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MacIver News Service | April 7, 2011
Kevin Fischer is a veteran broadcaster, the recipient of over 150 major journalism awards from the Milwaukee Press Club, the Wisconsin Associated Press, the Northwest Broadcast News Association, the Wisconsin Bar Association, and others. He has been seen and heard on Milwaukee TV and radio stations for over three decades. A longtime aide to state Senate Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature, Kevin can be seen offering his views on the news on the public affairs program, "InterCHANGE," on Milwaukee Public Television Channel 10, and heard filling in on Newstalk 1130 WISN. He lives with his wife, Jennifer, and their lovely young daughter, Kyla Audrey, in Franklin.
With the spring elections less than a week away, I find myself more than ever thinking quite seriously about
No matter who emerges victorious next Tuesday, it is my sincere hope that the members of our local governing bodies will work in concert and cohesively to address the city's major issues.
Let me initially and briefly list the issues that stand out in my mind.
1) Unity
2) Education
3) Public safety
4) Our business climate
5) Civic/community pride
6) Our workforce
7) Recognizing outstanding achievement
8) Taxes
These are all pretty important, wouldn't you agree?
Now let's expound on each item, starting, of course, right at the top.
1) Unity.
2) Education. I think we all would agree that
3) Public safety.
4) Our business climate.
5) Civic/community pride. It is imperative we bring residents together. What better way to bring community residents together than by having a
6) Our workforce. Our vastly underpaid, under-benefitted public workers have really gotten beat up as of late. That has to wear on their morale, thus, affecting their ability to even concentrate. We must make it easier for them to perform their duties. An addition built at City Hall, the Library, or the Police department would feature a
7) Recognizing outstanding achievement. In order to encourage projects to benefit
8) Taxes. Some of the above mentioned items will obviously necessitate funding and lots of it. Accomplish it without raising taxes? Not gonna happen. Property taxes will just have to go up a bunch. Tax bills will be sent out earlier and since we'll have to move quickly, taxes will be due three days later.
In my view, these items are all necessary because of the following.
1) We must move Franklin Forward.
2) At all costs, we have to be better than
3) Gosh darn it, I WANT it!
Here's a segment from a March 28th debate....
Last night during the 10:00 news, I was told by our know-it-all TV weather folks I would wake up to a wintry mix that would persist throughout the day today.
I note that he, other than a brief e-mail, was AWOL on the most important public safety issue to
During the November 2009 city budget deliberations, when Mayor Tom Taylor wanted to cut a fire department position and two police officer positions, aldermen Steve Olson and Lyle Sohns fought to restore those positions. Because of his personal pettiness fueled by a dislike for Olson,
If Steve Taylor knocks on your door this weekend, ask him why he verbally opposed restoration of important public safety fire and police positions in November of 2009.
Take whatever answer he gives you with a grain of salt, including that Kevin Fischer is full of it. He is obsessed with me and my blog instead of the job at hand, another reason he's unfit to be alderman. His priorities are out of whack.
With his re-election on the line, Steve Taylor wants us to believe that suddenly he's a fan of public safety. That's not the impression he gave in November of 2009 or his last three years in office. It's also a tactic used by lefties as the election gets closer. They move closer and closer to the right. Steve Taylor, phony conservative, is now using that page right out of the liberal playbook. As a phony conservative, Taylor is out of touch with the values of the majority of his district and the city of Franklin.
Also ask him this if he rings your doorbell this weekend:
What specific budget amendments did you propose last November to reduce the city property tax levy increase down to 0 %? He offered NONE and rubber stamped the property tax increase during a recession when many homes in Franklin were being foreclosed.
Finally, DO NOT fall for any rhetoric from Steve Taylor that a city of
And for those inclined, please have a copy of the 1st Amendment ready for Steve Taylor. Kindly remind him that Kevin Fischer enjoys this right. Taylor's ignorance has him forgetting that. It's yet another reason you need to:
Steve Taylor has plenty of time to attend these events, but can't find time to attend a hearing about sex predators in his neighborhoods?
In the final days preceding the April 5 elections, I will have more blogs to explain why the following belong on the list of Franklin elected officials who have given public service, have had their chances, been great disappointments and now need to be replaced:
School Board
David Works
Steve Taylor
Kristen Wilhelm
And what about Mayor Tom Taylor, running unopposed?
You'll just have to keep checking in….
It's Friday night. Time to unwind with our regular Friday night feature on This Just In.
The weekend has finally arrived.
The sun has set.
The evening sky has erupted.
Let's put controversy and provocative blogs aside for the rest of this work week and smooth our way into Saturday and Sunday.
Tonight, seriously good music fit for this first day of this month.
We begin with a classic sung by the man who did it better than anyone else.
From onstage with the Rat Pack...
Next up, a live recording that just turned 50 years old.
And it's historic.
From the Honolulu Star-Advertiser:
"Congress in the late 1950s authorized the construction of the memorial to honor the crewmembers entombed when the USS Arizona was sunk during an aerial attack by the Japanese that plunged the United States into World War II. The Pacific War Memorial Commission was tasked with raising $500,000 to build the USS Arizona Memorial.
The Barking Lot is a regular weekly feature of this just in…Written by my lovely wife, Jennifer and me. It opens with the weekend dog walking forecast followed by the main blog from dog lover, Jennifer. Then it's DOGS IN THE NEWS and our close. Enjoy!
THE WEEKEND DOG-WALKING FORECAST: We grade the weather outlook for taking your pet outdoors.
TODAY: Partly cloudy. High of 47. That's about right for this time of year. "C"
SUNDAY: A nasty combo of rain, thunder, and wind. High of 45. "F"
Here's my lovely wife, Jennifer with this week's main blog:
I have often said that when we get a dog, I would love to have her certified as a therapy dog. I can see so many wonderful possibilities volunteering in hospitals, nursing homes and even schools. We have blogged many times on The Barking Lot about the incredible things that service and therapy dogs can accomplish for their human companions. Dogs help war veterans, physically challenged individuals, children who are traumatized and need to testify in court… the list is endless. I don't think anyone would argue the valuable role dogs can play in a healing process.
A look back at the people and events that made news the past week. Week-ends is a regular weekly feature of This Just In...
Sergio Lopez and the people of Hillside, Illinois
Stephen Cornell
Ben Hudson
Tilden Curl
Bruno Serato
Stephen Joseph
True the Vote
Katherine Windels
Jim Parrett of AFSCME
Indiana Democrat Congressman Dave Cheatham
Chicago teacher
Planned Parenthood
Scott Balbirnie
Maximina Shelton
Jail drug smugglers
"Here's the bottom line: Democrats are rooting for a government shutdown. We're listening to the people who sent us here to cut spending so we can grow our economy."
John Boehner
"The liberal mainstream media, notice how they have tried to destroy Sarah Palin. Notice how the more popular Michele Bachmann gets, the more they try to destroy her. You want to know why they go after those two ladies more viciously? Because they know that Michele Bachmann or Sarah Palin is going to draw a lot of the women vote away from the Democrat Party. They are scared to death of that, if they were to run and get the nomination. They are doubly scared that a real black man might run against Barack Obama."
Herman Cain
"Democrats couldn't care less about the interests of their own country. Indeed, if there were the slightest possibility that our intervention in
Ann Coulter
"The Republicans in Congress claim they're concerned about the budget balance, but it's a disguise! It's not true! It's a lie! That's not what they want. They want — they want other people not to be able to have their own opinions. They don't deserve the freedoms that are in the Constitution! But we'll give it to them anyway."
Democrat Senator Frank Lautenberg
"Never modest about himself, Obama is supremely modest about his country."
Charles Krauthammer
"I didn't know where to put it. I had a bucket of rock salt and a 5-gallon bucket of bird food in the garage. I thought the rock salt, it might eat the ink off the ticket. So I put the ticket in the bird food and hid it in the basement."
John Kutey, one of the
1) "However far-fetched."
2) Our so-called "border patrol."
A tale of two rallies.
Charlie Sheen just won't go away.
From our very own Franklin...
And we close with the latest from NewsBusted!
Bruce is tagging along with Bob today. He's a proud veteran of our military and remains on active duty, stationed at Scott AFB, IL.
If Bob Schick stops at your house and Bruce is with him, thank Bruce for his service to our country and his patriotism.
This is a super time to be a sports fan.
It's the Final Four beginning this weekend for both men's and women's college basketball. The baseball season has just begun. Soon, the NBA playoffs will be underway.
As an avid sports fan, I've made an observation that really bugs me. During the course of any sports season, you will often, too often hear coaches and players alike use the word "adversity" to describe a tough situation. Their blatant misuse of the term is quite disturbing.
Adversity is losing a limb or two while defending your country. Adversity is the daily life of a police officer, not knowing if survival will come at the end of a work shift. Adversity is the loss of a loved one. Adversity is dealing with a serious illness or disability.
I admire and respect real people who go through real adversity and do it with a smile and a bright attitude. One of those is Morgan Hayes.
Here's hoping that she has one of the best nights of her life tonight.
Late last year when I blogged financial data supporting my claim that Franklin is a tax hell, Mayor Tom Taylor in knee jerk reaction had his staff prepare a report in rebuttal that compared Franklin's city tax rate to tax rates in surrounding communities.
Mayor Taylor distributed this report to Common Council members who, at one of their subsequent meetings, nodded like brainwashed sheep and laughed and snickered at and insulted anyone (like me) that would dare question our obscene taxes.
What Mayor Taylor and the tax and spenders on the Common Council (that would be all except Steve Olson) were banking on was that the general public wouldn't see the major flaw in the staff report and that is that the tax rate is meaningless. It's the tax LEVY that's important.
Some time ago, I asked the Research Director for the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance (WISTAX), Dale Knapp for the latest property tax information for the city of
"Celebrating its 78th year, the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance (WISTAX) is the state's oldest and most respected private government research organization. Since 1932, it has been promoting better government and an informed citizenry through its publications, public outreach and extensive school programs."
Knapp responded to my request:
"The latest numbers for the city of
There are important tables reported by WISTAX.
1) The municipal tax is the total amount levied by the municipality for municipal purposes.
2) The net levy includes all property taxes levied in the municipality. This includes the levy for the local school district(s), technical colleges, county, municipality, special districts, and the state.
3) Per capita, or tax paid by each person.
Let's look at how the city of
The municipal tax:
The net levy:
Doesn't seem all that terrible, does it?
But now you look at the per capital rankings.
For the municipal tax,
For the net levy,
These are the latest figures available. I doubt the figures for 2010-11 will show any dramatic improvement.
To repeat, the overwhleming majority of City Hall offiicials including Steve Taylor and Kristen Wilhelm DO NOT believe Franklin is a tax hell. And why wouldn't they?
