Today, July 11, 2012, has been proclaimed, "Edward A. Wolak Day" in Naperville to honor the 100th birthday of my Great Uncle Ed. This past Saturday, Naperville's Mayor George Pradel made the proclamation in front of friends and family of my uncle, who is "Great" to me in more than relations.
The 40-year Naperville resident is a citizen that has served his community whenever called. He is a model of what the citizen's role should be. This from a Naperville SUN article in 2004:
"Politically active, Wolak was elected to two terms on the Cicero District 99 Board of Education. During his tenure from 1951 to '57, the board oversaw construction of three schools...His interest in politics continued when he moved to Naperville."
My uncle said in 2004, "I love to read about the candidates.I attend the council meetings often, and if I'm not there in person, I listen to them on TV. I think we've got a good council. Sometimes I feel sorry for them for the time they spend on it."
My uncle still lives in the same house he and his wife Jo (who passed away in 2007) moved into in 1972. On Saturday, not only proclaimations from Mayor Pradel, but also letters from Governor Pat Quinn, Senators Dick Durbin and Mark Kirk and even President Barack Obama were read honoring a great citizen, who even at 100 continues to do his civic duty.
In our family history book, Ed Wolak's time as board member for school board, Cicero Family Services, Morton Scholarship League, Columbus Council for Child Guidance, Little Friends and Fellowship Unlimited are all chornicled, though my great uncle says he never had a desire to be a leader. His wife volunteered them both for the various positions they held. A true example of political efficacy. Membership in voluntary organizations is a major determining factor in liberal democracies that value civil society.
"I went along and did what needed doing,'' he offered with a gentelmenly smile.
This Friday my Uncle Ed will be featured on Naperville Community Television News 17 at 6 pm. If you want to catch the thoughts of My Citizen of the Century, My Great Uncle Ed, follow the link:
Some final words to live by, especially in this presidential election year (my uncle has seen 24 of them):
"I would tell anyone to be honest in what you do, and do the right things. Treat all people with respect. Keep a positive attitude. Make a lot of friends and sit back and enjoy the ride.
"Oh yes, one more thing -- always be sure to exercise your right to VOTE!"
The guy interviewed by Naperville Community News last week at the 1 minute mark of the first story could take advantage of the Afordable Health Care Act if he had to change jobs (pre-existing condition) or lose weight, (preventive care), ha!
As we approach the U.S. national holiday on 4 July, Ken Wedding's wonderful Teaching Comparative blog (linked at side index) has posted about the days compartative states celebrate their national pride.
Nigerian national holiday
Nigeria celebrates the first of October as Independence Day (from United Kingdom, 1960) as a national day and, since the return of democracy in 1999, celebrates Democracy Day on the 29th of May.
There is no work or school on Independence Day. There are special ceremonies at parade grounds that are open to the public.
Chinese national holiday
October 1 is a public holiday in the People's Republic of China. The PRC was founded on October 1, 1949 with a ceremony at Tiananmen Square. It is celebrated with a variety of government-organized festivities, including fireworks and concerts. Public places, such as Tiananmen Square in Beijing, are decorated in a festive theme.
Fireworks displays are usually held in all cities, including Hong Kong, where a fireworks display to celebrate the National Day of the People's Republic of China has been held since 1997.
British national holiday
The United Kingdom does not have a recognized national day, although the Queen's Official Birthday (which is declared annually, usually falling on a Saturday in the first half of June) is sometimes considered as such.
However, the four constituent nations of the UK (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) all have National Saints' days.
Mexican national holiday
Grito de Dolores (declaration of independence from Spain)....NOT Cinco de Mayo!
Each year on the night of September 15, the President of Mexico rings the bell of the National Palace in Mexico City and repeats a cry of patriotism based upon the "Grito de Dolores," ending with the threefold shout of ¡Viva México!
On the morning of September 16, or Independence Day, the national military parade starts in the Zócalo, passes the Hidalgo Memorial and ends on the Paseo de la Reforma, Mexico City’s main boulevard.
Similar celebrations occur in cities and towns all over Mexico.
Russian national holiday
Russia Day
Russia Day, 12 June, celebrates the declaration of sovereignty in 1990, but Russian Army Victory Day (May 9) is still a bigger celebration. It marks the end of World War II and victory over Germany.
