Holland family update

I don't know if I ever explained this on the blog, but my brother is now working for Holland Safety Equipment. That's my parents' company, which I could explain to you, but I have a hunch that if you care you probably already know. Here are the most important things to know.

1. HSE is the American division of a British company, TEL.
2. The company makes a niche product you may or may not understand in any capacity.
3. My dad is the leading seller of this product in the United States.
4. HSE has three full-time employees, the third being my mom.
5. The main management/sales office is in the finished part of the basement, packaging is in the unfinished part, the warehouse is in the garage and accounting is in my mom's office. She also handles shipping.
6. Points 1 through 5 are a gross oversimplification, and if you really want to know what HSE is all about, visit the Web site. Or call. The motto? "We doze but never close."

Anyway, because of business, Matt and Pops went to England earlier this month. Then, as Pops came back stateside, Matt continued on to Budapest. I had no idea he was going to Budapest, but I think that's because I don't pay very close attention when people tell me stuff like that.

So what follows is my brother's account of the social side of Budapest. I could post the business stuff, but it's a: propietary information; and b: real damn boring.

So... here is Budapest through the eyes of Matt. (FYI, Graham is the guy my dad works with at TEL. I think Andy is his son.)

Tuesday, Andy and I set out to a Thai place he had found the week before. The meal was pretty good, but I found the rice to be the best I've ever had. Rice is one of those foods that it's hard to do poorly, but it's rare that you find some that stands out...rice is rice is rice. But this was incredible. So thumbs up to that restaurant. We found an Irish pub after dinner and had a couple beers while talking. Pretty tame night.

Wednesday, Andy wanted to take me to a sports bar he found so we could watch the England vs. Germany football game, so we got there and sat down. But apparently the table was reserved or the place was full because a bartender ran at us screaming "GET UP GET UP FULL HOUSE FULL HOUSE" so we got up got up and found another place.

I had goulash which reminded me of something grandma or mom might make in the coldest months of the year. Essentially, it was your basic meat and potato stew. It was really good...it's just a starter/appetizer but it's very filling, and for a lesser man, like Andy, it could ruin your main.

Andy had like five bites of his main, which was disappointing, and I got the steak and cheddar sandwich. I'm pretty sure what I know to be cheddar is not what the Hungarians know to be cheddar. Nay, definitely sure. It was like some low quality Kraft American single, and the steak was forgettable. This place may not have been the best place for a proper dinner, but it's alright. Thursday made up for it.

In the middle of Wednesday's dinner, these two guys walked in and watched the football game with us. They were obviously Canadian to me, but some Brits around us couldn't tell the difference between Canadian and English accent, and they said, "hey some more Americans!"

They did not take too kindly to that, which I thought was hilarious.

"Hey, eh, don't ever make that mistake again eh!" I made some comment about how football was a better version of hockey, and they were just appalled. The one guy looked and acted exactly like Ben Stiller in Zoolander. If you've seen the movie, you know what I mean -- it was priceless.

Thursday was the winner. Graham chose a lavish place with outdoor seating, and we were the first people there (at 8!!!!!!!) so we got a lot of attention right off the bat.

Graham got sole, Andy got lamb, and I got veal -- all wonderful. Oh and I had more goulash. That stuff is good any day of the year.

More impressive than the food was the alcohol we went through that night. Mom, don't read if you'd like to think we had a peaceful evening.

We started off with drinks at the hotel before dinner -- two each.

Then we got two large bottles of wine at dinner, which was around five or six glasses each. That was accompanied by four shots of Grappar (spelling), two each for me and Andy.

After an oncoming storm drove us inside, Graham suggested we have coffee before bed. Well that turned into a three hour experience. Aside from the two rum and cokes I had, Andy thought it would be a good idea if we had another three shots each. He did not do so well with all of it.

He claims he doesn't remember going back to his room but he DOES remember waking up on the floor...I just felt a bit groggy in the morning and a quick shower got me good and ready to tackle the day.

I'm running out of battery power, and I think I've covered Budapest -- it was, on the whole, awesome.

I, on the other hand, have been to Naplate. Twice.

