Mark's Thoughts

Wow what can I say. Pritzker comes to Peoria, and tells us we have been bad subjects, and if we don’t get in line with what he thinks, then HE will impose tight restrictions on us. Of course I am taking about COVID, and the rise we have had, ALONG with everyone from the Quad Cities to just south of Chicago, but locally includes Peoria, Tazewell, Woodford, Marshall, Stark, Putnam, Knox, Fulton, McDonough and Warren counties.

Major Ardis did stand up and state that if there are tighter restrictions, i.e. roll back to Stage 2 or whatever it was, would have a detrimental impact on the local economy. That is a understatement, it could destroy it, and many, many businesses would never recover. To be honest, I don’t think Pritzker really cares. As I stated earlier, he is just trying to show his power and that he is going to control what is going on in his state. Oh wait, Chicago is totally off the rails, and is a complete mess. And now going to keep people from Wisconsin from coming in, really, OMG. Like i said earlier, Pritzker is fiddling, Lightfoot is dancing to his tune, and Illinois is going down the tubes. You know, there was a study done by MSNBC, and the top 2 states for people leaving was #1 New Jersey, #2 Illinois, gee there is a shock.

On a separate note, the President floating the idea of delaying the election, by far, is the worst thing that could happen. I understand where he is coming from, with the mail in ballot crap, that just breeds and encourages corruption, and ballot stuffing for the Liberals/Socialists. With that said, if COVID is around, and we know it will be till at least after the election, I would support extending the voting time, i.e., take a week or 2, so that all of the social distancing can be done, and yes it would take longer, but at least it will be a somewhat normal election.

As always we are blessed with today, and tomorrow is a new day.

Well good morning to all. A little rain today, but all is good. Well let’s see where do I start.

Governor Pritzker announced his 3 level of how he will allow sports to be played at the high school level. He did this 2 hours ahead of the IHSA making their formal announcement. I am not quite sure why he did this, as he didn’t with the IESA, he let them do their job as the governing body for that level of sports, but he got ahead of the IHSA. Did he not trust and/or like what they were gong to say, or was he trying to show leadership? Oh wait maybe he was going to show everyone he is in control of everything in Illinois. The later can’t be the case. I look at his leadership like Nero, who was playing the fiddle while Rome was burning. Pritzker is playing the fiddle, Lori Lightfoot is dancing to the tune, and Chicago is burning. They have no control of the city, and it gets worse by the day. They try to blame it on COVID, people being cooped up too long, or a myriad of other things. Never does anyone call them on their lack of leadership and total and complete incompetence. For sure the media gives them a huge pass, be it the main stream, or local media. I do feel sorry for the residents of the greater Chicago area, as they are the ones who will pay for their incompetency not them, they will not be held accountable for their actions. Just as Madigan will not be implicated or feel any pain for the COMED charges. As you can tell, unfortunately, Illinois is living up to the reputation of being very corrupt and crooked, Al Capone would be proud.

Well the Peoria Park board was going to have a meeting last night to discuss the fate of the Christopher Columbus statue in Bradley Park. Well I looked at the paper this morning, and then listened to the morning news, and unless I missed something, I didn’t hear anything, so does that mean that it was talked about, or no reporters covered it, or they don’t want the results out yet, who knows. All I know is this Cancel History culture is about as bad as it can get. Cancel everything that does not fit the liberal/socialist agenda. Keep this up, and history will repeat itself, with bad outcomes.

A funny article, our good socialist Bernie Sanders is calling for face masks for everyone, really, I guess he is still out there wanting everything for everyone, so that everyone can be the same, OMG, Bernie, go back to sleep.

Well all I hope you have a great day, as always we are blessed with today, and tomorrow is a new day.

Well I am just. Just got back from a trip out to Denver, where I was blessed to spend some great time with my daughter, and enjoy Colorado.

One of the things about going on a short vacation, is you miss getting news overload. However, once you get back, well you can find that not much has changed, and the same news continues to be the same over and over, especially in today’s world.

COVID is still here and we are learning what we still need to do to stay safe, or at least that is what the experts are saying. Wear your mask, stay apart and all of that stuff. However it seems no one wants to really talk about or address the impact that it is having on people and business. This impact on especially business is going to cause some to never come back, the mom and pop businesses to medium to large companies like motor coach companies. I don’t have the answer’s, and I guess if I did, I would be on the evening news.

