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Political Hay
Saving Senator Burris
This Trial Blazer’s résumé is far more impressive than President Obama’s.
Fellow Fairness Fanatics: you are invited to a Kaffee Klatsch ($1,000 per sustainably farmed, responsibly purchased organic cup) to show support for Senator Roland Burris, the Democrat who was appointed by Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich to fill the seat vacated by Barack Obama.
The appointment of Senator Burris (the only black in the U.S. Senate) was unquestionably legal even though, shortly after he made the appointment, Governor Blagojevich was impeached, because of, he says, his enemies’ misinterpretation of the First Amendment.
The problem Senator Burris’s detractors claim to have with the good senator is that he apparently gets confused when answering questions and filling out affidavits. He was asked whether he had been involved in fund-raising for Gov. Blagojevich and he said, more or less, no. And his friends may have to concede that he should have said, more or less, yes, or at least a bit more of the yes and a bit less of the no than he actually did say.
But, hey, that’s awfully technical. Like not paying the taxes you owe when you work for the International Monetary Fund. Or failing to report all that rental income you got from a luxury beachfront villa in the Caribbean. Or like getting a sweetheart loan from Countrywide Financial because you were a friend of the CEO, Angelo Mozilo, while you’re serving on a congressional banking committee.
Clearly Senator Burris will fit in quite well with his new colleagues. So what’s the problem? A quick look at his résumé tells us much.
The senator went to Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (where he was known as Trail Blazer, or just “TB”) and he has a law degree from Howard University, which is only a little more than a ‘v’ away from Harvard, where President Obama went.
The senator began his career as a bank examiner for the U.S. Treasury Department — Barack Obama never did that — and has served as vice president of Continental Illinois National Bank — wow! Barack Obama never did that (“BONDT”) — and as President of the National Association of Comptrollers (BONDT) and of the National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers, and Treasurers — wow again. BONDT.
Impressive? Yes. But there’s more. The senator was also a Trustee of the Financial Accounting Foundation Board (BONDT) and served for three years on the Executive Board of the Government Finance Office Association of the United States and Canada. Double BONDT!
Let’s face it: this guy knows something about banking — and perhaps a lot more than most of his new “colleagues” who are up to their keisters writing bailout bills.
Senator Burris was also the first African-American National Bank Examiner for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for the U.S. Treasury Department. Wow! And his 1978 election to the first of three terms as Illinois state comptroller made him the first African American ever elected to an Illinois state office. The senator has also been recognized annually for sixteen years (!) by Ebony Magazine as one of the hundred most influential Black Americans. Wow again! Seriously wow!
As busy as he’s been, however, the senator has nevertheless found time to give back to his community. Burris has served on nonprofit organizations, including the National Center for Responsible Gaming (my god, he’s a gambler! That means he might be better at rolling dice than Rep. Barney Frank), and he served on the board of the Auditorium Theatre of Chicago (my god, he’s an actor! Like — like — that guy who beat Jimmy Carter).
It is perfectly apparent that TB Burris is a very distinguished man, which is why he’s listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in Government, Who’s Who in Law, and Who’s Who in Who’s Who.
Let’s face it: TB Burris has the talent. Let’s face something else: TB’s résumé is more impressive than President Obama’s. No, seriously! TB hasn’t just talked the talk, or walked the walk. He’s hoped the hope, and changed the change.
Some people just can’t stand competition, so now “they” want to get rid of TB, like a bad disease. This is a tough town.
The question Washington is asking today is, TB or no TB?
Letter to the Editor View all comments (58) | Leave a comment
More Articles by Daniel Oliver
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http://spectator.org/archives/2009/02/27/saving-senator-burriss
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Pingback| 2.27.09 @ 6:51AM
Garnering Right Ideas links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Alan Brooks| 2.27.09 @ 9:02AM
stay ay ay just a little bit lo-onger
Kent Lyon| 2.27.09 @ 12:08PM
Yes, they are treating him like a mycobacterium.
Jack Hughes| 2.27.09 @ 12:44PM
Those who call themselves Republican in Illinois should stay out of this mess. There is a race war brewing within the Democratic party and it's about time. The Dems have taken the black vote for granted for decades!!!!
