Recommended Christmas Music

Marie was nice enough to autograph my cd insert! She's really sweet, hasn't let fame go to her head.

Christmas cards 2008

This is the first year that I didn't mail out several dozen Christmas cards. But I still received a nice little collection, so I made sure I returned a card for each one received. Thank you to my friends and family that sent cards. Merry Christmas!

Can we open our presents yet?

My grandkids wish you a Merry Christmas!

A Very Blagojevich Christmas

Illinois Christmas Song

I wanted to share this email that I received today! It is one of those that get forwarded to everybody! Enjoy!

Illinois Christmas Song
author unknown

(To the tune of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen")

"Get packin', Rod Blagojevich;
the state's in disarray.
The Tribune wants you unemployed
at least by Christmas Day.
The TV pundits want your head.
Could there be pay to play?
Oh, tidings of comfort and joy,
Save Illinois!
Oh, tidings of comfort and joy.

Good riddance Rod Blagojevich.
Your Elvis look's insane.
The Senate's mad, so's Lisa's dad.
You drive us all insane.
Our transit's broke, the state's a joke,
the Tollway's one big pain.
Oh, tidings of comfort and joy,
Save Illinois!
Oh, tidings of comfort and joy.

Good luck old Rod Blagojevich.
The feds have quite a place.
Fitzgerald's poked his nose around,
and if he has a case,
George Ryan's moving stuff around,
creating extra space.
Oh, tidings of comfort and joy,
Save Illinois!
Oh, tidings of comfort and joy.

Decorating for Christmas

I finally got out my "Let It Snow" themed kitchen dishes and decorations. We got several inches of snow, and I think it inspired me. Nothing like snow to get you in the Christmas spirit!

White House week on C-SPAN

Here's one of my favorite pictures that I took last summer, while touring the gardens of the White House. This shows the west wing and part of the rose garden.

It's White House Week on C-SPAN. I especially enjoyed last night's "White House Tours by Presidents and First Ladies." Wednesday's episode is "The Gardens and Grounds," which I am looking forward to. These are very long programs, but very interesting to anyone interested in the White House. Click the title link for details on the week long documentary. If you miss it, a dvd is available for purchase.

New Additions

Welcome! Thanks for visiting my blog! Even though I started it a long time ago, I am just now starting to get in to it. It's a work in progress.

I just added "Digitally Imported Radio" AND "World Webcams" (scroll down and look in the right column). The digital radio is awesome! The webcams refresh every 20 seconds, and you even get a chance to make them a screensaver with just one easy click! I love BLOGGER and all it's features. Hope you enjoy!

Sticky & Sweet Treat

Otis Spunkmeyer sure does make a good muffin! Had to take a break from all the politics!

Potty Mouth Patti

Oh no you di'nt say that about the Cubs! That's a good way to make lots of enemies in Chicago! But oh yes, she did:

"Hold up that [expletive] Cubs [expletive]," she is quoted as saying in the background as her husband talked on the phone, authorities alleged. "[Expletive] them."

Governor Blagojevich's wife Patti supported his pay-to-play Senate scheme, complaint alleges. Click the title link for the full story and photos of the Illinois First Lady.

Jesse Jackson Jr. Denies Offering Payment for U.S. Senate Seat

Here is video of Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. today denying as an "impossibility" that he or anyone on his behalf offered payment to Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich in exchange for being named to fill Barack Obama's vacated U.S. Senate Seat. News sources have identified Jackson as "Senate Candidate No. 5" mentioned in the FBI affidavit unveiled yesterday against Blagojevich. No comment from me!

Better Late Than Never

I heard on the news today that President-elect Obama has called for Governor Blagojevich to resign. Well, duh! I don't understand why he didn't do that yesterday. He was like a deer caught in headlights. Maybe he went home and Michelle slapped him and said "snap out of it" like Cher in Mermaids. Whatever the reason for the delay, I am just glad that he finally did it.

Names of others involved in the senate for sale scandal are coming out, like Jesse Jackson Jr. He denies any wrongdoing.

more later...must get back to work!

Federal Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald sums it up

Obama "saddened and sobered" by Blagojevich corruption case

Saddened and sobered? WTF? Does anyone know WHY President-elect Obama did not say something better than that, like call for Blagojevich's immediate resignation?

Sometimes saying too little is saying too much.

And what exactly does "sobered" mean anyway? Hell if I know. That's why I went to dictionary.com. Here's what I came up with, but I still don't know what he meant!

so·ber

(sō'bər) Pronunciation Key adj. so·ber·er, so·ber·est
Habitually abstemious in the use of alcoholic liquors or drugs; temperate.
Not intoxicated or affected by the use of drugs.
Plain or subdued: sober attire.
Devoid of frivolity, excess, exaggeration, or speculative imagination; straightforward: gave a sober assessment of the situation.
Marked by seriousness, gravity, or solemnity of conduct or character. See Synonyms at serious.
Marked by circumspection and self-restraint. tr. & intr.v. so·bered, so·ber·ing, so·bers To make or become sober.

