The Conservative Cat

Omnibus Driver at Leslie's Omnibus has a very special announcement for all Illinois Bloggers in She's Got a Ticket to Ride: all bloggers from Illinois and surrounding environs are invited to a January 8 gathering in Stillman Valley, IL. Mark your calendars! The original invitation is here.

Dave Burge of Iowa Hawk is recognized as one of our state's leading humorists; however, this week he got serious so he could mark the passing of a friend and mentor in Godspeed, Trentino. People who can give advice without also giving offense are a rare commodity. David Mandal (the real name behind the nom de plume "Cardinal Anselm Trentino") was apparently one of those people. His influence will continue to be felt long after his death.

Rick Moran at Rightwing Nuthouse submitted BEARS-PACKERS PREDICTION: PAIN. Rick discusses some of the reasons behind his dislike of the Green Bay Packers, but is willing to give them a break because of their stellar quarterback Brett Favre. As it turned out, the pain was mostly for Green Bay fans, since the Bears won 19-7.

Over at the Naperville Cultural Center News, you can find a copy of my first art review: Not Just Another Pretty Snowflake. I don't normally do highbrow stuff, but this particular artist is different: he makes art out of paper snowflakes.

Zendo Deb at TFS Magnum submitted Police Work - Not Gun Control - Reduces Crime in Chicago. Zendo's article is short and to the point. Things are better now than they were two years ago, but that has little to do with a gun control law passed in 1982.

Aaron of Free Will has found a nifty website on the history of Chicago: The Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago. Aaron particularly recommends the maps.

Bruno Behrend at Extreme Wisdom has the key links relating to the week's big scandal, which is an allegation that sometime back in 2003, Republican gubernatorial hopeful Jim Oberweis met with former governor George Ryan and asked for his help. George Ryan is currently on trial for bribery and corruption, and is generally felt to be responsible for annihilating the Illinois Republican party. Apparently, Rich Miller of Capitol Fax resurrected the Oberweis-Ryan story to counter allegations that Judy Baar Topinka, another gubernatorial hopeful, is a close friend of Ryan. Miller is a Democrat, and Democrats are hoping that Topinka will win the Republican nomination because she's a liberal and most Republicans would be unwilling to vote for her.

Over at Renew Illinois there is a report of a different-- but equally contentious-- story involving all five Republican gubernatorial hopefuls. An attempt to get the candidates to play nice turned into a brawl about National GOP Treasurer Robert Kjellander. Kjellander is supected of impropriety relating to a $4.5 million payment from the Carlyle Group in order to help the Group win a lucrative contract with the Illinois Teacher Retirement System.

But enough about Illinois politics. In Why Buy the Cow When You Get the Milk for Free, Red Chicago describes why Al-Qaeda doesn't need to pay people to plant anti-American stories in American media outlets. This of course ignores the really important question, which is why isn't anybody bribing ME to slant the news? I've said over and over again that I am willing to accept bribes, and unlike most journalists and politicians, I take food stamps.

Normally, I end with something from our Official Vicious, Invading Paleface Poet, the Hungry Writer, but he didn't write anything this week because he's moving to Portland, Oregon. So, to end on a light note, here's a nice little spoof from Eyes on the Ball..

That's it for this week. We will see you again next week. If you want to be included, use our handy-dandy Carnival Submit Form. Until then, this carnival is

Respectfully submitted,

Ferdinand T. Cat