Attacks up in WOT

Still wonder whether or not Iraq is now the central front in the War on Terror?

Here is your evidence-

Terrorist attacks worldwide shot up by 25 percent between 2005 and last year, killing 40 percent more people as extremists used increasingly lethal means to carry out high casualty hits, the State Department says.
In its annual global survey of terrorism to be released later Monday, the department says about 14,000 attacks took place in 2006, mainly in Iraq and Afghanistan, claiming more than 20,000 lives. That is 3,000 more attacks than in 2005 and 5,800 more deaths, it says.

In addition, the number of injuries from terrorist attacks rose by 54 percent between 2005 and 2006 with a doubling in the number wounded in Iraq over the period, according to the department's Country Reports on Terrorism 2006.

'By far the largest number of reported terrorist incidents occurred in the Near East and South Asia,' says the 335-page report, referring to the regions where Iraq and Afghanistan are located.

'These two regions also were the locations for 90 percent of all the 290 high-casualty attacks that killed 10 or more people,' says the report, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press ahead of its official release.

The report says 6,600, or 45 percent, of the attacks took place in Iraq, killing about 13,000 people, or 65 percent of the worldwide total of terrorist-related deaths.

Afghanistan had 749 strikes in 2006, a 50-percent rise from 2005 when 491 attacks were tallied, according to the report.

In the meantime, the Democrats insist on a time line for the war in Iraq.

Clearly the Democrats want to run away from the central war on terror.

By the way, the money included in the war bill, requested by the President also includes the troops in Afganistan.

Not only do the Democrats want to defund the war in Iraq, they are also defunding the war in Afganistan.

According to this report- over 90% of the terrorist attacks are taking place in Iraq and Afganistan and the Dems want to cut and run, like chickens they are.

Help find a cure

Hi everyone-

Well, we need your help.

Most of you are aware that the former chair of the Republican Party of Kenosha County, Jay Zaremba, suffers with Multiple Sclerosis.

Due to his battle with MS, Jay resigned as chair in December to spend more time with his family and to focus his attention on fighting this disease.

Right now there is a fund raising walk that is hosted by the National MS Society to help them find a cure for this disease.

Jay's wife, Tammie will be walking in honor of Jay.Right at this moment, the Zaremba family is only half way to their goal of raising $1000 for the National MS Society.We need your help.

Please consider donating whatever you can in order to help find a cure for MS.

You can donate online in Jay's name by clicking on the following link:

http://www.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR?px=2003882&pg=personal&fr_id=5662&et=R_rwv-iTM8hycodLrldbQg..&s_tafId=9211

Thank you in advance for helping find a cure for MS.

Kathy

Wisconsin is the battleground

It is already starting. Once again, Wisconsin will be a battleground state during the presidential election.

During this week's Politalks (Kenosha Cable Channel 14), we discussed the fact that none of the presidential candidates has a organization set up in Wisconsin. Not even Tommy Thompson.

The reason? Wisconsin is not a primary battleground state. Our state is pretty much being ignored during the presidential primary season.

However, once the candidates are set- it is going to get ugly.

Politalks will air again on Kenosha Cable Channel 14 on Monday @ 5:00pm.

Somebody is not happy

Clearly there is at least one sports writer who is not happy with the Packers choices in this year's draft-

The Green Bay Packers chose to live dangerously Saturday in the first two rounds of the National Football League draft, selecting a talented nose tackle who couldn't stay healthy and a lightly used junior running back with an injury history of his own.

continued...


Yikes!

Blog Summit II

So, this was my first year to attend the Blog Summit.

There was alot of very interesting stuff.

The discussion that most peaked my interest took place a the very end.

A women asked the question of Owen and Jay on whether or not they felt their personal safety had every been threatened because they are bloggers.

Both Owen and Jay stated that they have had phone calls to their homes. Neither appeared to feel particularly threatened by this action.

Perhaps it is because I am a female, but I find myself a bit more concerned about personal phone calls to my home. The person who originally asked the question was also a woman.

So is this more of a female issue and only women are feeling the threat?

As children, women are raised different then men. We are taught to continuous look over our shoulders. We must constantly know who is around us. It is almost an instinctual thing. We do not even know we are doing it sometimes.

Perhaps, it is because we are women(and still considered by many to be the weaker sex), that some folks may still feel they have the liberty to try and to quiet the voices of women.

I am not sure what it is.

What do you think?

Dems debate

I am trying to get a feel on how the dem candidates did in yesterday's debate.

