RIP, Mr. Harvey. Harvey reportedly died in a Phoenix hospital, near his winter home, with family members nearby. More at CBS4 Denver...

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Yesterday's nationwide Tea Parties were just the beginning. The NEXT ONE will be on April 15, Tax Day. We're on a roll, and thanks to Eric Odom the roll is becoming an avalanche. For details and updates visit the "Tax Day Tea Party" website. It's their online HQ for the April 15th Nationwide Tax Day Tea Party Rallies!

Here is a list of upcoming tea party events:
March 10 - Write to your representatives in Congress (more info here)
April 1 - Send a tea bag to the White House (more info here)
April 15 - Tax Day Tea Party protest events nationwide (more info here)
July 4 - Tea Party protest events nationwide (more info here)

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Big thanks to Bruce Donnelly, who sent a very interesting email to me today:

I thought this might interest you. Photos and other event links: http://www.surgeusa.org/actions/chicago.htm

I'm also building up a Surge:Illinois reference page and similar ones for every state.

Suggestions are welcome. The idea is to make it easier for conservative individuals to find information about what their peers and elected officials are saying and doing. In short, help to empower those who are frustrated to get involved and do something on whatever issues matter to them. In particular, the idea is to focus on what good things can be done at the state and local level, even if the national leadership isn't paying attention (yet).

For example, try the various custom search tools found on the site, such as
http://www.surgeusa.org/search.htm
http://www.surgeusa.org/state/governors.htm

Unlike blogs and campaign or party sites or PACs and other groups, this isn't about me, or about fundraising. It's about providing online tools for individual conservatives so that the focus can shift to a better organized base, rather than to the will of the leadership (which is the liberal model).

It took Reagan from 1964 to 1980 to take our country back for conservatives. We don't have that sort of time available now. We have to move fast, because this liberal insurgency is exploding more bombs in our path every day as they take us down the road to serfdom as fast as they can.

Best regards,

Bruce Donnelly
SurgeUSA.org
(based in the far NW Chicago suburbs)
Bio - http://www.surgeusa.org/bios/bio_donnelly.htm
I served in the State Department under Reagan

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Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica was at the Chicago Tea Party yesterday. He was the only elected official in attendance. Where were the other elected officials? Where were the rest of the Republican and conservative so-called "leaders?"

Also See: Where Was Candidate Greg Bedell?

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Fox's Neil Cavuto talked to people about the nationwide tea party protests yesterday (watch the video here). One of the people interviewed is friend Fran Eaton, editor at Illinois Review. Hat tip to friend Anne Leary at Backyard Conservative, who has more pix and coverage over by dere. Even more great stuff on the Chicago protest can be found at friend John Ruberry's blog, Marathon Pundit.

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Jake Jacobsen made this great video of yesterday's Chicago Tea Party protest. Jake works with the Rosanna Pulido 2009 campaign for Illinois' 5th congressional district.


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Bill Wyckoff ponders the question at KansasLiberty.com.

"Life is not risk free, and a rich uncle isn’t going to come to my rescue,' says Main Street Money-man Bill Wyckoff. Especially not Uncle Sam, who's not only not rich, he's broke!"

Wyckoff makes an argument for more tea party protests. A good read, recommended.

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Photo album removed.
Viewed by Lynn Thomas, a.k.a. "Cao" on 2/11/2010 at 1:24:51 p.m.

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TODAY, FEB. 27, IS THE DAY of NATIONAL PROTEST in dozens of cities across the country. We're protesting the growing Federal Monster of Bloated Government. They're called "Tea Parties" in a symbolic gesture to flash that helped start the first American Revolution against the British. JOIN US TODAY as we start the Second American Revolution, this time against the corruptocrats in Washington, D.C.
See video for info (below). (Hat tip to Chicago Bungalow)

The "Tea Party" protests are non-partisan: "Progressives are angered by Washington's continued pandering to corporate 'fat-cats'and conservatives are angered by Washington's willingness to prop-up failed enterprise. We have a common purpose - Washington is NOT listening!" Source: Portland, OR & SW Washington Tea Party


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(Photo source: nicedeb.wordpress.com)
The nationwide "Tea Party" protest events tomorrow will happen in more than 20 U.S. cities, but other towns have already had similar events. One example is a town in Kansas. At least 100 people turned out for an anti-stimulus protest in Overland Park, Kansas last Saturday. KSHB-TV fills us in:

What started as an e-mail rant turned into a protest. There were signs and chants outside Kan. Rep. Dennis Moore's headquarters. Constituents are angry that he voted for the stimulus package. They say the bill was rushed through without support from both sides of the aisle or enough debate. More at KSHB-TV...

Rep. Moore, Democrat, has represented Kansas’s 3rd congressional district for 10 years.

The photo here is from that protest. You can view it and more at "Overland Park, KS Porkulus Protest" on Nice Deb's website. See "Kansas 'Stimulus' Protest" at Rantings & Ravings for more about the Kansas protest.

RELATED:
List of All Tea Parties Nationwide, Feb 27

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Correction: The Chicago Tea Party protest rally will
be at 11:00 A.M. on Friday, Feb. 27 (NOT at noon as we reported earlier; thanks to my fellow Freepers for pointing this out! See their comprehensive Tea Party Index)

CHICAGO TEA PARTY
FRIDAY, FEB 27, 11:00 A.M.
Start: Daley Plaza, 50 W. Washington
End: Michigan Ave Bridge (Tribune Tower)

NOT IN CHICAGO?
THIS IS A NATIONWIDE EVENT!
CLICK FOR TEA PARTIES IN OTHER CITIES THIS FRIDAY

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Do you have a favorite way to prepare ramen ("rah-men") noodles? Have they helped you survive periods between jobs, or helped you trim your budget? Times are tough for many of us right now, and thank goodness ramen noodles are still around. Do YOU have a favorite recipe for ramen noodles? Share it with us in a comment!

Mind you, I'm not talking about those cups of noodles. I'm talking about the "flat" packages of dry noodles, as shown in the photos here.

I enjoy ramen noodles about once a week. Usually, I eat them "straight," with nothing added except a dash of cayan pepper. Sometimes I sprinkle a little lemon pepper into them. Sometimes I put broccoli, and maybe some cooked chicken pieces, into the hot water after the noodles are fully boiled and I've turn off the heat. That way, the chicken and broccoli get hot, but don't become over cooked. Drain off most of the water - and the excess sodium with it - and you've got a very satisfying meal.

