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This Just In ...
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.
You don't pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger
But apparently you do with Iron Man.
With this type of backdrop, there's no way the sequel can match up to last year's blockbuster.
Goodnight everyone, and have a wonderful weekend
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, a Latin flavor in advance of next week's Cinco de Mayo. In keeping with the mellow, cocktail-lounge nature of this weekly feature, no Tijuana Taxi (No offense, Herb). I think you'll find the exotic twist on these musical selections to be quite nice. So get out the chips and salsa. And you might want to move the furniture around a la Rob and Laura Petrie and cut a rug.
Let's start out big and brassy, but still smooth, with the Jerry Costanzo/ Mike Carubia Big Band.
The Barking Lot (5/2/09)
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: Sunny with some clouds. High of 64. "B"
SUNDAY: Sunny with cloudy intervals. High of 58. "C"
*JENNIFER IS ON MATERNITY LEAVE AND WILL RETURN TO THE Barking
Do you like dog food?
Have you ever tried dog food?
What is this??!!
Fischer, have you gone nutso again??
Is this some kinda joke??!!
Mabel! MABEL!! Get in here!! You gotta see this!!
It's that Fischer loony!!
You know what he's up to now? He's tellin' people they should actually eat dog food!! No, I'm not pullin' your leg, Mabel, it's right here!!
Yes, Mabel's right. I'm merely asking, rather nicely I might add, and this is not a joke, if you have ever eaten dog food. And if you did, would you even know it? And what does it taste like? Is it really nasty??
Now, please don't laugh. A rather sophisticated study says you wouldn't know the difference between Alpo and the freshest liverwurst from Usinger's.
And I do mean sophisticated. The study was done, by of all people, the American Association of Wine Economists (Why they're messin' around with dog food, I have no idea).
They found 18 willing participants to take part in a blind taste test. The volunteers were given five samples: duck liver mousse, pork liver pate, pureed liverwurst, Spam, and Newman's Own dog food. They knew that one of the five samples was, indeed, dog food.
All of the samples were processed, if you will, so they'd have the same consistency.
Why these people "volunteered" is beyond me. How the American Association of Wine Economists got them to volunteer is also a mystery.
I would like to think that my palate could distinguish the difference between pork liver pate and Mighty Dog. The "volunteers" could not.
According to the study results released Friday, only three of the 18 blinded taste testers could pick out the dog food. Eight participants believed the pureed liverwurst was the dog food, and four thought the Spam was the culprit. Two people identified the pork liver pate as dog food, and one identified the duck liver mousse as dog food.
"We have this idea in our head that dog food won't taste good and that we would be able to identify it, but it turns out that is not the case," said Robin Goldstein, a co-author of the study.
Again, what's the point? If anything, this is an indictment of the producers of pate. My goodness, if no one can tell the difference between duck liver mousse and Alpo, no wonder those highbrows at the American Association of Wine Economists have their pinkie out of joint.
Or could it be that dog food isn't all that bad after all?
Here's more from CBS News.
It's time now for DOGS IN THE NEWS, canines that made headlines the past week.
"Puppy Mills: Exposed".....a TV review.
Sick dogs can cause family relationship problems.
Bryan Townsend's unemployment is great news for some young patients.
Today, Andre will run in the Furry Scurry. Yes, there's plenty more to Andre's story.
Victoria Stilwell of "It's Me or the Dog" is coming to town.
Step right up, folks and cast your eyes on the world's first glow-in-the-dark dog.
Some hotels say they are pet-friendly, but only to a certain extent. This will explain more.
Those Obama girls.....are they not pulling their weight when it comes to the new dog? So who's really minding Bo?
And finally, it's the flying chihuahua!
That's it for this week. Thanks for stopping by.
We always try to close with an appropriate video, and whenever possible, some real class. This week, we feature two of the world's greatest pianists performing together. Back by popular demand, here's Rowlf and his very special guest, the legendary Victor Borge!
Week-ends (5/2/09)
James Buchen, vice president of government relations for Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, on a bill aprpoved by the Legislature that updates Wisconsin's Fair Employment law by directing circuit courts to order people or companies to pay compensatory and punitive damages if found guilty of discriminating against employees. "We must do everything we can to prevent error. Errors cost us the lives of our children."
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...
Purple Heart recipients at Walter Reed
17-year old girl from Quartz Hill, California
State Senator Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee)
Tony Bennett
Andy Mackie
Once again, Carrie Prejean
The swine flu
VP Joe Biden
The Delaware Department of Transportation
Porscha Bowman
Scott Hanson
Joy Taylor and Phil Carden
"After six years in office Governor Jim Doyle says he's not responsible for our current problems. I disagree. (The culture in Madison) repeatedly puts the interest of government before the interests of those they are meant to serve."
Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, announcing his bid for governor.
"It's a tough time for us, too, so why should we have to help out Madison with another tax?"
Rod Fisher, president of the Marathon County Tavern League and owner of The Relocation Pub and Eatery in Kronenwetter, reacting to a proposal to increase the state's beer tax. He estimates that business has been down between 12 percent and 15 percent in the receding economy.
"People that engage in employment discrimination deserve what they get. But in the system now, two-thirds of the claims are dismissed. It's fraught with unfounded claims, and the concern is that trial, bar and personal injury lawyers may see this as a good way to make money."
State Senator Spencer Coggs (D-Milwaukee) arguing on the floor of the state Senate for his bill to require alarms on day care vans to alert drivers about chidlren in the back seat.
Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan (R-Janesville)
"I would tell members of my family — and I have — I wouldn't go anywhere in confined places now. It's not that it's going to
VP Joe Biden on NBC's "Today Show," about the swine flu.
"The advice he is giving family members is the same advice the administration is giving to all Americans: That they should avoid unnecessary air travel to and from
Biden spokeswoman Elizabeth Alexander, doing damage control following Biden's remarks on The Today Show.
"If he could say that over again, he would say if they're feeling sick they should stay off of public transit or confined spaces because that is indeed the advice that we're giving."
Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano, attempting to bail out Biden.
"If anybody was unduly alarmed for whatever reason, we would apologize for that."
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, on Biden's comments.
"Leave me, if you must, but be faithful to me if you are with me. I cried and screamed, I went to the bathroom and threw up."
Elizabeth Edwards writing about her husband, John's infidelity in her new book, "Resilience."
White House blunder
State report card shows need to nurture business
Swine flu, perhaps?
He wanted to go to jail with his brother...
Naked frisbee at the University of Oregon
I cheated on my wife.........while sleepwalking
Masked wrestlers and the Virgin Mary
REMEMBER: Your suggestions/nominations for any of these categories every week are welcome, especially for HEROES OF THE WEEK. If you know of anyone in the community deserving of recognition, please e-mail me.
James Buchen, vice president of government relations for Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, on a bill aprpoved by the Legislature that updates Wisconsin's Fair Employment law by directing circuit courts to order people or companies to pay compensatory and punitive damages if found guilty of discriminating against employees.
"We must do everything we can to prevent error. Errors cost us the lives of our children."
No mandate for a sales tax increase
Democrats who run the Legislature's powerful Joint Finance Committee voted after 2:00 in the morning the other day to give an unelected board without accountability the power to increase your sales taxes.
Following a narrow victory in last November's Milwaukee County sales tax referendum, liberal members of the Milwaukee County Board aren't just lobbying Democrats in the Legislature to vote for the hike. They're DEMANDING it. When they're not flat out dictating, the supervisors are pleading, using every Armageddon scenario in their playbook they can.
The Legislature and the governor must approve the sales tax supported by Milwaukee County voters last November. Governor Doyle is the easy sell. He will tax anything that's not nailed down. He will tax anything that is nailed down. The Legislature, even though controlled by Democrats, might not be quite such a done deal.
I've been at a few meetings where the county folks sit on side of the room and the Milwaukee legislative delegation sits on the other. You hear all kinds of scary words from the county supervisors describing the oultook for parks and transit if the sales tax isn't enacted, words like deteriorate, crumble, disappear, decimated. devastated.
When state Representative Josh Zepnick (D-MIlwaukee) attempts to explain to the Lee Holoway's and Jon Weishan's of the world that this isn't the Milwaukee County Corthouse, that it's an entirely different dynamic, he gets ridiculed.
Are all Democrats in the Legislature gung ho about sales tax increases? There was a glimmer of hope this week for the vast majority of Wisconsinites who believe we're Taxed Enough Already. State Senator Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee) said he could not support the sales tax increase approved by voters last November. Even State Senator John Lehman (D-Racine) joined the Republicans on the Joint Finance Committee during that post-2:00 a.m. vote to oppose the Milwaukee County sales tax increase.
I'm not surprised that Milwaukee County supervisors are acting as though the Apocalypse is on the horizon. They fail to understand that while the sales tax referendum did pass last November, there is no mandate, not even close. And in the tax hell that is Wisconsin, with the governor's proposed budget increasing taxes and fees by $1,707,734,400, Democrats will have to go home and try to explain why, in this economy with pink slips flying and jobs leaving, they supported taking more money out of taxpayers' wallets.
The sales tax referendum was approved but not by much last November:
That's hardly a resounding cry for a tax increase.
The sales tax referendum was rejected in every single ward in the following communities:
Voters in Wauwatosa and West Allis also rejected the sales tax increase.
The sales tax referendum was approved in the city of Milwaukee by 36, 262 votes, in Shorewood by 990 votes, and in West Milwaukee by 38 votes.