The general feeling I am getting from reading different articles is:

Obama's indecisiveness hurt him

Edwards did nothing to distinguish himself from everyone else

Clinton set herself apart from the rest

Kucinich has a new attack dog partner named Gravel (This is the first I have ever heard of the guy)

Personally, I did not see the debates.

What do you guys think?

Rice gives Congress the raspberries(very politely, of course)

Yesterday, Congress once again subpoenaed Condi Rice.

Condi's response:

"I addressed these questions, almost the same questions, during my confirmation hearing," she said. "This is an issue that has been answered and answered and answered."

How many times is Congress allowed to investigate the same issue?

Even the Special 9/11 commission has investigated this issue on African uranium.

Oh good grief

You want to know why prescription drugs cost so much?

This could be part of the problem.

Eli Lilly wins ok for dog separation anxiety drug

Drugmaker Eli Lilly and Co. said on Wednesday that it won U.S. regulatory approval for its drug to treat separation anxiety in dogs.

The drug, Reconcile, is one of a class of drugs known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, which are also used to treat human depression.

Perhaps Eli Lilly could spend a little less money researching drugs for dogs and more for humans.

Gas tax? Use your head, Governor Doyle!

You do not have to be a financial guru to figure this out.

State's proposed profits levy likely to be passed along

If Governor Doyle charges oil companies an excessive tax for doing business in the state of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin consumer will absorb the cost.

We all studied "supply and demand" in junior high school.

A typical junior high school student can grasp this concept.

Why our governor cannot grasp this concept is beyond me.

If an oil company sells a gallon of gasoline to the state of Illinois for a .10 profit and they sell a gallon of gasoline to the state of Wisconsin and only make a .09 profit- why would they sell gas to Wisconsin? Common sense tells us that the oil companies would prefer to sell to Illinois and not to Wisconsin.

The supply of gasoline sent to Wisconsin would then be shorted. If there is not enough supply to meet the demand of Wisconsin drivers, the cost of gas would go up in Wisconsin.

It is just that simple.

Speaking of common sense...

Since we now know that oil companies made record profits off of Wisconsin consumers, doesn't it stand to reason that the Wisconsin government also charged record gas taxes?

As it is, for every gallon of gasoline we purchase in Wisconsin, the state receives almost $.33 per gallon(oil companies only make about $.22 profit per gallon). Only 6 states charge more in gas taxes than the state of Wisconsin.

If oil companies are selling record amounts of gas, that means the Wisconsin government is collecting record amounts in gas taxes. At least, a little common sense leads us to believe this.

Anyone with a little common sense also recognizes that when Governor Doyle swiped nearly $1 billion out of the transportation fund to pay for other expenses, this means that we can no longer afford all of the roadwork that was planned.

We already paid our taxes to cover necessary roadwork. Now the money is gone from the transportation fund.

Governor Doyle would like us to pay these taxes again.

Governor Doyle can stamp his foot and throw a hissy fit, but common sense will prevail.

Use your head, Governor Doyle!

If you charge the companies more to do business in Wisconsin, then the companies charge the Wisconsin consumer more for goods and services.

Right on!

Currently- the Wisconsin Research Policy Institute is running a series of articles asking the question "Is Conservatism out of Gas?".

Yesterday, Congressman Paul Ryan was the first to answer the question-

Conservative Principles That America Needs

excerpt-

Contrary to the views of some pundits, sweeping Republican losses at the polls last November did not signify a repudiation of conservatism. “Republican” is not always synonymous with “conservative” and the divergence between the two has been spotlighted in recent years for American voters to see.

continued

Today's response to the question is from Charlie Sykes and it is very good-

Not Dead Yet

excerpt-

The left needs massive tax hikes, in part, because they are also intent on bringing back the push for national health care. Both sides should remember that the last time the issue was raised, it resulted in a conservative electoral landslide. The public hates health insurance companies, but they fear government bureaucracy more. They’ve been to the Division of Motor Vehicles and they don’t want to turn over their health care to the same people.

continued

658 citations issued

I am not sure why the police in Milwaukee waited so long to do this, but it is about time!

658 citations issued in weekend cruising

More than 650 traffic citations were issued over the weekend in connection with cruising in the city of Milwaukee. Police also said there were 86 arrests and 33 cars towed.

Milwaukee Police Chief Nannette Hegerty and District Attorney John Chisholm have scheduled a news conference for 11 a.m. at the Citgo gas station at the corner of N. 27th St. and W. Capitol Drive, an area known for its cruising activity, to discuss the crackdown they hope will quell cruising this summer.

