. Add, thanking GOD for all the blessings this country offers! Read the REAL story of Thanksgiving schools don’t teach: https://prayamericagreatagain.com/rush-limbaugh-the-true-story-of-thanksgiving/ Socialism failed the Pilgrims, capitalism saved them and set the course for this new country. If you don’t teach your kids they will never know the true story.
By: Diane Benjamin WGLT made the best case for defunding NPR with this headline: . Obviously WGLT wanted to leave their readers with the impression not many people attended. Even ISU security estimated 1000 people at noon. Citizens don’t need public paid journalists, especially when facts are immaterial to their reporting. More crowd pictures here: […]
By: Diane Benjamin If you didn’t know, enrollment at ISU increased this year because many students received tuition breaks. ISU knows future enrollment will decrease because birth rates have declined, which means fewer kids will be available to fill seats. That doesn’t stop the faculty union from demanding more money. There’s an online video of […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Bloomington Council meeting was more about awards than City business: At least the Council Chambers were full of people temporarily. There was one Public Comment by Jill Whitacre worth seeing. Jill and her husband own Shake It Up cocktail lounge in downtown Bloomington. The City usurped capitalism by limiting the number […]
By: Diane Benjamin If you opened a business I doubt you would expect government to set special property values just for you. And you sure wouldn’t expect those values to be fixed for 4 years so your business wasn’t adversely affected if conditions change. You also wouldn’t be telling government you will sue them and […]
By: Diane Benjamin . They won’t be getting tips. California raised minimum wage to $20 an hour for fast food workers. Below are articles detailing the results: (hint: higher prices, layoffs, automation) https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/california-s-20-minimum-wage-is-killing-thousands-of-jobs/ar-BB1kE8gS https://ijr.com/california-fast-food-chains-fire-workers-20-minimum-wage-kicks https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2024-03-27/fast-food-minimum-wage Economics 101 should be required in high school. Raising the minimum wage hurts more people than helps. Next a real […]
This group started in Utah and is spreading to other states. https://childrensentrepreneurmarket.com/ This a great way to build confidence in kids and teach them about capitalism. I hope someone sees the benefits and starts a group here! Browse the website, don’t miss the blog posts. . . .
By: Diane Benjamin At tonight’s meeting a budget hearing is being held. Likely no one will show up to speak. Nice. Below are a couple things I found while not looking very hard. https://normal.org/DocumentCenter/View/19713/2022-23-Proposed-Budget PDF page 95: That 10.00 is the percentage increase from this year. What is the Town planning to spend $55,000 on? […]
By: Diane Benjamin This story was important for you to read: https://blnnews.com/2021/09/01/story-2-americas-future/ Lots of people read it. I hope it shocked you like it shocked me that anyone could write a story claiming capitalism must be destroyed when capitalism is America. Capitalism is merely producing something people want and getting paid for it. The opposite […]
By: Diane Benjamin Did you agree with Story 1? The article below was included on an email I received by FOIA from District 87. America is a capitalist country where individuals are free to chart their own life. We have stocked shelves because companies want to profit. If there was no financial reward for creating […]
By: Diane Benjamin What makes student successful? Commons sense tells you it’s parents who prioritize education. They tell their kids education is the path to success. They make sure their kids go to bed at a reasonable hour and get up ready for school. They make sure homework is done and they meet with teachers […]
By: Diane Benjamin Some locals aren’t happy paying rent. Having a place to live isn’t something you work for, according to them it’s a RIGHT. How many haven’t paid rent in over a year? Why do they think a place to live is a RIGHT? It isn’t, just like food isn’t a RIGHT. If it […]
By: Diane Benjamin https://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=22465 Tonight a representative from the McLean County Regional Planning Commission will talk about local transit. She will be followed by the Connect Transit’s General Manager. Prediction: Neither speaker will mention the buses are too big to serve the people with no other means of transportation. Neither speaker will recognize the huge […]
By: Diane Benjamin Definition of capitalism: Making your life better by providing goods or services other people want at a price they will pay. It is a simple concept that has improved the lives of millions around the globe. It is color blind and doesn’t care who you sleep with. It is what made America […]
By: Diane Benjamin Remember the property Bloomington bought on N Main in 2016 for $1.4 million? Tari’s buddies, Kirk Holdings, leveled the old Mennonite Hospital buildings. Then the City bought it so nobody else could. It has been sitting vacant and generating no tax revenue ever since. Tuesday night the City is teaming up with […]
By: Diane Benjamin Normal decided they had to spend tax dollars for a bike share program: https://blnnews.com/2017/05/24/run-over-by-democracy/ Instead of allowing Zagster to set up their own program, if there is even a demand for bike sharing, the Town once again usurped capitalism. How is bike sharing done in the most liberal city in Texas – […]
By: Diane Benjamin Town of Normal agenda for Monday: http://www.normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/3274 This item is listed: Discussions about subsidies is not on the agenda. According to this document, plans for Constitution Trail Centre PUD go back to 2005: http://www.normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/2636 A hotel was always part of the plan. Evidently Normal doesn’t know when you pass plans specifying what […]