I repeat. There is no mandate to increase the Milwaukee County sales tax by 1%.
And seriously think about what that means. The Milwaukee County sales tax would be TRIPLED, that's right, TRIPLED, from 0.5% to 1.5%. The county's sales tax, remember is tacked on to the state's 5% sales tax and the 0.1% Miller Park tax.
Finally, don't believe any of this mullarkey that the world will end and our transit and parks systems will go to hell in handbasket if we don't jack up the sales tax. That argument has been around for decades. It's simply not true. Don't fall for the scare tactics being employed by the big tax and spenders.
Kevin Fischer & Eugene Kane: Simpatico?
It's true. In a rare moment of being on the same page, we both take issue with approved legislation to require day care vans to be equipped with alarms so that the, as state Senator Mike Ellis called, moronic drivers don't forget there are children in the back seat.
Kane wrote this week:
"A better bill, in my estimation, would be one that required all child-care centers and schools to demand more stringent background checks, even psychological tests, on prospective drivers to ensure they truly understand the importance of their duties. Another good bill could require anyone who drives a child-care van to agree that if they ever left a child behind, they can't work in that field anymore. No need to stop there. Why not a bill requiring alarms in homes where some irresponsible parents under the influence of alcohol sleep with young children?"
I concur,
Recommended reading (5/2/09)
"Three months have made zero difference in the major media's ardor. They were head over heels in love on January 20, and they're still head over heels in love on April 29."
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).
World panics over new media-borne virus
"The border between
Why bother?
"It's awfully hard to get into the head of a liberal. Instead of logic and reason, they are drawn to emotions and feelings. That's not to say we conservatives don't emote or feel. It's just that we like to apply a healthy application of common sense to things. If there's a swarm of bees outside an open window, it might be a good idea to close the window, even if a few bees have already flown into the house."
My apology to Perez Hilton
"Good afternoon, Perez. I'm sorry I haven't yet taken the time to write you in response to your little flap with Miss
Refuse to be bullied
"Gay marriage is not an inevitability in our nation. It can still be halted and turned around. The institution of marriage can be protected, but we need the collective voice. Let me remind you that marriage is worth fighting for. Those of us in the biblical marriage movement are not fighting because we dislike gays. We are fighting for marriage because we realize that whoever's values shape this law will shape the practices of the next few generations."
Obama, your slips are showing!
"At the rate that Obama and the liberals are going, when it comes to piling up the national debt, nationalizing banks and major companies, scuttling our missile defense system, reaching out to Islamic and Communist tyrants, funding ACORN, AmeriCorps and Hamas, discussing nuclear disarmament with Russia at the same time that Iran, Pakistan and North Korea are gearing up, talking tough to Israel while currying favor with the Arabs and the Islamists, I have no idea what will be left to salvage a year-and-a-half down the road."
Ten ways Barack Obama is destroying America
"I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that Barack Obama is damaging
A hundred days of love
"The real mistake is that Republicans became more concerned with staying in D.C. than reforming it."
Notre Dame's greatest comeback
"Countless American Catholic boys have, on some fall Saturday in their young lives, been thrilled to witness—in person, on radio or on TV—a Notre Dame comeback on the football field. Now, a rising generation of American Catholics may witness a Notre Dame comeback of a higher order."
Pro football's college tuition bill
"Until someone comes along to establish a union for college athletes as Marvin Miller did for baseball players, there isn't much that can be done for the exploited players, but there is a solution for reimbursing the colleges that could benefit almost everybody."
"Three months have made zero difference in the major media's ardor. They were head over heels in love on January 20, and they're still head over heels in love on April 29."
After the smoking ban, what next?
A proposed smoking ban in public places in
Leaders would like floor action in both houses by May 13 because after that date, all attention will be on the state budget and the state budget only. So, not only could the smoking ban see action, but any other foolish, tired, old liberal idea that's been sitting on the shelf gathering dust for ages.
I wonder. Could a ban on breastfeeding while talking on a cell phone while parked in a fast food restaurant drive-thru lane be in the works?
Let's see. What have the Democrats who control the Legislature treated us with so far?
There's that big increase in the minimum wage, with future increases tied to the rate of inflation. When your 16-year old is turned away from working at McDonald's, Burger King, Arby's, and KFC, that's the reason why.
This is a good one. In this litigious society, we've made it super super easy to sue an employer for just about anything. That's great for business. At the very least, the Democrats have made employment oh so secure for those trial lawyers that contribute so nicely.
We will tax and tax and tax, and when we're done taxing, we will tax and tax and tax some more.
The same is true for fees. But aren't fees just taxes? Well, sure. Since when has that bothered the Democrats?
Hey, breastfeeding moms, you want to pull those suckers out anywhere you want? Go right ahead!
You day care van drivers whose job it is to transport small children. We Democrats know how incredibly arduous a task it is for you to understand this concept: Open back seat door, place baby in back seat. I have a baby in back seat. When I get to where 'm going, must remember I have a baby in back seat. I open back seat door and take baby out.
My goodness gracious, no one, I mean no one should be required to work under such intense pressure. We'll make those nasty manufacturers of day care vans put alarms in so that you drivers can just go about doing whatever the hell it is you do while you're on the job, like planning what place you're going to stop at to buy your lottery tickets.
Van care drivers, the blood of those innocent dead babies, that's not your fault! How were you supposed to remember there was a baby in the back seat after, oh, say two or three minutes?
And don't forget the smoking ban.
For many, the prospect of banning smoking in PRIVATELY-OWNED bars and PRIVATELY-OWNED restaurants, no doubt, has them in absolute glee.
I wonder how many of these anti-smoking zealots will be ready to offer assistance to business owners and their employees when establishments get boarded up.
I don't smoke. Don't particularly like smoking at a restaurant. But until we make tobacco illegal, smoking remains legal. That might be difficult for some to understand, but that's a fact.
When the government tells a private business owner that people can't smoke on what amounts to that business owner's private property, we've got some serious problems going on.
Hey, I don't want to smell that smoke when I'm out with my wife trying to eat!
Hey, I wish Casa di Giorgio would have osso bucco on the menu more often, but they don't.
Guess what? I don't have to go there if I don't like the place!
There's more to this nutty liberal idea, and yes, trampling on individual and personal property rights and infringing on business is liberal thinking.
Liberals are consistently relentless and they work incrementally. They keep coming and coming and coming and coming with the same old policies that lack any sort of vision (i.e., the minimum wage) and they keep tossing them around until action is taken.
Work incrementally? You bet! Today, they ban smoking in bars and restaurants. Do they take their ball and go home happily? Not on your life.
What will their next target be? Will it be the kind of food and drink bars and restaurants can serve? Don't want to be too unhealthy now, would we?
What about smoking in cars? In cars that have young children? In cars with pregnant women? In cars, period?
What about smoking in private workplaces? In private residences?
Do you honestly think this slope couldn't get more slippery?
These outlandish ideas are all within the realm of possibility.
There's a lot at stake here, folks, and it's not just a cigarette going out.
Those, poor, poor TSA workers
When you think of great customer service, does the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) quickly come to mind? Not in a million years, you say?
There are four certainties in life:
1) Death
2) Taxes
3) You will get a lawn care brochure in your mailbox within the next 3-5 days.
4) No TSA employee has ever taken/passed a Dale Carnegie course.
I swear these people are sworn to never, ever be courteous. They remind me of that episode of M*A*S*H* where Colonel Flagg brags he was trained not to laugh so well that he could watch hours of the Three Stooges and never so much as chuckle.
TSA workers are not happy unless they are unhappy, and yes, a good number do walk on their knuckles.
Why the TSA tirade? You just have a bad airport affair, Kevie?
Nope, not at all. I just happened to read a ridiculous suck-up article to the TSA from a supposed airline/airport authority.
The author tries to debunk what he considers myths about those poor, misunderstood, thoughtful, kind, sweet, adorable TSA workers. Here's one of them:
"The TSA doesn't do standard profiling because it is 'politically incorrect.' Reality: Again, according to the TSA, they don't profile because it is not effective. 'It is bad for security,' (The TSA's Greg) Soule said. 'We know that terrorist groups recruit from various age groups and people with a wide range of physical appearances. They recruit people who don't fit stereotypical terrorist profiles'."
That's quite revealing. The TSA doesn't profile. Isn't that sweet of them. I know I will feel so much safer on my next flight.
Because everybody knows it's those 85-year old octogenarians in wheelchairs and walkers that are doing all the hijacking. The 4-year old blue-eyed blonde-haired kids? Now they're the absolute most dangerous.
I guess we should just dismiss all those investigative reports, including those done with hidden cameras where weapon-toting journalists managed to sneak arsenals past those high-IQ TSA desperadoes.
To the author of this report: Who you tryin' to kid? And whose payroll are you really on?
Go, Scott, go!
Scott Walker wows them at the state GOP Convention in La Crosse.
If my wife, Jennifer was still blogging...
I know she'd want to blog about the following.
Even though it has nothing to do with her Saturday morning dog blog, The Barking Lot.
She would want to blog about this.
But she's not blogging.
And when she does blog, it's about dogs.
She doesn't blog about baby items, like this.
So even though she's a proud new mama, she can't blog about this, even though she's dying to.
And I know that if she was blogging, she'd find a way to slip this in, too.
Sorry, dear. You're on blogging maternity leave.