We must be able to defend ourselves

Here is the article I wrote for Saturday's Kenosha News-

My original plan for this article was to write about the tax increases. However, due to the events of this past week, I felt it was important to send out my heartfelt sympathies to all of the families and friends who lost their loved ones this past week.

After witnessing the mass murder of 32 innocent people, we begin questioning ourselves to find out what we could or should have done better.

The liberals were demanding to know why murderer Cho Seung-Hui was able to easily purchase the weapons needed to commit mass murder. Conservatives, like me, were demanding to know why those sitting in the classrooms were denied the right to defend themselves. Any of us could find statistics to support or counter each side of the argument.

However, the reality is, the evil people in our society ignore the gun laws and are determined to kill anyway.

Would they all have died if one of the professors or one of the students in the classroom carried a personal weapon?

Would Cho have even attempted something like this, knowing that perhaps someone in that building might be carrying a weapon?

We can ask “what if” questions until we are blue in the face. What we know is that our own US Constitution gives every single American the right to “keep and bears arms”.

The Second Amendment to the Constitution was ratified in 1791. Since then, the debate on gun ownership has rambled on.

Why would our forefathers give us the right to keep and bear arms?

I am certain our forefathers realized that we would need this right so we can defend our freedoms.

In fact, Thomas Jefferson went so far as to say that Americans need to be able to protect themselves from a out of control government. Jefferson said, “No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.”

Thomas Jefferson also recognized that the only people that were protected by laws against weapons were the criminals, not law abiding citizens. Thomas Jefferson quoted Cesare Beccaria in his Commonplace book “False is the idea of utility that sacrifices a thousand real advantages for one imaginary or trifling inconvenience; that would take fire from men because it burns, and water because one may drown in it; that has no remedy for evils except destruction. The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are laws of such a nature. They disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes.”

We, as citizens, must have the right to keep and bear arms so we can protect ourselves.
It is time for our state legislators to once again pass a “conceal and carry” law for Wisconsin residents. Moreover, when Governor Doyle vetoes it again, our legislators need to override the governor's veto.

Thanks Kevin

Thank you, goodbye and best wishes to Kevin @ Lakeshore Laments.

The thing I most admire about Kevin is that he not only blogged about politics, but he went a step further and actually works in politics. Kevin not only talks the talk, but he is walking the walk.

Good luck in Washington DC, Kevin.

A day of mourning

There are so many things to mourn today-

April 16, 2007- Virginia Tech massacre 32 victims died, 15 more injured
April 19, 1995- Oklahoma City Bombings 168 people died, over 800 were injured
April 20, 1999- Columbine School Shooting 13 victims died, 24 were injured

Say a prayer for all the family and friends of all of these victims.

Edwards & the Arrogance of the Entitled

The other day, when I posted about John Edwards $400 haircut, I did not realize the blowback that Edwards' would receive. There are some folks that are very mad at John Edwards. Namely, those folks who believed John Edwards' "two Americas" message.

Richard Reeves is a big time lefty, check out his article-

NEW YORK -- Three weeks after I wrote that I thought John Edwards might be going someplace in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, I found out where he was heading: to the barber shop.

The candidate, who has been looking pretty and pretty impressive in defining "Two Americas" -- one for the rich and privileged, a lesser place for everyone else -- came up with a wonderful device to show us all what he meant. His campaign spending reports, required by the Federal Election Commission, revealed that he has been paying $400 for haircuts by a Beverly Hills cutter named Joseph Torrenueva. The guy must be good, because Edwards' hair sure looks good. So does the rest of him, helped along by a $250 shaping at the Designworks Salon in Dubuque, Iowa, and $225 at the Pink Sapphire spa in Manchester, N.H.

Well, the man has great hair. My barber tells me I do, too, and he only charges 20 bucks.

That's $20 of my own money. Edwards, who has a couple of thousand times as much money as I do, pays for his tonsorial needs from campaign funds. He travels the country asking concerned citizens for money so he can get haircuts and body polishing. Where I come from that is called a real sense of entitlement.

Edwards says that he and America are angry about wretched excess, things like corporate chief executive officers giving themselves huge bonuses to buy new yachts and new wives. Well, a lot of people are mad, and they should be. I grieve for Gov. Jon Corzine of New Jersey, who is going to spend months in hospitals and physical rehabilitation because of the injuries he suffered in a tragic accident on the Garden State Parkway last week. He is a nice and effective man, but what the hell was he doing in a state car going 91 mph in the rain?

continued...

