News for January 30
January 30, 2009 by Barbara
Filed under News and Analysis
Blagoneovich
The Illinois Senate ousted embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Thursday after a three-day impeachment trial. In addition to tossing the governor, who is accused to trying to sell President Obama’s U.S. Senate seat, out of office, the Illinois lawmakers also barred Blagojevich on a vote of 59-0 from ever holding office in Illinois again. Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn was sworn in as governor. Reactions and comments include:
Alas, a Blog | “I was born in Illinois, and spent the first six years of my life there; as my dad likes to say, it’s a good state to be from, as that means you’re not there anymore. While Blagojevich’s scandal was brazen and bizarre, it’s not unusual. As Gov. Pat Quinn now takes the reins, he knows that if history is any guide, he’s got a fifty-fifty chance of ending his term in jail. Three of the previous eight governors did, and Blagojevich appears likely to be the fourth. Illinois politics is built on the patched-up foundation of the Daley Machine, a cancerous, Superfund-worthy lot of patronage and corruption. And it’s not just on the Democratic side; the most recent Governor to go to jail was Republican George Ryan, who was also, until about 5 p.m. this afternoon, the most recent ex-governor.”
The Daily Beast | “No question Blago’s sold-out media tour will end up wedged into P.R. and legal textbooks in a small fluorescent yellow box labeled DON’T. But for a moment let’s try to forget his self-proclaimed kinship with Messrs Gandhi, King, and Mandela. (I know, I know, it’s hard). Put aside the fact that he assumed that Larry King, who is Jewish, must therefore know Yiddish, saying on television that King would “certainly understand” the word “meshugas,” Yiddish for crazy.”
ProPublica | “What’s next for Blagojevich? Well, after he cleans out his office, he might have a criminal trial to prepare for. He was arrested last year on a raft of corruption charges (including for allegedly trying to sell Obama’s seat for personal benefits), but has yet to be indicted. His arrest set in motion a weeks-long impeachment process that ended in his conviction today.”
Political Animal | “Blagojevich was also barred from ever running for any public office in Illinois. Democrat Pat Quinn, up until a couple of hours ago the lieutenant governor, has already been sworn in as Illinois’ new governor. Blagojevich, sounding a bit like Helen Lovejoy, said his only wrongdoing was caring for the children.”
City of Brass | “It stands to reason that a politician may be corrupt; but the impeachment shows that the system is not. … Svend asks whether the impeachment trial gave Blago his due process. It’s important to note that the impeachment is a political trial, not a criminal one – Blago does face criminal charges from federal prosecutors, and in that trial he will assuredly get his witnesses and whatnot. But also keep in mind that Blago missed the deadlines to file for subpoenas and then complained of due process after the fact.”
‘This One’s For Lilly’ | The Daily Kos
The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was signed today, the first piece of major legislation President Obama has signed. A bill saying that it’s not OK to discriminate even if you hide it really well should not have been a major advance. But it is. It is because that’s the Supreme Court we have, and until earlier this month, that was the Congress and the president we had. This is a major advance because 2007 saw the highest earnings ratio (PDF) between men and women ever — just a 22.2% gap.
- Related link: A Story in Pictures | Feministe
- Related link: First Obama Bill Falls Short on Transparency Pledge | ProPublica
Newspapers Without Profits | Matthew Yglesias
The future is going to contain lots of for-profit media enterprises. But the very rapid pace at which information can be disseminated these days makes it difficult for a media enterprise to internalize all the gains of reporting new information. Consequently, in the future news gathering is going to be a lot less profitable. And that means that more of it is going to have to be done by not-for-profit institutions. So I think it’s very good to see Steve Coll, a longtime veteran of the newspaper business now working for a non-profit, thinking along these lines.
Army Suicides at Record High | The Associated Press
Stressed by war and long overseas tours, U.S. soldiers killed themselves last year at the highest rate on record, the toll rising for a fourth straight year and even surpassing the suicide rate among comparable civilians. Army leaders said they were doing everything they could think of to curb the deaths and appealed for more mental health professionals to join and help out.
Barbara Schwartz is the editorial director at the Xenia Institute. She lives in Oklahoma City, Okla., and currently is pursuing a Master of Divinity degree at Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa.