So, do YOU have a favorite way to prepare ramen noodles? If so, share your recipes with your fellow ramen eaters by sending them to us at this email address:

Ramen noodles have a history of helping people fill their stomachs during lean times, and I've eaten my share of them in leaner times. Thing is, I love them. They are easy to prepare (just boil for several minutes), and they can fill you up all by themselves or they make a nice side dish. They're cheap, even though they've increased in price from 25 cents to 35 cents recently. You can also buy them in bulk packages of six or 12 and save even more.

There is a website called "The Official Ramen Homepage," but somehow I doubt its claim of being official. Nevertheless, it's an interesting site with recipes and information about ramen noodles, including weird news stories in which ramen noodles are mentioned. (I look forward to the Ramen Noodles News Network one day.) Another great website: Ramen-NoodleRecipes.blogspot.com, where you'll find hundreds of creative recipes. One of my favorites: Ramen Mussolini.

Selected Reading:
OMG Veg!
Staff Editorial: Follow Gut Instincts When Spending
Fast Food for Thought: Ramen Noodles to Warm the Heart
Instant Ramen Isn't Just For Broke College Students
Signs of the Times: bad economy good for noodles
The Cook's Thesaurus: Asian Wheat Noodles
Maruchan ramen Best ramen recipes!
How to Enjoy Instant Noodles - eHow.com
World Instant Noodles Association
Journey into the World of Ramen
snopes.com: Instant Noodles Warning
Avoid high sodium Ramen

Just a reminder to members of the Rogers Park Garden Group that it's time to renew your RPGG dues! (Ah, in a perfect world we wouldn't need to worry about such things, but it's not a perfect world. Which is a perfect reason to at least spread some beauty in it.)

The RPGG says, "If you haven't yet renewed your dues, won't you please take a moment and do so now. We've worked to make it easier through PayPal or you can download the membership form and send it in."

Be sure to visit RPGG's beautiful, greatly improved website today. You'll find gardening tips, beautiful photos, news and much more.

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Frustrated Illinoisans have been pleading with representatives in Springfield for a special election to replace U.S. Senator Roland Burris (Democrat) for some time. There is at least one concerted petition effort to that end.

Today (Feb. 26), Eric Zorn notes in his Chicago Tribune column that some Democrats are actually saying they could get behind a special election. (Don't hold your breath.)

In fact, since before former governor Rod Blagojevich (Democrat; photo right) filled the seat by appointing him to fill the seat vacated by that Obama guy. Now, reports Zorn, there may some hope for advocates of a special election. This would mark an about face by Democrats who so fiercly opposed a special while Blago was still in charge. They blew it then. Will they blow it again?

My guess: Maybe.

Even as Zorn was filing his report, The Daily Herald filed a report that gives a more optimistic (albeit it only slightly moreso) report:

The Illinois General Assembly can constitutionally pass a law that moves up the date of the next election for President Barack Obama's former Senate seat, said Attorney General Lisa Madigan. State Republicans sought Madigan's opinion, issued late Wednesday night, which came as controversy swirls around Sen. Roland Burris' appointment. Full Story...

Yes, well, okay, Madigan (Democrat) says it can happen. She did not say that it will happen. Huge difference there, and it's up to the state legislature, which is controlled by Democrats, who turned down an opportunity late last year to make it happen. Why did they turn it down? Purely for political self interest. Rather than risk losing the senate seat to a Republican, Democrats broke their promise for a special election in a party-before-people power play.

The Illinois Republican Party states the following on their "Freinds of Blago" website:

Following the arrest of the Governor, Blagojevich Democrats promised to strip Rod of his appointment power and proposed a special election to give people a vote in choosing their next U.S. Senator. Illinois Republicans agreed and waged a vigorous grassroots campaign for a vote of the people – a campaign where thousands of people responded. Unfortunately, Blagojevich Democrats broke their promise to the people and allowed a tainted governor to appoint Roland Burris. Now our junior senator faces questions about his testimony before the Blagojevich Impeachment Panel and House Democrats are accused of covering it up.

Irony abounds here. Barack Obama, whose former senate seat this is all about, promised "change" and a new way of doing things. What are we getting? The same old Democrat way of doing things in Illinois. No change here.

Zorn quotes DePaul University College of Law professor Jeffrey Shaman on the subject. He specializes in the Constitution, and Zorn notes that Shaman has his doubts:

Shaman pointed out that the legislature already directed when such elections are to take place. State law, in effect when Burris was sworn in, says temporary senators serve "until the next election of representatives in Congress"—in this case, November 2010.

Shaman said, "You can't change a law like that retroactively. And if you did, it would then require removing a duly appointed senator by extralegal means. The Constitution says senators may be removed only through impeachment."

True, you can't change the law "retroactively." But what the good professor seems to miss, and this layman fully understands, is that any law can be amended or replaced, affecting all things subsequent to such changes. Let's say the law is changed so that a special election would be allowed to fill a vacant US Senate seat. Then, after that law is in effect, Roland Burris were to be impeached. No problem. Law in place, seat vacated, special election. Is that so difficult that a layman has to explain it to a Constitutional "expert?"

Zorn seems to favor the idea of a special election. However, he ends on a pessimistic note:

"I suspect it will all be an academic exercise," Zorn wrote, "The fine idea of the Democrats who control state government will be to give lip service to this fine idea. But because it could result in a Republican taking Obama's former seat, they'll quietly kill it before real judges get to decide."

Like I said: Maybe. Don't hold your breath.

RELATED:
Illinois special Senate election idea hits trouble - Feb 25, 2009
Burris Special Election Blocked By Top Illinois Dems- Feb 25, 2009
Illinois GOP Renews Calls for Special Election
Illinois' Embarrassing Timeline

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Are they an invasive species? A mutation of the grays? Imported from Canada? According to Chicago Wilderness Magazine, "In the Midwest, as far as has been determined, all of the black squirrels are actually morphs of the gray squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis." For more about black squirrels, see "Rogers Park: Home to Black Squirrels."

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BREAKING, 0600 GMT: They thought it was over on Wednesday, but a paramilitary mutiny in Bangladesh has flared up again, and it's spreading throughout the counrty. Excerpts from late news reports:

Dhaka (AP/The Hindu): Police and witnesses say gunshots have rocked several border guard posts across Bangladesh, suggesting a spreading insurrection over demands for better pay despite the surrender of many mutineers in the capital. Police official Jalal Ahmed Chowdhury says mutineers fired shots at the commanding officer's residence at a border guard post in the southern town of Tekhnaf early Thursday, sending him fleeing.

Dhaka (24/7 News Network): Even as the rebel soldiers who revolted against the officers at the BDR Headquarters in Dhaka yesterday, surrendered after being assured of amnesty by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the mutiny spread to other areas of the country.
The rebel soldiers at BDR Headquarters laid down arms and surrendered before the Army yesterday. However, fresh gunbattle reported from Rajshahi, Feni and Chittagong, as rebel soldiers are still holding up in these cities.

