One of the characters is the book is a character created by the book’s lunar revolutionaries, called “Simon Jester.” Well, someone (probably for the billionth time) has borrowed that name on the Web to make a point about politics. It’s a point I agree with:

What we are is a group of folks that think we see liberty and freedom eroding in our beloved United States.  We see the policies and agendas of the hirelings in Washington D.C. heading toward an abbreviation if not outright abrogation of the Bill of Rights.

We think that the Federal government is grasping to consolidate power using the current crisis, since as Rahm Emmanuel said, it’s a terrible thing to waste.  We think the Federal government, not just this administration, is more interested in self-serving personal, political, and party power than it is in actually doing its best to do the least.

This President didn’t make it this way.  It has been heading along this path since Woodrow Wilson held political prisoners and FDR held four terms as president; since Johnson’s Great Society and Nixon took us off the gold standard; since Bush Sr. lied about no new taxes, Clinton desecrated the Oval Office, Bush Jr. rammed through the Patriot Act, and Obama wanted every high school kid to ‘volunteer.’

For almost a hundred years, our country has been heading towards becoming a Socialist, centrally planned, Nanny State where the Federal Government tells it citizens how to conduct business, what they could grow in their own gardens or on their own farms, and now even how much a private citizen is allowed to earn before punitive and illegal taxation takes it away.

Now is the time to make it stop.

Amen. We’ve got to stop attacking or defending politicians actions based on the party to which they belong and start thinking in terms of what is best for personal libertary, which is the same thing as what is best for overal economic prosperity.

MASSIVE GOVERNMENT STIMULUS HAS NOT HELPED CATERPILLAR AS PROMISED

Schock:  While the stimulus bill has not helped workers, it has saddled them and their children with mindboggling additional debt.

Washington D.C. – A little more than a month after passage of the President’s economic stimulus bill, it has become reality that the hype and promises Caterpillar would not proceed with planned layoffs and rehire laid off workers if Congress passed the stimulus bill was inaccurate.

Congress did pass the stimulus bill and the President got everything he wanted from Congress.  Yet, today Caterpillar announced even more layoffs.  These additional layoffs confirm CAT workers were misused by the Administration as justification for the stimulus bill.

“These additional layoffs are a result of the on-going recession,” said Schock.  “Sadly, the false hopes that passage of the stimulus bill would enable them to keep their jobs are now a horrible letdown.  I opposed the stimulus bill because only 6 percent of this massive bill was for infrastructure.  I supported legislation that would have created twice the jobs at half the price, and included more funding for infrastructure that would have increased the demand for Caterpillar machinery.”

“In my speech against passage of the flawed stimulus bill, I said ‘this bill is too big to get it wrong,’ but these layoffs are another sign that they did get this bill wrong,” continued Schock.  “As a result, we have little increased infrastructure construction, more layoffs, dashed hopes, massive wasteful spending and vastly increased debt.”

“I will join the President and colleagues in Congress if they are willing to embark on a sensible agenda that would lead to economic growth,” Schock concluded.  “The challenges we face are too important not to.”

Schock Calls for Exit Strategy on Government Bailouts in the Wake of Outrageous AIG Executive Bonuses

Washington, D.C. – In the wake of the news AIG has awarded executive bonuses totaling $165 million, Congressman Aaron Schock (R-IL) issued the following statement:

“The recent revelations that AIG is using taxpayer dollars to award $165 million in executive bonuses are simply outrageous. Taxpayers are not receiving an adequate accounting from the Treasury Department or from those companies receiving taxpayer funds. My amendment to H.R. 384, the TARP Reform and Accountability Act, would have established a website to track these funds. Unfortunately, the Senate has thus far failed to consider this legislation. This news regarding AIG executives receiving egregious bonuses, while leaving taxpayers to continue bailing out these firms, is the clearest example of why an exit strategy from this government involvement in private business is essential. I believe the Administration and Congress should recover these bonuses by any means and present taxpayers with an exit plan as soon as possible.”

Wanted to give you a quick heads up that Congressman Schock will be appearing live on CSPAN’s Washington Journal tomorrow morning at 9:00 am ET and 8:00 am CT. Aaron will be previewing his testimony for later that morning before a joint Senate – House Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on Senate vacancies and discussing his legislation mandating special elections, while also taking calls. As always, please let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks, Dave

Dave Natonski
Communications Director
Congressman Aaron Schock (R-IL)

Chris Wallace interviewed Schock in Washington DC, and has followed him in both Illinois and DC. Fox News has assembled a nice profile piece similar to the Today show feature.

Can someone please make sure Mazr knows.

Curphy is a clean cut good looking guy with a genuine smile, great handshake (I’m into that!) and a GQ kind of hair cut that relies on either wax or gel… that was one question I didn’t ask. Below I share my burning questions to Curphy and his answers. Enjoy!

Diane:  Hmmm.. Curphy. What is the origin of your name? Is it ethnic? A nickname?

Curphy: Ha. Everyone asks me that. It’s my legal name. It was the surname of one of my great grandparents.

Diane: You are running for Second District council. Please forgive my ignorance, but can you describe the second district for me?

