When these types of questions come up it usually helps to use some common sense and past history as a basis for actions.  Back during the Carter years and oil embargoes the  price was about .36  a gallon and was difficult to get.  This may seem cheap but by  comparison new homes were $26,600 and the price of a stamp was .o6.  Using this information one would feel that an increase in domestic production should lower gasoline prices.  However we as a country are currently EXPORTERS of gasoline.  It seems the bad economy along with efforts to conserve gasoline have made many refineries sell to other countries  where demand is bigger and larger prices can be had.  (China and India are examples).  So what now?  Well there is evidence that increase production still will bring down the price.  In our country we are experiencing a dramatic drop in natural gas prices due to increased supply.  This supply jump is due to new and more efficient ways (read more profitable) to mine natural gas here at home.  At to the fact that when wheat prices drop from good growing years we see a decrease in the price of bread. Remember the driving issue for any company is profits and margin.  If we can create a gasoline market here at home where profit margins meet or exceed those created by selling to  other countries then we will see prices drop  at the pump.  Remember its profits that drive businesses.

Common sense would then indicate that increased supply domestically along  with less regulations on U.S. oil companies (which cost money and decrease profits) along with lower taxes on same would drive prices down while maintaining or increasing profits to producers. Remember that this increase also helps many of your 401K’s and pensions that invest in Oil companies.  Increase drilling also creates more jobs at home which helps the economy and will replace those taxes lost by lowering corporate rates.  And by lowering the cost of fuel you decrease shipping costs on all goods within the Country and thereby lower the costs of these goods to the consumer.

Its just common sense……maybe we need more of it!

First, unlike unruly dogs, chickens don’t bark all night long…they cluck.  Not nearly as upsetting to one trying to sleep.  To my knowledge there has never been a loose chicken that has attacked a mailman or a jogger.  Can’t say the same about those freedom loving dogs off the leash.  Chickens don’t stay up all night and sit on fences screeching like those alley cats looking for action!

Lets also remember that chickens will provide food in the form of eggs unlike most other domestic pets who continually just eat food and provide nothing in return!  A good hen can produce an egg a day!  That’s return on investment !

And if ,God forbid, your chicken gets hit by a vehicle and dies at least you have dinner for that night.  Can’t say that about Fido or  Mr. Whiskers  if they meet their maker!

I don’t know anyone in the Illinois Valley that doesn’t love fried chicken.  Our area is known for it.  If the City Council bans raising them here in town its only going to raise the price of this tasty menu item locally.  Its a simple economic case of supply and demand…less supply equals higher prices!  Nobody wants that.

Chickens have always been held in high regard.  I remember when I was young and single every male wanted to go to the bars where the “chicks” hung out.  We  tried to avoid anyplace where an abundance of “dogs ” were known to party!

This potential ban is an assault on our American way of life……

I think the answer for all of us who love  the chicken is  to attend the next Council meeting and “Occupy City Hall”.  Once there when the time is right we , in unison, will “flip them the bird!”  That will get our message across that” we defend our feathered friends!”….sounds like a good idea for a bumper sticker too.

See You There!!!!

For long suffering Cub fans you have the hope of “Thesus” or as he is known to the rest of us…Theo.  He is going to change a dormant franchise into one as exciting as any that ever existed!  He will break the curse and bring a world championship to the North side Faithful……in a few years

Bear fans look forward to a healthy Jay Cutler and maybe a receiver or two who have hands that function as they should  for football..bye bye Roy and Martz too.

Robin will bring a fresh perspective to the South side and let’s face it-we will be able to understand what he says when he speaks…with Ozzie it was always a challenge.

The Bulls will be exciting us all the way up to and including the playoffs with D. Rose and company and don’t be surprised if we see them in the championship round.

I’m not a fan of hockey but even I know the Blackhawks should contend for the Lord Stanley’s Cup again in 2012 and maybe??????

Locally it looks good for LP’s new basketball coach and we just might be seeing the start of a great program taking shape…let’s hope so.

