Poll: Put the Cell Phone Away Candidates

With most Americans likely to enter a homicidal rage anytime anyone whips out the cell phone at the movie theater, a restaurant, and pretty much anywhere in between, a poll result like this -- from Fox News after the Giuliani "Hi Honey" Moment with the NRA -- isn't surprising.

(HT Marc Ambinder)

When a presidential candidate is in the middle of giving a campaign speech, do you think he or she should interrupt the speech to take a cell phone call from their spouse, or should the call be ignored until after the speech?

                Interrupt Speech          Ignore Call           Depends          Don’t Know
Totals                   9                     81                  9                  2
Democrats               10                     79                 10                  2
Republicans              8                     84                  6                  1
Independents             8                     80                 11                  1

Meanwhile, in his Saturday column, Bob Novak contradicts the Rudy Spin Machine and says the call to the NRA likely was indeed a set-up. And, it wasn't just a second time, it's been a staple in the Rudy bag of tricks since Day One.

A footnote: Supporters from outside his staff are urging Giuliani to discontinue the stunt of interrupting a campaign speech by taking a cell phone call from his wife. Although this received national attention only recently when Giuliani did it while addressing the National Rifle Association on Sept. 21, it has been part of his political bag of tricks all year.

Believe who you want, the "Prince of Darkness" or Spinsters.

UPDATE (10-1-07, 6:25 AM): John Fund has an amazing column on this with a listing of even more times the cell phone's come out. According to Fund, even the campaign staff is getting sick of it.

Where's the Line, Miller?

Sophomoric humor aside, I've found a way to demostrate what's wrong with Miller Beer sponsoring a sex toy fetish festival (in case you needed help deciding that it's just a little bit on the stupid side).

Try to defend Miller's right to advertise wherever they want, to whatever market they want. You can't because all you have to do is ask why the brand doesn't appear on the breast of a KKK bedsheet. Then, you enter the discussion over which groups are ok to offend and which markets are more important to the company.

Try to defend Miller because they sponsor everything anyway, and there's a ball park to prove it. Ok, then why not sponsor the Iranian nuclear program? Talk about the ultimate in name dropping: the first atomic weapon dropped on an American city could have MGD on the side!

But this is a festival and people have to drink something, right? Where's Coke? Pepsi? Budweiser? Evian is pretty gay, and they're nowhere to be seen. The sponsors are mostly porn, adult toys, a couple of radio/media outlets, and Miller. That's where the brand wants to be?

Miller is making an interesting choice, to say the least.

The vote is in...

...and the winner is:

Spinning the Cheese Wheel 5%
The Cheese Log 24%
Badger Bites 43%
Cheddar Nuggets 29%

Will she make that retroactive?

Because I've already got four kids.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday that every child born in the United States should get a $5,000 "baby bond" from the government to help pay for future costs of college or buying a home.

Hey, her husband made his tax increases retroactive when he got into office.

H/T to Peter.

Chris, Where's the Klingon?

The Corner's gone Star Trek for the weekend.

Live long and prosper, and....Energize!

Re: You know what would be fun?

Or, instead of making our own flyers, let's just print off this article:

Dems Can't Make Guarantee on Iraq Troops

HANOVER, N.H. (AP) - The leading Democratic White House hopefuls conceded Wednesday night they cannot guarantee to pull all U.S. combat troops from Iraq by the end of the next presidential term in 2013.

"I think it's hard to project four years from now," said Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois in the opening moments of a campaign debate in the nation's first primary state.

"It is very difficult to know what we're going to be inheriting," added Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.

"I cannot make that commitment," said former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina.

Fighting Bob Fest, here we come!

Sheboygan's Only Effective Politican Steps Up

It's a pity my "good friend" Sadie's not blogging anymore. I'd have love to hear what the bitch (as in female dog, but hey, it works the other way too) would have to say about how her owner's boss dropped the ball on this.

Thankfully, we have Joe Leibham (R-Sheboygan) to come to the rescue.

State Sen. Joe Leibham says he plans to introduce legislation to streamline Wisconsin's child enticement statutes after a judge threw out a jury conviction on a technicality.

Mitchell Pask was charged with trying to lure a girl into a Sheboygan park shelter for sex. A jury found him guilty this month. But Judge Timothy Van Akkeren threw the verdict out.

Van Akkeren says that under Wisconsin's child enticement statutes, Pask had to lure the girl into a secluded area. The shelter wasn't secluded enough to meet that burden.

Leibham, a Sheboygan Republican, says his bill will remove the secluded language from the statutes.

What's most amazing here is the silence from State Assemblyman Terry Van Akkeren (D-Sheboygan) during all this mess about the ruling. I don't know if he's too embarrassed to say anything, or he's too busy trying to protect Timmy, a relation.

Makes you wonder what the over-under is on this coming back to bite Terry in future campaigns. Probably has killed his dream of becoming the next Mayor of Sheboygan, that's for sure.

[Secret Decoder Ring on the "Insider Lingo": In case any one's forgotten..."Sadie" is Sheboygan's favorite UAW hack and former City Councilman, Bill Stephen. Stephen also served as Campaign Manager to Terry Van Akkeren's 2006 re-election bid.

Last I heard he was engaged to a legislative staffer of, you guessed it, Terry Van Akkeren!

"Sadie" is the name of her golden retriever.

Bill, care to comment for old time's sake?]

Why are we fighting the coming 600 million dollar tax increase so hard.

The people of Wisconsin voted these idiots in let them suffer the results of their choices.

Maybe a huge increase in their property tax bills in December will wake the general public up.

If you are going to put vultures like the Dems in charge do not bitch and moan when they rape and pillage you come tax time. They are Dems that is what they do you knew that when you pulled the lever.

Maybe it is time to step aside and let John Q Public take one in the shorts due to choices they made.

Sometime you have to pull the mask off our friends on the left and let everyone see them for what they really are.

So step aside let the Liberal Tax Wolves run amok amongst the General Public Sheep maybe the lesson will get learned this time.

Just one mans opinion
WSB Chris

Law of averages doesn't apply to revenge

Tom Haudricourt gets it dead on: "Blown retaliatory strike: Teams' drillings upstage golden opportunity."

My rant and a copy of my personal letter to Ned Yost can be found here.

True to his "law of averages" theory, Yost insists: "We still have math on our side." Proves the fallibility of your plan, man. Sweeping the Cards was in the bag. Now you have to win every single game against a real contending team, and one with a cherry on top after that against the stinkin' Cubbies, if you want to make it.

I hope that keeps you warm after you lose one to the Pads and sit quitely in your living room watching the Cubbies blow the penant.

A Bad Ad Goes Global

How bad were the NRCC's "Dr. Millionaire" ads from last year?

