Definitely!  I think “Bridge-gate” is the tip of the iceberg that will sink his ship.   I’m confident that the combined investigatory committees will find several charges on which to indict Gov. Chris Christie.  GOP leaders are beginning to call for Christie to step down from his appointment to the RGA.  Former assist. U.S. Atty. Reid Schar, was the lead prosecutor  in former Gov. Blagojevich’s corruption trial, that landed that Illinois governor in prison.  Reid Schar has been appointed as special counsel to advise the New Jersey legislative committee probe on: potential misuse of taxpayer resources for political power, conspiracy, obstruction, and possible abuse of powers, etc. by Governor Christie and his cohorts.   The outcome of the probe will hopefully uncover “what Christie knew and when he knew it”.  I believe that findings will eventually show that Gov. Christie used his power to punish all those who did not support him or his pet projects.  New Jersey has a statute that “prohibits public servants from benefitting or from depriving another of a benefit  through the “unauthorized exercise” of their official duties”.  And who wants such a bully as our country’s President?  Not me!

If “money is the mother’s milk of politics”,  and always has been, it will remain so.   Money has too much influence in every venue it enters.  Money talks loudly, and political candidates must amass huge sums of money to be competitive in our current political system.  In the wake of Citizens United, which basically determined that the political speech rights of American voters and corporate entities are the same, the ultra-wealthy actually have undue influence in political campaigns, as Super Pacs act in House and Senate races as well as in presidential races, but it’s not the last word or Mitt Romney would be our president.  “The times….they are a changing.”  Grass roots support for real values should count for more, and I believe that we’re seeing that throughout our land.  **  Vote – Bustos!  **  Suggested finance reform calls for public funding for federal congressional elections,  which would match at a multiple rate the small contributions received from constituents (like New York City’s successful program), instead of candidates receiving the huge contributions from lobbyists and others advancing their own agendas; it aims to reduce the influence of special interest groups on elected officials and enhance voter participation, which is the key!  Money may buy lots of ads, but votes count more!  Be informed and VOTE!     ******    There’s a lot at stake in this country; this do-nothing Congress needs a wake-up call!  Read about the candidates and vote your values; my vote will be for:  U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, who has a strong record for her first term, looking out for the 17th Congressional District of Illinois and all the rest!

I’d go with Time’s pick of Pope Francis as Person of the Year for 2013.  The first Jesuit pope, and first pope from the Americas, he is the 266th and current pope of the Catholic church.  His choice of the papal name Francis, in honor of St Francis of Assisi, shows his heart and his humility.  “Throughout his life he has been known for his concern for the poor, and his commitment to dialogue as a way to build bridges between people of all backgrounds, beliefs and faiths.  He has said that “in order to dialogue it is necessary to know how to lower the defenses, open the doors of the house, and offer human warmth”. (Wikipedia)   On Christmas day, Pope Francis said in his talk “to the city and to the world” that “Peace calls for a daily commitment”, and asked nonbelievers “to join their desire for peace with everyone else”.  “Pope Francis, while affirming the present Church teachings, has stated that Catholics have concentrated excessively on condemning abortion, contraception, and homosexual acts, while neglecting the greater need for tenderness, mercy, and compassion.”  He has inspired my New Year’s resolution: to think and be more peaceful in all my interactions.           (I love the quote by Ghandi:  “We must be the change that we would see in the world”.)

The bar of expectation on Congress cooperating and doing its job is certainly low, so when it does step up and pass any budget deal, instead of shutting down the government, it’s newsworthy.  Nancy Pelosi told fellow Democrats last week to “embrace the suck”, and vote to pass the paltry bill, “It sucks, but it’s the best we’ll get”.  Obviously it’s no “grand bargain”, but lawmakers did compromise to step back from the brinkmanship we’ve seen from them lately.  We can be hopeful that the budget agreements passed may lead to future progress. I was heartened to see John Boehner’s outburst last week against the extreme conservative groups that influenced and led to the Republican’s government shutdown.  He said, “They’re using our members, and they’re using the American people for their own goals.  This is ridiculous!”   Whatever Boehner’s motives may be for lashing out at the special interest organizations, I found it refreshing.