My most popular blogs (5/03/09)
As I post every Sunday, here are the top five most popular of my blog entries from the previous week:
1) Photos of the Week (4//26/09) Because of the changeover to the new system for NOW bloggers, a few photos did not make the transfer.
2) Culinary no-no #109
3) Changes in the school calendar
4) Two must read opinion pieces in today's MJS
5) Recommended reading (4/25/09)
The MJS Scorecard (5/03/09)
It should also be noted that this exercise is a categorization. Most, if not all of these articles submitted to, or solicited by the Crossroads staff are well-written, thoughtful, and provocative. I enjoy reading them as I have every Sunday for as long as I can remember. This weekly compilation is an ideological scorecard, not a writing critique.
Frederick Kessler: School choice ought to be funded entirely by state money
Funding problems at MPS.....they're all because of that darned school choice.
Alberta Darling: Keep jobs foremost in mind
David Dodenhoff: Doyle eases W-2 burden - for state, not clients
Dave Dempsey: We must not treat water as a privately owned commodity
Dempsey sees some flaws in the Great Lakes Compact that need fixing. Hmmmm....
Seems to me someone I know very well suggested the Compact needed improvement.
Richard Cortez: A safe, booming American city
Tom Still: Janesville taking comeback classes
John Gurda: A respite from Carland
TODAY: Liberal-1, Conservative-2
YEAR TO DATE: Liberal-36, Conservative-34
Photos of the Week (5/3/09)
Photos of the Week (5/3/09)
City of Milwaukee commissioner of health Bevan K. Baker speaks to the media inside of the Zeidler Building located at 841 N. Broadway Wednesday. Along side Baker is Mayor Tom Barrett (left) and Dr. Seth Foldy, state Public Health Administrator. Officials announced that at the time, at least two probable cases of swine flu had been identified in Milwaukee with a third case in Adams County in central Wisconsin. Journal Sentinel photo: Tom Lynn
Journal Sentinel photo: Tom Lynn
Eric Lomas finds the doors at Riverside High School were locked after officials closed the school because of a suspected swine flu case Wedneday. Lomas was hoping to attend a class on making sushi. Journal Sentinel photo: Benny Sieu
In this photo taken Thursday April 30, 2009, a relative mourn next to the coffin containing the body of Juana Toribio, 39, who died last April 28 in Mexico City's Institute of Respiratory Illnesses, at her home town in Santa Maria Matamoros, Oaxaca state, Mexico. According to her death certificate she died from atypical pneumonia but Mexican health authorities told the Associated Press they believe she died of complications from the swine flu virus.(AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini)
The Castrated States of America
Yes, it's time for another gem from irreverent, but brilliant columnist Doug Giles. This week, Giles writes about our Wuss-in-Chief:
"From a foreign policy/national defense standpoint, Barack is making Jimmy Carter look like a full-on badass. The President is dead set on taking off our rowdy body armor and replacing it with a petite glittered bustier......You just know Osama and his boys are in some Pakistani cave smoking a hookah piled high with blonde Lebanese hash as they praise Allah and laugh their butts off at how stupid and soft we've become in just a few months..."
As always, great stuff.
Men in high heels no laughing matter
The Walk a Mile in Her Shoes campaign came to Milwaukee today. No doubt you'll see the video on local TV newscasts.
The cause, without a doubt, is highly commendable: to heighten awareness about violence against women.
I have some other thoughts about this spectacle that I posted last fall.
Hope everyone caught what Scott Walker said this weekend, especially you, Franklin
Milwaukee County Executive, now-gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker made an outstanding observation this weekend at the state Republican Party convention in
"He (Walker) criticized Doyle for calling for the early release of well-behaved prisoners and said the governor has been more interested in setting up same-sex couple registries than the state's sex-offender registry."
Very, very true.
In March, state Senator Mary Lazich documented how Governor Doyle's proposed state budget puts children at risk.
All state residents should be extremely concerned about Governor Doyle's mixed up priorities when it comes to registries and child safety. However, the issue should hit home especially hard in
If you need reminding of the historical background, please read this recap.
Culinary no-no #110
In order to get into the proper mood for Culinary no-no #110, play along ladies and gentleman, and boys and girls if your parents are so crummy as to allow you to read unsupervised such adult material, and click the following video.
Go ahead.
Don't be a fuddy duddy.
Does Franklin need tornado sirens?
I thank Franklin Alderman Kristin Wilhelm for her latest e-mail update. In it, she writes:
"Tornado Sirens – Recent press coverage about our lack of sirens has raised concerns so I asked Fire Chief Jim Martins opinion. He agreed that surrounding municipal sirens could be heard within
It's hard to imagine anyone not having access to information about severe weather, but I repeat. A small personal investment is better than spending hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Alderman Wilhelm also writes:
Gee, imagine that.
What the smoking ban means
There's an old saying in politics: "The devil is in the details."
Here's a closer look at the statewide smoking ban that will get a hasty public hearing Tuesday before the state Senate's Health Committee.
How is smoking defined? Under the bill, "smoking" means carrying a lighted burning or holding,
or inhaling or exhaling smoke from, any of the following items containing tobacco:
1. A lighted cigar.
2. A lighted cigarette.
3. A lighted pipe.
4. Any other lighted smoking equipment.
No person may smoke in any of the following enclosed places:
The state capitol.
Residence halls or dormitories owned or operated by a college or university.
Day care centers.
Correctional facilities.
State institutions.
Private clubs.
Common areas of multiple−unit residential properties.
All enclosed places that are places of employment or that are public places.
Any enclosed, indoor area of a state, county, city, village, or town building.
No person may smoke in any of the following:
1. A sports arena.
2. A bus shelter.
3. A public conveyance.
The bill defines "a place of employment" to be any indoor place that employees normally frequent during the course of employment, such as an office, a work area, an employee lounge, a restroom, a conference room, a meeting room, a classroom, or a hallway. The bill also defines a "public place" to be a place that is open to the public, regardless of whether a fee is charged or a place to which the public has lawful access or may be invited. In addition, the bill defines an "enclosed place" for purposes of determining at what locations smoking is prohibited. An enclosed place must have a roof and at least two walls.
No person in charge may allow any person to smoke in violation at a location that is under the
A brilliant question about our abortion president
It comes from nationally syndicated radio host Allen Hunt, who poses the following about our baby-killing president:
"How does one vote for and endorse the killing of unborn children, even via partial birth abortion or via the ending of a life that arrives even after an abortion has tried to end it, and then articulate a 'moral' mandate not to torture our enemies because of the dignity of the human individual?"
A morally bankrupt individual could certainly have such a warped mindset.
Read Allen Hunt's column.
World Press Photos of the Year 2008
Every Sunday, I post my Photos of the Week.
The 2008 World Press Photo Awards were handed out in Amsterdam over the weekend.
This picture by US photographer Anthony Suau, for Time won the World Press Photo of the Year 2008 award, it was announced by the organisers on 13 February 2009 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. US Economy in Crisis: Following eviction, Detective Robert Kole must ensure residents have moved out of their home in Cleveland, Ohio, 26 March 2008.
Read more about the man in the award-winning photo.
Here are all the winning photos.
Can you buy a Craftsman goat at Sears?
Seems to me that late last summer, state Senator Mary Lazich blogged about how the government is going to control your lawnmower.
Let's hit the blog rewind button to see if I'm right.
Sure enough, there it is, goats being used in
Don't laugh. You know how all trends start in
This will hit Wisconsin. It's only a matter of time.
From Munich, Germany, July, 1997....
*BREAKING NEWS: Mark Belling jaywalks*
I'm always amazed and amused when folks who've never spent one minute behind a live microphone pretend to know something about the radio business or conducting a radio program. The blogosphere is loaded with these so-called "experts."
Many are in a tizzy over one of their favorite targets and what he wrote rather than what he said. Their moonbat noses are bent out of shape over Mark Belling's Kentucky Derby predictions.
Yes, Belling was incorrect about his
The detractors wouldn't know the quality of good radio from an electric razor. A favorite of mine is how they always refer to talk radio hosts that don't share the planet Mars with them as "entertainers." As if that's a bad thing. Because heaven knows, when I get in my car and turn on Sirius Satellite Radio, I do my best to find a boring channel.
Conservative talk shows are far more popular than those hosted by lefties. Why? Listen to Wisconsin Public Radio or any liberal talk show host and it's painfully obvious. They're awful. Once they run out of emotional crying towels, it's difficult for them to make salient observations or arguments, and they can't help but become amateurish to say the least.
An entire hour on the effect of zebra mussels? ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.
Isn't what Michelle is wearing these days simply divine? ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.
Republicans, bad. Republicans, evil. Republicans, nasty. Yeh, yeh, yeh.
You have to be interesting, a simple, logical point that escapes a lefty with access to AM radio.
By now, many of you have heard that Belling wrote on his website that if a certain horse won the Derby, he'd give up betting on races and vote for Jim Doyle. And guess what happened?
I'm not making excuses for Belling, but in the process of making a sports prognostication, he got cute. Some would argue too cute. I believe yours truly once said on television that if the Bucks made the playoffs this season that I'd walk down
It's not like Belling said he'd leave the country if George Bush lost to John Kerry. Who'd be stupid enough to say something like that?
So now bloggers and some others who a) don't know beans about radio and b) love to hate certain hosts have their undies in a bundle.
Get a grip, moonbats!
There have been many blogs written about this entire episode. This might be the best. It certainly is the most comprehensive.
