Longtime readers of FREE WHITEWATER know that I have been a critic of Whitewater’s long-tenured (too long, really) police chief, Jim Coan. A search of this site offers ample analysis of Coan’s disappointing tenure in Whitewater, considering his emphasis on appearance over substance, almost every time. Coan has the vocabulary [...]


He gets to home every night to a wife who's also to 2010 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue cover girl.
[...]Erik Gunn of Milwaukee Magazine asks in his Pressroom Buzz column whether the Wisconsin media will do any serious critique of Rep. Paul Ryan's "Roadmap for America's Future."
The Economist, published in London, actually has commented on the content of Ryan's proposal, rather than simply writing about how much [...]

For those of us who sometimes think Wisconsin is the center of the political universe, the best-seller, "Game Change," on the presidential election from New York Magazine's John Heilemann and Time magazine's Mark Halperin, is a good reality check.
The Wisconsin presidential primary -- remember how exciting it was here? -- [...]
…and despite what Forbes Magazine says, Milwaukee is no Buffalo:
Milwaukee 4th worst winter-weather city?
(Seriously, Buffalo didn’t even make Forbe’s top ten. Proof that stats don’t mean Jack.)
[...]“Unfortunately, in the weak economy many people who do not have health conditions are forgoing buying insurance,” [...]
The teacher asked Little [...]
Milwaukee Historian John Gurda is apparently on WUWM’s Lake Effect program, today, complaining about how little snow we’ve gotten this winter…
Man, I bet he’s going to get an earful from his friends:
Steady snowfall could end up lasting 30 hours
[...]The clueless Obumbler administration has, once again, shown it’s allegiance to the teachers union over the well being of the children in the DC area.
Administration Again Cuts Funding for Scholarship Program That Helps Low-Income D.C. Kids
(CNSNews.com) – In his fiscal 2011 budget, President Barack Obama makes further cuts in [...]
Meant to post on this last week.
The U.S. and Canada, its largest trading partner, reached a preliminary deal to settle what had become an acrimonious dispute over "Buy American" provisions in the U.S. stimulus package.
The deal, if approved, will give companies on both sides of the border access to [...]
This article is reposted from the author's blog with permission. Anna, the author, is a Madison expat now living in New York City.
Tyra. What a monster.
For those who haven't heard the genesis of this story:
I submitted my information to be on an' [...]
"Further thought should be given to issues that have been raised with respect to constitutionality and the non-severability clause, so these concerns can be resolved, while staying true to the Task Force's intent," Thilly, chief executive of WPPI Energy, and Tia [...]
Were you confused this morning when you received a text message from the city telling you to park on the odd side of the road? Yeah, us too. Tomorrow is the 10th and being an even day that means during a snow [...]
On December 28th, the Janesville Gazette published a story entitled, “Walworth County search warrants could disappear.” I posted on that astonishing possibility, in a post entitled, “The Secret Warrants of Walworth County.” Here’s what the Gazette uncovered in its original story:
ELKHORN – In some Wisconsin counties, sealed court [...]
Abby Johnson rocked the nation last year when she announced she was leaving her position as director of a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic. Abby has now joined the right-to-life movement and is one of the most sought-after speakers.
Wisconsin Right to Life is thrilled to be bringing Abby Johnson to Madison [...]
David Dodenhoff, Ph.D, took a look at the shocking growth of food stamps in Wisconsin for the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, specifically the 50% growth between 2002 and 2008. The takeaway (emphasis in the original):
That, unfortunately, is the way government tends to work. When elected officials act, they typically [...]
Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan faces increasing questions about his conduct while in office. The Janesville resident, representing a city with high unemployment, has been dating a lobbyist for an industry his caucus is seeking to regulate, has moved out of his assembly district, and has filed a vague travel [...]
Matt Lewis remembers that voting record matters, which tends to be bad news for one Paul Ryan -
Though he talks like Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman, some of Ryan’s most high-profile votes seem closer to Keynes than to Adam Smith. For example, in the span of about a year, [...]
Today is February 9, 2010, the 40th day of the year. On this day in 1825, the House of Representatives elected John Quincy Adams president after no candidate received a majority of electoral votes.
* WP: Feds admit wrongly tracking Wis. abortion groups
The MacIver Institute’s Brian Fraley suggests that the fallout over the relationship between Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan and a lobbyist for payday loan businesses could have negative effects for the readers of Marketplace:
That some of the more liberal members of the Assembly caucus have been concerned with Sheridan’s [...]
The MacIver Institute’s Brian Fraley suggests that the fallout over the relationship between Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan and a lobbyist for payday loan businesses could have negative effects for the readers of Marketplace:
That some of the more liberal members of the Assembly caucus have been concerned with Sheridan’s [...]
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 [...]
Last month, two inmates being held at Stanley Correctional Institution walked out the front gates of the institution to freedom. While that’s not necessarily newsworthy, what is worth mentioning is the fact that neither inmate was eligible to be released; they used forged release paperwork to gain their release. According [...]
It’s a snowy day in Whitewater, with a predicted snowfall of three to seven inches during the day today, another one to three this evening, and a high temperature in the mid twenties.
It’s fitting that on a day with interesting weather, there’s a Wisconsin anniversary about the weather. The Wisconsin [...]
FirstTrust Advisors’ Brian S. Wesbury and Robert Stein on whether or not the past recession demonstrates the need to reregulate the financial industry:
The banking crisis of the early 1980s — also largely created by easy Fed policy — had more loan losses than existed at the beginning of the [...]
FirstTrust Advisors’ Brian S. Wesbury and Robert Stein on whether or not the past recession demonstrates the need to reregulate the financial industry:
The banking crisis of the early 1980s — also largely created by easy Fed policy — had more loan losses than existed at the beginning of the [...]
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 [...]
Shoebox is right (see previous post). The President and congressional leaders have proposed a draconian takeover of the healthcare system. So if they back off just a bit, Republicans might be comfortable. Just like going from a goal of 20% sales growth to 10%. So, how do the Republicans avoid [...]
After over two decades of work with large wireless companies, you can bet that I’ve been exposed to nearly every main stream theory or philosophy on change management that has existed. Do this, don’t do that. Encourage these people, use a stick on those people etc. etc. While I don’t [...]
As yet more proof of how insurance companies really really care about their customers, the LA Times is reporting Anthem Blue Cross is hiking rates by as much as 39% on many of its individual policyholders: In a letter to the company’s president, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius voiced [...]
I’ll admit it – I love the Superbowl as much for the commercials as for the game itself, and Sunday’s Superbowl ads didn’t disappoint, at least in my opinion. Personally, my favorite of all the ads was the Careerbuilder.com “Casual Fridays” ad, but I’d like to know what you thought. [...]
“Sunday will be anything but super for abortion-loving liberals”
So says conservative bomb-thrower Kevin Fischer, who’s clearly a subscriber to the notion that all liberals think exactly alike on every issue, allowing for all liberal to be lumped together in sweeping generalizations.
However, as grumps of The Happy Circumstance notes in a [...]
A really nice, non-technical synopsis of President Obama’s budget proposal is available from the National Priorities Project, which also offers a Wisconsin perspective. Obama has proposed freezing discretionary funding, which translates into a $74.8 million, 0r 51%, cut in the state’s Community Development Block Grant allocation for FY11. [...]