DHAKA (AFP) — A deadly mutiny by members of Bangladesh's paramilitary border security force has spread to areas outside the capital Dhaka, police said Thursday. Police chiefs in six border districts told AFP that guards in their areas had joined a rebellion unfolding in the capital Dhaka since Wednesday.

"They are firing indiscriminately," said one of the police chiefs, from the northeastern Moulivibazar district....Fifty Bangladeshi army officers were feared dead after thousands of border guards staged a mutiny over pay, sparking fierce gun battles and spreading panic through the capital, a minister said Thursday.

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My good friends over at iOwnTheWorld.com have a brilliant cartoon strip called "The Obamas." It rips through the absurdities of the Obama Administration like a hot knife through government cheese. If you haven't seen it, you must. To date, there are 18 multi-panel installments. Regardless of your political feelings, the series is worth looking because the artwork is of such high quality. Check out "The Obamas" at iOwnTheWorld.com, where you'll find a lot of other amusing items as well.

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UPDATED, 3/3/09: The Feb. 27 nationwide "tea parties" were successful, with good turnouts. Consider this: The organizers got it all together with only a week's worth of coordinating group across the U.S. There will be more tea party protest events coming up across the U.S. Here is the list:

March 10 - Write to your representatives in Congress (more info here)
April 1 - Send a tea bag to the White House (more info here)
April 15 - Tax Day Tea Parties nationwide (more info here)
July 4 - Tea Parties nationwide (more info here)

Previous post text:
The following is a list of Tea Party events compiled by TCOT. There will be MANY protests being planned across the country, not just in Chicago! See the detailed list of cities, addresses and contact info below.

This Friday, February 27th, there will be a lot of Tea Party Events happening in 23 cities (possibly more). There is a good rundown of talking points we should use when speaking to media or anyone else about the Tea Party events. Click here to read through the document.

Washington Tea Party
Friday, February 27, 2009
12:00pm - 2:00pm
Washington Monument
Washington, DC

Chicago Tea Party
Friday, February 27, 2009
11:00am - 12:20pm
Daley Plaza Civic Center
50 W Washington St.
Contact Info:
312-282-9310
info@officialchicagoteaparty.com

Atlanta Tea Party
Friday, February 27, 2009
12:00pm - 1:00pm
Georgia State Capitol Building ~ Downtown Atlanta
206 Washington St SW
Atlanta, GA
Contact Info:
770-878-0024
atlantateaparty@gmail.com

Orlando Tea Party
Friday, February 27, 2009
12:00pm - 1:00pm
Lake Eola (across from Panera Bread)
Lake Eola
Orlando, FL
OrlandoTeaParty@MyAmericanism.com

Ft. Worth Tea Party
The Cowtown Bar & Grill
Friday, February 27, 2009
3pm to 7pm
7108 Camp Bowie Blvd Fort Worth, TX 76116
682? 817? 570-7910

Pittsburgh Tea Party
February 27, 2009
12pm - 1pm
Point State Park
Pittsburgh
hlskittypryde@yahoo.com

San Diego Tea Party
Friday, February 27, 2009
9:00am - 10:00am
Just north of the Star of India, on San Diego Bay
San Diego, CA
619-606-0337
http://www.nationwidechicagoteaparty.com

Tulsa, OK Tea Party
Friday, February 27, 2009
11:00am - 1:00pm
Veteran's Park
21st & Boulder
Tulsa, OK
918-760-8282
jaiblevins@hotmail.com

Nashville Tea Party
Friday, February 27, 2009
12:00pm - 1:00pm
Legislative Plaza
Nashville, TN

St. Louis Tea Party
Friday, February 27, 2009
11:00am - 12:00pm
The Steps of Arch
Wharf Street
Saint Louis, MO
636-346-1196
bill@hennessysview.com

Houston Tea Party
Friday, February 27, 2009
11:00am - 2:00pm
Fondren Green at Discovery Green Park!!! Right in front of Amphitheatre!!
Houston, TX
281-579-1956
fcravens1@peoplepc.com

Portland, OR Tea Party
Friday, February 27, 2009
9:00am - 10:00am
Pioneer Courthouse Square @ the corner of Broadway & Morrison (in front of the STARBUCKS)
715 SW Morrison St
Portland, OR

Kansas City, MO Tea Party
Saturday, February 28, 2009
10:00am - 2:00pm
J.C. Nichols Foundatin - Kansas City, MO
47th and J.C. Nichols Parkway K.C. MO
Kansas City, MO
RBALLARD9@kc.rr.com

Cleveland Tea Party
Friday, February 27, 2009
12:00pm - 1:00pm
Public Square in Downtown Cleveland
1 Public Square
phil.ammar@gmail.com

Denver Tea Party
Friday, February 27, 2009
10:00am - 11:00am
The East Capitol Steps
Denver, CO
briantcampbellsr@yahoo.com

Philadelphia, PA
Friday, February 27, 2009
12:00pm - 1:00pm
Liberty Hall, Philadelphia
Devon Generally, 215-259-3868
Generallyforsenate@gmail.com

Seattle, WA
Seattle Sons & Daughters of Liberty: A Seattle Action Network
Friday, February 27, 2009
12:15pm - 1:15pm
Westlake Park
410 Pine St., Seattle, WA
redistributingknowledge@gmail.com

Los Angeles, CA
Friday, February 27, 2009
9:00am - 10:00am
Santa Monica Pier
ashleyingram86@gmail.com

Lansing, MI
Friday, February, 27, 2009
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
State Capitol in Lansing on North Capitol Ave.
Joan: 517-282-2042
Wendy: 517-652-5855
wjdayhome@sbcglobal.net

Fayetteville, NC
Friday February 27, 2009
12:00pm - 1:00pm
Liberty Point Resolves Marker
Downtown Fayetteville, Hay St.
Ralph Reagan

Shelby County, AL
Friday, February 27, 2009
12pm to 1pm
Hwy 280 at the beginning of the crest going into Chelsea
at entrance to Eagle Point Neighborhood

Greenville, SC
Friday, February 27, 2009
6:00pm - 7:30pm
Reedy River Park - Banks of the Reedy River
West of Main Street, behind the Peace Center

Columbia, SC
Statehouse
no add'l details available at this time
Pls follow link for up-to-the-second
developments.

Stay Active,
-Eric Odom
dontgo Movement

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A lawyer who represents prisoners at Gitmo says things have gotten much worse for the detainees since Barack Obama took over. Is this the "change" you were looking for, Amerika?

