Funniest Democratic Double Speak Ever Heard in Racine.

The following comments are from Kurt Vlach, the New Head of the Racine County Democratic party. These comments are in response to a report of a grass roots organization showing up en masse to take over an endorsement for State chair of the Democratic party. Read the whole post here.

Vlach said, "I agree, Kay. Weineke needs to disavow himself and his campaign of Mike Tate or else Weineke has some explaining to do. "This is what democracy looks like," said Tate. No, that is NOT what democracy looks like. Packing an open meeting to steal the endorsement of a grassroots organization is certainly not what democracy looks like and it is not the type of tactics that should be endorsed by the DPW. This is definitely a black-eye for Weineke."

That quote was taken on 4-07-05.

Of course the same Kurt Vlach showed up en masse with a bunch of Union buddies and took over the Racine Democratic party on 11-15-05.

Amazingly he has been demanding the sitting officers resign so he can begin his term before the traditional start at the beginning of the year.

So packing an open meeting to steal an endorsement is bad, packing a meeting with same day registrants to steal an election, that is good.

Oh the Racine County Democratic Party is in great shape.

Falling out of chair laughing.....

WImP Radio Loves This Republican.

Many of you may know I refer to Wisconsin Public radio as WImP radio.

Boy are those people in love with Mike Ellis. This morning they had a long story on the possibility of him running for Governor. He said he wasn't going to do it until his freedom stifling legislative goal is accomplished and said rather forcefully he would not run for governor in this cycle.

Of course they got some tape of him hedging rather quietly. You could here the reporter just pining for an Ellis run.

The Moral Superiority of America

Having the courage of ones own convictions is a trait typically found with those who have moral clarity. In fact, I would argue that it is moral clarity that gives one the intestinal fortitude and intellectual drive to have such courage. To those who have such clarity, the world is viewed in far fewer shades of gray than the other side, whom I like to call the “grayscale relativists” (the liberals, the socialists, the communists, the dictators, the tyrants, Islamists as well as the peacenik pacifist appeasers). The aforementioned list pretty well describes all of "Old Europe", the American Left and many within the US educational establishment (especially on university campuses) all of whom simply cannot bring themselves to admit the obvious regarding the moral superiority of us, the USA.

Now that I have the hair on the back of your liberal neck standing at attention, my point is that if you do not believe in the moral superiority of what our founding fathers created and that to which The Constitution refers as a “more perfect union” here in North America then, by default, you must believe that either something else is morally superior or you are amoral. If you belong to the former, your system of making judgments and decisions sees capitalism as evil, private property rights as inconvenient (unfair or unnecessary), liberty and freedom as quaint notions of a by-gone era, the declaration of independence as a document written by misguided racist slave drivers, incremental confiscation of wealth from the producers to the non-producers of society as "fair" and President Bush as an out-of-control Texas cowboy who is more dangerous than an immoral murderous dictator. Read more »

A very bad day for Speaker John Gard

John Gard has bombed big time with both Charlie Sykes and even worse with Mark Belling today. I have much more coverage along with plenty of audio at BadgerBlogger.

Gard has made it quite clear that he will not support a repeal of the gas tax unless he get's lots of concessions, but those will make it a poison pill that will guarantee that this will never become law.

Not a good day for our RINO Speaker.

re: Important item for the X-mas Party

For those of you not in the know, BBA posters will be gathering this weekend to celebrate Christmas, meet each other for the first time in many cases, and plot out Wisconsin conservatives' domination of the world. We will be disseminating the plans to the rest of you on Sunday...if our headaches aren't too bad. Still, it should be much more productive than that Drinking Liberally nonsense. :-)

We will be planning a wider Wisconsin blogosphere get together in the spring.

Shameless Plug-Anno Domini for Blog of the Week

I apologize for this shameless promotion ahead of time, but Anno Domini was nominated for blog of the week on MKEonline. Voting ends today!!

Important Item for the X-Mas Party

With many offering to bring beer to this weekend's Christmas party I think someone should consider bringing a Kegbot. We have to be semi-sober when we discuss our plans to conquer Canada.

The attack on Christmas is out of control.

This story is really beyond belief.

A family in Novi, Michigan is under attack from their neighboorhood association for their nativity scene. (pictured here)

This family may be used to religious intollerance as they are of Iraqi descent. What a great lesson we are teaching them here on right of free exercise of religion.

You can debate on Christmas displays on public land, but on private property? If they do not remove the display, the association is going to fine them $100 a week. To their credit, the family is digging in their heels on this. We could all learn something from them!

This is outrageous.

Update from the Thomas Moore Law Center's Website:

Today the family received a letter from the management company informing them that their nativity display was not in violation of any rules or regulations of the subdivision and apologizing to the family for any distress they have caused. To show its regret over the incident, the company is sending the family a gift basket as a “as a token of our remorse, in the spirit of this holiday season.” The Samona family has requested that the company forward the gift basket to the Saint Vincent DePaul Society in Pontiac, Michigan.

What a class act!

Republican strategy: Push Russ

I'm not fond of the Huffington Post, and I particularly dislike a regular feature by Danielle Crittenden (aka Mrs. David Frum) where she simulates President Bush instant messaging with others. Today's installment (between Bush and Bill Clinton) had an amusing focus, though:

LadeezMan42: btw i had anudder idea 4 u
Kickass43: ?
LadeezMan42: did u hear that dude feingold ovr the weekend?
Kickass43: dat cheesehead wannabe
Kickass43: who wants us to cut & run from iraq
LadeezMan42: bingo
LadeezMan42: he's running for prez
Kickass43: duh
Kickass43: who isnt
LadeezMan42: yeh but he's gonna be rlly rlly anti-war
Kickass43: double duh
LadeezMan42: he's gonna need yr help makin him the candidate
Kickass43: ?!
LadeezMan42: listen--you act scared of this guy
LadeezMan42: get wonderboy 2 say sumpin like
LadeezMan42: "He's the one dude who cd beat us in '08"
LadeezMan42: giv im some momentum
LadeezMan42: & Hillary is O-U-T
Kickass43: ah
Kickass43: i git it
Kickass43: will think bout it
LadeezMan42: u do that
Kickass43: wanna hear our campaign song for '06?
Kickass43: ive downloaded it 2 my ipod
LadeezMan42: k
Kickass43: click here
LadeezMan42: cool
Kickass43: g2g
Kickass43: finishin an email 2 my rents
LadeezMan42: k bye

Give Crittenden this, she sums up Russ's problem. If he gets by Hillary (and everyone else), he'll probably be cannon fodder for Republicans. Provided, that is, we have a candidate and the Senate Republicans haven't destroyed the party.

Admin Bleg

When I scan the blogosphere each day, I usually do so from my blogroll over at Jiblog. I almost never use the blogroll over here at the BBA, so I need to rely on all of you to give me a shout when something goes wrong with a link. When I say wrong, it could be anything from a link breaking to the linked to site going belly up to the blog that used to exist there being replaced with some site about gay sex. Yes, you read that last part right.

I removed the link in question this evening, and I apologize to anyone who was offended.

Tonight Canada, tomorrow the world

Okay, the attempted coup against NRO The Corner failed in May. Perhaps we were a little hasty on that one. We need to start small. Say, Canada is looking ripe for the pickings.

I guess the question is, do we even want it? It comes with Quebec, after all.

TTLB Rankings.

How many of you bloggers out there are registered with NZ Bear's The Blog Ecosystem?

What happened to your ecosystem ranking this last weekend? I (i.e. Blogger Beer) went into the weekend a solid "Marauding Marsupial" and am now a "Flippery Fish". NZ Bear announces he is in the midst of changing his algorithms for ranking and I suspect appearances on a blog roll such as GOP Bloggers counts only once instead of once for each person with the GOP Blogger blogroll on their blog. That is probably a more fair gauge of blog popularity as would be accounting for traffic.

Blogger Beer was more highly ranked than Manuel L. Quezon III's blog but MLQ III's blog received over 10x the visits than my humble blog. I value traffic more than links, links don't click on my ads traffic does.

Ok if he is the Godfather of the blogs lets get his title right.

One of the themes coming out of the Sunday Insight show is Charlie Sykes is the Godfather of the Wisconsin Conservative Bloggers. Jessica McBride has a great post playing on the this Mob theme. But if we are going to use the mob id we need to get it right. Charlie would be the ”Capo di tutti i Capi”(“boss of all bosses“)and yes we all do value his "friendship" Charlie even has a smart lawyer guy to act as his consigliere Jeff Wagner.

Face it if your a member of the Wisconsin Blog Mob your not a "Made" blogger till your on Charlies Blog Roll.

