Badger Blog Alliance

Sic Semper Tyrannis

Friday, June 30, 2006

Great quote in Janesville Gazette editorial

I just had to pass this along. It is the money quote from a Janesville Gazette editorial on the Transportation Fund:
Instead of blaming Republicans, Robson should remember to which party our sticky-fingered governor belongs. If Doyle stopped pilfering the Transportation Fund, maybe there really wouldn't be a crisis.

Newspaper puts bounty on blogger's anonymity

Most of us around the Wisconsin blogosphere remember early this year when a local newspaper tried to investigate the identity of anonymous blogger Dennis York. In far Western Wisconsin, the New Richmond News has taken that a step further. Rather than doing the sleuthing themselves, they've placed a bounty on the identity of an anonymous blogger from BBA member On the Borderline:

We want to do our part to stem the tide. We are offering four free Twins tickets to anyone providing the name of the real Jack Bauer poster.

We’d even give Jack the tickets if he/she is brave enough to “out” themselves. Afterall, if “Bauer” truly stands behind the statements he/she posts, there’s no reason for anonymity.


First off, if I were Bauer I'd be a bit amused by the fact that a newspaper thinks it could buy my identity with flippin' Twins tickets. Secondly, for an industry that so fiercely protects the identity of anonymous sources, it seems more than a little unethical that they are willing to pay money to unveil the ID of an anonymous blogger.

For more of this story, head over to On the Borderline. There is some conversation of this story going on there.

Thursday, June 29, 2006

Impeccable Logic

If you're not reading Grandpa Steve over at Grandpa John's, you're missing some good stuff.

Jumper Cable Night at Summerfest

In case you haven't heard, the power went out at Summerfest today. WE Energies is on the scene, ready to try a stop-gap measure within the next few minutes.

If it works, Summerfest is back on. Otherwise, no one knows when the power will be back on.

Want to help out? Drive your hybrid vehicle to the park tonight or bring a set of jumper cables. Maybe they'll let you plug in for free admission.

If you're worried about how this outage will impact WE Energies, you needn't be concerned. They can always jack up rates to make up for any shortfall.

Buzzed

Israeli jets buzzed the summer home of the terrorist-thug president of Syria in retaliation for the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier.

Within 30 minutes, France surrendered.

Re: Oh To Be a Fly...

I'll give you the irony that Russ wants us out worse than our enemies do, and that he looks pretty foolish when he blatently sides with their interests by using this campaign posturing.

When we hit Vegas on our trip, I'll be sure to put a fiver on Russ for Presidential candidate in the primaries, who falls out after the second primary and then patiently waits to accept second place on the ticket with whomever the party picks. Right now the odds should be long enough on that for me to retire on in the luxury to which I'd like to become accustomed.

On the other hand, the only thing the Sunni "insurgents" have gotten wrong is not sticking with Russ's timetable. They've certainly wised up enough to use the anti-war crowd's rhetoric to their advantage. The only miracle is that it's taken them a year longer than one might have expected.

Remember: If they're not for Iraq's success and their place in it, they are separatist enemies.

As for part B, why they're talking truce: Because they have no intention of keeping anything except the ground advantage they'll gain when troops pull out - certainly not any ceasefire promises - while every move the US and the coalition make will be scrutinized for infractions against a "treaty" so the European press and CNN (but I repeat myself) can cry foul.

Alcohol, date rape, and Wisconsin

On Sunday, Owen, Jenna, and I all commented on the changes to Wisconsin law which are making alcohol a date rape drug. Today Ann Althouse puts the topic up for discussion in her blog, and the comments are rather interesting. At this early stage, they are all on the 'con' side.

In a related note, next week I'll be introducing a new line of men's underwear that have a PBT built it. Guys who are looking to cover their heinies can make the woman record her BAC before going any further. Each pair of men's PBT undies will cost $66.

Update
After reading the comments, I realize that the PBT undies need a disclaimer. They are the last line of defense, boys, not a way to introduce yourself to women.

A break from the bleg.

I'm taking a moment off from the campaign to break some actual news.

It seems Racine Unified Schools are paying consultants for nothing.

Shocking?

Not if you have been following Racine Schools.

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Lou, You Almost Got It Right

But for just about a third of all high school students in this country, summer brings no respite from the failure of our public education system.

The failure is not theirs alone, and we all bear responsibility for failing an entire generation of students in our public school system. We must understand that our educational crisis will have long-lasting and profound effects on our national future.

Our elected representatives and educational administrators all but refuse to acknowledge that high school graduation rates for American public schools were higher nearly 40 years ago than today

Worse, of those who are fortunate enough to graduate, too many lack the skills to enter college.
These are excerpts from Lou Dobbs’ commentary tonight. You know things are serious when liberals start to become concerned over the holy grail of all political agendas, government-run education. So what solutions does Mr. Dobbs suggest to cure our ailing government education system?

It is time to restore absolute discipline to our public schools and classrooms to eliminate every extraneous program in kindergarten through eighth grade that does not focus on reading, literature, writing, American history and civics, mathematics and natural sciences.. I certainly would agree and continue such curriculum through high school. I wonder what Mr. Dobbs would think of schools that require Freshman Year initiative, offer fourteen classes in Food and Fashion, an International Food Course in place of a Foreign Language, Pet Care, and Sports Marketing; but yet complain they do not have room for AP Biology.

Unfortunately after this suggestion Mr. Dobbs goes down the expected path of more government.

We should begin to redress the compensation of all public school teachers to ensure that we have the very best and brightest educating our next generation. For me, that means paying teachers far more and demanding far more of them. One problem, demand more from union employees. Sorry Lou, the history of labor unions has shown this to be more than wishful thinking.

The role of the federal government should be to provide, no matter what the cost, a scholarship program that provides a family stipend to economically disadvantaged students who demonstrate exceptional intellect and talent. The philosophy of “no matter what the cost” is what has gotten us into the position of spending more per student than any other country, while at the same time sinking towards the bottom in student achievement.

With the July Fourth holiday weekend approaching, restoring quality education to our public schools will help assure that every American celebrates every day as Independence Day. Lou it is “public education” which is the source of the problem. What is the logic in which the solution to a problem clearly caused by the failures of government is to call for even more government? If we took our car to a mechanic, and the car was returned with the problem becoming worse; would we keep taking our car back to the same mechanic? If we went to a golf instructor and our game became worse; would we keep returning to the same instructor? If we went to a financial adviser and his recommendations made the value of our portfolio worth less and lees; would we continue to follow the investment picks of this adviser? The answer to all of the above would be of course not! We would be considered prime candidates for the insane asylum. So what would possess us to conclude that more and more government is the solution?

Notice what Mr. Dobbs did not mention, spending more for buildings in order to lower class sizes. Perhaps there is still some hope.

Dobbs' Commentary

Mark Pribonic @ OTBL

Read more »

Oh To Be a Fly...

On Sen. Russ Feingold's wall when he heard that while he's wanting troops out in a year...

The Iraqi Insurgents, while working on a way to end violence in the nation, want our troops out in two years.

To the "We're Losing in Iraq" crowd, I ask you this:

If we're losing, why are the bad guys talking truce?

Agreeing with Folkbum

Found this little snippet inside a much longer post over at Folkbum's place:

The problem of education in Milwaukee is not (just) a schools problem. It is a Milwaukee problem. And to expect schools alone to overcome parental disengagement, recreational violence, endemic poverty, chronic unemployement and its attendant problems (poor health care, bad nutrition, lack of parental oversight and discipline), and fifty years of white flight and resegregation is ridiculous.
He and I discussed something similar last year (see this post, if you're that interested.

The disagreement is over whether more tax money - particularly spending on schools - is the answer.

The Good "John Murtha"

Forced double-take when I saw this news.
Baldwin small business owner John Murtha announced his intent to seek the Republican nomination for the 29th Assembly District position being vacated by state Rep. Andy Lamb.

"The people of this area have been so good to me and my family, and I see this as an opportunity to give back to the people of St. Croix, Dunn and Pierce counties," said Murtha, a fourth-generation area resident. "I had never set out to get involved in politics, but my life experiences have led me here and it would be an honor to serve as our next state representative."