It's being used as an example of "dirty, ugly smear ads" in Australia.

STEVE Kagan is a Democrat politician in the US state of Wisconsin. When he made a run for the House of Representatives in 2006 he was a doctor.

His Republican opponents unearthed details about civil suits Kagan had taken out against 80 patients who were late or defaulted on their bills.

They ran deathly TV spots which finished with an ugly shot of the doctor and a voice-over saying: "Why not tell the truth, Dr Millionaire?".

And then there were the defensive smear ads, including one run by the Democrats in California which began with an announcer saying: "Trash, rubbish, a sleazy smear campaign, that's how the Union Tribune described the campaign . . . against (Democrat) Francine Busby . . ."

I've never understood the entire concept of the "Dr. Millionaire" ads. Yeah, he's rich, yippie! Are we supposed to give the liberal kook a cookie or something?

Though, in retrospect, the Dr. Millionaire ads did have one lasting effect, and it wasn't on the campaign. It was on Kagen's ego.

One of the things I've noticed watching the 8th District last year about the "good Doctor" (A questionable assessment from those in the Fox Cities medical community that know Kagen personally.) is that he's an egomaniac.

Hell, most doctors are. The position comes with a God-complex free at most medical school commencements. And somewhere along the line, the campaigning and rhetoric became personal for Kagen.

He simply couldn't let it go, and had to have the last word; even after winning the prize. This was best demonstrated by Kagen's "alleged" behavior at the White House. It was "allegedly" to Karl Rove he said "Hi, I'm Dr. Multi-Millionaire, and I'm the one who kicked your @$$ in Wisconsin."

And well, that one's still smarting the Appleton Democrat; no matter what his story is these days about what happened in the White House.

You know what would be fun?

Collecting Hillary Clinton quotes like this one:

"Clearly, withdrawing is dangerous. It has to be done responsibly, prudently, carefully, but we have said that there will be a likely continuing mission against al Qaeda in Iraq."

Then printing them on flyers, and handing them out at the next Fighting Bob Fest.

Who wants to come?

Global Warming: the basics

Walter Williams points us to a source on global warming hysteria:

There's an excellent booklet available from the National Center for Policy Analysis (ncpa.org) titled "A Global Warming Primer." Some of its highlights are:

"Over long periods of time, there is no close relationship between CO2 levels and temperature."

"Humans contribute approximately 3.4 percent of annual CO2 levels" compared to 96.6 percent by nature.

"There was an explosion of life forms 550 million years ago (Cambrian Period) when CO2 levels were 18 times higher than today. During the Jurassic Period, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, CO2 levels were as much as nine times higher than today."

Have a look for yourself. It's a 40-page pdf, mostly filled with charts and graphs to make it easier to understand. Footnoted, too.

Dem Party steps on its Florida

DNC to Florida: Behave, or we'll cut you off.

Groan

Sadly you could see this coming from Team Rudy and its backers, it was just a matter of time I suppose.

This is just in bad taste, and the crew in New York should not stay silent on it.

A supporter of Rudy Giuliani's is throwing a party that aims to raise $9.11 per person for the Republican's presidential campaign.

Abraham Sofaer is having a fundraiser at his Palo Alto, Calif., home on Wednesday, when Giuliani backers across the country are participating in the campaign's national house party night.

But Sofaer said he had nothing to do with the "$9.11 for Rudy" theme.

"There are some young people who came up with it," Sofaer said when reached by telephone Monday evening. He referred other questions to Giuliani's campaign.

"I'm just providing support for him. He's an old friend of mine," Sofaer said of Giuliani.

Sofaer was a State Department adviser under President Reagan and is a fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution

Giuliani's campaign had no immediate comment.

According to the invitation, "$9.11 for Rudy" is an "independent, non-denominational grass-roots campaign to raise $10,000 in small increments to show how many individual, everyday Americans support `America's Mayor.'"

Giuliani was mayor of New York during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Obviously campaigns have no control over the actions of their supporters. But a small email may have done wonders here.

Now they have a PR crisis, and probably many more 9/11 Families angry at them than before. I was long wondering how long it was going to take for 9/11 to become a joke for Giuliani in the eyes of the media, not his greatest asset.

That turning point's arriving sooner than you'd think.

UPDATE: CNN has an updated version of this story. It has the following statement from the Giuliani Campaign.

Giuliani spokeswoman Maria Comella said: "These are two volunteers who acted independently of and without the knowledge of the campaign. Their decision to ask individuals for that amount was an unfortunate choice."

That's pretty much all you can say. It wasn't an official campaign action and you can't control everyone who flies your colors.

But yeah, they didn't need this headache today.

El Rushbo on "Family Guy"

Personally, I thought this was awesome. And given the typical liberal audience that's drawn to Seth MacFarlane's cartoons, a real treat.

Time to vote

Okay, here it is, the moment I can tell that everyone has been waiting for with baited breath: Your chance to vote on the name for the BBA's Wisconsin blogosphere roundup. Your choices:

What should be the name of the BBA's blogosphere roundup?
	Spinning the Cheese Wheel
	The Cheese Log
	Badger Bites
	Cheddar Nuggets
Free polls from Pollhost.com

The poll ends Friday and will be found in the sidebar all week.

What the hell's goin' on out there?

A lot of people must be thinking that very question now that the Packers are 3-0.

Especially the pundits who said - not unreasonably - that the Pack would be lucky to start the season 1-4.

FAVRE UPDATE - not that I have to tell anybody, but that's six down, one to go. Forgive me for not being all that excited about tying the touchdowns record.

The interceptions record remains as elusive as ever.

AND ONE MORE THING - WHAT were those uniforms the Eagles were wearing today? Made my retinas ache. Enough with the throwback jerseys, if this is where it's taking us.

No wonder they scored eight touchdowns today. The Lions' defense could only look at them indirectly.

Even the cheerleaders were wearing them. You couldn't even look at the cheerleaders.

How to Sabotage Ahmadinejad

From Instapundit:

Have some scantily-clad coed run up and give him a kiss. Make sure photos are distributed in Iran.

Heh.

He also links to this story from August:

Iran's reformist former president, Mohammad Khatami, has suffered a blow to his political standing by being pictured apparently shaking hands with women in breach of Islamic convention.

I wonder if there are any high-ranking female pols who could/would make that happen again?

Almost makes you excited to see a Clinton presidency, doesn't it?

Don't know much about history?

How about civics?

Most of you have probably heard about this test - 60 questions about history, civics, and governmental philosophy.

USA Today did a story about how poorly college students do on it:

The study from the non-profit Intercollegiate Studies Institute shows that less than half of college seniors knew that Yorktown was the battle that ended the American Revolution or that NATO was formed to resist Soviet expansion. Overall, freshmen averaged 50.4% on a wide-ranging civic literacy test; seniors averaged 54.2%, both failing scores if translated to grades.