As I post every Sunday, here are the five most read blog entries of mine from the previous week. NOTE: some entries may have been posted prior to the past week.
1) Here is the #1 reason to vote against Franklin alderman Steve Taylor
2) Pete Kosovich for Franklin alderman, 4th distruct: The true consrvative in this race
3) Culinary no-no #211
4) Emails, I get emails: THE CHARACTER OF THE SUPREME COURT CANDIDATES
5) Some savvy blog readers have Franklin alderman Steve Taylor all figured out
1) A bomb drops on a tightly-guarded residence of leader Moammar Gadhafi and military targets in the suburb of Tajura on Tuesday, March 29. NATO-led coalition aircraft had been seen in the skies over the capital earlier in the afternoon. Mahmud Turkia / AFP - Getty Images
2) A member of the Young Russia (Rossiya Molodaya) movement, depicting US President Barak Obama with blood on his hands during a protest against awarding Obama the Nobel Peace Prize in front of the US Embassy in Moscow, Russia, Friday, April 1, 2011. Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 for his efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples, and the Young Russia movement question his continued effort to the international diplomatic cause.(AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)
3) In this March 22 photo, Manami Kon, using Japanese hiragana characters she just learned, writes a letter for her mother who's still missing after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami at the devastated city of
4) Takako Konno smiles after finding her cousin's childhood diary from amongst a tsunami devastated house at Tanohata village, Iwate prefecture on March 27, 2011. Photo: Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP - Getty Images
5) In this Friday, April 1, 2011, photo released by the Japan Coast Guard, members of the Japan Coast Guard rescue a dog after it was found drifting on the roof of a house floating 1.8 kilometers (1.1 miles) off Kesennuma, northeastern Japan. The dog wears a collar, but there is no address on it. The March 11 earthquake off
6) John Hoskins, center, holds Xavier Huguenard, 19 months, one of the children he rescued from a flipped vehicle Monday morning, March 28, 2011, off of Illinois Road in Whitley County, Ind. The car, which was being driven westbound on
7) Milwaukee Brewers players jog in the snow at
8) Ramon Hernandez is mobbed by teammates after he hit a 3-run-homer in the bottom of the 9th inning Thursday as
9) Guests gaze at Miller Park's new high definition scoreboard at its unveiling Monday. Journal Sentinel photo :Kristyna Wentz-Graff
10) 7th graders react to a human brain during a hands on program for Brain Awareness Week at
11) An unexpected side-effect of the flooding in parts of
12) Veterinarian, William Fowlds saws off the horn of a rhinocerous while game ranger Mof Swanepoel restrains her at the
13) Christie Carr dresses her kangaroo, Irwin, in a shirt and pair of blue jeans in her home, in Broken Arrow, Okla., before going out to visit a nursing home. Carr suffers from depression and has found solace in Irwin, but local city officials worry that the partially paralyzed therapy pet could become a public safety risk. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
14) The so-called "Crazy House" (Verrueckte Haus), a single-family house upside down can be seen in the northern German town of
15) A Lego model depicting an imaginary scene from the forthcoming Royal Wedding on March 30 in
16) Ellie Phillips, of London's Jealous Gallery, holds up a specially commissioned airline style sick bag for people who have had too much of the Royal Wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton.
17) A patron of Charlie Sheen's show at the Fox Theatre in Detroit, Michigan April 2 shows her displeasure following a performance which saw Sheen walk off the stage. Saturday was the first date in Sheen's cross country tour of his show "Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat is Not an Option". Photo: Getty Images
18) American Artist Eric Staller performs with his creation, 'Fish-O-Vision' at
19) Girls walk with a book on their head to learn deportment, in front of a cardboard cutout of Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton as they take part in the 'A Princess Tea Party' event, at a hotel in London, Saturday, April 2, 2011. A scene straight from "My Fair Lady" played out at a posh London hotel Saturday as a dozen girls in frilly dresses attended a "princess boot camp" ahead of this month's royal wedding. The pint-size wannabe princesses learned how to walk straight, eat with decorum and curtsy. Never mind that it's doubtful any of them will come within spitting distance of the royals at the April 29 wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. (AP Photo/Akira Suemori)
20) The obligatory model picture. A model presents a creation made with recycled materials during Ecofashion 2011 in
Here are, in my view, interesting, noteworthy columns and articles from the past week that I highly recommend (You will note that on occasion, I do not endorse the opinions of the author and may point that out. Despite my disagreements, I still feel the piece is worth a read).
The one opinion piece The New York Times didn't want you to read
"Editor's note: In the weeks since Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker introduced his reforms to balance the budget and revoke the collective bargaining rights of public employees, The New York Times repeatedly used its editorial pages to opine on the reforms. Below is the Op-Ed that Governor Walker wrote that the New York Times chose not to run."
Wisconsin judicial tyranny
"It's beginning to seem like the will of the people, as reflected in the election results, is completely irrelevant. The Democrats and their special interest sponsors in the labor movement are using any means at their disposal to block the efforts of the officials who won the election.
Our Founding Fathers warned against 'the tyranny of the minority.' This must have been the type of situation they had in mind."
The paranoid style in liberal politics
"Up until
To get us started and in the right mood this week, please click the following video.
Thank you, Gil.
When the Milwaukee Brewers play their home opener Monday at Miller Park, there will be a new item at concession stands. Back in January, the Brewers held a "Create a Concession" contest for fans.
Milwaukee Brewers GM Doug Melvin sampled fish tacos during the process of selecting four contest finalists. Journal Sentinel photo: Rick Wood.
The eventual winner was 25-year old teacher Courtney Ring of
"I came up with the idea to use the sausages when one of my friends was talking about 'eating for the cycle' - eating one of each of the sausages. Knowing I could never eat that much, I thought, 'How awesome would it be to buy something that gave you a little taste of each kind?'
For this frustrated voter, the elections on April 5 boil down to this.
I am fed up with the overwhelming tax and spend mentality that permeates City Hall and the Franklin School Board that in turn leads to most of our elected officials constantly taking more and more money away from my family, our baby's college fund, funds for family vacations, our retirement, etc.
I am tired of people in surrounding suburbs telling me they have more house and comparable services and schools, if not better, at far less the property tax.
Here are my thoughts on the
I happen to like the incumbent, Kristen Wilhelm. She's on my list of potential baby-sitters for Kyla. Her opponent, Bob Schick and I agreed during a recent conversation that she works hard and cares a great deal. I very much appreciate that she communicates with her constituents (like me) via e-mail. More of
However, this is not a popularity contest. I know plenty of genuinely nice people. But I would never vote for them.
Kristen Wilhelm is a tax and spend, environmentalist liberal. She does not share the same fiscal conservative values as the majority of her district or the majority of the city.
She promised me before she was elected that she would hold the line on taxing and spending. In reality, she has done just the opposite, voting every time for city budgets that increased the property tax levy beyond the rate of inflation, and during a recession when homes in her district are being foreclosed. They're easy to find for someone like Kristen who likes to use the computer. It's a simple concept called "Google."
My property tax bill means far more to me than E-newsletters that have included job openings for liberal public radio.
Sorry, Kristen. You had your opportunity, and in my view, did not earn re-election because you were so disappointing, including in your promise to me about taxing and spending.
Kristen Wilhelm has the incumbent advantage over Bob Schick, a political newcomer. But after talking to Schick, I understand he embodies true
But Kevin, if Kristen wins, don't you run the risk of alienating yourself with her in the future? Good question. But she's rarely listened to me in the past. Why would she listen in the future?
Schick might be green, but in a city our size, I'm not sure that's a major detriment. What he does have is my trust. The incumbent lost it a long time ago.
My dear friend, former Wisconsin Lt. Governor Margaret Farrow once told me this that I have never forgotten. If you have an "R" after your name (Republican), talk like one, act like one, vote like one, govern like one.
The incumbent, the vagabond Steve Taylor who just can't seem to find a zip code to become comfortable with, likes to pass himself off as a conservative. And yet, he has violated the Farrow doctrine big time.
This phony conservative, supposedly a Scott Walker disciple, has voted for city budgets that increased the property tax levy beyond the rate of inflation. Unlike Scott Walker, he never lifted a finger to attempt to reduce the property tax levy increase to 0 %. When a colleague tried several times last November to amend the budget to reduce the levy increase even further, Steve Taylor sat silent, refusing to even second the motion on behalf of hard-working families. Why? Because he has a huge personal dislike for the alderman who made the motions.
If you don't like
Taylor's other claim to fame is his push to require that dogs, horses, and other small animals always be on leashes. More government intervention. That's more liberalism from a phony conservative.
He also was considering a city-wide smoking ban until liberal Jim Doyle who liked the same idea rammed it through the Legislature. The smoking ban issue torn Franklin apart in the 90's, the most divisive public policy in our city's history showing once again how out of touch Steve Taylor is.
Steve Taylor lacks the proper demeanor to handle the job. I have been informed by his constituents that if you dare disagree, he will call you at home to give you a hard time. If you're not at home, he will belittle your spouse.
He is arrogant and condescending as opposed to his opponent, Pete Kosovich who has the appropriate even-keel approach and the appropriate fiscal conservative approach to stop the maddening taxing and spending that have driven too many to put up the FOR SALE signs that our aldermen ignore, laugh and snicker at when they pass their bloated budgets.
There are 3 candidates running for 2 school board seats.
David Works
Several weeks ago, I asked Works why he didn't attend last year's school board meeting, the most important of the year, that decided the school system budget for the following year.
Works refused to answer on the record, imploring me not to publish his response to that and other questions. Suffice to say that as a fiscal conservative, I was disturbed by his comments.
As recently as a few weeks ago, I requested that he be cautious in upcoming votes and not approve pay increases for school system employees.
On March 3, I told David Works:
Works responded the next day:
"You have it."
According to Fred Keller's blog, while Works voted against a contract increase for Superintendent Steve Patz, he voted for an average 2.3 percent increase for Administrators, and voted for an average 2.3 percent increase for various non-union staff.
Since becoming a school board member, Works has voted consistently for big tax and spending increases, going against what he has told me face to face.
Quite frankly, David Works is one of the most disappointing Franklin officials in recent memory.
Linda Witkowski
She has been a bit more consistent as of late in holding the line on out of control school spending.
Newcomer Tim Nielson
He deserves a chance, with the caveat that if he wins, people will be watching him as they did David Works. I refuse to be fooled and insulted like I was by Works ever again.
If there are to be two winners Tuesday, they should be Nielson and Witkowski.
The incumbent, Tom Taylor is a good friend. He and I have collaborated well on several important Franklin issues.The mayor has done many good things for Franklin.