This also means that if Charlie is the Don, Jib is officially a "Capo" since he is the head of the BBA "crew" Am I proud to be one of Jibs "Lieutenants"? "Forrgeddaboutit".

So many thanks to Don Charlie who is helping "This thing of ours" grow.

And to get everyone of you moaps up to speed, here is a place to help you learn mobspeak ;)

Ciao
Proud member of the Sykes "family"
GBfan

CP@SH

It's For the Kids

I have to admit the teachers, administrators, union, and apologist for government-run education are undeniably right; we should do it for the kids! Why do we as parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, or just concerned neighbors spend thousands of dollars, whether it is for government schools or private schools? Those on the pro-government side are absolutely correct; it is for the kids. And why do we educate our children? When you dig through all the theoretical dung, it ultimately is for one reason. It is to give our children the tools of critical thinking and problem solving, the ability to effectively communicate with others, and to learn from other’s failures and successes, so they can become self-sufficient individuals whose lives are incrementally better than our own. If this is not the goal of education; then we, either as individuals or as society, have a catastrophic moral deficiency.

The debate should not be about buildings, population projections, or any of the other peripheral topics. It is about how well our children are prepared in a competitive world to be self-sufficient and the effectiveness of the delivery systems which are charged with accomplishing that goal. Here are the facts on the accomplishments of the union dominated, government-run education system over the last thirty to forty years: 1]Student achievement in this country as compared to the rest of the industrialized world has literally gone from the top to the bottom[ there have been numerous reports on this]. 2] Forty to forty-five percent of our students entering college wind up taking at least one remedial course. 3] According to a recent survey by the National Association of Manufacturers [surveyed 800 companies], 61% of the companies reported that those workers who had a high school GED were ill-prepared for entry level work. 55% reported students deficient in employability skills, and 51% reported students deficient in math and science skills. The bottom-line according to the results of the survey is a growing skills gap and the blame is being pointed right at government-run K-12 education see report. The consumers of the government-run education product are dissatisfied!

Are these the results we want for our children? Is this, what is meant by the phrase, “Do it for the kids”. Is this the quality product you expect from a process which costs three to four times the amount of its’ competition; yet whose quality is often quite inferior to the lower costs systems. Do you really believe that after spending billions and more billions on government-run education that results will be any different after a 54 million or 100 million dollar referendum. If the goal truly is “for the kids,’ then it should be obvious to all, including those who are the only true beneficiaries of the system, that it will not! So by all means let us debate, “It’s for the kids.”

spiritofpublicus@
OnTheBorderLine

Coverage of Sunday Insight

You can read coverage of the Bloggers Special of Sunday Insight with Charlie Sykes at BadgerBlogger.com

Missed Sunday Insight

Silly me got too busy reading use and weblogs that I missed the blog-infested Sunday Insight. Did anyone make a copy they can easily digitize and allow for download (bittorrent perhaps)?

P.S. Did anyone mention The American Mind? My ego depends on it. ;-)

Ice safety

It is that time of year again when Wisconsin residents start to look out at the ice on local bodies of water and begin to pine for their favorite winter activities. Unfortunately, too often we hear on the news about tragic deaths occuring because of unsafe ice. As your local lake begins to ice over, please remember the following safety tips.

1. Any ice less than 4 inches thick is quite dangerous, despite what your favorite ice fisherman may say..
2. It takes 8 inches of ice to minimally support a car or light truck.
3. If you have a medium or heavy dut truck, it is best to wait until there is a foot of ice.
4. River ice is highly unpredictable. Even if you are very familiar with the ice paterns of a river, the river can still surprise you. River ice is popular in some areas with snowmobilers, but really should be avoided.
5. Lakes with rivers that pass through them can have areas with a current. Those currents can lead to thin ice.
6. If snowmobiling, never attempt to cross open water or areas you know to be prone to thin ice.
7. If you are out enjoying the ice, you should always have ice spikes with you. If you do break through the ice, spikes can help you drag yourself out.
8. On very large bodies of water, ice development starts near shore and moves to the center. The farther out you get on a very large body of water, the less likely the ice will be safe.
9. If possible, bring someone else with you. That person may be your only chance to get help if you do fall through.
10. If the ice makes you nervous for any reason, listen to your gut and get off of it. Your gut is usually right.

Do we really have to keep arguing in circles?

What does it mean when the opposition keeps making the same arguments, even when they've been refuted over and over, ad nauseum?

What a silly question. It means you're conservative, and your opponents are liberal.

Yes, I'm as tired of arguing over voter ID as everybody else. And yet, I just can't help myself. Not when Robert Miranda insists on making all the same, tired, oft-refuted arguments in his latest column.

Oh, the horror. Disenfranchisement. Republican plot. Blah. Blah. Blah.

Yawn.

I almost managed to ignore it, but then my eye fell on this:

"Voter ID is nothing more than a political action campaign against the people's ability to do the right thing. The GOP does not trust us. They do not believe that more Americans than not are willing and ready to abide by the law."

This is so very beside the point. Everybody thinks more Americans abide by the law than not. But the few who don't are committing theft against those who are.

Fraudulent voting is not a victimless crime. When one person votes fraudulently, a legitimate voter's vote is nullified. That voter is, in effect, disenfranchised.

Sure, we can investigate and prosecute. But by the time that's all done, the election itself is moot. The votes - including the fraudulently-cast ones - have been counted. The results have been certified. The winners - whether or not they should have been the winners - have been sworn in.

Prosecuting after-the-fact is too late.

Will Miranda address these points? Doubtful. If he's still hawking the same tired old arguments - arguments that do little but secure his standing as a leftist among leftists - he'll still be making them next week. I'm just wasting electrons, here.

Oh, well. I feel better, at least.

UPDATE - I called Robert Miranda by the wrong name - Richard - in the original post. Now corrected, and thanks to Wendy, whose friendly reminder proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that she is the flower of ladylike decorum.

New post up from Iraq up at Brainpost

I just want to take a moment to direct everyone's attention to the blog of BBA member Blog General. He has a new post from Iraq up over at Brainpost.

Why did the Pilgrims land at Plymouth Rock?

Well, here's a theory:

The Mayflower colonists decided to settle at Plymouth because they were running low on beer.

Can anybody think of a better reason?

Choclate City USA without the chocolate smell?

When we drive through it, many of us have enjoyed the smell of chocolate that wafts over Burlington, Wisconsin. Well, enjoy that Nestle chocolatey goodness, because it may have a short future. The EPA is going to be ending the chocolate scent in another U.S. city less known for it: Chicago.

For decades, commuters and tourists have delighted in the mouthwatering smells wafting over the city from the Blommer Chocolate Co. factory.

Now, that aroma is about to disappear, courtesy of federal regulators.

The family-run company, which makes chocolate liquor and cocoa butter among other products, was cited by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for violating clean-air regulations and is now installing equipment that will reduce its emissions -- and stop the smell.

The Blommer factory is a little bit older than the Nestle plant in Burlington, so this EPA action is no way a guarentee that other chocolate cities will have their sugary scents taken away from them. But given that these chocolate scents are the result of plant emissions, one has if the EPA has "Big Chocolate" in its cross hairs. If they do, hopefully "Big Cat Food" will be next (inside joke for those of you who have driven through Jefferson, Wisconsin).

Hurricane Katrina Three Months Later: The Reality of this Environment

We have a great deal to be thankful for - as I run around doing errands this morning in 18 degree weather, trying to keep ahead of the snow that's expected this afternoon - I'm starkly aware of how my home and car's heater and the nice coat and sweaters I have keep me from feeling the reality of this environment.

The Washington Post writes about the struggle people along the Mississippi Gulf coast are having, left over from Hurricane Katrina.

Fifty thousand homeowners lack federal flood insurance and cannot rebuild. The casinos, which employed 17,000 people, won't begin to reopen until next year, and the unemployment rate has quadrupled, now topping 23 percent in the coastalcounties.

Half a dozen towns, Pass Christian among them, are borrowing millions of dollars to pay bills, and some officials are talking about surrendering charters and becoming wards of the state.

"FEMA continues to be able to mess up a one-car funeral -- we don't begin to have enough money for major reconstruction," said Rep. Gene Taylor (D), who lost his own home in Bay St. Louis. "We're going to have a lot of defaults and bankruptcies.

"The federal response, from highways to housing to trailers, is completely unacceptable."

The personal shock of it all hasn't subsided. Locals say it's not uncommon to hear perfectly rational people talk of suicide.

When will the government begin to actively encourage the work parties that need to gear up in earnest and be paired with towns? Big brother could use tax incentives for work time paid to people who go help with rebuilding, as well as tax breaks of donated time to individuals, in order to encourage private response.

