Read the entire article by clicking on the following: Political buyer's remorse? Ex-Illinois Gov. Edgar, who backed Rauner, now slams him : News
The Springfield State Journal Register article is available at: http://www.sj-r.com/article/20151016/NEWS/151019595
Interesting view regarding Koch Brothers influence in Canada.
By Warren Bell in Opinion | October 18th 2015
Illustration by Victor Juhasz 'Harper's Caucus' (Caricatures from left to right) Front row: Benjamin Netanyahu, Stephen Harper, Xi Jinping. Second row: George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Charles Koch, David Koch
As we approach the election on Monday October 19, something has just dawned on me.
The prime minister of Canada is basically a Republican American. He may as well be President Stephen Harper (R).
Stephen Harper’s mindset and policies are a peculiarly un-Canadian cross-border mix of ideas from the Tea Party, the Koch brothers, U.S. evangelicalism and Christian Zionism.
The Tea Party takes over
The American Tea Party is a hotbed of ideological zealotry that has now become the core of the Republican Party south of the border.
The Tea Party plans to make the government of the United States smaller and smaller. It wants to lower taxes, especially to corporations, curtail social services (their particular target is inexpensive healthcare through the Affordable Care Act – also known as “Obamacare") and privatize as many services as possible.
It wants to make the economy the one and only issue in the political equation – with a special emphasis on avoiding or reducing the government deficit. It wants to make access to guns even more widespread.
Oh, and the Tea/Republican Party airily waves off global warming as a distracting fiction.
The Tea Party rejects the United Nations and especially the environmental agenda generated at the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. It happily takes money from a uniquely American institution known as the “SuperPAC”, a kind of informal committee that is nominally situated outside the political process, but in reality supports political actions with vast infusions of cash, mostly received from colossally rich Americans like the Koch brothers.
The Koch brothers are the Tea Party
Oh, those Koch brothers.
It is now known that the elusive and fabulously rich Koch brothers, Charles and David, working with Big Tobacco, formally created the pseudo-grassroots Tea Party back in 2002, when together they paid for the establishment of the first Tea Party website. [It's been shut down and replaced, by the way.]
It just so happens that the Koch brothers possess more land in the tar sands than any other business interest. Their financial investment in the fossil fuel industry around the world is massive.
That massive wealth helped fund right wing think tanks in the United States, and the Fraser Institute in Canada, which preach the same small government, low tax approach favoured by the Tea Party. The siblings, on behalf of the fossil fuel industry, have paid tens of millions of dollars to argue, like the Tea Party, against the reality of global warming, and particularly the role of humankind in causing it.
The Koch brothers have another disconcerting attribute.
Despite having expressed, 30 or 40 years ago, strong support for gay rights and abortion, Charles and David Koch have pragmatically funnelled tens of millions of dollars into evangelical Christian and conservative Catholic groups with diametrically opposed points of view, because the latter tend to support the market-driven economy – a venue where the very rich do very well.
The Koch brothers just happen to have also played an important role in fostering support for the state of Israel, working closely with casino mogul Sheldon Adelson as well as lobby groups. Together, Adelson and the Kochs and others have lobbied hard for pro-Netanyahu Republican politicians.
The Tea/Republican Party and the Koch brothers identify closely with Christian Zionists and support for Netanyahu's government. Leading Tea Party politicians such as Michele Bachmann, Steve King and Louie Gohmert have travelled several times to Israel and the Middle East, voicing strong Biblically-infused support for the Israeli state and its government, and consequent blanket condemnation of Muslim “terrorists”, including in this essentially all Palestinians, even though over 10 per cent of them are Christians.
Now the Likud Party in Israel, which equates criticism of its platform with anti-Semitism, is reciprocating by reaching back in history to deceased Commie-hating U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy as it attacks socially progressive organizations, parties and politicians in Israel.
Putting it all together – Stephen Harper and the Tea Party and the Kochs and….
As you read about the Tea Party, Charles and David Koch, and their blind faith in small government, lowered taxes, private sector services, support for fossil fuels, and zealous support of Netanyahu coupled with a rejection of Islam, you may have felt a sense of déjà vu, a resonance with the Canadian federal election.
And that’s because it’s there, laid out in the platform of the Conservative Party of Stephen Harper.
All the attributes and behaviours and beliefs espoused by the Republican Party, the ascendant Tea Party that currently shapes its policies, and the shadowy Koch brothers with their limitless fortune, sit very comfortably with Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Rename the Republican Party the Conservative Party of Canada, and set the Reform Party — aka the Tea Party – at its centre.
Replace the Koch brothers with assorted CEOs of oil and fracking companies (or, frankly, with the Koch brothers themselves, given their vast holdings in the tar sands).
Inject a dose of rigid Christian fundamentalism — from the Christian and Missionary Alliance for Harper, and from the Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation for his U.S. counterparts.
Add in identical beliefs in lower taxes, smaller government, the primacy of big business, the “traditional” family, free markets, trickle-down economics and the privatization of services like health care, the CBC and the social safety net.