He is running unopposed. Foolish and naïve Franklin bloggers without substantiation, as usual, posted silly items recently that Taylor would be the subject of a write-in campaign. He won't be and will be mayor again.
If he had an opponent, it would have been very interesting because my good friend, and he is, had a rough last year.
In a weak attempt to defend Franklin's out of whack taxing and spending, Mayor Taylor accused fiscal critics of badmouthing all that is good about the city when they did no such thing. Instead of engaging in thoughtful debate, he ordered his staff to prepare a bogus report about the city's meaningless tax rate, as if that would somehow satisfy the masses paying their property tax bills in December.
The mayor also publically enabled his tax and spenders on the Common Council (Steve Taylor, Kristen Wilhelm, et al) to berate, laugh at and ridicule any hard working taxpayer that refused to kiss the tax and spenders' rings.
You have to earn my vote (Gee, I'm just funny that way) and I will not be voting for Mayor Tom Taylor Tuesday, leaving that space on my ballot blank.
Mayor, please work harder in your next term to earn back my confidence.
By guest blogger Pete Kosovich
We'll open with a little poetry. The last flyers have flown, many doorbells were rung, when the counting is finished, we'll see who has won.
The campaign has been long & hard, but I enjoyed talking with people at the doors. It has been a great experience. Most people have been very pleasant and supportive. I look forward to Tuesday's results.
Sherry & I wrestled with the thought of an election night party. Do we go with a high profile bar or restaurant scene, or have a low profile event at home? We decided to host a thank you event for our donors and volunteers at our home. Win or lose, I have had great support from many people & I want to thank them first. I have also had great support at the doors. Thank you.
It's not about me, it's about the future of
Please don't repeat the "Mistake in 08' ", Vote TOM Taylor for mayor, PETE KOSOVICH for 4th District Alderman, Jeff Stone for County exec, and David Prosser for Supreme Court Justice.
I would once again like to represent the people of the 4th District, and help the City grow to be the best that it can be. I humbly ask for your vote on April 5th. Every vote counts. Don't take anything for granted.
Thanks for your support and your vote Tuesday April 5th.
Pete Kosovich
This message has been authorized and paid for by The Friends of Pete Kosovich, Sherry Kosovich Treasurer
Senator Darling is requesting your help to fight the recall efforts on election day next week. A recall effort is underway simply because Senator Darling is doing the job she was assigned to do. There is much attention focused around the gathering of recall petition signatures at polling locations in the 8th senate district and we will have a presence at polling locations to fight their recall efforts.
The RPW and the Darling campaign are looking for volunteers in
We have an opportunity to gather the names of new supporters of Senator Darling and help build our team to fight this recall. Please call the North Shore Republican Party's number at 414-897-1913 to secure a polling location.
Thank you;
Deb Bowers
If you have made a minimum of one telephone call inquiring how to apply for ObamaCare, please do not vote.
If you believe the economy has really turned around, please do not vote.
If you listen to NPR regularly, please do not vote.
If you watched the Oscars from start to finish and cried during any of the acceptance speeches, please do not vote.
If you have blamed George W. Bush for anything in the past two years, please do not vote.
If you have blamed global warming for anything since you last voted, please do not vote.
If you have said, "Let's tone down the rhetoric" in the past three months, please do not vote.
If you still have nightmares about the killing of the
If you believe death threats, destruction of government property, and general harassment constitute peaceful protesting, please do not vote.
If you believe the Wisconsin Supreme Court should be a Super Legislature, please do not vote.
If you believe a state Supreme Court judge should have his/her mind made up about how to rule on cases that have yet to come before the court, please do not vote.
If you had no idea who JoAnne Kloppenburg was until your union leader told you, please do not vote.
If you have no idea who to vote for unless you are instructed by people in power you pay dues to, please do not vote.
If you believe waterfront property owners should be prosecuted and punished severely if their piers are too wide, please do not vote.
If you have a shrine to Sally Field in your home, please do not vote.
If you believe it's ok for millionaires not to pay their taxes, parking tickets, or library fines, please do not vote.
If you believe the Journal Sentinel's Dan Bice is part of the vast right-wing conspiracy, please do not vote.
If you believe the Journal Sentinel's Politi-Facts are all correct, please do not vote.
If you rooted for
If you believe
If you believe your taxes are too high, but feel so bad about your perception that you are considering moving out of town, please do not vote.
If you feel you couldn't survive unless a dozen warning sirens went off and at least five city bureaucrats knocked on your door warning of an impending storm, get a life and please don't vote.
If you believe the proper behavior for an alderman when he/she has a view that differs from yours is to insult, berate, and ridicule you, please do not vote.
If you support an alderman that is so obsessed with local bloggers that it has caused him to lose all concentration on his job and priorities, please do not vote.
If you support an alderman that has ever used the phrase, "But if we can save just one life," please do not vote.
If you believe the more tax dollars that are spent on schools, the better they'll perform, please do not vote.
If you believe union teachers are over-worked and under-compensated, please do not vote.
Does Chris Abele = Tom Barrett?
Ever so briefly.
And it felt soooooooooo good.
"Would you like to sign the petition?"
We were both civil, as it should be, though I'm reading reports on jsonline that some of the petitioners at various sites have been rude and intimidating.
Thanks to the Government Accountability Board, petitioners have been allowed to set up shop near entrances to polling places. The Board has ruled this is appropriate because the petitioners have nothing to do with today's election. Given the circumstances and reasons why the petitioners are out there in the first place, the Board's ruling is, of course, absurd.
A child's handwritten sign that reads "We hate Scott Wacre" is seen taped to a wall in the rotunda during protests against budget cuts proposed by Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, R, at the state Capitol in
Do not let the hateful left win today. If you haven't done it yet, get out and vote!
Good Lord, help
In any other county in the state, had a candidate run with all the baggage Abele had, he wouldn't have stood a chance.
Having said that, Jeff, you were doomed when you picked lightweight Vi Hammelman to run your campaign.
That means fork-tongued David Works, phony fiscal conservative is out!
Great news for property taxpayers!
David Works may have been the most disappointing
Good to see him go.
The voters in District #4 have spoken.
They support arrogant, belligerent, condescending, fiscally irresponsible representation.
You get what you ask for.
Again, with Kristen Wilhelm's victory tonight,
Two tax and spend liberals have been re-elected.
Do not complain come property tax time in December.
Needless to say I am not doing cartwheels over the results of
However, the voters have spoken. I congratulate Kristen Wilhelm and Steve Taylor and wish them well in their next terms.
I remain concerned about the tax and spend mentality that permeates City Hall and our school system. Some hope lies in Governor Walker's proposed 2011-13 state budget.
In a brief about the budget, the Governor's office writes:
"In challenging economic times,
Governor Walker is proposing limits on property tax levies:
"To further protect property taxpayers, the Governor recommends limiting the base allowable levy to the actual prior year levy. Additionally, if debt service would be lower in the budgeted year than in the prior year, counties and municipalities must pass those savings on to the taxpayers by reducing allowable levies accordingly.
Franklin Alderman, District 3
Kristen Wilhelm 1068 (71.39%)
Bob Schick 423 (28.28%)
Write-in 5 (0.33%)
Franklin Alderman, District 4
Steve Taylor 1250 (62.66%)
Pete Kosovich 738 (36.99%)
Write-in 7 (0.35%)
David Works 2845 (26.78%)
Linda Witkowski 4260 (40.09%)
Tim Neilson 3462 (32.58%)
Write-ins 55 (0.54%)
Chris Abele 3,882 (35.06%)
Jeff Stone 7,171 (64.77%)
Write-in 19 (0.17%)
Supreme Court Justice
David Prosser 7,231 (65.47%)
Joanne Kloppenburg 3,796 (34.37%)
Write-in 17 (0.15%)
Circuit Court Judge, Branch 18
Pedro Colon 3104 (35.83%)
Christopher Lipscomb 5535 (63.90%)
Write-in 23 (0.27%)
Here are some interesting numbers:
11,077 votes were cast in
11,044 votes were cast in
7.757 votes were cast for Franklin Mayor Tom Taylor who ran unopposed.
David Works came in 3rd in every aldermanic district.
You should have done it a long time ago.
Let's not wait any longer.
Approve photo ID now.
And get rid of same-day registration.
From WTMJ:
"Newsradio 620 WTMJ's John Mercure reports, 'I have been told that several thousand votes are currently unaccounted for and that the majority of them will end up going to David Prosser. We're not talking a couple hundred. We're not even talking a couple thousand'."
Mercure reports a clerical error discovered in the city of
My friend Christian Schneider has an outstanding piece in the National Review demonstrating that if not for Joanne Kloppenburg's torching of David Prosser in Dane County, Prosser wins comfortably.
No surprise. Dane County is another planet compared to the rest of the state.
Madison: "Twenty square miles surrounded by reality."
The late Governor Lee Dreyfus.
Then there's this from the liberal Capital Times:
"While JoAnne Kloppenburg has unofficially prevailed over Justice David Prosser for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, her narrow victory did not deliver the huge repudiation of Gov. Scott Walker and Republican lawmakers that progressives were hoping for.
'There was a great deal of talk about a tsunami of rage and disappointment that would deliver a stinging rebuke to the Republican Party,' says Howard Schweber, a University of Wisconsin expert in judicial politics. 'That didn't happen. Nothing remotely like that happened'."
Patrick Dorwin at Badger Blogger looked at the Supreme Court race numbers in areas where state Senators face possible recalls.
Looks like the Democrats are the ones in trouble.
Next week is Wisconsin Tornado & Severe Weather Awareness Week.
The state Division of Emergency Management along with ReadyWisconsin and the National Weather Service have planned a series of special efforts to promote storm safety. They include:
A TV public service campaign with tornado survivors urging everyone to have an emergency weather radio.
They are about to vilify Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus.
From the MJS Editorial Board:
"Make no mistake: Prosser has every right to ask for a recount, which will be at government expense since the margin between the candidates will be less than 0.5%. A recount could cost well over $1 million, according to Kevin Kennedy, head of the Government Accountability Board.
Given the emotional nature of the campaign, and the political stakes, it will be tempting for both sides to bring in a stable of lawyers to challenge the recount process. But a prolonged fight over this race isn't in the state's best interest. We're unaware of any voting irregularities, and it's probable that the outcome won't change.
The candidates should trust the nonpartisan Government Accountability Board to do its job and live with the result."
The editorial was written before tonight's bombshell.
MacIver News Service | April 7, 2011
"We don't want anything like that to ever happen again."
That's how one athletics official in Texas describes a recent high school baseball game that got lop-sided real quick.
The 53-0 trouncing could have been avoided. But no one involved knew how.
An important change has been made to prevent future mismatches, and that's very good.