I suspect that what the government should be able to do - map the devastation and need and coordinate with private agencies to meet needs through identification and matching - it can't do, for the same old usual bureaucratic reasons: It's unprepared, unmotivated and unable to think outside its limited box.

So people sit in the cold in tents and have no idea what they will do when things get worse as they wait for FEMA to show up with trailers. As if FEMA doesn't have some idea RIGHT NOW how many trailers it can provide. And that stopgap, which will be too little too late, expends effort in poorly chosen ways: "the federal government, which expects to spend close to $2 billion on temporary trailers, has not offered a dime to rebuild public housing."

Instead of grandstanding about pulling out of Iraq or after-the-fact questions about intelligence that's long since been acted on, or any other armchair-warrior politically motivated stance our reps are taking, they should be extremely concerned about harnessing the resource we have - willing people by the millions - to do what it can't - help the millions in need of homes, towns, goods and services of the most basic kind. Again and again, interviewees of the WaPo article bemoan the failure of the government's response.

If our reaction doesn't change - and I don't mean simply more dollars to charities - the cost of Katrina will be even greater. Quicker recovery of buildings, businesses and roadways will get people hopeful instead of apathetic and despairing, and earning instead of waiting for the government to show up and rescue them, three months later.

One Mississippian hits the nail on the head.

"You figure it ain't happening to me," he said. "Well, time to cowboy up. That's all you can do because you sure as hell ain't rebuilding. It's like a nightmare you can't wake up from."

Gov. Haley Barbour (R) has asked FEMA to let Gulf Coast area residents buy flood insurance retroactively if they pay 10 years of premiums, or about $3,000. But FEMA lacks the money even to pay existing claims.

It is waiting for Congress to appropriate more.

Don't count on Congress to accomplish things they never have. Do expect them to return to the standard responses they've given to virtually every problem they ever encounter - taxpayer dollars, and they'll need more. A lot more.

We need someone who can make political hay out of very publically organizing teams and businesses from every state to target the devastated towns, go in and help rebuild. We need sister cities in a meaningful way - Katrina sister cities.

If we fail to act on our behalf, and wait for the government to handle it, we can expect a significant economic downturn for the rest of the decade from the loss of hundreds of productive towns and thousands receiving unprecedented tax relief.

CP @ GMC.

A new low in Journalism

Want to see a paper really offer apologies for a failing school system over the weekend?

You simply must visit the Journal Times, and their four part story telling us critical thought is not valid.

If you might like to see a real education story broken, you might want to visit RealDebate.

Educational Outrage.... Huh?

My buddies over at the Racine Journal Times ran a piece yesterday highlighting a study put forth by the Public Policy Forum. As the JT put it, The Public Policy Forum, a Milwaukee-based think tank with the fancy motto 'Moving the Region Forward', pinned Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha school districts as the ones setting education in Southeastern Wisconsin backwards.

The Public Policy Forum is looking at the region as a whole trying to figure out a way to promote the area and wave a magic wand at the rather unimpressive economic expansion in the region. Education is always a big piece to a plan of that nature.

The folks over at the Journal Times seem to be outraged Racine and Kenosha are being lumped together with Milwaukee. They posed the following question, Is it fair that The Public Policy forum lumps Racine and Kenosha Schools in with Milwaukee's, which are more numerous?Or, is the group justified in their observation that the entire region can be blamed for a widening achievement gap when compared with the rest of the state?

Is it fair? Is it fair? Is it fair?

I would pose the following question, who cares? Public schools in these areas are at best anemic, and we all know it. The question seems to be, well Milwaukee is worse so leave us alone in our mediocrity. And why are our schools in such sterling shape?

Two reasons, spendocrats and apathetic parents.

From the Spendocrats, their answer is always the same. We are under funded, the State this, the Federal that, the property tax the other... yadda yadda yadda. If only we had the resources we need. A message to the Spendocrats, we the over burdened taxpayers have had enough of paying for crummy performance. If you showed us some initiative or any type of forward thinking or responsibility on your part we might be more open to pulling out the checkbook. No one likes to pay top dollar for bottom dollar results.

Secondly, the parents out there are accepting the lackluster performance of these school districts, they should be holding their own children accountable and demanding higher performance from the schools that serve their children.

So, to the Journal Times, Racine Schools, Kenosha Schools, Milwaukee Schools pay attention. Quit pointing fingers and start accepting responsibility.

Trying to say yeah but we are not as bad as they are is not going to change anything, as a matter of fact it is illustrative of the real problem.

Change your attitudes, change your performance and watch the attitude of the tax payer change.

'Now, the Wild Turkey Roams Freely in Most of the State'

What Wisconsin has to be thankful for today: Missouri.

In 1976, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources made a trade with the state of Missouri in order to bring wild turkeys back to Wisconsin. We gave them ruffed grouse; they gave us wild turkeys. The first 29 wild Missouri turkeys were released in Vernon County. The turkeys thrived in their new home and began to breed and increase their population. As the number of turkeys increased, the DNR began to trap them from areas with lots of turkeys and move them to other good turkey habitat areas. Over 3,000 turkeys were trapped and relocated in 49 counties. Turkeys have also moved into 12 counties on their own.

Now, the wild turkey roams freely in most of the state and is doing great--so great that now, like some of our ancestors, we are able to hunt them once again. And, even the colder northern one-third of the state is becoming home to wild turkeys. We estimate that there are more than 300,000 wild turkeys in Wisconsin.

To make the most of this special gift, I found some turkey facts that should prove fruitful as well as interesting for readers from Lake Superior to the Gulf Coast:

Most turkey hunters have experienced a tom that "hangs up" which simply means he stops out of range at 60 yards or more, is still gobbling and refuses to come close enough for a shot. He may be hung up for several reasons. He could be behind some obstacle like a fence or creek, he might be in his favorite strutting area or he has some hens with him. He might also just be stubborn and if you call to him a lot, he will just stay there and wait for the "hen" to come to him. There are several things to try when this happens. First, try using very soft "clucks" and "purrs" to entice him that last 20 yards.

Another alternative tactic is to lightly scratch the leaves with your hand, imitating the sounds of a turkey scratching the ground. If that doesn't work, stop calling altogether and wait him out. Turkeys have their own sense of time and it's nothing for a gobbler to stand and strut for an hour or so in the same spot before finally giving into curiosity and coming the rest of the way in.

I picked the picture of the turkey on someone's porch because I've had them come in flocks into my backyard, then get confused by my fence and have a hard time getting back out until fear motivated them to flap their way into the field behind us. CP @ GMC.

Madison teacher assigns anti-war letters to 3rd graders

If you ever wonder how Madison became known as "69 square miles surrounded by reality," look no further than this story about a teacher who started indoctrinating his third grade students with the anti-war outlook via a class assisnment. The Madison Freedom Fighter has the story and a scanned image of the assignment.

At the high school and college level, it is perfectly acceptable to engage students in the world of opinions. Students have both learned enough and matured enough to come to their own decisions. But even at the high school or college level, it would be wrong to pigeon hole the students into an opinion. This third grade teacher took a group of impressionable young kids and through the assignment forced them to mold to his opinion. An opinion, I might add, that is well above what a third grader can fully grasp. The assignment has been rescinded by the school district, but the teacher should be suspended. This has no place in a third grade classroom-whatever happened to letting kids be kids?

Danica Patrick Married

For old-times sake, okay.

The 23-year-old driver, who finished fourth in the Indianapolis 500, and physical therapist Paul Hospenthal, 40, were married on Saturday in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Team spokesman Brent Maurer said Patrick asked Rahal Letterman Racing to release virtually no information on the ceremony. Maurer could only confirm on Tuesday that Patrick was married and that car owner Bobby Rahal was there.

Patrick met Hospenthal while seeking treatment for a hip injury from a yoga session.

She finished 12th overall in the IRL, won rookie of the year honors in both the Indy Racing League's IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500, won three poles and became a national phenomenon after leading and finishing fourth at Indy.

"It was a good year," Patrick said. "There's always more out there and you have to want that more. Just being satisfied with what happened isn't going to necessarily make any more history."

The many fans who became part of "Danica Mania" after the Indy race will have to wait until next year now to see if the diminutive 23-year-old driver can take the next step and become the first female winner in the IRL.

"I wanted more at the end, but I can walk away knowing that I accomplished many of the goals I set before the season," Patrick said. "Now I have a year of IRL racing under me and we'll be ready for a good 2006 season."

As part of the folks that helped spread "Danica Mania" (and not to mention the numbers at this blog), we here at the BBA wish Danica and her husband the very best.

We also wish to call her husband one very lucky bastard.

State of the State Address

If Governor Doyle had any heart, he'd intervene in a situation here in the cheese state that's gotten out of control. Isn't that the job of our elected officials, to safeguard and preserve our heritage and natural resources? We might have made the playoffs if someone had acted sooner.