The parallelism is striking. No wonder that almost immediately after he was first elected as a minority Prime Minister, the Prime Minister called upon Republican strategist Frank Luntz to come north and advise Conservatives on how to win, and win big.
The dark side – negative ads and voter suppression
The only thing missing is mention of negative campaign advertisements.
But the Tea Party, the Koch brothers, and the Republican Party – and the Conservative Party in Canada – share that inclination too. North of the 49th Parallel, we are familiar with the Harper ads about Justin Trudeau’s hair, the notion that “he’s really not ready for the job”, and the talk about all opposition parties being soft on Islamist jihadism.
Among Republicans, the penchant for nasty negative ads has become so all-consuming that they have begun inspiring their wearied opposition to reciprocate. In the current Republican presidential campaign, faute de mieux, attack ads by Republican Party candidates against one other now actually exceed positive ads.
And then there's one final thing.
Voter suppression
The US electoral system has embraced digital technology for voting in most state and federal elections. This has opened the door to vote tampering on a massive scale, and the tendency has been inextricably bound up with the Republican Party.
Voter suppression is alive and well in Canada, in different ways (robocalls come to mind), but with the same brazen intent: to block citizens from voting for other parties.
Canadian or Republican American? It’s our choice.
The bottom line in all this is that Stephen Harper is politically more American than Canadian, more Republican and Tea Party than Conservative in the older “progressive Conservative” Canadian spirit, more ideological and belief-driven than pragmatic.
So I say: RIP Canada, as a separate and sovereign nation.
Welcome to our country’s new role as the dang-fangled new 51st state of the American Union.
God bless Canamerica.
Unless you and I get out and vote for another option tomorrow.
On October 9, 2015 legal action was taken against Livingston County regarding their denial of a special use for a 134 wind turbine project. Livingston County has several other operating wind farms.
Will such a legal suit occur in Boone County after the county board votes on the text amendment to the wind ordinance?
The complete legal complaint, appendices and attachments are available through Edgar County Watchdog at: http://edgarcountywatchdogs.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/InvenergyAppeal-151009-PR-Complaint-filed.pdf (Edgar County Watchdog has many anti-wind opinions but the documents supplied by them appear to be the complete complaint without opinions)
By Rockford Register Star
Posted Oct. 19, 2015 at 5:31 AM
In an effort to shed more light on what local government boards are up to each week, the Register Star will publish a brief look at key items up for consideration by elected bodies.Here are some items on the agenda this week:Boone County Board: Members will discuss the maintenance budget, salaries, wages and ways to balance county finances during a special Finance, Taxation & Salaries Committee Budget Hearing at 6 p.m. today at the Boone County Administration Complex, 1212 Logan Ave., Belvidere.Loves Park: Aldermen will discuss snow-removal bids for the 2015-16 season. The meeting is scheduled for 6:15 p.m. today at City Hall, 100 Heart Blvd.Machesney Park: Trustees will approve residential construction plans and discuss changes to a police services agreement with the Winnebago County Sheriff's Department. The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. today at Frank G. Bauer Municipal Hall, 300 Roosevelt Road, Machesney Park.Rockton: The village could approve replacement of a police squad car and create a special-event application to use village parks and property. The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday at Village Hall, 110 E. Main St.Roscoe: An architectural firm will give a presentation at the Committee of the Whole meeting on the space needs for the next Roscoe police station. The meeting begins right after the Village Board meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in Village Hall, 10631 Main St.Winnebago County Board: Members will discuss and could approve extending jail construction debt 10 years to free up cash to hire more sheriff's deputies. The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday at the Winnebago County Courthouse, eighth floor, 400 W. State St., Rockford.— Ben Stanley, Chris Green, Kevin Haas, Lindsey Holden
By Rockford Register Star
Sheriff’s Office Warns of Recent “Gypsy” Scams
The McHenry County and the Boone County Sheriff’s Office are investigating two recent “gypsy” scams both targeting elderly victims in rural areas. The incidents occurred Wednesday, October 14, 2015, in unincorporated McHenry County and Boone County.
One such scam occurred at about 2:50 p.m. Wednesday in unincorporated Woodstock, IL.
Two suspects entered an elderly couple’s home after they told the couple they were there to perform home improvement work.
Once inside, one of the victims was coerced to go to the back yard with one of the suspects while the other suspect remained in the house and removed personal belongings from the residence.
Approximately 45 minutes later, a similar scam occurred in Garden Prairie, IL.
The suspects, in both incidents, were described as male between the ages of 20 to 40 and of Greek or Hispanic ethnicity. They drove a white pick-up truck with a white cab or white cargo van with blue lettering on the side, and out-of-state registration plates.
In general, the scam involves gaining the confidence of elderly victims in order to gain access to their homes, usually by telling the victim that they are there to perform some type of home improvement work.
