Happy New Year!

Have fun tonight and be safe out there. Pros, watch out for the amateurs. Amateurs, have your pain reliever on hand for tomorrow.

Ozaukee County Board looks to use same dirty trick Waukesha County Board used.

The Ozaukee county board is looking at downsizing by a whopping 5 members from 30 to 25.

If they do this they will be protected from any further decrease in the size of the board due to a State law which only allows one size reduction per census period.

This is the same tactics the bastards on the Waukesha county board used to prevent the will of the citizens they supposedly work for.

Isn't it amazing how fast these bastards can work when they are protecting their own asses and positions

Nice to know the citizens of the land of Oz will be joining us Waukesha folks in the getting screwed over by our elected officals club.

Some day they will remember on every level that they work for us not the other way around.

WSB Chris

Experience.

I was briefed on a range of issues, often provided classified information. And often when I traveled on behalf of our country, I traveled with representatives from the DOD, the CIA, the State Department. I think that my experience is unique, having been eight years in the White House, having, yes, been part of making history, and also been part of learning how to best present our country's case. Hillary Clinton.

H/T Marquette Warrior on the cartoon.

Don't forget tomorrow

Why do we need sinuses? The only time you notice them is when they suck, like mine have for the past two day, but don't worry, it won't stop me from making it to the Blog Party tomorrow at Papa's on 77th & Burleigh starting at noon in front of the big screen TV. It also looks like we will have a VIP, so hit Fred's for details.

I'll be the one with the glassy over-medicated look in my eyes...

Re: Does she realize what she's saying?

Sounds like the Republican version of Healthy Wisconsin.

Eau Claire up for Depp, too?

Maybe.

Hollywood mega-star Johnny Depp could be coming to a Wisconsin community near you.

The president of U.S. Bank in downtown Eau Claire says he's been contacted by a site scout from Universal Pictures. The movie company is searching for a Wisconsin bank to film a movie starring Johnny Depp as Depression-era bank robber, John Dillinger. A Universal Pictures representative says Eau Claire is among 20 Wisconsin communities being scouted as potential locations for the new movie entitled "Public Enemies."

Okay, we now know of two. Who are the other 18 cities up for this possible scene?

Re: Does she realize what she's saying?

No way, tax incentives actually increases business prospects?????

Now imagine the business prospects that local and state business would have, if only they got 25% tax incentives on the wages they paid to their employees?

Even better, imagine how many more employees local businesses could hire with a 25% tax incentive. They could even pay their current employees more too. Wow!

And probably the best prospect of all, imagine the revenue the state could generate by giving tax incentives to every business in Wisconsin.

Ah, well. That is just a pipe dream as long as Doyle and his cronies are in charge.

By the way, in 2006, wasn't it the Republicans that were running the Senate and the Assembly? Thank goodness the Republicans continued to push this through or Lawton would have nothing to gloat about.

What are the chances that Democrats in the Senate, with Decker in charge, would even bring this type of bill to the table for a vote????

Maybe Doyle, Lawton and the Senate Democrats will actually realize that these type of tax incentives actually increases revenue in the state. It does not reduce revenue.

Duh!

Speaking of "duh", what was my Senator Bob Wirch thinking when he voted against this bill?

Golly, the guy is an embarrassment.

Does she realize what she's saying?

Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton, on a Johnny Depp flick maybe shooting some scenes in Baraboo:

Wisconsin couldn't lure a Hollywood production if not for the upcoming tax breaks, Lawton said. "Without it, they never would have come knocking on our door," she said. "They wouldn't have given us a second glance."

...

"This is an industry that has a real impact on creating jobs," Lawton said.

Say, LTG Lawton, you know what other industries have real impacts on creating jobs?

All of them!

So here's our plan: we get Hillary Clinton elected President; she appoints Jim Doyle to...oh, something. Whatever. That gives us Governor Barbara Lawton, who applies her impeccable logic to Wisconsin industry across the board.

How Do You Know That Liberals Don't Actually Believe In Global Warming?

Because, if they actually believed that ocean levels were going to rise soon, they'd be buying beach front property in Kansas.

So many on the left argue that the trend is irreversible, or we've gone too far. How about betting on a sure thing then? They're missing out on the investment opportunity of a lifetime! But, then what do liberals know about investing?

I don't see liberals fleeing the coast in droves, either. I mention this because Fred is all hacked off at one writer who suggests that global warming might be a welcome plague upon conservatives.

You know something? I'll bet the whole global warming scare is just a massive left-wing conspiracy, to keep real estate prices low for democratic congressmen who want to own beach front houses.

And they're bad for the environment, too!

Motorists in Wisconsin have a one in 99 chance of striking a deer with their vehicles in 2008.

That is nearly three times more likely to happen than being audited by the Internal Revenue Service and 5,000 times more likely than getting struck by lightning, according to some estimates.

Hat tip to Foxpolitics.net.

What's worse?

What is worse? The fact that Larry Craig is still a Senator; or that William Jefferson is still a Congressman?

Terrible snow trend in data-ice age cometh

I just like to point out that, of the ten snowiest Decembers in history, 7 in Madison 5 in Milwaukee have occurred in my relatively short life span. So, if we are going to make assumptions based off of small data sets like the global warming crowd does, this recent trend of very snowy Decembers means we are doomed to be buried in a glacier here in Wisconsin, and soon. It is going to be weird living in a glaciated desert.

A Mid-Afternoon's Badger Bites

Hopefully everyone out there has been able to enjoy Christmas this year. Despite the holiday, the Wisconsin blogosphere has been writing up a storm. Appropriate, given all of the snowstorms this month. Here is today's Badger Bites, and, like this week, it'll be back next Thursday. Have a safe and enjoyable New Year everyone.

-Patrick looks at a potential problem at city hall in Milwaukee.

-Weighing the possibility of privatizing Mitchell Field.

-Johnny Depp...in Baraboo?

-Marquette Warrior has pictures of troops terrorizing Iraqis.

-Redneck etiquette.

-Another good reason to really hate ethanol.

-The humor of a joke depends on one's perspective.

-My wife would never do this for me.

-Lacking a sense of irony. More on that one here.

-Pick your own high school in Kenosha.

-Better than the patch?

-A tax on video games is a tax too far. First, they taxed our cigarettes, and I did nothing...