LONDON (Reuters) - Abuse of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay has worsened sharply since President Barack Obama took office as prison guards "get their kicks in" before the camp is closed, according to a lawyer who represents detainees.

I thought Love would blossom and everything would be gentler under Obamassiah! I was wrong!

"According to my clients, there has been a ramping up in abuse since President Obama was inaugurated," said Ghappour, a British-American lawyer with Reprieve, a legal charity that represents 31 detainees at Guantanamo. FULL REPORT, REUTERS...

Will Democrats start calling Obama a war criminal and demand a full investigation of his relationship to the War Machine? Sh'yah, right.

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Have YOUR elected officials taken the transparency pledge?

You can find out more about the pledge and its authors, Open Illinois. Open Illinois, a project of The Illinois Policy Institute, invites elected officials and candidates to sign the pledge (download it as a PDF file or a JPEG image file). You, of course, can print it out yourself and hand it to your favorite elected official. Have them sign it, then send it to:

Kate Campaigne, 190 South LaSalle St., Suite 2130, Chicago, IL 60603.
You can also fax it to 312-346-5755.

Find out more about the pledge, and see which elected officials have already signed it. The IPI has much more, such as "Is Your School District Transparent?"

http://www.openillinois.org/
http://www.illinoispolicyinstitute.org/

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UPDATED: About Rosanna Pulido's Trouble Campaign

A reader responded to our recent post about Rosanna Pulido, who is a Republican running in the primary election to fill the seat abandoned by Rahm Emanuel.

Thanks for the warning to Pulido's staff and supporters. Please name one law breaker or criminal that loves or supports law enforcement people. Those who commit crimes hate those who enforce it. We should all thank Rosanna Pulido for standing up for the rule of law and protecting law abiding American citizens. Most enjoy the freedoms we have, very few have the backbone to set out and fight for those freedoms. Threats are nothing new to patriotic Americans like Rosanna and Sheriff Arpaio.

[Name Withheld by Editor]
Sons of The American Legion

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I was in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood around noon today for coffee with a friend near Truman College. While there, we decided to walk a couple of blocks and eyeball the Nigerian Kitchen at 1363 W. Wilson Avenue, which was shut down on Monday after an inspection by the City of Chicago. This story is about much more than that, however.

My friend was taking a photo of the restaurant's front. The propped-open door has a fresh, green sticker from the city that announces health code violations. "Charlie," a Nigerian man, drove up and parked directly in front of the restaurant. He got out of his luxury car and demanded to know what we were doing. My friend said she was taking a photo of his restaurant.

"Charlie" demanded to see our identification and insisted that we had no right to photograph his restaurant. We disagreed enthusiastically, telling him that news of his restaurant's ordered closing was already all over the news and that, furthermore, we have every legal right to photograph the front of a restaurant from a public sidewalk. His asked what gave us that right, and I said, "the First Amendment, for starters." There are other aspects of the U.S. Constitution that give us that right, but when his eyes glazed over at the mention of the Constitution, I veered away from that.

According to a CBS2 Chicago report, the restaurant "was ordered closed when inspectors found mouse feces throughout the restaurant, cockroaches crawling on a wall and wastewater backing up from three clogged sinks in the kitchen, according to a release from the City Dept. of Public Health."

It all started when a customer allegedly witnessed restaurant employees use cooking utensils to kill mice. That customer contacted city health inspectors. As a result, inspectors say they found evidence of cockroach infestation and mice.

NBC 5 Chicago noted that city health inspectors say workers used cooking utensils to kill mice. The inspectors say they found mouse feces "throughout the restaurant, cockroaches crawling on a wall and wastewater backing up from three clogged sinks in the kitchen, according to a release from the City Dept. of Public Health."

NOTE: That Dept. of Public Health link is dead today. For the text of the city's complaint, see "Chicago Department of Health Restaurant Closures" at Derivativeworks.com.

"Charlie" flatly denied the charges against Nigerian Kitchen. He told my friend and me that the allegations are not true. I asked him plainly, "Are the city inspectors just making this up?"

"Yes," he said. "It is not true." He did not say why city inspectors would make up such a lie.

"Charlie" has an attitude that is all too common among business owners from Third World nations, where health standards are low and our First Amendment does not apply. I'll catch hell for saying this, and I'll qualify it by saying that the majority of such business owners are not like Charlie.

I was in West Rogers Park last summer, taking photos of the colorful storefronts and vegetable stands on the sidewalks. One grocery store owner ran out and insisted that I had to pay him $25.00 to take a photo of his store. I pointed out to him that I did not have to do that, and he countered that I had no right to photograph his store. This misinformed attitude might play in the stinking backwater villages of their home countries, but it does not play well in the United States.

Here's a suggestion for guys like "Charlie" and the Pakistani fruit vendor. When you're about to pick up your entire life and move it to another country, spend a couple of hours studying up on the local laws and traditions. Had "Charlie" of Nigeria or the Pakistani fruit vendor bothered to do that, they would have known that such behavior is not tolerated here.

Which brings us back to Nigerian Kitchen. The place looked awful, so typical of African-style restaurants. Oh, I'll catch hell for saying that, too, but it's true. I'm not sure why so many Third World restaurateurs think that exposed wiring, harsh flourescent lighting, plants in foil-wrapped pots and plastic table covers make their restaurants attractive, but that seems to be the typical decor. Again, I'll qualify that by saying that not all of them have that approach, but far too many do. I can't help shuddering whenever I walk past one of those places.

No, it's not racist. It's cultural. Over here, you see, we like a restaurant to be a pleasant experience, to be comfortable both physically and visually. It's a question of standards having nothing to do with race and everything to do with culture. Health codes are color blind.

I acknowledge the harsh conditions in those other countries, but the simple fact is that the restaurants I refer to are not in those countries, they're here. The demands of Chicago's health codes are demanding (thank goodness), but are by no means impossible to comply with.
Does the average restaurant in Nigeria have vermin infestation? Do restaurant employees there regularly swat at pests with kitchen utensils? Does the average Nigerian like harsh flourescent lighting while they dine? I doubt they like it, so why do it in this country?

Some of the reviews of Nigerian Kitchen posted at Yelp.com are amusing. The most recent, as of this writing, was posted by Melanie B. yesterday. She wrote, "What an awesome place to eat!!! (tongue in cheek). The show is excellent too!! What? You don't know about the show? They got this show where they kill the mice with the cooking untensils."