I got 81.67%, which is probably better than I deserved. Felt like I guessed a lot, and I'm postive I learned a lot of what I knew after college. I'd have done a lot worse if I'd taken it 20 years ago.

Grandpa Steve reports he got 88.33%. Take it yourselves and post your scores.

Dare you.

Holy carpal tunnel syndrome!

Michigan State vs. Notre Dame is on NBC, Michigan vs. Penn St. is on ABC, South Carolina at LSU is on CBS, and the Brewers game is on FOX.

I may need a new remote after this.

UPDATE - The commentators spent the entire top half of the 6th inning talking about how great Atlanta pitcher John Smoltz is, and then JJ Hardy just took him deep to tie the game.

Sweet.

McCain is Flying Blind

In a word...wow.

ABC News' Rick Klein Reports: Sen. John McCain's longtime campaign pollster has severed ties with McCain's presidential campaign, in the latest of a series of high-profile losses that have battered McCain's struggling 2008 bid.

Bill McInturff, co-founder of Public Opinion Strategies, confirmed to ABC News that he ended his relationship with McCain's campaign on Thursday.

The campaign's money woes left it with a limited budget for polling, he said -- the campaign has conducted only one poll all of this year -- and the move will free McInturff to resume his relationship with NBC and The Wall Street Journal, for whom he has conducted polls since 2003.

"The McCain campaign doesn’t have a large budget for polling right now," McInturff said. "The NBC/Wall Street Journal thing is . . . important to me, and I just wanted to make sure I was active in this transition period" with the Journal being sold to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.

McInturff has done polling for McCain since 1991, and he stressed that his decision has nothing to do with McCain's viability as a candidate.

"I still believe John is by far the best Republican candidate for president," he said.

But the defection is another big blow to a campaign that's been struggling for traction. McCain's top ad men -- Russ Schriefer and Stuart Stevens -- have also left the campaign, and the Arizona Republican reshuffled his campaign this summer with the resignations of campaign manager Terry Nelson and chief strategist John Weaver.

Though McCain has bounced back in the polls in recent weeks, with a tour designed to tout his support for the Iraq war, he is under intense pressure to boost his fund-raising numbers -- and quickly -- after finishing the second quarter nearly broke.

The McCain campaign declined to comment.

Public Opinion Strategies is one of the top GOP-leaning polling firms. In fact, it has ties to most Wisconsin Republicans and conservative-leaning organizations. Clients have included Tommy Thompson, RPW, WMC, Mark Green, John Gard, Joe Leibham, and probably anyone running under the Republican banner in the Badger State.

They also have a client list of probably half the House and Senate Republicans. Their track record has earned them respect and trust. Heck, I hope to someday work for these guys myself.

For McCain to lose them, is probably a sign he won't make it to Christmas at this rate.

Update on the Wisconsin Blogosphere round up

We'll test this out for a while to see how it goes. On Monday, a poll will go up to allow everyone the chance to vote on the name. The poll will close on Friday. I will choose an email address that will be found in the sidebar for suggestions. We'll start it the following Monday, and it will run on Mondays and Thursdays. To begin with, I will be the sole editor of this, but if there is interest, we may move to a panel of selectors.

Ebola mis-handled in Madison

I support the study of highly infectious and deadly viruses and bacteria in Madison in conjunction with UW, but it is things like this keeps me from duking it out too much with those who oppose it.

n 2005 and into the summer of 2006, researchers at the University of Wisconsin at Madison (UW) made and manipulated copies of the entire Ebola virus genome without proper safety precautions. Although federal safety rules required a maximum protection Biosafety Level Four (BSL-4) lab for the research, UW allowed it to proceed at the much less safe and secure BSL-3 level.

The rules that UW broke are intended to ensure that extremely dangerous agents that are easily transmissible and usually incurable don't escape maximum containment. They prohibit working at BSL-3 with Ebola (and similarly dangerous) virus material that has not been rendered irreversibly incapable of reproducing. UW does not have a BSL-4 lab suitable for handling Ebola virus, which is one of the most dangerous pathogens in the world.

Despite the contrary provisions of the NIH Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant DNA Molecules, permission for UW scientist Yoshihiro Kawaoka to perform the Ebola genome work at BSL-3 was granted by the University of Wisconsin Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC). This significant violation of NIH Guidelines was not detected in a timely manner by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) or, apparently, by the CDC Select Agent Program staff that inspect the Kawaoka lab.

An oversight? Most likely, but for the safety of the researchers and for the larger community, oversights are unacceptable when working with potentially highly contagious and deadly pathogens. And the most remarkable thing is nobody caught it until Kawaoka attempted to get the safety level of the lab lowered to BSL-2.

Steve Kagen Voted AGAIN to Allow Housing Assistance for Illegal Immigrants

So Congressman Kagen- Do you represent illegal immigrants or the taxpaying citizens in your district?

Washington- Steve Kagen (WI-08) seems to have a problem remembering who he represents in Washington . Today, Kagen cast a vote, for the second time, to allow tax-payer dollars to be doled out as housing assistance for illegal immigrants, taking precious resources from low-income Americans.

Kagen's endless allegiance for the liberal Democrat leadership has yet again resulted in the defeat of an important measure which would have ensured that only legal residents could receive assistance from the affordable housing fund.

“Steve Kagen is frivolously spending the tax-payers’ hard earned dollars on housing for illegal immigrants, while hard working citizens are left struggling,” said NRCC Communications Director Jessica Boulanger . “Steve Kagen continues to mount an atrocious voting record in Washington , which shows he is completely out of touch with his district.”

The motion was offered to the Expanding American Homeownership Act of 2007 (House Roll Call 875). Kagen voted against the measure, which would have required persons receiving assistance from the affordable housing fund to provide valid personal identification.

Check out the link to the Roll Call vote and see who else is representing the illegal immigrants, instead of their own constituents.

I love this bumper sticker!

I see it in one particular store on State Street, in Madison. I've also seen it on a couple cars.

Guess that proves I'm a heartless warmonger willing to kill children for oil.

Of course, I love it for a much different reason than the people selling it. Have a look at some of the other stickers they sell:



I particularly like that one about trusting the government.

The School Money Vote

See who truly cares about the kids, and who wants to be WEAC toadies. Roll Call's here, total was 70-27. More than enough to override a veto if the Senate ever takes action.

Good to see that grand Progressive Humanitarian Mark Pocan of Madison voted No. Pity he can't blame John Gard on this one.

(He's got to miss no longer having that excuse...)

Surving the oppression of the Skull & Bones society

The Bush-Kerry oppression is keeping the youth of America down! Speak truth to power and get tasered! Attica! Attica!

