Eileen's Blog

Don't know if it's because we're nearing the date but watching the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina reminds me of Ground Zero and September 11th. You see such good in people...the Coast Guard and their amazing rescues...over 1000 people rescued in New Orleans yesterday alone...and those offering their boats, their tools, and their money..so many of you have contacted me and wondered where to send donations. (Click on wlsam.com and it will link you to the American Red Cross) And then we see the worst in humanity...if you can even call them human. The looters, stealing guns, DVD players, jeans, sneakers, leather jackets. It bothers me so much to see opportunists taking advantage of this tragic situation. As there are bodies floating away from their families, some morons think this is a great opportunity to steal a TV. They have no respect for life. They have no respect for law enforcement and the rule of law. They deserve to be locked up in the squalor of the Superdome while everyone else can be rescued. I heard from a few of you...Eileen, what's the big deal? The jeans will be ruined anyway. They'll be moldy, they'll be of no use to anyone else, they can't be worn. True. But to hear the mayor of New Orleans and the Governor of Louisiana advocate the complete evacuation of the city...who's going to go if they think what's left of their possessions will be taken from them? In addition, the police are trying their best to take control of the situation and provide calm to an otherwise panic-stricken region, in addition to continuing to help those who really need it...the elderly, children, pregnant women.. now the cops have to worry about gun-toting looters looking for a free pair of Timberlands. Can't wait for the riots to break out when they decide to bust open a bank.

How can you help? Pray. I've been doing that. I'll be sending in a donation as well. And where are our so-called friends? We provide so much support for the entire world. Could someone from these countries at least offer the use of a helicopter? It's not like we need it...I know...we can take care of our own. But at least offer! It's like a chick picking up the tab with her date. It's not like the guy is going to make her pay..but she could at least REACH for the check. That's all we're asking for...could France just reach out to the "French" Quarter. Love you. Eileen

This is going to be a quickie. I really appreciate all of your support for Elk Grove Village and our upcoming fundraiser for the families who have lost their loved ones in Iraq. The bronze statue that is going to be unveiled on November 11th is absolutely beautiful...I've already seen pictures of it and invite you to the dedication. If you would like more info and a way to send a donation to the statue and scholarhip memorial call: 847-357-4030. AND the good news in Iraq: Find out more at defenselink.mil/news

God Bless. More info about the Halloween party on October 30th is below:

Hi. I am working on an event for October...two events actually. One is the USO of Illinois "Star Spangled Ball"...October 22nd at Navy Pier. I will be one of the hosts...and would love it if you could make it to support our men and women in uniform. This is going to be a great night and a great opportunity to raise some money for those who need it most...our own troops from our hometowns. This will be a night of dinner and dancing and most importantly, saying thank you to our military. Keep it on your calendar...October 22nd...and if you would like more information...go to www.uso.org/illinois

The second event in October is something I discussed about six months ago...and we are making it happen. This past year, Elk Grove Village has lost 4 young soldiers in the war...which is very difficult...considering the community is comprised of about 35,000 residents. We will be hosting an event, a Halloween Festival, with The Elk Grove Community Character Coalition, the Village of Elk Grove and the Elk Grove Park District, a day of family and fun to support our troops. It will be held on October 30th from 2-5pm at the Elk Grove Pavillion at 1001 Wellington Avenue. I am looking for silent auction items for donation. I am cold-calling and emailing businesses myself. I have received great support. If you have an item, large or small, that you are willing to donate, email me at eileen.f.byrne@abc.com

Thank you for your attention and your help. I said this today. There are radio host/Bush-Supporters going down to Crawford Texas....to rally support for the troops and that's fine. I think they are doing a lot of it for their own publicity. I'd rather spend my time here...rallying support in our own community. It's starts at home first. Thanks again. Eileen Byrne

