In a not so surprise announcement today by the Pakistan People’s Party it was revealed that they had selected the slain Benazir Bhutto’s son as her eventual replacement to lead the party but have left it to her husband Asif Ali Zardari for the present.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who had largely been shielded from the spotlight by his mother and has not lived in Pakistan since he was a young boy, will lead the party when he finishes his studies at Oxford University.

How dynastic, a third generation “chosen” to lead a political party that fancies itself the voice of democracy in Pakistan. If it weren’t for the distinctly middle eastern surnames involved I would swear we were talking about Cook County here. Change the names to Daley, Stroger, Madigan, Hynes, Mell, or Lipinski and we have a similar story minus the tragic end and dangerous future implications. Heck, Bhutto’s husband even is known as Mr. 10 percent for his propensity to get a piece of the government action. Very combine-eseque I might add.

Zardari, who wed Benazir Bhutto in an arranged marriage in 1987, is a controversial choice to lead the party, and some insiders worry it could fracture. During his wife’s two terms as prime minister in the late 1980s and 1990s, he was known as “Mr. 10 Percent” for his reputation for taking money off the top of government deals. He served an extended jail sentence under Musharraf that stemmed from the alleged corruption.

Telling in the similarities are leaders who claim to fight to provide justice and equality for the common man while they are members of the rich and/or powerful themselves who lead lives of privilege. Bhutto’s son has spent the lion’s share of his life outside of Pakistan and is in no position to be able to lead the people of that country or even recognize what they really need. Same can be said for Todd Stroger who was anointed to run for Cook County President after his Father’s debilitating stroke wherein the family and party elite concealed the true severity of his grave condition and ran him in the primary anyway thus insuring victory so the son could succeed him. Todd had an undistinguished career as a State Representative and Chicago Alderman prior to his ascension. Then there was Lisa Madigan who at least ran in the primary for the Illinois Attorney General post. She sprang from a nondescript tenure as a state senator to the state’s top Lawyer though she had no real courtroom experience. Obviously it never hurts to have a father that is speaker of the Illinois house. While we are walking down the memory lane of political nepotism let us not forget the Illinois 3rd Congressional District Representative Dan Lipinski who ascended to the throne after his father won the primary only to decide he needed to spend more time with his family. He then of course used his political influence in the district to get the precinct committeeman (Michael Madigan among them) to appoint his son as his replacement. At least Dan grew up in Illinois though he had zero political experience and was a professor at the University of Tennessee at the time of his Dad’s sudden desire for more quality time. I could go on but there is only so much bandwidth and far too many such instances in Chicago, Cook County and the state of Illinois.

The grave situation in the middle east and the importance of Pakistan as an ally in America’s war against terror drains the humor and even cynicism from the situation. Pakistan borders Afghanistan and the Waziristan region is a virtual haven for the Taliban and Al Qaeda bad guys currently trying to regin the control they have lost. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf is far from perfect but our alliance and cooperation has provided valuable intelligence that has made Americans and Pakistanis safer. There was much hope that a power sharing arrangement between Bhutto and Musharraf could have furthered democracy in Pakistan as well as positive relations with the United States in our joint efforts to curb radical Islam. The best we can hope for now is that they overcome their Cook Countian tendencies and work towards a real democracy that benefits all Pakistanis, one that looks at ideas and contributions over family lineage. If not the ramifications are far more serious than wasted taxpayer funds. World peace is in the balance and incompetence such as seen in Illinois most populous county cannot be risked or tolerated .

Posted by Biloxi in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois Politics, Middle East, Radical Islam, War on Terror at 5:41 PM EST

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In my previous post I mentioned the complete abdication of responsibility by our state and local Republican organizations. As such I would like to take a brief moment to do my small part in promoting change in an effort to revitalize our state and turn away the rushing blue tide of recent years. We blew our chance to keep an excellent Senator in Washington D.C. when we stood silent as our state party refused to endorse the honorable and effective Sen. Peter Fitzgerald for a second term. It is hard to blame him for not wanting to throw away millions of his personal funds to run in an election where he had to fight his own state party. Mr. Fitzgerald was the anti-combine and a true voice of conservatism and independence. Remember, he was the only Senator to vote against the money wasting airline bailout and it was his independent and dogged insistence that brought us US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald to clean up the cesspool of Illinois politics and corruption.

Illinoisans have a second chance in Steve Sauerberg but it will be an uphill battle. While Sauerberg is officially endorsed by the state party he can expect little actual support if they follow the status quo. His platform seems genuine but his stated bent towards independent thinking might just get him sideways with the combine. He has a a solid ten point plan outlined below.

