Opening weekend is over and I haven’t shot a deer yet. It was a successful hunt in that everyone is safe.
On opening morning, I saw three deer, but not well enough to see what they were or to take a shot. The group I hunted with didn’t see [...]
The Obama Administration is continuing to be impotent in foreign policy.
The Obama administration is shifting the focus of its Iran policy from talk to sanctions, but the prospect of winning early international support for toughened new penalties appears dim.
Equally problematic is finding a set [...]
Their own jobs, I suspect.
Growing discontent over the economy and frustration with efforts to speed its recovery boiled over Thursday on Capitol Hill in a wave of criticism and outright anger directed at the Obama administration.
Episodes in both houses of Congress exposed the raw [...]
Via the MacIver Institute.
[...]For all of y’all getting ready to go hunt… here’s a friendly reminder.
Hat tip to Berry Laker.
[...]
The bright side is that those happen to be the bridges in that interchange that I use the least
Three bridges in the Zoo Interchange have reached such dire condition that the state Department of Transportation acted Thursday to replace them, [...]
This is just stupid.
One day after the Milwaukee County Board agreed to privatize scores of county housekeepers, 19 of the 25 custodial staff at the Courthouse complex called in sick, county officials said Thursday.
Jack Takerian, the county’s interim director of public works, said he didn’t know [...]
Ouch, that smarts.
Wisconsin employers cut 129,600 jobs since October 2008, the steepest year-to-year plunge in 70 years of data.
The state Department of Workforce Development is scheduled report on job losses and unemployment midday Thursday. But preliminary estimates from a state database and historical figures from the [...]
Thirty-seven-year-old Charles A. Avey of Grafton was charged Tuesday with first-degree intentional homicide and felony bail jumping. He is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday afternoon.
The criminal complaint says Avey killed 14-year-old Cody A. Reetz on Sunday.
Avey’s ex-wife told investigators' [...]
Here’s a good example of the failure of a command economy.
The long-stalled Park East Square project, which Chicago developer Richard Curto wants to build on a vacant lot his firm bought from Milwaukee County, may be moving forward with the sale of a [...]
West Bend’s Common Council approved a zero percent increase in the assessed value tax rate and a 2.94 percent increase in the tax levy as part of the city’s 2010 budget Monday night.
[...]
Overall, the 2010 budget represents a [...]
Waiting lists and lines for government-run health care? Preposterous! Absurd! Oh wait...
About 7,000 people are on a waiting list for the state’s health-care program for childless adults, and that list could grow to 20,000 or more by March.
[...]
The program extends the BadgerCare Plus program to adults [...]
It’s becoming more and more difficult to trust anything the government is telling us about how they are spending our money.
Here’s a stimulus success story: In Arizona’s 15th congressional district, 30 jobs have been saved [...]
My column for the West Bend Daily News is online. It’s called, “Enter Barrett – stage left.”
[...]Investigators want to know what former West Allis swim coach Daniel J. Acker, awaiting sentencing for sexually assaulting two boys, was doing during a six-day trip to Florida earlier this month.
Acker’s mother told authorities Acker was visiting Disney World, which Acker denied Monday [...]
If it’s still good, this will be some expensive whiskey.
A beverage company has asked a team to drill through Antarctica’s ice for a lost cache of some vintage Scotch whiskey that has been on the rocks since a century ago.
The drillers will be trying [...]
Just because I’m procrastinating about writing my column…
Greece with my Mom.
Egypt with the whole fam damily. Half of them are dead now. Well, I’m sure all of the camels are dead. Half of the people are dead.
Here’s some ol’ buds at Final [...]
No, we’re not having another kid… our old Whirlpool Gold dishwasher went out… again. It’s the second time in less than a year. Rather than get it fixed again, we decided to buy a new one. It’ll be here on Tuesday. I’m going to attempt installation by myself. Wish [...]
Posted: Nov. 15, 2009 2:44 p.m.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett made it official Sunday, announcing his candidacy to become Wisconsin’s governor in 2010.