The biggest change will come in November when we finally show Mr Obama the door.  Thanks for your service but you have been replaced!  This is the biggest challenge we face in 2012. If we are ever hoping to return to some kind of economic stability this man and his group of socialist leaning dunces must be replaced. And let’s not stop there, we have another group in the State level that need to find work elsewhere as well.  Get active and lets vote  in 2012 and not let a handful of special interest groups determine our future.  Its in our hands….vote…vote…vote!!

On a local level I would like to see my city fathers focus on something other than another neighborhood celebration or parade.  We don’t need another committee to look long term at where the City should be in 10 or 20 years…we have a limited amount of revenues that are decreasing monthly.  Spend wisely…forget about newspaper ads that do nothing to advance our City’s status as a place to bring your new business. Let’s finally concentrate on the biggest problem we face as a small town….. illegal drugs

That’s right drugs…the use and sale of which have hampered our area for the last 30 years.  I applaud our police force and the efforts being made by them to do as much as they can but the problem continues to grow.  We are undermanned in this battle and we are losing the fight.  We must publicly  begin a campaign that says we are not going to tolerate the sale and use of illegal drugs within our City.  Post the names of anyone who has been arrested and convicted of drug related charges. Begin a sweep from one end of town to the other and question anyone with any connection to these illegal actions.  make it clear that we will not allow this activity in our town.  I want our officers focused 24-7 on this problem and not concern themselves with seat belt violations or illegally parked cars.  Their time is limited and we need to get the most bang for our buck.  We need to follow up on all leads from neighbors who see this illegal activity on a daily basis.  I assure you that until we rid our area of these unwanted scum we will never see  growth in our area.  It must and has to be the number one priority for us going forward…..

Stay safe and have a Happy and Prosperous New Year!!!

Shortly after Mayor Grove took office, our wonderful President decided to resurrect  the economy with his stimulus plans. He was looking for “shovel ready” plans to fund with our tax dollars.  The reality was he was looking to keep public sector jobs safe in return for their continued donations to his campaign.  This would be done by way of the Unions kicking back a portion of those funds to Obama’s building war chest.  Its a great way to redirect tax dollars back to yourself while looking like you care about the working man!

When the terms were released to qualify for the money , the city realized we had engineering plans already in place for the new sewage treatment plant.  This would qualify the job as being “shovel ready”.  We initially looked at building a second waste treatment facility on the east end when it looked like the water park and other industrial users were planning on building on that end of town.  In order to allow such expansion , the EPA said we needed the capacity to handle the increased waste water that would be created by these businesses once they were up and running.  Shortly after we began the process it became clear that the economy was headed south and these new enterprises became a pipe dream.

We shelved the idea of building the new plant because it wasn’t necessary given the current plant could handle our current needs.

Then came “Santa Obama” and he said you can have your new plant and we will forgive 25% of the amount you borrow and give you 20 years to pay back the balance at 0%!  Who would turn down that deal??   I have to admit I went along with the deal as an alderman at the time.  After all we would never get that kind of financing in the future and how long could this bad economy last?  Surely new construction and new users were right around the corner to fund the increased operating costs……..NOT!

So here we are in 2011 almost 2012 and as we all know now the economy still sputters along at best.  In the mean time we have a shiny new plant that costs money to run and staff.  We don’t need it at this time but its built and everyday we have expenses to pay.

If the stimulus plan did not exist this plant would not have been built at this time.  There would not be the added costs that the City has to fund and there would NOT be any increase in your sewer rates for you to pay.  Oh and don’t forget somebody has to pay the 25% that was given to the City for free as well as the interest on this money that would have been paid for 20 years if the Federal government had charged the going rate for those loans.

That money is coming out of we (the taxpayers) pockets as well!  But don’t forget we now have a second waste treatment plant ready for action.  If only we had a President who knew how to grow the economy instead of how to waste our tax dollars…..