By guest blogger Pete Kosovich
There were obviously many disappointed voters Tuesday evening. when the numbers came in. I didn't see this happening judging on the receptions I was getting at the doors. People were very positive & supportive. I ran a campaign that I can be proud of. I don't know what I would have done differently.
I didn't seek the endorsements of the Fire Fighters
Sherry thought that I may have been too supportive of Scott Walker's fiscally conservative agenda, and that it cost me votes. She's probably right! If somebody really knows me, they know that I will support and do the right thing. I will not compromise my values to gain someone's vote. My vote is not for sale. She said I can't help the people if I'm not elected. She's right, but I will still try.
I and others will be watching the Common Council more closely from now on. We will encourage others to find time to attend the meetings to watch their representatives in action. They will likely be surprised & disappointed as to how they behave. They will witness the arrogance and disrespect to one another and to their constituents. That's what got voted in, now you have to live with it!
I have stated that I am a Conservative Christian. Though I am disappointed with my loss, I accept that it is in God's plan. I will continue to do my best to help anywhere I can. We'll see where it leads me.
Good luck Steve Taylor. We'll be watching!
Pete Kosovich
The April edition of Milwaukee Magazine ranks the area's top 50 suburbs.
The lower the number the better (1 is best, 50 is the bottom).
In the category of property tax levels,
That's out of 50.
Congratulations, Mayor, aldermen, and school board members.
Only the president can shut down the federal government.
If President Obama, our Commander-in-Chief shuts down the federal government, our brave men and women in military uniforms would not be paid. That, of course, would be outrageous and an appalling insult to our troops.
Rush Limbaugh said the following on his radio program today:
It's Friday night. Time to unwind with our regular Friday night feature on This Just In.
The weekend has finally arrived.
The sun has set.
The evening sky has erupted.
Let's put controversy and provocative blogs aside for the rest of this work week and smooth our way into Saturday and Sunday.
This weekend, the Milwaukee Symphony Pops conducted by Marvin Hamlisch pays tribute to a legend.
Songwriter/musician Sammy Cahn once said Irving Berlin was one of the two most gifted men of American words and music. The other, said Cahn, was Cole Porter.
Tonight, the music and lyrics of Cole Porter, just in case you don't have MSO tickets.
In his book American Popular Song: The Great Innovators, 1900-1950, Alec Wilder writes about this Porter tune, "This is a very good, essentially simple song, in spite of its half note triplets, but, as is almost always the case with Porter songs, it is popular as much because of its lyric as its melody. This, however, is not true for jazz musicians who like it for its looseness, which provides ample room for improvisation. Needless to say, the half note triplets are, for the most part, ignored by them."Max Morath writes in The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Popular Standards, "Jazz musicians go for it--they love most anything of Porter's--those long melody lines and the beat, often Latin-tinged, that is so often implicit in his theater songs."
"My story is much too sad to be told,
but practically everything
leaves me totally cold.
The only exception I know is the case,
when I'm out on a quiet spree,
fighting vainly the old ennui
and I suddenly turn and see,
your fabulous face…"
The Barking Lot is a regular weekly feature of this just in…Written by my lovely wife, Jennifer and me. It opens with the weekend dog walking forecast followed by the main blog from dog lover, Jennifer. Then it's DOGS IN THE NEWS and our close. Enjoy!
THE WEEKEND DOG-WALKING FORECAST: We grade the weather outlook for taking your pet outdoors.
TODAY: Skies will be cloudy, but temps will be above nomral. High of 56. "C"
SUNDAY: Isolated Thunderstorms. High of 80. That doggone rain, and it could be heavy, prevents our first "A" of the year. "B"
Here's my lovely wife, Jennifer with this week's main blog:
It is amazing how many human-like qualities dogs can have. Dog owners often talk about their dog's personality. Have you ever heard a dog snore? My Basenji was as loud as a person, no question! I don't think I have to explain "dog breath." Puppy breath is another subject entirely… I love the sweet smell of a new puppy's breath. But once it changes to ADULT dog breath, there is obviously no going back! Of course there are occasional bouts of gassiness that dogs can suffer from, just like their owners. Never a pleasant scent.
BUT… have you ever taken a bubble bath or a long steamy shower and come out smelling worse than when you went in? Impossible! So how is it that Fido can be out in the rain for five minutes and come in smelling like he just visited the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District???!!! Well, a scientific answer is offered by www.howtogetridofstuff.com:
Why do wet dogs smell so much worse than dry ones?
A look back at the people and events that made news the past week. Week-ends is a regular weekly feature of This Just In...
The latest batch from Carnegie
Paul Monti
Amanda Collins
Jamie Contreras
Helen Dunsford
Violet Smith
NY grannies
Farmers Insurance agents
Franklin's Nick Romanowski
Whoever thought it was a great idea for Joanne Kloppenburg to proclaim victory with just a 200-vote margin.
Thomas Bellavia
Two state agencies
SEIU thugs in Washington
Shady Grove Elementary School
Brian Hutcherson
Yanira Otera
Sylvenie Thessier
"We owe Justice Prosser our gratitude for his more than 30 years of public service. Wisconsin voters have spoken and I am grateful for, and humbled by, their confidence and trust. I will be independent and impartial and I will decide cases based on the facts and the law. As I have traveled the State, people tell me they believe partisan politics do not belong in our Courts. I look forward to bringing new blood to the Supreme Court and focusing my energy on the important work
WI Supreme Court candidate JoAnne Kloppenburg declaring victory Wednesday, based on results reported by the Associated Press. At the time, the Associated Press showed Kloppenburg received 740,090 votes and incumbent David Prosser received 739,886 votes, a margin of 204 votes.
"I'm thankful that this error was caught early in the process. This is not a case of extra ballots being found. This is human error which I apologize for."
Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus on Thursday stating that she failed to save on her computer and then report 14,315 votes in the city of Brookfield, omitting them entirely in an unofficial total she released after Tuesday's election. With other smaller errors in Waukesha County, Prosser gained 7,582 votes over his challenger, JoAnne Kloppenburg, leaving the sitting justice significantly ahead for now amid ongoing official counting.
"We went over everything and made sure all the numbers jibed up and they did. Those numbers jibed up, and we're satisfied they're correct. As a Democrat, she said, "I'm not going to stand here and tell you something that's not true."
Ramona Kitzinger, the Democrat on the
"She may have a perfect legal right to seek a recount. If the vote was 204 votes or 500 votes or perhaps even 1,000 votes, I don't think there would be a dispute if there were a recount. But if it's 7,000 votes, is there ever any experience, any precedent, for making up 7,000 votes, even in an election of a million and a half votes?"
Justice David Prosser
Just reflecting as I hear the Dem outrage and the media clucking and Kathy Nicholous character assassination about the Waukesha County vote change:
(1) Conspiracy theorists, settle down: (a) Anyone watching that press conference yesterday who thought this was some sort of grand scheme by Kathy Nicholous is blind. She was going through her own private hell, and I think would have much rather seen David Prosser lose than have to stand up there and admit her mistake. (b) the most forceful moment of the press conference and the most definitive statement of "this is the right thing to do" came from Ramona then Democrat canvasser. You can call this a lot of things - a boner, a flub, etc. - but you cannot seriously suggest (as Kloppenberg is not so subtly doing) that this is a GOP conspiracy.
(2) There is a reason results are called "preliminary." Lost in the Waukesha bombshell was the fact that all over the state votes were moving back and forth all day. Prosser was actually up before Waukesha County was announced, because of errors in other counties. That is the nature of preliminary vote counts. That's why you were correct in saying the race was a tie and we didn't know who had won. It was why Joanne Kloppenberg was stupid and desperate to hold a press conference and declare victory and smarmily thank Prosser for 30 years of public service on the basis of a preliminary 200 vote margin. Without Waukesha, this thing was going to be a roller coaster with more lead changes than the NCAA tournament. Preliminary numbers are just that. It is a bi-product of the media's "need for speed" and their horserace obsession to call the winner. They will take any number they can get and write a story around it. The fact that AP, the Journal Sentinel and everyone else in the MSM jumped the gun and built huge storylines around vote totals they KNEW were not final and not accurate (no statewide canvass ever comes back vote for vote in synch with the preliminary data) is not an indictment of the electoral system, County Clerks or anything else. It is indictment of the MSM's rush to judgment obsession with being first and with telling us what to think. It is simply not in their nature to say, "we don't know, and we're not going to pretend we do until we are sure." Ironically, today many of them will be bashing Kathy Nicholous for not double checking her work on election night, when the reason they are having to do such embarrassed and contorted analysis backflips and about faces right now is because they turned in their work without waiting for all the fact themselves.
(3) The system worked. I live in Brookfield. Should I have been disenfranchised simply because it is inconvenient or embarrassing for Kloppenberg and the media to have to admit they jumped the gun and went off half cocked on the basis of preliminary data? The point of an election is not to satisfy the media's desire for a storyline. The point of an election is for people in a democracy to have their voice heard and their vote counted. Because of a computer glitch, human error, or whatever, I - and everyone else in Brookfield - was denied that right Tuesday night/Wed. morning. Fortunately, we have a canvas built into the process to double check the preliminary totals and ensure that votes are accurately counted and no one is disenfranchised. The fact that the system caught a big error is not an indictment of the system, it is a validation of the system.
(4) We need to blow the whistle on the myth of "reversal/swing". Watch how many stories today speak of a dramatic "swing" or "reversal" in the election. That's once again horserace b.s. Nothing reversed. No votes changed. Prosser did not stage a "comeback" yesterday. Every vote counted or changed in the canvas in Waukesha or any of the other counties was a vote legitimately cast 3 days ago. Again, I live in Brookfield. I did not vote again yesterday and "swing the election" in Prosser's favor. I voted Tuesday. If Prosser won, he won based on those votes cast Tuesday. The fact that my vote didn't get correctly counted until Thursday did not trigger a "change" or a "reversal" in the election outcome. The counting delay may have caused a change in perception by silly candidates or reporters intent on jumping the gun and giving final vote credibility to preliminary data, but it did NOT cause a change in the vote or in the election.
A listener to Charlie Sykes' WTMJ program.
"When Wisconsin Democrats fled the state in order to avoid voting on splendiferous public sector union contracts, did they happen to notice that the rest of the country is in the midst of a massive recession?
For years, Democrats have been using taxpayer money so that their buddies in public sector unions never have to know when there's a recession. People who are already suffering have to suffer more so that those who are doing pretty well don't have to suffer at all.
The high salaries and magnificent benefits paid to government employees are used to fund the public sector unions, which then funnel a portion of that money back to the Democrats, who vote for the pay packages of government workers. The unions function as a pass-through from the taxpayers straight to Democrats running for re-election.
As a result, taxpayers are paying people to continually raise their taxes."
