truesee's Blog

Guadalupe Romero, 27, of the 4000 block of Algonquin Parkway in Rolling Meadows was charged with child endangerment and aggravated battery. Alfonso Fierro, of the 500 block of Mesa Drive in Hoffman Estates, was charged with DUI.

A woman who police said intentionally crashed into her estranged husband’s SUV while driving her three children has been charged with child endangerment and aggravated battery.

Her estranged husband was also charged with DUI, officials said.

Guadalupe Romero, 27, of the 4000 block of Algonquin Parkway in Rolling Meadows, was charged with felony child endangerment and aggravated battery, Arlington Heights police said.

Authorities said her husband, Alfonso Fierro, and his girlfriend were in their SUV in Arlington Heights on Sunday evening when Romero spotted them while she was driving with her three young children, ages 8, 5 and 2, in the car.

Police said Romero began following them, struck his vehicle from behind and then swerved to the left and rammed her car into his again. Fierro lost control of his vehicle and struck a tree on the passenger, injuring his girlfriend, police said.

Romero’s bond was set at $100,000 this morning. She remains in custody, police said.

Fierro, of the 500 block of Mesa Drive in Hoffman Estates, received minor injuries during the accident and was also charged with DUI, police said. He is out on bond.

The three children in the care of a relative, Arlington Heights police Cmdr. Kenneth Galinski said.

Fierro’s girlfriend is in stable condition but has extensive injuries, Galinski said.

One of the prevailing debates in the GOP these days (if not the only one) is whether or not Governor Sarah Palin will, or should, run for president. Not only should she, she must if the GOP has any hope of having a legitimate nominee whom everyone can support for the 2012 election.

Why? Without Palin in the race a massive segment of the GOP base—Tea Party patriots and other independent conservatives—will find themselves once again with the prospect of choosing from a manipulated field of Next-In-Line GOP establishment liberals.

And make no mistake—that is exactly who will prevail. Despite the desperate and not surprisingly shallow belief by the boys in control of the GOP, Palin cannot be replaced by another woman, or another Tea Party supporter, or another Brunette (no matter how much they think a Stalking Horse will split the Tea Party vote).  Palin’s impact is unique, significant and deep. Her influence rests on background, experience, legitimacy and most important of all—trust. These are the reasons why Palin matters, the same reasons why the GOP machine appropriately sees her, and no one else, as an existential threat to their status quo.

Despite this, if the GOP truly wants to win 2012 (of which I’m not entirely convinced, after all, I hear Jeb Bush would love to beat Obama in 2016) they should be begging Palin to enter the race. Considering their portrayal of her, why not? Look, if you can’t beat Sarah Palin what makes you think you can beat Barack Obama? What are they so afraid of? Do they so not trust the decision-making of the American people they want to make sure you have no choice at all? Those lingering questions would eventually be answered—by an Obama victory on November 6, 2012.

Palin also has a dilemma. The decision to run is one only Palin can make, and she must know that choice is first and foremost a commitment to every voter so they can own the result of the election. No matter what happens, with so much at stake in the process, we must be able to look in the mirror and know the result is something of our doing, not a half-truth of the insecure and self-obsessed political class. This is the only way a large swath of the American populace will not abandon the process, allowing the government to maintain at least a semblance of legitimacy.

Palin must know the importance of her simply being in the arena. If she runs and is defeated for the nomination, the burden is then on the shoulders of the voters, they made the choice, not Palin, not the machine. With her in play, Reagan Republicans, conservative independents and Tea Party patriots will know their circumstances are of their doing, that the decision is truly theirs and will have no reason to resent the result or stay home on election day.

The contempt the GOP machine has for the average Republican voter is best illustrated by their other Big Fear—Palin does win the nomination! And why should we fear that? Well, that would be a disaster, because, uh, there’s no way she could win the general election and they have to stop that catastrophe from happening! You know, because Mr. Next-In-Line is for sure the only one who can beat Obama. Just like in 2008. Or something.

The truth of the matter is quite the opposite. They fear a Palin nomination because they know if she wins the GOP nod, she wins the general election. How? Consider these years of frantic and pathological attacks on Palin, all of which she has survived with the grace and dignity so void in her accusers. Now imagine what the establishment will try to do to her during the nominating process. If she wins the nomination despite what they do, it means she not only has convinced Republicans under extraordinary circumstances, she will have convinced the rest of the nation as well. If she wins the nomination with all that she will undoubtedly face during the Republican primaries, the presidency is hers.

All of America will watch to see if Republicans and conservatives are serious about saving this nation—that seriousness will be reflected in their nominee—if it’s Obama-lite—a mandate-supporting, universal healthcare-making, “the era of small government is over”-stating Big Government Conservative–why would anyone else feel compelled to abandon a cultural icon incumbent who represents those very same things?

For Sarah Palin, there is only one way for her “fundamental restoration of America” to take place—first, she must run.

Pennsylvania teacher Cheryl Bremble suspended for allegedly giving female student a vibrator

Larry Mcshane
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Tuesday, June 14th 2011, 10:59 AM

CNN Political Unit

Manchester, New Hampshire (CNN) – Five things we learned at the debate:

1) Michele Bachmann is now a candidate for president. The congresswoman from Minnesota was the only person on the stage who was not officially a candidate at the start of the debate. That changed minutes into the debate, when Bachmann told CNN's John King, the moderator of the debate that "I just want to make an announcement here for you, John, on CNN tonight. I filed today my paperwork to seek the office of the presidency of the United States today. And I'll very soon be making my formal announcement."

2) Mitt Romney is already running a general election campaign. The former Massachusetts governor, who is the front-runner in the most recent national GOP horserace polls, saved his firepower for President Barack Obama, going as far as saying "I can't wait to debate him." At the same time, Romney passed on criticizing any of his rivals on the stage, including former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who had in recent days attacked Romney over his Massachusetts health care law.

3) Tim Pawlenty's missed opportunity? The former Minnesota governor, when asked about his use Sunday of the term "Obamneycare," didn't strongly respond. Pawlenty's muted response, and Romney's lack of criticism of Pawlenty, avoided a political World War Three. Instead of taking on Romney, Pawlenty went after the president, saying "President Obama is - is the person who I quoted in saying he looked to Massachusetts for designing his program. He's the one who said it's a blueprint and that he merged the two programs. And so using the term "Obamneycare" was a reflection of the president's comments that he designed Obamacare on the Massachusetts health care plan."

4) Michele Bachmann's successful debate debut: The congresswoman from Minnesota had some of the best lines of the night, and because of that she received some of the loudest applause. But besides some strong one-liners, such as her "take it to the bank" comment on repealing the president's health care law, Bachmann also appeared to have strong responses on policy.

5) Newt Gingrich is still in the race. He wasn't asked about the mass defection of most of his campaign staff, and he didn't bring it up himself, but the former House Speaker did show that he came to play, that he is a serious presidential candidate. And his comment on loyalty to the government may have been the most shocking moment of the evening. He didn't back down from his criticism of House Budget Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan's Medicare proposal, either. Was Gingrich successful or did he dig himself a deeper hole?

–CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report