Murtha and his wife Terrie have been married for 32 years and have four children. A small businessman for 25 years, he owns Murtha Sanitation, which provides roll off sanitation boxes to area businesses, homes, contractors and farms.

Murtha is chairman of the town of Eau Galle. He's perhaps best known for his band "John and Dave, With Trigger Happy," which has played in communities throughout the area for many years.

He is also involved with the Baldwin-Woodville summer recreation league as a volunteer softball coach and serves as secretary on the finance committee for the United Fire and Rescue District in Hammond, Baldwin and Woodville. Murtha is a member of the Knights of Columbus and describes himself as "pro-life."

He said he will put his experience as a small business owner to work both as a candidate and a legislator. He plans to focus his campaign on tax relief, job creation and affordable health care for working families.
Best of luck out there sir.

May enough Democrats be fooled into voting you simply by your name alone.

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

What’s the point of being the richest, most powerful, most influential nation in the world if Canada’s going to have a better view of Niagara Falls?

The BBA Primary

As all regulars here already know, Fred from RealDebateWisconsin and Aaron from Subject to Change are vying for the right to be your write in candidate against Herb Kohl in the general election this fall. Here's your chance to vote for your favorite. The winner of the poll will have the BBA's endorsement as a write-in candidate against Kohl in the fall. Please note: Jonah Goldberg's dog Cosmo may have jumped into the race.


The BBA Primary: Aaron or Fred for Senate?
Aaron
Fred
Neither, Bring on Cosmo!
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Owen takes swipe at Fred and Aaron

I'd be pretty upset if I were a couple of certain bloggers with Senatorial ambitions. From Boots & Sabers today:

Someone might get into the race at the last minute, but there aren’t really any serious, credible, well-known Republicans who haven’t already said that they won’t run against Kohl.

Ouch, boys. Jonah Goldberg's couch, let alone his dog Cosmo, might have a better shot when your friends take you down like that.

Bucher v. Van Hollen: Last week's poll result

In last week's poll, we took a look at the Republican race for State Attorney General. JB Van Hollen went way up early in last week, but Bucher supporters whittled that lead down a bit as the poll came to a close. The results:

Van Hollen-55%
Bucher-39%
Neither-4%
Won't be voting in the primary-3%

108 total votes were cast.

Flag Amendment defeated

The Senate has okayed the desecration of the American Flag.

Fred's Bid Is In Trouble.

According to highly placed sources Cosmo the Wonderdog may enter the race as a Republican in a bid to unseat Senator Kohl:
Cosmo Does Love the Midwest... [Jonah Goldberg]

If he could make Culver 's his HQ, he just might do it. From a reader:

Jonah,

Since the Republicans don't want to run anyone, is there a chance we could launch "Draft Cosmo" campaign to take on Herb Kohl? Just by showing up he would probably do more than Kohl has in his entire career.
I vote for Cosmo!

3 more days! 3 more days! 3 more days!

Why are some people so against the flag protection amendment?

Congress has been trying to amend the Constitution to protect the American flag for many years now. This year, it looks like the effort might finally be successful.

I will not accuse those who oppose this amendment of being unpatriotic or anything like that. I know far too many of them to say such a thing. In fact, their zeal is based on a love for unfettered freedom of speech. This is all rooted in our First Amendment as my local paper proclaims, which has served us well for 217 years.

The argument goes something like this:

Our First Amendment free speech protection is one of the most treasured and central rights enjoyed by Americans throughout our history. Burning the flag is surely a method of constitutional speech, and this type of speech ought to be protected the same way that we allow other kinds of offensive speech by Nazis, racists, and Fred Phelps. Therefore, we cannot start down the road of chipping away at our First Amendment.

A corollary, but slightly different argument also adds the point that flag burning is not a common occurrence and hardly a national issue worth amending our constitution over.

These arguments, though superficially appealing, don't really withstand a closer analysis in my opinion.

First, contrary to what most Americans assume, current free speech protection has not been a fundamental American right for most of our history. Most people agree that the original intent of the First Amendment free speech protection was freedom from prior restraint. The First Amendment was not presumed to protect people from the consequences of their words. To be fair, there were some who argued for a more expansive understanding of free speech even in the founding era, but even they would be shocked at the types and scope of speech we allow today.

Our current free speech protections are pretty much entirely judicially created protections based upon the political philosophies of the 9 Justices of the Supreme Court. The first real protection of free speech didn't start until the early 20th Century, and current wide-ranging protection was not created by the Court until the 1960s. So while some argue that we simply cannot amend the Bill of Rights and thereby trivialize it, history shows that the First Amendment along with many of the others has been amended multiple times by a Court that didn't particularly like the original meaning of the text.

Now don't get me wrong. I generally favor liberal protection for speech. But the idea that free speech has a long and cherished role throughout American history is just not true, at least as currently understood. (As an aside, 1st Amendment free speech protection is one of those issues that constitutional originalists tend to ignore. This is an area that originalists need to incorporate more into their analysis and thinking about precedent and original interpretation of the Constitution.)

Second, though I'll just mention it here, there is at least an argument accepted by some members of the Court that flag burning is not constitutional speech. For not every politically connected action is or should be constitutionally protected (like burning crosses in the yards of civil rights pioneers with the intent to intimidate or as some believe, giving unlimited monetary contributions to political candidates of your choice).

Third, the argument above seems to fall into the slippery slope fallacy. That is, if we set aside some speech that has been protected and no longer protect it, we will begin to lose the whole First Amendment. I think this just plain wrong. My sense is that Americans of all stripes are more committed to the ideal of free political speech than we ever have been. Sure we have debates over campaign finance reform and university speech codes, but we all generally agree on the value of free speech. And current debates are nothing compared to the limitations on speech throughout American history. I would ask this--do we really think that an amendment prohibiting anti-war speech is soon to be proposed, passed by Congress, and ratified by the states? I think not.

Finally, the argument against the amendment suggests that this small, small problem of flag burning is hardly worth amending our Constitution over. I find this to be a curious argument, especially from originalists. Constitutional originalists ought to be all for frequent amendment of the Constitution. If we don't like a Court decision, we should overturn it with an amendment. It doesn't or shouldn't matter how important or significant the issue is. In fact, we have a lot of relatively unimportant things in our Constitution.

The Constitution is not a sacred or Scriptural document that we should not mess with. It is a supermajoritarian legal document that sets out the basic framework and values we agree upon as a people in large supermajorities. Constitutions have no cosmic or metaphysical essence. There are good Constitutions and bad Constitutions and everything in between.

Vast majorities of Americans believe strongly in free speech, and find nothing un-American or dangerous about saying that burning the very symbol of our freedom goes too far. Since the Court thought differently, let's display our commitment to country and freedom by amending the Constitution to say so. This is not a radical step and does not fundamentally alter our value of freedom of speech at all. I count myself among those who do not feel passionately about the amendment because flag burning is such a small problem, but I have no problem supporting the flag protection amendment.

Ketchup

Not to break in for long on the Aaron/Marcus gubernatorial (presidential?) ticket head-of-steam we've got going here, but I thought I'd say hello from the Golden State.

Put me on the list for several "Vote Feingold in 08, Because he cant surrender fast enough" bumper stickers. I've already suggested in my comments to Chris that we make those up and sell them in the sidebar.

Anyhow.

We flew out to California yesterday... got up at 3:45am to catch the Van Galder bus into O'Hare, just barely made our US Air flight to Phoenix (the TSA didn't think L should be allowed through security. In fairness, he did keep beeping everytime he went through the metal detector).

I'd be posting pics of Phoenix, which is an awesome moonring of mountains rising from the flat bottom of the valley, except that we had just enough time to get to our next flight and board. I'll make up for it when we hit the road and get to the Grand Canyon. And the Tetons. And Yellowstone (the one in Wyoming, not the one in Wisconsin). And Mt. Rushmore. And lots of the other places we will be seeing.

Road Trip!!!!

In the meantime, cross your fingers that I can get my mother-in-law set up with DSL while we're here. This dial-up AOhelL is going to give me a stroke.

