Over the Funk

It's been more than a month since posting here and I think that part of it was the melancholy felt by losing another outlet for writing. It was sad to see the demise of The Freeport Focus. There were a number of good, hard-working people who really wanted to see the paper succeed. Unfortunately, the economic downturn and the paucity of regular subscribers cut into the chances of the paper making it. They brought a sensibility to the community and fulfilled a need in covering school board and district issues, community government, county government, and definitely highlighted local athletics and arts.

The Journal Standard picked up the pace with some of their coverage and have done a much better job with their coverage on the web. I especially like what Joe Tamborello has done with the video presentations and his photos tend to be of high quality. There are still too many generic columns by GateHouse contributors that have little to no bearing on our area. There is still a need there that needs to be filled.

How many events have happened since the beginning of the year?! A new President, a miraculous water landing in the Hudson River, a pork-filled "stimulus" plan, further deepening of the recession, and the birth of octuplets. Oh yeah, and Illinois has a new Governor! Blago's gone, but he won't let us forget him, because he is on t.v. every few hours.

There has been no scarcity of faux pauxs in the early days of the Obama administration. Just today another choice for Commerce Secretary has withdrawn his name. Why weren't all of these people truly vetted, especially in the Treasury Department when it comes to who has and hasn't complied with the tax laws? There is also something inherently wrong about having lobbyists or those who have received large donations being nominated for positions like Secretary of Health and Human Services, nee Tom Daschle. And please, President Obama, it comes across as a sign of weakness by declaring, "I screwed up." How about something along the lines of, "I apologize that this candidate was not fully vetted. We have asked him/her to step aside, because we will not tolerate these indiscretions in my administration. We will work to make sure that this does not happen again."

For any regular readers of the newspaper columns, I'll try to stay more up-to-date with postings at this site. Drop me a line and touch base.