Posts

Something Wiki This Way Comes

For all those of you who don't get the blog (see below), I think we're investigating a wiki.... According to 'smart guy' Rick Klau, Kos just announced the dKosopedia , an open collaborative wiki that the community edits. I posted over at Rick's site asking him what he thought. Kos is going to have a progressive political junkie's political encyclopedia, I was thinking of starting Illinois' political junkies encylopedia..... Could be fun....

Republicans Can Hug Trees, Too

This bothers me and maybe it shouldn't.... On Joe Trippi's blog-- Change for America they list a bunch of sites under the heading of "democratic action". This list includes some sites such as MoveOn.org, and Young Democrats of America--that frankly, the Democrats can have, but they also list 2 sites in particular that bother me by being listed here. They have both the Sierra Club and Defenders of Wildlife listed in this "democratic action" category. This needs to change. And that change has begun, if you ask me. I am a Republican, and I feel that I 'own' the Sierra Club and their issues as much as anyone--especially the Democrats. This should not be a 'Democratic Action' Group item--it should be everyone's including Republicans. Maybe this is a age-thing, but I think as we mo

Some New Friends

We're got some stuff up on this guy's blog now, too. As described by One Man, he is a 'smart guy'. I've been reading his blog for a couple of weeks. He talks a lot about technology and how it evolves, helps, and hurts business/commerce. He was also very heavily involved in the Blog for America of Dr. Howard Dean. (Which we all know was very successful....) Check out his blog. He has some interesting things to say. Oh...I forgot to tell you. He lives right up Route 59 in Naperville. Which is nice. Rhodes....out.

California Stars

Where do I begin? Should I start with the new line-up? The venue? Tweedy's Salad? All of it was amazing. I kinda consider myself a hardened concert-goer. I see a lot of shows and enjoy a lot of stuff, but this was over the top. I went with my brother-in-law Marc out to Dekalb. We arrived at something like 8ish and headed over this cool bohemian coffee shop on the main drag in DeKalb. (I had a turkey panini and he had a 3 cheese... which to me is just a toasted cheese (or some of you may call them grilled cheese)) Anyway we get there and the security was really tight...... They had a granola girl sitting on a bar stool checking your name off a list. Sweet. $4.50 24 oz sodas. Which was nice. Otto's is tiny. Tiny stage. Ever been to Mabel's in Champaign? About like that. It was cool. We were near the soundboard and kind of on a riser. Could see everything except when Tweedy went down on his knees for one song.... Well they opened with "ashes of american flags&qu

I am an American Aquarium Drinker....I assassin down the avenue....

You guys know that I am a Rod guy by default. I mean when you're surrounded by Rod guys all day you tend to wear some rose colored glasses. Some people tend to take him to task ( Mr. Miller and Arch ) I am looking in your direction. (Not to mention that pretty funny opinion piece in the Tribune by Rick Pierson.) Anyway....I have to give those guys a little credit for something. Someone over there is at least a little with it if they can do this.... I was watching the Channel 9 news last night and I saw a commercial for Illinois Tourism. Nothing spectacular about the commercial, except the music. That's right, this guy talking about music? Go figure, huh? When the topic of tunes comes up on some dates, that is probably about when the girl tunes out and chalks me up for being a turd. Anyway, on this commercial was "War on War" by Wilco . How cool is that? I know, I know. Commercialism and selling out. Blah Blah Blah. This isnt really commercialism. This is about pro

Convention Wrap-Up

Well, some of us are back and some are still out today. This past weekend, I spent some time down in Collinsville, IL and St. Louis, Mo. It was a great weekend, even though I went to bed way to early on Saturday evening...from what I hear. Anyway, Leader Cross gave a great speech as did Gov. Edgar, Gov. Thompson, Speaker Hastert and Senate Candidate Jack Ryan. We ate dinner at a place called Tony's. I highly recommend it. Tell the Matire'd Gene, that Chris sent ya. Gene's the best. More tomorrow. I've got to hit the books for my exam tonight. Rhodes....out.

Untan Lunch

First of all. Check your inboxes. We sent out our 3 reasons for $3 today. If you're not on the list, then fill in your email address up on the top right and click the box for the 'Cross Connection'... On to the business of the day..... This Chief stuff is nonsense. I mean....Come on. As a proud grad of the fine University of Illinois, I am proud of the Chief and how he conducts himself. This symbol or as some in the legislature call it "a mascot" is simply not a mascot. When a new car wash opens in Champaign The Chief doesn't go there and do a dance and hand out foam tomahawks. He doesn't do endorsements. In fact, the university does not use his image anywhere to promote anything! A smart man named Chapin Rose said yesterday, "I think it's a little bit ludicrous to hijack a tier-one university's funding over an athletic symbol." Right on, Chapin. Many do not know how revered the Chief is inside the locker room and around campus.

We're part of the Stream of Commerce!

I've been slobbering all over the Arch Pundit lately... Well, we here at the joincross blog have decided to put our money where our mouths have been. We decided to take the plunge and advertise with him. I may not always agree with everything he says, but it certainly is interesting. Now, for all of you consiracy theorists out there... we didnt do it to get 'positive coverage'. I actually find him a interesting read. Some of the stuff is good, the federal dem stuff bores me to death. He has a pretty wide readership and they appear to be quite regular. He doesn't get a ton of 'comments' but neither do we and we get a ton of hits when we send out the emails. He is usually pretty good at keeping up with the news of the day. They are going to have him blog over at the DCCC @ Stake Blog . What a great idea. They claim that the GOP doesn't 'get it', but guess what....over here at CFI, we're not your father's GOP. We do get it and want to t

You say you wanna a...

We're more than half-way to our goal. This is the first time we're trying this here at CFI. (cross for illinois) I was speaking with the webguys and they were stunned by all the $3 dollar donations. We're almost to 1000 of 'em. That's incredible. Thank you so much. This is not a sprint. This is going to be a marathon. All of us here at CFI, and there are a lot of excited people around here, (and it's not because Gino is going to close the office at noon today), are grateful to all the contributors thus far. We knew that there were people who shared our sentiments. The Revolution is now on-line. "It's time for this crowd to go." That is going to be our mantra. "Illinois can't take two more years of this crowd in the Statehouse." There's still time to contribute. If you haven't...you should. Wouldn't you give up just $3 on your credit card to change Illinois? >>>>If you're feelin' it, click here t

My name is...

Tuesday is a session day. Back in Springfield for the Legislators. Ever been in Springfield on a non-session day? Not so cool. A couple of years back, my buddy Todd took me and a couple of rawhides to Quincy to see the President. On the way back, we stopped at a place called Norb Andy's. (Linky) Anyway, they have something called a Horseshoe. I not a huge fan of it, but I could see some 'big' dudes just loving this. Most of the 'big' guys and gals in Springfield have a full plate today. There is a lot of bills on their second reading. (Linky) Today is the announcement of the capital budget by the Guv. According the Rich Miller, it should 'mend some fences' P.R.-wise.....