I think John Edwards' message of "two Americas" is dead.

Governmentium (Gv)

Someone sent this to me via email-

A major research institution recently announced the discovery of the heaviest element yet known to science. The new element has been named Governmentium (Gv) has one neutron, 25 assistant neutrons, 88 deputy neutrons, and 198 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312.

These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons. Since Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert; however, it can be detected, because it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. A minute amount of Governmentium can cause a reaction that would normally take less than a second to take over four days to complete.

Governmentium has a normal half-life of 4 years; it does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places. In fact, Governmentium's Mass will actually increase over time, since each re-organization will cause more morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes. This characteristic of moron promotion leads some scientists to believe that Governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a critical concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as critical morass.

When catalyzed with money, Governmentium becomes administratium, an element that radiates just as much energy as Governmentium since it has half as many peons but twice as many morons.

Funny stuff.

US Supreme court upholds ban on partial birth abortions

This is great news.

The Supreme Court upheld the nationwide ban on a controversial abortion procedure Wednesday, handing abortion opponents the long-awaited victory they expected from a more conservative bench.

The 5-4 ruling said the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act that Congress passed and President Bush signed into law in 2003 does not violate a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion.
Anyone not understanding what partial birth abortion is, here is a description-

The procedure at issue involves partially removing the fetus intact from a woman’s uterus, then crushing or cutting its skull to complete the abortion.

Abortion opponents say the law will not reduce the number of abortions performed because an alternate method — dismembering the fetus in the uterus — is available and, indeed, much more common.

Edwards $400 haircut

I am a pretty staunch believer that most of the mainstream media are quietly supporting the Hillary camp for President.

So I was not the least bit surprised when I read this article from the Associated Press-

Looking pretty is costing John Edwards' presidential campaign a lot of pennies. The Democrat's campaign committee picked up the tab for two haircuts at $400 each by celebrity stylist Joseph Torrenueva of Beverly Hills, Calif., according to a financial report filed with the Federal Election Commission.

FEC records show Edwards also availed himself of $250 in services from a trendy salon and spa in Dubuque, Iowa, and $225 in services from the Pink Sapphire in Manchester, N.H., which is described on its Web site as 'a unique boutique for the mind, body and face' that caters mostly to women.

A spokeswoman for Edwards' campaign did not respond to requests for comment.
Torrenueva _ who specializes in men's haircuts _ confirmed in an interview with The Associated Press that Edwards is a longtime client and friend.

'I do cut his hair and I have cut it for quite a while,' Torrenueva said. 'We've been friends a long time."

continued...

I find this paragragh especially telling-

Edwards, 53, who has made alleviating poverty the central theme of candidacy, has been criticized for building a 28,000-square-foot house for $5.3 million near Chapel Hill, N.C. The complex of several buildings on 102 acres includes an indoor basketball court, an indoor pool and a handball court.

I am a little curious why the Edwards campaign would be paying for these things. The Edwards campaign is then forced to report these costs publicly.

A New Era

Yes- the rumors are true. Brad Courtney will be stepping down as the RPW chair.

As always, the standard reason for Brad stepping down is for “family reasons”. Anyone who has carried on a conversation with Brad Courtney realizes that his family is very important to him. Clearly, his daughters are so important to him and his really enjoys being part of their lives.

Before Brad rides off into the sunset, I would like to thank him for stepping in and taking over during a very difficult election cycle. Even better, Brad stood up for the local grassroots volunteers several weeks ago and told the RNC that Wisconsin’s volunteers would be making no more phone calls this year. The grassroots folks are worn out from these phone calls.

Thanks for taking a stand, Brad!

So what is next for the RPW?

Reince Priebus is the next logical choice.

I did talk to Reince briefly this morning about this and things do seem to be moving towards him. Currently Reince in the 1st Vice Chair of the RPW.

I am truly excited about the changes taking place in the RPW.

After the punishment that Republicans took in 2006, it is great to see that we have some stronger leadership stepping up to the plate.

Reince recognizes that for many years, Republican legislatures in Wisconsin have promised tax protections, and they have not delivered.

This I am sure of, Reince Priebus will work with our Republican state legislators and push them back to the basics of Republican values.

Our Republican state legislators need to get back to fighting to keep our taxes down, reduce the reach of government in our lives and protecting our basic constitutional rights.

What happens if Reince decides to run for office again?

I think it would be great. Here is a person who is willing to not only talk the talk, but also walk the walk.