With his family at his side, Barrett stood in front of his west side home and declared, “I’m [...]
Open thread…
I’m wearing my Jay Novacek jersey. Is that wrong?
UPDATE: Congratulations to the Green Bay Packers. I think I’ll try this recipe.
Potted Crow:
6 crows
3 bacon slices
stuffing of your choice
1 diced carrot
1 diced onion
chopped parsley
P&H Mining Equipment Inc., maker of some of the world’s largest machines, celebrates its 125th anniversary in Milwaukee on Sunday with an open-house for employees and their families.
The company, with its headquarters on National Ave., currently has more than 1 million square feet of factory space under [...]
I’ll be on Sunday Insight tomorrow morning at 10 on TMJ4. Be sure to tune in! I’m sure that you will all agree with my losers of the week.
[...]Cool.
The Museum of Wisconsin Art has identified a riverfront site for its new $12 million museum in West Bend, museum officials announced today. The site, part of the Veteran’s Avenue Redevelopment, sits snug along the Milwaukee river near downtown West Bend.
The announcement marks a change in plans. [...]
I can say that I have one source who confirms this.
Mayor Tom Barrett will announce this weekend that he is running for governor, the Journal Sentinel has learned.
“You would not be inaccurate to write that,” a top adviser to the two-term mayor said today.
A second [...]
It’s been a long week. I’m tired. I’m hoping to be energized by the Cowboys’ defeat of the Packers, but we’ll see.
[...]I was sitting in Hartsfield today in concourse D. About every half an hour, a voice would come over the paging system telling folks that they must have their liquids in a 1 qt. plastic bag and yadda yadda yadda. So my thought was… we’re already past [...]
This is a busy travel time of year for me. Between roughly Labor Day and Thanksgiving, I tend to me out of town more often than not. Since September, I’ve spent two weeks in Minneapolis, 4 days in Indianapolis, 2 days in Columbus, GA, couple of days in Des [...]
Guess I’ll have to start picking up dish soap when I travel.
A law that will limit phosphorus content in automatic dishwasher soap sold in Wisconsin has been signed by Gov. Doyle. The law will take effect July 1 to give retailers time to [...]
Oh, but not in a good way.
A new analysis of Wisconsin’s budget woes puts the state among the 10 most fiscally challenged in the country, joining California in a group struggling to sustain solvency.
The rise in unemployment and steep drop in state revenue [...]
It’s funny because it’s true…
[...]
An ex-US astronaut accused of attacking and trying to kidnap a love rival has been given a year’s probation after pleading guilty to lesser charges.
Lisa Nowak, 46, admitted charges of third-degree felony burglary and misdemeanour battery over the 2007 incident, in a deal with prosecutors. [...]
Women with curvy figures are likely to be brighter than waif-like counterparts and may well produce more intelligent offspring, a US study suggests.
Researchers studied 16,000 women and girls and found the more voluptuous performed better on cognitive tests - as did their children. [...]
Washington-area sniper John Allen Muhammad was executed Tuesday by lethal injection, a Virginia prisons spokesman said.
He was declared dead at 9:11 p.m., said Larry Traylor, director of communications for the Virginia Department of Corrections.
[...]
During three weeks in October 2002, Muhammad and accomplice Lee Boyd Malvo, then [...]
D’oh!
Wick Building Systems said Tuesday it’s closing plants and cutting nearly 500 jobs.
Most of the job cuts will occur in Mazomanie, west of Madison, where the company has its headquarters.
Wick makes modular homes and pre-fabricated buildings and has been in business since 1960, according to the company’s' [...]
The corporate parent of Midwest Airlines plans to add up to 800 jobs over the next year in Milwaukee and Oak Creek, including 400 positions that are being consolidated from outside Wisconsin, rebuilding Midwest’s hub at Mitchell International Airport and doubling the local workforce.
Indianapolis-based Republic [...]
My column for the West Bend Daily News is online. It’s called, “Hope doesn’t pay the bills.” Here’s a sniff:
When President Obama was arguing to pass his Recovery Act (a.k.a. Stimulus Bill), the U3 unemployment rate was 7.6 percent. The President published a [...]