One other thing... you could vote for me if you're so inclined. I'm up for blog of the week at MKE. I don't really know what they do or what the award might signify, since I've never heard of the blogs I'm up against, and if I had heard of them it would probably be a sure-fire sign that I should be trailing in fifth out of the five. I do appreciate their mission to get podunk blogs like mine exposure, since that's a main way we all find each other.

Check it here.

CP @ GMC.

Monday, June 26, 2006

Chew on This, Fred!

The first ad for my senate campaign is out!

Video credit: Casper

My first slogan for Fred's primary bid

Here we go with my first entry for the Fred Camp in the GOP Senate Thunder Dome 06 battle royal.

"VOTE FOR FRED OR HE WILL GET HIS HANDS ON THOSE THONG PHOTOS THAT YOU JUST HAD TO TAKE THAT "ONE" NIGHT AND HE WILL POST THEM AT RDW"

I know that one is a bit long but lets just think of it as a working model or idea.


Regards,
Chris

An offer to both Fred and Aaron

Since both Fred and Aaron are locked in a Thunder dome like cage match (Two men enter 1 man leaves) for the right to enter into political combat with Senator Empty Suit.

I thought I would offer them my special ability as a campaign slogan writer. After penning such classic slogans like the following.

“Vote for Feingold in 08, because he can’t surrender fast enough”
Or
“Jim Doyle crooked as a country road, Vote Mark Green in November”

Or the slogan used by most local political officials,

“Hey you taxpayer just shut up about your high taxes and give us the money and no one gets hurt.”


So either Aaron or Fred feel free to contact me if you need a new slogan for your campaign or if one of you wants the other opponent shall we say “Taken care of”

Regards,
Chris CP @ SH2

Write in RealDebate

I am announcing my candidacy to run as a write-in candidate against Herb Kohl for the US Senate.

I was pleased when I heard our friend Aaron from Subject to Change was going to run, however it has come to my attention that Aaron is not old enough to assume the office.

Seeing as Aaron has such a head start on me I will point you to my archives for my positions on almost everything.

This will be a hard fought nasty campaign but let me be the first to confirm the rumor... Aaron is Bi-Polar & he eats Sushi.

Vote early, vote often, vote RealDebate.

UH OH

It stands to get ugly around here. Aaron has been positioning himself for a strong run against Herb Kohl for U.S. Senate for a while. Today, Fred has announced his intent to run as a write in candidate against both Kohl and Aaron. Instead of both focusing their fire on Kohl, Fred has fired a shot across Aaron's bow, claiming Aaron is bi-polar. I just hope that there won't be any ads about banana hammocks.

Sunday, June 25, 2006

The latest installment in Jim Doyle's "Pay to Play" scam

Hat tip to Fraley's Dailytakes

We actually have a contractor on record stating that they donate to money so they can be "included" in the bidding process.

The winner of a $55 million+ contract admitted to Spivak and Bice:

Another KBS executive, Patrick Babe, said it's common practice for contractors to get into the political giving game.

"You've got to remember that the biggest builder in the state is the state, whether you're a road builder or a building builder," Babe said.

"If you don't contribute, you're not included," he continued. "It doesn't hurt to contribute if you believe in any cause."

Catch the rest of the details at Stepping Right Up!

edited to add: James Wigderson and Jenna are on this story too. I can only imagine how much Charlie Sykes will have to say about this tomorrow.

Watching for the unintended consequences, Vol 873

Whenever a law is passed or changed, I always try to envision the unintended consequences of an otherwise well intentioned action. When I saw this in the State Journal, red flags started to go up.
The nation's top party school could get a sobering jolt from a change in state law that puts alcohol on a par with date-rape drugs as an aggravating factor in certain sexual assaults.

The change, long sought by rape- victim advocates in Wisconsin, means that victims who are very drunk during a sexual encounter can be judged incapable of giving consent, triggering a possible second-degree sexual assault charge.

Prior to the change, which took effect in June, a victim who had been drinking typically had to be unconscious to be deemed incapable of consenting to sex.


On the surface, this is a good change that adds extra power to prosecute sexual assaults and rape. I don't dispute that. My concern is how many guys out there are going to be falsely charged and/or convicted of rapes and sexual assaults in situations that were fully consensual. Police deal with many more accusations of sexual assault than the number cases which are reported in the news or prosecuted, and the reason for this is that it is not unusual for some women to have a "morning after" sense of guilt and regret over a consensual action. What seemed like a good time the night before is, when sober the next morning, something they wish they had not done. Often times they will not report the incident in a timely fashion and proper medical examinations cannot be performed. The change in the law is going to allow officials to prosecute legitimate cases where a woman really was too drunk to give consent, but my fear is a lot of people will also be convicted of sexual assaults that really were not sexual assaults but next day regrets. The majority of the cases will not have any physical evidence of rape, assault, or excessive inebriation, and they will come down to a he said-she said. This change may tip the scale towards the "she said" irregardless of any evidence. I hope that this is not the case, and that this change will only be used to convict the guilty, but my fear is that this will not be the case. Watch for the unintended consequences of this change in state law. If I'm wrong, good, but watch nonetheless.

Our side Russ, whose side would that be?

Did anyone catch Sir Robins comment after his surrender amendment was voted down.


"I'm a patient person," Feingold said. "Our side is getting stronger as people get more dismayed about Iraq."


Is it just me or does Senator Cut and Runs quote sound like something our enemies in Iraq and Afghanistan would say.

I know Russ has done nothing but work to get people more dismayed with the war effort. He has fought it from day one.

My question for Sir Robin would be when you say "Our Side" who are you talking about since we all know your not on Americas side?

What is it like Russ being so invested in seeing your country defeated? Does getting to the Oval office mean that much to you?

We will see how strong Sir Robins side is after November.

Remember Feingolds new presidential slogan.

"Vote Feingold in 08, Because he cant surrender fast enough"


Regards,
Chris

Wouldn't an event like this be great to have in Wisconsin?

Conservatives buck 'nanny' laws with blowout


BENNETT, Colo. -- Colorado conservatives gathered yesterday to smoke cigars, drink adult beverages and wield firearms, all in the name of the Constitution.

The Independence Institute's fourth annual Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms gathering lived up to its billing as the "most politically incorrect party of the year" as revelers engaged in a series of highly regulated activities without permission or apology.

A gathering of Republicans may not be the obvious choice for a bacchanalian romp, but Jon Caldara, president of the free-market think tank, defended the event. He insisted there was nothing immoral about it.

"Individual freedom is moral and this day is all about individual freedom," said Mr. Caldara, who shot clay pigeons along with about 100 guests at the Kiowa Creek Sporting Club.

"We're doing this to celebrate individual freedom. And to hack off the left," he added. "Whenever the left sees responsible adults having fun, they go into nanny shock."

Perhaps another BBA fling is in order?


Friday, June 23, 2006

Re: Is Aaron Old Enough to Run?

Read the last few paragraphs of this article.
This issue then lay dormant for more than a century until the 1934 election of Rush Holt, a 29-year-old West Virginia Democrat. During his campaign, Holt had pledged to wait six months into the 1935 session until his 30th birthday to be sworn in. While he was waiting, his defeated Republican opponent, former incumbent Senator Henry Hatfield, filed a petition with the Senate charging that Holt's failure to meet the constitutional age requirement invalidated his election. Hatfield therefore asked that he be declared the winner, having received the highest number of votes among eligible candidates.

The Senate dismissed Hatfield's arguments, observing that the age requirement applies at the time of oath-taking rather than the time of election, or the time the term begins. It also reiterated that the ineligibility of the winning candidate gives no title to the candidate receiving the next highest number of votes.
I'm still in the senate race, everyone! We'll just have to get by with our one senator from Wisconsin until I'm old enough to actually be sworn in.

I know, I'm already losing your support because that leaves Russ as the single senator from our state until May of 2008. **shudder**

Re: Getting Aaron on the ballot

Say, if we do this, I think we should take Fraley's advice and legally change Aaron's name to Severe Weather. Kohl will have to drop a bundle to beat all of the free Severe Weather coverage. Aaron, would you bite the bullet and become candidate Weather?