This Oughta Be Fun

This puts a new twist on the phrase "Act of God" I suppose...

Nebraska State Senator Ernie Chambers has a new target these days: God.

Chambers filed a lawsuit in Douglas County Court Friday afternoon. However, Chambers isn't suing God because he has any kind of beef with the deity. He says the suit is to fight possible laws restricting the filing of frivolous lawsuits.

Chambers' suit asks for a "permanent injunction ordering Defendant to cease certain harmful activities and the making of terroristic threats."

The lawsuit identifies the plaintiff as, "the duly elected and serving State Senator from the 11th Legislative District in Omaha, Nebraska."

Chambers tells KPTM FOX 42 News that his lawsuit is in response to bills brought forth by other state senators to try and stop lawsuits from being filed. "The Constitution requires that the courthouse doors be open, so you cannot prohibit the filing of suits," Chambers says. "Anyone can sue anyone they choose, even God."

Chambers also cites that the, "defendant directly and proximately has caused, inter alia, fearsome floods, egregious earthquakes, horrendous hurricanes, terrifying tornados, pestilential plagues..."

Chambers bases his ability to sue God, as, "that defendant, being omnipresent, is personally present in Douglas County."

RE: Road trip

What I found so interesting in all this was the lack of any sort of relative editorial in the Sheboygan Press on this matter today.

Instead, all you have is a rather thought-out letter from of all places Concord, Nebraska, which highlights how nationally this story's gone.

The only thing close to anything regarding the event is an editorial asking for civility on the paper's online comment boards. That's fine and all, but it dismisses the reason as to why the sudden lack of civility's going on.

I don't know what's going on. Either the paper wrote all of its editorials ahead of time (something they have done in the past) and hasn't gotten around it. That however, doesn't explain today's editorial about online civility. Or, they haven't the stones to say anything at all about the decision; or they haven't the nerve to attack a Van Akkeren of Sheboygan.

Take your pick.

Road trip to dispel Judge Van Akkeren’s ruling that overturns jury guilty verdict

I took a ride to Sheboygan this weekend. I wanted to see for myself if Judge Van Akkeren's ruling that a child molester should be set free because there is no secluded areas in a park where a pervert tried to entice yet another child. You can see the video results here:

Road trip to dispel Judge Van Akkeren’s ruling that overturns jury guilty verdict

Three down, four to go.

Alternate title: Dink. Dunk. Dink. Dunk.

Packers 35, Giants 13. When's the last time we started a season 2-0?

UPDATE - it was 2001.

And here's another question: was this the same bunch of guys playing on offense as last week? And if so, what was in their breakfast cereal this morning?

Congratulations to Brett Favre on becoming the winningest NFL quarterback ever. One hundred forty-nine career victories, almost ten wins per season.

Favre now has three touchdown passes on the year. After last week, I was worried he might not get any touchdown passes this year, much less three in a game. Anyway, he's now four away from breaking the all-time record, currently held by Dan Marino.

He also needs only 3 interceptions to break that record, which for Farve is a second half on a bad day. He's got 80 attempts so far, leaving him 51 short of that record. Two games, tops.

And he needs 3,370 yards to break that record, meaning he has to average a little over 240 yards a game, which he's done over the first two games (246 ypg). His career average is 238.5 yards per game.

My New Congressman Everyone

Doesn't he just make you proud?

Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.) has again come under fire from local Jewish organizations for remarking in a magazine interview that the "extraordinarily powerful" pro-Israel lobby played a strong role promoting the war in Iraq.

In an interview with Tikkun, a California-based Jewish magazine, Moran said the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is "the most powerful lobby and has pushed this war from the beginning. I don't think they represent the mainstream of American Jewish thinking at all, but because they are so well organized, and their members are extraordinarily powerful -- most of them are quite wealthy -- they have been able to exert power."

Moran's remarks were criticized by the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington and the National Jewish Democratic Council. Ronald Halber, executive director of the first group, said Moran's remarks are anti-Semitic and draw on ugly stereotypes about Jewish wealth, power and influence.

"He uses several age-old canards that have been used throughout history that have brought violence upon Jews," Halber said this week. "He uses clearly anti-Semitic images such as Jewish control of the media and wealthy Jews using their wealth to control policy."

Ira N. Forman, executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council, said in a published statement that there is nothing wrong with criticizing the pro-Israel lobby but that Moran's statements go beyond that to defamation by making a "phony" connection between AIPAC and the Iraq war.

"Rep. Moran's comments are not only incorrect and irresponsible," Forman said. "They are downright dangerous."

Moran has a history of going anti-semitic in his criticisms of Israel and U.S.-Israeli relations. In 2001, when the late Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon came for his first visit with President George W. Bush, Moran said he's purpose was because Sharon was "probably seeking a warrant from President Bush to kill at will with weapons we have paid for."

He often will say these things in front of large Muslim crowds, partly for the partisan audience to such words, partly because this area does have a rather sizable Muslim community.

Three of Wisconsin's Congressional Delegation are Jewish -- Senators Kohl, Feingold, and Rep. Steve Kagen -- the rest are of some Christian denomination (Baldwin lists her "official" faith as GLBT though.) It'd be just terrific if one of those three had the political courage to put this moron in his place.

I need a little help

Okay, a few months ago I talked about doing Wisconsin blogosphere round ups here at the BBA. It didn't happen. I'm not going to waste my time offering up excuses for why it didn't happen, but I'll be able to get going on this now. I need to know three things before I go forward with it, though. First, is this something you'd like to read? If there isn't interest in it, then it isn't worth doing. Second, if we do go forward with it, does anyone have any suggestions for the name? I'm not going to use Carnival of the Badger because that was a nice feature that rotated around Wisconsin blogs and I hope that it can make a comeback one day. If there are some good suggestions, I'll put the name to a vote. Third, if I create and email address for suggesting posts for this twice a week round up, will anyone actually use it? Hit the comments section with your thoughts, please.

UPDATE - Bumped for more comment, says Lance.

Plan Your May 2nd Accordingly

To the disappointment of MoveOn.org, the Fred Thompson Campaign (sorry Sean), the Rudy Giuliani Campaign, and anyone else in politics with something they really felt the American people just had to see on the Internet; they all lost in total downloads to the first trailer for the highly-anticipated Iron Man movie from Paramount.

You can see it here at Apple's site, or just click below since it landed on YouTube by the Monday.

If this film is half as good as its trailer, it's going to be a big hit and Marvel will continue its record of winners at the box office.

It also proves, the film's producers were smart to pick Robert Downey Jr. over Tom Cruise for the role of Tony Stark/Iron Man. He looks perfect for the role of comics first anti-Communist, pro-military hero.

UPDATE: From imdb.com; the actual quote from the film at the weapons test scene.