Durbin wants special election to replace Obama

Illinois senator Dick Durbin has just called for a special election to replace Obama. This does sound like a good idea, but unfortunately will cost taxpayers millions of dollars. What choice do we have? If Blagojevich resigns or is impeached, then our Lt. Governor Patrick Quinn will decide our next senator. Let me just say, Quinn is ALSO a long time Illinois politician (I'll just leave it at that).

Speaking of Durbin, he is probably serving his LAST term as senator, since he has recently stated that he might ask President Bush to commute the prison sentence of the corrupt and unrepentant former Republican Gov. George Ryan. Also in favor of a commutation is current democratic Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who took office in 2002 with promises of putting an end to the government corruption that landed Ryan in prison. Only in Illinois...but the voters will remember Durbin's blunder.

IL Governor Arrested after "political corruption crime spree"

Well, well, well, is anyone in Illinois surprised? It's juicy, it's dirty, it's ten times worse than watergate. Just wait until all of his tape recorded arrogance is released! One example, from the FBI affidavit, "I have to give this motherf***er (pres-elect) his senator? F*** him. For nothing? F*** him." Another quote: "I'll pick another candidate before I just give f***ing (senate candidate) a f***ing senate seat and I don't get anything."

On behalf of my fellow Illinois citizens, I would like to say, F*** you, Blago! Resign now!

It's not just the selling of the senate seat that led to the FBI arresting the governor this morning. Click the title link for the complete news story.

I wrote recently that it was time for change in Illinois government, and it looks like that time is finally here! Hopefully, "pay to play" is over in Illinois (but don't count on it).

Metro St. Louis Gas Prices

Here's why we buy our gas in Missouri! We go to St. Louis a couple times a month or so, and always buy our gas there. I had to take this picture the other night, because I was so surprised at how LOW the price of gas keeps getting. This station is in West Alton, near the fireworks place. By the way, gas is $1.67 a gallon at home right now. If you are near Missouri, it pays to cross the bridge and buy your gas in Missouri and SAVE!

Madonna asks fans for help

Pop star Madonna is urging her fans to dig deep to raise money to build a girls' school in Malawi, the home country of her adopted son David. Click title link for rest of the story or visit her website to see her video message about the project.

And what do I think? Hmmm, let's see, somebody else built a school in Africa...ummm OPRAH, oh yeah that's right. But Oprah did not ask her fans to pay for it. Is Madonna so out of touch that she thinks people can afford to "help her" build this school in Malawi? And I think many would like to know why Madonna isn't doing this with her OWN money, and also think many would rather see her do something for the poor children in this country first. What do you think?

Illinois owes $4 billion in unpaid bills!

Red shows the population centers, so somebody please explain why in the heck we need 102 counties in this state!? It's time to get serious and consolidate some of these tiny counties and save some money. And did I mention revoking the tax exempt status of all churches?!

I see so much waste in Illinois government. Illinois government is corrupt from the top on down. My own niece (unqualified-no clerical experience--was a CNA then a store clerk) brags that she does not have anything to do in her state job at the COMPTROLLER'S OFFICE, so guess how she spends most of her day?! Surfing the internet and playing computer games!

So how did she get a job with the state? In Springfield, it's common knowledge that you can't hardly get a state job without "politcal pull." Her grandpa (my sister's father-in-law) was a high ranking politician in one of our 102 counties. He also "assisted" my sister and many other of his relatives and friends state jobs. So just imagine that political corruption times 102 counties! Don't even get me started! It's time for CHANGE in Illinois!

Our last governor GEORGE RYAN is in PRISON, and many people think our current governor is not far behind. Something's got to be done!

Should Mormon church lose it's tax exempt status?

From the official message board of the Washington Redskins..."Should the Mormon LDS Church lose its tax exempt status?" And the response from "Football Henry:"

"I bring this question to light because it is now known that the LDS Church funded over 20 million dollars to get Prop 8 passed this past election in California. Now it is to my understanding that churches are NOT supposed to be involved in political matters and this would constitute a breach of that rule. Therefore, quite simply shouldn't the LDS church lose its tax exempt status since it has directly injected itself into state issues??

In my estimation there is no question that they should. What's more though is I think it is sad that so much energy, and money is put towards a divisive agenda when it could go for much more humane, ethical causes."

Personally, I agree with "Evil Genius": All churches should. Unless you favor giving businesses the same exempt status.

Perhaps this is one solution for our BROKE government. Make churches pay taxes!