Need Ideas to Get Aaron on Ballot

Aaron is willing to run against Sen. Kohl. Steve at No Runny Eggs gives us the Cliff Notes version of what's needed to be done. The biggest immediate obstacle is collecting the 2,000-4,000 signatures by 07.11. If we could figure out a fast (but legal) way of getting them I say we should go for it even if it's just for the sheer entertainment value.

P.S. How is Robert Lorge getting his signatures? The only thing freakier than his candidacy would be his supporters.

John Kerry Then and Now.

John Kerry, Dec. 3, 2003.

I fear that in the run-up to the 2004 election, the administration is considering what is tantamount to a cut-and-run strategy. Their sudden embrace of accelerated Iraqification and American troop withdrawal dates, without adequate stability, is an invitation to failure. The hard work of rebuilding Iraq must not be dictated by the schedule of the next American election.

John Kerry, now.

"Stay the course" is not a plan. And what this administration wants is to have a fake debate, as usual. Uh, they're--you hear the drumbeat on every television show from every commentator, "cut and run, cut and run, cut and run, cut and run." That's their phrase. They've found their three words, they love to do that, and they're gonna try to make the elections in November a choice between "cut and run" or "stay the course." That's not the choice. My plan is not "cut and run." Their plan is "lie and die."

What a diference a campaign makes. When he is trying to look tough on the war on terror one thing, now the peace-nick "real" side of John Kerry comes out.

I have never been happier that GWB is in the oval office. He does not get everything right, but the man has principles and I know when he tells me something he means it.

Serious About Renewable Energy?

Then you should consider dropping in at the Midwest Renewable Energy Fair in Custer, Wisconsin! It runs today through Sunday, 9am-7pm Friday and Saturday, 9am-5pm Sunday, and they urge you to stick around afterward for the live music and fun that will last until 11:30pm.

I'll be there tomorrow to check out all the options for getting off the grid, and then some. I'm taking my plan for my 1600sft dream earth-sheltered home with me. I already have a call in to one of the reps for ECD Ovonic's Uni-Solar product so I can finally get an idea of the practicality and cost.

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Terrorist arrests in Florida

Breaking news:

ABC News has learned that federal agents, including the FBI, are launching a series of raids tonight targeting a suspected terror cell based in Miami.

According to sources familiar with the investigation, the group allegedly planned to bomb the FBI building in Miami and the Sears Tower in Chicago.

13 votes in favor of surrender now

86 votes to not cut and run. Once again the message from the US Senate to Senator Cut and Run Russ Feingold

"Sit down and shut up you stupid Asshat"! How many times does Russ have to suffer defeats on the floor of the US Senate, that would make even the French Army point and laugh before he figures out he is way too far out on the left fringe of his own party?

Even Senator(Empty but very rich Suit)Kohl voted against Sir Robins surrender proposal.

Oh for you on the left, no matter what your calling it today "New Direction" or "Redirect our effort" or what ever other focus group tag line you trot out tomorrow it still equals the same thing it always has

CUTTING AND RUNNING

Sir Robin should move to Chicago his record of losses on the Senate floor is almost as bad as the Cubs record this season. I didn't get to watch the vote on Cspan did Russ even stay for the whole thing or did he "Run Away Run Away" as soon as it was apparent that he would lose by a large margin once again.


Brave Sir Robin aka Russ Feingold and his Koz Kid minstrels.

Brave Sir Robin (part 3)

He is packing it in and packing it up
And sneaking away and buggering up
And chickening out and pissing off home,
Yes, bravely he is throwing in the sponge.

And this man is the Great White Hope of the Far Moonbat left I am already looking forward to his crushing Howard Dean like defeat in Iowa.

Final thought giving credit where credit is due, the bastard did get 3 more votes then I predicted. I said there would only be 10 surrender monkeys in the Senate I was wrong.

I am sure Sir Robin has go change his soiled armor after that loss, his worst since his defeat at the hands of the "Chicken of Bristol"

I am going to just sit back and enjoy another victory over the forces of Moonbats.

Regards,
Chris CP@SH2

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Still Settling In

Am trying to get used to my new digs over at WordPress. Having problems with the blogroll though. It's assigning the wrong category to each site. For example, when I want a site (say, Sykes Writes) to be From The Right, it comes up as News & Opinion (and vice versa).

Any suggestions?

If North Korea launches missile, should we...

I am running a poll over at BadgerBlogger, asking what you believe should be the US response to the expected launch of a long range ballistic missile. Now that the U.S. Missile Defense System has been activated, should we attempt to shoot it down?

I have plenty of room for comments after you vote.

Sold !


Sold to the Highest Bidder, The nice man and personal friend of mine from Adelman Travel.

I am pretty sure Adleman getting the contract looked something like this. ;)

Regards,
Chris

You can see the rest of the time line at SH2

Where There's a Will There's a Wade



Marquette University phenom Dwyane Wade carried his Miami Heat to a 95-92 win over the Dallas Mavericks and claimed the franchise's first NBA title. Wade was named series MVP.

I hope Sean doesn't mind I add a couple of pictures to his post this is D-Wade in this seasons home opener here in Milwaukee.(Chris)

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

BBA Poll #2: The Republican race for State AG

Here is the second BBA poll. This post will move down the page but the poll will remain linked in the sidebar all week.


Who will you vote for in the Republican Primary for State Attorney General?
Paul Bucher
JB Van Hollen
Neither
I won't be voting in the primary
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Results of poll number one

We are concluding our first poll here at the BBA. To the question "Will you vote or stay home on election day," 97% of you said that you will be voting. Keep in mind that this poll is not scientific.

Will you vote or stay home on election day?
Vote
Stay home
Not sure yet
Free polls from Pollhost.com

This is embarrassing-Milwaukee Schools have one of the worst graduation rates in the nation.

This is really embarrassing. How is it that with the amount of money we spend on education in this state- we still have one of the country's worst graduation rates? For pete's sake, over 50% of our state budget goes to education. Yet, we can only muster graduating 43.1% of Milwaukee seniors on the first try. Milwaukee has the 4th worst numbers in the country.

Lowest to highest graduation rates in the nation's 50 largest school districts

What is really pathetic is that Wisconsin taxpayers have sold their souls to the teacher's unions and we get very little in return.

I wonder how long it will be till we find a........

A "screw them" post or a DU thread where some caring Leftist Moonbat says those two soldiers who were tortured and murdered by Jihadist terrorists got what they deserved?

You know one of those is coming, our friends on the left cannot help themselves when it comes to situations like this.

I am setting the over under at 2 days before someone finds a post or DU thread like I described above. I will take the under I am surprised it hasn't happen already.

Regards,
Chris

Monday, June 19, 2006

Berry Weiss 12 Months of the Year

BREAKING NEWS FROM CHIPPEWA FALLS:

Leinenkugel's will be selling Berry Weiss all year long. No longer is it just a seasonal brew.

For those of you who can't handle the full-tilt berry boost it also means you can make your "Honey Bears" half Berry Weiss/half Honey Weiss all year too.

Jim Doyle as Tony Earl

Ouch. This can't be a comparison that the Doyle campaign will want made very often this summer and fall:
Like former one-term Democratic Gov. Tony Earl, Gov. Jim Doyle performed moderately well during his first term. Also similar to his predecessor, Doyle heads into his re-election bid with a steep hill to climb if he wants to retain the governor's office.

Since being elected by a 45 percent plurality rather than by a majority of Wisconsin voters, he has been unable to win over the 13 percent of the electorate who voted for Libertarian Ed Thompson and other minor candidates in 2002. Doyle also has to overcome a Democratic Party that lacks a unified agenda.

This comparison was made by Walter C. Farrell Jr. in the Capital Times. The Capital Times has not exactly been on the same page as Doyle during his term, but the Doyle campaign cannot be happy that the most liberal paper in the state is comparing Doyle to past Democratic losers (Farrell also tosses in a comparison with Marty Schreiber). It must feel a little bit like having your grave prepared for you while you still have a shot at living.

Crossing the Border Debate

If you are interested, Kenosha County is playing out the illegal immigration debate. Yesterday, the Kenosha News started a 8 day series called "Crossing the Border".

Craig Swanson- Editor in Chief- Kenosha News
"Crossing the Border," an eight-day series that begins Sunday in the Kenosha News, takes a detailed look at all of those issues with an emphasis on how they relate to life in Kenosha County. News reporters, photographers and editors have worked for months to develop a package that readers should find compelling and informative. But mostly, we hope you find it relevant to you … your family, your interests, your life.