Hi. After seeing an entire week of war protesting down in Crawford, Texas and anti-war candle vigils, I think there were seventy five on every block in Chicago alone, I feel the need to speak out and support our troops. I know that we have been blessed to meet, shake hands and share the microphone with Sgt. Michael Mendoza, who won very recently the Bronze Star for his heroism in Iraq. Today, we had the opportunity to talk to Ronald Griffin who lost his son, Kyle in 2003.His very provocative column in Thursday's Wall Street Journal is a MUST READ: "Cindy Sheehan Does Not Speak For Me." Monday morning, my friend Marty Smith also scheduled a terrific interview with Mr. Kirk Morris, who lost his son Geoffrey on the same day Cindy Sheehan lost her son, Casey. He memorializes his son by supporting all troops and all veterans, Korea, WWII, Persian Gulf. But beyond supporting the troops on radio or participating in events to raise money for the military families...our Cub Foods promotion generated $80,000 (well-above our goal of 50K) all going to Operation Support Our Troops...thank you! Beyond all of that...I think we should have a prayer vigil. I got an interesting email from one of our listeners:


>Eileen, why can't those of us who support the war hold candlelight vigils? It gets me so angry that the anti-war vigils got such glowing reports. I want to do something. How do I go about it? Where do I start? Can you help me? I think it would be great to hold vigils on either Sept. 11 or Veteran's Day. --Debbie


Anti-war people shouldn't have a monopoly on candles. My house is teeming with Yankee Candles. (Not the team, the real candle company!) And I pray several times a day and nightly before I go to sleep. Soo....here's my suggestion....are there any churches who are planning a prayerful vigil in support of our troops? We'd love to come. I can just see Cisco now: "Please Lord God, let us kill every terrorist and let their red blood spill...O God...Yea"...Anyway....I digress. I would love to be there to help, if I can. Please email me at eileen.f.byrne@abc.com

Thanks. God Bless you and our troops and President and....the Yankees. Sorry...I had to get that in. Have a great weekend. See ya at the Sox game tonight! Love, Eileen
>

An interesting take on the virus that affected members of the media, including this ABC radio station:

What if President Bush or Donald Rumsfeld were in charge of the IT department at the news networks. Then the virus would just show how incompetent and unprepared he was. They didn't connect the dots and clearly would be out of touch with the hackers. Because it is the media however, their IT department is coping with this and we should all be proud and praise them.

Talk about a double standard.

Thanks Ron! Always welcome your emails and feature them when I can. Email at eileen.f.byrne@abc.com

Sitting in for Don and Roma this week has been a real treat, especially these past few days because we have such interesting and different guest hosts. On Monday, friend and Chicago Tribune media columnist Phil Rosenthal was here...Tuesday, it was awesome to finally meet and work with John "Records" Landecker. Today, I thought Joan Esposito was terrific. Friendly and funny, thoughtful opinions. I hope you have been tuning in and enjoying it too. I know it is difficult not to have your friends Don and Roma with you this week...but they will be back Monday and a big thanks again to Deborah Rowe for sitting in in my regular slot, 9am-11am. Tune in tomorrow, we'll welcome Leslie Baldacci, teacher and writer with the Chicago Sun Times. We'll start up at 5am and hope to hear from you then! Love, Eileen

Follow up to the NARAL ad...something to send to our Illinois Senators, Durbin and Obama:

August 11, 2005



Dear Senator:



As you are undoubtedly aware a current ad is being run on television stations across the country, including Illinois, which egregiously misrepresents facts concerning Mr. Justice Roberts.



An abortion-rights group is running the attack ad accusing Supreme Court nominee John Roberts of filing legal papers “supporting . . . a convicted clinic bomber” and of having an ideology that “leads him to excuse violence against other Americans” It shows images of a bombed clinic in Birmingham , Alabama .



The ad is false.