Wise words

Here is my favorite item from this week's Tuesday Morning Quarterback:

Tenet's Book Also Reveals That His CIA Codename Was "Agent 86": Last week the administration was forced to declassify a 2005 report by the CIA's Inspector General which concluded, in the words of the Los Angeles Times, that "former CIA Director George Tenet and other top officials deserve to face further scrutiny to determine whether they should be reprimanded for their roles in an array of [intelligence] breakdowns before [9/11]." Previously TMQ has noted that Tenet made no public statements opposing the Iraq war either while at the CIA or after leaving government in 2004 -- but once he had a booklike object to sell in 2007, and knowing popular opinion had turned against the war, suddenly discovered he had opposed the invasion of Iraq all along. Tenet begins his booklike object, "At the Center of the Storm," by claiming that early on the morning of Sept. 12, 2001, he bumped into neocon hardliner Richard Perle leaving the West Wing of the White House. The former CIA director asserts Perle told him that morning that Saddam Hussein was behind 9/11 and must "pay a price." Tenet uses this anecdote to begin building his case that George W. Bush decided to invade Iraq owing to bad advice from neocons, rather than bad advice from the CIA. Richard Perle not only denied ever saying this to Tenet -- he wasn't even in the United States on Sept. 12, 2001. He was stuck in Europe by the shutdown of air travel. Confronted with Perle's denial, Tenet quickly backtracked and declared he must have gotten the dates mixed up.

This is remarkable on two levels. First, Tenet is the former CIA director, yet the best-case analysis of Tenet's own claims is that he's so scatterbrained he cannot remember when important meetings happened, plus so slapdash with details that he did not fact-check the opening pages of his own book. The guy who was CIA director when the United States went to war admits to being careless about factual material! Second, not only did the former CIA director either dream up the White House meeting or totally bungle the details, he begins his booklike object by offering a claim that is easily falsified. Tenet does not recount meeting some clandestine source in an underground parking garage on Sept. 12, 2001, the sort of contention that could never be proved or disproved. He names the person and place, and he names the kind of person who would be likely to keep an appointment calendar and travel records, and thus able to show Tenet's claim wrong. This is to say, the guy who was CIA director as the United States went to war doesn't know rudimentary spy craft! Only a total novice about spy craft would make a central factual claim that his adversary easily could prove phony.

Baby update

After a successful family outing to the medical clinic today, we have fully confirmed that there is only one fetus inside Kristie. She heard the heartbeat last Wednesday, but I think she felt better being able to physically see just the one child.

Jack was generally pretty interested in the proceedings, though he did insist on going to get a drink (he mostly just wanted to play with the his height water fountain), so I distracted him with a granola bar. Every time someone asks whether he wants the baby to be a boy or a girl (or if he wants a brother or a sister), he always leans toward the feminine option.

This is a good sign since Kristie and I have 100 percent come to terms on a girl name but are still not totally sold on a boy name. We knew we'd name our first boy Jack Thompson I think before we got married, so that was a no-brainer. But if he'd have been a girl and the nurses asked us what to name her, we'd have been dumbfounded. That's part of the reason methinks this fetus will be a she.

Also, the due date seems to be Feb. 20. Now that the twins thing is water under the bridge, Kristie's big worry is having a Leap Day baby. Can't say that would bother me as much, but what do I know? I think what also would suck is having the Nick Ergang birthday on March 1. Every four years you have to wait one whole day for your birthday, which as a child must seem excruciatingly long.

The ultrasound was the easiest to read I've ever encountered. We saw Jack at least thrice in utero, and I remember him being almost imperceptible. This one, we looked and it was all right there. Head, torso, legs. We even got to see arms and fingers at one point. I think even Jack knew what he was looking at.

The picture they printed isn't much -- skull and spine -- but it appears to be human. And it's ours. The times they are a-changin'.

All growed up ... or not

Jack's first day of day care Monday went, well, I wouldn't say good.

It started with a lovely paperwork snafu between the old doctor's office and the new one combined with a timing issue that meant I had to take him instead of Kristie (a problem for me since I was out of the office during the most important hour of the morning). When I dropped him off, he said "Dad, can you please go away now?" But the real lovely part started when the center called Kristie at school (despite being told to call me) and informed her Jack had to be separated from another girl.