Skep41 | 2.27.09 @ 2:02PM
C'mon, how smart or honest do you have to be to vote 'JA' with the other Democrats and RINO Republicans in our National March For Justice. Burris is fine. He comes from a place where corpses, pets and cartoon characters all vote and Blago's pet political walking corpse is a fine caricature of a US Senator. If a loathsome piece of human refuse like Al Franken can be voted for by actual humans (some of those votes HAD to be from real people) than whats the problem with Burris. If we're going to start nit-picking past statements then what hope does Schmucky Schumer have of remaining free from prison? As Democrats go Burris is mild and inoffensive just because he doesnt have the capacity for malicious tyranny like a Leahy or a Boxer. Does he want to nationalized the weather to save the polar bears who are breeding like rabbits in the formerly frozen North like our Fearless Leader Of Change? This guy needs assistance to get his adult diaper pinned on so just leave him alone. I'm sure the ACORN legions will make sure he gets reelected plenty of times.
Mary| 2.27.09 @ 10:42PM
Burris is not fine! He's just one more of Illinois' crooked politicians. There are already too many of those in the cabinet and congress.
Frank| 2.28.09 @ 1:22AM
The author is correct.Senator Burris while a Chicago political Hack.Does have a good resume.
Far better than some of his peers in the senate.
Even far beter than our President who never made a speech of note or wrote or pushed any inportant legislation in Spingfield or Washinton
His election with nothing to show for a resume,except read a speech written by someone else on a teleprompter at the 2004 Democratic Convention. is amazing.A piece of marketing that shows that anyone really can be president.
Instead of getting rid of Mr Burris ,why not pick his brain about our financial crisis?How many in congress can match the mans experiance?
Think about it.Un like our President he has actually sucsessfully done many thigs in government
Frank.
Pingback| 2.28.09 @ 1:16PM
Saving Senator Burris « Depravity links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Susan Baker| 3.17.09 @ 2:11PM
I wonder why it has been hushed up about Burris? Why hasn't he resigned yet? We don't hear anything about him as of late and he is just going on like nothing happened. I say we should demand his resignation due to his contact with Blago. The Chicago "click" is corrupt to the bone and we should start with a clean slate.
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Poptropica | 4.9.10 @ 8:08PM
I’ll have a Poptropica full written walkthrough very soon, but in the meantime, here are some answers to some of the frequently asked questions about Mythology Island. Having trouble? Post a question in the comments and I’ll try to answer it!
Getting Hercules to Help You Poptropica
Hercules won’t help you until you have all five items from Zeus’ quest. Once you have the five items, bring them to Athena. Zeus will appear and steal them. The big jerk! Once this happens, talk to Athena and she will tell you that Hercules will help you. You’ll need to have the magic mirror from Aphrodite because Hercules doesn’t want to have to walk. He’s so lazy!
Getting the Hydra Scale poptropica
You can see how to do this in the videos, but basically you need to jump up when the Hydra is about to strike. He will rear one of his heads back to attack and his eyes will bulge out. poptropica
When this happens, jump up in the air and then try to land on top of his head. That head will get knocked out. When all five heads get knocked out, the Hydra will be asleep and you can click on him to get one of the scales. poptropica
I’ll have a full written walkthrough very soon, but in the meantime, here are some answers to some of the frequently asked questions about Mythology Island. Having trouble? Post a question in the comments and I’ll try to answer it!poptropica
Getting Hercules to Help You
Hercules won’t help you until you have all five items from Zeus’ quest. poptropica
Once you have the five items, bring them to Athena. Zeus will appear and steal them. The big jerk! Once this happens, talk to Athena and she will tell you that Hercules will help you.poptropica
. You’ll need to have the magic mirror from Aphrodite because Hercules doesn’t want to have to walk. He’s so lazy!
Getting the Hydra Scale
You can see how to do this in the videos, but basically you need to jump up when the Hydra is about to strike. He will rear one of his heads back to attack and his eyes will bulge out.Poptropica When this happens, jump up in the air and then try to land on top of his head. That head will get knocked out. When all five heads get knocked out, the Hydra will be asleep and you can click on him to get one of the scales. poptropica
HD converter for mac | 3.11.12 @ 10:47PM
Hercules won’t help you until you have all five items from Zeus’ quest. Once you have the five items, bring them to Athena. Zeus will appear and steal them. The big jerk! Once this happens, talk to Athena and she will tell you that Hercules will help you. You’ll need to have the magic mirror from Aphrodite because Hercules doesn’t want to have to walk. He’s so lazy!c