The State was no better in that we have a deficit and a debt which is getting bigger by the day.  Those in power don’t have any answers and continue to support those who support them.  Meanwhile we all suffer as we watch the decline of businesses in Illinois.  The picture isn’t pretty but their is some good news…..People are paying attention!   That’s right, finally the voting public are turning away from their reality TV shows and Hollywood magazines and realizing that they have a say in what happens.  The tea party groups are active and informed and even the occupiers are forcing  many to look at whats happening and making  the majority of us to think about our Country’s future.

I truly believe that the upcoming elections are going to shock many by the percentage of turnout.  The primaries as well will create a firestorm of activity.

THIS IS GOOD!!!!   Its about time we wake up and take control of our government and not let them control us….from what we eat, where we can send our children to school, what we drive, what kind and how much energy we use….enough already.  That’s our decision!

We are at a point in history where we can settle for what they tell us (elected officials) or we can dictate to them what is acceptable!   It’s time for term limits for all levels of government.  It’s time for less governmental interference so that this economy can once again lead the world.  We are becoming a second class Country and its due to the incompetence of the so called leaders in place today.

Keep the conversation going and talk with your neighbors and friends.  Let them know that you intend to vote for change and ask them to do their part as well.  We can turn this slide around but it will come from the bottom up, not the top down!

Enjoy your Holidays and keep the thought that every day that passes brings us closer to the change which will happen in November 2012.

Merry Christmas!!

I know the answer from the City will be that we don’t have the money to do anything  right now. Why are we to  accept that answer when  “Kingfish”  won’t from Mr Carus with  regards to the Hotel….?

When the eloquent speaker from the First Ward mentioned his walk down a certain boulevard he did not state where that street ended but I can assure you it begins in front of Alderman Bacidore’s  chair in the City Council!

Mr Bacidore suffers from the “smartest man in the room syndrome”.  That is he thinks he always is.  That’s only true if he is sitting alone…..

The fact that Mr. Carus gave him 45 minutes of his time shocks me….the only way I would do that would be if Jim was still bartending and was supplying free drinks!

But let’s get to the point here…Jim needs to learn that if you are going to bring up a “problem” at least have a viable solution.  He has none.  He wants to point to the Hotel as an eyesore as if that’s the only one downtown.  We have many. He looks to Mr Carus as the cause but he conveniently forgets that Mr Carus  actually bought the building as an eyesore….he did not create it.  He is trying to take a problem building and make it into something worthwhile.  And for his attempts to do something good  is being lambasted by the city officials!

The Dew Drop Inn will never be a must see stop on the list of beautiful buildings in LaSalle yet Mr Bacidore sees fit to tell Mr Carus how to spend his money.  Wonder what his attitude would be if we demanded changes to the appearance of his building??

Kingfish also feels that Mr Carus is “getting away with something” by not rebuilding the Hotel at this time in this economy.  Does he not understand the costs that are ongoing to Mr Carus  for this building.  There are property taxes, heating,and maintenance costs just to keep it as is.  Does anyone with a brain really believe that Mr Carus bought this building with the intent of leaving it as is and then pay these costs just so he could aggravate the citizens of LaSalle?

If I were him I would be tempted to tell Mr. Bacidore the property is yours….you pay the ongoing expenses with no income from it or pay to demolish the  building.  I think Mr Bacidore would say no thanks.

If the city had a clue they would try to work with Mr Carus not against him. I  certainly would  not verbally abuse someone who at his age doesn’t need to be doing this with his money but I believe is trying to make a difference.

Congratulations to the Illinois Valley for the record setting donations of  food, money, etc to the food pantry and others.  It show that the government doesn’t have to be funneling money to all the organizations.  In the end we take care of our own and are proud to do it!

Talk to you after the Holiday…stay safe…

With regard to Mr Cain’s problems…Herman has stated that all charges are unfounded and I have to admit the longer this story goes on , the better Mr Cain’s story appears.  No one has verified that any of the actions that happened were actual sexual harassment and the woman from Chicago’s story has changed daily.  Only time will tell if this story has any “legs” if you”ll pardon the expression!

