Dear John McCain and George Ryan,Thank you, John, for defeating Bush in New Hampshire. I don't like him one bit, nor the smug attitude of all those people you proved wrong, who thought his nomination and presidency was inevitable. And thank you for all your work on campaign finance reform. That's an issue I actually care about, a far cry from non-issues like flag-burning or the specious linkage of illicit drug use and character. Try to win the Illinois primary. I would seriously consider registering as a republican just to use you against Bush in the primary, if I thought it would work. But that's as far as I would go with you. It's probably too late to change your position on the death penalty, isn't it. Wouldn't it be nice if we voters had a choice on that issue?Speaking of the death penalty, George, thank you for suspending it here in Illinois. I'm proud that our state takes justice seriously enough to take this step. I would have thanked you personally this morning at the Beckman institute but the room was so crowded and dark and you were so busy listening to Larry Smarr and you looked so silly in those virtual reality goggles. I think that if you investigate the application of the death penalty anywhere you'll find that there is no way to ensure that justice is done except to abolish the death penalty altogether. I won't get my hopes up. And by the way, no thanks for the new NCSA building on the north campus. It'll be nice, I'll enjoy it, but what we really need is for you to put effort and money into improving working conditions for everyone here at the University, which means, among other things, changing the labor law to recognize graduate employee unions, putting the brakes on privatization, slashing the ridiculous salary gap between our athletic coaches and our other academic professionals. And get rid of the Chief, too, it's really embarrassing.
Catch You Guys Later,
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