DOG DAYS ARE HERE ... AND I'M A DOG

Did you ever get in one of those moods where everything in the news seems bad?

I just spoke with a co-worker and we both agreed that time is right now. The weather is too hot, Illinois has too much corruption ... the war in Iraq ... Israelis fighting Hizbollah ... billions owed in Medicaid payments ... doctors leaving the state because they can't get paid ... clinics laying off employees ... gas prices at $3 per gallon ... medical providers borrowing money to pay bills ... Chris may become the first hurricane of 2006 ... and on and on and on.

But, we must trudge on.

A COMMENT WORTH POSTING

Since I go out of my way to encourage people to visit the comments section I should probably highlight it when a blogger makes a post that, as the saying goes, 'hits the nail on the head.'

I blogged yesterday about campaign financing and the Illinois gubernatorial race. The question centered on the fact that Blagojevich has a campaign warchest with more than $12 million -- far more than challenger Judy Barr Topinka -- and did that provide an advantage to the Guv that is insurmountable.

Here's what an anonymous poster had to say:

I am not sure that any amount of money could buy credibility for Blagojevich. I think that we have seen that by the 20 million he has already spent on his campaign. His approval rating is still hovering in the mid 40 percentile. That is big trouble for any incumbent governer.

There is no way that Topinka can raise the kind of cash that he has. But, she doesn't need to.

Four years ago, Jim Ryan came within 4 percentage points of beating Rod. And, four years ago, at the same time, Jim Ryan reported 680,000 dollars on hand at the time of reporting. He got beaten for two reasons.

First, he was tagged with the dastardly last name of RYAN. You would be amazed at the number of people who thought that he was GEORGE, or they thought he was somehow related.

Secondly, Rod's entire platform was that of rooting out corruption. And, no more "business as usual"I think that he has failed on that promise miserably. And, I am certain that Topinka can, and will, successfully highlight those aforementioned shortcomings.

All I can add to that is -- well said ... very well said.

ALSO ...

A daily read of mine is the Illinoize Blog which covers a wide variety of topics mostly about politics. I occasionally post and cross post on the site but always give it a glance everyday.

I read with interest the comments of Charlie Johnson, a frequent poster.

Go there and read his take on the gubernatorial race as we roll into August. Scroll down to 'NOT TIME TO PLAY TAPS FOR TOPINKA.'

ANOTHER DOSE OF BAD NEWS ... BUT IT'S INTERESTING

Check out this story in the Belleville News-Democrat about Blago's legal fees. Is it any wonder that Illinois is considered the poster child for political corruption when our top elected official is running up legal fees like this?

Here's the story.

FINALLY ...

Nationally syndicated columnist Kathleen Parker does a great job in this column explaining about the recent alleged (and I stress alleged) Israeli bombing that killed 34 children. She has a unique and I believe dead-on accurate take on what took place.

Here's her column.