Knowing Jack as I do, the next part didn't surprise me. Pissed off at being told no, he threw something. In this case... a chair. Nice. They asked if he was OK, he said no (he also answers the question "What's your name?" by saying "I three" and the question "What should we name the baby?" with "Ummm... I think we should name it Jack"). They took his temperature and it was around 99.2, which is understandable given how worked up he gets when he throws tantrums.

It apparently went better Monday afternoon, and Tuesday was pretty uneventful, except he didn't want to go to sleep (they didn't give him his blanket and plug, which we specified were part of naptime on the info sheet -- once they hooked him up he was out in less than 15 minutes) and a conniption when they tried to give him peas for lunch. They told him he didn't have to eat them, not understanding he doesn't care to look at food he has no plans to ingest.

Tomorrow is an off day, but he's back Thursday. If we can get through a whole day without one call to either parent, I will be a much more stable person to be near.

On a totally unrelated note, I'm trying to teach him, when thirsty, to say "Dad, I need to get my drink on." It's starting to work, but I'm guessing it's on the list of things that won't fly at day care.

Things you didn't know

Here is my favorite item from this week's Tuesday Morning Quarterback:

Wealthy ex-presidents reach into your pockets: Recently, the Congressional Research Service announced the federal subsidies requested for the coming fiscal year by ex-presidents Jimmy Carter, George Herbert Walker Bush and Bill Clinton. Globe-trotting Carter asked for only $2,000 for travel; Bush and Clinton, both millionaires, wanted $50,000 from taxpayers for travel. Bush said he needed $69,000 for "equipment" and $13,000 for postage. Is Bush planning to mail 32,000 thank-you notes next year?

What's really offensive is that all three filed for the maximum presidential retirement payment of $191,000 annually. All these guys are wealthy, the elder George Bush having significant inherited wealth, yet all want taxpayers to hand them pensions seven times higher than the typical Social Security sum. This is extra galling because Carter and Clinton aren't even retired! Carter continues to write books that sell well; Clinton is active on the corporate speaking circuit, having earned an estimated $10 million speechifying in 2006. Clinton prattles on and on about the horrors of inequality, yet demands $191,000 in bonuses from taxpayers whose median household income is about 1/20th of his estimated $10 million. Why didn't the three ex-presidents request no pension at all? That would have been the dignified thing to do.

To top it off, Clinton requested $79,000 for telephone service. It is impossible, physically impossible, to spend $79,000 on telephones! If Clinton had a 10-cents-a-minute long-distance plan, he could talk long-distance 24 hours a day, 365 days per year -- and you can imagine Clinton doing this -- yet fail to burn through $79,000. The most expensive package offered by Verizon Wireless is an international super-phone with unlimited texting and four hours of talk time daily; this sells for about $3,000 per year. Clinton could purchase two dozen of the most expensive cell accounts available in the United States for the tax-subsidized telephone budget he requested. Is Clinton's $79,000 phone request fraud, or is Clinton planning to use the money to buy phones for staffers working on his private speaking business? An ex-president who had financial problems might legitimately turn to the taxpayer. For all three living ex-presidents to be quite wealthy yet demanding public subsidies is shameful -- to say nothing of a failure of leadership.

Amen, brother. This guy is a mandatory on my reading list. I suggest the same to you.

Attention ex-Libertyvillians

OK, I may have been pretty oblivious around my junior and senior year of high school, but when a guy at work showed me this story the other day, I had to admit it was the first I've heard of it:

A southwest suburban Southern Baptist congregation allowed a convicted child sex offender to preach for the last few years -- despite his past, and a warning from his previous church that he might still be dangerous, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.

In 1996, Jeff Hannah was sentenced to nine years in prison for having sexual relations with four underage girls -- ages 15 to 17 -- while a married youth minister at Crossroads Church in Libertyville.

Hannah was paroled in 2001 and joined the First Baptist Church of Romeoville, where his new wife was a member. Soon after, the pastor moved on, and church members -- aware of Hannah's crimes -- asked him to step into the pulpit until a replacement was hired, according to church members, Hannah and others.

Hannah served in that role for three years and ever since has been a fill-in preacher, teacher and music minister at the church.

