DK Hirner: ‘Does Aaron Schock Think We’re Stupid?’

Posted on September 2, 2010 by Billy Dennis

From my inbox, a letter from the DK Hirner campaign::

Despite voting no to the stimulus funds that allowed the completion of a new 1.5-mile stretch of Illinois Route 8, Rep. Aaron Schock was front and center at the ribbon-cutting ceremony in East Peoria, last Monday, August 30th.

The congressman has made it a habit to travel around IL’s District 18 and take credit for the various public works and programs directly funded by the federal stimulus act. Rachel Maddow called him out on Meet The Press as a hypocrite for voting against the stimulus act and then appearing at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a green technology program at Lincoln Land Community College.

“He is shameless. He is in lockstep with his party and has obstructed some of the most important legislation ever passed by Congress — legislation that has a direct and beneficial effect for the people of the 18th”, said his Democratic opponent Deirdre “DK” Hirner.

Schock also voted against other pieces of legislation that would extend unemployment benefits, assist small business, reform the worst practices on Wall Street, make health care more accessible, allow first-time homebuyers tax credits, and keep jobs from going overseas.

“He wants it both ways — playing the Washington game and appearing to be on people’s side when he is in the district. I think voters are smarter than he thinks they are.”

Posted in Politics | 5 Comments

Owners of Journal Star now only 73 percent likely to go belly-up

Posted on September 1, 2010 by Billy Dennis

The overpaid corporate fat asses who run GateHouse Media must be just gushing with joy over the sweet press they are getting over news that they are no longer considered a virtually certainty to go bankrupt, but just extremely likely to go bankrupt.

Moody’s upgraded GateHouse’s “probability of default rating” (PDR) to Caa3 from Ca. It is not exactly a ringing endorsement: The previous rating of Ca suggested a 100% probability of default within a four-year period. The new rating of Caa3 suggests about a 73% probability.

And Moody’s did not change its “corporate family rating” (CFR) of the parent of the Peoria (Ill.) Journal Star, The Patriot Ledger and 87 other dailies and hundreds of weeklies and shoppers. Under Moody’s definition, GateHouse’s CFR of Ca, which is just one notch above its lowest rating, suggests an investment in its debt is “highly speculative.”

In an note to investors, senior analyst Carl Salas also said Moody’s expects GateHouse to default on its $1.2 billion term loan “over the intermediate horizon” – and raised the spectre of a bankruptcy filing.

GateHouse Media owns the Peoria Journal Star, the Pekin Times, the State Journal Register, what’s left of TimesNewspapers since they shuttered the Peoria Times Observer, and many other newspapers in this part of the state.

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Best blog commenting rules. EVAR.

Posted on September 1, 2010 by Billy Dennis

Guess who:

NO COWARDLY ANONYMOUS COMMENTS. Leave me your blog URL, embedded in your name, so I can retaliate on your blog with my objections and arguments to your comments here. If you don’t have a blog, I don’t care about your opinion about anything. Go post your caveman scrawlings on on some truck forum or something.

UPDATE: It’s not MY BLOG, dummies. It’s this guy.



Posted in Media | 5 Comments

‘Ground Zero Mosque:’ What the Hell does some stupid Mormon know about the need for religious freedom anyway?*

Posted on September 1, 2010 by Billy Dennis

Via TPM:

In an interview with the local Fox affiliate in Salt Lake City, [Sen. Orrin]  Hatch stated his support and past work for religious freedom. “So, if the Muslims own that property, that private property, and they want to build a mosque there, they should have the right to do so,” said Hatch. He also discussed his past experiences dealing with discrimination against the construction of Mormon temples — and when his late friend Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) helped him to resolve just such a dispute in Boston.

Hatch acknowledged that there have been objections to the construction of the center, on the grounds of sensitivity and whether it should be built, but ultimately he came down on the side of the right to build it without interference. He also added: “And there’s a huge, I think, lack of support throughout the country for Islam to build that mosque there, but that should not make a difference if they decide to do it. I’d be the first to stand up for their rights.”

* About the headline: Some folks were concerned about the headline. Basically, it’s sarcastic. Orrin Hatch is a Mormon. Mormons have experienced than their share of religious persecution. I suspect that this may be in the back of the senator’s mind when he defends the religious rights of the Muslims who want to build their center where they want to build it.

Posted in Politics | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Is a Peoria hospital for sale?