Columnist Anne Coulter
"They [the Democrats] are so fundamentally unserious about this [fiscal crisis], they are in political attack mode. This is hardly the adult conversation we were hoping to achieve by putting out ideas. These people [Democrats] have been in Congress a long time. Clearly they see the fiscal problems. Clearly they know the road ahead is a debt crisis. They must be complicit with it if they're willing to use this type of demagoguery and rhetoric. I find it really quite amazing. It's politics. I don't know what else to conclude."
WI Congressman Paul Ryan
"We are absolutely outraged. This is the functional equivalent of bombing innocent civilians."
Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D -DC) speaking to FOX 5 Morning News Thursday about how Washington, D.C. residents are being treated as work to avoid a government shutdown continued.
"Here's the bottom line: Democrats are rooting for a government shutdown. We're listening to the people who sent us here to cut spending so we can grow our economy."
John Boehner
"The liberal mainstream media, notice how they have tried to destroy Sarah Palin. Notice how the more popular Michele Bachmann gets, the more they try to destroy her. You want to know why they go after those two ladies more viciously? Because they know that Michele Bachmann or Sarah Palin is going to draw a lot of the women vote away from the Democrat Party. They are scared to death of that, if they were to run and get the nomination. They are doubly scared that a real black man might run against Barack Obama."
Herman Cain
"A government shutdown wouldn't be pleasant, but it would not be the end of the world. Essential services would remain in operation. On the other hand, our failing to get the financial crisis solved would be the end of the prosperous and free America we love."
Columnist David Limbaugh
Illegal aliens get more benefits than citizens.
The butcher rate at Planned Parenthood.
Will Tiger Woods win the Masters? WHO CARES!
Where will Katie Couric end up? WHO CARES!
Down the...aisle?
And we close with the latest from NewsBusted!
As I post every Sunday, here are the five most read blog entries of mine from the previous week. NOTE: some entries may have been posted prior to the past week.
1) The April 2011 Official Voters Guide
2) Canvass Discovers Huge Error in Waukesha, Prosser Now Has Large Lead
3) Some final thoughts on Franklin elections
4) Predictably, HILARIOUSLY, liberals are going INSANE over this loss
5) Dear legislative Republicans in Madison
1) Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus announces at a news conference Thursday that she failed to save on her computer and then report 14,315 votes in the city of
"I come here every day to look for it but I can't find anything. Now there is nothing I can leave to my son when I die," she says. She adds quietly: "There are too many people on the earth messing with nature…the gods may have punished us." Photo: Kuni Takahashi
3) A man cries for relief after being beaten by a group of people when he was caught allegedly stealing a pig from a local family on April 4 in
5) James Jordan, right, and other men model their high heel shoes before marching against sexual violence against women Friday, April 8, 2011, in
6) A featherless Humboldt penguin (2nd right) in a wetsuit walks past king penguins in the enclosure at the
7) A worker takes a nap surrounded by ducklings at a duck farm on the outskirts of
8) Kayak instructor Vaughn Corum bobs along with some of the 17,000 plastic ducks that were released during the seventh annual KinderMourn Hope Floats Duck Race at the U.S. National Whitewater Center, on Sunday, April 3, in
9) A deer seems to protect a mother goose who lost her mate in a cemetery in
10) Regina Mayer jumps with her cow Luna over a hurdle in Laufen, southern
11) Eva Longoria's appearance on David Letterman's talk show almost turned R-rated when her tuxedo jacket popped open, threatening to reveal her chest. "Oh my button!," Longoria exclaimed on Wednesday night's edition of "The Late Show" before quickly covering her chest and saying to Letterman, "I'm sorry… but you didn't see anything." The newly single "Desperate Housewives" actress was on the show to promote her book, "Eva's Kitchen: Cooking With Love For Family & Friends." (CBS)
12) Center fielder Andruw Jones is hit by onion rings and food cartons after he collided with the wall while chasing down Jason Kubel's foul ball during the seventh inning of the Yankees game against the Minnesota Twins in Yankee Stadium on April 5, 2011. Kathy Willens / AP
13) University of Wisconsin basketball player Mike Bruesewitz waits to have his head shaved for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society on WKOW-TV in Madison Wednesday morning. Bruesewitz's goal is to raise $3,100, in honor of his jersey number, 31. Wisconsin basketball player Jon Leuer does the honors, shaving Bruesewitz's head. Bruesewitz feels the top of his head after the clippers did their work. Photos: Joe Koshollek for the Journal Sentinel
Here are, in my view, interesting, noteworthy columns and articles from the past week that I highly recommend (You will note that on occasion, I do not endorse the opinions of the author and may point that out. Despite my disagreements, I still feel the piece is worth a read).
"It looks like
President Obama blames you for high gas prices
"For the president to suggest that a taxpayer's inability to buy a new $40,000+ hybrid vehicle (that still requires gas) is the root problem, rather than his price-increasing oil policies is shameful."
The GOP Path to Prosperity
Got a Better Plan?
"If Democrats think the Ryan budget is too radical, let them offer a credible alternative."
Two Americas: Public vs. Private Employees
"If you want to understand better why so many states—from New York to Wisconsin to California—are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, consider this depressing statistic: Today in America there are nearly twice as many people working for the government (22.5 million) than in all of manufacturing (11.5 million)."
The swift death of the new tone
"During the most heated month of the health care uprising, when more than 500 town halls took place over one month across the country, there were exactly 10 instances of documented violence. Most of them were confined to the ripping of signs and minor tussles (though there were a handful of punches thrown), and seven of 10 incidents were perpetrated by ObamaCare supporters on protesters, according to photos, police reports and witnesses."
"Study hard, but party harder"
"Rutgers University last week contributed to the growing debate on whether higher education is worth its surging costs, when it paid the fabulous Nicole Polizzi (a.k.a., 'Snooki') of MTV's 'Jersey Shore' television show $32,000 to speak to its students."
Misogynist Video Games
"Karen's nine-year-old son came home from a birthday party at a locally owned 'family fun' center with plenty to tell. The party was great, especially the laser tag and the pizza. But he didn't like the arcade games, one in particular."
Coerced abortions affect men, too
"For every woman who has had an abortion a man has been involved. For me it was two abortions.
My story begins at 16 when I heard that first 'I'm pregnant' from my girlfriend. I can remember being scared and a little confused about how it all happened. I asked all of the questions like, 'I thought you were protected,' and anything else I could think of to say rather than taking responsibility for my actions.
I can remember when the phone call came to my parents. My feelings of being scared and confused changed to terrified and ashamed. I don't know how much time passed from the phone call until my parents came to talk with me, but it felt like an eternity. I remember putting on my headphones with the music cranked up, not wanting to face the consequences of my actions as my parents were trying to talk to me. I wanted it all to go away."
Tax Time Coming
"Will any of these jokes cheer you up?"
They're not so sure in Bayside.
REMINDER: It is tornado time.
You mean you want to know if the Yellow Pages delivered to my neighbors in mid-October 2010 have been picked up and taken inside yet?
Sure, I have an update.
But first, a very brief musical interlude.
Please play along kids.
Be back in just a few.
Now, hit play....and no cheating. No looking ahead.
Yes, I know it's close to 80 degrees out there.
Yes, I know it's April.
But there's always a connection.
We begin with the Yellow Pages.
They were delivered in my neighborhood around mid-October last year. Since then, some residents have refused to pick them up from the spot they were dumped, on the lawn by their mailboxes.
And they're still out there, six months later. Tonight's storms will make them even more unappetizing to place human hands upon.
Now in the past few weeks, I've had more than a few people at my door.
Political candidates.
Their volunteers.
The usual salespeople.
Jehovah's Witnesses.
I am sure they, and anyone else who walks or drives by the Fischer residence has been muttering the same thing:
Ummm...what's with the Christmas wreath?
Next to my front door is a wreath purchased from QVC that's been there since just before last Thanksgiving. It looks like this.
Pretty tacky, Fischer!
What gives?
We'd always purchase this particular wreath for my mom and it would last every year right through March.
The last few years, we bought it for our house as a memorial to Mom. Sure enough, it kept its green color and barely faded, if at all, until the past week or so.
The other day I said to Jennifer that this weekend, the wreath goes, especially with tropical, balmy weather in the forecast.
Jennifer told me that was impossible.
Excuse me, little missus of mine?
Today I went outside and took a look.
Jennifer was right.
The wreath stays up a bit longer.
Has to.
Got to accommodate the nest inside.
Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday,
The tacky family.
If you haven't noticed, it's getting more expensive to eat.
Here in
Nationally, the prices for meats, poultry and fish combined at grocery stores went up 7.2 percent from February 2010 to February 2011. That's according to the U.S. Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics.
One of the reasons for the price hike is critical.
The Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation reports, "Higher meat prices can be linked to the rise in global prices for corn, soybeans, wheat and other commodities over the past year. Higher corn and soybean prices mean greater input costs for farmers who raise cattle and hogs. Higher feed and energy costs have resulted in relatively fewer cattle and hogs on
Why are corn prices so high? Because demand is greater. Why is demand greater? Because supply has diminished. Why is supply down? Because more and more, we're turning corn, not into food, but into gasoline. As a result, people go hungry.
I would chuckle if this wasn't so serious. Here's why. We need to turn back the clock.
In not one but two columns she wrote in February 2007, state Senator Mary Lazich warned about the inherent crisis of shoving too much corn down our gas tanks.
"Excitement over ethanol, a renewable fuel made with corn, has reached such a high level that there has been a virtual rush on corn. The effects have been devastating, especially in
Exorbitant tortilla costs created by the buzz about ethanol have left few alternatives in
There are many concerns about ethanol, its effect on world hunger being the latest. Because corn is used to produce ethanol, it requires so much water, energy and land to produce, making its benefits highly questionable. Evidence suggests that ethanol costs more, harms the environment, and reduces gas mileage. Ethanol has been known to wreak havoc on small engines, and now it is likely to wreak havoc on the food supply."
Despite similar alarms from U.S. News & World Report, the Wall Street Journal, the Earth Policy Institute, Consumer Reports, Edwin Black the author of Internal Combustion: How Corporations and Governments Addicted the World to Oil and Derailed the Alternatives, and University of Minnesota researchers, when Steve Walters of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel read what Senator Lazich was saying, he had to raise his eyebrows.
Walters, and you can just sense his skepticism, wrote, "Who knew that
Now we move to April of 2008. Yours truly opened Culinary no-no #52 this way:
I am deeply saddened by the news of Father Charles Bisgrove's death. Father Charlie was a faithful servant to the police and fire departments for many years. Father Charlie provided spiritual, emotional and personal support to our members whenever and wherever it was needed.