Day 1 of the immigration debate has been posted at Stepping Right Up.

Feel free to join the debate. You do not necessarily need to be reading the Kenosha News in order to comment. Clearly, much has been written in the area of illegal immigration.

Just jump right on in-

Kathy

Sunday, June 18, 2006

Happy Fathers Day from the King of all TV Fathers




Ward Cleaver King of all TV Fathers Wants you to have a great Fathers Day. Now go do it before he has to give you a stern talking too. ;)

Happy Fathers Day from everyone at the BBA

Regards,
Chris

Saturday, June 17, 2006

Iraq: Amnesty, Expediency, Failure

Amnesty. It's showing up again as a political bargaining chip, this time in Iraq.

From the Washington Post:

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Wednesday proposed a limited amnesty to help end the Sunni Arab insurgency as part of a national reconciliation plan that Maliki said would be released within days. The plan is likely to include pardons for those who had attacked only U.S. troops, a top adviser said.

Maliki's declaration of openness to talks with some members of Sunni armed factions, and the prospect of pardons, are concessions that previous, interim governments had avoided. The statements marked the first time a leader from Iraq's governing Shiite religious parties has publicly embraced national reconciliation, welcomed dialogue with armed groups and proposed a limited amnesty.


Rather than seeing it for the politically savvy pretzel-logic maneuver it is, some would have you believe that "Iraqi government does NOT support the U.S. troops."

One might as well say of the amnesty programs for illegal immigrants in the US that Congress and the President do not support American workers. Twisted thinking applied to a twisted attempt at gaining consensus.

Johnny, whose blog deck generally echoes my sentiments but with a left lean (and a left-leaning "patriotism" equation) , notes Bush's recent surprise visit to Iraq followed by Iraqi PM Maliki's amnesty proposal, and hits the nail square on the head:

Yesterday, Maliki announced an amnesty plan for insurgents. Specifically, as long as insurgents (or are they terrorists?) "weren't involved in the shedding of Iraqi blood", they would be granted amnesty. That means, insurgents who attacked, maimed, and/or killed U.S. troops would be forgiven [emphasis his].

Is there outrage? Are the so-called defenders of the troops calling for Maliki's head? No. On the day we reach 2,500 killed boys and girls in Iraq, the Republican chickenhawks are glad to offer amnesty to their killers.


Here you go, Johnny:

I protest. I am furious. This is a slap in the face to the people who shed their own blood and gave their lives so the Iraqis could come to terms - in peace.

Coming to terms through violence should have been put down and those involved must be brought in and tried for their crimes. Maliki is "making moves" with a "security crackdown," and seeks a necessary reconciliation. However, words and policies should affirm actions, not betray them.

Politically, the Iraqis may see this as akin to repatriating enemy combatants after the war. That may be fine for the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and perhaps for those caught up in the Iraqi infighting - providing they do not return to the field of combat. It's not appropriate for those who have killed ANY of the troops that put the Iraq government in place. A house divided against itself cannot stand. To count the coalition as some external designation is to create a myth that will create a permanent fracture in the long run.

But Johnny and others make a mistake if they attempt to put this political stripe on conservatives. It's a political maneuver as old as Menalaeus, and its name is neither Democrat nor Republican.

Its name is expediency. And done in this fashion, it's dead wrong.

CP @ GMC.

RE: House rejects time-table for Iraq pullout- again

To answer Kathy's question:

We'll have this pseudo-debate as many times as it takes to reassure the Kos kids that the Dems are really, really, really trying to get us out of the war but can't, and as many as it takes for the a number of the same reps to reassure their centrist and pro-war constituents that Congress stands behind the war. Remember, not all voters follow things this closely.

I'm surprised they didn't push this off until at least September. Maybe we'll see another version of it again closer to November.

Kudos to Jenna for taking a closer look at what our Reps signed off on. I hope they use this in their campaigns against the nay-sayers.

Update: From The Hill, posted Thursday:

Despite a superior position in the polls and impressive unity on key votes, House Democrats have been feuding in recent weeks over such issues as the seat of Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) on the Ways and Means Committee, the ambitions of two of their most respected members to be majority leader in a Democratic House and their long-standing lack of consensus on whether to redeploy troops out of Iraq.

Such tensions were in full display yesterday morning at a caucus meeting on Iraq where three members of the Out of Iraq Caucus clustered around a microphone to berate House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) loudly for failing to take a stronger stand on leaving Iraq.

At times having to speak above her colleagues, one member of the caucus, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), told Pelosi that the Out of Iraq Caucus members have been “leaders on this issue,” according to several attendees, and that they deserve to play a more prominent role in the House’s planned debate of Iraq policy today.

“We’re all leaders,” Pelosi replied.

The Spice Boys Embarass Themselves Again

National Journal and National Review are two different entities.

Friday, June 16, 2006

Doyle Flacks Called Before Committee

Marc Marotta and State Administration Secretary Stephen Bablitch might talk to the state legislature's budget committee next week. Maybe we'll find out what all those calls from Marotta's office to Adelman Travel were all about? Neither have been subpoenaed (that hasn't happened in 40 years) but if it did that would really make things interesting.

RE: Von Mises

Mises defintely needs more publicity and awareness. Heck, he's the second-greatest economist of the 20th Century. I'll let the audience guess the first.

RE: House rejects time-table for Iraq pullout- again

This resolution did not just reject a time table for pullout.

It also ultimately defined the War in Iraq as "part of the Global War on Terror," commended and honored our troops, congratulated Iraqi leaders and people, and,
calls upon the nations of the world to promote global peace and security by standing with the United States and other Coalition partners to support the efforts of the Iraqi and Afghan people to live in freedom...
Although this should be a given, kudos to those who supported this resolution, and let's not forget those who didn't. Ryan over at GOP-Spot rounds up the votes of the Wisconsin Congressional Delegation.

House rejects time-table for Iraq pullout- again

I am not sure how many times we have to have this debate- as many as it takes, I guess.

Once again, the House has rejected setting a timetable for withdrawing from Iraq.

Final vote 256-153

Give the Road Builders money and no one gets hurt.

Has anyone else heard those radio ads played during Charlies show from the "Road Builders"

They have a former head of the State Patrol telling us "Give the Road Builders Money or you will all die"

Yes we will all die from pot holes, if that was true I would have died 3 years ago. But if we don't have 4 lanes to Hurley you will die.

How much do we already give to the Road Builders for roads that if we are lucky last 4-6 years.

I love when people try to convince me if I don't give them money I will die.

Regards,
Chris CP@SH2

This Is For You, Kathy

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Honda in Wisconsin?

Maybe.
Both Ohio and Indiana soon could have more competition for a new Honda plant.

Walworth County, Wisconsin's leaders are poised to send Honda Motor Company a proposal urging the automaker to build a new assembly plant there.

BBA Polls

Right now I am sitting on a pile of good ideas for the BBA, none of which were generated by me, by the way. I've been negligent in implementing them, though. I promise to start slowly rolling them out one by one. The first one to go into effect is the BBA Poll. If you look in the sidebar, you'll see this cool new feature. Also, if you have an idea for new polls, you are welcome to email them to me at ojibway7rj-at-gmail-dot-com.

Thank you everyone.

Here it is- my very first post on the BBA.

Thanks everyone, for the invitation and for the welcome.

I have a quick question-

Fred tells me that as part of my initiation, I have to give him a big wet sloppy kiss- Is this true? Did anyone else have to kiss Fred?

If that is the case- here you go Fred!



Just kidding Fred!

I look forward to posting something brilliant in the near future. If not brilliant, perhaps mediocre with work.

Thank You-

Kathy

Von Mises

I’m not sure who all reads my blog over at OnTheBorderLine but among some of the other topics we write about, is economics, liberty, and freedom. In the upper left hand corner of my blog I have quotes from Ludwig Von Mises. I won’t try and explain in this little time and space the differences between the Chicago, Keynsian, and Austrian methodologies of economics but over here at OnTheBorderLine we are hot on Austrian economics which is much more libertarian in nature.