Iranian national holiday
10-Day Dawn
Iran recognizes 1 February as the beginning of 10 days of celebrations all across the country known as "10-Day Dawn", which culminate on 11 February, in ceremonies marking the anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution. (However, in 2010, 11 February was a day of clashes between government forces and protestors in Tehran.)
The party that ruled Mexico with a tight grip for most of the last century has sailed back into power, promising a government that will be modern, responsible and open to criticism…
[Pena Nieto] won 38 percent support, about 6 to 7 points more than his nearest rival, with 92 percent of the votes counted, and he went to work immediately to win over the two-thirds who didn't vote for him…
But his top challenger, leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, refused to concede, saying he would await a full count and legal review…
Yesterday's 5-4 decision by the Supreme Court to affirm the Affordable Health Care Act (Obamacare) was so historic that Political Warrior has come out of summer holiday to share some thoughts. First, my guy Chris Matthews said exactly what I was thinking when I stayed with the breaking news on SCOTUS blog and saw that the Individual Mandate was to be upheld by the deciding vote of conservative Chief Justice John Roberts.
Surprising, yes. But like Chris said, the Chief Justice's decision gives me faith to continue to teach government and politics.....not just politics. It also gave me, like the Harball host, faith in my religious teachings of social justice. The Chief Justice is one of several Catholics on the highest court in the land. Chris Matthews thinks he may have thought about his belief in social justice that made him rule the Afordable Health Care Act not only constitutional, but right. Interestingly, Roberts is one of 6 Catholics on the Supreme Court. He and Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor upheld the law. Catholic dissenters were: Alito; Kennedy; Scalia and Thomas.
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SCOTUS blog, linked above, and Oyez.org, had the most accurate account of yesterday's historic decision. Other media outlets, not so much. CNN and Fox News broke the decision as the Individual Mandate being struck down. The Youdia has made for an historic photoshopped picture, appropriate since all Democratic presidents since Truman (remember seeing "Dewey defeats Truman") have been trying to reform healthcare in the U.S., the only industrialized democracy with so many of its citizens not currently covered by health care. (Thanks to WV AP Govt grad and former YG Governor Janesh Rahlan for sending me the pic!)
Several AP GOPO terms were in play yesterday. So as the Supremes used their judicial review to determine whether the policy under 'Obamacare' was constitutional, think about these that AP students should be familar with.
Congress Powers: While the adminstration expected to be upheld under the Commerce Clause (Congress has the power to regulate interstate commerce) which is where the federal government has had its influence expanded greatly over the last 50 years (Interstate Highway Act), or the Necessary and Proper Clause, the Chief Justice found the the grounds to uphold the law by the Power of the Purse the authority to regulate taxing and spending.
Despite the fact that many conservatives criticize some liberal justices' decisions as being judicial activist (legislating from the bench) when Roberts sided with the four liberals he was using judicial restraint (letting what the lawmakers passed stand). As SCOTUS blog wrote:
"The Affordable Care Act including its individual mandate that virtually all Americans buy health insurance, is constitutional. There were not five votes to uphold it on the ground that Congress could use its power to regulate commerce between the states to require everyone to buy health insurance. However, five Justices agreed that the penalty that someone must pay if he refuses to buy insurance is a kind of tax that Congress can impose using its taxing power. That is all that matters. Because the mandate survives, the Court did not need to decide what other parts of the statute were constitutional, except for a provision that required states to comply with new eligibility requirements for Medicaid or risk losing their funding. On that question, the Court held that the provision is constitutional as long as states would only lose new funds if they didn't comply with the new requirements, rather than all of their funding."
The Medicaid part of the decision may be a limiting of fiscal federalism, or marble cake federalism. On the Medicaid funding part, mandate is when the federal government makes the states comply with a policy. An unfunded mandate is when the federal government makes the rule but doesn't show the states the money. Traditionally, the federal government uses carrots (fiscal benefits) or sticks (holdbacks or penalties) to get states to comply with national policy. It will be interesting to follow what Republican state governors decide to do about federal monies scehduled to come their way as part of the now consitutional Affordable Health Care Act. Sarah Palin called on all governors to"be tough" and opt out of the Medicaid expansion. She also earlier tweeted, "Obama lies; freedom dies." Really?!?