However, reviews posted before the place was shut down for allegedly being a stinking rat hole are even more amusing now, in retrospect:

Ann G. of Naperville gave a glowing review on August 3, 2008 (emphasis added): "While my rating says 'as good as it gets', I've actually never had Nigerian food before setting foot in this place. But the food was fanTASTIC! I don't know exactly what my dish was called, but I had a huge plate of spicy rice and some of the best chicken & goat of my life in a side dish. The decor I felt was suitable for the place, the service was what I'd expect for a slow Saturday night, the water (and ice on a hot day!) kept getting refilled and I certainly walked away happy. They definitely don't take plastic but have an ATM onsite which I did not have to use."

One wonders how Ann G. feels now about the dish that she doesn't know the name of. She felt that the decor was "suitable for the place," whatever that meant, but I take it to mean that Ann G. would not have thought it "suitable" for, say, a place specializing in burgers or Asian cuisine. Ann seemed overly impressed by the water (and ice on a hot day!). I wonder how impressed she would be by the Herculean efforts made in the kitchen by staff hammering away at roaches with cooking utensils. Suitable for the place, perhaps? I dunno.

Another guy, Jose G., had some harsh words in his Sept. 4, 2007 review (emphasis added):

One of Uptown's five or more great places for West African cuisine, though fortunately not popular with the gentrifying yuppie crowd. Great food, great prices, but a little difficult for us vegetarians. Some tips: West Africans do all sorts of things with sweet potatoes, so leave expectations behind; share your food; feel free to carry out. Very casual, but watch out for big private party nights, where many area Nigerian (-American)s dress up and get together. Great parties, but you probably won't be invited. As for Jason C.'s seemingly racist statements, like I say, there are big parties all the time, and plenty of people regular it for take out. It's people who think like him that are ruining Uptown.

Jason C's review seems to have been deleted, so we don't know what he said or, for that matter, if it was "racist." Jose G. seems incapable of understanding that "the gentrifying yuppie crowd" has a strange affection for clean, nicely lit restaurants. Jose, however, thinks that the yuppies are "ruining Uptown." How sad that people like Jason feel that a desire to improve things actually ruins them. Perhaps Jose G. should go back to Nigerian Kitchen tonight for dinner. He'll be turned away by a big green sign on the door telling him that the place is closed because of health code violations. Poor Jose G., however, thinks that guys like "Charlie" of Nigerian Kitchen make Uptown a better place. I wonder if Jose G. think that slumlords who allow vermin infestations help Uptown, too.

As we walked away from Nigerian Kitchen we passed an unlicensed, uninspected food cart by the Wilson CTA station. The irony and hypocrisy hit me. Nigerian Kitchen was shut down for unsanitary practices and conditions. But what kind of conditions exist in the home kitchen of that food vendor? Who controls that potential health hazard? If only Nigerian Kitchen was a dirty plywood cart packed with unrefrigerated food that has never been seen by a city health inspector, the city would have ignored them.

RELATED:
nigerian kitchen : BarfBlog
News in Sheridan Park EveryBlock Chicago
Chicago Content » Creative Pest Control
Uptown Update: Roaches, Bad Goat Meat Close Uptown Restaurant
African food in Uptown
How to Avoid Food Poisoning when Traveling Abroad eHow.com

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UPDATE 2X, 0630 GMT 26 FEB 2009: THE FIGHTING IN BANGLADESH CONTINUES: FLASH: BANGLADESH CHAOS SPREADS (They thought it was over earlier, but confusion and fighting continue with at least 50 dead.)

(20:00 GMT, 25 Feb 2009): A day-long mutiny by the Bangladesh border guards against the army command ended on Wednesday evening after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina declared general pardon for the revolting Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) men and pledged to meet their demands in phases. DEVELOPING.... More from the Deccan Herald, India

UPDATE, 20:13 GMT:
New Delhi -India is on high alert in the wake of the just-ended paramilitary coup attempt in neighboring Bangladesh.

BombayNews.net reports now that the Indian military is "watching closely developments there that could have impact on its border security.New Delhi has, however, not made any official comment on the incident which it sees as 'an internal affair' of that country.The mutiny at the sprawling 200-acre Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) headquarters complex left at least four people dead and scores injured in the heart of Dhaka.The Indian high commission in Dhaka is also closely following the incident but is awaiting details before making an assessment of any security implications for the country, sources in the Indian mission in Dhaka told IANS.Indian officials familiar with internal dynamics of Bangladesh said it looked like an incident fuelled by long-festering grievances among paramilitary forces in that country." More at BombayNews.net...

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And that challenge is... Larry King.
This is freekin' hilarious. From The Onion, America's Finest News Source.

NASA Simulator Prepares Astronauts For Rigors Of An Interview With Larry King

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Roland Burris still refuses to resign from the US Senate. The junior senator from Illinois got a good talkin' to today from Illinois' senior senator, Dick Durbin. The senior senator told the junior senator to resign. Junior said no way.

Senior said he would not support Junior if he runs in the Democrat primary for US Senate in 2010. This all sounds like bad parenting. "Son, if you don't do what I tell you, there'll be no trip to Disney World for you next summer!" Shouldn't Senior take Junior out to the woodshed and whoop his disobedient behind but good? What's with the time-out?

Burris said nothing to reporters gathered in the hallway outside Durbin’s office, only saying that he was "under orders" from his attorneys not to talk. But behind the scenes, the two senators had plenty to discuss, including the new Senate Ethics Committee inquiry, an Illinois perjury investigation and whether Burris would even run in 2010. More at Politico...

Meanwhile, AP reports that a "lawyer for Sen. Roland Burris says he is still working on a document that will prove the Illinois Democrat didn't lie about the circumstances of his appointment to the Senate." Whuh hey, wasn't it a document submitted by Junior's legal team what got him in trouble in the first place?

MORE DEMOCRAT ANTICS:
US Sen Durbin: Told Burris He Should Resign From US Senate
In meeting with Sen. Dick Durbin, Sen. Roland Burris refuses to resign
Burris attorney still working on key document
See Kirk Run
Support a Special Election
Illinois' Embarrassing Timeline

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CHICAGO TEA PARTYFRIDAY, FEB 27, 11:00 A.M.
Start: Daley Plaza, 50 W. Washington
End: Michigan Ave Bridge (Tribune Tower)
NOT IN CHICAGO? THIS IS A NATIONWIDE EVENT!
CLICK FOR TEA PARTIES IN OTHER CITIES THIS FRIDAY

Listen to the song in the video, then "Anthem for the Chicago Tea Party."