-Someone doesn't like agency commissions.

Christmas Lights-Mannheim Steamroller-Deck The Halls

Happy Holidays from the Badger Blog Alliance

Wisconsin Soldier Adopts Iraqi Boy with Down's Syndrome

I'm not going to add any commentary to this. Just go read it.

Global warming

Apparently Al Gore does not realize how silly he looks.

Weather Prediction

I just bought another hundred pounds of ice melt.

So the next storm to hit us is going to be a two hundred pounder.

OR

We're going the rest of the winter without any more snow.

State ranks 43rd in job growth

A report on job growth released today shows Wisconsin ranking 43rd among the staes and the District of Columbia. A net gain of 12,500 jobs were created within the state over the last year. I would bet most of the gain in Wisconsin jobs were of the non-producing government variety.

A rank of 43rd in job creation and flat population growth sounds like a state that many people find quite unattractive.

It is time for politicians in this state to cut out the lies about high quality and cut government spending and taxation. This is what people really want.

See story.

SpirtofPublicus - OTBL

First, the Helmets

Next, they'll be installing car seats for sledders under eighty pounds.

My Business Plan

The new energy bill phases out the incandescent light bulb. Apparently, our government doesn't realize that the alternative technology is not a suitable "or equal" replacement yet, and Hollywood doesn't realize that those aren't CFL bulbs above the mirrors in the dressing room or in the ETC Source Fours lighting the stage.

Ok, whatever. If the government is taking away the light bulb, I may as well take advantage of it. I'm stocking up on illegal light bulbs, and then I'll wait. Plenty of people are going to want my product, because the light is still far superior to CFL and LED. I'll be able to own the black market. That's tax free income, too!

When I've sold enough of my contraband, I'll not stop there. The governement can't outlaw the components of an incandescent bulb. Argon, glass, and tungsten wire aren't used only in light bulbs. So, all I need to do is buy an abanodoned production line cheap from Ebay, put it in a warehouse, and fire it up. I'll be Thomas Edison and Paul Revere in one! And, I'll be rich.

I should thank the president for handing me my retirement plan.

What's next for the political blogosphere?

A lot of it depends on what happens in November 2008, but I think Megan McArdle hits the nail squarely on the head.

Assume, for the nonce, that come January 2009, there will be a Democrat taking the oath of office. What will the blogosphere look like?

Compared to the netroots, right now, the rest of the political blogosphere is a demoralized and listless place. Libertarians are abandoning their mild preference in favor of Republicans, not for the Democrats, but for despair. On the conservative side, even ardent supporters of the president have tired of him. Everyone is out of plausible policy proposals. What is there to be in favor of? More tax cuts? An even more aggressive foreign policy?

Meanwhile, the netroots is ascendant. They feel their hands closing around the reins of power, and they like the way it feels. The war in Iraq may be a bad idea, but they're preparing to kick some ass in the political battles to come.

But what happens when power shifts over? The netroots is fundamentally an opposition movement. They argue among themselves, to be sure, but they have solidarity built on their common hatred of George Bush. The move from never-never policy proposals to actually having to talk about things that might get done will be somewhat disconcerting. And as executing policy starts to require compromise and not a little hypocrisy, the pure ideological fervor that animates the netroots will start to dissipate, as it has among the disillusioned conservative blogs.

Meanwhile, I expect the handover will actually be good for the rest of the blog world. We may not agree on much, but we can probably unite around hatred of our new presiden'ts policies. I would wager a fair amount that the libertarian flirtation with the Democratic party doesn't last much beyond March 1st, 2009. As libertarians know too well, being in the opposition can be fun. Having full range of motion on one's opinion muscles feels surprisingly good, especially if you've spent years assuming contorted positions in order to support the last administration.

It is kind of ironic that George Bush is a unifier for the left, but that's what he is. We've already seen the fault lines in the netroots when Democrats don't do what they want. If a Democrat wins the presidency in 2008, expect a short honeymoon with the netroots and then holy hell to break loose. The question in my mind is can the right side of the blogosphere quickly organize to be as efficient an opposition force as the netroots? Each side of the blogosphere is constructed very differently, and while I have no doubts that the right can be very much a forceful voice, I do wonder if we can be as effective as the netroots have been.

Of course, that is all predicated on a Democratic win. A Republican win might actually weaken the right side of the blogosphere even more as the various components of the right splinter over whether their views are being sufficiently reflected in the President.

Tancredo quits, throws support behind Romney

Another GOP presidential candidate calls it quits.

This is a good thing. We have too many choices.

Tancredo's reasons for calling it quits:

Washington Times

He said he decided to drop out in part because of concern that staying in could split the vote for other candidates who have taken a hard line on immigration, helping those who would take a less restrictive approach.

"I fear remaining in this race, one which I cannot win, would contribute to the nomination of one of these candidates," he said.

Essentially, Tancredo believes that Huckabee is a bad candidate and that he is peeling off votes from Mitt Romney by staying in the race.

Tancredo identified former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Arizona Sen. John McCain as two Republican candidates whose records indicate they wouldn't be tough enough on immigration.

...

He also said Huckabee's recent rise in the polls was a factor in his decision to drop out of the race.

We will see if Romney gets a bounce from this in Iowa. It will be interesting to see if some of the Tancredo supporters head towards Thompson also.

I like the idea of a tight race in the GOP.

My Mileage Tracking Methodology

Aaron notes:

Make sure you start you log from an empty tank, then run on the same gas for a few fill-ups in a row.

If the numbers don't work out the way you want, make something up. That's what "they" do.

Source: See the original blog & read his comment for the source.

First off, my motivation for tracking is to see which fuel is the most frugal. So, I am not going to manipulate the results to come to my favorite answer (which is? The one that results in the lower cents per mile!), so don't worry no manipulation or data massaging to come to a particular answer.

Now, back in April I started tracking the mileage on our primary (and it was our only vehicle until a little more than one month ago) vehicle and got a very good handle on our gasoline expenditures and mileage. I think I have a good system down.

I fill up my tank, I take the receipt and write down the reading from my trip-meter and reset that. In addition, I write down the numbers from my trip computer (e.g. average MPH, average MPG, gallons used etc) for comparison. When I get home I plunk the numbers into a spreadsheet I built for just such purpose and get the answers.