Please tell me what can I do to make a difference?
There's a question I get asked quite often by citizens who are frustrated with the current political status and want to make the proverbial "difference." They're just not sure how.
What can I do? What can we do? What can anybody do?
The answer is far from simple, given that the donkey party runs everything. If their members want to jam something down our throats, no matter how unpalatable, they can and will do it.
That doesn't mean you toss in towel, become apathetic, and hide silently under the mattress. All is not totally lost.
Conservative columnist and blogger John Hawkins has a penchant for coming up with compelling lists, and he's done it again with, "
Twenty, ladies and gentlemen. Not 2, or 3, or 5, or 10……20. Certainly, if you care enough you find one, or hey, maybe even more to get you off the couch to spring into action.
1) Read the Constitution and read the Bible
2) Support and/or join organizations that are making a positive difference
3) Go to your local Tea Parties
4) Get involved with local politics
5) Join the Republican Party
And those are only the first five. To see the rest and Hawkins' comments on each, you know what to do.
Mom deserves it
Call a restaurant now before you're told they're all filled up.
The latest attack on Miss California: She was almost, almost nude!
The slimy left can't figure out a classy, intellectual way to deal with traditional marriage supporter, Carrie Prejean, Miss
The liberal headlines blare, "Is Miss
I am glad to hear that Ms. Prejean will keep fighting, no matter how much garbage they toss at her. She just doesn't fit the bizarro, flaky left, Hollywood template. Good for her.
Don't worry, Miss
And if you missed this column in my Saturday Recommended Reading round-up, it's worth your time:
My apology to Perez Hilton
"Good afternoon, Perez. I'm sorry I haven't yet taken the time to write you in response to your little flap with Miss
I'll admit the entire Brett Favre soap opera can be somewhat annoying, however...
You gotta admit.
2009 NFL season.
Packers vs. Vikings.
Not once, but twice.
Favre in purple and gold.
The theater would be quite dramatic.
You want to see it, admit it.
MORE The economy is so bad that...
I'll sell you my hair, and anything else on my body.
A blog that is guaranteed, I'm telling you it is guaranteed to drive women absolutely wild!
What do women like more than anything?
Other than their own presumptuous whims?
Would it be, could it be...... men?
How about men they invite into their homes each and every day?
Well, maybe not.
How about....
Nah, not good enough.
Hey, I know. This always works...
Something a bit bigger, you say....
No, no, no.
#1 on their hit parade that drives them out of their skulls has got to be…
The problem is….
Yes, I know…
You love it.,,,
It doesn't love you.
Enter David Edwards, Harvard professor, who soon just might be the most popular man in
Le Whif is an inhalable chocolate. You just sniff the stuff and you're in chocolate heaven, only without all that extra
Sound great?
Be honest.
Not the same.
Admit it.
You want the real thing, donthcha?
More from ABC.
Bathroom humor
Most people with computers get bombarded with inconsequential junk in their inbox: jokes, stories, cartoons, etc.
Most of it is just what I said....junk.
Every once in awhile, you receive something of note. I thought so with some photos a friends passed along. I was able to track them to a few blog sites, including this one.
The president claims he's a Christian
"I am a Christian. So, I have a deep faith. I'm rooted in the Christian tradition. I believe that there are many paths to the same place, and that is a belief that there is a higher power, a belief that we are connected as a people. That there are values that transcend race or culture, that move us forward, and there's an obligation for all of us individually as well as collectively to take responsibility to make those values lived."
Barack Obama,
"I am a Christian. I am a devout Christian. I've been a member of the same church for 20 years. I pray to Jesus every night and try to go to church as much as I can. My faith is important to me. It's not something that I try to push on other people. But it's something that helps to guide my life and my values."
Then prove it, Mr. President. Prove it.
Give the National Day of Prayer the full honor and respect it deserves.
President Bush's 2008 National Day of Prayer Proclamation
Would newspapers have a better chance at survival if they were more conservative?
1) I strongly believe there is a liberal bias that permeates the vast majority of the mainstream media. That is not a news bulletin.
2) I very much want newspapers to survive.
The fine conservative columnist at the Boston Globe, Jeff Jacoby has a very interesting piece making the case that the liberal ideology thriving in newsrooms is not killing the profession.
Will Franklin get stimulus $$$?
The answer is no.
But then, we knew this was going to happen, didn't we?
I am not unhappy about this. We don't need federal money with strings attached for road projects after all.
Another talk show host in hot water
This is Jay Severin of WTKK-AM Radio:
They're calling for his head in
The talk show host made some inflammatory on-air comments last week as the swine flu outbreak hit the world. From the Boston Globe:
"During a broadcast last week, Severin called Mexican immigrants 'criminaliens,' 'leeches,' 'the world's lowest of primitives,' and exporters of 'women with mustaches and VD,' among other incendiary comments he made as swine flu spread from Mexico to the United States and beyond."
Severin has been suspended indefinitely. Whether he returns to WTKK remains to be seen.
Severin should get his job back. As a talk show myself, I understand what fuels Severin's feelings. However, there were dozens of other ways to express his views. Severin should have been smart enough to know that in this day and age of a double standard where conservative broadcasters are held to higher ideals, he was bound to be the target of a witch hunt.
A suspension? Fine.
A pink slip? because he was offensive? Because you don't like the guy? No way.
The story…
MN Governor kicks sand in our face
That would be Tim Pawlenty...
UPDATE: If you read or write on the Internet, this is important
I have written extensively and passionately about my disdain for anonymous blog writers. That includes people who post reactionary comments. Not all are irresponsible, but too many are despicable, devious, and downright evil.
I wish you could read the e-mails I get.
It's rather easy to hide like a coward behind some nickname and toss out filthy trash with little or no substantiation. You can write anything you want, no matter how false it is, hit the send button, puff up your chest, and go brag to your friends that you sure showed whomever. That's real class. The sophomoric class.
Another ploy is to use a fictitious name, pretending to be some phony, non-existent person. It's happened quite a bit right here on the FranklinNOW site and I'm sure many others. What's even worse is that others, and they know who they are, are fully aware of the goings-on but totally dismiss this twisted behavior. I tell you what. You want more details? If you ever see me out and about in our humble 53132 zip code, and many of you do, simply ask me to elaborate and I just might, but not here.
I love this. There's an individual, banned from commenting on my blog because of the flat out lies he has peddled, who is allowed to comment on other blogs written by
This same individual managed to catch
Late last year, I wrote about the case of Lori Drew who masqueraded as a teenage boy to hurt a young teenage girl who later committed suicide. Let me spell this out, nice and easy for all to understand, including those who have come on this website and used false identities, and those who are fully aware of this activity.
Lori Drew is an adult woman who should have known better.
Lori Drew pretended to be someone she wasn't.
Lori Drew, in a twisted, sick, demented manner tried to manipulate the emotions of others, including a young teenage girl.
That girl is dead because of Lori Drew.
This is a rather lengthy intro to another example of how psychotic, evil people have used the Internet for diabolical means. Newsweek writes this week about a sad case:
"This is a story about a photo—an image so horrific we can't print it in NEWSWEEK. The picture shows the lifeless body of an 18-year-old
It touches on so many of the ways the Web has become perverted: as an outlet for morbid curiosities, a space where cruel behavior suffers little consequence and an uncontrollable forum in which things that were once private—like photos of the dead—can go public in an instant. The case also illustrates how the law has struggled to define how legal concepts like privacy and defamation are translated into an online world."
Read the entire Newsweek article.
If there is any justice in the world, someday, these anonymous creeps will get theirs.
InterCHANGE is back
Here are the topics the panel discusses Friday night during InterCHANGE on Milwaukee Public Television Channel 10 at 6:30 with a repeat Sunday morning at 11:00:
Governor Doyle brings all the mayors to
After years of discussion and debate, it looks like
Will he play for the Vikings or not? Is Favre a nut-job, or is he still one of the best quarterbacks in the N-F-L, A GUY who just wants to play ball? Will the
Doyle targets state employees
When the private sector is suffering, the public sector needs to sacrifice as well.
Now Governor Doyle, nix the huge tax and spending increases.
How much did the president cut from the federal budget?
President Obama: Budget Cutter?!
No Change Here, Still the Largest Budget in History
In these tough economic times, many American families are cutting back on their household budgets just to make ends meet.
Some are cutting back on groceries ... others are having trouble making car payments.
And some are even losing their homes.
So today, when President Obama proudly announced that he had slashed dollars from the massive tax-and-spend budget passed by Congress last week -- how much do you think he cut?
Take our quick quiz below ... and then learn how much the president really cut from the largest budget in American history:
President Obama Says He Cut the Budget ... How Much Do You Think He Cut?
Did He Cut:
Sex offenders and the Little League
A This Just In reader in
Sandra Austin Goldstein describes herself as, "just a mom of a player who's standing up to try and get changes made that are so desperately needed."
I am pleased she has given me permission to publish her column on This Just In. Goldstein sent a longer version to USA Baseball Executive Director/CEO Paul Seiler in March 2009. Seiler forwarded the piece personally to Little League Baseball Inc. that works with Little League International. Goldstein has yet to receive a response to her column.
Regular readers of my blog know how passionate I am about the issue of sex offenders and sex predators. I am pleased to share this fine work by Sandra Austin Goldstein in the hopes it heightens awareness and helps address what could be a very serious problem.