Father Charlie gave of himself selflessly not only to the
While we mourn for the loss of Father Charlie in our lives, we are certain he has found eternal joy as his reward for his dedicated life to our Lord. Rest in peace Fr. Charlie.
It's from WTMJ's Charlie Sykes.
MacIver News Service | April 11, 2011
Don't you feel safer?
From MacIver News Service
Could it really only be 100 days?
According to the PC crowd, they're...
Even though Democrats control absolutely nothing in state government, they should, in principle, be involved during the current state budget deliberations, offering suggestions about how to fix our budget crisis.
Granted, that would be tough for Democrats who are void of fresh ideas. Witness their policy playbook that predominantly features hiking the minimum wage.
During the Jim Doyle years, Democrats offered the following to balance the budget, ideas that have led us into the budget quagmire we struggle to get out of today:
1) Tax more
2) Spend more
3) Borrow more
4) Raid various funds
5) Use one-time money, like the stimulus.
Thank goodness those days are over.
Democrats still should, if nothing more than for their own personal pride, try to be responsible contributors to the process. Instead, they whine and moan and complain and play the race card over……the scheduling of budget public hearings.
When the Joint Finance Committee, controlled by Republicans, began its schedule of hearings around the state, certain Democrat legislators just couldn't contain themselves and keep from looking foolish, especially when the tour headed to
Dan Bice of the Journal Sentinel reported the following prior to Monday's hearing in, not Milwaukee, but West Allis, referring to State Representative Tamara Grigsby (D-Milwaukee):
"The Milwaukee Democrat accused the leaders of the Joint Finance Committee of taking steps, in advance, to shut down debate early on the budget bill - and then claimed they are doing this because they don't want to be near Milwaukee too late.
'They're scared to death of
Share = give to government
"Within 25 years, our goal is to give 80 percent of Americans access to high-speed rail. This could allow you to go places in half the time it takes to travel by car. For some trips, it will be faster than flying –- without the pat-down. As we speak, routes in California and the Midwest are already underway."
From President Obama's State of the Union address, January 25, 2011
In less than three months, high-speed rail hopes have all but disintegrated. And the president himself played a hand as part of the budget deal the White House and Republicans in Congress agreed to last week. The New York Times reports:
"New details released Tuesday showed that the agreement will not only eliminate financing for high-speed rail this year, but will also take back some of the money that Congress approved for it last year.
The cuts will not bring the rail program to a halt, as there is still unspent rail money that can be used on new projects. But they leave the future of high-speed rail in the United States unclear, to say the least. Roughly $10 billion has been approved for high-speed rail so far, but that money has been spread to dozens of projects around the country. If Congress does not approve more money, it is possible that the net result of all that spending will be better regular train service in many areas, and a small down payment on one bullet train, in California."
Another glimpse of fiscal common sense. There needs to be a lot more.
Greenfield Mayor Michael Neitzke raises a great question.
In the event of a fire in Franklin, do four, count 'em, four fire chiefs need to be on the scene?
But that's exactly what happens.
Sounds like government waste in need of government consolidation to me.
The good news is that local leaders are aware and discussing.
Read about the details in GreendalePatch.
I was wrong about
He took his video camera to the April 6 Franklin School Board meeting and has posted videos of the discussion on the item where the board members perform self-evaluation. Talk about a royal waste of time and taxpayer dollars.
Keller's video is amateurish and the audio is horrible, but you get the message.
I haven't had time to watch it all, but I've seen enough.
Revealing but not surprising is School Board Vice-President Jeff Traylor literally scoffing and chuckling at the very notion of being "fiscally responsible." Check out his "could care less" facial expression and body language.
The best line I've seen thus far comes from member Janet Evans. As her colleagues wrestled with how to form better "relationships" as a board, Evans chimed in, "I'm not here to have a relationship (with any of you). I'm here to do my job."
BINGO. This is not a hold your hands, Kum ba yah session.
And just ask
Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan is serious about addressing our deficit. Ryan has shown unprecedented leadership in offering the Path to Prosperity:
Where the President has failed, House Republicans will lead. This budget helps spur job creation today, stops spending money the government doesn't have, and lifts the crushing burden of debt. This plan puts the budget on the path to balance and the economy on the path to prosperity.
Here is how the Democrats treated Gov.Walker, without respect or common courtesy, by changing the subject and refusing to listen.
Many other states are considering photo ID legislation with some moving quickly to approve.
What about
Disappointingly, it could take several weeks before action is taken.
Let's get this done, legislative Republicans. ASAP.
MacIver News Service | April 14, 2011
It's the first rule of journalism: Check the facts and then check them again. So how did the national liberal blog Daily Kos and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel both get it so wrong? Both news outlets published stories that attempted to raise doubts about Waukesha County's votes in the April 5 election based on past election results that are posted on the Waukesha County Clerk website. The results showed more votes than ballots cast in past races
The death toll in
The death toll in the
32, 401
Source: Thatsabortion.com
Photo: Sykes Writes
It's Friday night. Time to unwind with our regular Friday night feature on This Just In.
The weekend has finally arrived.
The sun has set.
The evening sky has erupted.
Let's put controversy and provocative blogs aside for the rest of this work week and smooth our way into Saturday and Sunday.
Today is Pay Uncle Sam Day (although this year you actually have until April 18 to pay your income taxes).
Tonight, related moolah music.
And we begin with the obligatory tune for the day, toned down nice and smooth and easy.
The Barking Lot is a regular weekly feature of this just in…Written by my lovely wife, Jennifer and me. It opens with the weekend dog walking forecast followed by the main blog from dog lover, Jennifer. Then it's DOGS IN THE NEWS and our close. Enjoy!
THE WEEKEND DOG-WALKING FORECAST: We grade the weather outlook for taking your pet outdoors.
TODAY: Light rain. Windy. High of 45. "F"
SUNDAY: Mostly sunny. High of 48. The normal high is around 55. "D"
Here's my lovely wife, Jennifer with this week's main blog:
Last week in Dogs in the News, Kevin had two links that were upsetting & disturbing to say the very least. An OpEd piece questions why people get up in arms over dog abuse but little is often said about children suffering worse fates. And a story about Tyler Jacobson made me shake my head in disbelief and disgust. Apparently the family dog had more sense and capability to watch the toddler than his own mother did. This was not just a precocious child exploring his world, it was clearly neglect. Geniuses at the State Dept. of Social Services deemed the home's conditions "deplorable." Apparently though, they were good enough to let
Mother of the Year couldn't seem to keep an eye on her son and he wandered off again, the second time in eight days. This time, he was found by a neighbor; Tyler and a six-month-old were taken in to protective custody and the "mother" and her boyfriend were arrested.
I don't even know where to begin in my rant about this ridiculous situation. How do things like this happen?
Kevin and I have the pleasure of knowing a wonderful couple who adopted a son from a terrible family situation. He is now loved, cared for, is thriving and a fabulous little guy. I often say how for every story like that, there are a hundred out there without a happy ending. I could make myself absolutely crazy thinking about it. Our friends were so happy to adopt their son… there are always people with big hearts open to another family member. If you don't love your child enough to even keep them from wandering away from your home, there is someone who will gladly love him/her in your place.
Occasionally you hear stories where a dog saves a child who has wandered off by staying with them until help arrives, and it truly is a heart-warming happy ending. This time it took a dog to save a child from a scary situation wrapped in a horrible situation. I certainly wouldn't call this ending heart-warming or happy. And I won't even "go there" about DSS. Hopefully Tyler and the other baby will have a new start and thrive. Knowing how state agencies work, though, Jacklyn Jacobson will cry the blues, find Jesus, and "just want her baby back." And they will return him.
---Jennifer Fischer
Thanks, Jennifer for focusing attention on the story behind the story. And by the way, Mike Nichols got a lot of reaction to that column about people caring more about animals than children.
Time now for DOGS IN THE NEWS, canines that made headlines the past week.
Reward offered in Milwaukee burning dog case.
Here's the latest on the Oshkosh man accused of starving a dog.
Braveheart inspires.
Boy lights candle in attempt to find missing dog.
The 6-year old wanted to save his younger brother. Did he ever!
Lilli helps Zack in a very special way.
Fond du Lac police have special bond with dogs.
They call it a "new leash on life."
How can you tell a real service dog?
Maryland approves dining with dogs legislation.
Dog urine...BAD.
Walking dogs is big business in the UK.
Wisconsin is pet-friendly.
And finally, we close with our closing video. We have two this week.
Thanks for stopping by The Barking Lot. Please tell a fellow animal lover about us.
1) Great video and audio. WATCH and LISTEN.
2) Paco should be dead. But he's alive.
Paco, from Pulaski, Virginia, is a miracle dog.
That's the plan.
UPDATE: The plan failed miserably.
A look back at the people and events that made news the past week. Week-ends is a regular weekly feature of This Just In...
Linda Wieck of Plymouth, Wisconsin and others
Jonathan Schmitt
Todd Love
Jayme Crawford
Jamie Contreras and Les Burgess
Mitch Spinach
Charles Knuth
Wesley Brown
Arthur Schumacher
Breanna Gering
Pennsylvania state Representative Margo Davidson (D)
Nine Milwaukee County workers
Milwaukee Police radio system
The TSA goon that did this
"Rather than kick the can down the road in
House Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) explaining his reasoning for holding a hearing on how states are handling their deficits.
"'There but for the grace of God go I,' we say to ourselves, and so we contribute to programs like Medicare and Social Security, which guarantee us health care and a measure of basic income after a lifetime of hard work; unemployment insurance, which protects us against unexpected job loss; and Medicaid, which provides care for millions of seniors in nursing homes, poor children, and those with disabilities. We are a better country because of these commitments. I'll go further – we would not be a great country without those commitments."
In a fiscal address that called for tax increases, military budget cuts, and entitlement reforms, President Barack Obama said government entitlements make
"This was not a speech designed for
Rep. Jeb Hensarling said he was honored to receive an invitation to the president's speech, but as it turns out, it was something he could have watched back at his office.
President Obama "doesn't view the nation's debt crisis as a problem to be solved, but as a tool to be used to advance his own reelection hopes. In one speech, the President managed to hit all the notes that his demoralized liberal base wanted to hear: he played the class warfare card, he endorsed cutting defense spending, he demagogued Paul Ryan's 'Path to Prosperity,' he touted the unconstitutional ObamaCare law, and he even blamed Bush for the nation's current debt problems. While the speech may excite some on the far-left, it should be viewed with disappointment by Americans who were hoping that the President would put politics aside to work on behalf of cutting spending and lowering the nation's debt."
Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa)
The President was "a pyromaniac in a field of straw men."
Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan
"Send me some senators who have some gonads."
Sen.Tom Coburn, R-Oklahma, who is part of a bipartisan effort to address the budget crisis, said real reform is possible if… he can find more senators with the aforementioned.