Authorities say there's no evidence that Hannah has re-offended -- and Hannah insists he has not -- but he abruptly resigned his membership in the congregation when a reporter started inquiring about him last week.

Is this brand new or did I somehow totally blank the first time around? I feel like a dope. Anyway, the rest of the story from the Sun-Times is here. Apologies to anyone reading this who now is having unpleasant flashbacks. I'm apparently oblivious.

Wise words

Those who forget history may be condemned to repeat it, as the aphorism says; but those who dwell on history are destined to be swept away by it.

--Naftali Bendavid, the Chicago Tribune's deputy Washington Bureau chief in a commentary about the impermanence of the Republican majority in light of Karl Rove's resignation.

Attention ex-Libertyvillians

The headline alone was enough to grab my attention: Libertyville may build downtown parking garages.The story is pretty interesting, too:

Multistory parking garages are under study for the downtown.

Walker Parking Consultants will provide designs for two parking decks, one on each side of Milwaukee Avenue,

There are currently 1,314 public parking spaces in the primary nine-block downtown business district. A parking study conducted last year found a serious lack of parking spaces, particularly during peak lunchtime hours and during early evening dinner hours. The study suggested the village consider building some parking structures to supplement existing on-street parking and existing public lots.

The parking structures will not be cheap. For a 260-car structure, construction costs are expected to run $4 million to $4.5 million, or roughly $17,000 per parking space. The village would finance the project through tax-increment financing or by using general obligation bonds. Additional revenue could be derived from parking user fees and fines.

Credit: Waukegan News Sun.

Evan's e-mail of the week

Not a link, but a photo:

E-mail fun

(from Chris Dale, formerly queen of the music department at Coe and my direct work study supervisor. Not to mention quite the wordsmith and all-around great person)

The Top Ten reasons why one should be suspicious if Alexander is quiet for even 5 minutes and you can't see him...

10) He's trying to see how much toilet paper he can stuff in the toilet so it floods the bathroom when his sister uses it next.
9) He's trying to see how many toys fit in the toilet.
8) He's opened the front door and let the cat out.
7) He's figuring how to operate childproof latches.
6) He's doing dishes and discovering that the faucet can turn all the way over to countertop and it makes a big mess when you turn the tap wide open.
5) He's taking the light bulb out of his sister's desk lamp and carrying it downstairs.
4) He's using a chisel (thought to have been put up well out of his reach) to redecorate the oak steps.
3) He's pretending to ride the lawn tractor and turned the ignition key on so that when I next try to mow, the battery is dead.
2) He's in the car, turning the lights on and off, locking the doors, turning the wipers and turn signal levers, and turning up the heat. I can hardly wait until he figures out how to reach the keys so he can take them out and try to put them in the ignition.

1) And the number one reason why one should be suspicious if Alexander is quiet for even 5 minutes and you can't see him....

Welcome to our kitchen:
Approximately 4 pounds of flour in mere minutes. Amazing--nothing broken. Tracks of flour throughout the house. So much flour in his clothes that with a little water they could be used for paper maiche. No picture of Chef Alexander because his father instantly whisked him into the bathtub. We really need to stop asking him what he's planning to make for supper.

Does all this prove I'm a bad mother? Possibly. I think it more likely proves that Alexander, who is very quick on his feet, has decided to make a splash (of flour) to celebrate the official start of the Terrible Twos. I love the boy but he scares the wits out of me!

(Kristie's reaction when I forwarded this to her: This makes me hopeful about Jack. Like maybe he won't be a convict. Or maybe him and Alexander can share a cell. Either way, I'll have company.)

Kohawk update

Click here for another article on Fred Jackson, Coe's most exciting football player during my years and a medium to long-shot to actually make the Buffalo Bills roster. Here's some highlights:

For any young player hoping to earn a spot on an NFL roster, knowing every intricacy in the playbook is essential to make it through training camp.

Where to run on play X. Who to block on play Z. What to do if there's a breakdown on play Q.

In his second training camp with the Buffalo Bills, Fred Jackson is confident that he knows the playbook.

Now, if he just knew the words to the Coe College rouser.

