There is a joke that is currently circulating regarding the Governors of Illinois. It goes something like this…”Illinois is a unique state. In fact, it is so unique the Governors have their own prison wing!” Dan Walker, Otto Kerner, George Ryan and Possibly the current governor will all share or have shared the same color suits! That’s not mentioning Paul Powell, who as Secretary of State was found to have shoe boxes full of money in his home. Money that investigators proved were from payoffs and yes, he became eligible for the striped tan as well!

Governor Rod Blagojevich, arrested by Federal Agents earlier this month has continued to march to the same tune several of the afore mentioned marched to just before they were arrested, tried and jailed. Blagojevich continues to speak of his innocents and today stepped forward and appointed Former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris to fill the seat vacated by President-Elect Obama.

In his comments about the appointment, Burris seemed oblivious to the fact that both the Illinois Lawmakers and Democrats in Washington, D.C. have said they would not accept the nomination. When asked about the Governors problems he was quick to assert that they were the governors and not his and he was unaware of any problem with his nomination. (Really?)

Burris is a seasoned politician, having run for Mayor of Chicago, Governor of Illinois and having served as Illinois Attorney General. At no time has his integrity been challenged and to clear the air…it is not being challenged now. The challenge will come from whether Blagojevich can get an appointment cleared all the way to the U.S. Senate.

If Burris does make it to Washington, D.C., a cloud will always hang over his head. The cloud of “What it cost him to get the nod.” As for Blagojevich, it appears he is surviving to fight another day!

I’ve been around for a lot of elections and following each, the losing party usually has some negative comments about the winner and it ends. 2008’s Presidential Election is different. The losing party is not only continuing to complain but they are acting like road blocks.

Living on a retirement income. I was very interested in how Washington was going to handle the cash crash on Wall Street. President Bush (yes he is still the President) stood firmly behind the $700 Billion bail out and while his party ignored him, the deals were finally cut and Wall Street survived to fight another day! Oh yes, the bail out did little to help a retirees invested savings.

The $700 Billion was suppose to help those losing their homes, loosen up credit and give the economy a nudge to prevent the Recession for getting any worse. What appears to have happened was that large banks bought other large banks and many small banks were gobbled up by the creative use of your tax dollars…a bail out of sorts but for whom?

We now come to the Auto Industry. There are many who have been beaten up by auto sales personnel that would like to say…”Let ‘em sink.” I think I would feel the same way were it not for the thousands of persons that would be directly impacted by the demise of this industry, not to mention the related businesses that support said businesses. Everyone knows how they reached this point…poor management, poor product and now a lack of credit to entice buyers. The question is “Do you let this industry fail?” As someone with a conscience and no ties to the auto industry, I think it would be tragic to allow any of the “Big Three” to go under. The thought of Chapter 11 only leads to one thing…UNION BUSTING! Ronald Regan managed to break the Union when he fired the Air Traffic Controllers. At that time, many Republicans lauded his deed. Now, Republicans are advocating Chapter 11 and no assistance for the Auto Industry. This would be a great way of breaking the Union and not getting their hands dirty.

If the Auto Industry goes under it will be a lot more about Union Busting than an industry rebuild itself!