Like you wouldn’t do it

Glancing at the SJ-R dot-com comment boards- always a source of humor and irritation- I see that people are still bitching about Tony Libri and the other guys on the Sanitary Board giving themselves pay raises. Senator Bomke even chimed in in this morning’s paper in the form of a Letter to the Editor. And for the record, Republican or Democrat, Sen. Bomke is one of the few decent public officials anywhere in the state. “Decent public official”… that’s a little like saying “whole half” or “virgin birth” or “sit up”. Or “honest lawyer”. But debating Sen. Bomke’s integrity or honor, or the whole liberal vs. conservative thing in general, is not what this particular bitchfest is about, so don’t start bashing Sen. Bomke here.

To all of you people out there screaming “OUTRAGE!” at the Sanitary Board and demanding they all be removed from office because they gave themselves raises, shut the hell up. Don’t sit there atop your little pedestals in your little ivory towers and even attempt to try to convince me or anyone else that, if you had the means by which to grant yourself pay increases, you wouldn’t do it. It’s human nature to want more money, especially when it’s at someone else’s expense. I’m not saying it’s “right” in the least, but that’s how people are. Dey want money, money (yeah, yeah), dey want money, money (yeah, yeah)…

My personal opinion is that it’s complete and total bullshit how legislators, and any other officials who can, can vote themselves pay increases when they are part-time employees that make ridiculous salaries already, but also are paid overtime as a reward for not getting their work accomplished (see the budget fiasco last summer), they receive full-time benefits and insurance (courtesy of John and Jill Taxpayer), plus they get per diems, cars (and airplanes, as is the case with Gov. Chicagovich) to take them to and from work (again, at our expense), they have innumerable secretaries, interns, pages, and assorted other lackeys to do 97% of their jobs for them, as well as get them coffee, lunch, hookers (and six-figure jobs for their wives to give themselves more time to spend with their hookers), free Hannah Montana tickets, blowjobs, and whatever else at the snap of a finger… need I go on? Oh, and then there’s that whole legislative immunity bullshit. But the thing is, they do all this for the same reason dogs lick their balls. Again, it’s human nature. Given the choice of a low-paying, dead-end job requiring long, hard, backbreaking, and/or thankless work and a six-figure part-time job with full benefits, company car (or plane), per diem, your own staff, infinite TV time, and countless other perks, and a write-your-own salary option, which would YOU choose?

The problem isn’t THAT they give themselves pay increases, but that they ARE ABLE to give themselves pay increases. Again, if you had the ability to do so, you would too, and you know you would. I’d like to be able to say I would do “the right thing” and be all virtuous and all, but chances are that I’d probably give myself an increase as well, if I could. Can’t really blame them for exercising an option they’ve been handed on a silver platter, especially one that everyone reading this would exercise as well, given the opportunity. Take that option away from them (not to mention lower their friggin’ salaries a few dozen thousand dollars) and maybe it’ll be a little different. (Probably not, but it’s better than where we’re at now.)

Funny how the higher people get paid, the less motivated they get to earn it. Out in the REAL world (i.e. anywhere you don’t have politics and unions to protect the slackers), work ethic like theirs would get rewarded by being shown the door. But as long as the crooked world of politics and unions exist, this kind of thing will continue to happen. Be outraged if you must, but don’t act surprised. And don’t act like you wouldn’t do the same, because you would. And, likely, so would I. Take the blank checks away and they can’t very well write the checks, now can they?

We need the ability to recall all of these douchebags that aren’t getting the job done. Governors, senators, representatives, judges, sheriffs, sanitary board members, I don’t care what it is. If we have the ability to elect them, we deserve the right to remove them if they aren’t doing their friggin’ jobs to our satisfaction. And it shouldn’t have to wait until their next election and having to just hope the voters of Illinois (or Springfield or whatever the case) are smart enough not to re-elect them. (Kind of like how all the idiots inexplicably re-elected Blowj Blagojevich in 2006 after the catastrophuck he created his first four years… hmmm, what’s THAT sound like?) If they can’t get the job done, get them out and find someone else who can.

Oh, and Springfield is still the capital of Illinois, folks. I Googled it.

Stay on point, people

Commenters on SJ-R.com these last couple weeks are really getting “out there” with their remarks.

The main “arguments” seem to be:

• Hot Rod is to blame for the budget mess and needs to be removed from office (this is true and cannot be argued)
• Illinois is up in arms over the ban on license plate covers (heaven forbid police officers, who are already under microscopic scrutiny as it is, get their thankless jobs made just the slightest bit easier)
• Implementing school uniforms is akin to Nazi-ism. (um, what?!)
• State workers are whining little babies that don’t deserve to be paid AT ALL, let alone on time (screw you, all you jag-offs that say that. Let your boss threaten to withhold your paycheck but expect you to report to work and do your job, and see if you don’t get the slightest bit miffed.)

My personal favorite, though, has got to be the complete idiot who, commenting on the story of the Governor and his wife skipping the parade and only showing up briefly for the ribbon-cutting ceremony, proceeded to go all Mr. Blackwell on the First Lady for the dress and shoes she wore. I’m no fan of the Chicagoviches by ANY stretch of the imagination, but how does her outfit have anything to do with anything? You want to rip on the Governor, that’s fine. You want to support the Governor, that’s fine (although completely stupid). But don’t make some bitchy, catty remark about how the First Lady is dressed. Don’t make it personal. Let me qualify that: if you want to make it personal on him, go ahead. He’s an asshole and deserves it for dropping a giant deuce on this state. But leave her out of it. It’s not her fault (nor her wardrobe’s fault) that he’s a socialist pinko freak that has no clue how state government should work. Personally, I thought she looked fine. It’s the State Fair, people, not a black tie gala event at the Mansion, which, incidentally, happens to be a dwelling they would likely need GPS to find, but that’s another issue.

There have been many that have left intelligent, coherent comments, regardless of on which “side” they fall (pro-Blago or anti-same), but there have also been many that have proceeded to show their total ignorance (again, regardless of viewpoint), not just in what they say but how they say it. They can’t spell, they speak in run-on sentences, they speak in fragments that go nowhere. And we wonder why the rest of the country thinks people from the Midwest aren’t real bright.

Look, SJ-R.com comment posters, it’s simple: if you have a point to make, then make it. Don’t get mad when someone takes the opposing view; that’s the whole idea. It’s a place for the “unimportant” masses to debate topics that are important, and some not-so-much (the license plate cover ban and school uniforms, for example). Say what you want to say, but at least try to make it somewhat intelligent and keep it pertinent. Don’t make some completely irrelevant snide little remark about something that has nothing to do with the topic being discussed.

As far as Rod and the budget goes, I beg all of you to remember his antics come the next gubernatorial election. Get him and Emil (and many of their cronies) out of office as soon as possible. That is the most powerful means of commenting on our political leaders’ performance (or lack thereof) that we possess. Let’s use it. If you don’t vote, you can’t complain.