Illinois Review

Navigating the Hazards of an Industrial Age

By John F. Di Leo -

On May 11, 1996, 105 passengers boarded a ValuJet flight in Miami, bound for Atlanta.  They never made it.

Shortly after takeoff, a small explosion in the airtight cargo hold developed into a fire, which should have burned out quickly, but didn’t.  The 27-year-old plane’s crew of five, and all 105 passengers, were killed as the plane plummeted into the Everglades.

Many chalked this up to the dangers of plane travel and the poor maintenance record of ValuJet, which, as a budget carrier, certainly gave plausible grounds for the argument… but it wasn’t a lack of maintenance that caused this crash; it was maintenance by the wrong maintenance crew.

The plane didn’t crash because of bad upkeep or failed systems or old or broken parts.  It crashed because a maintenance worker put a box of Hazardous Materials in the cargo hold, and, apparently out of sheer ignorance, did everything wrong. 

The Minimum Wage: A Maximum Distortion of the American Way

By John F. Di Leo - 

Hundreds of hourly employees of fast food restaurants and clothing shops, radicalized by the Workers Organizing Committee of Chicago, walked off the job last week, to protest the fact that the minimum wage isn’t a “living wage,” to encourage further unionization, and especially, to do their day’s service to the Democratic Party that keeps them in bondage.

This periodic saber-rattling of the American Left – about the alleged “need” to force other people to pay employees more than they think a job is worth – masquerades as a show of solidarity with the underpaid denizens of America’s lower class.  But it’s malicious and destructive, as it warps the public understanding of the market, and it undermines a desperately-needed understanding of the right paths needed to reach the American Dream.

Luxurious dinners for the political glitterati, survival for the rest of us

By Teri O'Brien - 

Friday’s economic growth numbers continued the disappointing trend that many clichè repeating news readers have dubbed with the irritating phrase “the new normal,” with a pathetic 2.5%. While reporting on this rotten economy, the Lame Stream Media attempts to cover for Barack Obama and the destructive effects of his policies by blaming the sequester, a decline in government spending that amounts to a rounding error, and which, as they always conveniently neglect to mention, was Obama’s idea. 

While we serfs struggle in Obama’s economy, the political glitterati continue their endless whirl of celebrity-studded, luxurious parties, dinners and self-congratulatory celebrations, including last night’s White House Correspondence Dinner aka "the Nerd Prom," an annual Hollywood-Washington mashup that gets more embarrassing every year.  The One took the occasion to perform an alleged “comedy” routine, which has been greeted by the sycophantic stenographers in the press as delightfully self-deprecating, but which on closer examination is just more on the same finger in the eye to the bitter clingers.

Terrorism’s tax on America

By Irene F. Starkehaus - 

"In this terrible situation, let's be very grateful that we had a well-funded, functioning government. It is very fashionable in America, and has been for some time to criticize government, belittle public employees, talk about their pensions, talk about what people think ... of [their] health care. Here we saw government in two ways perform very well. ... I never was as a member of Congress one of the cheerleaders for less government, lower taxes. No tax cut would have helped us deal with this or will help us recover. This is very expensive."

~Barney Frank on CNN via the Weekly Standard

So you see, it doesn't matter if Monday's terrorist act at the Boston Marathon was committed by an Islamo-fascist of Saudi descent or if this was the kind of homegrown terrorism associated with Tim McVeigh or the Unabomber. Either way, the message that the Democrats are looking to convey is that this never would have happened were it not for the sequester. If only conservatives would stop looking to curtail government spending, the world would be a safer place.

And before we get too far into our discussion, I just want to state this for the record. Contrary to popular opinion, it is not merely fashionable in America for some to criticize government, government policies, government spending as Barney Frank has chosen to weakly characterize our nation's ongoing political dialog. This kind of criticism is part of American tradition. This is how America has operated since well before its founding. We would all be singing "God Save the Queen" right now if our founders hadn't expressed a tendency to criticize government and its spending.

International Trade Across the Centuries

By John F. Di Leo -

National Security Issues Don’t End at the Border

For over a decade, the British Crown had been at war with the American colonies. One could argue that April 6, 1776 was the day that the American colonies had finally had it.

