Politics is a numbers game — and the numbers of votes, dollars, and favors are the only numbers that matter. The boys who play politics at the street level never forget their numbers. They can tell you how many votes they pulled out of precinct 22 three elections ago, or how much money they raised […]
Opinion
Posted inOpinion
My humble opinion
Sometimes it seems I spend half my time fixing toilet paper. Nobody around here hangs it properly, with the paper rolling away from the wall. Instead, everybody hangs it with the paper rolling toward the wall, which makes no sense whatsoever — at least that’s my opinion. Another problem is double doors. There must be […]
Posted inOpinion
What setup?
Gov. Rod Blagojevich tends to bring out the worst in people. There is such a strong feeling of ill will against him among all stripes of political insiders and observers in this state that they’ll believe almost anything. Two solid years of the governor deliberately attacking people who didn’t deserve it, attacking people who deserved […]
Posted inOpinion
common sense 1-20-05
Gosh, it’s sad that the Bush administration hasn’t been able to provide protective armor for all of our troops in Iraq, but it has other priorities — such as playing with its Star Wars toys. There was recently another test of this boondoggle missile-defense system. The scheme, first hatched under President Ronald Reagan, calls for […]
Posted inOpinion
letters 1-20-05
Letters policy We welcome letters, but please include your full name, address and a daytime telephone number. We edit all letters for libel, length and clarity. Send letters to: Letters, Illinois Times. P.O. Box 5256. Springfield, Illinois 62705. Fax: (217) 753-3958. E-mail: editor@illinoistimes.com NO ON ABORTION — AND THE WAR Anne Logue, in her response […]
Posted inOpinion
Mad County revisited
The ongoing Illinois drama over the medical malpractice-reform debate intensified last week when President George W. Bush paid a visit to Madison County. Yes, that Madison County — the favored courtroom home to many of the nation’s wealthiest trial lawyers, made universally infamous by the multibillion-dollar class-action lawsuits filed over asbestos and Marlboro Lights. Madison […]
Posted inOpinion
common sense 1-13-05
Am I the only one who thinks it’s a bit ironic that a visit to the Statue of Liberty — a symbol of America’s freedoms — now requires visitors to surrender a piece of freedom? The founders knew from hard experience that the protection of individual privacy from the prying eye of the authorities was […]
Posted inOpinion
letters 1-13-05
Letters policy We welcome letters, but please include your full name, address and a daytime telephone number. We edit all letters for libel, length and clarity. Send letters to: Letters, Illinois Times. P.O. Box 5256. Springfield, Illinois 62705. Fax: (217) 753-3958. E-mail: editor@illinoistimes.com DAVLIN: I NEED AN ASSISTANT I take issue with last week’s article […]
Posted inOpinion
Persian aversion
The United States’ next oil war will likely take place in Iran, so now might be a good time to look back at the history of our involvement in that country. What the United States did in Iran in 1953 set in motion a chain of events that led to the 1979 hostage crisis and […]
Posted inOpinion
Tear down this barricade
To Ted Smith, East Jackson Street is more than a street — it’s the backbone of the neighborhood he’s lived in for 57 years. Abraham Lincoln lived on Jackson, 20 blocks west of here, so it’s the backbone of America, too. And the barricade that blocks cars from using the street east of Livingston is […]
Posted inOpinion
Ethical spectacle
I am an ethics outlaw. Recently I received formal notice that I had failed to complete the required ethics training for state employees. The notice, which included the threat of a $5,000 fine and disciplinary action, was the result of my disagreement with the answers given on the ethics quiz. In other words, I gave […]
Posted inOpinion
common sense 1-6-05
Look for a big push by the Bush administration this year to restrict your right to sue corporations that harm or cheat you. President George W. Bush claims that you unruly citizens are treating big corporations unfairly, constantly filing “frivolous lawsuits” against them. So to protect the poor corporations, Bush says, he must limit your […]
