Illinois Review

Join us on June 5 - Demand a Vote of 'No Confidence'

by Tony Peraica

Next Tuesday, June 5, I will enter a resolution of "No Confidence" in the Stroger Administration.

Over the past several months, Todd Stroger has shown utter incompetence through his mismanagement of county operations at all levels.  His budget cut countless frontline health and safety workers and closed county health clinics - while protecting his patronage army of family, friends and political cronies.

He continues to hire these cronies to high-paying positions on the county payroll ... and this week even said he is considering pushing for a property tax increase.

There is no Illinois law that allows for a recall of elected officials - but this "No Confidence" resolution will send an important signal that the dispicable actions of the Stroger action will no longer stand.

President Bush Pursues the "Win We Lose/Lose We Lose" Strategy

By Lee Newcom

President Bush decided a couple of days ago to burn his bridge to the Republican base.  While principled conservatives make principled arguments against this really, really bad immigration bill (a really good example HERE and below by Phyllis Schlafly reprinted on Illinois Review), Mr. Bush calls us names.  Wrong party Mr. Prez, name calling is the Democrats' role. 

Now we are in the lose/lose position President Bush has put us in.  If the bill is defeated, as it should be, the Democrats' campaign against our nominee and candidates next year will tell Latinos we hate them, and quote George W. Bush. They will probably be successful.  If it succeeds as-is, a very large section of the Republican base walks.  The Democrats are successful again. 

Immigration Sellout, Not Reform

by Phyllis Schlafly

The Kennedy-Kyl (K-K) Amnesty bill should be titled An Act to Destroy the Republican Party because it pits President Bush against the majority of the Party that elected him. When Senator Ted Kennedy appeared as the centerpiece of the photo-op announcing it, that told the grassroots all they needed to know about the politics of the deal trumpeted as bipartisan.

The Bush Administration has been tone deaf about how offensive are the words comprehensive and compromise. The American people want border security that we can see with our own eyes on television, and they are ready to defeat and disdain Members of Congress who vote for a package deal that contains amnesty and guest worker proposals.

Link: Immigration Sellout, Not Reform. 

Please Smoke: Your Kid's Education Depends On It

by John Ruskin

You have to enjoy the policy contortions of the liberals in Springfield. On the one hand, the left-wing Democrats (and a few idiot Republicans) legislate away your right to smoke. On the other hand, they want to permit you to smoke if you're smoking for their cause. Namely the bloated salaries and pensions of the educrats.

According to Blackwell Thomas of the Quad-City Times, a panel of state lawmakers have approved a measure to that would exempt all nine of the state's riverboat casinos from the recently passed statewide smoking ban.

Time for Pigeons to Take Flight?

by Cal Skinner

Now, some people might look at this picture of two pigeons and think that it is of pigeons on a grate. And, it is. But, with the Illinois General Assembly moving to wrap up its session this last day of May so the Republicans won’t gain more power, one might think of the grate as the bottom of a cage that the Democrats are building around my proposed state bird.

Such a cage would keep the pigeon from flying to another state. Will the birds be killed, plucked and served for dinner? Of is some more dire ending in store for them?

Top GOP Emmy Contenders

Cross' budget response online

For a peek at House Minority Leader Tom Cross' 848-page 2007 state budget proposal, see here.

Deadline for passage of a state budget is at 11:59 PM tonight.  After midnight, the Senate and House will need 3/5 of the members' support to pass a budget bill.  The Senate Democrats have a 3/5 majority.  The House Democrats aren't so lucky.

If the Democrats don't get the budget passed in the Senate today, Tom Cross and the House Republicans will have undisputed leverage for the first time this session.  Let's hope if that particular situation develops, our Republican House members use the opportunity wisely to promote Republican values of limited government, individual rights, free markets and traditional values. 

Anything else will be disaster for a party already on life support.

Battle continues on local front to filter library porn

Parents, be aware this summer while your kids are off to the library to browse for summer reading selections, that your tax dollars may be paying for access to illegal obscene materials via the library's unfiltered internet. 

The Illinois Senate apparently has no interest in moving along State Rep. Kevin Joyce's HB1727 to protect children visiting the library this spring.   The bill is stuck in the Senate Rules' purgatory.