It is great to see the Republican Party of Wisconsin willing to make the positive changes in order to move the party forward.

As Reince said- we are entering a new era. For years, Tommy Thompson has been the leader or figurehead of the RPW. Those days are over.

Now the time has come for the RPW to show some strong leadership and unity in order to move the party to the next level.

Thanks again, Brad.

Good Luck, Reince.

Gunman kills 21 on Virginia Tech campus

Words just cannot describe the heartbreak...

BLACKSBURG, Va. - A gunman opened fire in a dorm and classroom at Virginia Tech on Monday, killing 21 people in the deadliest campus shooting in U.S. history. The gunman was killed but it was unclear if he was shot by police or took his own life.

continued...

What is reasonable?

So, what does it take in order to fire a schoolteacher these days?

It certainly appears that once you have a job as a teacher, here in Wisconsin, that it is impossible to get fired.

According to the timeline posted in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, it was three years from the time that the schoolteacher became very ill to the time they were official removed from the payrolls.

September 2002: Diane Wagner, a Spanish teacher with the Richfield School District since 1990, becomes ill with viral meningitis and viral encephalitis.

June 2004: Craig Baker takes over as the School District's administrator.December 2004: Wagner, who had not returned to her teaching job, returns to her part-time job as a bartender at Michael's House of Prime near Pewaukee.

April 1, 2005: Baker, having learned that Wagner was working at Michael's, goes to the restaurant and finds Wagner serving drinks, carrying trays and using the cash register. Baker had never met Wagner and did not identify himself to her.

April 29, 2005: Baker again visits Michael's and sees Wagner tending bar.

Aug. 25, 2005: Baker tells Wagner in a letter he no longer considers her a School District employee and discloses that he knew she was bartending at Michael's. The next day, Wagner files a grievance.

Aug. 8, 2006: Baker goes on medical leave. Three months later, the School Board determines he cannot perform the duties of his job and terminates his contract.

Dec. 19, 2006: A state arbitrator orders the district to reinstate Wagner and give her back pay.

No doubt about it, Diane Wagner, the schoolteacher was awful sick. Viral meningitis is nothing to mess with and the recovery takes a while.

Diane Wagner was so sick that she could not work at all for at least two years. That is understandable. However, she managed to go back to work at the bar.

All of this is perfectly fine.

Yes- people get sick and, no, they should not lose their jobs because of it.

What is not fine is that fact that the taxpayers are once again hoofing the bill because after the teacher filed a grievance the arbitrator has demanded the teacher be given back pay.

Is it reasonable to ask the taxpayers to pay for a schoolteacher that managed to go back to her part time job at a bar, but was still too sick to go back to teaching?

What portion of the time off with the taxpayers be forced to pay this teacher for?

What are taxpayers reasonable allowed to expect out of their schoolteachers?

What is the line between being reasonable and flat out ripping the taxpayers off?

Real Debate Wisconsin: And so it begins....

Real Debate Wisconsin: And so it begins....

Nice piece from Fred.

As pointed out by Fred, I am especially concerned with "Media Matters" mission statement:

Media Matters for America is a Web-based, not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media.

Why is it okay for these guys to be listed as a charity, when their sole purpose is to slam conservatives in the media?

Certainly these folks have every right to their freedom of speech like everyone else.

But to not have to pay taxes, just like a charity organization...?

You tell 'em, Congressman Ryan

In case you missed it- the Democrats, in Congress, passed a budget that would increase taxes by $400 billion dollars. In fact, it is the largest tax increase in history.

The media has been virtually silent on this issue.

Congressman Ryan points out the fallacies in the Democrat's tax increase plan-


The most outrageous claim House Democrats made about the budget they passed last month is that it doesn't raise taxes. Numbers don't lie, and by the numbers in their budget, Democrats would impose the largest tax increase in American history - nearly $400 billion over the next five years.

While they keep denying it, the Democrats' budget relies on higher tax brackets, cutting the child tax credit in half, significantly increasing capital gains and investment taxes, eliminating marriage penalty and death tax relief, and a host of other tax increases.

continued...

Where is the improvement?

Another disturbing report came out yesterday on exactly how well Milwaukee schools are doing.

For years, WEAC and school administrators have fought comparisons between schools in other states and Wisconsin schools.

Their reason-

Comparisons in the report from the Council of the Great City Schools, an organization that advocates for 66 large school districts, are tentative because of the different definitions of proficient used by states and school systems across the country. In other words, what it means to be proficient in reading in Milwaukee may or may not be comparable to what it means in any of the other school districts.