1. Protect tax relief currently enjoyed by Illinois families - make 2001 and 2003 tax cuts permanent
2. Pass real tax reform - our tax code should be fairer, flatter and substantially simpler
3. Secure our borders - fully fund efforts to build a fence along our southern border and actually build it
4. End benefits for illegals - taxpayers should not have to foot the bill for benefits for those who have nothing but contempt for our laws
5. Deport felons - illegals who are convicted of felonies should be immediately deported upon the completion of their jail sentences
6. Pass private sector market-based healthcare reform - 40 million Americans without health insurance is a disgrace, but socialized medicine is not the answer
7. Eliminate frivolous lawsuits - we need to reform our tort system to protect patients not unscrupulous trial lawyers
8. End wasteful “earmark” spending - we must end the politicians addiction to wasteful pork barrel spending and our tax dollars
9. Prioritize and cut spending in Washington and Springfield - its time for our elected leaders to start to make the tough decisions about spending priorities
10. CHANGE WASHINGTON BY CHANGING WHO WE SEND TO WASHINGTON to be our U.S. Senator!

He also has ten questions for Senator Dick Durbin which may actually shed some light on our Senior Senator and the extreme leftward tilt of his politics. Durbin doesn’t like to answer questions outside of his partisan cocoon so an actual challenge will be good for him. When we get behind the aw-shucks mannerisms of Durbin and force him to respond to his actual positions the usual result will be an event like his “gulag” speech of which the controversial portion is detailed below:

When you read some of the graphic descriptions of what has occurred here — I almost hesitate to put them in the record, and yet they have to be added to this debate. Let me read to you what one FBI agent saw. And I quote from his report:

On a couple of occasions, I entered interview rooms to find a detainee chained hand and foot in a fetal position to the floor, with no chair, food or water. Most times they urinated or defecated on themselves, and had been left there for 18-24 hours or more. On one occasion, the air conditioning had been turned down so far and the temperature was so cold in the room, that the barefooted detainee was shaking with cold….On another occasion, the [air conditioner] had been turned off, making the temperature in the unventilated room well over 100 degrees. The detainee was almost unconscious on the floor, with a pile of hair next to him. He had apparently been literally pulling his hair out throughout the night. On another occasion, not only was the temperature unbearably hot, but extremely loud rap music was being played in the room, and had been since the day before, with the detainee chained hand and foot in the fetal position on the tile floor.

If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime — Pol Pot or others — that had no concern for human beings. Sadly, that is not the case. This was the action of Americans in the treatment of their prisoners.

If Dick Durbin’s last Senatorial Race vs Il State Rep Jim Durkin is to be an indicator, the people will have to get solidly behind Sauerberg to expect any chance because the state and national parties have most likely decided to write this one off. Like many, I am just starting to learn about Steve Sauerberg but I like what I see so far. We can expect more to come after the February primaries when we get into the general election mode where it is expected that Durbin will be forced to defend his positions in debate. Hopefully Sauerberg is up to the challenge and can sucessefully articulate his views to the broader audience while making Durbin do the same. In a battle of ideas Durbin’s partisan hackery may just come up wanting.

While Illinois is such a wreck that the problems may seem insurmountable, you can most assuredly bet they are impossible if we don’t act and stay at home. There is a hymn called “Pass It On” wherein the author Kurt Kaiser relates how it only takes a spark to get a fire going that will soon warm those around, and how it is the same with God’s love. So to can it be with reversing years of political cynicism, corruption and neglect. This is one place we can provide that spark. Give it a try because you can bet that without trying, we can expect in return that which we gave…nothing.

Call me a optimist but it is only hopeless when we cease trying and give up. Sauerberg’s campaign is a good place to start. Ignite those around you.

Posted by Biloxi in Illinois Politics, Politics at 11:52 AM EST

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The Illinois Republican Party is so inept that they cannot or will not offer opposition to the Democrats in many races, and where they do they do not give the support necessary to give their candidate a chance. Currently, the only opponent they could come up with to face Senior Senator Dick Durbin is a suburban physician named Steve Sauerberg. A first time candidate and relative unknown. While I like most of his positions on the issues that confront us and am attracted to the fact that he is not a political insider it is distressing to see the lack of support from our state party. This after they blew the 2004 race by failing to endorse incumbent Senator Peter Fitzgerald. As you remember this led to the Jack Ryan non-scandal (he wanted to have sex with his wife!), and led to the Alan Keyes debacle and ultimately the rise of Barack Obama, media darling and superstar without any substance behind his Presidential campaign.