Is it better to be feared, or respected? And I say, 'is it too much to ask for both'? With that in mind, I humbly present the crown jewel of Stark Industries' Freedom Line. It's the first missile system to incorporate our proprietary repulsor technology. 'They' say the best weapon is one you never have to fire. I respectfully disagree. I prefer the weapon that you only have to fire once. That's how dad did it, that's how America does it, and it's worked out pretty well so far.

God bless Stan Lee and Jack Kirby for the creation of the walking weapons system that is Shellhead.

Interested in the state budget?

Read WisPolitics' Budget Blog. Greg Bump is doing a great job following the budget. Lots of quotes, lots of facts. Lots of links. And it's an enjoyable read, too.

/suckinguptothemedia

What's the standard for getting an opinion piece into the Wisconsin State Journal?

Is there one? This thing by David Redick makes me wonder.

Redick: Wars and the lies that start them

Our presidents, and their complicit henchmen, have lied us into every war since the revolution in 1776.

Their real reasons have not been legal, constitutional, or politically acceptable, so they invent one or more false reasons that they can "sell " to the people.

Sadly, most people believe the lies, and proudly support the "wars for defense. " They can 't imagine that our leaders would be so evil as to spend the lives of our troops to gain their hidden political and economic goals for Empire-USA.

The secret plan of Bush and his gang is to take over all oil in the Middle East so we don 't have to share it with China and India, and to defend Israel at any cost. Control of oil was the hidden reason for the Balkans, Afghan, and Iraq wars.

Wouldn't it be great if, just once, one of these paranoids would document their ravings?

Among other gems of wisdom, Redick tells us that Pearl Harbor was our fault, Vietnam was a war for oil, and the Civil War only ended slavery in the Southern states.

Read the whole thing.

Garvey on Edwards

Ed Garvey:

Joe Weineke, state Democratic Party Chair and AT&T retainer, has endorsed John Edwards. Yikes! Don't worry, he told the media, it is a personal endorsement not a Party endorsement. Whoa Nelly! Me thinks he doesn't get it.

Does this mean that, in the unlikely event of an Edwards nomination for President, Garvey will throw his considerable (political) weight behind a third-party candidate?

"The Committee to Recall Bob Z."

No doubt everyone who's read my former blog Lakeshore Laments and postings here knows State Rep. Bob Ziegelbauer (D-Manitowoc) is my cousin.

He's also the County Executive of Manitowoc County, and is being recalled. You can see the modified Word Press-based website of the group here.

Since they've been around for some time, here are my thoughts on this witch hunt effort.

1) If they get enough signatures to even trigger a recall, I'd be surprised.

2) Seriously, you'd think these people would have learned last year: Bob Ziegelbauer is "Mr. Manitowoc County."

3) Good to see Matt Kadow found a hobby.

That's all.

UPDATE: Man is my timing good. Read this article, this is just too crazy.

Milwaukee Latino newspaper caught Photoshoping picture

A Milwaukee Latino newspaper has run a story that falsely accuses Mequon police of targeting Latinos, and has run a picture of two cops arresting a Latino man. The Police Chief denounced this and Charlie Sykes picked up on the story this morning and it got quite interesting. Charlie mixed it up with the story author, attorney Allen Eisenberg and that may end up in a law suit.

My part in this isn't as exciting, but I got the picture that the paper ran on the front page and did a little investigation of my own.

Stop in at Badger Blogger to see the results of both of these stories.

The flag and 9/11/07

I had to run some errands today, and I noticed that some places had their flags at half-staff (UW Whitewater), and others had them flying proud and high (Whitewater VFW). I was wondering what the proper flag position was for the day. WKOW says it was half-mass.

Many of the flags that fly outside Wisconsin government and private buildings flew at half-staff today because of an order Governor Doyle issued to honor the victims of 9/11.

But 27 News found many flags - at city and even state office buildings - flying at full-staff.

I am surprised the VFW was at full-mass if that was the case, though. Anyone out there that knows a little more about flag etiquette than I who can shed some light on this?

Memorializing them locally

I'd like to see every community that lost someone on 9-11 memorialize them in some way, much like what happened in Eau Claire:

When 87-year-old Betty Hart of Eau Claire needs to remember her son John, who died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, she asks to visit his memorial at Lakeview Cemetery.

Then she asks to be taken to a west side subdivision off the North Crossing, just to read the street sign: John Hart Place.

"That's the way she deals with her grief, even six years later," said her grandson, Jed Hart, who was raised by his uncle, John Hart. "We hear about it every day ... terrorism, the war, Osama bin Laden. It means a lot to everyone, but it hits us a little bit different, because that day, we lost someone we love."

One of Jed's friends, Eau Claire developer and builder Rusty Faschingbauer, wanted people to remember John Hart, a Memorial High School graduate.

While getting final approval for a plat of West Ridge Park in 2003, Faschingbauer needed names for streets in the development. He chose John Hart Place for one of them.

And much like this example shows, it doesn't have to be government that spurs a way to remember those who died.

'Cuse Me?

I'll admit, of all the "Top Tier" guys, the one I'll have the hardest time pulling the lever for come primary season is Mitt Romney.

Oh, I know I've said in the past I couldn't vote for McCain, but to be honest with you, it's Romney I have the least amount of respect for. McCain's at least a man of his word, a guy who will willingly take the slings and arrows of political (and real) war.

Romney...well, I just don't get it.

That, or he just seems to be a guy looking for only himself and his political ambitions. Take his well-documented flip-flops on abortion, gay marriage, and so on and on.

Finally, as a personal note, I thought Romney managed the Republican Governors Association extremely poorly last year. The man seemed only interested about giving speeches in states that could help him become President, not electing other Republicans governors of states.

(Yeah, I thought he failed guys like Mark Green, Jim Nussle, and others big time.)

So, it's statements like this from his Communication Director Kevin Madden that make me smile when I realize just how badly this guy's going to go down next year.

National polls would matter a great deal more if there was a national party primary. But there isn’t one. Instead, we have state-by-state primaries and in the early primary states like Iowa and New Hampshire where Republican voters are most engaged, we are in a very strong position.

Iowa and New Hampshire have a piss-poor track record of deciding the GOP nomination. If that were the case, Pat Buchanan would have been the guy in 1996 (New Hampshire), Bob Dole in 1988 (Iowa), and John McCain in 2000 (New Hampshire). South Carolina has a much, more proven track record in recent Presidential cycles.

Plus, "if there was a national party primary?" Clearly the guy has no concept of just how many states are voting on February 5^th, does he?