The sundering of the bonds between two peoples is not something that happens in a day. The relationship between Great Britain and what was to become the United States of America began as a close-knit bond. The link between these frontier territories and their mother country was tight and fond at first; Americans were proud to think of themselves as British citizens, and even our most rabid patriots regretted having to give that up in the end (with only the odd Francophile as exceptions). But so they did, and the events of April 6, 1776 were a turning point.

After the costly French and Indian War, the British government was broke. They decided, understandably, that the American colonists should contribute to that burden more directly, through some form of taxation. Fair enough. The American colonies all had their own state legislatures, and had for a century or more; reasonable discussions about how America might share the burden would certainly have been justified.

Obama "Recovery?" Lowest Labor Participation Since Jimmy Carter

By Teri O'Brien - 

If you didn't understand this critical fact before, understand it now because Barack Obama and his PR flacks do understand it very very well. Their low-information supporters are so completely ignorant about serious public policy matters that they are incapable of understanding the destruction he is inflicting on this country.

How else to explain the ridiculous spectacle of a man who once derided his predecessor as "unpatriotic" for adding $4 trillion to the national debt over 8 years, and who then preceded to add $5 trillion in less than 39 months, a man who pledged to "cut the deficit in half by the end of [his] first term in office," issuing proclamations about financial responsibility? Anyone with the slightest grasp of the facts could have only one of three reactions to that charade; specifically, either open-mouthed shock, uncontrollable laughter, or both.

Today's job report makes painfully clear that Mr. Financial Responsibility's constant repetition of the fairy tale that our economy is "recovering" is another cruel joke, sort of like those "shovel ready jobs that weren't so shovel ready.

A Tale of Two Cities Highlights Two Visions of America, and the GOP's Failure

By Teri O'Brien -

The Washington Post had an interesting article last Sunday about Woonsocket, Rhode Island. One third of the people in this town are on what used to be called, in a less sensitive time, food stamps, but which are now called SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). The name changed and so did the stigma involved in presenting food coupons. Now, government dependents just swipe a card that looks just like your ATM card, Peasant. Recipients in Woonsocket call the first of the month “Check Day,” and they don’t mean paychecks.

At precisely one second after midnight, on March 1, Woonsocket would experience its monthly financial windfall — nearly $2 million from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps. Federal money would be electronically transferred to the broke residents of a nearly bankrupt town, where it would flow first into grocery stores and then on to food companies, employees and banks, beginning the monthly cycle that has helped Woonsocket survive.

Former Congressman Joe Walsh today on the Teri O'Brien Show

By Teri O'Brien -

Say what you want about former Congressman Joe Walsh, but you can’t say that he pulls his punches. He will join us, and I’m sure that he won’t mince words as we talk about his new Freedom Movement, and his comments at Sunday’s townhall meeting. Once again, he’s in a center of a controversy of his own making, due to remarks he made at that event, in which he stated that Americans “have grown stupid,” and are “lazy,” and “easily manipulated.” Is he right? If so, what does he suggest that we do about it?

The art of caring about Illinois pension reform

By Cranky Housewife - 

First off - I am possibly the last person in the world that ought to be suggesting solutions to the pension chaos in Illinois. I just want to make that clear. Don't get me wrong. It's not that I don't care about the issue. It's just that my eyes kind of glaze over when people start talking unfunded liabilities and COLAs. COLAs? Seriously, I'm thinking, "Why is Michael Bloomberg involved with this?  He doesn't have enough to do in New York? He's gotta come here and mess up my soft drink consumption too?"

Right. COLA? I looked it up. My Big Gulp is safe for now.

Yeah, I'm kidding but the point is valid. The average citizen most likely understands what a cost of living increase is but when they hear a vague term like COLA, the idea becomes extricated from real meaning – disjointed and more unapproachable than it actually is…they may assume at first blush that it refers to some kitschy and intricate accounting term like SARBOX or FICA.

$85 Billion Worth of "Victims," Incalculable Prosperity for America

By John F. Di Leo - 

The 2013 spending cuts known to horror fans everywhere as “The Sequester” are not really spending cuts, because the Continuing Resolution form of government financing allows annual increases of over $85 billion per year. These adjustments of the automatic budget increases are therefore only a cut in the rate of growth, which, anywhere but the Bizarro World in which we now live, would still be called spending increases.

Still, the WAY in which the money is being cut will have victims in the short term.  