The Penn State story is deeply disturbing. I have read the Grand Jury’s report and how Mr Sandusky could survive this long without prosecution is a sad reflection on how far some institutions will go to protect their reputation.  All those who witnessed and knew of these activities were “enablers” and need to be fired and/or prosecuted.

The happiest person these past few weeks has to be President Obama.  With these stories in the news he continues to dodge his involvement with the questionable loans to Solyndra as well as his knowledge about operation fast and furious. Recent news indicates that the White House approved a 730 million dollar loan to Russian billionaire Aleksei Mordashov to build a steel factory in Dearborn, Michigan…really????

If you are not a supporter of Mr Obama (I am clearly not) you may be getting a bit depressed that candidates on the debates continue to expose flaws that may have you thinking about their ability to be President.  Take heart..the election is a year away and Mr Obama has not had the spotlight on him for some time.  This will change once we get closer to actual primaries.  While I don’t think Governor Perry will be the Republican nominee for President, I don’t think his inability to remember the Department of Energy’s name will be his downfall.  After all Barack claimed in 2008 that he had been to all “57″ states and our Vice President asked at a rally that a man in a wheel chair stand up and take a bow…so the other side is not without their own mistakes in public.

And finally on this Veterans day 2011 take the time to thank a serviceman or woman for their sacrifice to our Great Country. Although I am hopeful we will one day balance our budget….we will never be able to repay our debt to those who have served  our Country over our History.  God Bless them!

Let me know what you think…..

One last thing…watch the video of Michael Moore avoiding the obvious while being interviewed on CNN.  These liberals must think we are all just hillbilly mouth breathers out here in America!

The reason anyone over 40 is angry is because we have lived much of the history they want to change today.  If we are to believe what the “educators” say is real history one has to agree that the United States was/is an imperialist Country which over time has forced itself on other Countries and taken all their natural resources for our own good  and left them in abject poverty!  We owe the rest of the world for all the bad we have done to it. We need to be taken down from our high horse and admit that we are far from perfect and we should adopt the ways of other less fortunate countries and ask forgiveness…….BS!

Those of us who have actually lived for a period of time on this planet and therefore have witnessed some of what these revisionists call history need to challenge what is being taught in the classroom.

When President Reagan said “tear down this wall Mr Gorbachev!” were we acting only in our best interests or also those who had been kept  in a country without the right to move freely if they chose to?   When we drove Saddam out of Kuwait and left the Oil fields as they were…were we taking that Country”s natural resources for our own or driving a tyrant back to his home?

When our nations best and brightest give their lives so others can be freed from the fear of mass murder and poverty and we ask nothing in return, not even the costs of our Army doing the job for them are we acting in our own self interests?

This Country gives more aid to the world than any other Country in existence..we are always the first to volunteer when any natural disaster hits anywhere on the planet….but we are Imperialists????

I had the opportunity to hear General Schwarzkopf speak shortly after operation Desert Storm and what he said has stayed with me to this day.

“Imagine how dark our World would be if we were not the last Super Power on Earth today…Could you imagine life under worldwide Communist’s control instead of striving for freedom for all mankind?”

If you have an opportunity to look at your child’s current history book please point out the errors to your children.  Let your school board know that the textbooks today do not reflect your feeling about your Country and do not reflect the real history of our Nation.  Otherwise years from now no one will be left to correct the lies…  and the” cancer”will be allowed to kill us from the inside out.

Many of the protesters are paid to be at these functions.  The breakdown of individuals showing up run from unemployed rich kids to left overs from the Vietnam protests.  Many of those “occupying” have admitted its a great place to get high, meet chicks, and get fed better than at home.  There is no real movement here folks just a drummed up group to try and copy the Tea party movement and its not working.  The Tea Party is REAL and they are scaring the Hell out of those in power currently.  They want change and are affecting it on all levels of government.

