Truer words were never spoken...

We have this thing called impeachment and it's bleeping golden, and we've used it the right way. James Meeks, Illinois state senator (In other words, see you later, Blago!)

An attorney who represents himself (Blago blows hot air)...

Has a fool for a client, right? Apparently, this phrase was never heard by the former governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich. Anyone who listened to his "closing statement" during the impeachment trial that ended with his conviction yesterday could see that Blago - a former criminal prosecutor - made several silly and specious arguments.

One argument he made is that some of the counts or charges against him dated back to the first of his two terms as governor. He asked why charges had not been brought against him earlier if he had truly done something wrong? Well, the senators present were clearly aware that there is no statute of limitations when it comes to impeachment. And this argument sounds more like an admission than a denial... Imagine the drug dealer, for example, who asks why he was arrested this particular week when he's been selling for months or years! It hardly sounds like the argument of an innocent person.

Of course, the impeachment proceeding was examining the totality of his record of service as governor, a point that Blago was trying to obscure. He also argued in his comments that the process was not fair, comparing the impeachment proceeding to a criminal trial, which it is not. It would have been far more honest for him to acknowledge that this was a political process and rest his defense on political grounds and political arguments.

An excellent point made by a news commentator is that when Blago finished his overly-dramatic 45-minute statement, he simply walked off of the stage... refusing to answer any questions. Wouldn't most "in his shoes" (one of his fave phrases) have stood there for hours answering any questions that the state senators - the very people about to decide his fate - chose to ask? Would this really have been so humbling for the king of the Beatles wig cut?

Guess what, in the federal criminal trial, Blago will be asked questions that he'll have to answer and answer under oath, under penalty of perjury.

Perhaps the saddest part of Blago's dramatic presentation was when he brought up former President Nixon and the Watergate tapes. Yes, for six weeks now the media has been making this comparison and so Blago elected - how cheeky! - to bring up the comparison himself, while stating that he was not like the president who resigned in disgrace.

This, of course, likely made the senators present think back to the night before Blago was arrested... That was the night he dared anyone to tape his conversations; likely knowing that the feds were already doing so. There was something about this guy that made him dance close to the edge, some kind of political death wish. (This also brings to mind Nixon who hated his career in politics so much that some have wondered if he engineered his own downfall.)

All in all, it's a huge shame that this man with obvious speaking skills elected to literally leave on the heels of such a tawdry performance. He might have served his state or community extremely well for decades as a talented prosecutor. We'll just have to assume that his argumentative skills were much better when he was a younger man. Fade to black...

Breaking News

Until today I had no idea that a website called Chicago Breaking News existed. But I went there, discovered that it's powered by several big shouldered media sources and came across the following breaking news item - an item which might be missed by CNN, Fox and the mighty NBC.

WASHING-MACHINE BURGLAR ARRESTED, POLICE SAY
December 30, 2008 at 7:11 a.m.

Aurora police say they have arrested the person responsible for prying off the tops of washing machines and dryers in apartment complexes in order to steal coins, the Aurora Beacon News is reporting.

Kevin D. Richardson, 48, of the 800 block of West New York Street, has been charged with four counts of burglary and two counts of theft by possession, all felonies.

Police say they arrested Richardson on a tip. They say he burglarized 11 pieces of laundry equipment.

It would never happen

Is it just me? The first time I saw a photograph of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich on TV I wondered why John Travolta was wearing a bad Beatles wig. Maybe, I thought, Travolta's making a movie about a ragged Beatles cover band? It turns out that other people I've spoken to have said they initially had the same reaction, although some do not see the resemblance.

Blago's hair is without a doubt strange. Many think it's a wig and a ragged one. My barber says it's the 51-year-old governor's real hair, just "far too long for someone his age" - another example of age inappropriateness. I wonder if it will be trimmed if and when he goes to prison. Let's just hope that U.S. taxpayers won't have to foot the huge bill for his black hair dye.

It does appear that Blago was engaged in some delusional thinking just a few weeks ago. In a report prepared on December 23, 2008, by Gregg Craig for President-Elect Barack Obama, we see an interesting discussion concerning Blago in connection with Valerie Jarrett (who will be working in the Obama White House) and Tom Balanoff of the Illinois chapter of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

Here is the relevant "it would never happen" excerpt from the Craig report concerning events that happened in early November 2008:

Ms. Jarrett had no contact or communication with Governor Blagojevich, with his Chief of Staff, John Harris or with any other people from the Governor's office about a successor to replace the President-Elect in the United States Senate or how the decision should be made...

On November 7, 2008 -- at a time when she was still a potential candidate for the Senate seat -- Ms. Jarrett spoke with Mr. Tom Balanoff... Mr. Balanoff is not a member of the Governor's staff and did not purport to speak for the Governor on that occasion. But... the subject of the Governor's interest in a cabinet appointment came up in that conversation...

Mr. Balanoff told Mrs. Jarrett that he had spoken to the Governor about the possibility of selecting (her) to replace the President-Elect. Ms. Jarrett recalls that Mr. Balanoff... told her that the Governor had raised... the (possibility that) the Governor might be considered as a possible candidate to head up the Department of Health and Human Services in the new administration.

Mr. Balanoff... told the Governor that it would never happen. Jarrett concurred.