And the ad misleads when it says Roberts supported a clinic bomber. It is true that Roberts sided with the bomber and many other defendants in a civil case, but the case didn't deal with bombing at all. Roberts argued that abortion clinics who brought the suit had no right use an 1871 federal anti-discrimination statute against anti-abortion protesters who tried to blockade clinics.. Roberts argued that blockades were already illegal under state law. Eventually a 6-3 majority of the Supreme Court agreed. (See BRAY v. ALEXANDRIA WOMEN'S HEALTH CLINIC, 506 U.S. 263 (1993)).



The images used in the ad are especially misleading. The pictures are of a clinic bombing that happened nearly seven years after Roberts signed the legal brief in question.



My question to you, Senator: ARE YOU PREPARED TO, AND WILL YOU, PUBLICLY CONDEMN THIS BLATANT MISREPRESENTATION AS A GROSSLY UNFAIR SLANDER OF THE CHARACTER OF A FELLOW AMERICAN?



Given the direct nature of the question framing the clear facts involved, we will expect a simple one word answer – either "YES" or "NO" – in lieu of any form of verbal tap dance around the matter.



Awaiting a response, we remain



Yours truly,

Eileen Byrne

Or....

Your Name Here.

Give our senators a piece of your mind...and a FACTCHECK.

Did you cheat and was it worth it?

You naughty housewives and househusbands! I have received a ton of emails about your cheating hearts. Talked to you today about the guy who paid for his girlfriend's car and cell phone... the car was crashed...he subsequently then found out about his girlfriend's affair with the "lazy, out of work, blue collar, Puerto Rican" guy. He found out the boyfriend was driving the car and banging both. And he took this lying, racist snake of a chick back. I say kick her to the curb. He says she's sorry. I say she's sorry she got caught. How about this next story...read on...

"Hi Eileen. I'm sorry that I missed not being able to talk on radio...Married for 17 years. I have three children..no real problems in my marriage, except that we were busy with our children and work. I was a good mother and wife, I kept my house clean, involved with the children and their activities, I kept myself healthy and fit, my husband as well...sex life was good. But I still had the feeling that I was missing out on something, and that something was intimacy that was lacking in our relationship. While working, I developed a friendship with the facility manager, he was married with children as well. In the course of a year, we became very close and he made me feel special and sexy and we had a special bond, we would talk everyday after school in a local park until we had to go home to our families. We only kissed and nothing else. It was my idea to cross the line to have sex because, to me, at the time, it was no big deal. I thought we could do this and go on with our lives. Right, no big deal, it's just sex...guys cheat on their wives all the time, what's the big deal? So, we made arrangements to meet at a local hotel on a holiday that school was closed. I told my husband that I was going shopping and having lunch with a girlfriend just in case it came up in conversation. I went to the hotel, got a room and waited. He showed up with flowers and a card for our special time. We had sex and held each other and talked and laughed and said, we have to do this again....it was just what we were missing. We got dressed and headed to the lobby. As I walked into the lobby, there was my husband.

What happens next?

Tune in tomorrow to find out....plus Joe Birkett on parental notification when it comes to your teen having an abortion and his run for Governor. We'll also play the NARAL ad trying to stop Judge Roberts from becoming Justice Roberts. Eileen Byrne

Did you have sex before marriage and did you regret your decision not to wait?

More about that in a second....


