It's Politics As Usual In Illinois

Politics and the office of Governor of the state of Illinois can evidently be quite lucrative unless you're a complete moron. The latest case of corruption came into focus yesterday as Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris, were charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and solicitation of bribery.

According to the affidavit outlining some of the charges against the Blagojevich and Harris, "G-Rod", in taped phone conversations, conspired to trade the Senate seat left vacant by President-elect Barack Obama in exchange for positions that Obama has the power to appoint, namely the secretary of health and human services post. The taped conversations, much of which was filled with expletives, detailed G-Rod's plans to sell the the vacant seat to the highest bidder.

Illinois has had three of the last seven governors go to prison and from the early indications, Blagojevich may soon join that list. It is too early to see how far reaching this investigation will spread, but it will be very interesting to see who the mysterious candidate #5 is as he or she purportedly offered $500,000, through a third party, for the position.

Congressmen Jesse Jackson Jr., and Danny Davis are candidates who were supposedly being considered for the vacant seat. Authors Note: Fox News has reported that Rep. Jesse Jackson is, in fact, candidate #5. Jackson's attorney, James Montgomery, confirmed same in a news conference this afternoon.

Valerie Jarrett, Barack Obama' choice for the vacant senate seat, suddenly withdrew her candidacy for the position. Whether or not the Obama camp had advanced warning of the impending indictments remained to be seen. Obama has distanced himself from Governor Blagojevich.

Federal authorities also allege the Blagojevich and Harris schemed with others -- including convicted real estate developer Antoin "Tony" Rezko -- to obtain financial benefits for himself, his family and others, including his campaign committee, Friends of Blagojevich. Rezko has also been associated with president-elect Barack Obama in a questionable real estate transaction.

It's Hump Day and a welcome day of the week. It's a good day to head over to AREA 51 and see what the denizens think of the news of the week. With the Illinois governor's scandal and the Congress seemingly ready to give the big three auto comapnies a partial bailout, the conversations should be lively.

This Date In History: 1869; The territory of Wyoming becomes the first area of what is now the United States of America to give women the vote.1898; The Treaty of Paris is signed, ending the Spanish-American War and granting the United States its first overseas empire. 1901; On the anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel the first Nobel Prizes are awarded, the funds for which were provided by Nobel’s will.

1948: The United Nations adopts the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, marking the birth of the modern human rights movement. 1967; Otis Redding, one of the most important figures in the development of soul music, is killed in a plane crash.

Picture Of The Day: I found another O.J. Simpson photo and I just had to run it. Payback's a bitch! The featured picture is Illinois governor "G-Rod" who is also known as "Blago", These names were given to him by the media mostly due to the fact that half of the idiots were unable to pronounce his name.

Birthdays: César Auguste Franck, Belgian-born French composer and organist 1822, Emily Dickinson, major American poet 1830, Melvil Dewey, American librarian and educator 1851, E. H. Shepard, artist and illustrator 1879, Harold Alexander, field marshal 1891, Olivier Messiaen, French composer and organist 1908, Morton Gould, American composer and conductor 1913.

The Hits Just Keep On Coming:

A middle aged woman has a heart attack. While on the operating table she has a near death experience. She sees God, and asks if this is it. God says no, that she has another 30-40 years to live.

She recovers, and decides to stay in the hospital and have a face lift, liposuction, tummy tuck, hair dyed, etc. She figures since she’s got another 30 or 40 years she might as well make the most of it.

She walks out of the hospital after the last operation and immediately gets hit by an ambulance. She arrives in front of God and asks, “I thought you said I had another 30 or 40 years?” To which God replies, “To tell you the truth, I didn’t recognize you.”

Three masked me enter a bank, produce weapons and order everyone to lie face down. As the robbers gather their loot, they advise the bank patrons not to look at their faces or they will shoot them.

As they make their escape, one of the robbers turns to the patrons and asks, "Did anyone look at our faces?" An Irishman in the rear of the bank yells out, "I think me wife took a peek."

An old man, Mr. Wallace, was living the last of his life in a nursing Home. One day he appeared to be very sad and depressed. Nurse Tracy asked if there was anything wrong. "Yes, Nurse Tracy," said Mr. Wallace, "My Private Part died today and I am very sad." Knowing her patients were forgetful and sometimes a little crazy, she replied, "Oh, I'm so sorry, Mr. Wallace, please accept my condolences."

The following day, Mr. Wallace was walking down the hall with his Private Part hanging out of his pajamas, when he met Nurse Tracy. "Mr. Wallace," she said, "You shouldn't be walking down the hall like that. Please put your Private Part back inside your pajamas."

Mr. Wallace said, "Nurse Tracy, I told you yesterday that my Private Part died." Nurse Tracy replied, " Yes, you did tell me that, but why is it hanging out of your pajamas?" Mr. Wallace said, "Well, today's the viewing."

That's it for today my little Christmas elves. More on Friday.

Stay Tuned !