McCain's campaign plane: a 737, not a 747

I caught a typographical error in Chicago Tribune reporter Jill Zuckman's missive from Sen. McCain's campaign plane yesterday, Election Day:

----- Original Message -----
From: Kenneth Salkover
To: Zuckman, Jill
Sent: Wed Nov 05 11:58:57 2008
Subject: McCain's plane a 737

Ken Salkover
Chicago

Ms. Zuckman:

In the "Swamp" blog version of your story aboard the McCain campaign
airplane yesterday, you referred to it as a 747. Was that a typo?
Air Force One is a B747-400, and any aircraft in the 747 series would
be almost as large. I was pretty sure that was incorrect, so I looked
around and found this article, about the launch of McCain's B737 in
June: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/us/politics/29plane.html?ref=politics

I follow passenger aircraft as a hobby, so this is of great interest
to me. BTW, a B737 has two engines, and a B747 has four, plus an
enlarged widebody fuselage with a telltale upper-deck hump.

I hope Sen. McCain didn't wear you out over the final days and that
you're ready for your next assignment. Good luck!

-----------
Her reply:

Thanks, Ken - good catch. That was a typo. Appreciate the note.

Jill

McCain's concession speech

A classy, gracious speech that called for all of us to unite behind the president-elect. Too bad it had to end this way.

Sen. Liddy Dole (R.-N.C.) concession speech

Mrs. Dole did not conduct her campaign to the standards of the elder stateswoman her constituents elected six years ago. (Mrs. Dole is the same age as her colleague John McCain.)

Barack Obama on Prop. 8

From www.noonprop8.com:

In a letter to the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club, Sen. Barack Obama said:

“As the Democratic nominee for President, I am proud to join with and support the LGBT community in an effort to set our nation on a course that recognizes LGBT Americans with full equality under the law…And that is why I oppose the divisive and discriminatory efforts to amend the California Constitution, and similar efforts to amend the U.S. Constitution or those of other states.”

As a strict constitutionalist, I normally oppose constitutional amendments. I opposed efforts to put a traditional marriage constitutional amendment referendum on the ballot in Illinois in 2006 because I thought it was a waste of taxpayers' time and money. Gay marriage was and is not legal here. In California's case, however, the Supreme Court overruled a previous referendum of the people, Prop. 22 from 2000, which passed 61% - 39%. So the people are entitled to take action. The Obama-Biden ticket is ostensibly opposed to gay marriage. Yet Sen. Obama opposes efforts to protect traditional marriage in the California constitution. Prop. 8 says, "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid and recognized in California." Which is it? It's not just that the senator (president-elect?) and I disagree on gay marriage (maybe) and gun ownership rights (definitely). It's that he won't take a definitive stance on the issue. If he opposes gay marriage, then he should favor efforts to ban it in California, where it is currently legal. If he believes it's an issue best left to the states, then he should say so. If he thinks gay marriage is a fine idea, then he should say so and stop lying to us.

Blackhawks at home on Saturday nights

Since the late ‘80’s—for a generation—the Bulls have been the top attraction at Chicago Stadium and United Center. As the top attraction, the stadium gives the Bulls the preferred dates, including most Saturday nights throughout the winter and spring. Saturday night, Oct. 25, United Center’s other major tenant, the Chicago Blackhawks, hosted the Detroit Red Wings in a key early season matchup. The fans responded with a record regular-season turnout of 22,690. That figure includes almost 1200 standing-room tickets! Unfortunately, the Blackhawks will host just one more Saturday night regular-season game this season, on Valentine’s Night.

I just checked some schedules for comparison’s sake. So the Blackhawks scheduled two Saturday nights this year. The Bulls have 12, plus two Saturday matinées. That’s outrageous. Two other major cities with shared venues have a more balanced allocation of its Saturday nights: in New York, the Rangers get five, and the Knicks get four, plus a Saturday matinée. In Philadelphia, the Flyers get ten Saturday nights and one Saturday matinée, while the Sixers get six plus one. Why the unusually large discrepancy between the two teams in Chicago? It’s not fair, and it should stop, beginning next season.

Proposed Constitutional Convention for Illinois

www.yesforillinois.com
(I could not find the “No” website that former Gov. Jim Edgar is helping out.)

I received a ten-minute explanation at dinner Friday night (thanks, Mitch—and dinner was delicious, BTW, thanks, T) on why a constitutional convention is a horrible idea. The 1970 convention lasted 17 months and cost $31 mil (in 1970 dollars), according to Mitch. If the sleazy taxaholic Jim Edgar is opposed to it, along with every other Illinois politician, that suggests to me it’s a great idea. If the Chicago Tribune and Tribune columnist Eric Zorn endorse it, that suggests to me it’s a great idea. But Mitch’s argument certainly gives one pause. Mitch added that the members of the Illinois House and Senate and their lobbyists would be in charge of the convention.

Prop. 4 in California – another parental notification law

www.noonprop4.org
www.yeson4.net

Pregnancy is a hardship for unmarried teenage girls, and abortion is a tragic option. I still believe it’s a private decision between the pregnant girl/woman and her doctor, and that government should not intervene.