Well the night we returned, there was a big shooting down on the river front. That was bad enough, without a doubt. However what was even worse, was the response by our civic leaders. Mayor Ardis, danced around condemning the actions. Denise Moore, she could have stepped up to be a leader in her community, and double talked and tried to blame this on COVID, and people being cooped up, oh wait, the Mayor of Chicago did the same thing, so I guess that is the trend. When you don’t want to accept accountability for something you blame it on COVID and begin cooped up. And of course, you want to defund the police, cause they are the problem in our community, really, get a grip. We will see how this all plays out, but I am pretty sure the call will be everyone in the city needs to work on a resolution, and NONE of the people that are supposed to be leaders will step up.

Then this morning I see the article , ‘Biden says Trump trying to ‘indirectly steal’ election by raising doubts about mail-in voting’. Gee what doubts could you have about mail-in voting, come on really. I would be real worried. Let’s think about this, there will be people voting who have been dead for years, and then we will have a truck full of ballots found that didn’t get counted that will all be for the Liberal Democrats candidates. This is just a good old Illinois trick, and the outcome will be what they want it to be, nothing fair or impartial about this process. This is why I wonder if COVID is being used as a political tool. I still believe that if COVID had not shown up that Trump and those who supported him could not have been beaten. Things were just going way too good. Your 401K was doing great, employment was great, the economy was booming, something the the Liberal and some Democrats hate, because you don’t need them,

I am hoping over the next few weeks I will be working on the blog to make it a little nicer looking, so stay tuned,

As always we are blessed with today, and tomorrow is a new day.

Well what a Fourth of July weekend. This was the first year in 30 + years that I have not spent on the water watching fireworks. First I have not even put the boat in the water, going to sell it, and second there was not going to be the big fireworks display on the river this year due to COVID.

With all of that said, there was still plenty of fireworks, wow, they were going off like crazy around my house. I guess there were several towns around the area that did put on shows hoping to begin the return to ‘normal’. I hope you were able to enjoy some, and celebrate the 4th to some level.

We need to remember what the Independence Day is really about. I am not here to give you a history lesson, we all have had those. This is to remember that we are blessed to live free and be able to express ourselves with fear of punishment. We might not agree with everything we hear, but we will stand so they can say it.

With that said, we CAN NOT allow history to be erased, or re-written, to fit some current social beliefs, or social flavor of the day. If we continue to allow, statues to be torn down, to be defaced, or wanting history to be rewritten, we will loose our way moving forward, and then some of those freedoms we take for granted, maybe taken away due to some new social wave. I have 4 grandsons, and I want them to be able to grow up and have the same freedoms that I did, and I worry that they will not.

Well there was a lot going on in the potical front this weekend as well, and I am still reading to determine what it all means, and how much of it is BS and which has merit. More to come on this.

As always we are blessed with today, and tomorrow is a new day.

Seattle,

Such a shame that this city is being torn apart by the lack of leadership from the city leaders, and the total incompetency of the Mayor. As I have said before she should be removed from office, as she has totally failed at her job. Now they can’t begin to clean up or out the CHOP zone as those people won’t let the city workers and/or police in there, or anyone one else. Hey I have an idea, how about they just ring this area, and if those people want to stay in there, let them, however nothing gets in to help support their cause. Food, water, toilet paper, nothing.

I realize there are those out there that would think that is pretty bad for me to say, and so be it. Me I think what those people did to Seattle and the people of Seattle is worse. They are a bunch of spoiled brats and anarchists and need to be treated accordingly.

BET Founder,

BET founder Johnson makes push for $14T in slavery reparations. Well nothing else to sat on this. His statement and agenda are enough said. He too deserves to be run out of town on a rail. He is nothing more than a money grabbing do nothing loud mouth.

Minneapolis,

Minneapolis City Council members voted unanimously to amend the city’s charter Friday to remove the mandate for a police department– the first step toward disbanding it in the wake of George Floyd’s death.