Once inside home, one suspect will distract the victim, while the other will ransack the home for cash, credit cards, jewelry and other valuables.
The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office encourages anyone with information that could assist with this investigation to contact our Investigations Division at (815)338-2144. If you believe you have been a victim of a scam or if you observe suspicious activity, please report it to your local police department or the Sheriff’s Office.
-- Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton gave remarks at the Alabama Democrats Convention Saturday afternoon where she called out GOP candidates on voting right laws that she say are “a blast from the Jim Crow past.”
Her visit to Alabama comes the same month Alabama Governor Robert Bentley decided to close 31 DMVs across the state, including in every county where African Americans make up at least 75 percent of the population.
Clinton, who has made voting rights a cornerstone issue in her campaign, called the governor to re-open the offices and said these laws are "constructed today to discourage even intimidate people from voting.”
“It’s time for your governor and legislators to not only listen to their constituents but listen to their conscience about what it means to be a leader,” she said. "Those offices should stay open and not just for one day a month."
Clinton tied Donald Trump and the Koch brothers together, noting that at the end of the day they also only get one vote.
"We may be up against super pacs and billionaires, but when the election comes around, Donald Trump and the Koch brothers, and all their money, only get one vote each just like everybody else,” she said. “One person, one vote. That’s what we believe. No one should be able to take that vote away. That’s why we cannot turn away, close our eyes from all the voting rights.. that are happening right now.”
Clinton also hit Jeb Bush for saying he wouldn’t reinstate the Voting Rights Act, noting that George W. Bush did.
"Now Jeb Bush says he wouldn’t reauthorize the voting rights act,” Clinton said. "I voted to reauthorize the voting rights act when I was in the US senate and President George W Bush signed it so he clearly thought it was still needed and this idea we don’t need it anymore … if the law is working, we should let it keep working.”
Marco Rubio and John Kasich were also targeted by Clinton for not caring about new voting right laws.
"When asked recently about voter ID laws, Rubio replied 'what’s the big deal?' Kasich restricted early voting in Ohio when 77 percent of early voters in the most popular county were African American,” Clinton said. “What part of democracy are these Republicans afraid of? I’ve won elections, and I’ve lost elections, but I sure feel better when as many people as possible show up and raise their voice.”
Hillary Clinton Hits Republican Candidates Over Voting Rights - KMBZ
Following the first Democratic debate, Fox News and the broader conservative ecosystem erupted in a coordinated effort to paint the Democrats as frivolous spenders, handing out free stuff to everyone without bothering to discuss how they’d pay for it. However, the irony of this attack is thick, given how the Democrats have taken up the burden of fiscal responsibility in the modern era. The Republican Party has no choice but to dig deeply into the history books to find the last GOP president who actually bothered to leave the deficit in better shape than when he was inaugurated. Meanwhile, President Obama, like President Clinton before him, has seen the federal budget deficit fall by record numbers.
According to a new report from the Wall Street Journal’s Market Watch site, the federal government ran up a deficit of $439 billion for the 2015 fiscal year. That’s 2.5 percent of GDP, which is the lowest level since 2007. Why is this significant? The Obama administration inherited a $1.4 trillion (with a “t”) budget deficit — driven in large part by stimulus spending meant to combat the financial crisis — which authorized George W. Bush in October 2008.
Since then, Obama has presided over a gradual $1 trillion-dollar reduction in the deficit. Insofar as deficit reduction is important — and remember, according to the rhetoric of the GOP over the past several years, it is very important — this is a massive achievement for the Obama administration. Massive. And neither he nor the Democrats will get any credit for it.
If Mitt Romney’s lies about the deficit in 2012 were a predictor of the GOP’s attack plan for 2016, we can expect to hear the Republican ticket attack both Obama and the Democratic nominee on this very issue. But they won’t cite deficit numbers because, well, they’re not nearly as dumb as they look. Instead, they’ll recycle the Romney tactic of conflating the deficit and the national debt — two entirely separate numbers.
For example, Romney said during his first debate against Obama in 2012: “The president said he’d cut the deficit in half. Unfortunately, he doubled it.” Well, no. The deficit wasn’t “doubled” at all. It was the debt that rose, but analysts have repeatedly shown that the chief drivers of national debt were George W. Bush’s wars, Medicare Part-D (a Bush-era policy) and the impact of the Great Recession — none of which was offset with higher taxes or spending cuts. Obama can hardly be blamed for all that.
Not insignificantly, though, the Obama administration’s deficit reduction has slowed the growth of the debt. In fact, the year-over-year increase in the debt has slowed to 10 percent. Compare that with the highest growth rate for the debt ever — 13.4 percent per year under, yes, Ronald Reagan. We’ll circle back to comparing the records of recent presidents in a second.
Meanwhile, contra Romney, Obama promised to cut the deficit in half, and he did. It took him five years instead of four, but he did it. Suffice to say, when you hear the GOP talk about government spending, listen for their deliberate swapping of the terms “deficit” and “debt.” They do it a lot.