I'm telling you, if you want to turn this 2-8 season around, somebody better get serious about getting this guy some kind of special pass. I count every loss to the sad excuse for security that thinks this gentle mascot would ever harm anything besides a six-pack of Leinies. Perhaps a petition, or a special bill is in order. Think about it - it's something every lawmaker could get behind, a completely nonpartisan issue.

Maybe if he takes an antler safety course and gets an unconcealed-carry permit they'll let him back in the games...

I'm just glad this guy's outta town. He's such a gloater.

CP @ GMC.

Concrete buck mugged, concrete doe assaulted

I guess when this River Falls buck was looking the gun hunting season square in the face, he decided he didn't have anything to lose:

The fallen heavy buck ornament had its horns snapped and its stomach cracked.

The story gets more gruesome. A nearby concrete doe ornament - still somehow standing - had scratch marks on the tail and hind legs.

Evidence was soon found on the ground. The culprit was not a human vandal. Deep, fresh hoof prints were left by both ornaments.

“Officer Golden said, ‘You’re not going to believe this, but your cement buck got attacked by a real deer.’ Then, when we looked at the marks left on the back of the doe ornament and figured what happened, we just looked at each other and started laughing,” Rustad said.

That had to hurt. The ornaments damaged by the still at large (or is he?) buck were made of concrete and weighed 400 pounds.

Our own Iraqi solder

Keep an eye on Brainpost, our own Blog General just made it "in country".

Hopefully he will have time to to do some serious blogging!

Godspeed!

Truth in pictures.

Thanks to Michelle Malkin.

Sometimes a little creative photoshop can tell more than posturing or a 10,000 word article.

"GET THE TROOPS OUT NOW!!!"

"Well, unless we have to vote on it. We just like criticizing the President and saying he lied because it's politically advantageous for us to do that. We know that it would be dangerous to pull the troops out now. Please, please don't make us put our vote where our mouth is, Mr. Speaker!!!"

Final tally: 403-3, against immediate withdrawal of our troops from Iraq.

Candidate for the Vrakas seat may have voted illegally

Correction: This post should have reported that Scott Newcomer seems to have voted in the Waukesha County Executives race from the City of Delafield while he lived in Elm Grove. I was mistaken when I said Elm Grove was in Milwaukee County.

The fact remains that Newcomer was reported to have voted in a municipality that he was not a resident of.


It looks like Scott Newcomer may have voted in the Waukesha County Executives race while living in Milwaukee County. He has bought land in Waukesha County, but he still lives in Elm Grove.

Check the details at BadgerBlogger.com

My apologies for the geographical error.
-Patrick

PhonyFreeze.com

Too funny. I love the bouncing Noid head.

Scott Walker's new digs.

http://www.phonyfreeze.com/

Bush, Saddam, Intelligence & Aunt Millie

The discussion of President Bush's pushback on intelligence led to an interesting analogy:

Let's say I call my mom, and I ask her how Aunt Millie is doing. "Oh," Mom says, "I talked to Millie last week and she's in great spirits!"

There's nothing wrong with that, unless it turns out that my mother had spoken to Aunt Millie's daughter this morning and learned that Millie took a header down the stairs. Giving me last week's information, while technically not a lie, does not paint an accurate picture of my mother's knowledge of Millie's condition.

One should make the argument that the response is in fact a lie. Implicit in the question is not a record of key events at various points in the life of Millie, but the crucial question of how she's doing now.

Let's try another analogy: Saddam Hussein has been waging biochemical warfare against his own people and has attempted to conquer neighboring countries as well as harboring and funding transnational terrorists, and has been discovered through various intelligence agencies to be working toward other WMDs, including several documented atomic projects.

The UN determines that this ongoing behavior represents a danger to all other nations, and attempts to levy sanctions and inspections with the intent of dismantling such weapons development and possession by Iraq.

Iraq determines that it will comply in allowing inspectors into the nation. During the inspections, numerous extensive diversionary tactics are witnessed by inspectors, who attempt to counteract them in their own approach to conducting unhindered inspections. Inspectors realize that they are failing, and these failures lead to further UN resolutions against Iraq.

In 1998, after a particularly unsatisfactory round of inspection attempts, noted by a reader here, President Clinton recalls the inspectors and targets several facilities for bombing. Some claim that this ended Hussein's weapons programs; interestingly, rather than saying, "Come look at what you've done and see that we have nothing for you to fear," Hussein refused further inspections.

After the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the world community gave renewed importance to the question of Iraq's activities. The UN insisted on inspections and a statement of its programs from Iraq's government.

The 2002 collective report of intelligence (NIE) states, under the category of "High Confidence Judgements":

Iraq is continuing, and in some areas expanding its chemical, biological, nuclear, and missile programs contrary to UN resolutions.

It further claims that

Saddam, if sufficiently desperate, might decide that only an organization such as al-Qa'ida - with worldwide reach and extensive terrorist infrastructure, and already engaged in a life-or-death struggle against the United States - would perpetrate the type of terrorist attack that he would hope to conduct.

The inspections were fraught with the kind of controlled access and duplicitous behavior the inspectors had come to recognize; Hans Blix discussed findings in an interview:

Well, we had received their report, declaration, about 10,000 pages from Iraq, and we had hoped that it would clarify a lot of issues that remained open since 1998. It did give information about peaceful programs concerning biology and chemistry, but it did not really shed any new evidence on the chemical weapons and biological weapons program. And this is a disappointment.

[snip]

They say there was nothing left, and they still continue to say that. So it's not surprising that there is no new... nothing new on that score. However, what we need is evidence. The U.S. and the U.K. say that they have evidence that the Iraqis retain weapons of this kind. We do not have such evidence here, but at the same time, we do not have the evidence from Iraq that they have finished it. And hence, our conclusion is that one cannot have the confidence that the weapons are gone [emphasis mine].

Blix summarized his March 2003 report to the UN:

I should note that the working document contains much information and discussion about the issues which existed at the end of 1998 – including information which has come to light after 1998. It contains much less information and discussion about the period after 1998, primarily because of paucity of information. Nevertheless, intelligence agencies have expressed the view that proscribed programmes have continued or restarted in this period. It is further contended that proscribed programmes and items are located in underground facilities, as I mentioned, and that proscribed items are being moved around Iraq.

Blix recommended further inspections, which he anticipated taking months and agreed should not be extended into years, was in the very small minority, and was by no means arguing that there were no WMD.

Shortly thereafter, the coalition invaded Iraq.

Given the intelligence and the expectations of the key players involved in intelligence gathering, how does the analogy stand? Is Aunt Millie alright? Did the coalition of nations have reason at that time to invade Iraq?

Leinenkugel, Wisconsin

I know you've all seen this story already:

DISH, Texas - Back in the 1950s, Hot Springs, N.M., was renamed Truth or Consequences, N.M., after a popular quiz show. During the dot-com boom of 2000, Halfway, Ore. agreed to become Half.com for one year.

This week, Clark, Texas, morphed into DISH, Texas. Residents in Santa, Idaho, meanwhile, are weighing the pros and cons of changing to Secretsanta.com, Idaho.

Well, let me be the first to welcome you all to Microsoft City, Wisconsin, county seat of NFL Ticket County!

OSM.

Is now up and running.

How many of you signed up with OSM?

I can pick up two of us BBA bloggers who have our primary blogs registered with OSM. Mine, and Kevin's.

Why or why did you not sign up with OSM?

All Together Now: Thank You Herb & Russ!!

They voted to raise your taxes today. Thankfully, it was voted down.

Someone send them a "No Thank You" Card.

Statement of Purpose:

To reinstate for millionaires a top individual income tax rate of 39.6 percent, the pre-May 2003 rates of tax on capital gains and dividends, and to repeal the reduction and termination of the phase out of personal exemptions and overall limitation on itemized deductions, until the Federal budget deficit is eliminated.