"Under their vision, we can't invest in roads and bridges and broadband and high-speed rail. I mean, we would be a nation of potholes, and our airports would be worse than places that we thought -- that we used to call the
President Obama ripping the GOP at a fundraiser in
"Well, instead of a baton I think he [Obama] should pick up a baseball bat and just start bashing 'em over the head, hoping that the Republicans will gain some common sense."
Earl Bender (Democratic Party Political Consultant)
"Let's face it: Obama loves when people question his place of birth. Every minute we spend discussing if Obama was born in Kenya is a minute we don't spend saying that our weakling, perpetually golfing president has only made our economy worse and led us into a third war with nary a word of discussion. It's time spent not pointing out that Obama promised the most outrageous things in the world – oceans would lower!–and delivered on exactly zero of those promises. Trump dragging this issue back into the spotlight is only good for one person: the American-born Barack Obama."
Ann Coulter
"From my point of view, taxes are not on the table, because we don't have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem."
Mitch McConnell
"The fact is that elections shouldn't matter as much as they do."
"This is an organization that has protected those who prey on our children and has protected those who rape our granddaughters. Planned Parenthood holds itself out to be above the law by ignoring mandatory reporting requirements, by skirting parental consent, but aiding and abetting child trafficking. They put quick and secret abortions ahead of the welfare of victimized young girls, and it has to stop."
Rep. Alan Nunnelee (R-Miss.)
The TSA.
Are recall efforts using illegal circulators?
Barack Obama's budget speech. Turns out it was a campaign speech fawning over expanded government and increasing taxes.
Local guy finds missile in bathroom wall.
She just can't stop eating it.
Ladies, ladies. This is crazy.
And we close with the latest from NewsBusted!
As I post every Sunday, here are the five most read blog entries of mine from the previous week. NOTE: some entries may have been posted prior to the past week.
1) God bless you Father Charlie Bisgrove
2) The amazing light videos shine on local (Franklin) government
3) Why America needs Paul Ryan's vision
4) Culinary no-no #215
5) Photos of the Week (04/10/11)
1) This combination picture shows tsunami destruction and debris covering the road in Ofunato city, Iwate prefecture on March 14, three-days after the tsunami disaster (above) and after the road was cleaned of debris, on April 15 (below). Getty Images
2) This remarkable series of images taken last month depicts local reporter Toya Chiba being swept away while taking pictures at the mouth of the
3) A rotation of a cloud is seen over
4) Home owner Chad Hemenway, left, talks to his insurance agent while his sister Jennifer Allen looks skyward in the roofless living room of his damaged home in
5) A vehicle rests on a tree after an overnight tornado in
6) Bill Mosley shouts in surprise after seeing the china mostly intact in the cabinet in what remains of his dining room after a tornado passed through his
7) Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin share a moment as they are sworn in during a hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee April 14, 2011 on Capitol Hill in
8) Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin greets the crowd near the podium after delivering her keynote speech Saturday during a rally at the Capitol in Madison. Journal Sentinel photo: Mark Hoffman
10) A preserved brown bear stands on its haunches at the opening of "Koerperwelten der Tiere" (Body Worlds of Animals), an exhibition of polymer preserved animals at the Cologne zoo in Germany on Thursday, April 14. Frank Augstein / AP
11) Two red panda siblings explore their open-air enclosure of the zoo in
12) Santa Cruz County Animal Services photograph shows Max, a three-year-old cat shot through the head with an arrow in this photograph released to Reuters on April 12, 2011. Max was recuperating from surgery on Tuesday, apparently little worse for the wear, authorities said. "According to the owners, the cat had been missing for two days and when they opened their front door the cat came in," Santa Cruz County Animal Services Manager Todd Stosuy told Reuters. Reuters photo
13) Civil War reenactors are joined by culture reenactors who got into the fun at the Ohio Statehouse lawn to mark the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, Sunday, April 10 , 2011. (AP Photo/Columbus Dispatch, Jeff Hinckley)
14) Reenactors fire mortars at the
15) East
16) Veteran investigator Simcha Jacobovici holds one of two nails presented in his new documentary film, at
17) Live fish, small tortoises and young giant salamanders sealed in plastic pouches and sold as keychains are displayed at a roadside stall in
18) Luna Lutz visits at a tree with 9,800 Easter eggs at the garden of Christa and Volker Kraft in
19) The surf was up Friday, and surfers were trying to catch breaking waves at
20) Israeli Hallel Goldman, 13, wears a wedding dress as she holds a sign for Canadian singer Justin Bieber ahead of his concert in Tel Aviv,
Here are, in my view, interesting, noteworthy columns and articles from the past week that I highly recommend (You will note that on occasion, I do not endorse the opinions of the author and may point that out. Despite my disagreements, I still feel the piece is worth a read).
Drop protest and pass the ketchup
"Of all the things to protest — Brat Fest!?
Can we not even enjoy a brat for charity in
As expected, the MSM's coverage of Sarah Palin's visit to
If you missed it or only saw/heard a quick clip or sound bite, thank goodness there are other news sources besides the Associated Press.
Reuters: "All it took was one powerful, pugnacious and presidential speech — just 15 minutes long — for Palin to again make herself completely relevant to the current political and policy battles raging across
John Nolte of Big Government: "If Sarah Palin's not running for president, what a terrible waste that would be of the single best stump speech I've heard since, well, Palin's '08 convention speech, which just happened to be the single most electrifying political moment of my adult life."
"She also launched the kind of tight, sharp, and articulate attack on President Obama's failed presidency that likely has the White House — and their media allies — loosening their ties, clearing their throats, and looking for any word she might have mispronounced as an excuse to drown out her appealing message with the furtherance of a cruel 'stupid' narrative they've been failing at for two-plus years.
I'll ask again: How can someone so 'dumb' be so right about everything?"
Blogger Andrew Breitbart, one of the rally speakers: "The TV cameras showing the speech caught little of this phalanx of thugs that we had to walk through. Middle fingers flew and the trendy talking point insult of 'Koch Suckers!' was everywhere. Sarah Palin was called names that made me wonder if Bill Maher was writing for this mob. Apparently, women-hating sexual mockery is acceptable if directed at the right, even if that woman's children are present.
The Wisconsin Tea Party supporters made it all worthwhile. These are men and women who have braved a battle and come through victorious not by bullying but by being part of the silent majority willing to support tough-minded, adult decision making. The message from speaker after speaker was that
And my personal favorite, and yes, it is from Saturday's rally:
What a bozo.
Today I received the latest e-newsletter from state Representative Kevin Petersen (R-Waupaca). Here's an excerpt:
WBAY Channel 2 in
According to the Department of Workforce Development Secretary Manny Perez, "
(NOTE: This is the first of two Culinary no-no blogs that will be posted tonight)
This is an important disclaimer from the
proprietor of This Just In…
The following installment of the ever-
popular Culinary no-no is quite offensive.
It contains material, including video that
some might find very disturbing.
This is not a gag.
This is not a joke.
This is serious.
Some of you that venture forward to view
this particular segment will be angered
and outraged.
The editor (me) is not responsible for your
reaction, however unpleasant it might be.
You have been warned.
I urge you, if you are easily traumatized,
stop right now and move on to another
blog entry you might enjoy.
If you are brave and believe you are able to
handle the rather difficult nature of what's
in store, then proceed.
Keep in mind that what you are about to be
exposed to is vile, ugly, disgusting, and
yes, offensive. However, it needs to be
reported and exposed.
Here is…
Culinary no-no #216.
And...Culinary no-no #217
The MacIver Institute reports:
"From using Nazi references to adorning the American Flag with political bumper stickers and using it as a poncho, the full extremism of the left was on display in
Rejecting any attempts at conveying a 'New Tone,' pro-labor union activists attempt to drown out speakers at the tea party rally at the State Capitol on April 16, 2011.
Rally speakers included John Fund of the Wall Street Journal, conservative media maven Andrew Breitbart and former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. However, the protesters did their best to prevent those in attendance from hearing any of them."
Watch how the boorish left tries to shout down free speech. Again, you won't see these pictures in the mainstream media:
CRG Network
The spring elections are over, meaning that in every village, town, city and county in
Did you have a nice weekend?
Were you able to hit a fish fry, do some shopping, see a movie, get some yard work done?
While you were trying to enjoy a few days off, locally elected officials all across
It goes like this. I will appoint you chair of important committee X if you vote for me for Common Council President. Wink wink. Nod nod. The phones and e-mails the past week or two have been busy, busy, busy.
The problem is it all goes on without transparency. The general populace is totally in the dark until the actual vote is taken for leadership positions at a public meeting (For example, the
It's literally all a game. Who can work out the best deal with his/her colleagues generally wins. Your leadership/motivational/people skills mean nothing. What did you promise your colleagues and did they bite…that's the key.
With that in mind, I would like to offer my handicapping of the chances elected officials have in securing top leadership spots in sleepy, politically naïve and apathetic
Let's start with the Franklin School Board. Who will be the next school board president? It's on the agenda this Wednesday night.
Here are the players and what I deem to be their chances:
Janet Evans
When the Franklin School Board often votes 5-1 on various items, the lone dissenting vote is usually Evans'.
Remember at a recent meeting where board members went around the table and evaluated themselves, Evans correctly reminded her colleagues she wasn't there to form relationships. She was there to do a job.
Cue the lead balloon.
Linda Witkowski
Occasionally votes with Evans to make the final tally 4-2.
She has only slightly better odds than Evans.
Tim Nielson
Just elected.
Too new.
Can't be trusted.
All those nasty, evil bloggers supported him.
No chance.
Judith Bialk
I'm not sure she even knows where the ladies' room is.
Can't we just all get along?
Melissa Klein
Gets all misty-eyed at the thought of jacking up the tax levy.
She won't be president, but she'll vote for another tax and spender.
Jeff Traylor
At a recent meeting caught on video, Traylor scoffed at the notion of fiscal responsibility, meaning he would be a good pick for president on this Jesse James Gang.
His odds are 3-1.
Debbie Larson
Current school board president.
Says "it's for the children" with just enough frequency.
Likes big fat tax increases.
2-1 she nails it.
We move on to the Franklin Common Council and Council President:
Steve Olson
Let's see.
The one fiscal conservative on a council filled with taxers and spenders.
A snowball in Hades.
Doug Schmidt
Council President?
I thought we were going to talk about bowling.
Tim Solomon
The guy attended a Dale Carnegie course...and flunked!
Council President? NOT GONNA HAPPEN!
Kristen Wilhelm
The only woman on the council.
Therefore, she thinks the others think that she whines and moans and complains and talks too much and asks too many unnecessary questions.
