Over 3 hours

It took over 3 hours for me to get home from work today.

It has been a while since I last stated- I do not like snow.

The roads are bad further south. It had been snowing in Illinois for over 4 hours by the time I left for home.

The longer I sat parked on the interstate, the worse the roads got.

I guess I expected the roads to get better the further north I got. I guess we sat too long. By the time I made it to Wisconsin, the roads were bad here too.

And....

I get to do it again tomorrow morning.

Drive safe, folks.

Senate Democrat’s proposal: The silence is deafening

The Senate Democrats are going to fix the economy. At least, that is what our state’s senate Democrats were proposing yesterday.

Judging from the media’s silence on the issue, it appears the Senate Democrat’s proposal is dead barely after it was announced.

The media’s virtual blackout is rather astounding. I went cruising the usual places this morning looking for any kind of details on this huge announcement made yesterday.

After all, this is a very big deal and first and foremost on the minds of many Wisconsin residents.

Which is why I was so very surprised to be able to find very little information on the Wisconsin senate Democrat’s plan.

Our economy is taking a hit right now. Not only in Wisconsin, but there are troubling signs all over the United States. The Fed is currently cutting rates in an attempt to stop the downward spiral. The US Senate, the House and the President are all hammering out plans to see what can be done to stabilize the economy.

So why are we getting the silent treatment on the stimulus package being proposed by the Wisconsin Senate Democrats?

Take a look at the proposal by the Democrats and you can very easily see why folks are attempting to sweep it under the rug.

First, the senates Democrats are proposing increases taxes on businesses in Wisconsin by $180 million dollars. They are attempting to close what they believe to be a loophole in the law.

Let’s stop right here for a moment. I will be honest, I am not an economist, but in all of the plans proposed over the years, I have to say, I have never seen an economic stimulus plan that includes tax increase.

Never.

It just does not make sense. In an unstable economy why would government raid businesses for more money, if you actually need those businesses to keep people employed.

To make matters worse, another part of the economic stimulus plan proposed by the Democrats is the approval of the KRM.

I understand that some would argue that the KRM would some day bring a windfall of profits to Kenosha, Racine and Milwaukee. This though is debatable, but what isn’t debatable is whether or not the KRM will help stabilize the economy right now.

Even it the KRM is approved today, it will be around 2012 before it will be up and running correctly. So the idea that this will help us right now is ridiculous.

You still have that whole tax increase issue to deal with. Residents of Kenosha, Racine and Milwaukee would have to pay more in taxes on car rentals in order to pay for the new KRM.

So far the Senate Democrats have proposed as part of their economic stimulus package the idea that you need to increase taxes on businesses and residents of Kenosha, Racine and Milwaukee.

You will get a kick out of this next set of ideas from the Democrats.

They want to spend money and lots of it.

Now I ask you, when you and your family are suffering a budget crunch, do you go out and plan a vacation right away? Do you start spending money right away and just hope your financial crisis goes away?

Of you do not do these things. Your budget is tight, so you tighten your belt and stop spending money on unnecessary items!

Not the Senate Democrats, they want to spend more money.

Here are some of the plans the Democrats have for spending more money.

$5 million to train welders and health care workers, $1.3 million for vocational colleges, $15.1 million to offset child care costs and $50 million in new spending for road construction.

I have some questions about these new proposals-

$5 million to train welders and health care workers- Where are they going to work after they are trained, since the businesses that would need to hire them are now paying more money in increased taxes?

$1.3 million for vocational colleges- Where are they going to work after they graduate, since the businesses that would need to hire them are now paying more money in increased taxes?

$15.10 million to offset child care costs- Don’t people need a job before they actually need help in paying for child care? Once again, the Senate Democrats are proposing increasing taxes on businesses.

$50 million on new spending for road construction- As it is, state revenue is dropping. We have no idea how we are going to pay for the millions of dollars in road construction on the projects proposed a few months ago in the new budget. How in the world do the Democrats plan on paying for the new road construction?

There you have it.

The Senate Democrats plan for stimulating the economy is to increase taxes on businesses, increases taxes on individuals in Kenosha, Racine and Milwaukee, and start spending more money on items we cannot afford.

No wonder we are getting the silent treatment from the media outlets around Wisconsin on the Senate Democrat’s new plan for economic stimulus. Even the media recognizes that this is a bad plan proposed by Democrats.

It appears that our Senate Democrats have it backwards and are confused. Apparently they do not realize that we are attempting to stimulate the economy, not crush it.

Unleashing the attack dogs against Scott Walker

An interesting battle is brewing over an outside group's attacks on Scott Walker.

Patrick from Badger Blogger has the inside scoop-

Todd Rongstad has formed a 501(c)(4) political education organization called “The Thomas Paine Democracy Network,” and has set it’s sights on Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker. You may not know who Todd Rongstad is, but he has quite a past in his political consulting jobs.

Currently, Tod Rongstad's group is hosting billboard ads trashing Scott Walker, called "We blame Scott Walker" An example of such billboard states "Milwaukee's mentally ill suffer deadly neglect- I blame Scott Walker".

These billboards are financed by someone. So far, nobody is fessing up.

Senator Lena Taylor, Walker's opponent, is claiming that it is not her.

These billboards are so inflammatory that they have caught the attention of the talk show hosts and now Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist Daniel Bice.

A billboard ad costs tens of thousands of dollars, someone is behind this.

Who is it?

Now would be a great time to find out.

Raise taxes, spend more money, that will fix the economy

The entire state of Wisconsin is currently focused on how to help Wisconsin during a difficult economic problem.