For sake of argument, let's toss out comparing Milwaukee schools to schools in other states.

The new report shows that Milwaukee is doing worse at educating kids than they were four years ago.

Here is the chart-

This is a very disturbing trend.

You know you are having a bad day when...

You know you are having a bad day when you are sitting in a Florida jail cell for criminal content charges and at the same time you are indicted in by a federal grand jury in Nevada for tax evasion.

Girls Gone Wild creator Joseph Francis was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury on charges that his companies which sell videos of topless young women claimed millions of dollars in false business expenses.

The indictment came one day after Francis was jailed on criminal contempt charges in Florida.


Don't feel too sorry for him. Since the guy is a millionare, he should have just paid his taxes and settled the financial dispute with the seven women, as he was ordered to do by the judge.

A little bitter, perhaps?

33,500 pennies-

A penny saved is a penny earned, but one man believes 33,500 pennies won are best donated to a worthy cause.

Bob Wilson, who won a small claims court case last month, will donate the pennies to the Oakland Livingston Human Service Agency, which has helped him with heating bills.

Wilson was given the pennies by Karl Stepen, owner of NSK Motorsports in Fowlerville, after a judge ruled in Wilson's favor and awarded him $335.

Stepen said he paid Wilson in pennies to show his contempt for Wilson. 'We paid him in legal U.S. currency,' Stepen said.

Wilson said he bought a dirt bike for his 13-year-old son and took it NSK in May to get it running. He didn't get the bike back until October, and he said it stopped working almost immediately.

He took the bike back to NSK and it sat unfixed for a few more months. He picked it up and took it to another shop, which charged him $900, he said.

Stepen said he had the bike 'for some time,' but he's a one-man operation with as many as 70 motorcycles waiting to be repaired. He said he did everything he could to help Wilson with the 30-year-old bike and offered to fix a second problem for free.

District Judge Theresa Brennan, who handled the appeal for Wilson's claim, said she's never heard of someone paying the court in pennies in her 22 years of practicing law.

Still, she said, it's legal: 'We don't dictate the form of payment.'

Oh good grief

Let me get this straight-

First Congress is really, really offended by the notion that President Bush may have fired 8 prosecutors for political reasons.

Now Congress is demanding an answer as to why Wisconsin Federal Prosecutor Steve Biscupic was NOT fired for political reasons.

I am not kidding folks- check it out-

If Gonzales is asked about Biskupic, it would be the first time the embattled attorney general would be asked why a specific U.S. attorney kept his or her job. U.S. attorneys serve at the pleasure of the president.

This is good news?

The AP is pumping a story out about how Congress' approval numbers have gone up to 40%.

Public approval for Congress is at its highest level in a year as Democrats mark 100 days in power and step up their confrontation with President Bush over his handling of the Iraq War, the issue that overshadows all others.

Bad news for the AP- they are not the only folks conducting polling right now. Gallup also released a poll yesterday showing Congress' appoval rating at 33%.

I couldn't help but giggle when I checked out the poll averages for both Congress and the President.

Poll averages show Congress at 35%

Poll averages show the President at 36.5%

Of course, I nearly fell off my chair when I read that Nancy Pelosi has the gall to say this before leaving for her road trip-

"In the first 100 hours, as you know, we passed legislation to make our economy fairer, to make our country safer, to make college more accessible, health care more affordable, promoted energy independence, and to do so in a fiscally sound way, upholding the highest ethical standard with great openness and transparency in government."

Uh? Hello? They still have not passed a minimum wage bill or any of their other promised legislation.

In fact, the only thing the Democrats have managed to pass is a war bill, packed with their favorite pork spending, that breaks the promises made during last year's election cycle.

Wisconsin Congressman David Obey promised a "moritorium" on pork projects. He broke that promise when he personally packed the emergency bill that would finance our troops with more than $22 BILLION in pork spending.

Democrats promised reform and instituted "a moratorium" on all earmarks until the system was cleaned up. Now the appropriations committees are privately accepting pork-barrel requests again. But curiously, the scorekeeper on earmarks, the Library of Congress's Congressional Research Service (CRS)--a publicly funded, nonpartisan federal agency--has suddenly announced it will no longer respond to requests from members of Congress on the size, number or background of earmarks. "They claim it'll be transparent, but they're taking away the very data that lets us know what's really happening," says Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn. "I'm convinced the appropriations committees are flexing their muscles with CRS."

