Saturday, March 19, 2011

The swallows return today!

March 19, 2011
BRUCE A. BRENNAN BLOG FROM THE WORLD AND MY MIND
The news as I see it and the views as I want them.
March 19 is … Poultry Day. You want to buy a duck?

I know, I know, a duck is not poultry but then neither are swallows.

The Illini won impressively, beating former coach Lon Krueger and UNLV Friday night. Now they have to play number 1 seed Kansas and former coach Bill Self. Good luck Illinois, make us rail splitters proud.

This is St. Joseph’s Day, the day that those little birds known as swallows traditionally return to the Mission San Juan Capistrano in California. Every March 19th since 1776 (with very few exceptions), the birds come back to usher in spring in this Southern California seaside town. While their return is an annual tourist attraction, some in the community have gotten a bit fed up with the mess left behind when the birds migrate in the fall (October 23rd, St. John’s Day). It is costing the quaint town of San Juan Capistrano, in Orange County, California, a lot of money to clean up historic, old buildings where the swallows return to roost year after year.
St Joseph was the worldly father of Jesus, husband to the Virgin Mary. He was a carpenter, a well known and respected craftsman. Joseph worked on homes and in homes. Over the years, a tradition has developed that helps people sell real estate. This has caused St. Joseph to be called “The underground real estate agent” You can always count on us Catholics to come up with a way to sell religious artifacts.

The tradition calls for those wanting to sell their house bury a statue of St. Joseph in their yard. The particulars of the burying process are;

1. Bury the statue in your front yard, near the For Sale sign or near the road. Exact location can vary.

2. Bury the statue upside down, facing the house.

3. Pray to St. Joseph when you are burying him and keep praying to him until the house sells.

4. Have faith at all times in yourself, St Joseph and your house.

5. After the house sells, dig up the statue and put him in a place of honor in your new home.

Lisa Madigan and her father, Michael Madigan are covering up for a convicted felon and showing loyalty to a political ally over the people of the State of Illinois.

This was written by Lee Williams and first appeared on the web site www. illinoispolicy.org The web site for the Illinois Policy Institute. Much more can be be found there. Reporters are accustomed to being blasted by the people and organizations whose foibles they expose. It’s part of the job. It’s almost formulaic.  After publishing a scathing special report about an agency or its staff, the top official almost always accuses the journalist of “shoddy reporting.” Meanwhile, behind the scenes they’re scrambling to fix the problems exposed in the story. Government officials love to attack the messenger when they can’t handle the message, and who’s a better target than a reporter? Over the years, I’ve been lambasted by governors, corrupt officials and a host of top cops. It’s happened so often I could almost predict what the officials would say and how they’d communicate their message. On Wednesday, March 16, after we published a special report about a certain state rep’s bribery charge, I was introduced to Machine Madigan.

Lisa Madigan, our attorney general, was the first to act. Her office began pumping out e-mails to reporters containing snippets of state statutes, trying to debunk our conclusions and cast aspersions on the Institute. The statements were delivered “on background,” meaning the reporters weren’t supposed to disclose that the information came from the Attorney General’s Office. Some reporters rejected the off-the-record information. Others posted it on their blogs within minutes.

Meanwhile, Speaker Mike Madigan’s Office, Lisa’s father, started spinning like the proverbial top, and calling me and our CEO nearly every 15 minutes to demand a correction. They offered brief glimpses of “official documents” to reporters that they claimed shot holes in our story. We placed our documents online for everyone to see. They’re still there.

Most troublesome was the total reversal by one of the sources in the story—a staff attorney at the Illinois Board of Elections, who not only told me that convicted felons can’t serve in the House, he detailed several legal mechanisms with which they could be removed, and added that the state rep could also be charged with perjury. As a state employee, I can only imagine what was said to him when the story broke. I hope to find out, as I’ve sent a FOIA request for all the e-mail he received in the past two days. At least one journalist appears to have traded objectivity for access in this case and posted the Speaker’s story online without asking any critical questions, such as whether the good folks of the 28th House District are best represented by someone who tried to bribe his way out of a DUI arrest, why the Speaker has pumped more than $60,000 into the representative’s campaigns, or whether convicted criminals should serve in the People’s House.

We will continue to face down the machine and seek transparency in this issue. We will continue to expose corruption within all levels of government—especially the legislature—undaunted by machine politics or the possibility we might make a lawmaker mad.  Why, you ask? Everyone at the Institute truly believes we can make Illinois a better place. This permeates everything we do.  The watchdog mentality among our staff has grown even stronger as a result of this latest investigative report. We are dedicated to creating good policy, and we all have the strong desire to expose bad practices and bad actors when we see them. Stay tuned for more updates on this latest investigative report. As always, if you have a story to tell, call our anonymous Tip Line 1-888-666-8809.

1928 - Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll left WGN radio in Chicago to head across town to WMAQ radio. They weren’t able to take their previously popular radio show names with them due to contract limitations. So Sam and Henry was no more. However, Gosden and Correll came up with a new name for the show that became even more popular than the first. A year later it was the national hit: Amos and Andy.
1977 - The staff of WJM-TV had a going-away party, as the last episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show was broadcast. Everyone was fired except the inept Ted Baxter. The show had been a popular hit for seven years. Syndication continues to keep Mary, Lou, Murray, Ted, Rhoda and the rest of the crew going with what was called “the best television of the 1970s.”  Rhoda had already married, right Glenn?

Tree rats finally revolt; In Bennington, VT, a gray squirrel has been terrorizing locals with his own brand of march madness. Perhaps harboring a vendetta against humans or possibly mad from rabies, the squirrel has attacked at least three separate people. The attacks have been described as an unprovoked flurry of scratching and biting. The "Beast of Benington" attacked one resident, Kevin McDonald, while he was innocently shoveling snow in his front yard. According to a local paper, the Bennington Banner, the squirrel jumped McDonald from behind, scratching at his back until being thrown off. The persistent squirrel came back for two rounds before McDonald retreated to his home and the squirrel disappeared into a nearby tree. The next day, he saw his neighbor battling the same rodent with a metal pole and a blanket. The local Game Warden has visited with several of the squirrel assault victims and reported that a woman that was bitten on the back of her neck will undergo a series of rabies vaccinations.

If your travels take you to Bennington, beware this hostile creature. Rumors have popped up that a band of renegade squirrels, led by the notorious Rocky and Bullwinkle are organizing a same sex marriage for squirrels march for next weekend. I will keep you posted.
BRUCE A. BRENNAN
DEKALB, IL 60115
COPYRIGHT 2011

VISIT ANY OF THE SITES LISTED FOR REVIEW, RESEARCH, ORDERING MY WRITING PRODUCTS OR TO CONTACT ME.
Go to web sites below to buy books by Bruce A. Brennan. It is still a good time to purchase any of my books. The books are interesting and inexpensive reads. My third book should be available later this year, in late 2011. More information will be forthcoming.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ (do a quick search, Title, my name)
www.smashwords.com Do a Title or author search.

Whatever you do may seem insignificant,
but it is most important that you do it.


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