"I know some of it but not all of it," said Jackson, a product of the NCAA Division III school in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Considering Bills general manager Marv Levy is one of the most famous people on the Coe College alumni roster, the lyrics and melody to the fight song could be more important to Jackson than the Bills' playbook.

"You know Marv knows every word," said Scott Berchtold, the team's vice president of communications.

"He might spring that on me some day," Jackson said with a smile.

One reason he might not need to worry, though: Coach Dick Jauron doesn't care if he can sing, only if he can carry and catch the football.

The coaches gave Jackson a chance to do just that last Friday in the preseason opener against the New Orleans Saints, and he impressed against second- and third-string defenders.

Jackson rushed eight times for 49 yards and scored the game's only touchdown on a 17-yard scamper. He also caught two passes for 19 yards.

"He did stand out in that football game," Jauron said.

Jackson wasn't as statistically at Coe as D-III legend Carey Bender, who also had a chance with the Bills courtesy of Levy, but he appears to be more NFL ready.

Side note: Marv Levy went to Coe at the same time as my grandmother. He sat one row behind me and my dad at Clark Field during a 1994 Coe game (a traditional Bender domination, something like 600 all-purpose yards) while we were out for my parents' 20th reunion. Marv was a super nice guy and claimed to remember my dad's mom. Good times.

Strong words from Phifer

The floor is yours, Mr. President:

"From this point forward, I've given clear marching orders to the public relations office and admissions office - U.S. News is dead to us," said James Phifer, president of Coe College in Cedar Rapids. "We're not going to cite them. I don't care if they cite us as No. 1 in the country."

OK then. And what's the cause for all this ruckus? According to the Des Moines Register:

Coe College fell 11 spots in this year's ranking among liberal arts colleges, placing the school at 106th.

The portion of the U.S. News survey under the most scrutiny from colleges is the part that asks schools to rate each other. That makes up 25 percent of the score.

The survey uses 15 indicators to measure academic excellence at schools, which include student retention, faculty resources and admissions selectivity, to name a few.

Brian Kelly, editor of the magazine, told reporters Thursday that the peer survey is sent out to 4,000 top college officials nationwide, and is compiled into an index number. This part of the survey, which he said garnered a response rate of more than 50 percent, is designed to get at the "intangibles" of a school that can't be measured with numbers.

You can read the full article here. It mentions Iowa and Iowa State as well as Grinnell, Luther and some school called Cornell. Never heard of it. Anyhow, and interesting read if you're interested in reading such things.

Happy birthday to me and...

According to the database at FamousBirthdays.net, I share a special day with:

1967 Quinn Cummings (actress)
1959 Danny Bonaduce (actor)
1951 Dan Fogelberg (singer)
1949 Cliff Fish (musician)
1947 Gretchen Corbett (actress)
1944 Kevin Tighe (actor)
1930 Don Ho (singer, host)
1929 Pat Harrington (actor)
1926 Fidel Castro Ruz (Cuban leader)
1920 Neville Brand (actor)
1919 George Shearing (jazz musician)
1908 Gene Raymond (Guion) (actor, host)
1904 Buddy (Charles) Rogers (actor)
1902 Regis Toomey (actor)
1899 Alfred Hitchcock (The Master of Suspense: director)
1895 Bert Lahr (Irving Lahrheim) (actor)
1860 Annie Oakley (Phoebe Anne Oakley Mozee) (sharpshooter, performer)
1422 William Caxton (printer)

I'd inadvertently told someone earlier today I shared a birthday with Hitler, which I shouldn't have done because I know that's April 20. Hitler, Castro -- it's an easy mistake. I might also add to the list former Cubs outfielder (and current Baltimore Orioles leadoff man) Corey Patterson, who is exactly the same age as me.

We were in Libertyville this weekend, along with Matt's girlfriend Jen and her dog, Serena (everyone calls her Nina) and, as a special bonus, my aunt Beth from Charlotte, N.C., who was unable to attend the College Graduation Tour of the Central Midwest in May. It was really nice to get a chance to see her (mom mom's brother Chris and his daughter, Charlotte, stopped in for a visit Saturday morning as well) since we don't get much face time with my mom's siblings now that Christmas in Florida doesn't happen too often (and probably never will again).

