31 Jan 2007

Governance Committee Rears Its Ugly Head Again

By administrator

On August 4, 2005, the publisher of the River Cities' Reader, the Quad-City Times city-hall reporter, and an Argus/Dispatch journalist strategically positioned themselves outside the doors of City Hall, just as the city attorney unlocked them at 6 p.m., allowing the media through, then re-locking the doors behind them. They had finally gained entrance to the elusive "Governance Committee" meetings.

31 Jan 2007

Leader's Power Might Not Translate Into Promised Education Reform

By Administrator

Senate President Emil Jones talked for several minutes during a media availability the other day about his war theories.

Among other things, Jones recalled how Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev pounded his desk during the United Nations debate over whether to allow China into the organization. Khrushchev failed to persuade the international body to admit his fellow Communist nation, but, as Jones said, not long afterwards China detonated a nuclear bomb in the atmosphere and the UN quickly relented, bringing China in and forcing Taiwan out.

25 Jan 2007

The Legal Basis for Abortion

By Carol Brown

It was the Gisswold v. Connecticut case in 1965 that struck down state laws prohibiting married couples from using birth control; the law was ruled unconstitutional because it violated marital privacy, a right protected by the Constitution.

24 Jan 2007

Green Versus Green "Lite"

By Administrator

The article "Buildings That Breathe" makes some great points overall, but the homesteading movement is not dead, and not just in California. (See River Cities' Reader Issue 616, January 17-23, 2007.) There are many alternative building/energy conferences one can go to in Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois focusing on straw-bale construction, log construction, and alternative heating/energy for the cabin set. There are many publications that cater to the modern homesteader.

24 Jan 2007

Is Obama the Next JFK?

By Rich Miller

My grandmother tells the story of when she met John F. Kennedy.

It was back in 1959, as Kennedy was still gearing up for his presidential run. Grandma and my grandfather, an active Teamsters Union member and a Democratic precinct committeeman in Kankakee, traveled to Chicago for a labor event featuring JFK.

Kennedy, the story goes, was working the room, and when he made it over to my grandparents he put his arm around my grandmother, kissed her on the cheek, and told my grandfather that he had a "beautiful wife."

Grandma swooned, of course, and decades later when I asked her how she reacted, she joked that she didn't wash that kissed spot on her face for two weeks. To this day, you can't say a bad word about JFK in front of Grandma for fear of risking the evil eye.

17 Jan 2007

Davenport: Growth or Ghost Town Depends on New Leadership

By Administrator

There are three significant positions to be filled in Davenport's economic development in the near-future: City Director for Economic and Community Director, Director for DavenportOne, and Director for Quad Cities Development Group.

Talk about the opportunity of a lifetime! Here is a chance to enact real change in Davenport, considered by some to be the flagship of the Quad Cities. Those who will influence our new hires will either see the path or they won't - the path being to hire individuals with genuine leadership skills that are foundationally inclusive, versus the exclusive policy that has dominated economic development in Davenport for so long.

17 Jan 2007

Madigan Publicly Bows to "The Messiah"

By Rich Miller

You'd think that Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan, who is forever being touted as one of the smartest politicians in Illinois history, would have realized long ago that Barack Obama was immensely popular and needed to be treated differently than others. Yet it wasn't until last week that Madigan finally offered a public bow to the man widely considered to be a top-tier candidate for the U.S. presidency in 2008 and who has a rock star's ability to turn grown men and women into giddy teenagers.

10 Jan 2007

Losing Lives or Face: It's Time to Leave Iraq

By Administrator

Doug Bandow Saddam Hussein richly deserved his execution, but Iraq is no less a strategic disaster for America because of it. It will be years, if not decades, until the world overcomes all of the consequences of George W. Bush's misbegotten war.

Most people - other than President Bush, who admits that "we're not winning" but still thinks the invasion was a good idea - recognize that the U.S. should not have attacked Iraq. There remains wide disagreement over what to do now, however.

10 Jan 2007

Attorney General Could Be on Both Sides of Legal Dispute

By Rich Miller

The Better Government Association (BGA) filed a lawsuit last week that could create lots of fireworks. The BGA wants to force Governor Rod Blagojevich to release federal grand- jury subpoenas his administration has been served between January and July of last year.

The BGA initially filed a Freedom of Information Act request last year to pry loose the subpoenas. The Blagojevich administration had made it a standard practice to disclose subpoenas until the feds started nosing around the governor's office itself about a year ago, then all cooperation stopped.

03 Jan 2007

A Little More Self Respect Please

By Administrator

At the end of the day, you either have your self-respect or not. The degree of one's own self-respect will inevitably dictate the level of respect given by others. This holds true for a lot of things, including city leaderships.

Elected officials learn the hard way that by failing their constituents by acquiescing to special interests while in office, they are less respected by the very special interests benefiting from that failure. Most of these politicians eventually find themselves out of office and out of favor with everyone, including the people for whom they abdicated their integrity.

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