That’s Right Nate

When most people think of Illinois, they think of Chicago, but there’s a lot more to this state than Chicago.   There are hard working people all over this great state like the men and women of Bloomington who make Beer Nuts or the Catepillar workers in Peoria who make tractors.   Decatur is the home of the country’s first corn oil mill and the World’s Largest Catsup Bottle is in Collinsville.   These are the hard working salt of the Earth types.   There are a lot of Joe Six Packs and hockey mom’s in downstate Illinois or there would be if they played more hockey and less basketball.

This week, President Obama endangered this lifestyle by announcing that up to 100 Gitmo detainees would be sent to a Super Max prison in Thomson, Illinois.   Now, this country is certainly capable of holding mass murderers, mafia dons, and gang leaders in prison, but these terrorists are Muslims who would love nothing more than to destroy our way of life.  Considering how fast we are doing this ourselves, they will be extra motivated to cause destruction.  During World War II many German POWs were imprisoned in rural Wisconsin.  Do you know what happened?  After the war, they moved there.   When the war on terror is over, do we really want these terrorists moving to rural Illinois?  I sure don’t.

With the United States holding Muslim prisoners in rural Illinois.  It becomes a very tempting target for al-qaeda.   Just think of the damage they could inflict on American morale by destroying the world’s largest catsup bottle, the world’s largest cross in Effingham, or raiding the Illinois Military Museum in Springfield and taking Santa Ana’s captured leg.   I doubt that terrorists had their sites on any of these places before Obama decided to house their brethren at Thomson.

Pat Quinn is now free to begin work on his own scandals.

Today, in a unanimous vote along party lines, Illinois’ Senate voted to impeach Governor Rod Blagojevich and wasted no time swearing in Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn to start his own scandal plagued tenure as the state’s governor.  While no date has been scheduled for Quinn’s own impeachment hearings, the odds of an Illinois Governor enjoying a quiet retirement are basically the same as those of a Philadelphia crime boss.  Blagojevich still has a lengthy legal process to look forward to followed by possible prison time trying to avoid getting shivved by former Illinois Governor George Ryan who looked poised for a Bush pardon before Blagojevich brought the governorship back into the news.

The real tragedy is the end of Blagojevich’s once promising political career.  Like South Africa’s Nelson Mandella and India’s Mo Ghandi, Blago was a man of vision.  Blagojevich made an impassioned plea to the senate to ” “Think about the dangerous precedent of removing me without any proof of wrongdoing,” but the senators appeared to have their minds made up possibly by all the recordings of him Blagojevich demanding bribes from children’s hospitals and the like.

Blagojevich was also singled out for some odd statement he made such as naming Oprah Winfrey to fill Obama’s senate seat, a seat that she would be as qualified for as a bus driver would be to run a school system.  Chicago’s own Mayor Daley called Blagojevich crazy for that one.

“The ordeal is over,” Quinn said. “The citizens of Illinois can be extremely proud of our elected representatives … who carried out their responsibility with serious purpose.  I have not engaged in any illegal activity and I welcome any investigation of corruption during my time as governor.  I am looking forward to the facts finally coming out.”