Smoke 'n Mirrors in Springfield, more 'Censorship in Champaign and a possible 'muzzling' in Carbondale

Cross-posted on From Where I Blog.

Baby ... it's cold outside.

But, after scouring over some news sites this morning I found that it could be a whole lot worse.

I saw this picture of a lighthouse along Lake Erie in Hamburg, New York and it sent a chill down my spine. Winds gusting to 77 mph and sub-zero temps caused power outages and 200,000 homes without power.

It's 10 degrees in my little corner of the world -- sunny and with no wind -- and my house is warm as toast.

What a great morning to blog!

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A rally was held at John A. Logan College, in Carterville, on Saturday in support of the proposed $3.2 billion capital spending plan currently being debated by the Illinois General Assembly.

While I applaud the efforts of the good folks that attended and lended a voice -- many are stellar people -- I still disagree with the idea of simply shoving this legislation through without taxpayers being given an accurate, detailed and most importantly fixed way to pay for the many school and road construction projects.

To the good folks in Springfield: put the smoke and mirrors away and explain how this will be funded. Until then, expect me to keep shouting, 'show me the money' (as in revenue stream.)

Here's the story on the rally held at John A. Logan College.

Sesser Mayor Ned Mitchell, a former state senator, wrote an interesting guest column that appeared Sunday (Feb. 19) in the Southern Illinoisan. I found myself applauding as I read his comments. Mitchell's preaching to the choir with me but it's too bad some of his fellow Democrats don't catch a clue about what is taking place in Springfield.

Here's Mitchell's column.

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I hate fluff editorials.I like an editorial writer that does two things. First, I want them to say what they mean. Second, I want them to mean what they say. I thought this was an excellent editorial in the Decatur Herald & Review. It also ran on Sunday morning (which tells you how I've spent my morning) and it deals with the same issue Mitchell wrote about, which is how the state is going to continue to operate with borrowing, smoke and mirrors, pension raids, more smoke and mirrors. And of course a little sleight of hand tossed in for good measure.

Here's the editorial in the Decatur Herald & Review.

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There was a blurb in a column in the Southern Illinoisan this week about Mike Lawrence making a decision to quit writing columns -- columns that appear in many major newspapers throughout the state. Lawrence, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, really gave no reason in his announcement.

"I have decided that it would be in the best interests of the Institute and the university to suspend writing and distributing personal opinion pieces as long as I am director," Lawrence said.

Bernard Schoenburg, one of my favorite writers and a guy that pulls no punches, picked up on the story and ran with it. His Sunday column is an eye-opener and one that certainly prompted me to read between the lines. I would love to hear some comments on this. Do you think Lawrence was quietly told to 'shut up?'

Here's the Schoenburg column.

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There are those that have commented about my views on the Daily Illini censorship and tried desperately to turn the suspension of editors Acton Gorton and Chuck Prochaska into a right vs. left, conservative vs. liberal issue. I have tried to avoid doing that because I see it as a freedom of speech, freedom of expression issue. I also have stated, and will continue to state and believe that the thugs killing, looting, burning and generally raising hell are not doing so because of religious beliefs but because they are terrorists.

Some of those that have left comments on this blog and also at Illinoize are flaming liberals who want to blame 'Censorship in Champaign' on conservatives and right wingers. In fact, I'm sure before the week is over somebody will find a way to blame George Bush for the Daily Illini mess.

On Saturday a friend sent me a link to the World Socialist website and a story that explained their view on the issue at the Daily Illini.

After reading the story and recalling the comments of some posters, for the life of me, I can't see any difference in some of those good libs who commented here and the World Socialist view. And that, my friends, is scary.

Here's the Socialist view on the Daily Illini story.

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Have a good Sunday ... and stay close to the fire.