Melissa Hart of the Byron White Center for Constitutional Law Studies also broke the High Court's decision down in valuable way for AP GOPO students, and all of us, Really.
"The Supreme Court majority acted exactly as we expect courts in our system to behave--with appropriate judicial restraint. By upholding the ACA as a valid exercise of congressional power, the Court showed respect for its co-equal branch of government and for the our nation’s Constitutional structure. The decision was a victory for the rule of law in our country."
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BTW, this week The Supremes also struck down most of the contraversial Arizona Immigration Law, but left the provision that local law enforcement can still stop someone and ask them to present their papers (this may be challenged after someone has been detained because of being "paperless." I guess, I was wrong, and were are not all trying to Go Green that way). Anyway, IL Congressman Luis Gutierrez made just the beginning of some good political theatre on the floor of the House of Represenatives this week. CSPAN was "Must See TV."
By Thursday afternoon, by party lines GOP lawmakers in the House of Represenatives took the historic, but theatric step of voting Attorney General Eric Holder in "Contempt of Congress" over the "Fast and Furious" ATF plan that was charged as "walking" arms to Mexican drug cartels, which eventually led to the death of an ATF agent. Terms to use here: subpeona (Congress's power to use oversight and demand documents from the executive branch); executive privlage (president's power to keep information privlaged for issues of national security); special interests (like the NRA that vowed to fund opponents and place any lawmaker that did not vote against the Attorney General on an anti-gun legislator scorescard). This again is the difference between governing (or enforcing the law, which the ATF is supposed to be doing) and politics (which, according to the linked article below, is all that's went on yesterday afternoon on Capitol Hill)
The old hidden ball trick. Tom Ricketts, chairman of the Cubs, quickly tried to distance himself from a Thursday New York Times story that linked Joe Ricketts, the patriarch of the family that owns the Cubs, with a political-action committee aiming to smear President Obama. It created an unwelcome backdrop for the city's most anticipated baseball weekend in otherwise long and lousy seasons.
And it also became politically inconvienent for the Ricketts family, who are trying to secure public funding to help renovate Wrigley Field. Awkard. And probably a loser in this town. If you are gonna ask for public money, how can you rail against big government?
Obama's White Sox won Friday. Cub Daddy Ricketts will have to wait till next year, they should start getting used to that. It is also starting to offend the real Cub fans that want leadership focused on bringing a World Series winner to Chicago.
As David Haugh reported in the Tribune:
"No Cubs fan wants to hear about a "Ricketts Plan,'' unless it involves improving the bullpen and the bunting.
If a Ricketts man seeks to unload millions to oust somebody critics think has done a lousy job long enough, my guess is season ticket holders would prefer he target Alfonso Soriano instead of President Barack Obama. The last thing anybody at Wrigley Field cares to consider on a sunny day at the City Series is whether buying a Bison Dog or souvenir bat indirectly funds a "super PAC'' planning racially divisive attack ads during a presidential campaign.
Yet Thursday's New York Times report linking Joe Ricketts, the patriarch of the family that owns the Cubs, with a political-action committee aiming to smear Obama created an unwelcome backdrop for the city's most anticipated baseball weekend in otherwise long and lousy seasons.
Immediately, damage control included the elder Ricketts stressing he has no direct involvement with the Cubs and rejecting any notion he sought to revive the 2008 controversy over Obama's relationship with Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Ricketts' daughter, Laura, a local champion of gay rights on the Cubs board, issued a statement supporting Obama and her right to disagree with her father. Ricketts' son, Tom, the face of the Cubs as their chairman, quickly distanced himself from any potential PR wreckage too.
"I repudiate any return to racially divisive issues in this year's presidential campaign or in any setting — like my father has,'' Tom Ricketts said in a statement.
The Cubs should be so instinctively defensive on the field.
Those looking for fun at the old ballpark might find a more politically charged arena than usual. And you thought the NATO summit was the only place in town debating geopolitics.
Wrigley usually represents a no-stress, non-partisan zone, a place where you praise Castro and everybody knows you're talking about the shortstop, not the dictator. A place smack dab in the middle of a Cubbie-blue state but where Obama still will get criticized for being a Sox fan, if his name comes up at all.''