Grouped By Vote Position

YEAs ---40
Akaka (D-HI) Bayh (D-IN) Biden (D-DE) Boxer (D-CA) Byrd (D-WV) Carper (D-DE) Chafee (R-RI) Clinton (D-NY) Conrad (D-ND) Dayton (D-MN) Dodd (D-CT) Dorgan (D-ND) Durbin (D-IL) Feingold (D-WI)	Feinstein (D-CA) Harkin (D-IA) Inouye (D-HI) Jeffords (I-VT) Johnson (D-SD) Kennedy (D-MA) Kerry (D-MA) Kohl (D-WI) Lautenberg (D-NJ) Leahy (D-VT) Levin (D-MI) Lieberman (D-CT) Lincoln (D-AR) Mikulski (D-MD)	Murray (D-WA) Nelson (D-FL) Obama (D-IL) Pryor (D-AR) Reed (D-RI) Reid (D-NV) Rockefeller (D-WV) Salazar (D-CO) Sarbanes (D-MD) Schumer (D-NY) Stabenow (D-MI) Wyden (D-OR)

NAYs ---59
Alexander (R-TN) Allard (R-CO) Allen (R-VA) Baucus (D-MT) Bennett (R-UT) Bingaman (D-NM) Bond (R-MO) Brownback (R-KS) Bunning (R-KY) Burns (R-MT) Burr (R-NC) Cantwell (D-WA) Chambliss (R-GA) Coburn (R-OK) Cochran (R-MS) Coleman (R-MN) Collins (R-ME) Cornyn (R-TX) Craig (R-ID) Crapo (R-ID)	DeMint (R-SC) DeWine (R-OH) Dole (R-NC) Domenici (R-NM) Ensign (R-NV) Enzi (R-WY) Frist (R-TN) Graham (R-SC) Grassley (R-IA) Gregg (R-NH) Hagel (R-NE) Hatch (R-UT) Hutchison (R-TX) Inhofe (R-OK) Isakson (R-GA) Kyl (R-AZ) Landrieu (D-LA) Lott (R-MS) Lugar (R-IN) Martinez (R-FL)	McCain (R-AZ) McConnell (R-KY) Murkowski (R-AK) Nelson (D-NE) Roberts (R-KS) Santorum (R-PA) Sessions (R-AL) Shelby (R-AL) Smith (R-OR) Snowe (R-ME) Specter (R-PA) Stevens (R-AK) Sununu (R-NH) Talent (R-MO) Thomas (R-WY) Thune (R-SD) Vitter (R-LA) Voinovich (R-OH) Warner (R-VA)

Better yet, someone go throw a brick through Lincoln Chaffee's window with a note asking him why is he a member of the GOP if he can't even support tenant #1 - No tax increases.

Feingold on Iraq Before the War

"With Regard To Iraq, I Agree, Iraq Presents A Genuine Threat, Especially In The Form Of Weapons Of Mass Destruction, Chemical, Biological, And Potentially Nuclear Weapons. I Agree That Saddam Hussein Is Exceptionally Dangerous And Brutal, If Not Uniquely So, As The President Argues." (Sen. Russell Feingold, Congressional Record, 10/9/02, p. S10147)

And I'll refrain from saying that Russ LIED men died, 'cause at least with this quote he didn't. He made the most responsible statement reasonably possible with what the intelligence community knew.

Congratulations Commissioner Selig!

I was watching PTI yesterday afternoon, suffering through the obnoxious Dan Lebetard, when the news came down that the union had caved. It was a great moment in TV, as the two men (Wilbon and Lebetard) had no clue how to react. They don’t want to be too overjoyed because they don’t want to celebrate the veritable collapse of a union (something I will do every time, I love living in the age of the death of unions) and didn’t want to congratulate or really acknowledge the total and complete victory of the greatest baseball commissioner of all time.

I say that with total and complete sincerity. I can’t believe the criticism the guy got/gets in Milwaukee. While he might have tightened the budget in his last two years in order to make the team more sellable, he and Bob Uecker are solely to thank for Milwaukee even having a baseball team at all. From the moment the Braves skipped town Selig was front and center lobbying for a new team for the great baseball town of Milwaukee, a task that was not the leasr bit easy. He employed the help of his old friend Ueck and together they made all the right PR moves and bugged and bothered all the right people until the opportunity finally presented itself. To hear some of the 60’s owners and baseball people talk, Bud was like the little kid in the back seat “are we there yet? Are we there yet?” To put it simply, without Bud there would be no baseball in Milwaukee.

As commissioner he was forced into the role because of his incredible baseball knowledge and his savvy business sense. He understood the need to expand baseballs television presence and did so the same way college football conferences were, expanded playoffs and focusing on rivalries. The divisional splits and the wild card have been strokes of genius, as it keeps almost every team alive through August, and means even when your team is out of it they are playing meaningful spoiler games through the end of the year.

Since the advent of the position, the baseball commissioner has had probably the easiest job in pro sports. Baseball was America’s game until the late 70’s when it started to be challenged by the NFL, and until the late 80’s held off the threat well. A commissioner was necessary maybe a handful of times, most notably the Black Sox, Pete Rose and probably most necessary during the 90’s strike. No time was more important for baseball. During the 20’s and the 70’s, baseball was mostly unchallenged for sports supremacy. The commish had to try and get the scandals out of the headlines as soon as possible, but didn’t have a lt to do as far as damage control because there were no real sports entertainment alternatives. On the other hand, the 92 strike could have been the beginning of the end for the National pastime. Baseball came through it with brilliant marketing, an emphasis on fan interaction, and innovative ideas that jumpstarted a stagnant product. Bud Selig can be thanked for that.

On a somewhat more disappointing note, Selig also jumpstarted the game by taking a passive view of steroids. Home runs were filing the stadiums and baseball was happy to get the fans back. Combined with the changes to the ultratraditional game, baseball was soon booming again. Now, Selig dropped the hammer. 50, 100, life. Brilliant. Mr. Selig got steroids to work both ways for him. They brought back his struggling product and when the beast threatened to bring back down that product, Bud was able to tame it.

Congrats Mr. Selig. You kicked the crap out of the union, gained the thanks of Senators who were on thin legal ice (CBA anyone?) and made massive PR points. The icing on the cake is the addition of amphetamine testing.

Total. Utter. Victory.

Pewaukee Mayor Recalled

Pewaukee Mayor Jeff Nowak pulled only 469 votes in today's recall vote.

Scott Klein pulled in 1,928 votes greater than the 50% he needed to end this today.

Teacher's Aide Sexually Assaults Child at Racine Unified

Details and commentary at RDW.

Carnival?

Is there a carnival this week?

Bush was right, the song.

For those who are curious, or may have heard the song on Charlie's show today, I posted the words to the Bush was Right song.

Hey everyone its Belle's Birthday

Everyone go over and wish her Happy Birthday.

She is a Whopping 23 today :)

Hey Dan Vrakas Thanks for nothing

Well that didn't take long did it. Here is how it works Wisconsin Republican says "I am a fiscal conservative and I will hold the line on taxes" GBfan say "great just what I wanted to hear" I then throw my support behind him to the point of buying my own yard sign and blogging my ass off to try and help said republican get elected.

Well then I turn on the computer this morning and find out my supposed fighting tax hero only used his veto to cut 360,000 dollars from the increase so instead of a 2.8mil increase I and my fellow Waukesha county Residents get a 2.5 million dollar kick in the crotch.

Well I would like to thank Dan for not making us wait a couple of month to show us we were Suckers. Nope Dan Vrakas got that out of the way in a couple of weeks.

Guess I would have saved the money on the yard sign and voted for Dwyer it would have been the same damn result.

Why do these damn people think they can keep getting away with this?

Hey Dan why didnt you just leave the whole damn tax increase in place?

Regards,
GBfan Feeling like a class A sucker this Am.

A version of this with more swearing CP @ Spotted Horse

Lance, the Trib has an article on you!

Senior Citizen Bloggers Defy Stereotypes

(This is a carry over joke from some comments at Jiblog)

I kid, I kid.

We Demand a Recount

TIME Magazine is out with a story on the "5 Best Governors" in America.

Not surprisingly Governor Jim Doyle, a wholly-owned subsidiary of WEAC (financed in part by tribal gaming), did not make the list.

On it were:

Governor Mike Huckabee (R) of Arkansas (look out for him in 2008), Governor Kenny Guinn (R) of Nevada, Governor Janet Napolitano (D) of Arizona, Governor Kathleen Sebelius (D) of Kansas, and Governor Mark "the Anti-Hillary" Warner (D) of Virginia.

Doyle; however, is on this list.

The one showcasing the "Most Vulnerable" Governors up for re-election in 2006. He's currently # 4.

UPDATE - There seems to be some confusion on the source of the # 4 ranking. That's from the influential National Journal from August, not TIME Magazine. I apologize for that, my goof. TIME's "Worst" Governor is Ohio's Bob Taft. A guy quite deserving of the title.

Their # 2 is Louisiana's Kathleen "Drawing a Blank during Katrina" Blanco.

McGee Experiment

I would encourage some bright TV type to do this and put it on the air.

We discussed the Michael McGee story earlier this week. He still fails to understand why anyone should call the police on him for sitting in the parking lot, lights on facing the window, engine running after Blockbuster was closed. He tells us how is license plate was visible and everything.

Let us recreate the scene shall we.

