Silbar collected and sorted every application sent to his family of four between November 2007 and October 2008. He filled two filing boxes with them and likely extended the life of his shredder.

“I had no idea it would be this amount,” Silbar said, ripping open a few of his most recent mailings to demonstrate their variety.

And you wonder why we are in a fiancial mess? I got my first 4 credit cards in college and I thought that was excessive. I guess they are taking a page out of the tobacco industry’s playbook. Get them early get them for life.

NBC Chicago.com

I just don’t really get Gov Blago. He’s running around like a crying baby. If he is so certain that he is innocent then why won’t he stand up like a man and face it with conviction and professionalism. I guess that is to much to ask. He must have Paris Hilton as his PR person. That’s ‘Hot’.

Engadget – University of Illinois researchers have developed what they claim is the world’s smallest working fuel cell, and it’s certainly a good bit tinier than anything we’ve seen. The itty-bitty battery measures 3 mm x 3 mm x 1 mm and is comprised of just four layers: a water reservoir, a thin membrane, a chamber of metal hydride, and an assembly of electrodes. It can produce 0.7 volts and a 0.1 milliamp current for about 30 hours, with a newer model boasting similar voltage and 1 milliamp of current. That’s not gonna juice your BlackBerry anytime soon, but scientists suggest it could be used for simple electronics and microbots. As for future application, we’re hoping one day can power a fingernail-sized smartphone.

–Freaking Cool!

The matter goes to the senate which will probably vote next week on the matter.

The embattled governor said lawmakers’ actions were politically driven.

“The House action today was not a surprise. It was a foregone conclusion,” Blagojevich said at a news conference in Chicago. “From the very moment of my re-election, I’ve been engaged in a struggle with the House to try to get things done for people.

“The House’s action today, and the causes of the impeachment, are because I’ve done things to fight for families who are with me here today,” he added.”

Blagojevich was arrested December 9 but has not been indicted. A federal judge in Chicago told Fitzgerald that he has until April 7 to decide whether to charge the Illinois governor.

The committee’s report said it found the government’s allegations against Blagojevich “shocking” and believes the information in the federal complaint “is sufficiently credible to demonstrate an abuse of office” that was “inconsistent with the governor’s constitutional oath.”

The report said Blagojevich did not need to be found guilty of a crime for the House to impeach him. “It would, in fact, be unreasonable to limit impeachable offenses to criminal conduct,” the report said.

“An impeachment inquiry is not a criminal proceeding, and its purpose is not punitive. Rather, impeachment is a remedial proceeding to protect the public from an officer who has abused his position of trust.”

The committee pointed out that the criminal complaint against Blagojevich alleges that he was secretly taped saying he would not appoint anyone to Obama’s seat without some form of compensation.

Anyway the story still continues. Until next week.

The recommendation, on a 21-0 vote, paves the way for what would be the first impeachment of an Illinois governor in history.

A vote by the full House to send articles of impeachment to the Illinois Senate is expected on Friday.

“This is a very sad day in the state of Illinois,” said Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, the Chicago Democrat who chaired the impeachment panel, calling Blagojevich “an individual who is not fit to be the governor of the state of Illinois.”

At about 12:45 a.m. Tuesday, a 20-year-old man was driving in the outbound lanes of the Dan Ryan when he lost control of his Toyota Camry and was ejected from the vehicle. He was thrown off the expressway overpass and fell into a Union Pacific rail yard below near the intersection of 25th and Canal streets, Illinois State Police District Chicago Master Sgt. Joe Stangl said.

The man identified as Joseph Dunmars fell about 40 feet, an ISP District trooper said correcting initial police reports.

The man told troopers that his driver’s side door is broken and flew open while he was driving. As he tried to close the door, he lost control of the vehicle, which struck the left wall of the expressway, bounced off and then struck the right wall, Stangl said..

Workers in the rail yard called 911 after they saw him land and he was taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County. He was conscious on the scene and doctors at the hospital reported that his injuries are not life threatening, according to Stangl.

AP – Embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is still conducting state business even though there have been numerous calls for him to resign and a request was made to the state Supreme Court to strip him of his powers.

His office released a statement today that said he had signed a bill that would give insurance coverage to parents of children with autism.

Just hours earlier, Illinois Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan asked the state Supreme Court to prevent Blagojevich from serving as governor.

He was arrested Tuesday on federal corruption charges.

Lawmakers also have demanded that Blagojevich be impeached.

He has defiantly ignored the pressure, showing up for work every day since his arrest.

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