I work on one assumption, the gas I pour in is the gas I burned to drive the mileage on the trip-meter. I am rethinking that assumption due to the nature of the experiment with different fuel classes (E85, E20, E10, and straight gasoline). I still believe my assumption to be valid.

Some years ago I did something similar to discern any savings by using high-test grades of gasoline. Since, high octane is universally available I drove exclusively one grade of gas for a a number of tankfuls. However, now I am not guaranteed E85 will be available at fill up time. BTW, I do not recall high-test making a significant difference just in cost. I am thinking about revisiting this one too.

The calculations I use are straight-forward from a seventh-graders math book. Take the miles driven, divide by the gallons of gas consumed, take the price paid multiply by 100 and divide by miles driven (cents per mile). In addition, I do some totaling and averaging (monthly & annual).

I take the gas down to about 1/16-1/8 of a tank and then I gas up (sometimes sooner, sometimes later I was getting low on fumes tonight).

Two interesting side-effects. First, you can detect problems before they become serious. A previous vehicle showed the first symptoms of transmission problems by decreased mileage and you begin to see how your approach to driving affects your mileage.

Corn Squeezin's Economics

The Empress and myself just purchased a new vehicle. It is a flex-fuel vehicle and I am learning about corn squeezings aka E85.

Of course, it is not widely available. I also tell you 60-70 cents per gallon under regular fuel really gets your attention. However, I also notice a significant drop in mileage when running on corn squeezings. With the new years I am going to track the mileage very closely to determine the cents per mile. My guess the cents per mile will be close to a wash with perhaps a slight edge to corn squeezings.

Being that corn squeezings are not widely available another phenomena I see is wide variance in the price. For example, at the Corner of HWY 10 & South Oneida in Appleton (or is that Menasha there?) just across from Waverly Beach is a Kwik Trip (used to be a Shell Station) that sells corn squeezings. Then we have a Renew Station on Wisconsin Avenue on the West side of town (near Indian Darbar restaurant), the Renew Station sells E85, E20, and E10 corn squeezings.

The difference in price between the Renew and the Kwik Trip is significant, I don't know what it is now, but I remember seeing a 30 cent difference once.

E85 is new, the sources are few. This means knowledge of the marketplace is much more limited. I am driving to Menasha from Manitowoc there is no way I am going to know about the cheap E85 at the Renew station. Even for people who live in the area there is a good chance they will not know the large difference in price.

Humor: It's a Guy Thing (You Wouldn't Understand)

This explains why none of my girlfriends ever thought I was funny.

ScienceDaily (Dec. 20, 2007) — Humour appears to develop from aggression caused by male hormones, according to a study published in the Christmas issue of the British Medical Journal.

...

Responses became more verbal during the later teens, turning into disparaging 'jokes' or mocking songs. This then evolved into adult male humour -- characterized by repetitive, humorous verbal put-downs concealing a latent aggression. Young men in cars were particularly aggressive. Professor Shuster notes that this is the age when men are at the peak of their virility. The 'jokes' were lost with age as older men responded more neutrally and amicably with few attempts at a jovial put-down.

Badger Bites

The Cheddarsphere is all over the map today. From Christmas parties to McDonald's and from Huckabee to Paul, it's all right here.

*Don't forget to RSVP for the Christmas party.

*Compact florescents-not quite as efficient as they are made out to be.

*Pundit Nation is upset that Donald Driver supports the Future Offensive Linemen of America (via McDonald's).

*Most patriotic.

*Ron Paul.

*And he'd consider helping Montana.

*Is Huckabee collapsing?

*No school for Jews.

*Pheisty has some highlights from this year's notable quotables.

*Separated at birth?

*Another side to ear marks.

Merry Christmas, everyone. Badger Bites will be taking off Christmas Eve and will be back next Thursday.

Astronaut's Mother Killed in Car Wreck

Imagine being away on a business trip when something bad happens at home, then imagine being in space when it happens.

HOUSTON (AP) — An astronaut aboard the international space station went back to work Thursday even as he grieved for his mother, who was killed a day earlier when a train struck her vehicle.

Rose Tani, the 90-year-old mother of astronaut Daniel Tani, died
Wednesday in the Chicago suburb of Lombard.

Daniel Tani, 46, is believed to be the first American astronaut to lose a
close family member while in space, NASA spokeswoman Nicole Cloutier said.

...

Police said Rose Tani stopped behind a school bus at a railroad crossing and then drove around the vehicle, bypassing the lowered crossing gate. The train struck Tani's vehicle on the passenger side and pushed it down the tracks before stopping.

...

Daniel Tani was supposed to fly home aboard Atlantis on Wednesday, but the shuttle's flight was postponed until January due to a fuel gauge problem. The earliest he could return to Earth at this point is late next month.

If any of you have relatives in space right now, do them a favor: try to drive safely. In fact, you might want to make a habit of it, just in case.

Enough Already!

I'm all in favor of my car getting better mileage.

Just stop telling me that I need to shove my lunch in the gas tank.

Coexist!

Baby's First Suicide Bombing

In Britain, investigators are looking into the sale of a children's sing-along DVD that glorifies suicide bombing. The book store selling the DVD is in one of Britain's terrorist hotbeds, just blocks from the homes of the 7/7 bombers.

One song, inspired by the story of a Palestinian mother of two who killed four Israeli soldiers in a suicide bombing in 2004, features a young girl watching her mother prepare and strap on a dynamite belt.

But it's hosted by a cute cartoon chicken!

Trench cave-in kills man in Kenosha

This is a terrible thing for a family to have to deal with, especially at this time of year.

A construction worker was trapped and killed today when a trench where he was working collapsed, authorities said.

The accident happened near Kenosha in the Town of Somers, where a new shopping center is being built. The man had been working with a private contracting crew laying sewer pipe.

The man was buried up to his waist about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Rescuers worked for two hours to free him before the trench gave way again, killing him, said Steve Krause, Somers fire chief.

My father was a pipeliner for many years, and if memory serves me OSHA has some very stringent guidelines for how trenches must be dug and graded. I'd be surprised if this one followed those guidelines to a T.

I'm Part of The National Conversation

As an accused bleeding-heart, I'm honored that James T. is talking about a blog that I wrote on one of my hot button issues.

Now this is actually great news if it happens.

