Sounds about right for this administration.
“President Obama proved today that he’ll do anything to protect the narrow interests of his home state of Illinois, even if it means destroying Michigan’s economy,” he said in a statement. “Officials from his administration unveiled a 25-step plan full [...]
For your reading enjoyment.
[...]My column for the Daily News is online. It’s called, “Speaker’s tryst shakes public trust.” Here’s a part:
The question remains, is it unethical for an elected official to date a lobbyist? Not necessarily. Most people can keep their private affairs from affecting their [...]
Speaker Sheridan is becoming a one man tabloid.
Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan is not living in the district he represents but plans to return as soon as possible, a spokeswoman said Friday.
The change in addresses is the result of a pending divorce between Sheridan and his [...]
Rep. Marlin Schneider, D-Wisconsin Rapids, wants to restrict the popular service, known as CCAP, to only records of people who have been convicted of crimes, not those that are only pending or have been dismissed or ended in [...]
That’s what will happen with this summit.
The focus of Monday’s White House Asian carp summit is to stop the giant, ecosystem-ravaging fish from slipping in the Great Lakes’ back door - the Chicago canal system that links the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico.
But the [...]
That’s what will happen with this summit.
The focus of Monday’s White House Asian carp summit is to stop the giant, ecosystem-ravaging fish from slipping in the Great Lakes’ back door - the Chicago canal system that links the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico.
But the [...]
That is all...
UPDATE: Congratulations to the New Orleans Saints.
I must say, this was one of the better Super Bowls I’ve seen. Good football. Two likable teams. Two great QBs. Great coaching on the Saints’ side and good coaching for the Colts. Good refereeing [...]
Waaaaaaa! WAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!
An exasperated White House newly committed to preaching partisan peace slammed Republicans for playing politics on national security and making ignorant allegations about the investigation into the Christmas airliner plot.
Deputy national security adviser John Brennan complained Sunday that politicians, many of them Republicans, were unfairly criticizing [...]
There has been a large explosion at a power plant in Connecticut, causing mass casualties, US media report.
Ambulances and fire engines have been called to the 620MW gas- and oil-fired Kleen Energy plant in Middletown, south of the state capital, Hartford.
The Middletown [...]
Two guys who defined a generation of NFL football.
“We are blessed to achieve this level of greatness together,” Smith said, referring to Rice.
They will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, on Aug. 7.
Rice [...]
Yet another busy, but fun day. Attended a basketball game for Kid #3 this morning. Then after lunch, Wendy decided to make it a girls’ day at the mall with Kid #2 and Kid #3 (Kid #1 had a dance thing to attend). So Kid #1, The Boy, and [...]
Yeah, just remember this when we’re being asked to tax to the max (again) because of overcrowding and poor facilities.
Bracken said the West Bend district is asking its teachers for a reprieve to get through tough times. The district’s offer would raise pay for teachers [...]
Reported by Judy Steffes.
A Challenge Day program cancelled late last month in the West Bend School District is now back on, but will not involve students.
“I’m still working with the people from Challenge Day to determine what services they’re going to provide us because [...]
The Desert Defender disclosed what he carries in his pockets. Here’s what I carry:
- chap stick
- comb
- keys
- pocket knife (4 inch lock blade)
- wallet
- phone (AT&T 8525)
I used to carry a little .32, but that’s illegal and whatnot.
How about [...]
Tonight, our 10-year-old short and sweet daughter scored her first-ever basket during a basketball game. Almost as exciting as the basket was the amazing reaction from her teammates and the crowd.
Way to go, Kid #2!!
(Not an actual photo of our child, but if she were [...]
This is entertaining.
3 school candidates as scary as Schlafly
I thought Phyllis Schlafly’s Eagle Forum was one of the scariest anti-progressive organizations ever, alongside the wacko John Birch Society. I’m reading “The Family” by Jeff Sharlet. It’s a hard read; if you thought Joe McCarthy was a [...]
This story raises all sorts of questions.
A 21-year-old man whose mother shot him in the groin Thursday night told police he was trying to be funny by wearing a ski mask and pretending to rob her, but investigators aren’t necessarily buying his story, a [...]