I have many writers here at OnTheBorderLine among them, Mark. A. Pribonic who has written some extremely relevant, topical, and insightful articles. Well the Von Mises Institute has been reading my blog as well. They decided to publish one of Marks posts on their blog. See Enron By Force: The Case of Government Retirement Programs .

Congrats Mark!

For more of Marks work follow this link.

Chris @ OTBL

Welcome K. Carpenter

Just want to help welcome the newest member to the crowd. May you be a vital member to the debate, a contributor to many a post, and a drinker of Leinies

(Owen, ready the rubber chicken for hazing.)

Welcome aboard Stepping Right Up.

I would like to extend a warm welcome to Kathy from Stepping Right Up to the Badger Blog Alliance.

Kathy is out of Kenosha and has been doing some great work. I am not sure if there is any truth to the rumor that she blogs on a laptop at the Brat Stop.

BTW Kathy did a bangup job hosting this weeks Carnival of the Badger.

Welcome Kathy!

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Racine Mayor / Police Chief thingie...


If you are curious, I have phone records published from the Chief from none other than the former Mayor of Racine, Jim Smith.

This thing just got interesting. (well more interesting)

Burmaster’s New Constitution

BurmasterSuperintendent Burmaster stated the following yesterday in reference to the announced allocation of $1.25 million in Keeping the Promise money to 123 local educational agencies serving students with disabilities from 149 school districts:


“All children are entitled to a free appropriate public education.” “Some of our students have severe or multiple disabilities that require very specialized equipment and services that can cost three or more times the average expense for educating a student. This aid will help school districts offset some of the costs for these services.”


Please note that the Superintendent is now dramatically increasing the scope of this obscene leviathan known as the government school monopoly to not just its constitutionally mandated and perversely limited scope but to "all children" without reservation.

Furthermore, the Superintendent has now officially and unilaterally taken the position that not only is the irrational notion of "free" being touted, but that a "free" education must be "appropriate."

every chitlinThen you have the new motto for the DPI, "New Wisconsin Promise: A Quality Education For Every Child."

Folks, words mean things. And the words you use as the elected Superintendent of Public Instruction carry implications. The vetted and published words take on an even greater significance - purposeful and intended not to be misconstrued as casual conversation...

The state constitution is clear, and the Supernintendent is playing fast and loose with it and someone needs to sit Ms Burmaster down and explain to her in no uncertain terms that she is not free to change the constitution to be concurrent with her cradle-to-grave, taxpayer subsidized, educational monopoly world-view...

The legislature shall provide by law for the establishment of district schools, which shall be as nearly uniform as practicable; and such schools shall be free and without charge for tuition to all children between the ages of 4 and 20 years; and no sectarian instruction shall be allowed therein; but the legislature by law may, for the purpose of religious instruction outside the district schools, authorize the release of students during regular school hours. [1969 J.R. 37, 1971 J.R. 28, vote April 1972]


Please note that Article X, Section 3 refers only to children aged 5 through 19, and not "all children." Nor does the section even use the word "appropriate." Can you imagine a system where "appropriate" was a constitutional standard? Good grief...

bildanielson @ OTBL

Ann Coulter and Political Debate Part III: The New Conservative Media

See Anno Domini for Part I and Part II


Conservatives have spent much of the last 10-15 years criticizing the "MSM", or mainstream media, and touting the rise of their new alternative media outlets. No longer are Americans restricted to listening to Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather. No longer is the New York Times considered the most reliable source of political reporting. No longer is the National Review the only place to find rebuttals to the nightly parade of liberal media bias. Fox News, talk radio, and the rise of the blogosphere has rightly been celebrated. The liberal monopoly on information simply does not exist anymore.

But let's do a little self assessment. Ross Douthat reviewed Brian Anderson's "South Park Conservatives: The Revolt Against Liberal Media Bias" in the Winter edition of the Claremont Review of Books. In his review, he critically evaluates the new media and makes some points worthy of attention.

First, he notes that the new conservative media "is ideally suited to rapid-response punditry and rallying the base, but it's not really an alternative to the major cultural institutions-the big dailies, networks, universities, and Hollywood studios." Douthat points out that conservatives have really only achieved partial success in challenging these institutions. After all, the best universities in America are still predominantly liberal, and the vast majority of movies coming out of Hollywood are openly antagonistic to the values most conservatives hold. Douthat notes, "The '60s Left actually took over academia, remember, whereas the 21st-century Right seems content merely to lob stones through the university's more vulnerable windows."

He is right. While conservatives have made some progress in all of these areas, and these culture-forming institutions no longer are the unavoidable disseminators of information, one can hardly describe any of these currently as even tilting to the right. The fact is, for all the progress the new media has made, the Left still has control over the major culture-forming institutions in America.

Douthat's most important critique, though, is of the new media itself and its role in forming conservative thought. He warns that the Right is in danger of "cocooning." Just as liberals seem to by and large have abandoned original thinking and cling to the same failed ideas of 20th Century socialism, he warns that the Right "has its own mini-establishment, which likewise runs the risk of becoming less a forum for original ideas than a museum case for stale assumptions." In particular, he argues that this can already be seen in the "echo-chamber tendency in the right-wing bloggers." As a blogger myself, I agree (though I think the left-wing blogs can equally be criticized in this regard).

Let's bring this back to Ann Coulter, who I think is a type for Douthat's warning to the Right:

"Confident that the Right has won the war of ideas, too many conservatives don't bother to grapple with liberalism as it actually exists, preferring instead to train their fire on straw men and minor-league extremists. And secure in the knowledge that the hated MSM will always misinterpret the world, conservatives-including, by his own account, the current occupant of the White House-often close their ears to things that the liberal media gets right, preferring to filter their news through more congenial outlets."

Right on. Fellow conservatives, let's not get so arrogant to think that Ted Kennedy or Hillary Clinton never have anything valuable to say. Let's not rest content with slogans like "Lower taxes" or even "Pro-life." We must think hard about what a conservative vision for government actually looks like; for we certainly haven't seen it yet. What ought to become of our bloated federal bureaucracy? What, fellow pro-lifers, about in vitro fertilization, or the hundreds of thousands of frozen embryos already in existence? What about the gay couple that has been raising children for years?

These are hard questions, and we must keep listening and keep grappling with these questions in an honest way. Let's not become like the liberals who now have no solutions and can do nothing but rest nostalgic for 1960s anti-war demonstrations and 1930s socialist solutions to national problems. Let's not stoop to the level of liberals who only respond to conservative ideas with venom and irrational dismissiveness.

Douthat closes, "[H]aving spent a generation complaining about liberalism's less-than-intimate relationship with reality, conservatives need to think hard about whether they're in danger of spinning themselves into a similar cocoon."

Milwaukee violent crime problem? Solved.

As we all know, Milwaukee has been experiencing a big growth in violent crime. The problem of violent crime can be a vexing one, but in Milwaukee's case, I think I've stumbled across the man who is responsible.

Yep, that is Screech, also known as Dustin Diamond. He is apparently a resident of the Milwaukee area, and he's fallen on tough times. It seems that his $250,000 home is about to be foreclosed on. Things are so bad he is selling t-shirts on the internet to raise the funds.

I've gone back to my days as a student to examine this sociological problem and human tragedy. If memory serves me correctly, people are highly influenced by their environments and unlikely to make decisions that defy their environment. That, to me, means the deep, dark evil side that we all knew that Screech had is manifesting itself because of his dire straits. Screech is behind all of the violent crime. Unless a 7 county sales tax is enacted that goes to pay his mortgage, he is going to unleash misery and pain upon the citizens of Milwaukee. Look at the crazed, maniacal look in that face. Be afraid.

But the good Screech is still there, deep down inside. After all, he is giving us the option of buying those t-shirts.

Interestingly, rumor has it the Doyle campaign may mimic the Dustin Diamond strategy of selling t-shirts. Instead of reading "I paid $15 to Save Screech's House," Doyle's t-shirts will say, "I paid $15 dollars to save Doyle's ass." The funds will be used in his campaign. Or for his lawyer fees. Or possibly his bail.

(*Satire*, just for the legal record.)