A White House resignation
"I have concluded that the controversy surrounding the Presidential Airlift Group's aerial photo shoot over New York City has made it impossible for me to effectively lead the White House Military Office."
Louis Caldera in a letter to President Obama
Translation: Obama made me do it.
The rosy economic world according to Obama
True, April was the third consecutive month row where the number of jobs lost was not on the rise. Fewer jobs were lost in April than in any other month the previous six. However, 540,000, let me repeat that number…540,000 more jobs disappeared in total during April.
Never mind. The media that continues to drink the Obama Kool-Aid puts on a cheery spin.
David Leonhart of the NY Times: "Before February, job losses had accelerated for six straight months. Last month's loss was the smallest since October."
The Reuters headline: "
The president, who promised to create or save 3 million jobs, says more work needs to be done but the economy appears to be getting getter.
Excuse me?
Tell that to the 540,000 people who discovered unemployment last month.
The Wall Street Journal gets it right: Less bad isn't good.
Dolan continues to impress in NY
Former Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan makes it clear to the Wall Street Journal he is adamantly pro-choice…………………on education.
Dolan faces a declining
"It's why the Catholic schools are scrappy," he told the WSJ. "And in a way that's part of the genius of our schools: We are not rolling in dough. We have to fight for every dime; it becomes a communal endeavor. There is a sense of pride and ownership among the people because, darn it, we fought for this school, we love it, we scraped for it, we have mopped floors and painted classrooms, and we do not take this for granted."
Dolan also addressed why 20-something's raised as Catholics are turning away, and why fewer people want to become priests and nuns.
You can read what he had to say here.
Headed your way this weekend on This Just In...
Saturday, our regular features: Wake up to The Barking Lot and Week-ends.
We'll have our regular edition of Recommended Reading along with a special Mother's Day version of Recommended Reading.
Sunday, My Most Popular Blogs, Photos of the Week, The MJS Scorecard, and Culinary no-no.
And more than likely some other thoughts as well.
Remember to stop in again, and thanks.
Goodnight everyone, and have a wonderful Mother's Day weekend
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.
During this regular weekly feature, we've gone slow, soft, mellow, jazzy, toe-tapping, Latin, and more.
Tonight, we get cute.
My darling wife, Jennifer and I on March 25th celebrated the birth of a beautiful girl, Kyla. She is a gorgeous blessing from God we cherish in words and feelings that are indescribable. This Mother's Day weekend will be very special for us and our entire family.
This particular Friday night segment has been dedicated to music that is soft and soothing. We may stretch the boundaries a bit tonight but I believe it's fitting. In honor of my precious, angelic little girl, and all moms everywhere, I present my favorite artist singing affectionately to, who else, pretty little girls. They're the kind of songs that a young Elvis fan upon first seeing and hearing wondered, what's this all about? I now view these songs in a totally different perspective. Even if you're not a fan, I think you will enjoy these heartwarming tunes.
Let's begin with this clip from "It Happened at the World's Fair" as Elivs tries to cheer up Vicky Tiu.
Come on and buzz a little, buzz a little, sing a little, sing a little, buzz a little, sing a little bit with me!
The Barking Lot (5/9/09)
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: Windy with early morning showers, then partly cloudy skies. High of 56. "D" in the morning, "C" later.
SUNDAY: Partly cloudy. High of 56. "C"
*JENNIFER IS ON MATERNITY LEAVE AND WILL RETURN TO THE Barking
They need nine at the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department and 13 at the House of Corrections.
Are you thinking K-9 officers?
No, that's not it.
They have the dogs. Now they need to outfit them in protective vests.
K-9's are bona fide law enforcement. Because they heroically assist their human partners, they share the same risks, are susceptible to the same dangers. As a result, they are stabbed and shot in the line of duty. About a dozen die every year.
Law enforcement departments don't have the resources to provide an $840 vest for each K-9. That's where this group comes into play:
Donna Morgan of
She formed the
Read more about the program and then consider a tax deductible donation. The website has a wealth of information about this worthwhile cause.
Also, the Janesville Gazette has more on Donna Morgan who founded the
Time now for DOGS IN THE NEWS, canines that made headlines the past week.
K-9 dog in
Stray dogs in Malaysia turn to cannibalism.
Hoagie, an amazing hero.
Jess Craigie is also a hero.
Here's an update on the woman who taped a dog to a fridge.
More evidence you should get a dog if you don't have one (Yes, I know the trouble I'm getting myself into). Dogs are good for your taxes AND your health.
Is your dog's brain ok?
Which gestures can a dog understand?
You've heard of Chanel #5? Try Chanel #120.
Who says Franklin isn't cool?
That's it for this week. Thanks for stopping by. We always like to close with a doggie-related video.
Week-ends (5/9/09)
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...
Forgotten D-day troops
College student in Georgia
Zach Bonner
Kathy Ireland
Bristol Palin
Rick Ankiel
Oh......and this guy.
Nancy Pelosi
Governor Doyle
Drew Peterson
Richard McTear
Forrest Day
Diane Lozaw
Justiniano Alvarez
Father Alberto Cutié
Rembert Weakland
Chuck E. Cheese
"When somebody has a disfigurement and don't look as pretty as you do, don't judge them, because you never know what happened to them. Don't judge people who don't look the same as you do. Because you never know. One day it might be all taken away. I'm not a monster. I'm a person who was shot."
Connie Culp at a news conference at the Cleveland Clinic where she became the first face transplant patient in the
"Accept my sincere apologies for the confusion. We will continue to work with the people of
Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli apologizing in a letter to the Wisconsin congressional delegation and Governor Doyle for telling them during a conference call last week that Chrysler was still considering keeping the Kenosha engine plant open. The following day, Chrysler would close the plant. Nardelli said he mistakenly passed along information about the status of the Trenton, Michigan plant in response to a question about the
"Let me be clear about what this prospect entails: If you grant Chrysler any additional bailout funds, you are using taxpayers' hard-earned money to send jobs to
"That's a bunch of pencil-pushing ne'er-do-wells who make it their career to hassle property owners for changing a rotten deck board on their pier."
State Representative Joel Kleefisch ( R-Oconomowoc) referring to the Department of Natural Resources at a news conference blasting Governor Doyle for cutting GPS tracking of sex offenders in his budget. Kleefisch said money could be taken from the DNR to pay for GPS.
"As soon as this bill takes effect, it will start saving lives of our citizens and saving money for our taxpayers."
State Senator Fred Risser (D-Madison) on a compromise statewide smoking ban.
"I feel the economy is going in the tank enough the way it is. What they're doing is going to push it even farther. I'm very upset that they keep controlling our basic rights. Tobacco is a legal product."
Mike Brown, owner of the Logan Bar and vice president of the
What the state paid to steal another slogan.
Doyle approval ratings are down.
Dan Gokey and Brett Favre. I'm thinking it was legit.
May Madness or, the hot girl contest.
Busty women unite!
Mouthwash didn't help.
REMEMBER: Your suggestions/nominations for any of these categories every week are welcome, especially for HEROES OF THE WEEK. If you know of anyone in the community deserving of recognition, please e-mail me.
Recommended Reading: The Mother's Day edition
Ten ways to mother
"Each week I hear from new moms who know something is amiss in the culture, instinctively know they need to change how they are parenting, but aren't quite sure where to start. So what is the best way to begin? By living out the principles, behavior and values you want your children to develop.
So as I salute you in your efforts to truly mother your kids, here are ten simple ways how you can set the example for your children..."
Culture challenge of the week: Minimalizing mothering
"Mothers are increasingly expected to be benchwarmers in the lives of our children so we don't get in the way of the 'professionals.' Many public educators believe they know what is best for your son or daughter. But they can't possibly understand the unique history, gifts and needs of each child shuffled through a system built for the masses.
Mother's Day more than greeting cards, brunch
"Mother's Day isn't about how much you buy mom - it's about how you honor your mother."
Letters from Mom: A voice I needed to remember
"The letters, now faded, were from my mother, Peggy Chandler, who passed away 19 months ago after a 19-year battle with Alzheimer's."
The messiness of Mother's Day
"I don't often want to deck someone within 20 seconds of entering church. But that's exactly what happened about this time last year. I was visiting a friend's large, seeker-friendly church with her one Sunday morning in May. A gregarious man greeted us at the door and wished us both a hearty 'Happy Mother's Day'!"
Mother's Day tinged with sadness for birthmoms
"Many birthmothers can't shake their anguish and guilt when Mother's Day rolls around each May, so they've taken on the Saturday before the holiday as their own _ Birth Mother's Day."
Getting a read on your child's literature
"A Mother's Day fundraiser for the single biggest abortion provider in the United States (subsidized by your tax dollars) is insulting, most especially to the women who are suffering because they rejected motherhood and know they ended a life in the process."
UPDATE: Does Franklin need warning sirens?
Earlier this week, I raised the above question, suggesting there is a better, less costly alternative.
Two days later, meteorologist extraordinaire Craig Koplien in his piece in the Journal Sentinel was advocating. guess what?
Craig, this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Recommended reading (5/9/09)
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).
Free cars for poor fuel road rage
"Gov. Deval Patrick's free wheels for welfare recipients program is revving up despite the stalled economy, as the keys to donated cars loaded with state-funded insurance, repairs and even AAA membership are handed out to get them to work."
Watching MSNBC is torture
"Contrary to MSNBC hosts who are afraid of bugs, water and their own shadows, waterboarding was most definitely not a 'war crime' for which the Japanese were prosecuted after World War II -- no matter how many times Mrs. Jonathan Turley, professor of cooking at George Washington University, says so."