Five crates of whisky and brandy belonging to polar explorer Ernest Shackleton have been recovered after being buried for more than 100 years under the Antarctic ice, explorers said Friday.
The spirits were excavated from beneath Shackleton’s Antarctic hut which was built in 1908.
“To [...]
There’s a push on right now to do away with “don’t ask don’t tell” in the military. It’s an issue that leaves me conflicted. On the one hand, I see nothing wrong with gay folks serving their country. In fact, I think it’s a bit ludicrous to exclude people [...]
Hmmmm....
The Civil Rights Division encourages qualified applicants with targeted disabilities to apply. Targeted disabilities are deafness, blindness, missing extremities, partial or complete paralysis, convulsive disorder, mental retardation, mental illness, severe distortion of limbs and/or spine.
I’m sure that Rahm Emanuel would oppose “f***ing retarded” people being attorneys for [...]
There is a brewing “controversy” regarding a few of the candidates for the West Bend School Board regarding creationism. The entire controversy stems from answers to a single questionnaire.
So… what do I think about this little kerfuffle? First, I think it’s a manufactured controversy by [...]
Heh.
The teachers’ association is proposing a salary increase of 1 percent the first year, and 3 percent and 4 percent in contract years two and three, respectively.
In both scenarios, eligible teachers would still see the pay increases associated with years of experience and educational development [...]
I’m sure that the government’s fictional job numbers are a great source of comfort for the folks out of work.
A new report touts more than 10,300 jobs created or saved in Wisconsin by federal stimulus money in the last three months of 2009.
But the jobs [...]
I’m toggling between Footloose and Enter the Dragon. I’m kind of hoping that Kevin Bacon goes all Bruce Lee on the preacher’s ass.
[...]Heh.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is now saying that he misspoke earlier Wednesday when he said that owners of recalled Toyotas should stop driving their vehicles until they can get them fixed.
“What I said in there was obviously a misstatement,” LaHood told reporters. “If you own one [...]
A farmer who built a castle hidden behind a stack of straw bales has lost a High Court bid to save it from being demolished.
Robert Fidler, of Salfords, Surrey, built the home - complete with turrets - without planning permission.
He kept [...]
Huh.
A new insurance industry study has found that state laws banning the use of handheld devices to make calls or send text messages while driving have not resulted in fewer vehicle crashes, the Associated Press reported.
The study, released Friday by the Highway Loss Data Institute, examined insurance [...]
My column for the Daily News is online. It’s called, “School Board primary looms.” It’s about TARP. Oh, wait… that’s not it. It’s about the primary election for the West Bend School Board.
[...]The budget proposal released Monday would extend Obama’s signature Making Work Pay tax credit — $400 for individuals, $800 for a couple filing jointly — through 2011. But it would also impose nearly $1 trillion in higher taxes on couples making more than $250,000 and' [...]
An experimental abstinence-only program without a moralistic tone can delay teens from having sex, a provocative study found.
Billed as the first rigorous research to show long-term success with an abstinence-only approach, the study differed from traditional programs that have lost federal and state support in recent [...]
Heh.
Barrett’s numbers for the last half of 2009 lag behind those of Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, a Republican candidate. Walker, who will face former congressman Mark Neumann in the September GOP primary, reported earlier Monday that he had raised $1.79 million in the final six months [...]
A college buddy of mine (actually, my son (Aggie slang)), just traded an appaloosa horse for 40 cases of beer. Good deal?
I’d say that it depends of what kind of beer.
[...]Heh.
Dohnal is suing Blonien in Milwaukee County Court, accusing his former comrade of failing to come up with his half of the cash needed to launch a jointly run political newsletter called The Sportsman’s Digest. Dohnal says he is owed nearly $21,000, plus interest.
The publication, which launched [...]
Hmmmm… somebody can’t seem to get his story straight.
Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan (D-Janesville), who reversed his position on regulating payday lenders, has recently dated a lobbyist for the industry.
Sheridan denied in an interview Thursday that he was anything more than a friend with the [...]
President Barack Obama sent Congress a $3.83 trillion budget on Monday that would pour more money into the fight against high unemployment, boost taxes on the wealthy and freeze spending for a wide swath of government programs.