More Liberal Loving Kindness

The "Raging Grannies" are a radical-ish (I take it) liberal singing group made up of older women, who perform at various venues around Madison, mostly. They performed at Fighting Bob Fest last weekend. Here's how the paper described them:

The 16 women of a certain age wore bright calico dresses and crocheted shawls, strings of colored beads and aprons, and floppy hats with gaudy flowers. Their leader waved a wooden spoon like a conductor's baton.

But beneath the grandmotherly veneer hid some tough dames with some controversial messages: End the war in Iraq. Impeach the president. Enact universal health care.

If you read way down to the end of the story, you find this little nugget:

At Fighting Bob Fest they sweetly suggested a few things that, if uttered by someone else, might have raised a red flag with the Secret Service.

Nice. I suppose they were talking about counterfeiting money?

Or...was it something else that gets the Secret Service's attention?

"We can say a lot of things and get away with it," said Metje Butler.

"Because we're old," Park said. "But we also do realize that turning people off is not the way to win hearts."

How Wrong We All Really Were

A very quick Sept 11 thought.

The other day I was in a parking lot and saw a car with a very faded "United We Stand 911" car magnet.

The first thing that shot through my mind was "How Wrong We all were on that United We Stand part."

This great nation has lost the will to do the things that are hard or necessary and that is sad.

WSB Chris

Interesting Moments in Marketing History

This is apparently supposed to sell burgers at Clark's Jr. and Hardees (The places are literally the same, just different names.)


Not surprising, this has already raised a bit of controversy, largely among the teaching community. Given recent news events in recent years, this shouldn't be surprising.

A fast food chain’s racy new advertising campaign has left at least one teacher’s organization demanding it be pulled.

The ad for St. Louis, Missouri-based Hardee’s Corporation features a sexy teacher, making provocative moves in front of the class while two students rap to a song called "Flat Buns,” according to a report on myFOXstl.com.

"How irresponsible can you get?” said the Tennessee Education Association in a statement on their website. ”At this very moment, there are female teachers in high school classrooms with 30+ students who are working hard to teach our children so that they can compete in today's world. It is unbelievably demeaning to every one of them to promote a television advertisement showing a young teacher gyrating on top of her desk while boys in the class rap about her body in order to sell hamburgers!"

Hardee’s claims the ad is obviously a spoof, pointing out that the target demographic for the ad is young men who find this type of ad campaign appealing.

The fast-food chain courted controversy before with a provocative hamburger ad featuring Paris Hilton.

Sex sells, doubt it will sell some Patty Melts.

Packers 16, Eagles 13

Pug J called it (in the comments).

Re: In the mailbag

Lance,

Read your post on your own blog as well.

When I was a young man I frequently attended Grateful Dead concerts. The smugness was almost as thick as the patchouli & hippy hay smog. They thought themselves independent and highly individualistic as well. They disdained the rest in "Babylon" as many often referred to the rest of the nation.

However, they all conformed real closely to an identical dress and behavior code.

After I grew out of the "grungy-clothes is cool and individualistic" stage of my life I was sitting with a friend who never did grow out of that phase (alas, some years later he was found hanging – a successful suicide). He was whining about having his car searched each and every time he was pulled over. I asked him if a fellow dressed like me approached him at a show and asked to have a mutually beneficial exchange of money for goods, he looked at me and said no way, I would think you were a narc. I then pointed out to my friend he was too was in uniform.

No, the people at fighting bob fest for the most part will be every bit as conformical as any other group. True and pure individualists are rare and few if any will be found at Fighting Bob Fest.

Also, what is so bad about the herd? Jonah Goldberg noted herding is defensive mechanism. The fish that gets out of its school is eaten. Wolves, lions, etc work to split off a herd member from the herd, what happens to that split herd member? They get eaten up.

Let the Favre Watch Begin

As we all know, Packers QB Brett Favre is on the verge of breaking a slew of NFL records.

I'm gonna make a habit of keeping track this season, just so we're all kept informed. You're welcome.

Here's what Favre needs to break (not tie) the following records (according to the NFL's Record Book):

Attempts: 135 (Marino, 8,358)

Yards: 3,862 (Marino, 61,361)

Touchdowns: 7 (Marino, 420)

Interceptions: 5 (George Blanda, 277)

Fumbles: 24 (Moon, 161; Krieg, 153)

With the exception of his rookie year in 1991, Favre has never failed to record more attempts, touchdowns, and interceptions than that.

He has failed to throw for that many yards 5 times in his career (not inlcuding 1991), but he's thrown for at least that much in each of the last 3 seasons.

So it looks good.

Favre already holds the career records for completions, with 5,021, and seasons with over 3,000 yards passing, with 15.

He's also tied for first with four seasons leading the league in touchdowns - one more would put him alone in first there. He's also have to be sacked 61 times to move into 3rd place all time - 93 times to take 1st place.

Here's Favre's stats page.

In the mailbag

This letter appeared in yesterday's Baraboo News Republic:

Fighting Bob Fest will feature many non-sheep

Who are the real sheep here? You are, who blindly followed this failed president into war. Sheep don't ask why. Sheep aren't skeptical. Sheep don't protest. Sheep just keep their heads down.

Remember when conservatives portrayed themselves as rugged individualists? No nation building. Fiscal responsibility. Small government. Privacy. Looks like those tough guys were sheep in wolves clothing. Every single principle was thrown out the window.

Pay special attention to this next part:

What remains after we've sheared this Neocon sheep? A selfish, xenophobic, racist, intolerant, greedy, frightened, pitiful little creature.

Nice.

Maybe somewhere deep inside his mind, he realizes he has been used. His fears have been exploited by a bunch of modern-day Machiavellis. But he's too invested in the facade of King George. He can't back out now. The shame would be too great. So off he goes, with the herd, braying the same old, tired talking points.

Let's all go down to Fighting Bob Fest to see Ed Garvey, Cindy Sheehan, Matt Rothschild and many more of the most un-sheeplike people you will ever meet.

John Rausch,
Baraboo

Where else can you find such willfully ignorant, ignorantly dismissive anger and hatefulness, except in the ramblings of a rampant liberal?

And by the way, I bet Mr. Rausch is more sheeplike than he'd care to admit.

2008's Bob Ney

Yeah, all the elements are there: Over-whelming GOP-leaning District, connection to Jack Abramoff, and a multi-term Congressman too stubborn to read the writing on the wall.

I give you, Rep. John Doolittle (R) of California.

Rep. John Doolittle defiantly declared Friday that he will not retire from Congress despite increasing Republican concern that if he runs for a 10th term next year, the seat could fall to Democratic challenger Charlie Brown.

"I will not step aside," Doolittle said in a telephone news conference. "I am running again. Period."