Doyle worried that Legislature will do little in 2008

That would be great news if the clowns from both parties just sat on their hands for the whole year.

At least then they could not make anything worse.

Its not like they do anything useful like lower taxes or control spending or pass the PPA.

So since nothing useful is going to happen then Gridlock would be great.

In some ways we are better off with the legislature being under split control I actually prefer this to either party having both houses.

Sorry GOP I am still pretty pissed off at you so no free ride you guys are as much of the problem as the people on the left.

So here is to a long frozen don't move an inch gridlock for the whole year of 2008.

WSB Chris

Do You Think?

Do you think Russ Feingold is kicking himself for dropping out of the presidential race?

With Hillary and Obama playing the game of mutually assured destruction, an aggressively self-promoting candidate could've campaigned in a bubble. Don't you think?

Another example why we are the Greatest Nation on earth

"Navy saves gravely ill girl on cruise"(AP)


The fact they broke off training and steamed to the aid of one teenage girl is another example of how our country and military kicks ass.

Figure we sent alot more than the 6000 sailors that AP mentions to this girls aid because I doubt the Reagan was sailing without some form of escort.

I am guessing the powers that be did not think twice about answering the distress call.

That is just the way it is at sea. I can remember during the height of the cold war being launched as part of a ready alert Search and Rescue mission to try and find and rescue the crew of a Soviet merchant ship that was sinking in a storm. We knew we were looking for "Russians" but it did not matter we worked as hard as we would have if the ship had been a US flagged vessel.

Well done to the Crew of the Reagan and the Helo Crew

Just think of the story that young lady will have to tell about her vacation.


Outstanding work
Chris

The Late Night Badger Bite

Admit it-you're still up. There were gifts to buy after work, errands to run, and things to wrap. So take a load off, grab a glass of eggnog, and enjoy a few bites.

*Good question. Why?

*Osama for the Nobel Peace Prize.

*Fred invites the Ron Paul supporters to hang out in his comments section. At least, that's how it'll work out.

*The hope continues for a meaningful Wisconsin primary.

*Hmm. This one is...well...strange.

*Paul Soglin, damn anti-snowstorm bicycling right winger.

*How Cheney impeachment would hurt the Democrats.

*Which is the evil corporation?

*Thankfully they aren't doing this under the Leinie's label.

*Looking deeper at Mitt and guns.

*When headlines collide.

Once again the left somewhere in America sides with Criminals over Victims

New Jersey repeals use of the Death Sentence.

Just once wouldn't be nice to see the left worry about and fight for victims and victims families as hard as they fight for the "rights" of criminals.

The fact they are forcing the SCOTUS to decided if lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment shows you that the left will go to no lengths to protect the criminal class. Gee when you give the family cat or dog a lethal injection when putting them down you never hear anyone say that it is cruel and unusual but give it to a triple murder and the left howls like a mashed cat.

What do Terrorists, Illegal Immigrants and Death row inmates have in common?

They all know the Left in America is fighting to protect their rights at the expense of the average law abiding citizens.

The Left sucks
Chris

San Francisco's Soda Tax

Here comes the Food Nazis once again.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom wants to impose a tax on soft drinks to fight obesity. Yawn. Ho-hum. Is there anything a lefty won't tax for your own good?

Newsom also wants to compel all big box retailers and chain drug stores to pay into his "Shape Up San Francisco" program.

The state of California also wants to post a warning label on all drinks containing caffeine.

For those of us who told you that they wouldn't stop with just smoking, I have just one thing to tell you: We told you so.

This is the creep of institutional fascism. It all starts with small "common sense" proposals that no one can be against, supported by "It's for the children" and away we go. Incrementalism. One step at a time.

These people will not stop until they are into your houses, telling you what you are and are not permitted to eat or drink and consume in any manner. Never mind the fact that most of them support the legalization of drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, heroin, etc.

They won't stop until everything of which they disapprove is taxed to the hilt, regulated and controlled or banned outright. Unless we tell them "Enough is enough."

RE: Lame Duck Congress

The irony is that when the GOP had the majority in the Senate and House they did not get any conservative based legislation passed as well (Social Security reform, Tort reform, Death Taxes, Immigration reform, Education reform). Think about this. If we were to total eliminate the Federal income tax today, the remaining amount of taxes collected by other means, would equal the tax amount of the first year of Bush's presidency. What did we get? Expanded drug benefit coverage, no child left behind, and every other bill pushed through congress minus the latest foray of recent vetos.

We are living in a time where the last 7 years the national budget has grown more that any other time in history. That's not conservatism in my book. I don't see any differences in the parties nor do I see anything proposed that can easily differentiate them, except one. When one can't differentiate between a RINO and a Democrat, the chance that a cross-over voter will vote for the GOP is slim.

Oh, the candidate who proposes eliminating the Income tax, thus bringing us back to the 2000 levels of taxation, is Ron Paul.

In case you missed it...

Check out the response from Scott Walker in regards to the recently announced County Executive Polling.

It is an interesting read based on who was doing the polling and what type of questions were being asked.

A note to BBA members

Please check the email address through which you became a posting member. Thank you.

Lame Duck Congress

Over the last several weeks, it has been rather interesting to watch the Democrats tear each other apart. Their presidential candidates are slinging mud at each other.

They control both houses of Congress and now each house is flinging mud at the other.

The American Prospect-

Wisconsin's Rep. David Obey says this of the Senate in the Wall Street Journal-

"I can tell you when bills will move and you can tell me when the Senate will sell us out," he told The Wall Street Journal.

Senate Majority Leader has this to say about his counterpart in the House, Nancy Pelosi-

Reid has also been confessing his inner feminist in mildly distancing himself from Pelosi. "I can't control Speaker Pelosi. She is a strong independent woman," he said on the Senate floor last week. "She runs the House with an iron hand."

To say that the shiny new Democrat controlled government has gotten very little accomplished this year is a understatement.

Although they are trying to blame the Republicans, they only have themselves to blame.

They control both Houses of Congress and yet, they cannot get a budget passed or any other piece of important legislation for that matter.

I know that they keep accusing the President of vetoing all their important stuff. Let's be honest, in seven years, the President has only vetoed seven bills.

All I have to say about this is that for a lame duck President, Bush sure holds a lot of power over the Democrats.

It is looking more and more like we have a lame duck Congress with two lame duck leaders, Pelosi and Reid.