Might I suggest that their best defense is that they are too stupid to be spies?
Three young Americans detained in Iran over alleged illegal entry are to be charged with espionage, Iranian state news agency Irna says.
Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Joshua Fattal [...]
Arrggghhhh...
Somali pirates have attacked an oil tanker some 1,000 nautical miles (1,850km) off the coast, the EU’s anti-piracy mission says.
The Hong Kong-registered BW Lion managed to evade an attack by two fast skiffs, firing automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades, it says.
This is said to be the [...]
This went out to UWWC folks today:
From: Butschlick, Debbie
Sent: Monday, November 09, 2009 2:06:22 PM
To: WSH-Students; WSH-Staff
Subject: UWWC Blood Drivel
Oops… Now that I’m done chuckling… go donate!
[...]I’m very pleased to announce that B&S has won the MacIver Public Investigator Prize for our coverage of the West Bend School Board over the past few months. While we did provide quite a bit of original coverage, many others [...]
So true…
No nation has ever produced a military history of such verbal nobility as the British. Retreat or advance, win or lose, blunder or bravery, murderous folly or unyielding resolution, all emerge alike clothed in dignity and touched with glory. Every engagement is gallant, every battle a decisive action. [...]
The first worm to infect the Apple iPhone has been discovered spreading “in the wild” in Australia.
The self-propagating program changes the phone’s wallpaper to a picture of 80s singer Rick Astley with the message “ikee is never going to give you [...]
Could the whole government seizure of the health care industry break on the political juggernaut of abortion?
The abortion issue had been rumbling within the House Democratic caucus for weeks, but Saturday’s votes revealed the depths of the fault lines. The amendment [...]
The truth is always a good defense.
HR 3962 now also contains language that allows illegal immigrants to be covered under the legislation. When The Gouverneur Times attempted to contact Mr. Owens for clarification of this language, we received no response other than the press release [...]
What’s interesting is remembering the vastly different experiences citizens of these countries had with capitalism and the Soviet Union.
[...]
We haven’t done one of these in a while. Where is this?
UPDATE: Congrats to Rick. This is the square in Prishtina, Kosovo, where President Clinton’s statue now stands erect.
[...]Start bribing your local health commissar now to get your ration card.
The House of Representatives on Saturday night passed a sweeping health care bill by a vote of 220-215.
Seriously, is there anyone who thinks it’s good governance to take over one-sixth of the economy [...]
The West Bend School Board is going to give a tutorial on how enrollment is counted at their meeting on Monday.
The number of students in the West Bend School District and the lower enrollment for which aid [...]
If you live in Wisconsin and haven’t been outside to enjoy this gorgeous day, you’re nuts. It’s 71 and sunny with a light breeze (although it was windier this morning). We spent the morning raking leaves and burning some brush in our yard. Then The Boy and I headed [...]
Former President George W. Bush and his wife Laura secretly visited Fort Hood last night and spent “considerable time” consoling those who were wounded in Thursday’s shooting spree, Fox News has learned.
The Bushes entered and departed the sprawling military facility in secret, having [...]
Here’s a fun, if meaningless, exercise for a Friday evening if you happen to be sitting at home reading blogs. What is your favorite opening line from a novel? Is it the famous “Call me Ishmael”? How about “It was the best of times, it was the worst of [...]
Good.
A deal to resolve the political crisis in Honduras is “dead”, ousted President Manuel Zelaya has said.
He was speaking after interim leader Roberto Micheletti said he was forming a “unity government” without Mr Zelaya’s representatives.
Mr Micheletti acted as a deadline passed for putting a power-sharing agreement [...]
I find this criticism to be laughable.
But Palin appears to be doing her best to keep a low profile on this trip: no press will be allowed into the Milwaukee auditorium where she will speak and those who have paid the $30 admittance fee [...]
Cool.
Ford Motor Co. said Thursday that it will begin equipping certain vehicles with inflatable seat belts that the company says will help prevent injuries in auto accidents.