But, there's talk of a family reunion next summer. As long as it's not in Maine (where mom's uncle Boyd lives with auntie Joanne), there's a fighting chance we can attend.

Not much else to report. Maggie is still cute and a handful, though we've proven Jack has exponentially more energy. Pictures to follow at some point.

Kohawk update

Here's a blurb from Canal Street Chronicles, which seems to be a New Orleans based blog. The entry in question is a preview of a Bills-Saints preseason NFL game. Here's the relevant part:

What three not-so-prominent Bills players will you be keeping an eye on in this contest?

2. RB Fred Jackson - The Bills are thinking about keeping four running backs on their roster; Marshawn Lynch, Anthony Thomas and Dwayne Wright are locks for the top three spots. Fred Jackson, who hails from tiny Coe College (alma mater of Marv Levy himself), has played very well in camp and seems to have a beat on the fourth spot. I've always enjoyed watching this kid play, so while his name on this list may bore Saints fans to tears, I promise you he'll make a play or two in this game. He's very quick.

Read the full post here.

On a lighter note

This also from TMQ:

Find Out Who Claims to Have Seen One, Then Badger the Witness: "We categorically state that we have not released man-eating badgers in Iraq." Actual public announcement by a spokesman for the United Kingdom military.

And a bonus TMQ item, which also doubles as journalism instruction:

Except for Losing by 30, We Played a Great Game: "Except for a tragic accident, the 35th annual Bath Heritage Days parade went off without a hitch." Actual beginning of the Brunswick-Bath Times Record story on a Fourth of July parade in Maine.

Is it any wonder why TMQ is my favorite part of football season?

Wise words

I'm not even remotely a "Harry Potter" fan. Not a hater, just never read a single page. My main connection to the entire franchise thus far has been this SNL skit:



But I do love ESPN.com's Tuesday Morning Quarterback, and reading this week's column came across this item, titled God and Man at Hogwarts that I thought was worth sharing.

The postwar United Kingdom has produced three blockbuster young people's fantasy series, the Narnia books by C.S. Lewis, the "Golden Compass" series by Philip Pullman and now the Potter volumes. All feature astonishingly capable English schoolchildren with magic powers. The Narnia books are explicitly Christian; the Golden Compass books are explicitly anti-Christian; what about Potter? Though J.K. Rowling's 4,000 pages concern supernatural forces, the soul and communication with the dead who exist in an afterlife, religious issues are missing from the series. The wizards and witches of the Potter world celebrate Christmas, but otherwise seem to have no religious views and never pause to reflect on where their power comes from or what the spirit world might be. Perhaps Rowling concluded that in the contemporary milieu, it's totally fine to market a children's story containing numerous scenes in which children are tortured or murdered, but mentioning God would be too controversial.

The final book was the first to contain religious references, and they've been missed by commentators. Harry travels to the enchanted village where the good wizards and witches of England live and observes there is a church at the center of the town square -- the evil sorcerers have nothing like this. On his parents' tombstone in the church graveyard, Harry sees the inscription, The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. This is the essence of resurrection theology, and though readers aren't told, is a quotation from Paul's first epistle to the church at Corinth. In the older Bible books, there is no talk of heaven or paradise; even the righteous dead go to a place of oblivion. When Christ declared, "I was dead, and see, I am alive forever and ever," he was announcing the defeat of death and offering a fundamentally new compact between Maker and made. Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, "If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain ... But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead ... The last enemy to be destroyed is death." The declaration comes in the same letter where Paul set down some of the greatest words in all literature: the magnificent passage that begins, at First Corinthians 13, "If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal."

When Harry finds the Dumbledore family grave, he reads this inscription: Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Though readers aren't told this either, the phrase is a quotation from Jesus. The teaching, at Matthew 6:19, is worth contemplating in its fullness, as it is difficult to imagine 40 words that exceed these in wisdom:

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

If you stuck it out that long, thanks for your time. I just wish there were more mainstream media figures who can present Christianity without coming off as irrational or confrontational. I know his contemporaries viewed Jesus as both, but as the song goes, "Israel in 4 B.C. had no mass communication."

Hey Jack! How old are you?