The BBA loses a friend.

The blogger known as Triticale to most, Tom to a few, lost his short battle with cancer Thursday evening.

Tom was friend to many of the members here, he was respected by all of us.

Blogging is different things to all of us. But to many of us blogging is about relationships. There is a close knit circle of people out there all connected (oddly enough) by hyperlinks.

We'll miss you Tom.

God's blessings to you and your family.

Speaking of fair compensation for internet material

Folkbum has a YouTube video up that supports the Writer's Guild strike in Hollywood. As much as I think good writing is a commodity, I don't begrudge union member Jay for supporting the union members of the Writer's Guild. I do have one question, though: Are the writer and performer of the song in the YouTube video being fairly compensated for the use of the song at YouTube, Jay's blog, and other places around the internet? I don't know the answer, I'm just askin' here.

HT: Wiggy.

R.I.P Tom (Triticale)

Very sad news for the blogosphere, Tom (Triticale) has lost his fight, and passed away last night.

Many of us here had the chance to know Tom, please keep his family in your prayers.

Badger Bites

Christmas is just around the corner, and your shopping isn't done yet. What should you do? Keep procrastinating...read tonight's Badger Bites instead.

*I'm not sure this will be on the ballot.

*Milwaukee doesn't want to expand the lanes on I-94? Then how about a bypass/loop?

*BMI in photos.

*That'll cost you $780 this year.

*Boss rule in Russia.

*The season is open on Joel McNally.

*I think we do need glowing kitties-it'll make that eventual feral cat hunt easier.

*Let her do her job.

*Cooperation, Milwaukee Style.

*Fred Thompson apologizes.

State primary ballots set

In case you were wondering, here are the candidates that will be on the ballots for Wisconsin's primary.

Republican
Rudy Giuliani
Mike Huckabee
Duncan Hunter
John McCain
Ron Paul
Mitt Romney
Tom Tancredo
Fred Thompson

Democrats
Joe Biden
Hillary Clinton
Chris Dodd
John Edwards
Mike Gravel
Dennis Kucinich
Barack Obama
Bill Richardson

No real surprises on either ballot. It will be interesting to see how many of these candidates are still in it by the time Wisconsin's primary rolls around.

Coexist With This?

The 16-year-old Mississauga girl who was allegedly strangled by her father in a dispute over her refusal to wear the hijab has died. Aqsa Parvez, a Grade 11 student at Applewood Heights, succumbed to her injuries late last night, Peel Regional Police said today.

Source: Posted Toronto – Girl, 16, dies after hijab dispute with father (Rob Roberts)

For more analysis and opinion see: Give Me Non-Islamic Clothes or Give Me Death. I lived in the Middle East for six years and a buddy of mine told me he thought one of his students was similarly off'ed, but nothing would come of it there. However, I do not consider this story to be typical but it gives you an idea of the mindset of those we are fighting with. It is those that would kill their daughters for not covering up, it is those that would strap on a suicide bomb belt. The West in general is welcoming to immigrants and the wonders of their respective cultures, but this stuff is not welcome, I hope most would agree this is not something we can co-exist with.

I remember the old story about Charles James Napier in India. He was receiving complaints about the prohibition of suttee (or sati):

"You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: when men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours."

Source: WikiPedia – Charles James Napier

Unfortunately, the father & brother in the case I point above will get fed decently (probably all halal too), probably get special treatment so they can say their five prayers per day and so on and then probably whine their chairs for the 11:00 am coffee service are not comfy enough.

Coexist!

The daughter of a British imam is living under police protection after receiving death threats from her father for converting to Christianity.

Oh, and:

A study this year found that 36 per cent of British Muslims between 16 and 24 believe those who convert to another religion should be punished by death.

Hat tip to Wigderson. Read the whole thing.

And will we ever?

Thomas Sowell:

Now that Congress has violated the First Amendment by restricting free speech with "campaign finance reform" laws, in the name of getting the influence of money out of politics, have you noticed any less influence of money in politics?

The Late and Abbreviated Badger Bites

Sorry for this late edition of Badger Bites everyone. I had the opportunity to enjoy the arts this evening and I couldn't pass it up. So on to the Bites before I get all surrealist on you all.

*Rick Esenberg smells a whiff of realignment.

*Marquette Warrior passes along an amusing political cartoon.

*Al Gore, the boring, overpaid pop diva.

*When ARMs aren't so bad.

*A Wisconsin Supreme Court power grab?

*Dave Obey, mega-pouter but right?

*Fred reviews last year's predictions.

*"The Democrats" is actually kind of funny if you are familiar with "The Aristocrats".

New "Dark Knight" Photos

Warner Brothers has released the first picture of Heath Ledger in the traditional Joker outfit.

You can take a look at it here.

Personally, I love the socks.

Doyle right about tree {?} | The Capital Times

"Gov. Jim Doyle deserves credit for putting the whole legislative debate in perspective about whether to call the lovely 45-foot balsam fir that stands in the Capitol Rotunda a "holiday tree" or a "Christmas tree."

"I think people should call it whatever they want to call it," Doyle said after lighting the tree. "The idea of the Christmas season is you're sort of not supposed to be picking fights with people. You're supposed to be finding ways to have peace on Earth. So people should call the tree whatever they want to."

The governor's office has, in press releases, referred to the balsam as a "holiday tree."

At home, Doyle says, his family uses the term "Christmas tree."

And what should the official state policy be on this matter that has so excited legislators and radio commentators?

"I couldn't care less," says Doyle."

Wow! That's some leadership right there, I'll tell you. Compare that with Scott Walker's remarks to a private group in Milwaukee Saturday. He said "Unlike Seattle where they took their Christmas trees out of the airport last year in a failed attempt to be responsive to the religious beliefs of a variety of people, we are happy to have a Christmas tree up at the courthouse, at the airport and in our downtown Red Arrow Park.

To respect the fact that there are people in our community of different faiths, we put up an eight foot high menorah candle in the courthouse, at the airport and in Red Arrow Park. I lit the first candle at the start of the Festival of Lights. We realize that freedom of religious means representing the beliefs of others, not eliminating any religious practices from our society.

For those – like me – who are Christians, I say Merry Christmas. And to our friends and neighbors who are Jewish, I say Happy Hanukkah!" Scott has it right -- it's not about freedom FROM religion -- it's about freedom OF religion and all the traditions that go along with that freedom.