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

The Corner reaches 10 grand Star Trek Day is on


Thanks to Kevin for pointing this little fund raiser out to me.

Heghlu'meH QaQ jajvam
Chris

Intimidation Tactics

Frank Lasee points out this article from National Review (an excerpt):

A showdown is brewing in Nevada, where the AFL-CIO and state teachers unions have put some muscle behind an intimidation campaign against the Tax and Spending Control campaign. Reportedly paid by the hour, these "blockers" physically surrounded petitioners while shouting, screaming, and chasing away potential signers. The situation escalated last week, with petitioners reduced to pleading for a restraining order from a Nevada judge, who promptly ordered preschool-style rules "no touching, no yelling" to return order to the streets.

"Say you're an elderly woman and you want to sign a petition - you don't have a chance," says Bob Adney, who is leading the spending-cap campaign. "And if you're a guy who's 6'4" and 300 pounds, quite frankly, you might not have a chance either. These guys are surrounding petitioners eight to one at times, and they're not pulling punches."

What happens in Vegas, alas, doesn't always stay there. Our partners in Missouri, Montana, Michigan, and Oklahoma have faced similar intimidation tactics, often at the hands of local unions and, in particular, public-education unions. The goal is often to get petitioners kicked out of malls and other high-traffic areas, or even arrested - which is an interesting civics lesson indeed.
We saw some similar tactics during the 2004 election, right here in Wisconsin. Kinda makes you want to walk around with a petition, doesn't it?

Pardon?

Remember when Wisconsin Public TV's Frederica Freyberg asked Mark Green: "If you were to become governor, would you pardon Scott Jensen?"

A curmudgeonly friend asked me this question today: "When will the media ask Jim Doyle is he's going to pardon Georgia Thompson?"

I know, Charlie noted today that Thompson was convicted of a federal crime, so Doyle couldn't pardon her.

Still, there's nothing stopping some enterprising reporter from sandbagging Diamond Jim with a hypothetical question, is there?

Karl Rove Saved

Are you happy that Fitzmas was cancelled? Joe Wilson isn't.

I'm bummed I won't be able to sell any "Free Karl" t-shirts.

Chris Knows About this Right?

From her High Mistress K-Lo at NRO's the Corner.

If by noon L.A.-time on Friday (an olive branch to our left-coast friends) NRO's Star Trek fans have donated $10,000 cumulatively, we will host a Star Trek Day on National Review Online later this month. Our lineup that day will include a package of pieces - from some familiar faces, and some surprises - all about Star Trek. As you donate, just be sure to write "pro-Trek" in the comments somewhere.
As of now, they're at $4,010. I don't usually do NRO pledge drives (I give them my money the old fashion way - I subscribe to NRODT.), but this has me interested just to see K-Lo go mad.

That being said, I think we should give - if you are able to - to NRO. Many of us use it as a source, work productivity killer, or what-not through out the day.

Plus, I really want a "Star Trek Day." It's banishment must end!

Re: Bush is wrecking everything

Scott H posted an intriguing comment under the original post:

I heard on the radio that the crime drops we were experiencing were likely to end when the wave of children born in the early 90's started to reach their teen years because that's the age at which most criminal activity occurs. I have no idea if it is true or not, but it makes a lot of sense.

My response is a bit lengthy for a comment and veers from the original premise:

I sincerely hope you're wrong, and in my optimistic view, it doesn't make sense.

Yes, I rail against the public system of education; yes, I rail against the ever-increasing dole lists; and yes, I rail against the culture of death and despair we seem to be perpetrating on our children, exposing them to frightening, warpingly inappropriate ideas and material at younger and younger ages all the time.

But they must make their own choices, which will be influenced by a desire to avoid or eradicate things they understand to be harmful - having witnessed them first-hand.

My generation has its tragedies like every generation; it's even possible that these kids could be responsible for an initial jump in the crime rate as they test the waters themselves.

Then again, considering the way we move to criminalize not only acts connected with crimes, but also acts that are normal but peripheral to inadvertant crimes (cell phone "distracted driving" laws, etc.), is it possible that we're setting them up with a much more intricate maze to navigate than we had? Do our labrynthine laws cause them to stumble right out of the gate?

Either way, I expect that most people come around to responsible and caring behavior in their lives because alternative behaviors cause them as much woe as they cause society in general.

Milwaukee, your taxes are too low

For the record, I don't think that. Dave Zweifel at the Capital Times does, though:
Meanwhile, Wisconsin and its largest metropolitan area continue on the march to becoming another Mississippi with low taxes and lousy services.

This piece by Zwiefel is ripe for a fisking, but how far do you have to stoop to fisk a Capital Times article? It's just kind of a given, isn't it?

Monday, June 12, 2006

Will Georgia Thompson maintain the Omerta?

Right now the whole Diamond Jim shake down crew has to be wondering that from the man at the top Don Doyle right down to the foot soldiers will she maintain her Omerta(code of silence) or will she treat Don Doyle like this man



treated his Don, Paul Cicero

Will Georgia Thompson be Jim Doyles Henry Hill? As others have stated she is a 56 year old woman looking at doing 20 years of Federal Time

I would be amazed if she didn't turn on Doyle and rest of his crooked crew. It will be interesting to see where this goes now.

Picture Poor Poor Xoff sitting there wondering "How the hell do I spin this"? The slime is starting to stick and all the WEAC and Casino money in the world won't do you a damn thing if the good people of Wisconsin decided their Governor is as crooked as a country road.

I am sure they will try to spin this as, Mrs Hill I mean Thompson being a lone wolf and doing this on her own. But come on does anyone believe certain people were not getting their taste and taking care of their friends because of that taste. Does Xoff and the rest of Diamond Jims damage control crew think people are really going to believe the Don and his Capo didn't give marching orders. Sometimes perception is far more damaging then anything you can prove. Plus if the people perceive that Doyle et al are turning their back on her or throwing her under the bus they still lose.

I will leave the fine details and legal voodoo to people like Jeff Wagner and Rick over at Shark and Shepard

But to a simple foot soldier of another Mob crew it really seems to me that Jim Doyle has himself a real Henry Hill problem on his hands.

Sucks to be him right now doesn't it.

Regards,
Chris

Georgia Thompson found guilty!

Georgia Thompson has been found guilty of two felonies and faces up to 20 years in federal prison. She now has a choice, either do the time, or start cooperating with federal prosecutors. It is believed that if she starts talking, the focus will be on Governor Jim Doyle and Mark Marotta. Sphincters are definitely tight around the Governors Office this afternoon!

JS Online: DayWatch
A federal jury has convicted state procurement official Georgia Thompson of two felony counts.

Thompson, 56, of Waunaukee, was charged with illegally steering a $750,000 state travel contract to Adelman Travel, a firm whos excecutives had donated $10,000 to Gov. Jim Doyle's reelection campaign around the time the bids were being considered.

Thompson testified that she followed proper procedures in the contract awarding process, and was not pressured to steer the contract to Adelman.

The guilty verdicts followed about 4 hours of delibertion today, following trial last week. The two charges were misapplication of funds and participating in a scheme to defraud the State of Wisconsin of the right to honest services. The indictment does not allege a pay-to-play scheme in which the contract was awarded in exchange for the donations. Rather, it alleges that Adelman Travel would not have gotten the contract if Thompson had not illegally inflated the firm's scores. Thompson steered the contract to Adelman "to cause political advantage for her supervisors" and to bolster her job security, according to the indictment.

RE: Ex-detainees: 'No hope' at Guantanamo

"No hope" for America's captured enemies? Sounds like that part of the war is going well.

Bush is wrecking everything, Part 2,793

This'll get some spin, for better and for worse:

"Violent Crime On the Rise for First Time in 5 Years, FBI Reports"

Murders, robberies and aggravated assaults in the United States increased last year, spurring an overall rise in violent crime for the first time since 2001, according to data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

[...]

Criminal justice experts said the statistics reflect U.S. complacency in fighting crime, a product of dramatic declines in the 1990s and the abandonment of effective programs that emphasized prevention, putting more police officers on the street and controlling the spread of guns.

"We see that budgets for policing are being slashed and the federal government has gotten out of that business," said James Alan Fox, a criminal justice professor at Northeastern University in Boston. "Funding for prevention at the federal level and many localities are down and the (National Rifle Association) has renewed strength."