The amendment proposes the city replace the police department with a Department of Community Safety and Violence Prevention, “which will have responsibility for public safety services prioritizing a holistic, public health-oriented approach.

OK once again, I feel sorry for the citizens of Minneapolis, as they too have no leadership skills, and firmly have their head stuck in the sand. My prediction for this city is, if they are not real careful, total anarchy will break out, and unfortunately lost of property damage, and people being hurt. I think there could be a flodd of people leaving, and this is something the city might not recover from.

And last but not least Joe Biden,

Biden says he would require Americans to wear coverings in public amid coronavirus case spike. Wow such an example of leadership. I really am surprised he came out of where ever it is he goes, to make this profund statement. I am only guessing that he got away from his baby sitter and had a brain fart, and said something that sounded good.

My question is, who is REALLY going to be running for the Democratic party? We all know that Joe isn’t it. Will it be his Vice President pick? Or will it be, right before the election, it is discovered Joe has mental issues, and they will put Hillary, or Michelle Obama, or…???? Who knows, but I feel it is going to be a real show before it is all over.

Thank you for reading.

As always we are blessed with today, and tomorrow is a new day.

Well this is another one of those times I amnot quite sure where to start, so I apologize if I bounce all over the place.

Well today is Stage 4 of Illinois reopening. I am so glad for business, maybe just maybe the can begin to recover just a touch anyway, and life can seem what a little normal. However with that said, Pritzker has already stated, that he is not afraid to shut things down again if cases of COVID jumps. What the heck, talk about throwing cold water on what was going to be a return to normal. I want to know WHO determines if we roll back. Will be be doctor’s, nope. Will it be local leaders, nope. It will be Pritzker and his band of puppets. I really feel, that if things go too good, and things are returning to normal, and heaven forbid, people are feeling good, and Trump’s numbers go up, and the left feels they are loosing control again, he will roll back to stage 3 or even stage 2 so they can control what goes on again, and how it is done, because they can’t stand not having control.

This now brings me to the second thought. Senate Bill 1863 and House Bill 2238, was signed by Pritzker. These Bills allow voting by mail. This is nothing more than a tool that the Dems and Liberals will use to make sure that elections go the way they want them too. Now, objections / concerns were raised by Republicans in both the House and Senate, however they were voted down and told there are plenty of safeguards and checks and balances to prevent voter fraud. Wow how dumb do they think we are, well pretty dumb I guess. When you trust government to run something correctly, especially something like this, you end up with what just happened with 1 million checks being sent to dead people. Well I guess those 1 million dead people will now be able to vote now, after all they got a check. So how in the heck, if the government can’t do stimulus checks correct, how, at any level, local, state, or national election, are you going to feel it was done accurately. Me, I think it will be a joke, and a lot of dead people will cast ballots.

Final Third thought. Defund the police. Have people lost their minds. Well I guess they have, and the Mayor of Seattle, Jenny Durkan, has. Now she has a major mess on her hands, CHOP, and she has no idea how to deal with it, and I think she should be removed from office by the citizens of Seattle for ever letting this happen. She totally and completely failed at her job and failed the citizen of Seattle.

Once again I will state that what happened to Floyd was wrong on so many levels, and the cop should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, as I know there was more of a back story to those two prior to this encounter. But the call of defunding police makes it sound like all cops are bad, we don’t need them, we need more social workers was one call. I respect ALL levels of law enforcement, local, state, and federal. Are there bad cops, people in those positions that shouldn’t be there, you bet there are. However you tell me of ANY job that does not have bad people in those position, doctors, lawyers, and most and the biggest on GOVERNMENT. We as a society need to work on government reform, that is called the ballot box, that is if it is stuffed. We need to SUPPORT police by being respectful of there job day in and out, obey the fracking law, and when they do something wrong, hold them accountable, the person, not the institution. More on this to come.

Now since I last wrote, I was blessed to see my grandsons and enjoy them and view the world through their eyes. I was blessed to celebrate 42 years of marriage with our close friends and have lots of laughs.

Well will see what the world brings us today.

As always we are blessed with today, and tomorrow is a new day.