• Make sure it is dark.
• Find a big window, make sure the lights are on inside.
• Park your car in front of it, with the lights on.
• Go inside and look out the window.
  

What do you see?

That's right, you can not see a darned thing. So I am telling you with 100% certainty the black Assistant Manager had no clue as to McGee's license plate, or the race of the person in the car, this person called the police. That is the end of this story. If that person had no idea of the race of the person in the car, then race could not of played a part of this.

Frankly I am sick of the McGee's of our world blaming race on their own bad behavior.

Go get 'em Mr. President!

It appears that President Bush is finally fighting back. During the 2004 campaign, Bush never seemed to rebut the charges that he "deliberately misled" America into war. Despite the fact that the 9/11 Commission and virtually every other objective inquity into this has shown that there is no evidence Bush distorted the intelligence, Democrats have repeatedly leveled this charge for political gain. Now, a majority of Americans have bought into this and believe Bush is dishonest. I respect those who disagree with the Iraq War, and am sympathetic to criticisms of how we have handled the post-war rebuilding process. But charges that Bush lied about whether Iraq had WMDs, or that Bush went to war for oil, or even worse yet that he went to war to enrich his buddies at Halliburton and in the oil industry, are just plain ridiculous. It is long, long, long, long, long overdue, but finally President Bush is fighting back. In yesterday's Veteran's Day address, Bush appropriately lashed out:

While it's perfectly legitimate to criticize my decision or the conduct of the war, it is deeply irresponsible to rewrite the history of how that war began. (Applause.) Some Democrats and anti-war critics are now claiming we manipulated the intelligence and misled the American people about why we went to war. These critics are fully aware that a bipartisan Senate investigation found no evidence of political pressure to change the intelligence community's judgments related to Iraq's weapons programs.

They also know that intelligence agencies from around the world agreed with our assessment of Saddam Hussein. They know the United Nations passed more than a dozen resolutions citing his development and possession of weapons of mass destruction. And many of these critics supported my opponent during the last election, who explained his position to support the resolution in the Congress this way: "When I vote to give the President of the United States the authority to use force, if necessary, to disarm Saddam Hussein, it is because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a threat, and a grave threat, to our security." That's why more than a hundred Democrats in the House and the Senate -- who had access to the same intelligence -- voted to support removing Saddam Hussein from power. (Applause.)

The stakes in the global war on terror are too high, and the national interest is too important, for politicians to throw out false charges. (Applause.) These baseless attacks send the wrong signal to our troops and to an enemy that is questioning America's will. As our troops fight a ruthless enemy determined to destroy our way of life, they deserve to know that their elected leaders who voted to send them to war continue to stand behind them. (Applause.) Our troops deserve to know that this support will remain firm when the going gets tough. (Applause.) And our troops deserve to know that whatever our differences in Washington, our will is strong, our nation is united, and we will settle for nothing less than victory. (Applause.)

Go get 'em Mr. President!

A to do list

A “to do” list for the WisGop and the RNC,

I want to thank Mary Eileen over at stand in the trenches, her post help me focus on an idea I have been ranting about since I started blogging.  

I have been telling people who read my blog not to give money or time to the GOP at any level instead to give directly to individual candidates.  I still feel that is the best course of action.  But what actions or efforts by the GOP known here, as the Gutless Old Party would get me to give money and time to the party again?

First on the National Level in no order.

1. Open up the Alaskan Wilderness Arctic Reserve (ANWAR) to oil exploration.


2. Keep confirming conservative judges.


3. Make the Tax cut permanent.


4. Reign in spending, have real spending cuts.


5. Fight for a pro-life agenda.


6. Get control of our border/ get tough on illegal immigration.

Those are for a start and all of them would have to happen to prove to me they are back on the conservative train.  

I would also like to see the leadership take these small cabals of “Moderates” to the wood shed.  20 members should not get to decide what the party is going to do.  Call them out force them to chose.  If they going to keep holding our agenda back the party must find people to run against them and remove them from office.  Being an incumbent doesn’t mean you get that seat for life.  Lets stop fearing primary fights if we can remove a turncoat moderate and put a conservative in that seat the party should make every effort to make the seat more secure.  

In short the National leadership from the President to the Senate and House Majority leaders need to grow a spine and stop trying to make nice with the left and the turncoat moderates.  It has been over a decade since the American people put us in charge and we still have not learned how to be a party that is in power.

Maybe it is time for new leadership in the House and the Senate find someone with a vision and the will to take the fight to all of our enemies foreign and domestic.

Now for the State of Wisconsin, I really don’t know where to begin.  Has there ever been a more spineless group of majority party politicians?

First the list of things that needs to get done.

1. Get TABOR into law


2. Get the Personal Protection Act into Law


3. Get the Voter ID bill into law.


4. Cut the budget using real numbers no accounting tricks


5. Cut our taxes especially at the gas pump.  Get rid of the automatic gas tax increase.


6. Stop attacking business and listen to the taxpayers not the lobbyists.

As bad as the GutlessOP is on the Federal level the state level in Wisconsin is even worse.  The party has to remove Senator Dale Schultz as the leader of the Senate.  He has been as much of a roadblock to the conservative agenda as any state democrat.  

The reason on I have used term into law is the on the state level the Wisconsin Republicans love to use Governor Doyle and his veto pen as their safety valve.  They pass laws knowing he is going to veto them.  This allows them to say we tried but that darn old Diamond Jim wont let us have our way.  Well that line doesn’t wash anymore.  The party also needs to stop attacking loyal conservative votes like Tom Reynolds and start trying to get rid of turncoats like Mary Lazich and Mike Ellis.

In short the Republicans in both houses need to start acting like conservative and stop being captured by the system in Madison.  I am tired to hearing about the bills trying to give sweetheart deals to special interests; we could have left the Democrats in power if we wanted that.  Here is a special interest you should start listening to the Tax Payers of Wisconsin.  

So to the RNC and the WisGOP start making progress on some of these items and maybe you will see my money and my time.  Remember who got you into your chair the voter and remember who can remove you.

Regards,
GBfan

CP@ spotted horse

Ramesh on Russ

Ramesh Ponuru has an interesting take on Feingold:

Michael Crowley has an interesting profile of Feingold in the New Republic (subscription req'd, I think). Crowley wonders whether the party's left will, during the 2008 primaries, forgive him for voting for John Ashcroft as AG, John Roberts as chief, and the continuation of the Senate trial of Bill Clinton. My guesses: The Ashcroft vote will be ancient history since we won't be hearing much from Ashcroft. Feingold will be able to cast the impeachment vote as procedural and treat any attacks on it as a distortion (since he voted not to convict Clinton in the end). By the time of the primaries, Roberts won't have written anything acidic about liberals, won't have voted to overturn Roe, and will have voted "with the liberals" a few times. So while Crowley is surely more familiar with this world than I am, I think Feingold has his left flank covered. (He still won't win the nomination.)

I agree that he won't win the nomination, but there is a significant love affair between Feingold and the Deaniac wing of the Democratic Party. Given that Russ is a hell of a lot smarter than Dean, I think he'll make some hay in the primaries, and that's what has me concerned.

Happy Birthday Charlie Sykes

Happy Birthday Charlie!

I grabbed the audio of Charlie getting blind sided this morning :-)

Happy Veterans Day

Happy Veterans Days to all my fellow veterans

No matter when you were in, no matter where you served you helped keep the Barbarians from the Gates

"Damn the torpedoes full steam ahead"

"SEMPER FI Mac"

"Nuts"

"10 sec to target straight and level"

"Heave to and prepare to be boarded"

I wont explain the above sayings those who know will know what I am talking about


Regards,
Lou Dog

USN 86-91

VP-45 CAC 5 "Bad Dogs"

I will be a Bad Dog to the day I die.

CP @ Spotted Horse

Update great idea Steve if your a vet leave your unit and years if you want in the comments.

Halbach Updates

For those interested in the events up in Manitowoc County on the Teresa Halbach story, I've been posting the news as it's unfolding at my blog.

Wish it was happier news though.

Buy Now, Avoid the Christmas Rush

Don't expect Colossus to buy one for everybody, so get your order in with Weebls now!


Are they really that cute? Yes they are, front and back!



No, they don't have a British accent. You can pretend they have a Wizgansin accent, though.

If I were a “Big Oil Executive”

Good morning. My name is William A. Danielson; I am the Chief Executive Officer for Atlas Oil and Natural Gas (the world’s largest energy supply company). Before I answer any of your particular questions, I would like to address any and all Republican members of both the House and the Senate. For the record, yesterday, twenty-five of your colleagues in the House, led by Charles Bass of New Hampshire, signed a letter asking GOP leaders to strike the Alaskan drilling provision from the $54 billion budget cut bill. These so-called Republican leaders then decided, indeed, to strike the provision from the bill and now it (the budget cut bill) will go forward without either the Alaskan drilling provision or the provision to remove restrictions on states to authorize oil and gas drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts — regions currently under a government imposed drilling moratorium. The timing of my appearance here and that vote is, well, beyond stunning.

