Peoria Pundit

Welcome to the fight, Witches Brew:
For the family of Neda Agha Soltan: Mourning is an important ritual in Iranian culture, and it is strongly tied to protest. Public mourning rituals are held 3 days, 7 days, and 40 days after a death, and they can turn into demonstrations against injustice. In an effort to discredit/suppress a young martyr, the government of Iran not only buried Neda without her family’s knowledge and banned all mourning rituals for her, but they forced the family out their apartment and cut them off from the community that would have embraced them in their grief. So we must mourn and we must protest for them

She bogs on the much-more-stable Blog Peoria Network.

Original post by Billy Dennis

C.J. Summers is THE must read blogger in Peoria. Hands down.

Original post by Billy Dennis

A grand total of eight people showed up for Blogger Bash. And they weren’t all there at the same time. The event lasted from 6 p.m. until I left at 10:30 p.m.
Why was attendance so light? I dunno. Competing events that tend to attract bloggers. A lack of marketing by ME this time around. The crappy economy. Who knows.
The conversation was good, and the companionship. I got to meet HipKat. He and the adorable Cristi from Peoria.com was there. Frequent commenter SHay was there, as was Precinct Committeeman. C.J. and Gary Sandberg showed up, as well as his son, Cosmic Colt (I’m going to interview him later about cool ideas he has for the Riverfront).
But I will schedule the next one for a Friday or Saturday night, probably in late July or early August. I am open to ideas for location.
The Bash was good for Whitey as he eight eight [...]

Original post by Billy Dennis

I got a note in my inbox from former WHOI reporter Monica Landeros:
Hey … sorry for the mass email… but I got the job here in Jacksonville [Fla.]!
I’m newest reporter for First Coast News: firstcoastnews.com

Actually, I am what they call MMJ–multi media journalist. write, report, edit, shoot video.

Monica is a very, very rare sort of person … a journalist who was able to land a job.
Seriously, congrats.

Original post by Billy Dennis

The festivities start at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Whitey’s Tip Top Inn, 2601 N Sheridan Rd. in Peoria. Everyone is invited (I couldn’t keep you out if I tried).
Folks, Whitey’s offers good pizza, so there will be stuff to eat.
Whitey’s a a neighborhood bar. It’s probably not going to be too crowded on A Tuesday, so we can mill about and chat or plat ourselves at tables.
Sometime soon, we’ll have to plan a Friday or Saturday bash for those of us who have to get up early on Weekdays.

Original post by Billy Dennis

UPDATE: The site migration seems to have gone well without any major glitches.
As of this writing, there is a site migration in progress at the Blog Peoria Project.
What that means is this: The files and database that generates the 50 plus blogs that comprise Blog Peoria are being moved from one server to another.
I am doing this for basically one reason: I need room to grow the site. Right now, I cannot in gtood conscience encourage anyone to join, knowing that it strains the current host’s server.
So, I found a very highly respected company that specializes in WordPress and WordPress Mu installations.
I’ll point the BlogPeoria.com domain to the new server as soon as the migration happens.
I’ve asked member bloggers to refrain from posting anything new until I give the heads up.
I’m hoping I can do that before I leave for work Monday morning. If not, it will [...]

Original post by Billy Dennis

As of this writing, there is a site migration in progress at the Blog Peoria Project.
What that means is this: The files and database that generates the 50 plus blogs that comprise Blog Peoria are being moved from one server to another.
I am doing this for basically one reason: I need room to grow the site. Right now, I cannot in gtood conscience encourage anyone to join, knowing that it strains the current host’s server.
So, I found a very highly respected company that specializes in WordPress and WordPress Mu installations.
I’ll point the BlogPeoria.com domain to the new server as soon as the migration happens.
I’ve asked member bloggers to refrain from posting anything new until I give the heads up.
I’m hoping I can do that before I leave for work Monday morning. If not, it will be in the early evening Monday.
Thanks for your patience.

Original post by Billy Dennis

Remember how the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee called Aaron Schock a hypocrite (back on June 25) for voting against a spending bill, but having an event to announce some local spending that was on the bill?
Well, Schock responded in Monday’s Word on the Street:
Schock points out that opposition to Democratic “over-spending” does not preclude him from advocating for his district. He says the DCCC is suggesting that if you don’t go along with its over-spending plans, your district shouldn’t get its fair share.
“For (the DCCC) to suggest that I should have to vote for something because there’s money in it for my district is akin to them thinking I should be bought off,” Schock said. “They’re encouraging unethical behavior by members of Congress.”

And I found WotS to be especially interesting today. Go read it.,

Original post by Billy Dennis

This is supposedly a video of protesters protecting some cornered police officers from other, more angry protesters.
Meanwhile, Twitter user Persianwiki — a reliable source of information from Iran — has gone silent. With no posts for three days, a lot of people are thinking the worst has happeneng

Original post by Billy Dennis

An Illinois blogger has harsh words for Congressman Aaron Schock:
Although Schock appeals to some as the kind of reasonable Republican his district historically elects, like Ray LaHood and Bob Michael, on energy issues he’s gravitating toward the Shimkus fringe of his party. I’ve read that Schock will likely oppose the ACES global warming bill.
Even worse, he’s co-sponsoring the “American Energy Act” which comes from the Republican energy group co-chaired by John Shimkus. The bill is full of measures to weaken environmental regulations and increase corporate welfare for polluting industries.
Schock echoes Shimkus by bragging that the bill threatens ANWR. His press release admits he supports “lifting restrictions on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), the Outer Continental Shelf, and oil shale in the Mountain West.”

Original post by Billy Dennis