Ken Skowronski
He'd LOVE to be council president and work closely with Mayor Taylor who would tell him everything to do.
Skowronski's vote can easily be up for grabs.
3-1 if he doesn't waver, but he probably will.
Steve Taylor
The current president.
Wants to be mayor in the worst way. But since he can't, he's desperate to hang on to the presidency.
So he trolls for votes, offering anything, anything if you'll just vote for him.
In the end, even they don't like
And this goes on in
ETHEL: Henry! Henry!
HENRY: What now, Ethel?
ETHEL: Henry, I'm worried about our property taxes!
HENRY: Oh yeh?
ETHEL: One of the guys that voted for the last increase just got re-elected.
HENRY: So?
ETHEL: He's the guy that said if you don't like our taxes, we should move the hell out!
HENRY: Anything else, Ethel? I'm tryin' to watch TV here…
ETHEL: Yeh. The same guy wants to be COMMON COUNCIL PRESIDENT!
HENRY: That's nice. The Brewer game starts in five minutes. Can ya get me a beer?
Dear Patriotic American,
Many troops severely wounded in
Since I'm aware of your support for patriotic causes, I thought you might want to help.
Please make a tax-deductible donation right now to the Emergency Easter Relief Project, sponsored by the Coalition to Salute
This special project was formed to rescue disabled servicemen and women unable to feed their family or facing an eviction, utility cutoff or other financial disaster.
My name is Major General John K. Singlaub, U.S. Army (Ret.). I served our nation during three wars. And today I'm working with the Coalition to Salute
Our emergency Easter project is urgent, because requests for emergency financial aid jumped 21 percent during the first three months of this year compared to the same period last year. So for every five severely burned, blinded or paralyzed servicemen or women we were helping last year, we are now trying to help six. And I don't have the heart to turn even one wounded hero away.
Here's why so many are in dire straits.
Right now our seriously injured troops are waiting an average of six months to receive their first government disability check after being released from the hospital and separated from the service. As a result many are unable to pay everyday bills and take care of their families.
I don't want our severely wounded troops to have to choose between paying the light bill and feeding their children this Easter. And I know you don't either.
In addition, the spouses of many severely wounded troops – such as those who have been burned, blinded or paralyzed – have quit their jobs to care for them. So now these families have fallen into a desperate situation and have nowhere else to turn.
Tax-deductible Easter gifts from generous and patriotic Americans like you will be helping people like Army Sgt. Joseph Perez (Ret.) of Falcon,
This wounded hero says, "Without the help of the Coalition, my family and I would be homeless."
And people like Sidney Hodges, who has two small children and suffered brain damage in
By the way, the Coalition has set a goal of rushing emergency financial aid to wounded heroes like these within 10 days of receiving their urgent call. Frankly we took a "leap of faith" when we made that commitment. Because right now we don't know how many emergency requests we will receive between now and Easter.
I also have faith in YOU to make a generous, tax-deductible Easter donation to the Coalition to Salute
I don't want any more military families to have to face the pain, humiliation and fear of homelessness or an eviction, and I know you don't either.
The Easter Season is the perfect time to thank many of these disabled heroes for the painful sacrifices they've made. After all, these brave men and women will never be able to see, or hear, or use their arms or legs again after being hit by a roadside bomb.
You and I can't heal their physical injuries or make them whole again. But by pitching in to help rescue them from a financial crisis Coalition friends like you can lift a heavy burden from their shoulders for awhile.
I'd like to show you what a difference your kindness can make. Kristi P. is a young servicewoman who suffered a devastating injury in
You can make another young serviceman or woman feel like God is smiling upon them this Easter.
So please make a generous, tax-deductible donation to the Coalition's Emergency Easter Relief Project.
Thank you for what you have already done to help
Major General John K. Singlaub
U.S. Army (Ret)
P.S. As I mentioned, many troops severely wounded in Afghanistan or Iraq are facing financial disasters this Easter, including utility cutoffs, car repossessions, and even evictions. Don't forget that many of these seriously injured troops have been waiting an average of six months or more for their first government disabilitycheck, and they are becoming more and more desperate.
Across the pond, people punt along the river Cam in front of
Nice shot.
WI Congressman Paul Ryan takes Bob Schieffer of CBS news to school (nicely).
Schieffer needs to retire.
Of all places, the Capital Times reports:
State on pace to hit Walker jobs target
Earth to the Pulitzer Prize winning MJS: The above is NEWS!
Oh, they had fingers and toes crossed, wishin' and a hopin' there would be scandal and fraud found permeating out of Kathy Nickolaus' office over the vote count in the Supreme Court race.
Just check out the headlines over the past week:
State investigating vote irregularities in
Waukesha County clerk served GOP caucus while Prosser oversaw it
Democrat on Waukesha County vote panel speaks out
Kitzinger 'shocked' in retrospect not to have been told of major error
State elections officials headed to
And then comes the balloon deflator.
The soufflé goes flat.
State elections watchdog satisfied with Waukesha County's final
Yet another stunning defeat for the hateful left and the union goons.
Not so well.
Investigative journalist Richard Moore offers keen analysis.
It's old news by now. You've probably heard that a single bullet was found in the hallway at
My God, you would have thought Columbine had exploded in our community.
Apparently some parents and one, as usual, naïve, foolish
With no respect intended, Franklin, get a grip. We're not the Milwaukee Public Schools where a bullet found in the hallway is reason for a late afternoon pep rally.
The lone bullet was discovered just before the noon hour. I liken this to a phoned-in bomb scare. Personally, I would have kept every kid in school. Instead,
My criticism is mild. I would have done all the searches while John and Sue were learning basic English so they'd have a possible chance at getting future employment against their Asian counterparts.
For the most part, school officials performed admirably, other than the mass evacuation. Their job, other than the basics of education is to make sure the education is presented in a safe environment. They got kids out, sent them home, and told parents what was going on. So what if some blogger didn't hear about it first. Who gives a damn about him or his Facebook page.
With hindsight being 20/20,
Reason to get undies in a bundle: NONE.
Congrats to Franklin Police and Franklin school officials.
Parents who wanted every reason to hide under a mattress: Shame on you. Way to jump to every conclusion imaginable before you know what the hell is going on.
Which brings me to a compelling perspective that could only be offered by a reader of my blog as opposed to the pointless fire drill offered elsewhere on the
"FHS administration required all students to leave purses, backpacks, books, jackets, etc. at the school last night.
Anonymous rumor generated tip… the media reported 'no guns or ammo were found' but nobody mentioned that other contraband and illegal items were found… drugs, steroids, etc.
Can now hold our school system hostage.
MacIver News Service | April 19, 2011
"We owe Justice Prosser our gratitude for his more than 30 years of public service. Wisconsin voters have spoken and I am grateful for, and humbled by, their confidence and trust. I will be independent and impartial and I will decide cases based on the facts and the law. As I have traveled the State, people tell me they believe partisan politics do not belong in our Courts. I look forward to bringing new blood to the Supreme Court and focusing my energy on the important work
Joanne Kloppenburg, April 6, 2011. She was ahead 204 votes at the time she declared victory.
This afternoon, not so gracious loser Kloppenburg asked for a statewide recount that will be conducted at the expense of taxpayers. After all votes have been canvassed, she trails David Prosser in the Supreme Court election by 7,316 votes.
In the world of Kloppenburg, 200 votes are enough to say you've won, but 7,316 votes is too razor-thin a margin. It demands a recount.
In the world of liberal Democrats, there is no shame whatsoever about spending other people's money.
Barring the most incredible voting fraud of all-time, Kloppenburg doesn't stand a chance.
MORE... What a moonbat. And could we change outfits once in awhile?
UPDATE: Even MJS editorializes against recount.
If you missed my installment of Week-ends this past Saturday, it included a
Breanna Gering of
The 24-year old woman personifies evil.
Gering knowingly murdered her newborn daughter.
This story has so many things wrong with it I lose count.
Let's start with a news release from the Racine Police department dated September 3, 2010:
Earth Day (YAWN) is Friday.
At UW-Milwaukee, two campus environmental groups are hosting what has been billed as a bike-powered battle of the bands tonight in the Union Ballroom. Four bands will compete for a $200 cash prize.
Sorry, Panthers.
You've got nothing on some other campuses. For example according to US News & World Report:
While one school goes meatless for Earth Day,
Of course it does.
The most sacred time of the year is also open hunting season on Christians.
From Bob Dohnal, editor of the Conservative Digest
The time for rallies has passed. It is time to get to work and produce.
We have a very courageous Governor, in Scott Walker, and the Fitzgerald boys are doing a fantastic, job along with the rest of the legislators.
Time to get to work and help them. That is why, we, along with Reality News, CRG Network, the Grandsons of Liberty, Bob Spindell, Brad Courtney, and Pax Americana are putting on this forum on the budget. We want to inform everyone on what is in that budget, how it will straighten out the messes of the last decade, and put Wisconsin back on the road to prosperity and Jobs.
This is for activists and us policy wonks. We can carry the message out to the public via mails, letters, blogs, phone calls, meetings, and papers like the Conservative Digest and Reality News.
We have a distinct choice as put forth by the liberals. Raise taxes they say. Our budget deficit is 3.6 billion or about $700 per person or $2500 per taxpayer. Who could afford that? A 10% sales tax increase?
No, we can easily cinch up our socks, pop a few pounds off our bellies and make the cuts. Then put the state on a fiscal footing.
The Liberals had 8 years to do this. They just made it worse every year, with more welfare plans and losing thousands of jobs.
You are invited to this Forum and Prayer Breakfast. The cost, courtesy of the Wisconsin Grandsons of Liberty, is only $5. The Forum is free.
Conservative Budget Educational Forum
April 30, 2011
Bluemound Gardens Restaurant
117th and W. Bluemound Rd.
Wauwatosa, Wi. 53226
Prayer Breakfast 0730
Program 0815
Things may be quiet here in D.C. with Congress on recess until May, but they're certainly not in home towns across
With a number of large battles ahead, including the debt ceiling and the EPA, there couldn't be a better time for Congress to plug into their local communities and hear how these issues are impacting American families.
I hope you'll take the time to attend one of these Townhall meetings, whether it's your first time participating or you're a regular, it's your chance to influence the legislation that comes out of
Take a camera with you. We'd love to see a snapshot of your visit or hear what's being said in your home district (and it how it varies to what's said in DC – when they don't think you're watching).
Submit your comments or photos here.
We know that our job is to fight for you in
Bill Miller
Paul Ryan's updated town hall schedule as of today.
And the not-so conservative web site Slate writes:
The liberal site, the Huffington Post, of all places, posted this blog two years ago:
The Best Earth Day Jokes of the Decade.
And for something more serious...
Or should I say, master distiller?