Amnesty: Say Goodbye to Your Retirement

by John Ruskin

Robert Rector, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation has run the numbers and can prove that the U.S. Social Security system will go bankrupt if the amnesty bill passes.

According to Rector, if the bill is signed into law, it will "add millions of additional workers to the Social Security rolls, resulting in approx. $300,000 in retirement benefits for each new amnestied worker."

Anti-Republican, not just ironic

Wow, I hope the Daily Herald's John Patterson's conclusion below about last night's House budget debate is not true.  But after speaking with a few Republican lawmakers about their thoughts on the budget, it very well could be.  . . and that's very disappointing and anti-Republican . . .

The debate over the House budget plan boiled down to this: Republicans were concerned about state union raises, protecting state jobs and spending on education and social service programs. Democrats stressed the state can live within in its means if wise financial management is utilized.

Link: Daily Herald | Animal Farm.

Outrage over Father Pfleger's "Snuff" threat spreads

A Second Amendment advocate and author of Gun Saint, John Michael Snyder, called Wednesday for St. Sabina Church's Father Pfleger to be defrocked for threatening a gun shop owner's life during a gun control protest last weekend.

The Illinois State Rifle Association released an audio file of Pfleger's "snuff" threat during a demonstration headed by Jesse Jackson against 20 Chicago public school student shootings in the black community this year.  Without statistics to verify his claims, Jackson asserted that Chuck's Gun Shop sold "the majority of guns" connected with those shootings.

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Muffle celebrating a traditional marriage victory. They'll be back

A Gallup poll released Wednesday may foil State Rep. Greg Harris' plans to legalize same sex unions this session.  Knowing the Governor will be agreeable, conservative Downstate Democrats and not-so-conservative Republican House members will be relieved if the freshman lawmaker decides not to force a vote on HB 1826 this session.  After all, most veteran House members are well aware that their constituents still reject the concept of same-sex marriage.

Zoellick's Illinois Roots

For those of you who didn't know, Robert Zoellick is an Illinoisan. He was born and raised in Naperville, Illinois, and graduated from Naperville Central High School.

His background can be found here.

Security? What Security?

by John Ruskin

Gary Bauer asks an interesting question today. Are we prepared? According to Bauer:

"Two incidents have come to light that seriously question our post-9/11 level of preparation. The first:  How did a man with an extremely virulent form of drug-resistant tuberculosis manage to get on two trans-Atlantic flights and enter the country by car from Canada?

The government has now issued its first quarantine order in more than 40 years, and health officials all over the world are rushing to track down and test more than 100 passengers and crew. This incident clearly has implications for the debate on border control and the war against Islamofascism, which leads to the second item.

Some Will Fly Away

by Cal Skinner

Some in the flock of our newly nominated state bird, the pigeon, will fly away to other states at the threat of higher taxes and products. That has been occurring for decades.

They may be the luckier ones, as they flee to avoid the new penalties Illinois Democrats are planning to place on the Illinois economy. Or Illinois pigeons may act like the ones in Downtown Springfield did last year at the Old Capitol Art Fair.

About lunch time, a raptor decided it wanted a tasty pigeon.  The flock flew thither and yon.  My guess is that all but one escaped. The rest felt safe enough to stay in Springfield for another year.

Chicago Priest Calls for Murder of Gun Shop Owner

From the Illinois State Rifle Association:

Nobody expected Saturday's Operation PUSH protest at Chuck's Gun Shop & Range to be anything other than a circus of the bizarre. However, nobody anticipated that an address by a Chicago priest would include a call for the murder of a suburban gun shop owner and legislators who oppose gun control.

During an address at an anti-gun rally in front of Chuck's, Rev. Michael Pfleger, pastor of St. Sabina's Church, exhorted the crowd to "drag" shop owner, John Riggio, from his shop "like a rat" and "snuff" him. Rev. Pfleger went on to tell the crowd that legislators that vote against gun control legislation should be "snuffed" as well. As many know, "snuff" is slang for especially violent murder.

The ISRA has a recording of Pfleger's remarks in MP3 format.

RTA To Double Suburban Sales Tax

It’s “Hold on to you hats” or more appropriately “pocket book” time in Springfield. The latest to want to filch some of our money is the Regional Transportation Authority. It only wants to double our current one-quarter of cent on every dollar sales tax.