A Christmas tree is a Christmas tree -- there's no other purpose for it! That's what we get, however, for electing a governor who is proud to own a Festivus Pole...

NBC Was Scared of This?

The "controversial" ads NBC originally wasn't going to air from Freedom's Watch.

The accidental $.33 gas in Miocqua

Oops.

MINOCQUA, Wis. -

Dozens of drivers made a mad rush for cheap gas after a station employee accidentally changed the price to 33 cents a gallon.

An employee closing Trig's Minocqua Shell for the night mistakenly entered the price of a gallon of gasoline as 32.9 cents instead of $3.299 on Monday night.

He left about 10 p.m., but drivers could still use their credit cards to buy gas.

Word of the bargain spread fast in the rural northern Wisconsin community, with 42 people buying 586 gallons of gas in an hour and 45 minutes. One person had pumped 27 gallons and two purchased 18 gallons.

Local police saw the horde at the station and called store manager Andrea Reuland, who went to the station and pushed the emergency stop.

"There were cars two deep at each of my pumps," said Reuland, who knew many of the drivers and told them they were being dishonest - the main store sign had the correct price.

Here's the question: Were the customers being dishonest/unethical, or were they just taking advantage of a legitimate, if accidental, price? And would you have gassed up?

Oh, and by the way-the employee that messed up the price wasn't fired.

Another Fine Reason to Hate the Big Ten Big Wigs

Here's a crazy idea; how about a 10th Conference game instead?

The days of the Big Ten Conference concluding its football season the week before Thanksgiving appear to be over.

Beginning next season, the University of Wisconsin and other Big Ten schools will be allowed to incorporate an extra bye week into their 12-game regular schedule and play games after Thanksgiving.

The Big Ten presidents voted recently to allow teams to play after Thanksgiving and UW athletic director Barry Alvarez shared that news Friday with the UW Athletic Board.

According to Alvarez, UW coach Bret Bielema has contacted Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz about moving the teams' Oct. 18 game at Iowa to later in the season.

UW has its bye scheduled for Nov. 22. That would be Week 13 of the season. Iowa is scheduled to play at Minnesota that day so it is conceivable that UW and Iowa could agree to move the game to Nov. 29.

One sticking point, though, is that the Hawkeyes don't have a game scheduled for Oct. 25. So if Ferentz agreed to move the UW game, the Hawkeyes would be off for two weeks in the middle of the season.

"We'd have to take someone in the league who would agree to move their game until after Thanksgiving," Alvarez said. (Bret) has talked to Kirk about it. . . . And if Iowa doesn't want to do it, we'll just try to find somebody.

"You need an open date. That is too hard; 12 straight weeks is hard."

Yeah, that's it. It helps explain why all those Alvarez-coached football teams got beat by all those SEC teams in bowl games. Those 12 straight weeks of playing (plus a month-plus off) are too darn hard when facing a team that's probably played what, 13? 14 games?

All those years hanging out with Donna Shalala have made you soft Barry. There an athletic department speech code coming in the works too?

New column up...

...and I'm counting at least four sure entries into next week's MRQ!

Maybe five!

Does anyone know any bloggers who are still in college?

Anyone? Anyone at all?

Tell them about this College Blogger Contest.

And don't forget my finder's fee.

Your Congress, at Work

(HT Instapundit)

Yeah, this is gonna be fun to see enforced. Can't you just imagine the fun of tracking down a Wi-Fi hot spot user from a Starbucks?

The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a bill saying that anyone offering an open Wi-Fi connection to the public must report illegal images including "obscene" cartoons and drawings--or face fines of up to $300,000.

That broad definition would cover individuals, coffee shops, libraries, hotels, and even some government agencies that provide Wi-Fi. It also sweeps in social-networking sites, domain name registrars, Internet service providers, and e-mail service providers such as Hotmail and Gmail, and it may require that the complete contents of the user's account be retained for subsequent police inspection.

The Bill passed 409-2.

Kudos to La Crosse Democrat Ron Kind...for not showing up to vote.

The techno-jargon wrapped in the light-speed legislative journey of this bill (from introduction to passage was less than two months) can be read here. It's quite informational, you find out most of the bill is redundant.

Badger Bites

Welcome to tonight's Badger Bites. It has been a very snowy December so far in Wisconsin. Personally, I blame global warming, which interestingly has sponsored tonight's edition, along with Exxon, Haliburton, and cute little puppies with rabies. So take a few minutes and enjoy what our sponsors have made possible.


*Was there a conflict of interest for Burmaster?

*Casper is making an effort to become Wisconsin's premier lunch blogger.

*Frank Lasee gives a lesson on why and how structural deficits might impact Wisconsin in the near future.

*Paul Soglin calls out stupidity when he sees it...even if it means taking on Madison's angry winter bicyclists.

*James points out a potentially important Wisconsin endorsement for Fred Thompson.

*The infamous Boots & Sabers commenter, in his own words.

*The Great Frankfurter Debate. Take sides, then take to the streets.

*Eminent Domain reminds us of what Hillary's appointments to the Supreme Court would look like.

*Capper's advice to the Journal Sentinel: Be Careful of Your Sources.

*Sex and the Robot at the Power Hour. Don't forget your 5KY-30.

*Caffeinated Politics thinks bloggers should moderate comments for good taste and common sense.

*"One of these days y'all are going to have to say yes."

This one's for Elliot

Even if I am a day late.

So it's snowing again.

I was thinking, while walking along an icy sidewalk between foot-deep piles of snow: what a mess this is going to be if the weather warms up.

Then I thought: what if it doesn't? What if it just keeps piling up and the temp never gets above freezing until March?

How high can we pile up the tree banks?

They must be so proud to be a member of WEAC this morning

All I can say is isn't it great we have the good people at WEAC looking out for our children's interests.

I had a great laugh over this line form the WEAC mouth piece lawyer.

"WEAC attorney Lucy Brown said the union was concerned the school was not being held to standards in state law that ensure students receive quality public education."

If you follow their logic shouldn't they be suing to shut down MPS instead of a virtual school that was actually working.


This is another example of the harm Unions cause us ever day.

This lawsuit had nothing to do with protecting children and we all know it the only thing that it was protecting was Union Thug jobs.