By: Diane Benjamin April 30th marks the 7th anniversary of BlnNews. It has evolved over time and will continue to evolve. One thing I will no longer tolerate is re-writing history to fit somebody’s agenda. Lately several people have tried to claim Hitler wasn’t a socialist – of course the reason for the re-write is […]
By: Diane Benjamin We live in a capitalist country. It’s called individual freedom to succeed or fail. The individual is the most important factor in success, the “collective” has no part in capitalism. Individuals must be free to make their own decisions. Capitalism doesn’t see genders, race, sexual orientation or any other tags used to […]
By: Diane Benjamin Everybody should already know that capitalism isn’t taught to most of the students at ISU. The kids flocked to the last Democratic primary to vote for a socialist. ISU now has an Adventure Center! https://campusrecreation.illinoisstate.edu/adventure/ The Center just opened this month. Click on Equipment Rental A long list of items for rent […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Normal Town Council meeting lasted more than 10 minutes last night! It actually went over an hour because of the mandatory recycling ordinance. ISU kids showed up to demand their right to recycle. Some called it a necessity, one claimed she had to drive 5-10 minutes to drop hers off and […]
By: Diane Benjamin Downtown businesses didn’t even support the Downtown Bloomington Association. Now the DBA employees are happy City employees complete with higher salaries, benefits and pensions! The Coliseum and the Bloomington Center for Performing Arts (BCPA) were supposed to brings hoards of people downtown. The Visitor’s Center in the McLean County History Museum was […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last week the Nazi comments were directed toward the ISU Republicans and a guest speaker. This week it’s against a group called Turning Point USA. The President of the ISU chapter, Andy Byars, sent me pictures of the vandalism to chalked messages and posters they hung on campus. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Capitalism has lifted millions of people around the globe out of poverty. It’s the perfect formula for success: I have a widget that you want. You give me something of value for the widget. Both of us are happy. With the Internet, exchanging things of value is possible across the globe. If […]
By: Diane Benjamin See this story from yesterday: Why City Councils Don’t Listen After writing more than 4000 stories, I had forgotten I wrote about the Julie Crowe case when she won the lawsuit: Julie Crowe Defeats the City of Bloomington That story contains a link to the original Council vote denying her the Vehicle-For-Hire […]
By: Diane Benjamin Tari Renner believes in the top down approach to government. He wants total control of local economic development. Think about his hotel plans in downtown Bloomington that will steal business from existing hotels. HE wants to decide who succeeds and who fails. Understand now why he didn’t sign the loyalty oath […]
By: Diane Benjamin If the massive tax and spending increases Renner and Council have handed taxpayers aren’t evidence of a need for HUGE changes in Bloomington – Monday night you give you another reason. A 3rd TIF District! Did Bloomington elect a Chris Koos for mayor? Koos has FIVE TIF districts. He has buried Normal […]
By: Diane Benjamin Years ago a guy wanted to buy the old Coachman Motel property on East Washington and turn it into a parking lot. Instead of collecting money and handing over the property title, the City told him they didn’t want a parking lot there. Instead, under City ownership, this is what it looks […]
By: Diane Benjamin Connect Transit held another Board meeting today. Revenue for the month of May was $136,587. Expenses were $806,208 http://www.connect-transit.com/documents/June%2028%202016%20Regular%20Board%20Meeting%20Binder1.pdf Your tax dollars subsidized empty buses! Ridership was down again – off 9.4%. The following Facebook post was used with permission: . A Private Sector business owner is intelligent enough to stop when […]
By: Diane Benjamin People wanting to end capitalism are all around us now. Too many want their share of your wealth and expect government to give it too them. Too many others blame capitalism for everything wrong with the world. They are oblivious to what capitalism really is and what makes it the perfect form […]
By: Diane Benjamin Tonight the Bloomington City Council will approve an Enterprise Zone. The majority will vote yes because they believe government creates economic activity. From the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Activity website: The Illinois Enterprise Zone Program is designed to stimulate economic growth and neighborhood revitalization in economically depressed areas of the […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last weekend a soccer tournament must have been held on the fields by the airport. Cars and kids were everywhere, so many that a Bloomington Police officer was on duty ALL day to control traffic. Did the soccer people pay his salary or the citizens of Bloomington? Both Normal and Bloomington are […]
By John Hawkins Given what we know in 2012, saying that capitalism will make a society richer than socialism should be about as controversial as saying the earth is round, not flat. Yet, a recent Gallup poll shows that more liberals have a positive view of socialism than capitalism. This is only possible because there are so […]
Hugo Chavez won another election, even though the economy in Venezuela under the self declared socialist, Chavez, is a disaster. Inflation is at 21% and food shortages exist due to price controls. Crime is rampant, the murder rate is the highest in the world. The national debt has tripled and class warfare is encouraged by […]
In just ONE year: 41,662 pages of new regulations. The Affordable Care Act, which nobody read before voting on it, was only 2000 pages. Kathleen Sebelius has written 13,000 pages so far to implement the law, and she isn’t half done. How can this many pages of Federal regulations be complied with? How many State […]