Unwed teen pregnancy no joke
"Bristol Palin is back in the news. The
The destruction of MIss America
"And where is the National Organization for Women? A young woman is being victimized by hate speech, actually being called a bitch on a variety of television programs, and NOW has no comment? Again, the hypocrisy is breathtaking."
The Free Choice Act is anything but
"Last year, I (George McGovern) wrote on these pages that I was opposed to this bill because it would eliminate secret ballots in union organizing elections. However, the bill has an additional feature that isn't often mentioned but that is just as troublesome -- compulsory arbitration."
Fraud in Academia
The author refers to a piece written by my firend, Thomas Reeves that I posted a few weeks ago.
"Soon college students will come home and present parents with their grades. To avoid delusion, parents should do some serious discounting because of rampant grade inflation. If grade inflation continues, a college bachelor's degree will have just as much credibility as a high school diploma."
Obama's top ten faith moments
"The '10 most important Obama faith moments' include: 1) Two encouraging Muslim relations and religion around the world, 2) two extending and increasing terminations of human life in the womb, 3) one non-religious speaking engagement at a university, 4) two acts promoting community development, 5) seven events that included invocations, 5) and one about the sight of religious soot on the forehead of the vice president."
Time to retire celibacy requirement for priests
"Over and over again, callers have said: He may be a priest, but he's still a man. The church rule is the problem, not the priest.Maybe so, but what happened to personal responsibility?"
Steroids hysteria
"Dr. Norman Fost, a bioethicist at the University of Wisconsin, says it's all bunk. The anti-steroid movement, he says, is filled with hysteria and hype."
MPS teachers are their own worst enemies
Do you know any MPS teachers?
I do, many, as a matter of fact.
Let me tell you about them. They are very nice, good, hard-working, caring, decent individuals.
Trust me, I would never want their job.
Here's another characteristic of all of them, and all MPS teachers in general. They would never, ever, ever, ever, pass a course in public relations. Actually, they would fail miserably.
They are their own worst enemies. The more they talk about themselves, their jobs, their daily routine, the more their support among the public fades and fades. Why? Because the crowd they're talking to, moaning and groaning to, just isn't buying it.
The latest PR debacle just took place.
MPS teachers, you're always crying the blues about how you don't earn enough and that you deserve more money. You want money?
Ok. You can have it. But you'll have to work harder and longer.
Public support for MPS teachers? Hear that air, slowly, slowly, seeping out of the balloon?
Part of the problem is that MPS teacher have had an absolute brain-dead union working on their behalf. But MPS teachers, whether forced to or not, have blindly followed this incompetent leadership like lemmings.
Governor Doyle has just announced that folks like me might have to, OH MY GOD, endure a 16-day unpaid vacation over the next two years. The whining has already begun.
MPS teachers, and it's a fact, walk off the job in mid-June and shouldn't, if they know how to budget and adjust properly, have to worry (or work) again until, oh, say Labor Day. Don't listen to any MPS teacher who plays the "woe is me" game summertime. Given the same option, I'll find a way to survive.
Here's the deal, MPS teachers and everyone else in the PUBLIC sector. The taxpaying public doesn't care.
They don't have the job security you enjoy. They have been handed pink slips. They have been told work more for less (unlike MPS teachers who were asked to work more for more).
Given that MPS union officials and the rank and file are PR buffoons and shoot themselves in the foot every time they speak, here's some friendly advice, especially when your school board is asking for double digit tax increases:
1) Most importantly: Just clam up.
2) Do your job.
3) Have the guts to tell your union to start being an effective tool on your behalf.
4) Drop the crying towels in
*BREAKING NEWS: JENNIFER FISCHER (that would be Kevin's wife) NAMED MOTHER OF THE YEAR*
Thinking of Steve Olson
On this Mother's Day, please think about Franklin alderman Steve Olson. He lost his mother on Friday.
Steve, Jennifer and I extend our deepest sympathies. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
UPDATE: Patricia Olson obituary
My most popular blogs (5/10/09)
As I post every Sunday, here are the top five most popular of my blog entries from the previous week:
1) Does
2) A blog that is guaranteed, I'm telling you it is guaranteed to drive women absolutely wild!
3) Culinary no-no #110
5) *BREAKING NEWS: Mark Belling jaywalks*
The MJS Scorecard (5/10/09)
It should also be noted that this exercise is a categorization. Most, if not all of these articles submitted to, or solicited by the Crossroads staff are well-written, thoughtful, and provocative. I enjoy reading them as I have every Sunday for as long as I can remember. This weekly compilation is an ideological scorecard, not a writing critique.
Michael Rosen: In hard times, state must invest more in vital technical colleges
Barbara Miner: It's time for transparency in vouchers
Nuclear energy too risky when efficiency works
Only nuclear can offer plentiful clean power
John Drew: Don't send car jobs to Mexico
Tim Sullivan, Paul Purcell and Jeff Joerres: Six ways Milwaukee can step it up in educating its children
TODAY: Liberal-3, Conservative-1
YEAR TO DATE: Liberal-39, Conservative-35
It's not often the gang that couldn't shoot straight (The MJS Editorial Board) nails one...
So let's give them the not too frequent credit they deserve.
That would be on this one....
Happy Mother's Day!
Please indulge me, folks.
Mother's Day is very, very special in the Fischer household this year.
I have interviewed
I have met and married an incredible woman, my wonderful wife, Jennifer. To say we are a happy couple doesn't do it justice. In March, we had our first child, a beautiful baby girl. Don't believe me, the oh-so proud papa. Everyone that has feasted eyes upon Kyla Fischer has reacted using the same word: "Perfect."
Kyla is that, and much, much more. I worry not about all the lies and trash and stupid comments that are said and printed about me. I have a wonderful family. That's all that matters to me.
My mother, still going strong, God bless her, will be over today. She could care less about seeing this big lug. She wishes she could see Kyla every single hour of every single day. Mom's amazing, and she's been given a second life, if you will, thanks to adorable Kyla.
Thank you, dear God.
Thank you for all the blessings you have bestowed upon me for my entire life, and they have been many. My special thanks for the blessing of blessings, a beautiful, healthy baby girl that is precious beyond belief.
Thank you, dear God, for wonderful Jennifer who has been the quintessential wife and mother.
Kyla's birth has strengthened even more so my defense for the unborn and my utter disdain for those who would abuse infants and children.
Happy Mother's Day Mom, Jennifer, all you moms, mothers-to-be, and women who wish they could be mothers.
You have no idea how much I admire each and every one of you.
Photos of the Week (5/10/09)
In this photograph released by the White House, one of the president's official planes flies over the Statue of Liberty in
Lorena Balderas, 21, lies in bed while under observation in the area where people suspected to have contracted the swine flu virus are treated at the Naval hospital in Mexico City, Sunday, May 3, 2009. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)
My musical Mother's Day card
Happy Mother's Day to all you mom's, mother's to be, and women who wish they could be mom's.
It seems that all the great Mother's Day songs are country tunes. Let's begin my musical Mother's Day card to you with a classic by Loretta Lynn performed, appropriately in this case, on the Muppets Show.
How much does it cost to have a baby?
Take a guess. Any idea?
Think you can come within a thousand dollars or two?
Here's the answer.
Woe is me: Technical colleges
Did you catch Michael Rosen's guest column in Sunday's Crossroads section of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel? The one where Rosen, an outspoken liberal activist pulled out the crying towel for technical colleges?
Rosen dusts off the liberal playbook by writing the state needs to "invest" in technical colleges. "Invest" is liberal code for "spend like hell."
Rosen writes, "Last week, the Legislature increased
The impression Rosen wants to convey is that when it comes to the tech schools, we've been a bunch of pikers. That is laughable.
Think about the total tax levies for the state's 16 technical colleges. According to the nonpartisan Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, the technical college tax levies have increased from $251 million in 1992-'93 to $622 million in 2005-'06. That's an increase of almost 150 percent compared to a 75 percent increase in overall levies during the same time period. Unelected technical college boards horrifically have free reign to raise tax levies leaving taxpayers powerless.
No one disputes the value of technical colleges. But to suggest these schools are poorhouses is absurd.
Are big property tax increases on the way?
Could be.
The latest state budget bombshell revelations have Governor Doyle talking about larger cuts in shared revenue to municipalities. That kind of talk made Governor Scott McCallum an instant target of almost every local official and editorial board and sunk his campaign. (So far, Doyle has gotten a pass).
What happens when the state doesn't send Town XYZ as big a check? How does Town XYZ react? Does Town XYZ respond the way smart households do when confronted with less money coming in? Does Town XYZ make appropriate tax and spending adjustments? No way. Town XYZ says it has no choice because of the big, bad, evil state but to raise taxes. And by the way, it's not Town XYZ's fault.
This latest news that should be a shocking eye-opener probably has some (not all) members of the Franklin School Board behaving like Pavlov's dog. Old speeches are being pulled out of the files. The wording goes something like this:
We sympathize with the taxpaying public.
Times are indeed tough.
The last thing we want to do is raise taxes.
However, we must not compromise the quality of the education we provide our students. After all, it's about the children.
The state leaves us no choice but to ask for a (insert obscene percentage here) property tax increase.
This act has been played out before here in Franklin, and no doubt in towns, villages, cities and counties all across the state.