The media and the Democrats may be patting themselves on the back, however the rest of us know the truth.

All the Democrats have succeeded in doing, as of this moment, is to break their promises to the American people.

King of the Hill

This is a great article written by WLIP's Lenny Palmer-

One of the greatest games we played as kids was “King of the Hill.” Not only was it an absolute blast, it also taught schoolchildren an important life’s lesson: that not only did you do everything you could to get to the top of the hill, you also did everything you could to hold onto your position as "King." Games like this are now being outlawed across the nation; “too violent,” say some adults, “children can’t compete fairly,” say educators, and “we’re going to sue,” say many attorneys. So “King of the Hill” is dead, as is “Musical Chairs,” “Dodge Ball,” “Bombardment,” and even games as benign as “Tag.” Children are being robbed not only of great fat-burning play time, they are also being denied access to games that teach them what life is really about: if you want something bad enough, you have to go after it. In the past this philosophy created generations of young Americans willing to go the extra mile to achieve not only for themselves, but for their country as well.

continued...

Interesting article

An interesting article from George Will today. Perhaps a second look at Fred Thompson is needed before encouraging him to run for the presidency-

In 1996, Thompson worked successfully, unfortunately, to preserve the (currently collapsing) system of public financing of presidential campaigns. His arguments were replete with all the rhetoric standard among advocates of government regulation of political speech: Government regulation of politics is necessary to dispel "cynicism" about government (has that worked?), to create a "level playing field" and to prevent politics from being "awash with money" (Congressional Record, May 20, 1996).
In a news release that day he warned of money from "special interests" and asserted that the checkoff system "flat out worked" because in 1994, 24 million taxpayers checked the "yes" box on their Form 1040, thereby directing that $3 of their income tax bill go to the Presidential Election Campaign Fund. He asserted that "on average, 20 percent of Americans participate in the checkoff." Well.
In 1994, according to the IRS, the checkoff was used on 16.3 million, or 14 percent, of the 114.8 million individual tax returns, so a landslide of 86 percent of forms were filed by taxpayers who rejected participation. Today, use of the checkoff has sunk to just 9.6 percent. Its unpopularity is unsurprising, given that it has allowed a small minority to divert, in a bookkeeping dodge, $1.3 billion of federal revenue to fund the dissemination of political views that many taxpayers disapprove of as much as they disapprove of public funding of politics.
Back then, Thompson believed, implausibly, that voters are "deeply concerned" about campaign finance reform. Today, many likely voters in Republican primaries are deeply concerned about what Thompson and others have done to free speech in the name of "reform," as John McCain is unhappily learning.

I know some folks don't want to hear this, but perhaps Fred Thompson is not as conservative as some people are telling us he is.

After all the fuss and muss...

The President wins this round with Congress-

Two leading Senate Democrats said their party will not cut off funding for U.S. troops in Iraq, distancing themselves from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, who now says he supports doing so.

"We're not going to vote to cut funding, period," said Sen. Carl Levin, Michigan Democrat and Armed Services Committee chairman.

Mr. Levin said he and other Democrats would continue to pressure President Bush on enforcing benchmarks for progress in Iraq, but ultimately most of his colleagues will support funding because they do not have the votes to override Mr. Bush's veto.

"What we're going to try to do, a majority, I believe, of Democrats and most of the Republicans, is to vote for a bill that funds the troops, period," he said during an appearance on ABC's "This Week." "We're going to fund the troops. We always have."

President Bush has said he will veto either the House-passed or Senate-passed supplemental war-spending bills, which both call for a withdrawal of American forces from Iraq by next year. In addition to opposing any timeline for withdrawal or redeployment, Mr. Bush and other Republicans have criticized the billions of pork-barrel spending included in both the House and Senate bills.

Mr. Reid announced his own legislation, which would cut off funding for the troops next March. Democratic Sens. John Kerry of Massachusetts and Russ Feingold of Wisconsin agreed to co-sponsor the bill, which Mr. Reid says he plans to put forward if Mr. Bush vetoes the current war supplemental-funding bill. But Mr. Levin said the majority leader spoke only for himself, not the party as a whole.

"Even Harry Reid acknowledged that that's not going to happen," Mr. Levin said in reference to cutting off funding. "He has a personal position, which he said was not the caucus position."

Meanwhile, Sen. Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, echoed Mr. Levin's comments on troop funding, telling "Fox News Sunday" that "We are not going to leave the troops high and dry, plain and simple. Senator Reid has said that. I've said that. Every leader of the Democratic Party has said that."