Lawmakers can't have it both ways

Column originally published August 4, 2007

Back in February when I was packing my belongings at the Clinton Herald in Clinton, Iowa, a few people made comments about how I must be looking forward to leaving Des Moines politics and the inherent insanity therein.

I'm pleased to have missed most of the Chet Culver administration. But as I told my former fellow Iowans, Des Moines has nothing on Springfield. In my first five months back in the Land of Lincoln we've had infighting that would shame most Iowa politicos — even threats of an actual fistfight between Gov. Rod Blagojevich and Sen. Mike Jacobs, D-East Moline — not to mention the inability to pass a budget and looming shutdown of state services.

But on some fronts, politicians are identical regardless of ZIP code. One of those fronts is possessing what I deem a special brand of madness, the ability to hold two contradictory statements in the brain at one time and consider both equally valid.

In Illinois, as it was in Iowa, a chief offender is cigarette taxes. When money runs tight, legislators generally turn to quick fixes. Among them are finding ways to milk revenue from gambling and smoking — so-called sin taxes.

Continue reading "Lawmakers can't have it both ways."

Life with toddler

Jack's newest fixation is my marching band CDs. On a visit to Libertyville last Sunday to see the puppy (verdict: very cute, very energetic and quite the handful for Pops and K), I listed to the "Hail to the Victors" recording my mom got me a few years back.

When Kristie and Jack were headed to the car Monday for a trip to the water park in Rockford with her family, Jack made extra sure he had "the band" in the car for the ride. He pulled the same stunt for our trip to Wal-Mart on Wednesday night and again for our trip to Fulton Friday.

For the Friday trip I slipped in a Notre Dame CD instead (verdict: inferior musical arrangements when compared to the Michigan CD and either bad sound mixing or a poorly proportioned band) and he seemed fine with that. We got to the end of that CD and the car stereo flipped to the Cubs pregame show. "I need the band" he wailed from the back seat, so we opted for a Canadian Brass disc, which also satisfied.

I like it, Kristie likes it, Jack likes it. It's not the Rolling Stones, but if it makes us all happy, who am I to complain?

More discussion

This one's not likely to rouse a lot if interest, but as a still moderate follower of Lake County High School sports, it got my attention.

...for the first time in what seems like forever, there has been some discussion about turning Warren High's two buildings (freshmen and sophomores go to the school on O'Plaine Road and juniors and seniors go to the building on Almond Road) into what -- for the sake of discussion here -- would be Warren East High and Warren West High.

Two four-year high schools with two separate athletic programs.

We can talk about just how realistic that possibility is some other time.

But for now, let's consider it in terms of how it would affect the Waukegan Bulldogs' athletic program.

If Warren splits into two schools, that increases the number of schools in the North Suburban Conference from the current 14 to an unmanageable 15.

A 16th team would be needed to create two eight-team divisions in a 16-team conference.

Hello, Waukegan!

Currently, the North Suburban Conference is split into two seven-team divisions based on school enrollment, with Warren obviously in with the big schools in what is called the Lake Division.

Even if Warren was to split into two schools, both Warren East and Warren West would both still be large enough to remain in the Lake Division, which would give the Lake Division eight teams and the Prairie Division (small schools) seven.

Enter Waukegan, obviously another big school, which would bring the count to nine big schools and seven small schools.

A problem? Nyet.

Just move one of the large schools from the Lake Division back to the Prairie Division, thereby creating two eight-team divisions.

That is as easily done as it is said. For years, Zion-Benton -- a big school enrollment-wise -- fit perfectly into the small-school Prairie Division, with only its boys basketball team dominating the small-school division.

So, it can be done.

Read the rest of that piece here.

Makes a lot of sense to me, I guess. It's just funny to think that 10 years ago the NSC was made of up Libertyville, Lake Forest, Stevenson, Mundelein, Antioch, Warren, Zion-Benton and North Chicago. Since then, it's grown to include Wauconda, Lake Bluff, Grant, Lake Zurich, Round Lake as well as Lakes and Vernon Hills, two schools that didn't even exist when I was a Wildcat.

All of that expansion, and yet Kristie's high school is seriously exploring consolidation with another same-size district just to get big enough to stay fiscally viable. Location, location, location.