All of you, who are clearly now appearing as holier than thou, questioning our “profits,” have made your own bed and now you must sleep in it. How dare you question me or any of my colleagues about “profits,” a concept that seems to me to be completely and totally incomprehensible to your collectivist sensibilities. A result of the work of many individuals who have labored tirelessly under severe government imposed restrictions, regulations, and constraints for years. I come before you today at your request to supposedly answer questions about “excess profits,” at a time when news outlets all over God’s green earth are foretelling of higher prices in the coming cold months for natural gas and heating oil due to supply constraints. You dare to question us about the reactions of the free market that would, if allowed to operate freely, solve not only the supply matters but would, in the long run, avoid cataclysmic gyrations in the economies of the world. It is my opinion, with all due respect, that I am here as an executive not to answer questions that would provide any meaningful public policy changes but rather merely as fodder in your local elections. I will have nothing of it; I will not be the cover for your collective asses.

So, while I am here today at your request and at my pleasure, I would like to take this opportunity to make an important announcement to you and to all of the financial analysts in America and around the world. This group of men you see sitting here met last night and we have made a joint resolution, a gentlemen’s agreement if you will. In short, we are done. Our research and development of new sources of oil and natural gas are, from this point forward, going to cease. No more new wells will be drilled, no more research into deep extraction technology and remote sensing, no more research into alternative fuel technology, an immediate cessation of refinery expansions and upgrades, and no new hiring of labor – in fact, we plan on laying off thousands upon thousands of hard working Americans and foreigners all over the world. We will take that money that would have been spent on these activities, and we will pay, as long as it lasts, the heating and energy bills of those whom you consider “poor.” When the money runs out, you are on your own. We will have done our part; our hands will have been washed of all of this nonsense. In short, gentlemen and ladies, we are going on strike. I suggest you prepare for the reaction from the markets immediately, they will not be kind. My initial projection for the price of a gallon of gasoline under this new situation will be somewhere in the $8.75 per gallon range, but it will climb steadily. We project that our combined financial resources will last, at most, a year depending on the degree of subsidy that you decide is necessary for those “in need of assistance.” Given the nature of markets and how they will react, this projection, of course, is unreliable at best.

In our deliberations last night it became crystal clear that there must be a clear understanding of how damaging and evil government intervention into the free market can be. You are all responsible for our current decision, we see the future of your current discontent and there seems to us to be no reason to wait for the ultimate climax. We have, therefore decided to bring it on now rather than at some point in the future, a point certain to occur.

In short, you can take your redistributionist ideology and shove it up your ass. I am now happy to entertain any and all of your questions.

bildanielson @
OnTheBorderLine

Rudy

Okay, I promised to show my few pictures from Vegas. I've decided not to post my picture of Jeff Gordon, so I'm flip flopping and only showing one picture. But I think it is a really good picture.
In the interest of full disclosure, I do have to admit that a) it isn't really my picture, and b) I wasn't even at this speech. My occasional co-blogger at Jiblog, Col. Ollie, gets to do fun stuff. One of the fun things was attending a speech by Rudy Giuliani. I'm told that Giuliani gives a great speech on leadership, and that he was very accommodating of photographers and press.

RE: Wineke

Fred,

Thanks for posting that little letter from the leader of the DPW - Doyle Protection Ward. I couldn't help think as Chairman Wineke's being all funny, just what exactly is Joe's BIG plan to reverse the trend in Wisconsin.

You know, the one where the numbers of Democrats in the State Legislature outside of the Madison and Milwaukee area keep shrinking and shrinking.

I don't know about you, but I find it just hilarious that 10 Assembly Democrats constitutes 25% of the Caucus.

What you are not hearing about the '05 election results.

All over the news you hear it, DEMOCRATS KICKED BUTT, LOOK OUT FOR '06!

Here is the reality of the situation. The Democrats held onto two Governors seats they already held. Interestingly both candidates had to run to the right to win. This is a net zero.

In California, all conservative propositions lost in a liberal state. Does this bode well for the Governator? Of course not. Is it all over for his re-election? Of course not. There is still a year left.

What you are not hearing is the left lost HUGE in Ohio. There were a total of five election themed referenda that were supported in a major way by Reform Ohio Now, a liberal group. Tons of cash and hundreds of hours were spent on these initiatives to loosen electoral laws that would of had the net effect of making it easier to cheat.

These issues went down by a 2 to 1 margin, a stunning defeat for the left.

You are not hearing about that by the liberal press in their euphoria over keeping the seats they did have.

I bet you did not hear that Republicans have won Lieutenat Governor and AG seats in Virginia either.

The point of all this, it aint as rosy for the Dems as you are hearing out there folks. Did they have a good day? Absolutely. Does this tell us anything? Not really. The big issue to me is the Ohio thing, and there they lost huge.

Oh and by the way, Joe Wineke is an idiot.

State Assembly passes Fetal Pain Bill

The State Senate has already passed this bill, which would require abortionists to inform a woman that a late-term abortion will be painful for her unborn child.

Of course, Doyle will do what he always does with a good, solid, principled bill:

He'll veto it.

From an Wisconsin Right to Life press release:

The Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act would require that women, who are considering abortion and whose unborn children are 20 weeks (5 months) or more gestation, be informed that their unborn children have the capacity to feel pain and that the abortion methods used in late-term abortions can cause substantial pain to the unborn child.

Opponents of the SB 138 attempted to portray the scientific and medical evidence regarding the reality of fetal pain as “junk science.” However, the bill’s Assembly author, Rep. Ann Nischke, cited the numerous experts and studies that clearly substantiate the existence of fetal pain, particularly in unborn babies at 5 months and beyond.

Isn't it interesting that the left always wants our kids to know absolutely everything there is to know about sex, drugs, suicide, etc., but they sure don't want women to know much about their unborn children, do they?

Wow, it's been a year?

BadgerBlogger is a whole year old today.

We Were Right

Beer's hops seen to inhibit tumor growth:

CORVALLIS, Ore., Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Research at Oregon State University shows that beer contains a micronutrient that inhibits cancer-causing enzymes.

The compound, xanthohumol, was first isolated by Oregon State 10 years ago and an increasing number of laboratories across the world have begun studying the compound, said Fred Stevens, an assistant professor of medicinal chemistry at Oregon State's College of Pharmacy.

The substance comes from the hops plant used to give beer its aroma and flavor, ABC News reported.

Most beers made today are low on hops, however, and so don't contain much xanthohumol. But beers such as porter, stout and ales have much higher levels of the compound.

Mice studies show that the compound is metabolized quickly by the body, so it's hard to get a large amount in the body at one time, Stevens said.

'It clearly has some interesting chemo-preventive properties, and the only way people are getting any of it right now is through beer consumption,' he said.

On the BBC

I'll be participating in a BBC programme (like the British spelling?) today at 1800 GMT (that's 1300 in Wisconsin) about the riots in France. You can listen online here.

Slow news day? Seems like it.

This morning I clicked onto the Journal Times' website. I was somewhat bemused to see the lead story, center photo lead headline and everything. It went something like this:

Have you ever noticed that at lunchtime the large-screen TVs in the Downtown Johnson Building are always tuned to Fox News?The building has a spot for lunch open to the public each day, across the street from Monument Square. People buy their lunch, sit down in a foyer area, and enjoy Fox News. CNN and MSNBC present themselves as objective while Fox News presents itself as "Fair and Balanced" with a wink. It's clearly tilted to the right.Whatever you may think about that, the formula works. Fox News routinely destroys CNN and MSNBC in the ratings. Maybe that's why the Johnson Building is all-Fox all the time. Or maybe there's some other reason ...

Of all the things going on in the world Fox News being on in the common area of a private business got the shackles at the Journal Times raised. Is this news? Let's see just what The Journal Times passed on to report this great social injustice.

• Kathleen Falk announces run for Attorney General against someone in her own party. Nah nothing juicy there.
• Bush says "We do not torture", nah they talk about that all the time.
• The Milwaukee paper refuses to come off its Thomas comments. Prime complain about talk radio stuff? Pass.
• France is burning? Too complicated.
• Lakeland press story about Doyle fracturing the truth on gaming agreements? Nope, someone else broke it could not cover that.
• Big elections turning nasty, vote tomorrow? Not in Racine, don't care.

