Obamessiah Reformer?

'Change' used to mean something. Similarly, 'Hope' used to mean something.

To my liking, Obama has appointed many, if not conservative, centrist figures. Probably not the change most dems wanted, but that's what they get for voting for some who rarely voted while in office.

What's more curious is how Obama managed to run on a 'change-crusade-like platform' with no political reform to show for it, and even more curiously, that nobody in the media noticed.

If there's anything that the Gov. Blago scandal highlights, it's the scumminess of Chicago politics.

Famed Lieutenant General Lewis "Chesty" Puller once said, " We're surrounded. That simplifies the problem! ... Now we can fire in any direction, those bastards won't get away this time!"

Why, with so much corruption, did Obama, "the politics reformer," sit idle? He literally could've fought in any direction and would've been fighting some type of corruption with such rampant dirtiness in all directions.

Mark Kirk??

With so much up in the air in Illinois politics, the only voice of reason nowadays seems to be IL-10 Congressman Mark Steven Kirk.

With endorsements from just about every side of politics, this guy is a straight shooter. It looks like he may be in position to become the next elected Governor or be appointed to the open Senate seat in the U.S. Senate.

Depending on how things turn out, it's clear that Congressman Kirk will be taking on Illinois corruption the same way he took on the sewage in Lake Michigan.

Big Surprise Blago

Big surprise, Gov. Rod Balgojevich was finally caught for something.

As the Politico noted, Blago was quoted saying “Unless I get something real good [for Senate candidate 1], s***, I’ll just send myself, you know what I’m saying,” Blagojevich was taped saying on November 3rd, the day before Election Day.

Blagojevich, a Democrat, added that the Senate seat “is a f***ing valuable thing, you just don’t give it away for nothing.”

The complaint does not mention her name, but the description makes clear that Blagojevich is referring to Valerie Jarrett, a senior campaign adviser to Obama who has been tapped as a top White House aide.

And on November 7th, three days after the election, Blagojevich made clear what he wanted in exchange for appointing the Obama adviser to the Senate: the Department of Health and Human Services."

Shocking.

Honor the Lives Lost at Pearl Harbor

The USS Arizona sinks after the attack.

In the attack, the Japanese sank or damaged three cruisers, three destroyers, and one minelayer, destroyed 188 aircraft, and caused personnel losses of 2,402 killed and 1,282 wounded.

I write today to say one simple thing: fighting for freedom is a fight that will never end. We win the fight by continuing the fight on a daily basis and remembering those that came before us.

She Doesn't Look Thirsty

(Note the Obama Staff shirt...cute)

As noted in the Washington Post today, "Question No. 58 in the transition team vetting document for the Obama White House asks that applicants: "Please provide the URL address of any websites that feature you in either a personal or professional capacity (e.g. Facebook, My Space, etc.)"

Question No. 63 asks that applicants "please provide any other information ... that could ... be a possible source of embarrassment to you, your family, or the President-Elect."

For a while there this afternoon, President-elect Barack Obama's immensely talented chief speechwriter, 27-year-old Jon Favreau, might have been pondering how to address that question.

That's when some interesting photos of a recent party he attended -- including one where he's dancing with a life-sized cardboard cut-out of secretary of state-designate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, and another where he's placed his hand on the cardboard former first lady's chest while a friend is offering her lips a beer -- popped up on Facebook for about two hours. The photos were quickly taken down -- along with every other photo Favreau had of himself on the popular social networking site, save for one profile headshot."