17 Comments - Establishment Republican - Wednesday, Mar 1, 06 @ 4:19 pm: Go get ‘em Sid! - Just Observing - Wednesday, Mar 1, 06 @ 4:32 pm: Who are the Jewish legislators? - Illinois06 - Wednesday, Mar 1, 06 @ 5:22 pm: Duckworth is so out of touch with District 6 values. She stormed into a hospital, using the suffering of the sick and the elderly as a backdrop for her ethically compromised campaign without the permission of the hospital’s CEO. This is very problematic, especially as Duckworth’s only qualification for political office is her ability to take orders, first from the army and now from the DCCC chairman who holds the strings controlling her wooden legs. - Mr. Anon - Wednesday, Mar 1, 06 @ 5:27 pm: Mathias, Lang, Sara, Ira, Schoenberg, McKeon, Roskam, - Yousef Pohtatoe - Wednesday, Mar 1, 06 @ 5:46 pm: ‘06, I think you’re int he wrong thread, and should maybe skip the caffiene for lent. I saw the conference and the rebuttal. Unusual that none of those guys from either side stuck around to anser questions, basically both sides just batting the ball towards the governor, to see how he swings. Shoenburg looked like he was about to cuss or cry, I don;t know which, but he sure was angry. Meeks, Langford, Raul, and Trotter came up instantly to take their brother legislators to task. Their talking point was: the woman has done nothing during her term so far to warrant any criticism, her religion is her own business, and the hebraic faction should know better than to ask people to repudiate their religion when it comes in conflict with public policy. Meeks and Trotter said it was the same thing as asking a Catholic commission member to repudiate their religion over the actions of some pedophile priests and the coverups of their crimes by church elders. The mood in the hallway afterwards was tense, to say the least. I am still trying to think thru the arguments, myself. I’m sure some kid on the governor’s staff saw the word “islam” in her resume and said “great, we can put a Muslim on the board to help bring balance”. Is Nation of Islam a religion or a hate group? World Church of The Creator claims to be a Christian group, but I don’t think anybody would like a member to serve on a board about preventing hate crimes and promoting sensitivity. I can see some of the Reverend Candidate’s point, but OTOH, Farrakhan is a certifiable loon and a hatemonger of epic proportion. I would question the intelligence of someone who took his words really seriously. But until the woman in question says or does something actionable, I don’t see how Rod can ask for her to quit without getting sued. - Establishment Republican - Wednesday, Mar 1, 06 @ 5:53 pm: Comparing the Nation of Islam, which is basically a hate group, to the Catholic Church is quite a stretch. I do not know if McKeon is Jewish, but perhaps he is taking part in the press conference because of the recent bigoted things that the Minister Farrakhan had to say about gays and lesbians. You just cannot appoint somebody to this particular position if they might support the views of Calypso Louie on tolerance. It would be no different than appointing an associate of Rev. Fred Phelps. - Establishment Republican - Wednesday, Mar 1, 06 @ 5:54 pm: Peter Roskam is not Jewish either (at least I am fairly sure) but he is a strong supporter of the community and I am glad to see him involved in this. Goodnight. - On the Fence - Wednesday, Mar 1, 06 @ 6:29 pm: This is making interesting bedfellows. Rick Garcia started the ‘we shouldn’t throw stones because of her religious leaders’ argument when he said last week he would have to be thrown off because he is Catholic and the Pope is anti-gay. Lame argument. Garcia is a member of his church. Sister Muhammad is a paid LEADER in her church. Big difference. If she wants to stay on the commission, she should publicly disavow Farrakhan’s comments about Jews and gays. Otherwise, she is clearly in support of them. If Garcia supports her and McKeon opposes her, does this signal a split in the gay community on this issue? Doesn’t sound like they’re singing from the same sheet. - Anonymous - Wednesday, Mar 1, 06 @ 7:12 pm: A Farrakhanian on the hate crimes commission. For what? Inside information as to how to be criminally hateful? Too late to throw her off without cause. But it is yet another clear indication that the guy who appointed her is not interested in what’s best for all of Illinois’ citizens. - Paul Powell - Wednesday, Mar 1, 06 @ 7:41 pm: Who represents the KKK on this commission? Putting a KKK member on the commission makes about as much sense as the selection being discussed here. As long as we have these types of individuals on this commission it remains a joke just like RGod’s whole administration. - Levois - Wednesday, Mar 1, 06 @ 7:41 pm: I would err on the side of caution in this. If this is tied to her employment with Louis Farrakhan. The question here might as well be has she said anything racist. This is a very tough question though. I got breifed on this issue by a recent Mary Mitchell column. http://www.suntimes.com/output/mitchell/cst-nws-mitch28.html - Anon - Wednesday, Mar 1, 06 @ 7:58 pm: Check out some of the links - brainless claims that he knew nothing about the appoinment of the nation of islam woman. If puffery doesn’t know who gets appointed to boards, then why are these appointments being made? - Norseman - Wednesday, Mar 1, 06 @ 10:07 pm: Blago strikes again. The news reported that Blago said his staff should have briefed him on the appointment. Nothing like throwing staff under the bus. - I'm a Jew so its ok. - Wednesday, Mar 1, 06 @ 10:12 pm: McKeon, Roscam Jewish???? C’mon… let’s be real here folks. Is Ira Goldberg a Catholic Priest? The Nation of Islam is an anti-semetic organization — it is a losing argument to say it isn’t. - Anon - Wednesday, Mar 1, 06 @ 11:11 pm: So first the comedy central interview was a staff mistake, now staff does not tell him that NOI chief of whatever is being named to this commission, give me a break. We can’t blame this on Lon Monk, he’s gone right ? Whats he doing now ? - Reilly's Brother - Thursday, Mar 2, 06 @ 5:34 am: Lon is running Rod’s campaign…and helping out Stroger too. - Cassandra - Thursday, Mar 2, 06 @ 8:15 am: So, what can the gay legislators and the Jewish legislators and their supporters do now? I predict, a few weak cries of outrages then this will go away. Who else can they vote for besides Blago? Well, there is JBT, but most rich ulraliberals…and both groups have a lot of those…would rather hold their noses and vote for Blago than vote for a Republican. Meanwhile, Blago seems to be right on target with the black community, which clearly supports Farrakhan overwhelmingly, despite the occasional disclaimer by a few prominent blacks. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.