Posted on August 31, 2010 by Billy Dennis

Over in his Community Word column, Roger Monroe is reporting about rumors that one of Peoria’s hospitals is for sale and may be sold to a “national health system.”

And since the article was posted, I’ve had two instant messages from people telling me this rumor is old news and the hospital is Proctor.

Posted in Misc | 1 Comment

You know those people I’ve been calling fascists and proto Nazis? Aaron Schock and Bill Brady are appearing at their upcoming rally

Posted on August 31, 2010 by Billy Dennis

How ironic. The proto-Nazis are meeting on Yom Kippur.

It’s a whopper of a public relations blunder.

Speakers for Right Nation 2010’s “evening extravaganza” on September 18th at the 10,000-seat Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates include Glenn Beck, gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady, blogger Andrew Breitbart, Rep. Aaron Schock, former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, John Moore of The Wall Street Journal, and Tea Party leader Herman Cain.

One problem: the evening convention, which follows an afternoon “activist training conference” for conservatives at the nearby Marriot Chicago Northwest, is on Yom Kippur, the holiest of the Jewish High Holy Days.

How nice. Jews can celebrate by watching Beck and his cohorts blame all of America’s problem on a minority religion. Just like the good old days.

And Schock needs to explain to Peorians why he is cozying up to these people.

And here is my column in The Community Word on the subject.

Posted in Politics | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

I think this might have something to do with the fact that CNN is almost totally unwatchable

Posted on August 31, 2010 by Billy Dennis

Big surprise: CNN Has Lowest Primetime Viewership In 10 Years.

Every time I try to sit down and watch it, they’ve got some guy or a woman sitting down trying to insert their personality into the reporting. And it just does not work. It “works” on Fox because no one watches Fox for news, as much as they want the news spun to fit their preconceived notion of the way the world ought to be.

I can’t watch it. The worst is that tool Rick Sanchez.

Posted in Media | 4 Comments

Viewers blindsided by lame morning show segment

Posted on August 31, 2010 by Billy Dennis

So, on the CBS morning show — I can’t remember the name and I don’t care to look it up — they have a clip of some German sportscaster getting hit in the head with a soccer ball. It’s newsworthy, Harry Smith says, because it’s “burning up” the Internet. CBS has been playing the damn thing on a loop for at least the past hour and I’ve seen it maybe 50 times. Then they interviewed the sportscaster and she revealed the following exciting details:

1. She’s been hit TWICE before, once off camera, alas.
2. The player who kicked the ball apologized and later gave her flowers, on camera, of course.
3. She was surprised when it happened, to which I replied: “No shit.”

I used to photograph a lot of sports. I’m thinking that if someone had a video camera on ME at any of the times I’ve been hit by flying balls at sporting events, I’d be a freaking STAR by now.* Once, I got hit in the middle of the chest by a foul ball. Knocked me on my ass. Once time, the entire Woodruff High School football team though it would be funny to clear the field of practice balls by tossing them at ME. Yeah, but laugh.

Anyway, congratulations on the high quality journalism over there at CBS. Next week, “2 Girls, 1 Cup.” Now THAT is a popular YouTube video.

* Well, probably not, since I’m not a hot blond chick. Funny how being a hot blond chick seems to open up a lot of opportunities in the sideline sports reporting business.

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Blogger Bash is TOMORROW

Posted on August 30, 2010 by Billy Dennis

Remember, people: Blogger Bash is tomorrow. It’s gonna start at 6 p.m. tomorrow at the Fieldhouse in Campus town in Peoria. The joint faces University Aveneue, right across the street from Bradley University.

Everyone is invited. Bloggers, blog commenters, lurkers, Facebookers, Twitterers and even those people using Peoria.com.

Members of the press have been known to attend (it’s all OFF THE RECORD), as well as various politicians and wanna-be-politicians.

Mostly we eat, drink, tell tall tales and solve the world’s problems. It’s all friendly and informal and strictly buy your own bottle.

We haven’t RESERVED any room or anything, so anyone who tops buy can join in.

Posted in Misc | 4 Comments

What’s the word on the street? Don’t ask PJStar.com

Posted on August 30, 2010 by Billy Dennis

I’m guessing the most recent column is in the paper today. Cause last week’s column is the only one on the newspaper’s Website.

Posted in Misc | 13 Comments