• There are government agencies that hired too many people because they thought they’d have more money this year; some of their employees will be cut, and not necessarily the newest hires.
• There are government agencies that negotiated bids for huge contracts because they thought they’d have more money this year; some of these will now be pulled, some of them even after work on them has begun.
• There are government agencies that have promised expanded benefits to expanded lists of people, because they thought they’d have more money this year; some of these benefits will be cut, leaving people with debit cards unfunded, or with tighter rules on qualification, or shorter periods of distribution.

The Executive Branch could be responsible, and spread the cuts in the rate of increase evenly. A net freeze in government spending at the prior year’s level would accomplish even more in cuts, with minimal pain. But the Executive Branch has instead chosen to gouge the programs with the most visibility, while leaving the rate of growth unchecked in areas less noticeable or less likely to tug at the heartstrings.

O'Brien: Obama's Sequester Con Blows Up in His Face

By Teri O'Brien - 

“Dumb, inexcusable and unnecessary.” That’s what Barack Obama called the unthinkable, the thing that he declared last fall would never happen, the so-called, “sequester,” mandatory reductions in the rate of growth for various federal agencies. Dumb, inexcusable, unnecessary, and also his idea, as it is now universally acknowledged.

Here’s the reality: The One rolled the dice and he lost. He bet that the Republicans would be unwilling to allow the Defense Department, which is taking the brunt of the “cuts,” to see its budget reduced, and he was wrong. Now, he is engaging in a cringe-inducing, passive-aggressive game, one in which he says "If you don't do what I want, and send more money to Washington for me to throw down various ratholes, I'm going to inflict as much pain as possible on the American people."

Di Leo: Barack Obama and the Moment of Truth

By John F. Di Leo -

For one brief moment on Sequester Day – March 1, 2013 A.D., a day that will live in insolvency – President Barack Obama let down his guard. In one of his rare real press conferences, he accepted questions, and soon wished he hadn’t. Asked a very softball question – whether there was anything he might have done differently, or might do differently in the future, to break the gridlock and make progress on the government’s budget – Obama snapped back “Well, Julie, give me an example of what I might do!”

Simply incredible. All over the nation, people stared at their televisions, radios, and computer screens, and began to shout. This was more than just a moment of truth, in which he acknowledged how far he was out of his depth in this office, how unprepared he was for the job a gullible nation had twice granted him. 

This was a virtual plea for captions, a straight line begging for a punchline.

The vaccine debate continues

By The Cranky Housewife -

Let's start this out by reaffirming that I am not a doctor. I am not here to advocate for or against any particular medical decision or medical treatment. I do not know enough about biology or chemistry to advocate for anything other than a good night's sleep and the wellbeing that moderation has been known to produce, but since I have also disregarded both sleep and moderation from time to time, that makes me (at best) a hypocrite so take that particular medical advice with a grain of salt…just a grain, mind you. We wouldn't want to get the hypertension crowd riled.

There is a new study out by the British Medical Journal (BMJ) that links the Pandemrix flu vaccine with a sleep disorder known as narcolepsy – this condition apparently occurs primarily in children and young adults who have received the flu vaccine. Upon further research, the vaccine principally causes problems for people of European descent who are for some reason more genetically prone to narcolepsy in the first place.

Is Liberalism All But Inevitable?

By The Cranky Housewife -

From Chris Matthews: "If you're watching, Madam Secretary, all three of us have brilliant ideas. All of us have great ideas. And I especially put myself in that group with Joan and David. We know how to do this; we'll get you in there."

Well, there you go. What more do you want to know? Quote Chris Matthews, "Nevermore" and now let's get back to the important work of the people by creating new jobs that don't exist, making sure that everyone has the contraception that they need, and ensuring that each child has a nutritious breakfast, lunch and dinner at triple the cost that it could be provided if it came from the private sector. Nothing to see here. Move along.

The myth of shared sacrifice

By The Cranky Housewife -

I do understand your doubt while you stare out the window upon that wind torn, subarctic prairie scene which unfolds around you. It may not feel like it will ever be warm again, but spring is most certainly about to be sprung. I'm certain of it. The groundhog was quite specific on this point and he has never steered us wrong before.