Won't You Please Come to Chicago
(With apologies to Graham Nash)
by Tom Mannis, Chicago News Bench

Now our country's bound and gagged
And the bailout ain't fair
Won't you please come to Chicago
Let freedom ring

In a land that once had freedom
In a land no longer fair
Won't you please come to Chicago
You can help let freedom ring

We will change the world
Re-arrange the world
We're trying ... to make it better

Politicians better listen
But they often do not hear
Won't you please come to Chicago
Take a side

Don't ask Barack to help you
'Cause he'll just cut off your ear
Won't you please come to Chicago
Where we'll make them see the light

We will force their hands
Liberate some minds
We're trying ... if you believe in justice
We're trying ... and if you believe in freedom
We're trying ... let a man live his own life
We're trying ... rules and regulations, who needs them
Theft won't help the poor
Working people must be free
I hope the day comes soon
Won't you please come to Chicago
Share your voice

From the social-istic bail-out
To the silencing of prayers
Won't you please come to Chicago
No one else will save our fate

Yes, we will change the world
Re-arrange the world
We're trying ... we believe in justice
We're trying ... they do not believe in freedom
We're trying ... let us all live our own lives
We're trying ... rules and regulations, they need them
We don't want them anymore

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Sept. 28, 2008: Rogers Park Garden Group annual sidewalk sale and membership drive at W. Jarvis and N. Greenview.

Upcoming tea party events:
March 10 - Write to your representatives in Congress (more info here)
April 1 - Send a tea bag to the White House (more info here)
April 15 - Tax Day Tea Party protest events nationwide (more info here)
July 4 - Tea Party protest events nationwide (more info here)

Secession, anybody? Eleven of the United States have told Washington to keep their "stimulus" money. They've told Barack Obama to shove it where the sun does not shine. With these incredible developments, one cannot help wonder how many more states will wise up, and which of them will be the first to secede from the Union. This startling report from Human Events on Feb. 23 (emphasis added):

State governors -- looking down the gun barrel of long-term spending forced on them by the Obama “stimulus” plan -- are saying they will refuse to take the money. This is a Constitutional confrontation between the federal government and the states unlike any in our time.

In the first five weeks of his presidency, Barack Obama has acted so rashly that at least 11 states have decided that his brand of “hope” equates to an intolerable expansion of the federal government’s authority over the states. These states -- "Washington, New Hampshire, Arizona, Montana, Michigan, Missouri, Oklahoma, California...Georgia," South Carolina, and Texas -- "have all introduced bills and resolutions" reminding Obama that the 10th Amendment protects the rights of the states, which are the rights of the people, by limting the power of the federal government. These resolutions call on Obama to “cease and desist” from his reckless government expansion and also indicate that federal laws and regulations implemented in violation of the 10th Amendment can be nullified by the states.

When the Constitution was being ratified during the 1780s, the 10th Amendment was understood to be the linchpin that held the entire Bill of Rights together. The amendment states: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." NOW READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE...

WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS FRIDAY? JOIN THE REVOLUTION AGAINST OBAMA'S POWER GRAB AND ATTEND A "TEA PARTY" PROTEST NEAR YOU. FOR INFO SEE "Update: Chicago Tea Party Logistics" and "Tea Party U.S.A.: The movement grows."

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It's time to protest out-of-control government!
UPDATED: CHICAGO TEA PARTY
Date: Friday, February 27. Time: 11:00 A.M.
Start: Daley Plaza, 50 W. Washington Street
End: Michigan Avenue Bridge (Tribune Tower)
Please dress in black (goal is to get the message across that the free-market system America was built on is dying), bring protest signs and cameras.
GO TO WEBSITE FOR MORE UPDATES AND INFO
Speakers include Tony Peraica and more speakers, TBA

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Say it ain't so. Barack Obama lied to us about something? No! It cannot be! It do be? Oh...

During Obama's campaign to promote his stimulus package, he staged an event with a woman, Henrietta Hughes, who, as it turns out, appears to be anything but truly needy. Henrietta was given an audience with Obama to beg for a home. When aid was provided via the offer of free rent by an opportunistic politician, the liberal press spouted that Henrietta was actually given a free home and implied it came from Obama. The lie has propagated through the liberal media and, quite honestly, it nauseated us because it was so obviously staged and such a distorted lie. Well, as it turns out, the lie didn't end there. More from TheLiePolitic.com...

Rus Thompson over at Red County has much more about this sadly entertaining story about how Kenyan-born Barack Obama lied to you, me and everybody - again.

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Embattled Roland Burris, junior U.S. Senator from Illinois, just won't quit. Tomorrow he goes back to Washington, where he will probably be scolded and questioned by Illinois' senior U.S. Senator, Dick Durbin. Despite loud calls to resign from fellow Democrats, fellow Senators, U.S. Representatives, newspaper editors and others, he's hanging in. The Blagojevich-appointed senator, whose word can no longer be trusted, is the subject of this video from Fox.

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What is needed is attendance in the tens of thousands. If YOU are aware of this event, attend! Call your friends, email your friends. Tell them to be there. Take the day off if you need to and attend a Tea Party near you!

See "List of All Tea Parties Nationwide Feb 27"

A lot of Americans will not go to work this Friday. In cities around the country, people who don't normally go to protests will do just that. Already sick of the Marxist "change" brought to Washington, conservatives will be attending "Tea Parties" from coast to coast. (More info and full list of cities and events here.) All will happen at mid-day, noonish, but some folks will take a partial or whole day off for this historic nationwide happening.

In case you haven't heard, the Second American Revolution may have started last week when Rick Santelli fired off his "rant heard 'round the world." Speaking on live television from the trading floor of the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), Santelli bashed Kenyan-born Barack Obama's economic policies (see video below). He said he would stage a "Chicago Tea Party" in July, but it's actually happening this Friday. It promises to be big...

...But is won't be big enough. Most of Friday's "Tea Parties" will see attendance in the hundreds, some in the thousands. What is needed is attendance in the tens of thousands. If YOU are aware of this event, attend! Call your friends, email your friends. Tell them to be there. Take the day off if you need to, but be there.

Tea Party U.S.A.: The movement grows
How to Organize Your Own “Tea Party” Protest
THE SANTELLI RANT: A RED BULL RUSH
Anthem for the Chicago Tea Party
Ambassador: Obama Born In Kenya


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There will be a huge comet streaking through the sky late tonight. You may not be able to see it if you're in a city.

We have known of its existence for only two years. But if you raise your eyes heavenwards tonight, you might just catch a glimpse of the comet Lulin. Glowing green, it will come within 38million miles of Earth, the closest it has ever been, and about the same distance away as Mars. More at DailyMail.co.uk...