Remember this the next time you hear one of those great WEAC tv or radio ads telling us what a great job they are doing for Wisconsin.

WEAC Sucks
Chris

Body found under Aurora bridge | Beacon News

"Aurora police were investigating the report of gunshot victim found dead under the High Street Bridge in Aurora Tuesday night. A man’s body was discovered about 6:30 p.m. near the bridge over the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad tracks on the city’s near East Side."

Even though I've lived in Wisconsin for almost 4 years now, I still subscribe to the Aurora 'Be Confused' Beacon News rss feed so that I can receive these little reminders of why I'm so glad I pulled my family out of there and moved to Algoma, WI...

"I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."

Gaaaah!

They put him on the cover!

Packers: Favre chosen Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year

NEW YORK — Brett Favre's standout season for the resurgent Green Bay Packers has earned him the title of 2007 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year, making him the fourth quarterback to win the award in its 53-year history.

Winter is Gonna Suck

Did Taylor Already Change Campaign Managers?

I don't know his politics, but Michael Horne of Milwaukee World has a good track record with his scoops.

This October, I thought he had an interesting one.

Well, at last! Lena Taylor is running for Milwaukee County Executive, her advisor Les Johns said this afternoon in an e-mail message to milwaukeeworld. Johns says the senator called him this afternoon to announce she had filed papers with the Milwaukee County Election Commission.

A worker at the commission confirmed that Taylor had filed her EB-1 form today. The document certifies her intent to run and allows her to start raising money. Finally, Taylor has hired Eric Hogensen to be her campaign manager. She joins Joe Klein as an announced candidate for the seat held by Scott Walker.

According to a Taylor Campaign Press Release today, she's already switched drivers.

Taylor for Milwaukee County Executive announced on Tuesday that John Zapfel has joined the campaign as the organization’s campaign manager.

“John brings a wealth of experience to my campaign, and I’m very pleased to have him on board as I seek to restore integrity and accountability to the Milwaukee County Executive’s office,” State Sen. Lena Taylor said.

Zapfel was born and raised in the City of Milwaukee, where he attended Milwaukee Vincent High School and later the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He has worked for a number of campaigns in the Milwaukee area, including Barrett for Milwaukee, the Democratic Coordinated Campaign, and Doyle for Governor.

Hogenson is best known for running Kagen's campaign last year. (Just don't ask Eric about not getting the Congressional Chief of Staff job...I hear he's a bit touchy when it comes to that subject.)

So here's the question: Did Hogensen quit to got back full-time to Kagen -- who he's been consulting with according to the past few FEC quarterly reports -- or did Lena Taylor sack him for a guy with a better track record in Milwaukee County?

How about a little holiday cheer?

Want to help us build the coolest Christmas tree ever?



Then join us for a little Holiday Cheer!

The BBA and bloggers from all around Wisconsin will be having a holiday party:

When:December 30th
Time: 12:00pm Noon
Where: Papa's Social Club in Milwaukee(78th and Burleigh)

H/T Fred at Real Debate Wisconsin

Badger Bites

Your weekend of snow shoveling is behind you but more may be ahead, so why not sit down, grab a warm drink, and enjoy today's Badger Bites?

*Jessica McBride and Paul Bucher have started a live, call in podcast.

*It might not be a political post, but Patrick has some good advice for taking care of birds during the winter months.

*Berry Laker passes along "22 Ways to be a Good Democrat"

*Owen brings us an interesting name change...I'm surprised it wasn't to The Justice League.

*Speaking of Owen, a commenter at Boots and Sabers gets arrested. Wigderson offers up some thoughts commenters should consider. Meanwhile, Shark and Shepard looks at the constitutionality of the arrest.

*Nick asks, "Who runs your life?" The answer might not be what you think.

*The Daily Rag looks at another aspect of the state legislature's ineptness.

*Homelessness in Sheboygan.

*The, umm, KY-coated smoking ban.

Another blogger to keep in your thoughts and prayers

Tom McMahon's mother passed away on Sunday. Keep he and his family in your thoughts and prayers as well.

Packers sign new President

Mark H. Murphy, possessor of extensive experience in professional football and sports administration, has been elected as the Green Bay Packers' President and CEO, the organization announced Monday.

Murphy played for the Packers from 1980 to 1991, and was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame in 1998.

Oh, wait. That's the wrong Mark Murphy.

A blogger in need of thoughts and prayers

Tom, from the blog triticale - the wheat / rye guy is in need of our thoughts and prayers.

I received an email from his wife and she informed me that Tom is in Intensive Care at St. Joe's with "acute leukemia." If they can stabilize him, he should be able to pull through this, but he is going through a very rough time right now. Here is an excerpt from her email.

Tom is in St. Joe's ICU with acute leukemia. Wed AM he appeared
fine, he picked me up after work & ran several errands. 7:30 PM Wed
night his legs collapsed. We thought he had a stroke. He was
admitted to St. Joe''s with a white blood cell count of 300,000
(normal is 8,000). Thursday AM he couldn't talk, he is currently
heavily, heavily sedated (only being able to move his right thumb
every now & then just to let me know he's in there somewhere). We
have had some good news, but the bad news is they can't stabilize his
red blood cells & he's bleeding in his stomach.

I tell folks that except for the leukemia he's healthy as a horse --
which is to say, that if they can get him stabilized his strong
constitution will kick in & pull him through.

She is also thinking about stopping in at Drinking Right next Tuesday night, to meet some of the people that he husband talks about, let's all hope that Tom can join her on that trip soon.

Our thoughts and prayers are with you Tom and Deirdre Dee!

Another Wisconsin Newspaper Hates the Farm Bill

I'm thinking of starting a collection of these. Believe the count is at around all of them...

Sunday's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"A temporary solution to deal with an emergency."

That's how aid to farmers was described when it was introduced during the administration of President Franklin Roosevelt. And in the 1930s, in the Dust Bowl and Depression years, aid for struggling farmers was necessary and right. But that was then, and this is now.

Now, aid to farmers means sending taxpayer money to millionaire farmers and to those who aren't really farmers. It means major funding for farmers who grow five row crops - wheat, corn, soybeans, rice and cotton - and no subsidies for 60% of all farmers. It means that three-fourths of all subsidies go to 10% of farms. It means sending $1.1 billion, according to federal figures cited in a recent Time magazine article, to dead people.