The deficit for this year would surge [...]
My neighbor decided to do some pruning of a gigantic tree this afternoon. I had the opportunity to fire up the chainsaw and spend a few hours cutting wood. It’s always a good day when I get to use the chainsaw.
[...]I’m getting ready to sit down and write my column for Tuesday. It’s about the upcoming school board election in West Bend. As part of my preparation, I have spent the week speaking with most of the candidates so that I can understand them.
Yesterday I spoke with Lynn [...]
Yes!
President Barack Obama is endorsing nuclear energy like never before, trying to win over Republicans and moderate Democrats on climate and energy legislation.
Obama singled out nuclear power in his State of the Union address, and his spending plan for the next budget year is expected to include [...]
Overall… not the worst of ideas.
Under the president’s proposed tax credit, businesses would receive a $5,000 tax credit for every net new employee that they employ in 2010. The total amount of credit will be capped at $500,000 per firm to ensure that the [...]
I haven’t fisked anything in its entirety in quite some time. Frankly, it’s a lot of work and I’m a fairly busy guy. Thankfully, Mark Peterson, the leftist professor at UWWC who pens a column for the Daily News, offered an opportunity for a fisk that [...]
Woke up early… transported kids… attended dance competition (pandemonium, thy name is high school dance competition),... girls didn’t do as well as they would have liked, but were awesome… chores… church… finally home… tired… much to blog about after dinner… that is all…
[...]It was report card day for three of our li’l’ uns. Smart cookies. Went to two basketball games - both victories - and ended with a nice meal at the Texas Roadhouse. Nothing like a pound of cow flesh and a sweet potato to cap off a nice day. [...]
The U.S. economy grew at a faster-than-expected 5.7 percent pace in the fourth quarter, the quickest pace in more than six years, as businesses reduced inventories less aggressively, the Commerce Department said on Friday.
The first estimate put fourth-quarter gross domestic product growth at its fastest pace [...]
Huh. Who would have thought that Al Gore and Osama Bin Laden would be comrades in the same cause.
Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden has called for the world to boycott American goods and the U.S. dollar, blaming the United States and other industrialized [...]
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda say their foundation will donate $10 billion over the next decade to research new vaccines and bring them to the world’s poorest countries.
Bill Gates said in a statement issued on the sidelines of the World [...]
On a number of levels.
Both houses passed a bill requiring single-family homes and two-unit dwellings to install carbon monoxide detectors on all floors, including basements.
The bill exempts dwellings with no fireplace, no attached garage and no fuel-burning appliances.
Newly built dwellings would have to have [...]
The Little Three kids (ages 10, 9, and 7) and I are reading The Story of the World, a gift from Grandma that I discovered from Cate.
The first volume covers the nomads to the last Roman emperor. The kids are just [...]
Went and saw this yesterday.
Overall, a pretty good flick… with an ending that makes you need to re-watch the entire movie. The entire movie hinges on the power of faith, but without being too preachy.
[...]
And then there were six.
Support Marquardt, Weigand for School Board
The West Bend School District faces many challenges such as improving communication with and participation by the community, student academic performance, budgetary constraints (especially with high unemployment, limited state aid, etc.), facilities needs, compliance [...]
Ouch.
From November to December, unemployment rates decreased in two counties, remained the same in one, and increased in the remaining 69 Wisconsin counties. Dane County had the lowest rate, 5.4 percent, an increase of 0.2 percentage points from its November 5.2 percent rate. Eau Claire County had [...]
I knew there was a reason that I didn’t believe what he was telling us.
President Barack Obama told Americans the bipartisan deficit commission he will appoint won’t just be “one of those Washington gimmicks.” Left unspoken in that assurance was' [...]
A fact sheet issued by the White House lists the $810 million for the stations and track improvements necessary for the high-speed line connecting the state’s two largest cities, along with improvements to the Amtrak Hiawatha line between Milwaukee and Chicago that will serve as the building [...]
As expected...
