Staying the Same in a Time of Change.

For my American readers it can hardly have escaped your attention (unless you completely avoid all news media) that there has recently been a scandal in the office of the Governor of Illinois. Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich has been arrested on corruption charges. This seems to be a prime example of the old saying: The more things change, the more they stay the same.

What I mean is that of the last seven Governors of Illinois three of them have served time in prison. This includes Blagojevich's immediate predecessor. If the charges stick and Blagojevich goes to prison it will make it four out of eight. That's fifty percent. Half. Corruption in Illinois seems to happen in a bipartisan way. Politicians of both main parties have a spent time behind bars.

While the United States, and the world, were caught up in the excitement of a new kind of politics arriving on November 4th of this year, Blagojevich was "allegedly" knee deep in some good old fashioned political corruption. When it became apparent that Barack Obama's seat in the United States Senate would be vacant following the election Blagojevich was looking at possible candidates to appoint to replace the now President-Elect. That in itself is not the issue as it is a Governor's responsibility to do so, but the way in which he went about it was. According to some pretty damning wire-tap evidence he was trying to gain financially from the vacancy. He would appoint someone who offered him something tangible. That's pretty bad. This is on top of several other corruption charges that I will not go into. As of this writing all Senate Democrats are calling for his resignation, as is President-Elect Obama and a vast majority of the Illinois State Senate. There could even be a special election to determine Obama's replacement. Exciting, right? Another election!

So Illinois politics is corrupt. That doesn't sound like change to me. Luckily we can depend on the Republican party to approach this in an appropriate way, right? You may be shocked to learn that no, they are not. The GOP response to this scandal is... to link Obama to it! That's right. As it was Obama's seat being auctioned off to the highest bidder he must have had a hand in it. The dirty traitor! He's already starting to unravel the fabric of democracy! Alright, I got carried away there, but you get my point.

This accusation will end up like just about all of the accusations thrown at Obama during the Presidential campaign: not sticking. This is because Obama's approval rating at the moment is around 60-70%. That's much higher than Clinton or George W. Bush had during their transitions. With favorables like that it will be difficult to tarnish Obama, at least before the Inauguration. The other, and most important, reason this will not stick is because Obama had nothing to do with it. The prosecutor said so, and the wire-taps show Blagojevich calling the President-Elect a "motherf***er" whose Administration wasn't preparing to offer him anything but "appreciation" for the Senate seat selection, adding "F*** them" . Doesn't sound to me like the two are in cahoots.

Even despite this, some members of the GOP are trying to distract attention away from their party's implosion by slandering the President-Elect. Although Obama's election was historic, I implore everyone to avoid getting too caught up in the idea that everything will be different now. This is a perfect example of the fact that there is still a lot of work to be done.

'Tis the Season

Having spent the last day or so looking for something to write about I came to the realization that the world is a very negative place. There was the terrorist situation in Mumbai I could write about but, alas, I admittedly know precious little about the Pakistani/Indian dynamic. There was the man in northern England who raped his two daughters and over the course of several years fathered nineteen children with them, and there was the case of "Baby P" who was neglected by social services and ended up being beaten to death by the people who should have been parents.

There is a lot going on to be angry or upset about. I do actually like a good rant about something that's bugging me, but not today. Not now. It is December, getting colder by the day and getting darker earlier. This can only mean one thing for the majority of the Western world: Christmas is coming.

Now this may surprise people (and it has done in the past) but I really like Christmas. Actually that's not true: I love Christmas. When the trees start appearing in town centers, the strings of lights across the streets and the decorations in people's houses go up I get excited. Christmas time can bring out the best in people.

Having said this I would like to point out now that I do not celebrate Christmas because of the story of Jesus Christ. I am not a Christian. I love and celebrate Christmas because it is a time (more than usual) that people openly display good will and kindness to one another regardless of the depth of their individual faith.

Some Christians are very vocal about Christmas. They say that people do not celebrate its "original purpose", and that it has been cheapened somehow. This in turn makes non-Christians feel more hostility to those protesting Christmas. I won't get into the argument of the "original purpose" of Christmas because that would contradict the rest of this entry. If people are celebrating their loved ones with gifts, good will and affection then why should the reasons for it be questioned? If they are being good to one another then that is what matters.

When it comes to Christmas I base my philosophy on something that could be regarded as odd, but please bear with me. My personal model of Christmas is heavily based on The Muppet Christmas Carol. I have watched this movie every year for as long as I can remember and it never fails to fill me with Christmas cheer. There is nothing confrontational about their vision of Christmas, and religion is hardly mentioned at all. The focus is love. The focus is friends and family. Being good to one another for the sake of being good. I have always found that movie uplifting and I credit it as the best Christmas movie ever made. I am yet to see another one that has come close to the uplifting feeling I get from that one. Although I am attempting to explain my Christmas philosophy, if pushed I would simply show them The Muppet Christmas Carol. It does more to explain what is right with Christmas than my words ever could.

It will nearly be time to watch it again, and I can't wait.