Tax increases during a hard economic downturn would be a horrible mistake.
Culinary no-no #111
It's the middle of the night, somewhere in
In the darkness, behind a closed for the day Chili's Restaurant, a man is rummaging through the garbage.
Is it a homeless person?
Is the man hungry, desperately searching for food?
This man is on a mission. Why, why, why can't he resist certain foods, like those
Maybe it's something in the ingredients that has him hooked. But Chili's won't give him the information he wants.
He just has to know.
So he leaves his wife when most of the country is asleep, and drives to a restaurant's dumpster, and dives in.
I think I…
The hunt is successful.
Found: the ingredient labels on boxes suppliers ship to Chili's, the second largest restaurant chain in
Our dumpster diver is the following:
Harvard grad
Medical school dean
Former Food and Drug Administration commissioner
He is David Kessler who theorizes in his new book, "The End of Overeating" that foods can change and have an effect on the chemistry of the brain that causes folks to eat and eat and eat and eat and eat until it hurts.
Kessler's desire to assist a nation of gluttons may sound commendable, but it was Kessler who led a heavy-handed all-out regulatory attack against tobacco. He admits the next huge policy fight in
He tells the Washington Post, "The food the industry is selling is much more powerful than we realized. I used to think I ate to feel full. Now I know, we have the science that shows, we're eating to stimulate ourselves. And so the question is what are we going to do about it?"
My less than analytical response would be, so what! What's wrong with that?
Forget diets, Kessler says. It's all in your mind.
"We did this with cigarettes. It used to be sexy and glamorous but now people look at it and say, 'That's not my friend, that's not something I want.' We need to make a cognitive shift as a country and change the way we look at food. Instead of viewing that huge plate of nachos and fries as a guilty pleasure, we have to . . . look at it and say, 'That's not going to make me feel good. In fact, that's disgusting.' "
What's interesting is that Kessler admits he has personally made behavioral changes, including in his diet, and he exercises more.
Hmmmm…. Seems far-reaching government intervention and regulation (a la smoking) isn't necessary.
Read more in the Washington Post.
$1.8 trillion
Tax. Borrow. Spend. Repeat.
$1.8 Trillion Deficit ... And Rising
The Obama Administration is quick to point out that it inherited deficits from the past administration.
Which is true.
But we fail to see how you solve that problem by quadrupling the deficit.
According to revised White House budget figures, the deficit for the current budget year will rise to above $1.8 billion -- about four times larger than the all-time record set last year.
And, thanks to the massive tax-and-spend budget passed by Congress last week, our deficits will keep growing as far as the eye can see.
According to these new figures, the federal government is now borrowing almost 50 cents for every dollar it spends this year.
These "tax-borrow-spend" policies are mortgaging our country's future -- while doing little to revive our struggling economy.
How do you feel about the rising deficit, increased spending and new taxes? Please click here to share your opinion.
Bill Miller
Yes, Wanda Sykes....
Went too far.
The British press thinks so.
Unbelievable 9-11 photos
Going around the Internet..
I wish there was some way to imbed this in the minds of every single American, too many of whom, unfortunately have already forgotten 9-11, or simply don't care.
Quality health care under Obama? Forget it
The Wall Street Journal has a great editorial about what transpires under a government-run health care system sought by President Obama. The WSJ writes:
"Doctors will consolidate into larger practices to spread overhead costs, and they'll cram more patients into tight schedules to make up in volume what's lost in margin. Visits will be shortened and new appointments harder to secure. It already takes on average 18 days to get an initial appointment with an internist, according to the American Medical Association, and as many as 30 days for specialists like obstetricians and neurologists.
Right or wrong, more doctors will close their practices to new patients, especially patients carrying lower paying insurance such as Medicaid. Some doctors will opt out of the system entirely, going 'cash only.' If too many doctors take this route the government could step in -- as in Canada, for example -- to effectively outlaw private-only medical practice."
No thank you.
That's my....girl??
Fans (like me) of the great TV sit-com, "The Dick Van Dyke Show" certainly recall the famous episode, "That's my boy??"
"The quintessential example of the innovations offered by The Dick Van Dyke Show occurred when, after the network rejected the script, only an appeal from Sheldon Leonard himself secured permission to film the episode 'That's My Boy??' In this episode, Rob (Van Dyke) is convinced that the baby he and Laura brought home from the hospital was not theirs, but a baby belonging to another couple, the Peters. Constant mix-ups with flowers and candy at the hospital, caused by the similarity in names (Petrie and Peters), convinced Rob that the babies were somehow switched, and he decided to confront the Peters family. Only when the Peters show up at Rob and Laura's house does Rob learns that the Peters are African American."
That was 1963. What seemed hilarious and impossible on TV was actually happening 10 years earlier.
Last summer, Kay Rene (Reed) Qualls and DeeAnn (Angell) Shafer learned that even though they were the only two babies born one day in 1953 at Heppner's
The most amazing element of this incredible story could very well be the attitude of the two women.
It's time now to play FINAL JEOPARDY!
A This Just In favorite.....Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, yes it's that time.....time once again for another This Just In edition of:
And today's game is mighty, mighty tough.
Are you ready?
Well then, let's play!
Today's Final Jeopardy category is:
Now, you know how this works.
In a moment, I'll give you the Final Jeopardy clue.
You will have 30 seconds (if you play fair, that will be when the music runs out) to come up with an answer and remember, players……… your answer must be in the form of a question.
Here's your clue.
Good luck.
MORE The economy is so bad...
Mailman steal stamps to pay mortgage
Hey big boy, wanna buy my hair? How about some blood?
Emotions driving smoking ban
Here are some stark realities.
On Wednesday, the state Senate will approve a statewide smoking ban.
On Wednesday, the state Assembly will also approve a statewide smoking ban.
Soon after, Governor Doyle will sign the bill into law.
Down the road, businesses will close as a result of this ban.
And to the chagrin of the anti-smoking zealots, smokers will not dump their dirty, albeit legal habit. They will continue to smoke. They just won't do it at Mom and Pop's Corner Bar (who will be forced to shut down).
Last week, the perfectly orchestrated parade of hand wringers organized by legislative Democrats put on a show before the state Senate Health Committee's hastily called public hearing on the smoking ban. The Democrats, and this is the way they govern, kept the hearing a secret as long as they legally could so they could, behind the scenes, rally the anti-smoking troops.
Then, one by one, they sat down at the microphone.
Thank you, thank you, oh, thank you, dear God, Mr. Chairman for having this hearing.
My uncle died of lung cancer.
This relative died too young.
A friend of mine died.
Over and over and over and over (by a 5-1 margin over smoking ban opponents) again.
Was every story sad?
Of course.
No one is unsympathetic to the dreaded devil, cancer.
How are these deaths caused by what happens at the friendly neighborhood tavern at the end of the block? Why is it the fault of the guy who has run a legitimate establishment for 25, 30, 40 years?
Seriously, folks. Use your heads. What do you think is going on inside that tavern or a restaurant's bar? Was there ever a case where a person allergic to tobacco smoke or a person who hated second hand smoke was ever dragged kicking and screaming against his or her own will inside a smoke-filled bar or restaurant?
Answer me this. Could anyone annoyed by smoke at any time leave the premises at their own free will?
I'll give those who testified last week with crying towels in hand this much. They carried a lot more weight than one of the last individuals to speak before the committee. She was a 20-something from, where else, Madison, who lamented the fact that, oh my goodness woe is me, she had nowhere to party on the weekend because she just hates smoke.
The committee chair, Senator Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton) seemed to relish his role of being in charge asking the Wisconsin equivalent of a Valley girl such pressing questions as, what kind of music do you like when you go out to the bars?
Not to worry, anti-smoking zealots. You'll get your smoking ban. And many good, decent, hard-working taxpayers will be out of work, just so you can feel good. Meanwhile, you will have made no dent at all in the number of people who smoke. They'll just keep puffing away..
Here's my question to the anti-smoking crowd: Will you show the same outpouring of emotion and support for the innocent people you're tossing onto the unemployment line? What kind of sympathy and help will you offer them now, you caring, compassionate bunch?
I'm not holding my smoke-free breath.
Don't be afraid, GOP: JUST SAY NO!
Generally speaking in politics, the political party in the minority is relegated to the back bench. They have little power. They do not set the agenda. They have no control about what's voted on, when, where or how.
Historically, the minority power (and the majority power, as of this writing, the Democrats knows all to well) has one weapon in its utility belt: scream like hell. The message is usually quite simple. The majority wants to do something, usually extremely stupid like tax and spend us to death, then you, as the minority stand up and yell as loud as possible, "No, No, and if you didn't hear me, hell no!"
This has been going on much longer than our president has been attending that racist church of his.
So the majority Democrats cry foul. All the minority Republicans seem to do is say NO! They have no desire to engage in bipartisanship!
There's reason for that. The Democrats' definition of bipartisanship is:
Would Democrats ever return the favor? No ********* way.
Going NO is the right route if you're sitting in the back row, Nothing, NO, NOTHING to be ashamed of.
I seem to recall in the not too distant past when the Democrats were in the minority a Democrat state Senator during a floor session yelling and screaming and crying to the point the Capitol Police were called to the scene (That state Senator, after that proud display, is now in Congress). Another Democrat state Senator grabbed the microphone being used by the Senate Chief Clerk and threw it at the Republican Senate Majority Leader. So you see, when Democrats are in the minority, they take saying no to an entirely new level.