The bulk of the shortage comes in two areas:
• Cigarette tax collections are now expected to be $92.3 million less than originally projected over the two years covered by the budget. Lawmakers raised the cigarette tax by 75 cents a pack last year, to $2.52; the tax [...]
Comments?
UPDATE: The problem I have is I don’t believe a word the president says. For example. he touted nuclear, clean coal, and offshore drilling for energy. Does anyone seriously believe that? I don’t. And he griped about deficits after running up the largest deficit in history. This is a [...]
Governor Doyle gave his final State of the State speech last night.
Yawn…
The death spasms of a failed administration.
[...]The law, which was worked into the state’s 2009-11 budget, requires county and municipal governments spend at least as much as they did the year before on police, fire and emergency medical services. If a government fails to meet the requirement, the state, according to the [...]
This deserves some discussion.
A lawmaker wants more scrutiny of state deals to pay more for electricity from renewable sources than from fossil fuels.
The Wisconsin State Journal reported Thursday that major state agencies now get 10 percent of their electricity from renewable sources like wind farms [...]
The West Bend School Board voted last night to cancel the Challenge Day. I wasn’t at the meeting, but I was told second hand (take it for what it’s worth) that some of the board members were primarily concerned with the political ramifications instead of the [...]
As reported on this blog days ago. Curious that the article quotes the union guy, but nobody from the district administration or school board. You’ll notice, however, that there isn’t any hint of the union being willing to freeze anything like [...]
Facing voter anger over mounting budget deficits, President Barack Obama will ask Congress to freeze spending for some domestic programs for three years beginning in 2011, administration officials said Monday. Separately, Obama unveiled plans to help a middle class “under assault” pay its bills, save [...]
A woman named Ellie Light (if that is her real name) recently duped dozens of newspapers around the country, including some here in Wisconsin, into printing her letter praising President Barack Obama as if she were a local resident.
The letter appeared in three [...]
Just a passing thought… I don’t read obsession blogs. Not a one of them. You know what I’m talking about - blogs that focus entirely on one subject. There are some devoted to one politician and those devoted to one issue and those devoted to letterhead. No, seriously. I [...]
Admittedly, Newsweek is a left-wing rag, but they got this right:
Still, last week’s special election in Massachusetts is a sign that Obama has a big problem. The public has clearly registered a protest vote against him, congressional Democrats, and their signature policy proposal: the health-care [...]
From the district’s Facebook page (not listed on the district calendar).
West High School Parents mark your calendars regarding a meeting on Monday, Jan. 25th at 7 pm in the West Library to discuss the District budget.
I presume that anyone can attend since it’s a public [...]
Coming...
Previewing key elements of his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama is announcing on Monday a series of initiatives aimed at calming some of the economic fears of struggling middle class families.
The proposals to be unveiled by Obama and Vice President Joe Biden at the [...]
I watched Inglorious Basterds this evening (after football). It’s a great film. As usual, you have to stomach the cringe-worthy bloody scenes, but it was an entertaining and well-done film.
[...]I watched Inglorious Basterds this evening (after football). It’s a great film. As usual, you have to stomach the cringe-worthy bloody scenes, but it was an entertaining and well-done film.
[...]WOOOHOOOO!!!!!
[...]The confirmed death toll from Haiti’s devastating earthquake has topped 150,000 in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area alone, the communications minister said Sunday, with many more thousands dead around the country or still buried under the rubble.
[...]Last night was a double feature movie night for Wendy and me.
First we watched 500 Days of Summer. I really enjoyed this movie. Good characters. Interesting film making. Highly entertaining.
Then we watched The Hangover. It’s a good, classic, raunchy [...]
Last night was a double feature movie night for Wendy and me.
First we watched 500 Days of Summer. I really enjoyed this movie. Good characters. Interesting film making. Highly entertaining.
Then we watched The Hangover. It’s a good, classic, raunchy [...]
I’ll be on Sunday Insight with Charlie Sykes this morning on TMJ4 at 10:30 AM.
Tune in or regret it for the rest of y’all’s lives!
[...]I’ll be on Sunday Insight with Charlie Sykes this morning on TMJ4 at 10:30 AM.
Tune in or regret it for the rest of y’all’s lives!
[...]