Sen. Jon Kyl, Arizona Republican, said he would continue to oppose a Democratic supplemental bill that removed a timetable but contained specific benchmarks, calling it unfair to Iraqis.

"First of all, it's premised on the notion that the Iraqis aren't listening to us," he said. "They are cooperating with us. So that's old news that they're not cooperating. That's one of the reasons this new surge strategy is working."

Although Mr. Reid recently changed his position to favor a withdrawal timetable, some Senate moderates said they continue to oppose what Sen. Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania Republican, called "micromanaging" the president and generals.

"I'm not prepared to withdraw funding at this time. But my patience, like many others, is growing very thin," Mr. Specter told CNN's "Late Edition."

Mr. Kyl also said withholding money to send a message to Iraqis would send other messages.

"You're also sending a message to our troops and to our enemies, who know that all they have to do is wait the conflict out. This is not the way to try to micromanage a war from the U.S. Senate," he said.

Sen. Joe Lieberman, Connecticut independent, also disagreed with timelines during an appearance on CNN.

"Putting a timeline on is always a mistake in war because it says that a bunch of political people in Washington know better than the generals in the field what's going to be happening four months, six months, a year from now," he said, "unless you are prepared to say we have lost in Iraq, we have no chance and we're prepared to accept the consequences of withdrawal, which I think would be terrible for American security."

This is good to see.

The banks are attempting to protect their customers from fraud.

The good news is that as frustrating as it sometimes is for banks to protect consumers from Internet and telephone predators, they are achieving some success at keeping them out of consumers' online bank accounts.

The smartest thing you need to remember is written in the last couple of lines in this article-

There's another thing people who bank online always should remember, said West Bend Savings Bank's Larson: A bank would never ask for a customer's account information over the Internet or telephone.
"They are the ones who issued you your account number, so why would they ask you for it?" he said.

Just tired, folks

I have gotten several emails and a phone call- checking to see why I have not posted in a few days. The answer is simple.

I am just tired.

Since becoming the chair of the Republican Party of Kenosha County(Feb. 07), I have taken on a whole new role when it comes to elections.

My work load has quadrupled.

I am not complaining- I am just tired.

I took yesterday off of work and will not have to go back until Monday. I am beginning to recover.

Thanks for the concern.

I will be back on my game soon.

Sigh of relief here

I will talk more about the election results tomorrow.

However, tonight- Annette Ziegler wins!

She won handily in Kenosha-


Annette K. Ziegler 9072 56.49%
Linda M. Clifford 6946 43.25%
Write-in 40 40 0.24%

I wonder who the write-ins were for????

****Vote Today****

Today is the day, get out and vote.

We also have several friends running in various races-

Fred Dooley for Alderman, Racine District 7

Jeff Albrecht for Silver Lake Village President.

Alex Tiahnybok for Pleasant Prairie Village President.

Jeff Lauer for Pleasant Prairie Village Trustee #3

Larry Matson for Pleasant Prairie Village Trustee #1

Annette Ziegler for Wisconsin State Supreme Court

Howard Skinner for Twin Lakes Village President

Sharon Bower for Twin Lakes Village Trustee

Aaron Karow for Twin Lakes Village Trustee

Win or Lose- there is a party tonight in Pleasant Prairie. EVERYONE IS INVITED!

Alex Tiahnybok will be hosting a party at Ray Radigan's, located at 11712 Sheridan Rd, Pleasant Prairie.

Right next door to Ray Radigan's is Ruffalo's. There is another party going on for Jeff Lauer and Larry Matson.

Parties start at 8:00pm

Obviously we will be running back and forth between the two parties.

So get out and vote, then join the party!

Of course it is America's fault

There was never a doubt in my mind that somehow the US would be blamed for the British hostage crisis-

A failed American attempt to abduct two senior Iranian security officers on an official visit to northern Iraq was the starting pistol for a crisis that 10 weeks later led to Iranians seizing 15 British sailors and Marines.

sigh...

It's super official now

Former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson is running for President.

Link.

Tommy Thompson formally entered the presidential race Sunday with an assertion that he fills two voids in the Republican field: He is "the reliable conservative" and he has creative ideas.

"All that people have to do is look at my record, and I am the one individual that they can count on," the former member of President Bush's Cabinet and four-term Wisconsin governor said on ABC's This Week.

"People feel Republicans lost their way in Washington," particularly by spending too much money, Thompson said. He added that Republicans are not coming up with "original new ideas."

Continued...