Eric Krol and John Patterson of the Daily Herald raise the alarm that CTA-centric Chicago papers won’t.  The Daily Herald’s story is headlined, "Why suburban residents could be bailing out CTA".

They report the picking of suburban Cook and collar county pockets could be “$280 million a year.” Although it is always possible that Downstate Republicans will cut a deal with Chicago Democrats to take money out of suburban pockets, there probably would be a resurrection of the 1974 coalition of suburban Republicans and Democrats.

Barack's "America Covered"

Looks like Governor Blagojevich's and Barack Obama's people have been sharing their dreams of universal health care.   

How cozy.  Not enough to have "Illinois Covered," but we have "America Covered" to look forward to...

Link: Barack Obama Lays Out Specifics Of Health Care Plan at Portable Planet.

Vote McCain or #$@% you

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Mike Luckovich  . . .

Immigration

by George Dienhart

Time to chime in with my thoughts on the immigration bill. Contrary to what you may be hearing, it has not made the President a traitor, and congresses collective heads are no farther up their backsides than normal. Truth be told, it's not great legislation, but it's not horrible either.

A lot of folks want illegal immigrants prosecuted. All fourteen million of them. That's a big job. A bigger job than can be reasonably expected. With the proposed legislation, at least we would have a handle on the "good" illegals. These are the illegal residents that are here to make a better life for their families. Many are agricultural workers. The honest truth is that we like cheap fruit and vegetables. We wouldn't have them without these workers. We need to offer them visas. We also need to ensure they are paying taxes. This legislation is a start.

Big sigh as House sends HPV non-mandate to Gov

by Fran Eaton

If you heard an audible sigh of relief Tuesday afternoon, it was from parents of 11 and 12 year old girls who escaped the long arms of Big Pharm as the Illinois House passed SB 937 this afternoon sans an HPV vaccination mandate.   

Instead, Senator Debbie Halvorson (D-Crete) and her House co-hort Rep. Naomi Jakobbsson (D-Champaign) stepped back from requiring girls to have the HPV vaccine for school attendance.  With today's bill passage, the state will require doctors to simply give information about the HPV vaccine to pre-teen girls' parents at their new 6th grade physical examination time. SB 937 is headed for Governor Blagojevich's desk after passing the IL Senate in March and the State House today.

Kudos For Cross

House Republican Leader Tom Cross is offering a no tax increase budget and now the State Party Chairman is emailing this statement backing Cross' approach opposing any new tax increase in the Budget.

Eric Krol earlier this week offered his very good analysis on why the Governor failed to get any support for his tax increase.  One reason not mentioned, however; was the universal agreement on the part of Republicans to not support the Governor's plan .  I always like to plug Mike Lawrence for observing that Democrats won't raise taxes in Illinois without Republican cover.  In the past, Governors Edgar, Thompson and Ryan were willing to give them that cover.  So, undoubtedly, was Republican Gubernatorial nominee Judy Barr Topinka.

Prez candidates take note: Winning in IL could be key to national victory

There's a great little piece today in the Canton Daily Ledger that explains why moving the Primary date up to February 5 will make Illinois one of the states presidential candidates will pay the closest attention to over the next year.  Winning Illinois and its demographical makeup could be the key to winning the nation:

The closest voting in Illinois and the U.S. during the 1920-1980 elections was in 1950. In Illinois Eisenhower received 50 percent of the votes cast and in the U.S. He received 49.51 percent -- less than one-half of a percentage point. The way Illinois votes is the way the nation's voters cast their ballots. Illinois is the All American State!

Link: Canton Daily Ledger - News.

Spending Our Money to Remove our Rights

Although the Governor and the legislative leaders insist there's a revenue shortage, a conglomerate of both Democrats and Republicans want the state to quadruple taxpayer dollars to peek into citizens' minds. 

The co-sponsors of  HR 113 want Illinoisans to not only continue  Exec. Director Barbara Shaw's Children's Mental Health Partnership program at $5 million a year , but they want to enlarge the program by $15 million.

Whether HR 113's funds will be made available will depend upon the GA's final agreement with the Governor,  but those concerned about parents rights should be very concerned that the money could be divvied out with no accountability strings attached. 

Pro Con on Illinois Covered

On Sunday The Bloomington Pantagraph did a pro-con on the Governor's Illinois Covered Program.  I was the con.  I argued that if saving health care dollars was the goal, then the Governor was aiming at the wrong targets.

