As I sat here Wednesday morning staring at a blank screen onto which words are supposed to flow from my brain through this keyboard, there were a few moments before Gov. Pat Quinn began his annual State of the State address.

While it’s a significant news event of the day, a large part of me couldn’t be less interested in anything Quinn has to say. This is still Illinois, right? What on Earth could he say? Illinois government is a disaster.

As journalist David Frum pointed out in a recent piece, this state’s credit rating is on par with the African nation of Botswana. Actually, that’s an insult to Botswana, a small desert nation that’s doing OK in comparison with other African nations.