Still, Fox said, "We're still far better off than we were during the double-digit crime inflation we saw in the 1970s."

Fox doesn't bat an eyelid - and neither does the reporter - over his inference that the NRA creates criminals and that budget slashing from the federal level is the equivalent of leaving the serfs to fend for themselves with pitchforks outside the castle walls. L 's comment was, "I'm surprised they didn't manage to get No Child Left Behind in there."

The main parallel I see is with the 70s: the significant political divide in the nation, focused on a war and the price of energy. I can't say what the status then was of funding police budgets, but that would be an important statistic to look at - the AP reporter doesn't include any information on these percentages, while happily assuming that they automatically rise with the amount of crime and tax money.

There's also no comment on whether the FBI has changed anything in their methodology of maintaining statistics.

Nonetheless, the writer reports that "Crime last year increased in all regions, although the 5.7 percent rise in the Midwest was at least three times any other region's."

A simple assumption is to ask (rhetorically) what else is coming into the region, the answer being very high percentages of immigrants, both legal and illegal. If not this, then what else?

What I don't expect is for the MSM to address this, unless they believe they can dispell it.

CP @ GMC.

Ex-detainees: 'No hope' at Guantanamo

Am I the only one who sees an issue with this headline?

Friday, June 09, 2006

Re: RE: Was that Murtha?

It might not have been Murtha on Charlie's show, but this is apparently very real.
In a move that figures to throw the Democratic Caucus into a contentious and volatile leadership battle just as the mid-term election season is heating up, Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) has announced his plans to run for Majority Leader if the Democrats reclaim the House this fall.
Yep, "Mr. Cut and Run" in House Leadership.

The other side must really be that insane.

Re: Was that Jack Murtha

Zarqawi's capture may signal another crucial turning point in the war: Until now, anyone who accepted a position in the Iraq administration or with its security forces instantly became a major target of the terrorists, and their life expectancy dropped to around nil.

This may be the starting of a reversal - Now terrorist lieutenants have to decide if they want to be a key target.

Sure, heretofore they've operated on the "bulletproof" strategy of being happy to die for the cause, but they could be realizing with the loss of Zarqawi that leaders are less dispensible.

Thursday, June 08, 2006

Was that Jack Murtha on Charlies show???

Anyone hear Charlies first moonbat caller Mike on the subject of getting Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Squawk The Army is Broke. Squawk we will be there for ever. Squawk the elections in Iraq don't matter. Squawk Cant we talk about Haditha.

Charlie hit it the nail right on the head the left is so invested in America being defeated that news like Zarqawi's death is actually bad news for them.

For all the people squawking "Someone will just take his place" Yes maybe but who a large number of his lieutenants have already been killed or captured. Evil as he was Zarqawi had a flair for being a terrorist there is no guarantee that his replacement will be as talented of a leader. Plus the fact it was Iraqis who turned him in shows they are not getting lost swimming in the sea of civilians. Now the terrorists who are left have to worry about Iraqis turning him in.

Will this stop the terrorist no but it is another blow to their cause.

It will fun to watch the left work to spin a US victory into a defeat.

Regards,
Chris

Al-Zar-Owie

Ok, everyone in the world will write about this, I just wanted the best story title.

Good for our guys!

An enemy who pretends to be brash but hides is not easy to kill.

Interesting sides to this story...

After announcing his death the Iraqi parliment errupted in cheers then they swore in the last few cabinet ministers completing their government.

After hearing about her brother's death Al-Zarqawi's sister said, "...he got what he deserves".

Cnn ever finding a way to make Bush look bad in a time of good trots out the Father of Nicholas Berg, Mr. Berg is a pacificst & a Green Party member who actually said of Al-Zarqawi, "restorative justice," — such as being forced to work in a hospital where maimed children are treated — could have made al-Zarqawi "a decent human being."

Berg's son was beheaded by Zarqawi, he said of that, "First of all, I'm not even certain that al-Zarqawi even killed my son,"

All rightie then.

AS Laura Ingram calls them the "Butt Monkeys" are out in force. What is a butt monkey, I support the troops, but...

I'm in for my own Butt Monkey. Mr. Berg, I am sorry for your loss, but, you are out of your mind.

The Butt Monkeys are spinning hard that this will increase violence and not move the war any closer to an end. Of course these are the same people who would be critical that we had not killed or captured him previously. You know that crowd, the Iraq will never form a Government but then when they do they ignore it crowd.

Sometimes you just have to be willing to pass judgement and say the man was evil, it is a good day for the world that this vicious murderer of innocents shall take the eternal dirt nap.

Yes, some first class nut-job in search of his seventy whatever virgins will come in and take his place, we'll kill him too.

Al-Zarqawi Dead

Dead. Dead. Very dead.

Links galore at TAM.

22 years since Barneveld's nightmare

June 8, 1984. For most of us in Wisconsin, we went to sleep the previous night and awoke on the 8th to see Barneveld on the morning news, the town destroyed by an F5 tornado and images of the injured being carried away on stretchers. For those in Barneveld, though, the early morning hours were a nightmare. For most, there was no warning but a simultaneous flash of lightning and roar of thunder that gave some just enough time to find shelter. It must have been a horrifying experience, an F5 tornado in the middle of the the dark night that hit with no warning. We've had numerous tornados in Wisconsin since that day 22 years ago, but for those old enough to remember that day in 1984, Barneveld's nightmare will be burned in the memory.

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Berkeley Professor on inefficiency of ethanol

Ted Patzek, a Berkeley Professor (yes, Berkeley), claims that ethanol requires 6 times more energy to create than it produces. If you look at the various formulations out there that attempt to figure out the energy to produce-energy provided ratio of ethanol, you learn pretty quickly that the variables that are/aren't chosen are highly subjective. This graphic is a very interesting look at Patzek's take on the issue, though.

Smile

Good News.

New Strategic Vision Poll

On the question that counts five months out:
13. If the election for Governor was held today, and the choice was between Jim Doyle, the Democrat and Mark Green, the Republican, whom would you vote for?
Mark Green 46%
Jim Doyle 45%
Undecided 9%
We now return you to your regularly scheduled program.

COB Reminder...no matter how many times Google tries to thwart it

Blogger's awesome.

Right.

Anyway, make sure you submit your Carnival of the Badger post tonight!

Details here.

A Great Same Sex Debate going on here.

RTG had a pretty innocent post about how she is conflicted over the gay marriage debate. It has spawned a pretty good/civil debate in the comments of the post. Both side are very well represented. Strangebed fellows are made I am siding with a woman who goes by the name of Moonbatty lol.

here is the link read the post then dive into the comments. I thought people might like to read this since we are having the same debate in November

Regards,
Chris

Dems stumble on the first step towards the dream of speaker Pelosi

Try as they might they couldnt win the house seat that had been Duke Cunningham's. Even after saying you didn't need papers to "help" her the Democratic Challenger lost by 5% now I know all the usual suspects on the left will call this a "moral" victory. I like how they call winning by 5% is a "close" vote lol.

But here they couldn't win a seat where there really was a "culture of corruption" This means they still have to win 14 new seats while not losing one of their own seats. I really don't believe that will happen.

Politics are local to most people and immigration and control of the borders is a big issue to a lot of conservatives. The House is much more tough on the issue of immigration so that will help them. Yes you have moonbat dreamers who think people like Bryan Kennedy actually have a snowballs chance in hell to beat Jim Sensenbrener in districts like the Wis 5th. But anyone living in reality will tell you that isn't going to happen. It would be like saying I could beat Herbie for his senate seat.

Yesterdays results in San Diego are a good sign that the dream the Rats to have a Speaker Pelosi will remain just that a dream

November is a long way away but I am pretty confident that when the dust clears the GOP will still have more than the 218 they need to maintain control. Is that a great thing no its the lesser of two evils and as bad as the GOP being in control is having the Rats would even be worse.

So Dems lose the first round of Midterms 06(I know this wasn't a midterm election but they looked at is as it was.) So its GOP 1 and RATs 0

I cant wait to see the Paul Hackett like spin on this one.

Regards,
Chris SH2