MORE:
Naked eye comet graces the skies
Stargazers in for a treat as green comet 'the size of Jupiter ...
Comet Lulin arrives tonight - break out your telescopes

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Oh - my - God. I'm buying all of my leather goods from this guy!



Hat tip to Pink Elephant Pundit on Twitter!

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Robert Sorich was a "patronage chief" for Mayor Richard M. Daley. Sorich was convicted in 2006 of going around certain laws that make political hiring in Chicago illegal. The US Supreme Court today refused undo Sorich's conviction. Okay, fine, but the patronage continues, and it continues in plain sight (examples below).

Patronage hiring can be dirty stuff. Basically, it is the hiring of people who are often not qualified for the jobs they get, but are put on the public payroll solely because of their usefulness in a political capacity. It is "the distribution of jobs and favors on a political basis, as to those who have supported one's party or political campaign." (Source)

Today, CBS2 Chicago report the Sorich-Supreme Court story:

Mayor Richard M. Daley's former patronage chief and two other former city officials have failed to persuade the U.S. Supreme Court to consider setting aside their fraud convictions. The justices, in an order Monday, are letting stand former patronage chief Robert Sorich's July 2006 conviction and 46-month prison term. He was found guilty of skirting laws that ban political city hiring, along with former Department of Streets and Sanitation official Patrick Slattery, and former Sorich aide Timothy McCarthy.

Fine, but this post is not about Sorich. It's about the continuing and blatantly open patronage hiring in Chicago. The following people are just a few examples. They are on the city's payroll. They are paid by you, the taxpayers, to staff the offices of city council members. From the Better Government Association website, they are listed below by First Name/Last Name/Title/City Department/Salary/Employer:

Frazier, Wayne - Aldermanic Aide - City Council - $34,632 - City of Chicago
Vandercook, Elizabeth - Asst To The Alderman - City Council - $63,804 - City of Chicago
Land, Michael - Staff Asst To The Alderman - City Council - $51,024 - City of Chicago
Lopez, Alicia - Staff Asst To The Alderman - City Council - $51,024 - City of Chicago
(Source: http://www.bettergov.org/Research/Employees.aspx)

"The Alderman" referred to above is Joe Moore, 49th Ward. Moore is not the only alderman who staffs his office with people paid by the city. This is disturbing because the publicy-paid staff assistants and aides, in many cases, openly campaign for the aldermen in whose offices they work. In other words, people on the city's payroll are paid, in effect, to help re-elect sitting aldermen. Remember: They are legally not employed by the aldermen, they are employed by the City of Chicago. That's you, Chicago resident and taxpayer.

Not all of the people working in an alderman's office are public employees. One example, again from Joe Moore's office, is Anne M. Sullivan, "49th Ward Staff Assistant." She is paid out of Ald. Moore's campaign funds, not public tax money.

How ethical is it for employees of the City of Chicago to work as office in aldermen's offices? There's probably no problem as long as the only thing they do is shuffle papers and help address the concerns of the aldermen's constituents. However, we have to question the ethics of those public payroll persons being allowed to engage in plainly political purposes. For an alderman to choose a friend and/or political ally to work in his or her office as an aide, on the public's dime, seems to qualify as patronage to us. Just because it's public information doesn't mean it's not wrong.

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The "Nationwide Chicago Tea Party" will be February 27 at 11:00 A.M.
I humbly submit the following for consideration as the official anthem of that event.

Won't You Please Come to Chicago
(With apologies to Graham Nash)
by Tom Mannis, Chicago News Bench

Now our country's bound and gagged
And the bailout ain't fair
Won't you please come to Chicago
Let freedom ring

In a land that once had freedom
In a land no longer fair
Won't you please come to Chicago
You can help let freedom ring

We will change the world
Re-arrange the world
We're trying ... to make it better

Politicians better listen
But they often do not hear
Won't you please come to Chicago
Take a side

Don't ask Barack to help you
'Cause he'll just cut off your ear
Won't you please come to Chicago
Where we'll make them see the light

We will force their hands
Liberate some minds
We're trying ... if you believe in justice
We're trying ... and if you believe in freedom
We're trying ... let a man live his own life
We're trying ... rules and regulations, who needs them
Theft won't help the poor
Working people must be free
I hope the day comes soon
Won't you please come to Chicago
Share your voice

From the social-istic bail-out
To the silencing of prayers
Won't you please come to Chicago
No one else will save our fate

Yes, we will change the world
Re-arrange the world
We're trying ... we believe in justice
We're trying ... they do not believe in freedom
We're trying ... let us all live our own lives
We're trying ... rules and regulations, they need them
We don't want them anymore

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UPDATE: FEB. 24 SEE PRESS RELEASE FROM ROSANNA PULIDO

Rosanna Pulido better brace herself and her campaign staff. She's a Republican running for the vacant Illinois 5th Congressional District seat. Rahm Emanuel abandoned that seat and his constituents when he took the job of White House Chief of Staff. As if being a Republican isn't already a big enough handicap for an Illinois office seeker, Pulido has just announced an endorsement from a highly controversial figure.

ALSO SEE: Republican "Dr. Dave" Needs to Raise His Own Bar

Pulido sent a message around this morning via Facebook that Arizona's Maricopa County Sheriff will lend his support to her campaign. She wrote, "I am excited and thrilled to announce the "AMERICA's Toughest Sheriff" Sheriff Joe Arpaio is going to Endorse me for Congress on Monday!!"

WARNING TO PULIDO'S CAMPAIGN STAFF: The pro-illegal alien wackos will go nuts over this, I guarantee it. Within hours of announcing this on Monday, your office will start receiving harassing phone calls and faxes. Watch your mail carefully and open packages with extreme care. Brace yourselves for threats of violence. Do not sit near the windows. Keep the doors locked and only admit people you know into the office. Alternate your routes to and from home. Look over your shoulders and be aware of people who may be following you. You will be called Nazis, fascists, racists, haters, and more. Pulido is the State Director of the Illinois Minuteman Project, which already gets plenty of hate mail from the open borders, pro-illegal immigration crowd. Pulido herself is probably already used to abuse. Not all of her campaign staff and volunteers are ready for the barage of hate about to come their way.