Worldly Woman - Hillary looking more & more like Secretary of State

All major news outlets are reporting that Senator Hillary Clinton is likely to be named the next Secretary of State. It seems, if she wants the job, it's hers! Way to go Hillary, and way to go President-elect Obama!

30th Anniversary of Jonestown Mass Suicide

In a few days it will be thirty years since 909 "Peoples Temple" members died in Jonestown, all but two from apparent cyanide poisoning in an event termed "revolutionary suicide" by cult leader Jim Jones on November 18, 1978.


To the extent the actions in Jonestown were viewed as a mass suicide, it is the largest such event in modern history. The incident at Jonestown was the greatest single loss of American civilian life in a non-natural disaster until the events of September 11, 2001.

Last night I watched the first airing of "CNN Presents: Escape from Jonestown." Witnesses and survivors of the Jonestown tragedy speak. It is a heartwrenching special, and I highly recommend it. I was just 16 years old, when this happened and I still can't believe it actually did happen. We must never forget, and never let anything like this happen again.

CNN will be airing it again on Sat. 11/15 at 7:00 pm (central time)
and on Sunday 11/16 at 7:00 pm central time.

St. Louis among 80 cities protesting CA. Prop 8

Too bad I have to work or I would be there. If you are near St. Louis and would like to participate, you can find details at http://showmenohate.blogspot.com

Youngest Congressman in U.S. from central Illinois

No doubt he's the most handsome in congress too. I'm proud to have Congressman Schock representing my home district. He is smart, enthusiastic, ambitious. He has never lost an election, starting with his write-in campaign for Peoria school board as a 19-year-old. I think he will go far in his political career and probably become president some day. Of course, he will have to reach the minimum age requirement first!

Click the title link for the news article from

November 5, 2008.

For Sale at Roseanne's Shop, all kinds of crap!

When I say "crap" I mean it in a good Roseanne Barr way...you know, how she uses the word "crap" a lot. The Roseanne Shop was a link from one of my favorite blogs--Roseanne's World. Click the title link to start shopping!

Chicago: Murder Capital of the USA

Tragedy for Jennifer Hudson's family

Singer/Actress Jennifer Hudson relatives slain; child missing...I am a big fan of Jennifer Hudson and am so sorry for her loss and my thoughts and prayers are with her.

A real idiot

McCain volunteer made up robbery story...duh! Did anybody ever really believe her cockamainy story?

Every four seconds...

Did you know that every four seconds a woman is beaten in the United States?
Resources are available from the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
If you are in crisis or need help, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at:
1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
or TTY for the Deaf:
1-800-787-3224
Help is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Se Habla Español

Vote for Obama and Biden

BREAKING NEWS: Obama picks Biden

It's on CNN, MSNBC, and Fox and every news company just a little after midnight. I wonder if people got their text message. One thing is for sure, all those people, who gave up their private cell phone number to receive this text message will surely get lots more text messages in the future! Congratulations to Senator Biden!

The Real John McCain

It's true, I was not an Obama supporter in the primary, but now that is long over and I want to make it perfectly clear that I do support Senator Obama for President now. And since I had made earlier references to his home, I thought it would only be fair to bring up the subject of McCain's home$, all ten of them. Click the title link for more information, or watch the youTube video for a summary.

Obama to return to Springfield

Click the title for a link for local information on the big visit.

I think it's great that Senator Obama is returning to Springfield, a neighboring city of mine to announce his running mate. If you surrender your cell phone number, you will be sent a text message "sometime" before the event. I'm for Obama, but I think all the mystery over who the running mate will be is a little much. I'm beginning to wonder if the VP contender will arrive in a giant locked crate, like Criss Angel, and then pop out at just the right moment. Will I drive over to Springfield for this historic event? Nope! It will be a long frustrating day for those, who do attend. So, I will just watch it on my local ABC station, or any of the national news channels that will be in town.

Earthquake! Wakes me up early!

Click the title link for an interesting news story on the earthquake.

I sat up in bed as soon as the shaking started. I was groggy and confused, but knew I wasn't dreaming. My bed was shaking! I immediately thought of the movie "The Exorcist." I had done a lot of praying lately and strange events have been going on in my house lately--like doors opening by themselves. I'm thinking, I don't feel possessed, so what is going on?

Not only was the bed shaking, but my ceiling was rattling and I could feel all four walls vibrating and even the floor. I thought I heard a loud thunder. What seemed like several minutes was actually less than a minute. There is a vacant bedroom above mine, and I thought for a minute that someone was up there and moving the antique bed around. I also wondered if raccoons or some creatures were in the basement. I felt a little frightened not knowing what had just happened and couldn't easily fall back to sleep after that.

