The Chicago Tribune ran an editorial Sunday calling for a recall amendment to the Illinois constitution. My response:
Regardless of what you think of Blagojevich's performance, Illinois needs a recall amendment like a fish needs a bicycle.
Illinois has two perfectly adequate constitutional mechanisms for removing a governor: election and impeachment. If the governor is really all that bad, let the legislature impeach him. If not, we'll have a referendum on his performance soon enough—and his critics can moot someone else to run against him then. Either way, the legislature and courts are more than sufficiently powerful to prevent him doing severe harm to the state, as they have prevented other governors in the past. (They've even prevented other governors from doing good things for the state. Forestalling damage should be easy by comparison.)
Our government is designed to be responsive to the will of the people but resistent to the whims of the mob. Removing an executive from office by popular recall may seem like the epitome of democracy, but as the founders of the U.S. knew well, and as many millions of others have learned around the world, it's actually fundamentally undemocratic.
The recall of Gray Davis was essentially a legally-sanctioned coup d'état by a well-financed but very small minority. Had he served out his term, the publication of Enron's malfeasance in manipulating California's energy supply would have vindicated him in time to let him stand a fair election against his critics. He may not have been re-elected; but we'll never know, because he didn't have a fair fight.
If you think the governor should be removed from office, tell your state representative and state senator, who have to stand for re-election before he does. If there's sufficient outcry, the House will act; if not, or if the House fails to act despite the will of the people, we have the opportunity to replace the lot of them next year. Meantime, we shouldn't sacrifice democracy for mob rule.
No, not those Sox; the other Sox.
One curse down; one to go.
With record temperatures in Chicago today (now at 29°C), organizers have halted the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon:
Reports of inadequate supplies of water were frequent along the route, and many of the 36,000 runners competing stopped early.
The men's race appeared more like a track finish than the usually tactical marathon finish, with Kenyan Patrick Ivuti winning the closest race in the 30 years of the Chicago Marathon. In a photo-finish, Ivuti edged out Moroccan Jaouad Gharib by 5/100th of a second.
Both were clocked at 2 hours 11 minutes 11 seconds and appeared to break the tape at the same time. Ivuti is the fifth consecutive Kenyan to win the Chicago Marathon.
Ethiopian Berhane Adere recorded one of the greatest race comebacks, repeating as champion in 2:33:49. Adere fell behind by about 25 seconds late in the race, but managed to sprint to the finish and overtake unsuspecting Romanian Adriana Pirtea.
The Cubs, meanwhile, spent the day cooling their heels.
Cubs just got swept. Predictable. And sad. Guess I'll just work tomorrow, or wander Lakeview aimlessly with Parker.
Plus, Danielle has to return the Game 4 tickets, so I won't even get a souvenir of the post-season.
Next year, I suppose. For the 100th time.
Sheesh.
Yesterday I said that the Cubs need only win one game of the NLDS to ensure they play Game 4 (to which my friend got tickets). That's not, strictly speaking, correct, and it assumed the only way the series would end in 3 games would be if the Diamondbacks swept the Cubs. My cousin pointed out the flaw in my reasoning. It's possible (however unlikely) that the Cubs could sweep the Diamondbacks, with the same result for Sunday's game.
So, to revise and amend my comments, as long as each team wins at least one game of the next three, I'll go to Game 4 on Sunday.
My friend Danielle scored tickets to the National League Central Division Series Game #4, at Wrigley Field this Sunday.
Of course, since it's a best-of-5 series, if the Cubs get swept, there won't be a Game #4. But if they win just one game in the post-season, we're going on Sunday.
I may be getting NLDS playoff tickets...stay tuned...
With two games to go in the season, the Cubs clinched the National League Central. Now they only have to get past three markedly better teams to get to the World Series...
Marcel Marceau died yesterday.
So did the St. Louis Cardinals, who were mathematically eliminated from the post-season.
The Cubs and Brewers remain tied for first place, one game ahead of the Cardinals, in the National League Central pennant race. I should point out that the Cubs and Brewers are one game above .500; the Cardinals, at .500. So, yes, the NL Central pennant will go to a mediocre team this year.
Sigh.