The inflatable rear seat belts will be available on the next generation Ford Explorer and will become more widespread over [...]
Neat.
Scientists have developed an atlas of the bacteria that live in different regions of the human body.
Some of the microbes help keep us healthy by playing a key role in physiological functions.
The University of Colorado at Boulder team found unexpectedly wide variations in bacterial communities from [...]
A key Senate committee’s Democrats on Thursday approved a plan to impose the nation’s first-ever caps on greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming.
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee’s seven Republicans boycotted the 11-1 vote.
The committee’s approval marks [...]
And to whom?
“I think that if I give him everything I possibly can and ask nothing in return, noblese oblige, he won’t try to annex anything and will work with me for a world of democracy and peace.”
UPDATE: That didn’t take long. FDR said this about Stalin. Congrats [...]
I’m seeing some very irresponsible things being said about the shooting in Fort Hood right now. We do not yet know enough to say anything about the guy’s motives or political proclivities. There will come a time when we know and can discuss it, but that time is not [...]
The Planned Parenthood bill for state takeover of sex education in Wisconsin is being debated in the Assembly right now. You can watch here. Call your Assemblyperson.
UPDATE: It passed with all of the Republicans and one Democrat voting against [...]
A northwest Indiana man was arrested early this morning near Portage for driving with a blood-alcohol level almost four times the state’s legal limit of .08 percent.
“Dude, I do this every night; I’m straight up and not drunk!” Zachary R. Duis told an Indiana [...]
Seven people have been killed and 20 others injured in a pair of shootings at the Fort Hood military base in Texas, the US Army has confirmed.
One person has been arrested and at least one more is on the run, reports say. [...]
Yes, it costs us all.
Wal-Mart ran full-page ads in metro daily newspapers Wednesday promoting its prices for Thanksgiving dinner items: a meal for a family of eight for less than $20.
The Wisconsin version of the ad, when compared with other states, made clear the [...]
Kudos to the MJS for getting on the story of widespread fraud in the government’s job report.
A stimulus job report that says more than 10,000 jobs were saved or created in Wisconsin is rife with errors, double counting and inflated numbers [...]
A robot powered by a ground-based laser beam climbed a long cable dangling from a helicopter on Wednesday to qualify for prize money in a $2 million competition to test the potential reality of the science fiction concept of space elevators.
The highly technical contest brought [...]
Sadly, this would have been a better use of money than the stimulus debacle. At least it would have actually created construction jobs.
WASHINGTON—In recognition of mankind’s inherent propensity for tragically foolish decisions, Congress allocated nearly [...]
President Obama gave his speech in Madison today. In part of it, he said this:
“...and created or saved over one million jobs…”
What? His administration just released a report saying that it had saved or created 650,000 jobs. And THAT report has already been widely discredited. [...]
Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen released the following statement on today’s Wisconsin State Assembly action as it relates to Assembly Resolution 15 which grants the Attorney General authority to appear as amicus curiae in Otis McDonald, et al. v. City of Chicago, Illinois, which is currently [...]
Cool.
Independents who swept Barack Obama to a historic 2008 victory broke big for Republicans on Tuesday as the GOP wrested political control from Democrats in Virginia and New Jersey, a troubling sign for the president and his party heading into an important midterm election year.
I hope those [...]
Seems like there may be some side-effects for this, but it’s a great idea if it works.
Researchers say they have created a special kind of paint which can block out wireless signals.
It means security-conscious wireless users could block their neighbours from being [...]
Tony Machi, whose investor group wanted to promote races at the Milwaukee Mile, told Wisconsin State Fair Park officials on Tuesday that his group is pulling out.
Machi’s decision means the future of the historic racetrack is in jeopardy. The 106-year-old track is the [...]
Hmmmmm… I think I may want to attend. Look at this agenda!
[...]If you want to attend a session to figure out how to implement racial profiling in Wisconsin, here’s your chance.
The public is invited to share their comments with the Traffic Stop Data Collection Advisory Committee on a rule being developed to assess the possibility [...]