Good evening all. Yes I apologize it has been some time since I last posted. Well I have some many thoughts running through my mind, wow I am not sure where to begin. It seems, if you look at the market, we take three steps forward and five backwards, as a economy / civilization. One minute things are starting to get back to normal, then some talking head expert says, no not yet, as the COVID is coming back or numerous statements that throw the brakes on everything.

There are times I really do wonder how much of this is real, and how much of this is made for prime time. I truly feel that COVID and the BLM movement have been and are being weaponized to be used as a political tool, to gain footing for the up coming National election.

As I have stated, I do not believe Joe Biden could win this election on a honest election. I believe, whether you like it or not President Trump had everything rolling, and the economy was doing great, look at your 401K. Unemployement was very low. He told China, the rules are changing, and they did not like that, and then all of a sudden COVID shows up, and well I don’t need to tell you the results there. And on you might say, well the whole world has been impacted, yes you are correct, which I believe was planned, as if it would have been only the US, well that might have even looked like a act of war from China.

Then, we have the BLM movement, which, I will stand beside Floyd’s family, as what happened there was more than just a White / Black issue, and from what I have seen, the cops, should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, however that being said, now it seems political Liberal, real want to take this tragedy, and use it as a weapon to reshape society to what they want, so they can have control of everything, and you would need to rely on them to provide, socialism I believe that is what it is called.

I hope that we as a country can get our heads and hands around this, and work towards good solutions. We work towards a fair election, not a loaded one, which is what certain people are trying to have with mail in voting, more on that later.

I am going to keep thinking on this, and try to put my thoughts together better and not ramble, I apologize for rambling.

High note of the day, I had the chance to send sometime with my 4 grandsons, no matter what life throws at me, I can look at them, and listen to the world according to them, and I realize how truly blessed I am.

thank you for reading, and as always we are blessed with today, and tomorrow is a new day.

Oh wow, yes I know it has been sometime since my last post. Well I am not going to discuss what is going on, as I am totally burned out on the crime going on. Please read my words. I agree with the protests, NOT the vandalism, crime, and just plain crime. It takes away from Floyd and that is the saddest part.

Now on to my weekend, I had a great Sunday, I worked with my oldest grandson rebuilding his go-kart. After we were all done, he took it for a test drive and as he and his dad put it, it runs better than the day we bought it. We later that day I got a picture of a small street sign on the ground, with the caption, maybe it runs a little too good. That was the best picture I have ever gotten, and oh yes, the kart and Gus were just fine. But I do have to help him replace it, which is fine.

Well time to call it a night.

As always we are blessed with today, and tomorrow is a new day.

Well today was another Pritzker show, down in East St. Louis. It is good he was going around the state and touching base with all of his voters, a campaign stop for him, disguised as a COVID update. If you listened to his speech, it started out saying how terrible it was for the events in Minneapolis and down in Georgia. With which I agree, however for him to use this space to highlight those events, and then go onto talk about how the black and Hispanic communities are always getting the worst, and how COVID is the worst in these communities, and how he is working to make things better. To me I really feel he was pandering to those communities, and really was a cheap stunt using those horrible, horrible events to his favor. Those events, no matter who they happened to, white, black, Hispanic, or Asian, or any other ethnic group is totally horrid, and those at fault should be held accountable to the maximum extent of the law. After he made his little speech, he stepped away from the mic and let others do the update, which is why I said a campaign speech.

On a lighter note, I hope all were semi excited to watch the Space-X launch, which yes I know didn’t happen due to weather, but I was excited to watch anyway. So now the next time they will try again is Saturday, so hopefully, we will get to see it then. That forsure is one thing on my bucket list to do is actually be they and watch it live, maybe someday.

Oh then the good old City Manager has proposed HUGE cuts, and I am not even sure where to go with this one. I will have to give this one some thought.

As always we are blessed with today, and tomorrow is a new day.

Well all today was kinda slow on just about all fronts. The news was pretty much the same old stuff, which I am sure you all are aware of that by now. It rained like heck last night, and tonight my wife is out watering, as tonight we only got 3 drops of rain at the most. We did break down today and turn on the A/C, so that is nice.

It is the first day back at work, and of course there were issues to be addressed, but that is normal.

We are blessed to have a slow day today, as tomorrow I am sure it will all catch up with us on all fronts.

As always we are blessed with today, and tomorrow is a new day.