This may be an endorsement that Pulido will soon regret. Sheriff Joe Arpaio is higly controversial, a hero to those who champion legal immigration and hated and despised by those who favor open borders, amnesty for illegal aliens and disregard for federal immigration laws. Those who hate Sheriff Arpaio get violent from time to time. Sometimes, they launch Congressional investigations into the sheriff's operations:

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) and three fellow Democrats want the Department of Justice to investigate civil rights complaints against controversial sheriff Joe Arpaio.The lawmakers, in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano sent Friday, are seeking a probe into reports Arpaio has used skin color as a basis to search for illegal immigrants in Arizona. (Source: TheHill.com, Feb. 15, 2009)

That's certainly not the first federal investigation of the sheriff. Attorney General Janet Reno filed a lawsuit in 1997 against Arpaio for allegedly violating the constitutional rights of prisoners in his jail. The lawsuit was eventually settled after the sheriff agreed to improve conditions. (Source)

You remember Janet Reno, don't you? She's the woman who remotely commanded the mass slaughter of women and children at Waco, Texas in April, 1993. She's also the one who oversaw the forcible deportation of 6-year old Cuban immigrant Elian Gonzalez in 2000. Ironically, there are those in Congress who want Eric Holder investigated for his role in the Gonzalez Affair, when he was Reno's assistant attorney general.

Last time I checked, by the way, Sheriff Arpaio has not participated in a brutal mass murder as has Janet Reno. That doesn't stop the far-Left, anti-US secure borders crowd from demonizing Sheriff Arpaio, of course. Love him or hate him, Arpaio is a hot potato. Rosanna Pulido might have been better advised to tell him thanks but no thanks for his offer of an endorsement. Besides, why should the voters of an Illinois congressional district care about an endorsement from a sheriff in another state, controversial or not?

RELATED:
ACORN: Call on Congress to Investigate Arizona Civil Rights Abuses
Phoenix police need Arpaio's publicity skills
Valley deadbeat parents targeted in Valentine's Day roundup
TheHill.com - Conyers seeks DoJ probe into controversial sheriff
'America's Toughest Sheriff' Takes on Immigration : NPR
National Protest in Phoenix Against Sheriff Joe Arpaio : Indybay
Arizona’s Sheriff Joe goes haywire / QCTimes.com
Janet Napolitano's embarrassing history with Sheriff Joe Arpaio
Video: Glenn Beck on Illegal Immigration
Video: Lou Dobbs on High Cost of Illegal Immigration
Video: Illegal Immigration In Eastern Carolina Part 1
Video: Illegal Immigration In Eastern Carolina Part 2
Video: Environmental Impact of Illegal Immigration

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Europe wants to drill, but the U.S. Congress - Democrats, primarily - are reluctant to approve new petroleum and gas drilling projects within our own borders.

An interesting report from AP today (2/22/09) tells us that the Europeans are eager to develop their ability to produce their own energy from "fossil fuels." While there have been Europeans pushing for such and effort before now, the recent Russian natural gas cut-off has spurred Europe to move faster toward the goal of energy independence. There is a great irony to this story.

AP quotes Don Hertzmark, "an international energy expert," as saying that "The Europeans never bothered to develop this stuff." Here's the irony: The Europeans will do it with American technology because they have not developed their own, and while the U.S. has the ability, our federal government has essentially crushed efforts to increase our own domestic production for decades because of pressure from environmentalists.

Hertzmark, reports AP, says that using American technology would save European companies years of developing their own methods. (Why re-invent the wheel?)

"If the same technology works in Europe," writes AP's Mark Williams, "it could free up an enormous amount of energy, and potentially provide a buffer against cross-border disputes to the east."

It's a shame that the US Congress, as a whole, doesn't seem to understand that. If the same American technology that Europe now hopes to use were actually put to full use by American companies domestically, it could provide a buffer against higher energy prices and the potential for blackmail and extortion by other nations.

Enviromental activists are continuing their push for a moratorium on U.S. offshore drilling. H. Josef Herbert wrote about at Townhall.com on February 11 (emphasis added):

At a House hearing, Philippe Cousteau, grandson of legendary ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau, urged Congress to reinstate the offshore drilling bans that until last fall had been in effect for 25 years in Atlantic and Pacific coastal waters. "It's absolutely critical for the health of the oceans," said Cousteau, a board member of the advocacy group Ocean Conservancy. "Oil spills still occur."

The argument that "oil spills still occur" is an absurd red herring. Yes, the possibility of a spill from a domestic offshore project is a possibility, but an oil spill is an oil spill is an oil spill. Whether that spilled oil comes from one of our own ships or drilling platforms, or from a foreign oil tanker en route to a US port, makes no difference to the birds and fish. Cousteau and his comrades represent the "not in my back yard" mentality taken to a global scale. Our oil consumption is supplied, in part, by drilling in other parts of the world. That foreign oil is transported in ships across vast oceans. The probability of a spill, from foreign drill to U.S. port, is greater than it would be from domestic drill to domestic port. Less distance plus less time equals less opportunity for accidents.

Oil spills are not exactly common occurances. In fact, they are rare, as noted by the Minerals Management Service (MMS), a bureau in the U.S. Department of the Interior. MMS
"tracks spill incidents 1 barrel or greater in size of petroleum and other toxic substances resulting from Federal OCS oil and gas activities." You can see their spill statistics at http://www.mms.gov/incidents/spills1996-2008.htm.

The environmentalist radicals are almost always also opposed to "American imperialism." It is odd that they cannot connect the dots between imporation of oil and that "empire." If the United States reduced its dependence on foreign energy sources, it would simultaneously reduce our footprint on the economies of other nations. Therefore, less "imperialism." Logically, they should be cheerleading an effort to increase domestic energy production. However, logic and a basic understanding of capitalism do not fit well into their anti-business agenda.

According to Williams' AP report, "European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso says the dispute between Russia and Ukraine demonstrated the need for Europe to stop keeping all of its eggs in one basket when it comes to energy sources and supply routes." Williams quotes Barroso as saying, "It was utterly unacceptable that European gas consumers were held hostage to this dispute between Russia and Ukraine," Barroso said.

Indeed. It is also unacceptable that the U.S. is often held hostage to pricing whims of other oil producing nations such as Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members. It would be a great irony if Europe uses American technology to become energy independent before we achieve that worthy goal. It would be nice to be able to tell OPEC and Russia to stuff it, we've got our own.

RELATED:
Another Wake-Up Call? Europe Remains Divided Over Energy Security...
Russian gas crisis should inform US policy
Our Self-Created Energy Problem
FACTBOX-Major energy pipelines in central/southern Europe
NEWS WATCH: Europe Concerned Over Dependency On Russian Gas
Russia deepens gas hegemony
EIA - Petroleum Basic Data (U.S. Dept. of Energy)
Iranian Oil Bourse Soon to Be a Reality Political Lore .com
Iran Starts Oil, Petrochemicals Exchange in Tehran
Iran Opens Oil Bourse to Sidestep U.S. Sanctions
José Manuel Barroso President of the European Commission - Opening speech External energy conference External energy policy conference Brussels, 20 November 2006

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