Doolittle was upbeat , even jubilant in the 20-minute session despite a week in which Republican pollster Chris Wilson said the Roseville congressman was trailing Brown by double-digit numbers months before the November 2008 general election. Also, a federal grand jury heard testimony this week from three of Doolittle's aides subpoenaed in connection with the investigation of his connection to jailed lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

But Doolittle dismissed his Republican doubters - three of whom have said they either will or think they might run against him in the Republican primary next June - as "weasels."

[...]

As for the grand jury investigation, Doolittle would say only that the three-year investigation of the relationship he and his wife, Julie, had with Abramoff is dragging on so long that it is "bordering on harassment."

A federal grand jury subpoenaed Doolittle's chief of staff, Ron Rogers, deputy chief of staff Dan Blankenburg and scheduler Alisha Perkins to testify in the probe.

When you're calling in the scheduler, usually a pretty low-ranking position in the office, you know it's serious. If he lives through a primary, that'd be a shocker.

As a side note, you couldn't come up with better names for these candidates in a political thriller. Doolittle, Charlie Brown, man those are great names.

Mr. Pterodactyl doesn't post often...

...but sometimes, when he does, it's a gem:

There's something that always bothered me about tax cuts, and I could never quite put my finger on why. I think I get it now. It's this: tax cuts can be "temporary" and "expire" after a set period unless they're "extended" or "made permanent." As if the taxes have always been there, as if the taxes are natural. And we can tinker with them, but they'll always come back unless we pay real close attention. Kind of like that grass that comes up between chunks of sidewalk. And that's how it's supposed to be.

Read the whole thing. He's got a suggestion.

Re: Misplaced Effort?

Ron Paul seems to be the only one with bumper stickers/yard signs etc up here in the valley. At a Farmer's Market booth I work every weekend we have a customer who is always in Ron Paul gear and I got the trite sports schedule from her. I asked where her stuff comes from if over the Internet or if there is any sort of organized effort up here. She replied her stuff was from over the internet but there is a group of supporters who meet regularly.

I wouldn't call Ron Paul a twoofer but he seems to call to return to a day of splendid and mythical isolation from the world. My understanding is Ron Paul is a blowback guy, that is he believes we got what we deserved for meddling. Not an odd characteristic for his type, Pat Buchannan says the same about Pearl Harbor.

Unfortunately, too many get indignant about the claims and go for the easy and shallow refutation. Instead, I say the point should be conceded yeah its blowback. So what? Do we decline to go after the mafia because their might be a price to pay? Does the brave defendant not testify out of fear of becoming a criminal's target?

The comment about weed supporters pulling for him only goes so far. As soon as one of those guys talks about freedom for those who sell/smoke tobacco they turn cold, ask ET.

It Pains Me to Type This...

but John McCain won that debate.

I couldn't even give you someone who "Placed," and maybe I'm being generous, but Rudy probably got third.

All in all, Rudy looked like he was on auto-pilot with his answers. Duncan Hunter would make one hell of a Defense Secretary, Romney looked like a putz on foreign policy, Brownback's looking like a deer in headlights, Tancredo's a one-trick pony, Huckabee lost whatever he had going for him after Ames, and Ron Paul was Ron Paul.

That's my take; maybe I'm wrong.

The Most Trusted Name in Pro Football...

...picks the Packers to win the NFC North!

That's Gregg Easterbrook, who writes Tuesday Morning Quarterback. You gotta page down a while. He's reeeeeaaaally long-winded.

Misplaced Effort?

There's a Ron Paul for President sign on Hwy 12, just north of here. I also saw a Ron Paul for President bumper sticker the other day.

Even if Paul had a legitimate shot (and do we really want a President with two first names?), I'm not sure what to make of this. The primary will be over, for all intents and purposes, by the time our turn rolls around.

It seems somehow meaningful, though, that he's the only candidate with any obvious grassroots presence around here.

Now He's on the Lam

And no doubt Jim Doyle will still hang onto his cash...

California businessman Norman Hsu, a former New York apparel executive and major contributor to Democratic candidates and causes, failed to appear for a bail reduction hearing Wednesday, leading to speculation that he again is a fugitive from the law, FOX News has learned.

Hsu's attorneys say they do not know his whereabouts, and that their client did not surrender his passport.

Hsu turned himself in to authorities last week after more than 15 years on the run from a felony conviction of grand theft. He admitted to defrauding investors of $1 million in a bogus investment scam.

He failed to appear in court for sentencing on that 1991 conviction, a revelation that prompted high profile Democrats -- including presidential candidate Hillary Clinton -- to return thousands of dollars donated by Hsu.

Pride cometh before a fall

Even the liberals will laugh at this one-

The ex-newspaper editor took great delight in making fun of President Bush for falling off a Segway - the two-wheeled, motorised, gyroscopically balanced scooter that, its makers promise, will never fall over. However, he was bitten by karma and suffered the same fate as Bush.


Reporter Who Called Bush ‘Idiot’ for Segway Fall Cracks Ribs in Fall from Contraption

Now everyone in the free world is laughing at this reporter.

Sir, You're Not in the Navy Anymore

Funny thing about going from Vice Admiral to Congressman is that in Congress, your staff is only your yeomen for certain hours of the day; not all the time.

Someone didn't pass that on to Freshman Democrat from Pennsylvania, Joe Sestak, as he's seen thirteen staffers "jump ship" if you may.

Freshman Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.), a retired three-star Navy admiral, has fast developed a reputation for being a temperamental and demanding boss. Thirteen staffers have quit this year, say former aides citing public records.

Sestak’s reputation as a difficult manager, which hounded him in the Navy, has followed him to Congress. The Navy Times reported in 2005 that Sestak was relieved from his last post as deputy chief of Naval operations because of “poor command climate.”

Now, in running his congressional office, Sestak has imported a measure of military toughness; he is battling a “misguided” culture in Washington, said William Walsh, Sestak’s district director.

Aides are expected to work seven days a week, including holidays, often 14 hours each day, going for months without a day off. These are very long hours even by Capitol Hill standards.

After more than nine years on Capitol Hill and only six months as chief of staff, Brian Branton announced on Aug. 17 that he would be leaving Sestak to become vice president for congressional affairs at USA Funds, a nonprofit corporation that guarantees student loans. Sestak also has seen three press secretaries come and go.

In Sestak’s district office in Media, Pa., staffers are expected to work from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., during the week and part of the day on Saturday. One aide manages the office on Sundays, Walsh said.

Some aides have also bristled at their boss’s temper. At a markup in the House Education and Labor Committee this year, Sestak dressed down a legislative assistant in a manner that got the attention of other lawmakers and aides.

But Sestak does not attribute staff resignations to problems of his own making. “Some had other opportunities, some were not the perfect fit,” he said when asked about the 13 departures, adding, “I have had wonderful people working for me. I have asked a lot of my staff.”

Staff changes occur all the time up on the Hill. Some get jobs on K Street that pay three times what their Hill job pays. Some get offers to work on campaigns and head there. But thirteen staffers in eight months?