A small sampling I realize, but there would seem to be plenty to talk about today. In the comments section of this incredibly important new expose' we find this:

As the electronic communications officer for Johnson Bank, I am delighted that the Journal Times has taken notice of our plasma screens in the Johnson Building. I'd like to point out that, while we primarily keep the Fox News Channel on, we also do occasionally turn the channel to local sports games and to other news outlets that may be featuring our organization. Sometimes, we even turn on the Disney Channel - such as during "Bring your Child to Work Day." In addition to showing the news on the two lower screens, we also use the top two screens to publicize local and downtown Racine events.

Keeping the Fox News Channel on is not a political statement by our organization. This channel is on primarily because it is the most requested news channel by our associates. As a Workplace of Choice, it's important that we keep our associates feedback and ideas in mind as we leverage these types of technologies.

Best regards,
Aleisha Djuricic, Electronic Communications Officer, Johnson Financial Group

What a startling relevation, the most requested news channel by your associates. Well stop the presses. Something must be wrong with those people.

The amazing thing, by mid day, the sets had been changed to TV Land, and The Journal Times wanted Fox News back!

Fox News was up on the TV screens this morning on the main floor of the Johnson Building. Fox News has always been on the TVs there, at least every time we were there.But, suddenly, perhaps because of the below Internet post, the channel has been changed. A lunchtime check found the televisions tuned to TV Land.TV Land??? Is that really necessary? Perhaps somebody at Johnson is trying to punish us for our innocent observation and meaningless banter, subjecting us to the Andy Griffith Show, Leave it to Beaver, and Highway to Heaven.Oh, Heaven help us and, please, bring back Fox News ...

And this my friends is what passes for front page news in the Racine Journal Times, web edition anyway.

There is an interesting dynamic here. While the Journal Times has a great website and a very progressive and active web forum (heck they even let me write articles for it). Sometimes they forget they are a newspaper and have the awful stigma of journalistic credibility to them. This would apparently be one of those times.

I am so grateful I can just be a snooty know it all blogger.

I wonder what's on in the lobby at the Sheraton? Maybe I should write a letter.

Stays in Vegas

Sorry to disappoint, but there are not many pictures. I have three blurry shots of Eva Lawrence shooting pool, a picture of Mandalay Bay, and a picture of the view from my hotel, which consisted of the sides of three casinos (I was off the strip by about a block).

On the flip side, I do hope to have two good pictures to post. My occasional co-blogger at Jiblog, Col. Ollie, attended an event that I'll discuss a little when he gets the pictures to me. I'm not going to give it away until I get the pictures, though.

What Happens in Vegas

Jib was a busy guy in Las Vegas for the last several days, but he made sure to see some of the sights and take some pictures. Thanks to one-hour photo, they're ready to share.

Jib had lots of work to do, so he spent a lot of time with colleagues, working out business issues. The waiter was nice enough to take a picture during one tough session (I can't tell which one is Jib - it was kind of dark, like in most Vegas conference rooms):


But Jib also managed to make a few friends and blow off steam by hitting the tables. Seven-come-eleven, baby Jib needs some shoes!


The best part was the open-mic talent night they had at the hotel on Saturday. Jib won't say where he got the Elvis suit, but he's pretty proud of the trophy. First place! Way to go, Jib!


Hopefully, Jib will post more pictures and stories when he gets a chance.

Insert Cat Joke Here

Two members of the Carolina Panthers TopCats cheerleading squad were arrested after getting into a fight when they were taking too long having sex in a bathroom stall.

How's that Jib and Lance?

True-False Tests.

If a person taking a true-false exam gets every question wrong then they should be given a perfect score.

Why? If a person does not know what they are doing then the expected result is 50%, so I would take a score of 0% as an attempt at humor (absent other factors such as an inverted tests in seats to each other).

Hmmmmm. Does this mean the Green Bay Packers at 1-7 are actually a good team?

RE: Ya got 12 hours

They attempted a coup, but like most coups, it degenerated into drinking a lot of beer and storming the dog house with rifles.

On another note, while the cat's away....

Journal Sentinel responds to it's "asterisk" commnet

The paper says they aren't racist, we are all just to stupid and listen to talk radio...

Ya got 12 hours

Frankly, I'm shocked there isn't a "Are you 18?" entry page here yet. And Lance has even been encouraging you guys to be bad (last time I ever leave him the keys, by the way). Live it up ladies and gentlemen. The party pooper is coming back soon.

Aside: I'm also surprised Lance and Kevin didn't lead a coup in my absence. I know they blame me for the failed plot to take over The Corner in May.

Is Torture a Reasonable Tactic?

Colossus posted an intriguing challenge to indict torture, which got me really thinking about the issue for the first time. I haven't been against it until now, but some reading I've been doing juxtaposed with reflections on the pros Colossus puts forward make the issue very clear for me.

The original post I responded to is here, and today's continuation is here. Take Colossus's side or take mine, or stake out your own position. This one's way better than the standard trolly-derailment conundrum of switching the trolly to a track that will kill one man in order to prevent it from careening on a death mission toward five other people.

CP @ GMC & NGC.

Update: A reader points out that torture needs to be defined. For our purposes, the discussion is focused on this part of the standard definition:

Infliction of severe physical pain as a means of coercion to gain information.
An instrument or a method for inflicting such pain.

Same-Sex Marriage, Tolerance, and Free Speech

I am the President of the Federalist Society at Northwestern University School of Law. This past Wednesday we hosted an event on same-sex marriage at the school. Since the Federalist Society takes no position on any policy issues, and there is considerable debate within the Federalist Society on this matter, we decided to have a debate. So we invited Northwestern's own Professor Andrew M.M. Koppelman to argue for same-sex marriage. He is one of the leading gay rights scholars in the country and has debated this issue many times. I have also taken three classes from him and know him well. Though we disagree on darn near everything, he has always been intellectually honest and respectful. We developed such a good relationship that he has written recommendations for me. To argue against same-sex marriage, we invited Jeff Ventrella from the Alliance Defense Fund. Mr. Ventrella regularly debates at top schools around the country, and heads of strategic training for ADF. Part of this includes leading the Blackstone Fellowship, which I had the privilege of doing in the summer of 2004 after my first year of law school.

The debate was a great event in general, with over 120 people attending (out of a school of 800 or so). Mr. Ventrella did an excellent job presenting the legal and policy arguments for why same-sex marriage is not required under our Constitution and why it is a bad idea from a policy matter. Mr. Koppelman attempted to argue that homosexual relationships are like heterosexual relationships and should be recognized as such under our laws. His claim was a fundamentally moral claim, per his own admission.

The most interesting part of the debate occurred, however, when we opened it up to questions. As I had requested during my introduction, most of the questions were respectful and demonstrated a commitment to rigorous intellectual debate, not the mindless slogans and ad hominem attacks that often appear in public debate on the subject. The third question, however, revealed something more pernicious.

One woman rose her hand, and instead of directing the question at our panelists, she looked straight at me. She said, "I have a question for the Federalist Society. How is it that the Federalist Society could bring someone in like this from the Alliance Defense Fund. This is a hateful organization that bashes homosexuals, blah blah blah blah...Are you going to bring in white supremacists next blah blah blah?" Then half the room broke out in applause. And everyone turned and looked at me.

"First of all," I said, "as I stated in the beginning, the Federalist Society takes no position on this issue. In fact, there is disagreement among our executive board on this issue. But our goal is to provide real debate on these issues; so we invited two the best advocates from both sides. It was our idea to invite Professor Koppelman to present his perspective too." Then I started getting a bit passionate as the irritation of the question settled in. "Mr. Ventrella's position is a view shared by a huge number of people in this country. If you disagree with him, you are free to challenge him and ask questions. But if you are not interested in open and honest intellectual debate, don't come to our events!" Then the room broke out into an even louder applause then before.

After the event and in the following days, I have had many people congratulate me and say they were proud to be a part of the Federalist Society, including many who disagree with me on the marriage issue. As I reflect on Wednesday, I am still amazed that the woman had the audacity to ask that question. She was a reflection of the liberal intolerance at most institutions of higher learning. ADF is apparently so extreme, that they should not even have a chance to be heard. It should be noted that Mr. Ventrella had said nothing hateful or dismissive of homosexuals, unless you think opposing same-sex marriage automatically makes you a bigot (in which case you're wrong). Interestingly, after my comments, Professor Koppelman essentially stuck up for the Federalist Society and said that it is through rational debate that we resolve these sorts of things. Once again, I found that some of those who selectively adopt tolerance as their mantra really wish to silence those who disagree with them. Apparently it was not enough to host a debate with the pro-same-sex marriage side equally represented. The good news is, the hypocrisy of her position was recognized by most rational people at the debate. In the end, it was honest intellectual exploration of competing views that won the day, not narrow-minded censorship of those who are working to defend marriage in America.