I have to laugh when I see a protester on their Iphone or Ipad and they are tweeting on line to keep everyone else informed.  All the while they are protesting the capitalist system which gave them all those devices!  Are there wrongs that need to be corrected with regard to how some businesses and banks operate?…yes but its not Wall Street but the White House that they need to “occupy”  at least until the current “occupant” is gone!

He also wants to expand the EPA and add more and more regulations on businesses and hire more and more government workers to enforce these new rules.  And his plans don’t include getting congressional approval but operating under Presidential powers to achieve this goal.  Do we need regulations on business?…of course….do we need them to the extent that this administration believes we do…absolutely not!!

So what’s the solution?  How do we get back to a sound economy?  Its not really as complicated as those in power would have you believe….

First change the energy plan from one of “green energy”  (whatever that is) and get back to the known and acceptable forms we have today.  We have well over 300 years of known oil supply within the America’s today. Along with natural gas reserves we could be energy independent by the end of the decade.  That alone allows us to get  out of the Middle East crisis after crisis and limits those that would do harm by lessening their income streams from controlling the market.  With the exploration at home we create millions of great paying jobs in this field.  Could you imagine the payback had Obama invested the half billion in fossil fuels instead of Solyndra?  Remember whenever one of those electric cars is plugged in to recharge its energy is coming from fossil fuels!

Next get off the idea that everything can be fixed by “taxing the rich”.  The rich already pay their fair share and more.  This BS that millionaires don’t pay any taxes is a myth.  If you don’t believe me go to any IRS web site and see who actually pays the lion’s share of taxes in this country.  Its not the poor….

Buffet’s statement about his secretary is got one glaring mistake built in.  Her percentage is figured on income from her job as secretary. (and based on who she works for I highly doubt we need to hold a “pencil day” for her).  Warren’s taxes are on his paycheck and to the largest extend his capital gains.  Capital gains are taxed at a lesser rate.  And before you scream about the rate on capital gains remember that the money used to invest in that situation was already taxed once as income.  When you look at the total tax paid on that money it far exceeds the rate his secretary pays on her income.

And finally lets actually enforce paygo on all acts of spending.  What that means is if the government decides to spend any funds there needs to be a direct source of income to pay for it.  In essence you must pay as you go.  Its on the books now but not enforced….let’s start!

There is more work to do but that’s a start…we need term limits…we need less government (I said less not doing away with all).  Government by its very nature is inefficient so the less we have (to a point) the less waste we will have.

Take a look at the video posted from u tube because it reflects my feelings every time I hear the phrase “I’m from the government and I’m here to help”

You need look no further than the latest move by the Oak Park, Illinois City council which just banned eating and driving.  If you go through the drive through  remember you can’t touch those fries till you get to your stop.  What’s next?…no gum chewing?..is that considered eating?…just asking..enjoy Fall before the snow falls…later

Liz listen, you have it backwards….without entrepreneurs to start businesses and hire people there’s no money to fund government!!!! In this down economy the point is made daily.  The government needs more money (A point I dispute) because companies aren’t doing well and job losses are daily. Without income from these jobs consumers can’t spend.  Without spending,tax revenues are down and without jobs less money from the private sector makes its way to Washington in the form of various taxes.

Her point about Wars and tax breaks under Bush fail to account for the spending by Obama (who she worked for during his current administration).

Our President has only “stimulated” his supporter base with his free spending of our taxes on shoring up the jobs of the Unions who fund his campaign.

To you liberals out there I’m sure you wish you could vote for her. She defines liberalism in that government is “good” and business is “bad”.  Profit is a bad word as well to this bunch.

Remember this…were it not for people with ideas and the willingness to risk their personal funds to try and make their ideas reality we would still be traveling on dirt roads with horses and log cabin buildings would be the normal house in which we live.  Hospitals would still be “bleeding people” to cure illnesses instead of treating them with today’s drugs.. So Liz understand that we are a successful Country not because of government restrictions but in spite of them!