And it means spending a proposed $286 billion or more of taxpayer money over the next several years in farm bills pending in Congress. The proposed bills - heralded by supporters as reform - in fact do very little to reform the current system and much to simply perpetuate a giant government giveaway program, welfare for corporate agriculture.

Consider these items about how Wisconsin benefits from the current system, according to the Environmental Working Group:

• 52% of all farmers and ranchers do not collect government subsidy payments in Wisconsin, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

• Among subsidy recipients, 10% collected 62% of all subsidies amounting to $2.44 billion over 11 years.

• Recipients in the top 10% averaged $19,786 in annual payments between 1995 and 2005. The bottom 80% of the recipients saw only $817 on average per year.

The farm support system no longer even helps those it was meant to help.

Read the rest.

The House Farm Bill -- worked on by Steve Kagen (D-Appleton), to boost his re-election chances -- is a joke, the Senate Farm Bill -- worked on by Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Milwaukee Bucks) -- is a nightmare.

This thing deserves to be vetoed, and then re-written with an eye on Agriculture for the early 21st Century, not the early 20th Century.

So, the Clinton Campaign Had a Hostage Crisis?

Allow me to be the first to wonder out loud if the Hillary machine is behind it. Not that I actually believe it (yet), but the comment is justified by the following:

1. Given the Clinton history, you can't rule anything out.
2. "Halliburton." (see also: "cronies")
   
3. "Bush lied."
   
4. "On 9-11 the planes were flown by remote control."
5. "Selected, not elected."
6. "What did he know, and when did he know it?"
7. "No war for oil!"

I figure one (or more) good conspiracy theory deserves another.

Finish This Sentence

The first snow storm of the year was...

You might be living in Wisconsin if...

...your Christmas Parade gets wiped out by a massive snow storm! ;-)

Things were going great in Algoma this weekend; storytelling with Mrs. Claus at the library was delightful (although I may have enjoyed it more than the kids who were there). Cookies and Milk with Santa hosted by the Optimist Club was wonderful as was the 'Salute to Sausages' breakfast put on by the Farm Market Kitchen, although 'Death by Sausage' might be a better name for next year -- the wide variety of sausages was like dying and going to heaven...

Things started to go south mid-afternoon, though, when the flakes started to fall. Despite the ominous drifts, we piled the family in the van and braved the conditions only to find out the Christmas Parade had been cancelled. Rightly so -- downtown Algoma looked more like Ice Station Zebra with 25+ mph winds blowing off the lake. I would have shot some video with my smartphone, but my wife doesn't like it when I film and drive, especially in a storm. Then there's always Senator Lasee as well...

Oh, well -- I guess it's to be expected. I just can't get over the irony of having the Christmas Parade being wiped out by a snow storm! ;-)

For All the NFLN Complainers Out There...

Being in the greater DC area, I knew I wasn't going to have a local affiliate pick up the NFL Network's broadcast of the Cowboys - Packers game.

There were pretty much three practical options: Go to a friend's or co-worker's place that has the NFL Network, go to a sports bar, or miss the game entirely.

Since option three would probably involve a violent outcome eventually, I went with number two. Since this is DC, I can think of about six places to go without much difficultly, I opted to get a buddy to join me and we had a blast. We enjoyed the game despite the outcome, and we were shaking hands with Cowboy fans at the end of the day with the agreed assumption of "seeing them in January."

Bill Simmons, the "Sports Guy" of ESPN.com's Page 2, agreed in a well-written letter to his past self that doing what he needed to do for the game was actually a good thing.

In 2006, the NFL launched its own network and decided to keep eight Thursday night games for itself, even though most cable systems weren't carrying the NFL Network at the time. A bitter war ensued that was never resolved, leading to the week after Thanksgiving 2007, when the 10-1 Cowboys were hosting the 10-1 Packers -- the first game between two 10-1 teams since 1990 -- and half of America couldn't watch the game from the comfort of home.

Did the "older you" complain about this particular slight? Actually, no. You happened to be working in New York City that day; once you discovered that your hotel room didn't offer the NFL Network, you got off your ass, met up with some friends and watched the game in a crowded sports bar that was screaming on every big play. Ironically, it turned out to be a more entertaining night than just sitting at home (or in this case, a hotel room) and watching the NFL Network. Is it a bad thing to get off your ass every once in awhile? Probably not. Every one's incessant whining about "missing" NFL Network games made you realize that too much time was spent complaining about stupid stuff and far too little time appreciating everything that's happened for sports fans over the past 25 years. If traveling 5-10 minutes to a sports bar or a neighbor's house to watch the Packers-Cowboys game is our biggest dilemma of the sports week, then we must be in pretty good shape in 2007, right?

Amen.

Unlike Jim Doyle who believes his inability to watch the game in the comfort of a taxpayer purchased leather coach in the Governor's Mansion is 'extortion' (Thank you PTI) and some major league whiners I know in GOP circles who called the lack of a national broadcast "ridiculous;" I think the entire populace throwing a giant hissy fit is hilarious.

See, I didn't get cable of any sort until I was 15. It just simply wasn't an option living in rural Manitowoc County. Then my folks got PrimeStar, the first DBS cable service. Before that, I sat there and was that kid in school who looked clueless while everyone else talked about 'that cool thing on MTV.'

(On retrospect, was MTV ever cool.)

The point of my story is this: What the heck ever happened to conservatives being the resourceful ones? The ones who saw a problem, and then found a way around it on their own. It's the liberals who bitch, moan, and whine about problems until one of them forces your tax dollars in some best way to "fix it."

Oh, I'm sure you're saying, "I'm a lifelong Packers fan, make annual pilgrimages to the grave of Vince Lombardi, have season tickets willed to me by my grandfather, this is the biggest game since the last big game, and my cable company should give it to me. If the FCC, the IRS, Dave Hansen, and Karl Marx have to work together to get me that game on MY TV, so be it."

Our price is that low huh? A football game...man, that's sad. I mean, think of the nice capitalism we'd be spreading if you'd go to a locally-owned sports bar; or the friends you could meet.

We're Conservatives after all, be resourceful next time. Get off your rear; leave the whining to Jim Doyle flaks.

But, if you're so hell-bent on staying home...next time; get a Dish.