That's a statement on management style.

Maps

Re: Miller Goes Blaze Orange

Sean, you are a true spoil sport.

Furthermore, your idea of trading a blaze orange day for cheeseheads would have the effect of reducing the most important of Wisconsin's nationally recognizable characteristics.

When people learned I was moving here from California, did they say, 'Visit the capital in Madison!' No, they did not. Did they say, 'There's a wonderful art museum in Milwaukee.' Sadly, no. They did not point me to the beautiful North Woods, mention Door County, talk to me about the works of Auggie Derleth or exhort me to read "A Sand County Almanac." They didn't even congratulate me on the good hunting and fishing, or note that I was going to the land of Laverne and Shirly, Happy Days, and that 70s Show. Not one person reminded me that I would be living in the land of Chris Farley.

To a one, they all said, "Cheesehead!"

Wake Me When the Dems Admit They've Lost

Amazing what one election will do huh?

Oh, I'm sure you're thinking of 2006 aren't you? I mean it was 2006 that gave the Democrats the State Senate, that kept Doyle in the Governor's Mansion, and made Mike Tate more than a just guy with a .000 political batting average.

(In reality, Tate is still a guy with a .000 political batting average, but was wise enough to flip an issue tailored to Republican's advantage against them by getting college kids out to vote in an off-year election. Now he's just hoping no one asks him how ACT did its accounting in 2004 here in Wisconsin.)

The GOP got its head handed to it in 2006, gosh darnit, and they are paying for it no doubt. Too bad the Democrats are still kicking themselves for 2004.

"What?" You say. That was a political lifetime ago. And besides, Democrats won Wisconsin in 2004.

Oh did they?

In actually, while the state's electoral votes went to John Kerry and Russ Feingold was re-elected, the GOP gained seats in the State Legislature. A net gain of one in the Assembly, and a gain of one in the State Senate.

It's the second one that's having the ramifications now. Because the loss of the 32nd State Senate District - the Greater La Crosse area - the Senate Democrats went from having the usually competent Jon Erpenbach of Middleton, Chuck Chvala's true heir, as their leader, to Beloit's Judy Robson.

For lack of a better term; Robson is an idiot. Heck, she's not just an idiot, she's a horrible strategist, a lousy negotiator, and a border-line crack pot.

Oh, she's a nurse too.

Having Robson leading these negotiations over Erpenbach is a godsend to legislative Republicans. Erpanbach's history is in sales (Reality) and he can B.S. with the best of them. It seems the only thing he can't sell is the idea of Retirement to Jim Doyle.

Looking at all this from D.C., it seems a lot of things are going on. The first is Robson's and Erpenbach's money (literally their own money) was poorly spent. The idea that "Healthy Wisconsin" is a political winner for them is poor math. They gleefully keep slapping it down on the table thinking they're putting Mike Huebsch and Scott Fitzgerald in a corner; when all they get in return is blank stares.

Already the writing is on the wall that they've over-played their hand on this one. Their lack of a serious committee hearing and debate on the plan shows it was poorly thought out and muscled through their caucus. They've let it drift in the wind defending "the principle" while the details have been teared apart one by one by Republicans, the media, and conservative think tanks. Finally, they drafted a plan they had to have known the Governor wasn't on board with, but kept pushing it anyway.

What they're left with is an anchor they themselves have placed on the budget conference. One so big, it doesn't just wear down the process; it's left them politically boxed in between having to kill Healthy Wisconsin themselves (something a well-read liberal blogger's now urged). Or even worse; they force their own governor to veto it out of the budget, thus facing the wrath of his own party's political base.

Hell, if nothing, the always reliable liberal barometer that is One Wisconsin Now quit urging for socialized health care on a regular basis last week should say something. All the "Healthy Wisconsin" train has tied left to it are the Alliance of Cities and the diehards like Jack Lohman and the bill's authors.

One only wonders what going on behind closed caucus doors?

Secondly, you can't help but laugh at the countless political opportunities Doyle and the usual flock of patrons at the public trough are handing Democratic conference members to only see Robson fumble the ball over and over again.

Take for example this past week. Doyle spends taxpayer resources flying from metro-center to metro-center posing for holy pictures with local superintendents and demands the budget passed so his trump card - K-12 education - gets money. Robson responds by opening up the next budget conference session with...renewable energy investment.

When asked by the other side about its K-12 plan, the Democrats say "it's being work out." Yeah, behind the scenes. To add another insult to Robson's political IQ; a subset of rogue Republicans are saying "Just pass the school money seperately," giving the impression that members of the party usually charged with trying to burn down schools cares more this time around while Democrats care more about a universal health care plan than the state's school kids.

Opportunity given; opportunity wasted.

Of course, Doyle's own little stunt with the Medicaid monies is nothing new. The only thing that differs this time around is he got caught before any real voting occured.

Expect more scare tactics with a willingly media passing them on to everyone.

Finally, what's going to make this upcoming defeat; and it will be a defeat since it's Democratic demands for a $15 billion program that's really slowing things down, so striking is that it appears from the outside Wisconsin Democrats hold all the cards. They have the Governor's office, the State Senate, the media rooting for passage of something and soon, the usual lot of advocacy and liberal groups demanding more money with their own press machines, and most powerfully -- the potential threat of an Assembly takeover next year.

All of these should be a hand of five aces. Instead, all they've shown so far, is a hand of five jokers.

Re: Miller Goes Blaze Orange

I'll support a blaze orange game if they ban foam cheeseheads from Lambeau Field. If we have one new stereotype to publicize on national tv they should take one away.

Night on the town

Good thing they reported this guy's name -

Stahnke said he had met his son at a bar and doesn't remember much afterward.

"I woke up cold not knowing where the heck I was, and I didn't realize it at first because I still had my shoes and socks on," he said. "When I got up, I realized, my God, I don't have any pants."

Tim Curzan's dog, Joe, found the pants at an intersection, according to a police report. He found the cashier's check and tried twice, unsuccessfully, to deliver it and the cash to where he thought the owner lived.

- or I'd be wondering which Waukesha-radius blogger that was.

RE: Miller Goes Blaze Orange

In honor of the Blaze Orange can, I'll happily make long stocking caps out of blaze orange fleece for anyone who's interested. $10.

If the pack goes blaze orange, thems free.

Re: Miller Goes Blaze Orange

I'm all on board with the blaze orange jerseys, but to complete the theme I think our opponents should have to wear helmets with antlers. Fake soft ones, of course.

Re: Miller Goes Blaze Orange

I've long advocated that the Packers should play one game a year - they usually have one home game, at least, during gun deer season - in blaze orange jerseys.

I think we should make that an Official Position of the BBA.