Barry Maram of the Department of Healthcare and Family Services argued that the issue is getting the chronically ill access to health insurance:

"I recently met an uninsured family in Illinois whose experience is both tragic and all too common.

They were hard-working parents who paid their taxes, sent their kids to school and did everything they could to get ahead and build a better future for their children.

Property taxes? Give us a break. (Part One)

by Collin Hitt

In today's Chicago Sun Times, State Rep. John Fritchey (D-Chicago) calls on his colleagues to "stop playing politics" with property tax relief.  "Without a satisfactory form of property tax relief," he writes, "we will push seniors out of their houses, force landlords to increase their tenants' rents and discourage first-time homebuyers."

The Representative is absolutely correct.  Hence the need for tax and expenditure limitations (TELs) in Illinois.

Josh Hancock And Illinois Senate Bill 1296

by Ed Murnane

There was a convergence of news stories last week - extending into this week - that has to make reasonable and honest people wonder and speculate. That should include Illinois legislators.

The two stories intertwine - not perfectly - but enough to prompt comparison, or at least analysis.

One is the oft-heard (in these quarters) description of Illinois Senate Bill 1296 that allows plaintiffs (and their attorneys) in personal injury cases to go after the defendant with the most resources, rather than the defendant with the most responsibility.

If the defendant with most responsibility, but least resources, settles before trial, he/she is out of the equation when a jury assigns fault and compensation. The plaintiffs' attorneys -- the trial lawyers -- decide who will be "remaining" in the case when it goes to trial as the proposed law states (from the synopsis):

A Cook County Tax Increase?

by Tony Peraica

First, he cut the jobs of more than a thousand frontline workers, nurses and prosecutors - and closed needed County health clinics.

Then he goes on a hiring spree of friends, family and political cronies.

Now...he's calling for a tax increase?  The Sun-Times reports:

Breaking with his father's avoidance of property tax increases and his own campaign promise not to impose them, Cook County Board President Todd Stroger made it clear over the weekend that he thinks a property tax hike is one way to balance the 2008 county budget.

1994 Flyer Confirms Romney's a Flipper

The Romney campaign is pointing out a 1994 campaign flyer that's made its way to the Web, and CBN's David Brody uses the flyer to defend Romney as a non-flipper on social issues in a blog entry entitled,"1994 Flyer Reveals Romney's Conservative Positions."   

Brody either can't read or I don't get what he's trying to say.  Brody writes:

Romney has taken a lot of heat for changing his position on abortion. But you have to wonder: Maybe Romney's been a conservative all along. It's just that in liberal Massachussets, to get elected, sometimes you have to bend a little more than you want to.

New State Bird

As our Illinois state representatives and senators return to Springfield this supposedly last week of the spring session, I have a nomination for a new state bird:

This pigeon was found fat, dumb and happy on top of a building in a Springfield alley, where its cheap photographer was saving a $2 parking fee during the Old Capitol Art Fair earlier this month. Don’t you think the pigeon is more representative of Illinois than the cardinal?

Will Plan C work?

So far this session, Illinois taxpayers have seen three proposals to pay for the largest budget increase in the state's history.  We've seen

• Plan A:  Hike taxes on businesses large and small . . .  That didn't work.
• Plan B:  Raise the state income tax by suggesting the possibility of a property tax cut . . .  That didn't work.
• Plan C:  Push  for unprecedented gambling expansion . . .

JUST IN: Major Arrest in War on Terror

H/T:  IR reader Chuck Emmert

Support Our Troops

Operation Support Our Troops - Illinois is a phenomenal organization doing a tremendous job of gathering articles troops in Iraq and Afghanistan use every day.

Plan now to Support Our Troops by being at 560 AM WIND's "Rockin' for the Troops" concert featuring comedian Dennis Miller, Gary Sinese and Big John Howell at Catigny Park in DuPage County on July 21, 2007 . . . More here.

H/T: 560 AM WIND and Windypundit.com.

Obama proposes more mental health screening for military

Barack Obama told a crowd in New Hampshire over the weekend that better mental health screening should be available to those in military service . . . before they enlist, during service and upon re-entry into civilian life.

Pardon me if I'm cynical, but this is the same Obama who voted last week against funding our military fighting terrorism in Iraq.