Well, let’s see — “D” for depressing,”E” for effort, or “F” for Fubar.   Legislators that disregard pension laws that state that pension benefits cannot be reduced for retirees, full well knowing that most of the blame for the underfunded pension plans are the fault of those, who for decades failed to deposit the state’s contributions, while the workers contributed their shares; it’s just depressing!  And most of us retirees don’t even fully understand how these recent changes will diminish our benefits, but we know that we aren’t going to receive what we were promised as we put in our decades of hard work for the state. And current employees will have to work longer before they can retire, and receive less in benefits than previous state retirees.  Meanwhile the Union plans on suing on our behalf, for our contracted benefits.   If the recent pension reform stands, I hope that the greater good is served, that Illinois’ credit rating is improved and state bankruptcy is averted.  I hope that legislators don’t continue to spend state funds unwisely, to our detriment, as they continue to raise our taxes.

Unmanned aerial vehicles, UAVs, were envisioned by Nikola Tesla in 1915, birthed in 1959, and first used in 1960 in the Vietnam War.  A military representative testified before a 1973 U.S. House Committee Appropriations panel about our loss of over 5,000 airmen and another 1,000 MIA or POW, in defending our UAV program.  Our military (or overt) UAV program is used in conjunction where our military is deployed; the covert CIA drone program operates clandestinely.     “As a tool for search and rescue UAVs can be used to help find humans lost in the wilderness, trapped in collapsed buildings, or adrift at sea.” (From Wikipedia)  “UAVs are used by at least fifty countries, including Iran, Israel and China, who have built their own.”  With names like: Predator and Global Hawk, there are now the Ravens, which are “so small they can be launched from one’s hand and maneuvered through streets to discover insurgents or ambushes ahead”.   “They can fly for days at a time, and can collect intelligence by loitering around their target.” Guided by GPS,  they strike with surgical precision and take out their targets, the evil-doers, as “W” liked to call them.  And collateral damage is far less than using a Daisy-Cutter bomb.  The U.S. War on Terrorism campaign, begun under “W”, continues today.   I love saving our service men and women by deploying drones!  Let evil-doers beware!

I love the fact that Galesburg was birthed by high-minded men and women, and built around Knox College, the only remaining site of the Lincoln-Douglas debates.  I love the varied architecture of the oldest homes in Galesburg, some of which were part of the underground railroad that helped runaway slaves to safety in the North.    If you want to learn who the streets and schools were named after read Elmo Caulkin’s book: They Broke The Prairie.  I love that Galesburg was the childhood home of poet/statesman Carl Sandburg, and that his birthplace still stands.  I admire the contributions of the Swedes and Mexicans that came to work on the railroad in our little burg, and enriched the legacy.   I applaud Will and Luz Schick for their work in producing The Boxcar People documentary to commemorate some of those immigrants.           I love our beautiful, old courthouse and the statue of Mother Bickerdyke that graces that lawn, and not far away: Hope Cemetery, where lies the remains of our burg’s lofty settlers.  I loved growing up on the East End of Galesburg!  I loved  Virginia’s Ice Cream place, Buker’s (& Holmes’) grocery strore, and Old Lake Storey.  I especially appreciate: The Orpheum Theatre, our downtown library,  Coney Island, the Taco-Hideout, and Ribshack!

Too little — too late!  On March 2, 2013, the day that Ryan Maxwell died at the jaws of a pit-bull, I was visiting my mother’s trailer with my 8 year-old grandson.  The trailer park was just two blocks away from where the tragedy occurred.  There was plenty of snow on the ground, and I kept peeking out the window to watch as my grandson constructed a snow fort.  Maybe two hours after we left, my youngest brother called me, sobbing, telling me what he’d heard — the news about Ryan (whose grandfather he was close friends with).   I did not know Ryan, but took my brother to the funeral.  I was deeply affected by his death, and mourned for weeks; and also thought how that could have been my precious grandson.   A couple of months later my brother called to tell me that two pit-bulls had run through the trailer park, and through and beyond Kiwanis Park (where luckily no children were playing).  He had called a policeman, who told him that since it was beyond the city limits, the city ordinances did not apply.  The officer said he’d speak to the dog owners and advise them to keep the dogs in their yard.  All the trailer parks are just outside the city limits, so what protection is there for people who reside in or near them?  I have a dog and three cats.  I understand how people grow to love their animals, and consider them part of their family,  but I don’t understand how all the dogs in any city are as important as one human being, one bright, shining, irreplaceable child?  So what difference does it make what the ordinances or penalties are, if we lose even one more life to a deadly animal attack?