fixes injustice; compounds political problem

callmewhentheshuttlelands took me to task for perpetuating the impression the Illinois DNR confiscating "Red" Burchyett's wheelchair was a new story.

A wise man knows when to say, "my bad".

The story broke in the Southern Illinoisan of Carbondale.

Burchyett's story appeared in The Southern Illinoisan Jan. 1. When it hit the pages of The Chicago Tribune Friday, Blagojevich took some administrative action.

Here's Blagojevich's problem with this story. The Tribune says Blagojevich was "incensed", but didn't know about the story until yesterday.

Blagojevich is saying that he ignores the Downstate media--and Downstate issues--until they make it into the Chicago media. Blagojevich is putting his own ignorance on the front page for everyone to see.

But Blagojevich is also putting his personnel and management on report too. Blagojevich is telling us the people he appointed don't have good judgment. And the "standing orders" he's provided to his people would allow this story to slip through the cracks. His instructions are either flawed or unclear. Or Blago has atrocious communications with his staff.

Of course Blagojevich could be lying. Maybe he knew about the story and only acted when he started getting bad publicity in Chicago. But incompetence seems more likely an explanation. Blagojevich is a politician and hardly any politician would sign-off on taking a 60 year old man's specialty wheelchair. Even really nasty pols would have intervened to help Burkett to show the common touch. And Rod is more inept than nasty.