I can almost see the crocuses…crocuses? Crocusi?...bursting from their winter slumber as nature thrums with the warmth and beauty of a world reborn. A glorious time of the year to be sure, we look forward to the reawakening of nature while we roll along to that most glorious season of Earth Month; we prepare ourselves for the promise of governmental overreach as we partake in the sacrament of Tax Day; we ready ourselves for a few thousand Working People's protests…you know that winter is over when the first OWS protester returns to his urine stained tent.

Barack Obama and the Zone of Misguided Promises

By John F. Di Leo - 

On a winter day in 2013, Barack Obama flew home to Chicago and tried to channel Jack Kemp.

As the Democratic Party and the Main Stream Media do his bidding, focusing their coverage on the “gun violence” of America’s cities, Obama attempts to ride this manufactured PR wave with a new political issue as his snowboard, the establishment of Promise Zones.

The idea is to take the worst neighborhoods – the cities most in need of help – and revive them with a public-private partnership of new businesses and more – much more – government assistance. The plan is to use government largesse to drive mini-recoveries in the cities, providing tax credits for new businesses to move in, and more federally funded pre-K schooling, mandated increases in the minimum wage, and focused job training for the jobs he dreams might someday appear in their midst. Surely such a program will save these troubled neighborhoods, right?

Surely these gang recruiters wouldn’t have been successful in attracting children to their gang lifestyle of drugs and luxury cars, gold jewelry and cool clothes, if only the kids had been introduced to “See Spot Run” and “Meet Dick and Jane” at four instead of at five. That year of pre-school simply must make all the difference…

Fourteen Thousand and What? The Unfathomable Wall Street Rally

By John F. Di Leo -

Getting our heads around apparent irrational exuberance on Wall Street

On Friday, February 1, the market rally continued as the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 14,010. Many investors rejoiced, and conservatives wondered if they were living on the same planet as the investment community.

Unemployment is, after all, still at a publicly-declared 8%, a number that can only be reached if you stop counting a jobless person if his unemployment checks have run out, and if you consider an unemployed lawyer, accountant, salesman or buyer as “employed” if he bags groceries or delivers newspapers. The real number can be disputed, depending on how you count some of the grey areas, but proper analysis puts true unemployment at either 15% or 23% in the United States today.

Quinn's Quaint Quote of the Day

CHICAGO - Desperately looking for some good news out of the Land of Lincoln, Governor Pat Quinn tried this Tweet Wednesday afternoon... Only Al Gore could be more delighted.

Losing jobs, losing credit rating, losing respect. But it's not all that bad. Surely the nation is envious of this distinction:

DiLeo: Budget Time at House and Home

By John F. Di Leo -

This may be difficult to believe, for a nation with a multi-trillion dollar economy and a massive government that is itself larger than most countries. Surely with as many accountants as many countries have people, the USA must have a budget!

But no. We don’t have a budget, even though, dutifully, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed a thoughtful and responsible budget every year. The U.S. Senate under Majority Leader Harry Reid (D, State of Insolvency) has been unable or unwilling to pass a budget for the past four years.

They still spend money, however. Even without a budget, the U.S. government can go on collecting taxes and fees, and can go on spending sprees, because of a little trick called the Continuing Resolution. If they can’t agree on a budget, they just keep collecting, and keep spending, and keep kicking that can farther down the road, from our time to our children’s time to our grandchildren’s time.

Biden’s Buffoonish Gun Ban Side Show

By Teri O'Brien -

This week we witnessed the ridiculous, predictable, and sometimes infuriating, spectacle of Joe Biden’s silly sideshow, in which he pretended that he and Barack Obama were interested in finding “solutions” to “gun violence,” when in fact for years their “solution” was pre-determined; specifically, infringement on the 2nd amendment rights of law abiding citizens.

This idiotic Kabuki aside, we don’t need to wait until Tuesday to hear them unveil these “comprehensive” proposals. It’s a forgone conclusion. Everyone in this administration is hard-wired to believe that you have no right to defend yourself with a firearm, and everybody knows it. Even NBC’s David “Howdy Doody” Gregory can figure this one out. Will B. Hussein Obama attempt to continue his pattern of lawlessness by trampling on our rights with an end run around Congress, an executive order? We’ll talk about that with our guest, Mark Walters, columnist for Concealed Carry Magazine, host of Armed American Radio, and author of Lessons from Armed America.