Maybe what Obama really meant to say is that anyone who volunteers to serve in the United States military really should be screened for mental health issues?

Link: Obama wants better mental health screenings for service members - International Herald Tribune.

How much for an Obama doodle?

Supposedly authentic . . . how much would you pay for an Obama doodle?  Current highest eBay bidder is $557. . .

Rumor is the IL GOP is entertaining similar creative ideas for fundraising. 

Your suggestions welcomed . . .

UPDATE 1X:  Obama's doodle sold Memorial Day afternoon for $2075.00, while he was "non-politicizing" the holiday weekend doing a New Hampshire campaign event.

No beer and bratwurst for lawmakers today

Do our state lawmakers get time and a half for working on Memorial Day?  How about their staff?

While most Illinoisans will be enjoying beer and bratwurst, the IL Senate will be at the Capitol Monday afternoon at 4:00 PM and the House at 3:00 PM.

The countdown to Thursday's deadline begins. . .

More on Urban Prep

More on Urban Prep School, Chicago's only all men public high school.

See also Eric Wallace's "Charter Schools Making a Difference" post on Urban Prep.

Felony Charges for Fake High School Bomb, for Handing Out Pamphlets

I’m still trying to figure out how proposed punishments fit high school crimes. Saturday, the Northwest Herald reported that a St. Charles North High School boy was arrested for felony disorderly conduct.

“About 11:30 a.m., a teacher found a box that was ticking and had protruding wires in a courtyard on the south side of the school grounds,” the article reads. The Kane County bomb squad was called. Now, that sounds like a felony.

Just as making a bathroom wall threat at Crystal Lake Central High School sounds like a felony, even though three teens at Winnebago High School were charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct for making a similar threat. Handing out pamphlets, even ones you and I might consider hateful ones, does not sound like a felony hate crime.  (See comments by Champaign County blogger John Bambenek.)

The girl with the hate crime felony charge will be in court Tuesday. And, then there is Cary-Grove High School student Allen Lee, whom McHenry County State's Attorney Lou Bianchi decided did not merit misdemeanor disorderly conduct prosecution for threatening creative writing class essay that disturbed his teacher.

The Chicago Tribune's Dennis Bryne also <a href="http://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2007/05/tribune-columnist-calls-crystal-lake.html">weighs in</a> on the subject referencing the ACLU-abetted Nazi march in Skokie.

To all who have served, with hopes for many more happy returns

Charter schools making a difference

by Eric M. Wallace, PhD

In May 27th's Chicago Tribune is a story about the Urban Prep Charter Academy. The founders of this school are thinking outside the box to make education about the kids, not the teachers. This is a good argument for school choice if I ever read one.

Senator Meeks, Senate President Emil Jones, you guys need to fight for our kids and not the teachers' unions. If you did we'd have more schools like Urban Prep and fewer kids dropping out of high school and turning to a life of crime.

See below: School's creed helps boys believe in themselves

No Confidence

by Tony Peraica

Eric Zorn posts at his blog, Change of Subject, that my plans to introduce a resolution of "No Confidence" in the Stroger administration make "sense:"

Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica announced Thursday that he will call for a vote of "no confidence" in Board President Todd Stroger at the next board meeting.

The motion makes sense. Stroger's brazen continuation of crony politics has broken faith with those who believed the reform platitudes he issued during his successful campaign against Peraica last fall.

No Flak From His Flacks in the Mainstream Media: Sanitized for Barack’s Protection

by Teri O'Brien

There is a certain irony in the mainstream media blackout on Senator Barack Obama’s latest gaffe: mistaking the word “flack,” as in “to serve as a public relations agent,” something that they do on a regular basis for the senator, and “flak,” from the German Fliegerabwehrkanonen, a military term referring to anti-aircraft guns. In their zeal to conceal Barack Hussein’s complete lack of familiarity with anything remotely connected to things military, which during a time of war might cause voters a bit of concern, the media are once again flacking for He Who Walks on Water.

Farrakhan admits religion confusion

"Even though I am a Muslim . . . I'm also a Christian."

And with that pronouncement, Black Muslim leader Louis Farrakhan many have inadvertently confessed Friday to Father Pfleger's St. Sabina Catholic Church congregation that he's either struggling with theology confusion or he's purposely cultivating seeds of spiritual deception.