Conservative columnist John Hawkins, whose trademark is writing in lists, has compiled a list of perfect examples where it is more than appropriate to JUST SAY NO:
"Now, after being referred to as 'The Party of No,' the GOP should embrace that label instead of running from it. Yes, we have plenty of solutions, but before they can be implemented, Barack Obama has to be stopped -- he has to fail. Wanting Barack Obama to fail is like wanting someone who's trying to beat your child to death with a shovel to fail. You want him to fail because you love your child and we want Barack Obama to fail because we love this country."
Amen, brother Hawkins.
Somebody (but not this guy) forgot to tell GM that sex sells
You want to sell cars?
I'll tell ya how to sell cars.
You give that guy that walks onto the lot annnnyyyyything he wants.
Even if it's.....
Sometimes the liberal media bias can be quite subtle
Take, for example, a Wisconsin Associated Press story about legislative action today on the statewide smoking ban. Note the verbs used for members of each political party.
"Sen. Fred Risser, D-Madison, the chief author of the bill, said……"
"Risser told the Senate."
"Sen. Bob Jauch, D-Poplar, supported…"
"Risser and Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Waunakee, warned….."
"'It's not a tough thing to get off the bar stool and step outside and smoke,' said Erpenbach."
And then we get to the other side of the aisle.
"Early debate in the Assembly was heated, with Republicans bellowing....."
The writer probably didn't even realize what he was doing, or care.
UPDATE: A subsequent updated AP story about an hour later dropped the word, "bellowing."
A black conservative has a message for black America
I recall shortly after Ronald Reagan was elected president and was being demonized by liberals and most blacks, I was interviewing inside the WUWM studios former major leaguer and then-Greyhound Corporation Vice-President Joe Black.
Black said during the interview that black people weren't like sheep waiting around to be led blindly by one political group. Black's conservative stances and candid talk often got him in plenty of trouble with other blacks who labeled him a sellout.
Most blacks aren't conservative and most certainly aren't Republican. But there are independent black thinkers who have not been brainwashed by the Democrat Party that has taken minorities for granted for decades.
Ron Miller is one of those black conservatives. A candidate for the state Senate in
"Whether you want to acknowledge it or not, this debate isn't about the past eight years or Obama's race, although I know that's what the talking points say. It's about a fundamental change to the foundational principles of the country and whether or not those changes are going to lead to prosperity or mediocrity."
Miller concludes:
"My prayer is that one day, rather than being the only demographic group that is 90 percent committed to one political party or worldview, we'll collectively be sophisticated enough and dedicated enough to the principles I know we believe to become free agents in the political marketplace, attracting the attention and consideration of both parties."
And there's plenty of good stuff in-between.
Smoking is so bad for you, except....
What's the key argument of proponents of a statewide smoking ban? It will save lives.
"Secondhand smoke kills," said Senator Fred Risser (D-Madison), the chief Senate sponsor on the floor of the state Senate today. "I don't have to tell you about the health effects of smoking. We all know it. It is the most preventable cause of illness in the state."
It's a matter of life and death, of public health we were lectured.
So, is the smoke at Joe's Bar and Grill down the corner more dangerous than the smoke at Potawatomi?
State Senator Mary Lazich tried to amend the smoking ban bill to include casinos because, hey, it's about public health isn't it? If smoking is so terrible, than doesn't it follow, anti-smoking zealots that smoke is bad even near the slot machines and blackjack tables?
We can't make folks work in such unsafe environments, can we? Shouldn't that include gambling joints?
Just a few days ago, the
The study, the first to examine the effects of secondhand smoke in
The facts mean nothing to the anti-smoking crowd.
And how many millions did the tribes contribute to the governor's campaign?
Public health? Baloney!
The face and body that have lefties apoplectic
They belong to Carrie Prejean.
Miss California Carrie Prejean poses in the press room at the 40th Annual GMA Dove Awards held at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee.
Here's what's on the agenda Friday night on InterCHANGE
Here are the topics the panel discusses Friday night on InterCHANGE on Milwaukee Public Television Channel 10 at 6:30 with a repeat Sunday morning at 11:00:
The number of children born to unwed mothers in the
In his new book, the former archbishop admits he's gay. Any surprises? Why is he bringing himself even more publicity at this point in his life? Should we feel bad for him, and the embarrassment he has suffered? Or, should we feel bad for the kids who were assaulted by the pedophile priests that he quietly shuffled around when he was archbishop? Is this another good argument to end celibacy for Catholic priests?
The Brewers are 21-14. Is it way too early to get excited? What do you think of the new manager so far? Does this team have much depth, or do they all have to stay extremely healthy?
State Assembly furloughs
Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan and Minority Leader Jeff Fitzgerald have announced that state Assembly staff will, as Governor Doyle had recommended, be put on furlough for 16 days over the next two years.
No word yet on what the state Senate will do.
For the record, I have stated that I will gladly accept a 16-day furlough and not moan and whine and cry about it the way some state employees have been behaving.
A Brewer fan is greedy, and embarrassing
In baseball, there's an unwritten rule that when a ball is hit into the stands, and it's a milestone, like the guy's 200th career homer, the fan returns the ball to the hitter in exchange for some other souvenir.
One Milwaukee Brewer fan got too greedy Wednesday night, and I don't blame this
With all due respect, if you are afforded any, Rembert Weakland...
Please shut up.
There are some people in life who need to do two things:
1) Go away.
2) Go away quietly.
Weakland has chosen to ignore #2.
I pray no one buys his book, written out of a sick desire to bamboozle the flock into forgiving this deviant.
One thing hasn't changed. Whenever Weakland wanted attention, he turned his back on the local press and shot his mouth off to the NY Times.
WRTL ads focus on Madison Surgery Center


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Lonely Island on the Wack Album, the Prospect of Touring, and Whether Any of Them Actually F***ed an Aunt
Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone, and Andy Samberg give our VF.com correspondent a hard time, and answer our Proust Questionnaire (well, sort of).
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subset: commoncrawl


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About Fort Lauderdale
There's more to life and Ft. Lauderdale than spring break: beyond the action-packed east beaches, you can watch dolphins pass on quiet north end beaches, enjoy non-souvenir shopping along Dania Beach, take a historic River Walk past landmarks, or unwind over sea-breezy dining in elegant Las Olas Isles.
Read more about Fort Lauderdale on Hipmunk's Fort Lauderdale City Guide.
Tips for traveling through OGG
Tips for traveling through FLL
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Hipmunk is the fastest, easiest way to plan travel. Hipmunk saves you time by comparing top airlines and travel sites to find the cheapest flights and the best deals on airline tickets. Our exclusive agony sort also takes into account price, flight duration, and the number of layovers to find you the flight with the least amount of agony.


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Arranged by personality, style and the five senses, the Harmony Collections offer personal, meaningful colors that all work together for wall, trim, furniture and accessories.
Color Collections
Sometimes, looking at colors in groupings help you find the vision you are trying to express. The Collections below pull colors together by personality, style, designer and project - one of them, we are sure will be the right path to get you started choosing the best colors.
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Lakewoods Resort on Lake Namakagon
The perfect gateway to Wisconsin's Northwoods!
Clear, carefree days. Bright blue skies. Whether it's the long shadows and vibrant days of fall and winter or the radiant heat of festive summer, this is Lakewoods Resort – your ideal vacation destination year round. And our location on the shores of Lake Namakagon puts you front and center for all the fun and relaxation. Surrounded by 850,000 acres of Chequamegon National Forest, the Great Outdoors is literally just outside your door; a magnificent area for personal exploration or a variety of planned family and group activities.
Celebrate the changing of the seasons with us at Lakewoods. Take a swing at world-class golf on our Forest Ridges Golf Course, cast your line in for prime Musky fishing on Lake Namakagon, and enjoy all the wonderful amenities of a Full-Service Northwoods Resort, each designed to make your stay...magnificent! Try our Full-Service Marina, an onsite Lakeside Restaurant & Bucks Bar, or any of our charming Lakeside Accommodations We've created an almost magical environment that will turn your favorite activities into adventures that you'll remember for a lifetime. It's no wonder Lakewoods is celebrating its 106th year of Wisconsin Vacations!
What's going on at Lakewoods Resort?
Wisconsin Musky Expo
Nov 27, 2013 - 04:43 pm
Join us at the Wisconsin Musky Expo in Wausau, WI on February 28-March 2, 2014. The Patriot Center will be filled with the top Tackle Manufacturers, Retailers, Guides, and yes Resorts. You even have a change to win at vacation at Lakewoods Resort!
Call Lakewoods
May 24, 2013 - 04:09 pm
Our 800-255-5937 is currently down, we apologize for this inconvenience. Please call us at 715-794-2561.


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The page protectors that are compatible with this album are:
American Crafts 12 x 12
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I order three of these albums and had never seen them in real life. I was amazed at the quality. The chipboard is very thick and and the red linen on the side is bright and fun. The rings are very sturdy and are of good quality. I was able to comfortably fill the album with thirty layouts.


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Suitable from 12 months+
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6 brightly coloured strong pegs perfect for hammering! Knock them through as far as you can, they won't fall out, turn the bench over and start again, hours of simple fun. Includes stout wooden hammer for "happy hammering". Excellent for developing your child's eye to hand co-ordination.
Bought this for my 1 year old son, he loves it. Its very colourful. Very easy for him to use and he plays for hours with it.
Fab game for toddlers
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