The latest joke is their complicity in the 3rd Congressional District encompassing Chicago’s southwest side and many South and inner ring Western Suburbs. The current Congressman is Rep. Dan Lipinski who had the position bestowed upon him in true Cook County fashion by his father, the former representative. It seems old Bill got tired and suddenly needed more “time with his family” after the 2002 primary leading to the installation of his son in the Democratic leaning district. For the last several years, a Democratic primary victory is tantamount to winning the election as the Republicans haven’t bothered to mount any real opposition since the 1994 race. Ah, but I digress. The League of Women Voters traditionally has a candidates forum but it appears the establishment Republican candidate refuses to appear on the same dais with perennial candidate and erstwhile white supremacist Art Jones. The supposed real Republican is a fellow named Michael Hawkins who as of yet has no website, no real organization and is doing little to mount a campaign as far as anyone can tell. A Google search of his name coupled with the Illinois 3rd comes up with little as well. The best I can find is this one little article in a barely read local paper where Hawkins claims he was advised by the state party not to attend any such forum where Jones was present. The party disputes this and claims it was more “off the cuff” advice rather than official policy. Policy or advice, wouldn’t it make sense to avail oneself and the party platform to any exposure available? Especially a candidate forum where people are actually interested in the process. This again appears to be an unstated party policy of complicity in the district wherein they offer up a straw candidate for official purposes with a wink, wink, nudge, nudge to the Democrats. To borrow Tribune columnist John Kass’s well used phrase, this is “Combine” politics at it’s finest. If not, it is at very least one of the most egregious examples of ineptitude in recent political history. It costs little to maintain a website and even less to appear at a forum. Any time the party wants to start offering a real choice would be fine with me. Doesn’t it make sense to appear with Jones and offer contrast? It is certainly an effective way to bring out the real party message if they have one. Just maybe they could expose Jones for the charlatan he really is, a nutcase in Republican clothing. Simply walking away brings me back to Benjamin Franklin’s true definition of insanity. It lends one to think that the current party leadership likes their minority status and intends to keep it that way.

It is time to take control and offer a real opposition, current Illinois party Chairman Andy McKenna has proven to be ineffectual and helpless. There should be real choice in every race. A party becomes insignificant when they offer no contrast and the Illinois GOP fits this description to a “T”. It is time for all to get involved, contact your township or precinct committeeman and go from there. Change happens when we demand it and the time is now.

Posted by Biloxi in Cook County, Illinois Politics at 11:35 AM EST

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A very Merry Christmas from my family to yours!

Posted by Biloxi in Biloxi Says at 9:40 AM EST

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Much has been made of our supposed image abroad and how it is in ruins since President George W. Bush took office. So much so, that former President Bill Clinton issued a statement recently mentioning that were Hillary Clinton elected the first thing she would do was send himself and the president’s father, George H.W. Bush, on a world tour to repair the supposed damage caused by the current President. On top of being self serving poppycock I have yet to see widespread evidence of the worlwide hatred so often referenced.

Are we to be worried about the thoughts of, or even give the dignity of response to dictators in waiting such as Hugo Chavez of Venezuela or Russia’s Vladimir Putin? While the left is idolizing Fidel Castro have they noticed his human rights record or that his citizens are willing to risk their life adrift at sea just to leave his country? How concerned should we be with the opinion of Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who called the holocaust a myth and called for Israel to be wiped off the map? Same can be said for Syria’s Bashar al-Assad as he foments radical Islamism and destruction throughout the middle east. Lastly, do we really need to do a good job of selling North Korea’s Kim Jong Il on our image so he will make nice?

The answer is hell no and the position is ludicrous. The recent surge of conservative leaders being elected in Europe such as Germany’s Angela Merkel, and Nicolas Sarkozy in France who have pledged better relations with the US and have forged a spirit of cooperation in the process, might suggest otherwise. President Bush has made mistakes but his foreign policy has been pretty sound.

Where was this concern for World opinion in previous administrations? While visiting Moscow in 1999 I picked up a Russian nesting doll known as a matrioshka. As you can see by the attached picture, our former President Clinton was considered quite a joke. The outer doll was the President himself with the next one being Hillary, followed by Monica Lewinsky third. The fourth doll had an inscription reading “the rest“. The remainder were made with images that looked to represent Gennifer Flowers, Paula Jones and lord knows who else with the final doll being Socks the cat. Better to be considered a cowboy than a joke. Apparently the current President is taken seriously enough for other governments to listen and their people to elect sympathetic and similar thinking leadership.

World opinion is desireable for those who do not wish to enslave their people and murder others because their faith may be different. Acceptance is sought by lovers of freedom, not those who curtail it for their own constituency. We are certainly on the right path and while America may seem arrogant to some it is the most caring world citizen to others. Our image is fine to most as judged by the flood of immigrants, both legal and illegal. It is time for the left to quit blaming America first and be proud of our accomplishments. It is what make America the most desired country on earth.

Posted by Biloxi in Foreign Policy, Liberal Illogic, Politics at 2:27 PM EST

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