Curphy:  The approximate boundaries are from Moss Avenue to War Memorial, West of Knoxville and meanders around to East of the Interstate. It is a very diverse district with a wide range of household incomes and it includes the heart of Peoria. It would be hard to drive through one end of the city to another without traveling through the second district.   The second District is unique because we have to balance the economic needs of the District with historic preservation. I want to see the district progress. Things seemed to have stopped and I want to see it re-invigorated.

Diane: Can you please describe your background and how specifically you can apply your skills to the needs of the 2nd District?

Curphy: Yes, I am the VP of a bank in charge of commercial lending. With Bob Manning leaving the council, there will be a need for someone on the council with financial expertise. My experience  is in business plans, balance sheets and P&L’s – typical financial stuff. I have the ability to separate “fluff” from “facts”.  All of these skills are  key to sound economic development. I have also served on the city traffic commission. I am very knowledgeable about traffic calming measures.  There are many options available for neighborhoods that are experiencing traffic problems. I plan to put a program in place that will offer solutions to neighborhoods that are dealing with traffic issues. As Chairman of Heartland Community Development Corporation, I have helped small businesses get loans. These are just a few of the things that I can bring to the table.

Diane: Wow, I’m impressed. (Seriously, I’m impressed! ) So what is your management style?

Curphy: Being a banker, it is imperative that I do my due diligence behind the scenes before making a public statement. I will always do my homework and be very methodical and analytical in my approach before making a decision.

Diane: I’m sorry, can I get you some water or coke or something?

Curphy: No, thanks. I’m fine.

Diane: Have you been really busy campaigning? What kind of things have you been doing?

Curphy: As I said, I am big on due diligence. I have spent a lot of time interviewing key city personell and elected officials, and learning the issues thoroughly.

Diane: Really? Like who?

Curphy: Today I interviewed Police Chief Settingsgard. I have toured fire stations, met with the Public works, most of the council members, the Mayor, Representative Gordon, Senator Koehler, Representative Leitch and Congressman Schock. I have also met with many neighborhood associations and plan to knock on every door in the district by election day!

Diane: You HAVE been busy. Speaking of Schock… I gotta ask… how’d you score the gig with him?

Curphy: I asked him and he said “yes”.

Diane: That’s great! You know you are getting some heat for that…

Curphy: I am my own man. I work hard and bring a lot to the table. I am not trying to ride on any one’s coat tails. I am proud and honored to have Congressman Schock’s support.

Diane: I agree. So are you saving some time for your family?

Curphy: Yes. I still go to all our kids soccer games. We have 7 year old twins and a 5 year old. I just  had a father/daughter date with our daughter. We saw “High School Musical III”  (as he stares at a HSM DVD on our kitchen table). Friday nights at our house are sacred – that is movie and pizza night!

Diane: Ah, yes. Your family has the HSM bug too I see!  Hmm.. door knocking. That must be interesting. How is that going?

Curphy: I’m surprised at how many people don’t realize there is an upcoming election. Many say  they are glad to have a choice. The response I am seeing is overwhelmingly positive… so far no doors have been slammed in my face.

Diane: Yeah, that would be weird.  OK, another burning question… what is your opinion on the downtown museum, or would you rather not say?

Curphy: I’m happy to answer that. I am for a downtown museum from a quality of life standpoint, especially in the downtown area.  As long as the facts that we rely on are accurate, I would be fully supportive of what the people decide as expressed through the referendum.

Diane: Fair answer. So, I’m curious.. do you read the blogs?

Curphy: Off and on. They bring up some good points. I refer to them if I ever want to get another viewpoint on an issue. CJ puts out some really good stuff.

Diane: Hmppf. Is there anything else you would like to say that I haven’t covered?

Curphy: I would  like for the voter to know that I have a thorough understanding of sound economic development. I would like to see our neighborhoods friendly to business and vice versa. I would like to see an equity of city services in our neighborhoods, and it would be my goal to build relationships between neighborhood business communities and the large economic anchors such as Bradley University, Methodist Hospital, Peoria Next, OSF, etc.

Diane: Has anyone else told you that they think you look like Jim McConoughey, or is it just me?

Curphy: No, they haven’t, but thanks. Some people say I look like Ryan Reynolds.

Diane: Who is Ryan Reynolds?

Curphy: Google him.

Diane: OK. Final question. Cubs, Cardinals, or White Sox?

Curphy: Cardinals.

Diane: This interview is OVER!

To provide that openness Gordon is sponsoring House Bill 553. The bill says if an investigation by the state’s executive inspector general finds an ethics violation has occurred, a copy of the report with redacted personal information will be made available to the public.
The legislation, Gordon said, is pending a hearing in the Joint Committee on Government Reform, a new committee created to deal with ethics in government. This legislation follows Gordon’s support for legislation to deny pension payments to any elected official who is removed from office.

I’m all for transparency. The problem in Illinois is that we keep re-electing politicians who who KNOW are dirty, because we think our jobs depend on having this or that particular crook in office. That’s why Blagojevich got re-elected.  Peoria supported Blago knowing he was a crook and a train wreck of a leader because he favored things that gave them warm fuzzies, like All Kids.

We can pass all the reforms we want, but until WE, the voters, start tossing the crooked politicians and the politicians who enable them out of office, there isn;t any legislation that is going to work.