First, I want to invite you to join me in Naperville tomorrow, Saturday, at the TCF Bank "Cruisin for the Troops". This is a fundraiser for Operation Support Our Troops. I'll be there from about 3-5pm...but the event goes from 3pm till 10pm. It's at the Judd Kendall VFW Post, 908 W. Jackson in downtown Naperville. They have over 100 cars to show, live music with The Endless Knights and The Beatnix...Beer garden will be open and overflowing..(calling Christina!)...they will have the car awards at 8:30pm. I look forward to it..and especially highlighting what our troops need most: YOU. When you have the likes of Al Zawahiri speaking out on Iraq promising the next Vietnam...sounds like Howard Dean's talking points...it's easy to get discouraged and to start believing that we need to get our men and women home...and we will....when the war is over and the Iraqi guard can fend for themselves. We have to send a message to the terrorists that we won't be a paper tiger like we were in the 1990s and that we won't run when the going gets tough. Showing weakness now emboldens these monsters and gives them incentive to regroup and attack again. Most importantly, we have to let our troops know that we haven't forgotten them and their families...give them some peace of mind while they are fighting for our freedoms overseas. PLEASE join us. Write a letter to the troops, have your kids sign a postcard...send a videogram and send a care package, maybe with your neighbors, as a group. They need, believe it or not, beef jerky sticks, non-aerosol shaving cream, foot powder, decks of playing cards, peanut butter in 20 oz jars or less, mints (all flavors), ramen noodles, toilet paper (single and double rolls) and disposable razors. The list that I have also includes the need for men's magazines. I have no comment on that one.

Okay....speaking of...we talked to two twenty-something virgins on Tuesday morning's show. I really admire them. It is so difficult for young people today, myself included. Sex is all around us. I don't even think I notice it anymore, so desensitized am I to women wearing camisoles as shirts, showing off belly rings, butt CLEAVAGE??? and of course, movies, videos and music promoting nothing but sex, with anyone, anytime, anywhere. Even our news...if it's not the teacher doing it with a student, it's the President with his intern or a "man of God" fathering a child with his mistress. Nobody waits, nobody thinks it's wrong and saving your body for someone you are committed to in marriage, before God, is considered prudish and "gay". Well, not to our guests. And I received some encouraging email too:

Eileen--

First time emailer. :)

I'm glad you are doing this bit on abstaining from sex until marriage.

I married my husband on August 14, 2004, just mere weeks before his military unit was notified that they would be deployed to Iraq.
I was 25 years old, and a virgin. I know that my husband, who had been married before, would have married me even if I had not been a virgin, but he has told me since that he appreciates the fact that I waited. It makes him feel special.

There are so many influences on our culture today, telling us that sex is no big deal, that if you really love someone, sex is the ultimate expression of that love. I disagree with all these. I believe that sex is something that was meant to be between two married people who have devoted their lives to each other.

Granted, it was difficult to wait. I found that I was hard-pressed to find a boyfriend who would stick with me even though I wouldn't sleep with him. And the same hormones course through me as they do any other human being, but waiting was important to me. It was my choice.

For my part, I believe that it was one of the best decisions I have ever made!
Thanks for your time, and for addressing this issue on your show!

--Kate

Isn't it refreshing to hear this kind of news for a change? It made me feel really good to hear from Kate today. If you would like to learn more about talking to your children about abstinence, email me at eileen.f.byrne@abc.com

Calling All Republican Women! I need your help! I have been asked to keynote the Illinois Federation of Republican Women Fall convention this coming October, October 21st. I would love to hear about some of your experiences as Republican women. Do people assume that, because you're a woman, you're a Democrat? (I get that.) Do people treat you like a richb*tch, submissive, mindless housewife when they find that you're Republican? What are you looking from the Republican party? What issues are most important to you...homeland security, education, health care? What women leaders do you look up to? Are your teen children Republicans or Democrats? I would love to get to know you and hear your experiences. If you would like to share, please email me ONLY at eileen.f.byrne@abc.com and in the subject line write: Republican Woman. Thank you in advance for your participation. If you would like to attend the conference, go to ifrw.org

Please wake up with me tomorrow morning between 5am and 9am! My special guest host will be Mary Schmich from the Chicago Tribune. At 6:30am, Wednesday, we'll talk to a woman, Penny Verest, about id theft and repairing your good name! If you want to contact her, go to www.prepaidlegal.com/hub/pverest

Thursday, we'll welcome Gary Skoien...maybe he has a new career in radio? Tune in to find out.

Also, if you would like to GOLF WITH ME!!!!!!!!!!...Scroll down! Thanks! EB