Creation Museum revives debate over origins

Tomorrow, just across the river from Cincinatti, Ohio the Creation Museum will open its doors and a shot will be fired from the ranks of Creationism onto secularists' beliefs based on the theory of evolution.

Most Americans have been taught through secular public schools to believe that the universe evolved over millions of years.  Since no one was there to scientifically observe and record what happened in the beginning, we have only speculation and conjecture upon which to base our origin theories.   

At one time, Darwin's views were blatantly rejected.  But as time went by, those anxious to escape accountability to a Creator embraced a system of beliefs that excluded a Designer.  Evolution gradually became accepted as truth and Biblical literacists are now scoffed and ridiculed for believing the universe originated with an Architect and a design.

Gambling's not the answer to state's budget woes

ILCAAAP is sounding the alert that with hands tied as to raising taxes, state lawmakers are now looking in desperation for another source of revenue.  Who's standing there, patiently waiting to rescue the state?  Gambling enterprises, who see this as the perfect time to expand gambling.

ISRA targets Kotowski in Memorial Day message

The Illinois State Rifle Association took the opportunity in a Memorial Day message to express gratitude for veterans and contempt for a freshman Democratic state senator :

Unfortunately, in the Illinois General Assembly we have people like Senator Dan Kotowski who apparently believes that the Bill of Rights can be salami-sliced to toss out provisions that he doesn’t like or obliterate rights that frighten him. Millions of brave Americans did not die just so that Dan Kotowski could reinvent America. Kotowski’s shameful disloyalty to our Constitution is a slap in the face to all who have sacrificed so much in the name of freedom.

Read the whole ISRA message below the fold . . .

Scheurers to Challenge Bean for Congress

by Cal Skinner

Last night as I was listening to reactions to the Defense appropriations bill votes, I sent 2006 8th congressional district candidate for Congress Bill Scheurer an email asking if he had put out a press release. Come to find out, he and his wife Randi have, complete with snappy new logo for his "Honk for Peace" web site. Read it below and consider the political implications for both parties:

In a series of Kerry-esque moves, IL-8th Congressional District Democratic Incumbent Melissa Bean has now “voted for” the surge in Iraq, after she “voted against” it. This week, Bean joined a small minority of Democrats, and all but two Republicans, in voting to give the Bush administration another “blank check” for the war -- which includes, and fully funds, the escalation of hostilities -- having previously joined a solid Democratic majority in a symbolic vote opposing this same surge.

Cross hints answer for state budget woes

House Republican Organization just sent out a state budget update (see below the fold). 

It sounds as if the House GOP members found a magic formula to fix all the state budget ills the Democrats couldn't.  House Minority Leader Tom Cross is right -- Illinoisans are already dealing with skyrocketing electric rates and gas prices that are beginning to stifle consumer spending.  This is no time to raise state taxes. . .

But what Cross doesn't say in today's news is exactly how he proposes to continue exhorbitent state spending, catch up on unpaid state pension obligations  and increase education spending  -- all without raising taxes. 

What exactly is the plan, Representative?  Inquiring minds want to know . . .

From the GOP House:

Lie and Buy

The Sun-Times reports Saturday that Senate President Emil Jones snuck a section in the bill to expand gambling to four new Illinois cities, including Chicago, as I read the article. Dave McKinney reports,

"it would divert 2 percent of revenues from the four casinos to Chicago State University, potentially handing the school a $40 million windfall that would double its take from the state… "In committee, Jones initially said Chicago State wasn't in the legislation."

When Senate Republicans pointed him to the specific section, Emil backed down. Boy, does that remind me of the original riverboat gambling bill.

Three HPV vaccine deaths reported to FDA

Medical News Today reported May 24:

Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, today released documents obtained from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, detailing 1,637 reports of adverse reactions to the vaccination for human papillomavirus, Gardasil. Three deaths were related to the vaccine. One physician's assistant reported that a female patient "died of a blood clot three hours after getting the Gardasil vaccine." Two other reports, on girls 12 and 19, reported deaths relating to heart problems and/or blood clotting.

As of May 11, 2007, the 1,637 adverse vaccination reactions reported to the FDA via the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System included 371 serious reactions. Of the 42 women who received the vaccine while pregnant, 18 experienced side effects ranging from spontaneous abortion to fetal abnormities....

[M]ore serious side effects reported include paralysis, Bells Palsy, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, and seizures.