I love "Morning Joe" and turned it on and there it was "Breaking News Earthquake hits Illinois..." Wow, of course it was an earthquake. Growing up in southern Illinois, I was very much aware of earthquakes. I lived near the New Madrid fault and remember one day, when I was six years old that we had a big earthquake. I remember dishes falling and stuff like that and how scary it was to me.

In 1994 while living in Las Vegas, I was getting ready for work and felt the earthquake that hit Los Angeles. That one was really early too and on the tv news right away. I sure dreaded going to work at the Las Vegas Hilton that day. People working said they felt the building sway, and I remember thinking "oh great, here I am in the bottom of one of the city's tallest and oldest buildings. Would there be aftershocks? I couldn't wait to get out of that building. I hadn't thought much about earthquakes since then. I just hope I am not in St.Louis, when the big one hits!

Patriots nearly perfect, but the Giants are Super Bowl champions

Eli Manning celebrates after the Giants clinch a 17-14 win over the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. Click the title link to read the full NFL.com story.

Groundhog Predicts More Winter Weather

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow Saturday, leading the groundhog to forecast six more weeks of winter. Click the title link for the full "My Way News" article.

Guess Who snubs, gets caught, and lies about it

Obama's controversial contributor goes to jail

...and Obama continues to give more of the "Rezko affiliated contributions" to charity. Good luck on that one Senator, since the money goes back at least fifteen years. So the Obamas have this mansion on the "south side of Chicago." Wouldn't that seem a bit out of place for a mansion? Oh, but this one has a huge gate around it. The mansion still seems out of place for the south side of Chicago. It's no secret that the south side of Chicago is home to many drug dealers and much crime. Ask anyone from "downstate Illinois" to describe the south side of Chicago, and they will not paint a pretty picture, I'm sure.

A lot of people outside of Illinois don't know the troubling part of the story about the house deal. Obama said he could not afford both the house and the lot so the Rezkos bought the lot to help him out. Strangely the house went for $300,000 UNDER the asking price, while the Rezkos paid FULL PRICE for the lot. In addition, Obama paid to have a fence designed, but Rezko paid for it, putting it on the property line. Accoring to NBC the lot is now completely fenced in with the only entrance being from the Obama property. Obama maintains the lot, or did until Rezko got indicted and sold it. It sure looks like Rezko made sure Obama got a sweetheart deal. It is hard to understand why the lot but not the house went for full price without some kind of arrangement with the buyer. Also, this all took place after there had been a lot of publicity about the fact that Rezko was under investigation for corruption. This seems somewhat questionable.

If you aren't familiar with the REZKO/OBAMA connection, please take a moment to click the title link and read the full Associated Press article.

Maybe if Hilary was discussing her fat thighs Oprah would have had her on.

Check out She-Devil star Roseanne's personal blog, where Roseanne disses Oprah for not having Hilary on her show. Two weeks ago she wrote Obama is a supporter of "corporate racist anti worker bullshit" and Oprah Winfrey, "plays the race card and the gender card." This time Roseanne is furious at Oprah for not having Hillary on her show, among other things. Hilary deserves to have been able to address the huge female demographic that Oprah's billions came from. How very disgusting, and how very very telling!! There's more, and it's a good read! Way to go Roseanne!

Hatemongers

While channel surfing the other night, I heard about this group planning to protest at Heath Ledger's funeral. It took awhile to find their press release, but here it is for all to see.

Kucinich drops out of U.S. presidential race

The field of candidates narrowed today as Democrat Dennis Kucinich announced he would end his race for the U.S. presidency. Does this mean we will never know the truth about the existence of UFOs? Seriously though, I hope he will continue to run for president until he wins.

CoJo hawks book on Larry King

This is Cojo. Remember that guy with the giant teeth, who used to be on The Today Show? Well now he has giant bloated squirrel cheeks! How disappointing that Larry didn't ask him what the heck happened to his bloated cheeks. I don't think the (injected? can you imagine how many syringes) cheeks are a result of the kidney problems, but I could be wrong. I'm sure you will see him again on some show as he promotes his book "Glamour, Interrupted: How I Became the Best-Dressed Patient in Hollywood." If anyone reads it, please let me know, if the giant cheeks are explained! Thanks.

Shocker: Actor Heath Ledger found dead

Probably best known for his Best Actor Oscar nominated role in Brokeback Mountain, this handsome young actor has appeared in many films including The Joker, The Brothers Grimm, Ned Kelly, Monsters Ball, and numerous other roles. Besides his Oscar nomination, he had another 13 wins & 28 nominations internationally. He will be sadly missed.

I have a dream...

Today we honor Martin Luther King Jr. This is a federal holiday in this country, so our store was closed today. Unfortunately most businesses were open.
Again, this IS a holiday!