr. Keats…well said.
Royal Wedding Thread
William and Kate
What a beautiful ceremony. I got up at 5am to watch and it was well worth it. Kate was beautiful….William (and Harry) were handsome…..the hats in the crowd were very entertaining (some pretty, some outrageous). The Obama’s , of course, weren’t there (tee-hee). Queen Elizabeth looks amazing for 85. Diana is smiling down on this glorious day. God bless William and Kate. May they have a long and happy marriage.
What do you guys think?
"The Dress"
Did you like Kate’s dress? (I loved it)
Did you like the ceremony? (two thumbs up from me)
Friday Open Thread: April 29th, 2011
What’s on your minds this Friday?
What are people talking about in your part of the world?
Donald Trump is getting under Obama’s skin
I think that the statements made yesterday by both Donald Trump and Barack Obama were pretty hilarious. If you watch their body language it is very obvious that Obama is furious and very uncomfortable talking about the birth certificate issue. He always gets that smug and condescending look that suggests that he is above everyone else and he must set us little people straight before he can do more important things….like play golf. He tries to appear very self confident but he tries too hard and instead comes off as being defensive and unsure. I do not think the White House expected Trump to handle the release of the certificate the way he did. I think Trump was brilliant yesterday. Whether you like him or not, the fact that he takes credit for forcing Obama to release the document makes him the winner and Obama the loser. One thing can be said about Donald Trump…he does not care about political correctness and he’s not afraid to step on toes. I think the White House doesn’t know how to handle Trump and this clearly makes them squirm.
So…how does Obama do damage control and boost his image?
He goes on Oprah….of course. (the video won’t embed so you’ll have to watch it on Youtube)
I wonder if the Oprah appearance was planned all along or if she called him up and said…
“Barry, you handled this birth certificate thing with Donald Trump badly. Trump is clearly in control of the situation and you look like a fool. Why don’t you and Michelle come on my show today and let me make you look good. We can joke about it and laugh some and everyone will forget that you are the loser.”
Think that’s how it went down?
Mother Nature did a deadly march across the south
- a tornado approaching Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Can you imagine what it would be like to see the above tornado coming right at you? I hope I would have enough good sense to run to the nearest shelter but I’m afraid that I would be frozen in fear. I’ve been through a few tornadoes but none like this. The deep south saw a tornado outbreak yesterday that hasn’t happened in a very long time. It appears that Alabama was the hardest hit but Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee saw a lot of action as well. The deadly storms are now over North and South Carolina and will most likely do more damage before they are done. This has been quite an active spring for severe weather.
the aftermath in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
One report has the death toll at 85 but CBS News just reported that it was as high as 150. No matter what the toll is right now….I’m sure it will rise some as day breaks and we are better able to survey the damage. I have a lot of family in Alabama. I’ve lived in Tuscaloosa and Birmingham and still have many friends there. I consider Alabama and Georgia my home states. The pictures coming out of Alabama this morning are heartbreaking.
I am praying that our HillBuzz family members that were involved in this disaster are all safe. Please let us know how you are and what you experienced yesterday.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
Thursday Open Thread: April 28th, 2011
What’s on your minds today?
What are people talking about in your part of the world?
Wednesday Open Thread: April 27th, 2011
Be careful out there today. Lots of bad weather from Chicago to New Orleans and it’s moving east.
The people at the Weather Channel are just about overwhelmed with excitement. Someone needs to cut off their caffeine. (but I really appreciate the work they do to keep us up to date)
Tell us your weather stories as they happen and stay safe.
What else is on your minds today?
What are people talking about in your part of the world?
Georgia’s Governor Nathan Deal…a man on a mission.
Governor Nathan Deal
Since I live in the south, I’ve been following what the Governor’s and the state legislatures have been doing and what bills they are signing into law. For example, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley just signed into law a bill that requires a roll call on every bit of legislation…as it should be. Alabama’s Governor Robert Bentley is poised to sign a new bill that would crackdown on illegal immigration. All these things are happening quietly but they are happening… which is why it is so important to have good and sane state legislators.
So…I’ve been watching Georgia’s Governor Nathan Deal and I am very impressed with what has been happening. Georgia is, no doubt, a red state, but Governor Deal is making it a very red state….no purple to be found anywhere. Here are some of the bills that he has signed (or will sign) into law so far…
H.B 461: The Interstate Health Care Compact- Georgia will now be able to enter into compacts with other states to create a joint health care system. This will nullify several provisions of Obamacare for states that are in the compact.
H.B. 87: This is Georgia’s illegal immigration crackdown law. It will allow police to check for proof of citizenship for certain criminal offenders and detain anyone who is in the country illegally. Needless to say…there have been protests by many pro-illegal immigrant groups. An activist group based out of Philadelphia, The Diversity Projekt, has set up camp in Atlanta and are claiming that this bill is supported by the KKK. All that is needed now is for Governor Deal to sign the bill into law. I can’t see any reason why he wouldn’t sign the bill since he supported anti-illegal measures while he was in Congress. Keep your fingers crossed.
S.B. 79: This bill allows Governor Deal to remove members of the Atlanta Public School Board if they fail to reach their goals for accreditation by September of this year. That may not sound like a big deal to most but it’s a very big deal in Atlanta. The Atlanta public school district is about as corrupt as they come and they are currently on probation. The school district is under investigation for cheating on the CRCT’s, a nationally required achievement test. Several school employees have admitted to changing test scores and school officials are suspected of participating in a massive cover-up. The district superintendent, Beverly Hall, won National Superintendent of the Year in 2009 but has since been placed under investigation with the rest of the district for the cheating scandal. SB 79 will allow Governor Deal to remove the members of the school board if they don’t clean up their act by September. This will be very interesting to watch.
There are other smaller bills that Governor Deal has signed that indicate that he is the “real Deal” (sorry…I just had to say it). Hopefully he will continue on this path.
For those of you who live in Georgia, I encourage you to write to Governor Deal and let him know that he’s doing a great job.
Here’s his contact info:
Phone: 404-656-1776
The Governor’s who are doing the right thing for their states (and our country) need our support. If you like what your Governor and state legislators are doing….let them know.
Consider this a Red Team Action Item.
Tuesday Open Thread: April 26th, 2011
What’s on your minds this Tuesday?
What are people talking about in your part of the world?
