Does all this talk of impeachment and resignation and "temporary removal" have your head in a spin? Do you find yourself wishing this whole Rod Blagojevich drama would zip ahead to either the climax or at least the denouement? Rest easy. The Swami is here to provide all the important dates to mark on your calendar:
Dec. 17: Illinois House committee meets for a second day of hearings designed to make it seem as though due process is being followed in running Blagojevich out of Springfield once and for all.
Dec. 18, 2:15 p.m. CST: The general public and the nationwide news media pause for a brief second to consider that the comments attributed to Blagojevich by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald might have been taken out of context, and all he is really guilty of is speculation, political horse-trading, trash-talking and, of course, using the f-word.
Dec. 18, 2:15:02 p.m. CST: Back to business.
Dec. 19: Illinois House, Senate committees on impeachment issue wordy reports that basically boil down to "we're going to do this thing eventually."
Dec. 22: The start of Hanukkah. The powers that be go home for the holidays.
Jan. 5: The Illinois Legislature convenes in special session; articles of impeachment presented in House; television stations interrupt regular programming with Live Breaking News: "The Busting of Blago."
Jan. 12, around lunchtime: Illinois Senate, following a trial in which everyone in the chamber gets their camera time, votes to convict. Pat Quinn is your new Illinois governor.
Schedule your TiVo accordingly.