In an absolutely stunning move, our State Senate has decided that the best way to handle a downturn in the economy is to spend more money and raise taxes on businesses.

MJS-

Wisconsin Senate Democrats formally broke with Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle and Assembly Republicans on economic development today, recommending an immediate $50-million boost in highway spending and development of the KRM commuter rail line between Kenosha, Racine and Milwaukee.

The Senate Democrats' package means the Legislature is not likely to pass any major economic development incentives before the session ends in mid-March.

"This is something that Senate Democrats want to push," said Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker (D-Weston). The Democrats' package would also spend $5 million more to train welders and health-care workers, give vocational colleges $1.3 million more in state aid, and spend $15.1 million more to subsidize child-care costs for middle-income parents.

Decker said the new package would immediately let "Wisconsin companies hire Wisconsin workers," giving them jobs that "can't go to China." Boosting highway spending by $50 million alone would result in 2,5000 new well-paying jobs, he said.

Decker said he hasn't seen details of the Democratic governor's $15-million package of tax credits, breaks and exemptions. Doyle has said his proposals, embraced by Republicans who control the state Assembly, would help create the next generation of jobs in technology and start-up companies.

Democratic Sens. John Lehman of Racine and Bob Wirch of Kenosha both said the KRM commuter rail line would be paid for a $13 increase in car rental costs in southeast Wisconsin and is backed by leaders from both parties.

Decker and Sen. Pat Kreitlow (D-Chippewa Falls) estimated that their economic development package would cost about $180 million - $90 million in the year that ends June 30 and another $90 million the following year. The money would be generated by ending a corporate tax loophole that allows businesses to create out-of-state companies that don't pay Wisconsin taxes.

That's right folks. When your family is going through a downtime, do you go out and immediately spend more money and expect your problems to disappear?

Businesses are struggling, so the Democrats plan on hammering them with another $180 Million in taxes.

Families are struggling, so the Democrats plan on hammering them with a $13 tax increase on car rentals.

The Senate Democrats clearly have no grasp on reality.

Who is advising them to do this?

Never forget- Daniel Pearl

An incredible powerful piece of journalism is in today's Wall Street Journal, written by Daniel Pearl's father.

Daniel Pearl was murdered 6 years ago, today. He was not murdered because he did anything wrong, but simply because he was an American.

In this article, Professor Judea Pearl, refuses to let the media off the hook. His son was a journalist for the Wall Street Journal.

Here are some excerpts-

The shocking element in Danny's murder was that he was killed, not for what he wrote or planned to write, but for what he represented -- America, modernity, openness, pluralism, curiosity, dialogue, fairness, objectivity, freedom of inquiry, truth and respect for all people. In short, each and every one of us was targeted in Karachi in January of 2002.

This new twist of killing journalists for what they represent has changed the course of journalism as well as the rest of society.

It was through Danny's face that people came to grasp the depth of cruelty and inhumanity into which this planet of ours has been allowed to sink in the past two decades. His murder proved that 9/11 was not an isolated event, and helped resurrect the age-old ideas of right and wrong, good and evil. Moral relativism died with Daniel Pearl in January 2002.

In this next article, Professor Pearl examines the media's responsibility in the murder of his son-

They are no longer perceived as neutral, information-gathering agents, but rather as representing political or ideological entities. The press and media has indeed become more polarized and agenda-driven. Journalists today are pressured to serve the ideologies of those who pay their salaries or those who supply them with sources of information. CNN's admission, in 2003, that it concealed information about the Iraqi regime in order to keep its office in Baghdad is a perfect example of this pressure. In the recent Gaza chaos, Western news agencies have willingly reported Hamas propaganda stunts as truth.

One of the things that saddens me most is that the press and media have had an active, perhaps even major role in fermenting hate and inhumanity. It was not religious fanaticism alone.

The whole Daniel Pearl murder is heart wrenching to hear about. Little is said in the media after it was discovered that chances were pretty good that Pearl was murdered as a tape of media staged scenes were playing in the background.

The answer was unveiled in 2004, when a friend told me that photos of Muhammad Al Dura were used as background in the video tape of Danny's murder.

Al Dura, readers may recall, is the 12-year-old Palestinian boy who allegedly died from Israeli bullets in Gaza in September of 2001. As we now know, the whole scene is very likely to have been a fraud, choreographed by stringers and cameramen of France 2, the official news channel of France. France 2 aired the tape repeatedly and distributed it all over the world to anyone who needed an excuse to ratchet up anger or violence, among them Danny's killers.

An yet, even though we are well aware of the fact that some in the media are faking stories, creating their own stories or lying about the truth, we still find ourselves believing every single story on TV or in the newspaper.

Folks, we have got to get smarter. We have got to get wiser. We have got to learn from the deaths of men just like Daniel Pearl.

Whether or not the media like the truth, we must make sure they tell the truth anyway.

Feel free to read the rest of the article written by Professor Pearl.

What a bunch of hooey!

The state screws up and accidentally refunds the taxpayers too much money. Once they recognize their mistake, the immediately re-bill the taxpayer, plus they add 1% in interest payments per month to the taxpayers charges.

Huh?

It didn't matter that the state, not taxpayers, miscalculated the refunds. By law, the government can collect 1% interest each month on money it is owed.

Yeah, that doesn't make sense to most people either.

Public Investigator

Senator Mary Lazich and the PI jumped in and got the Department of Revenue to wave the $44,754 worth of finances charges waved.

Of course, all of those that had already paid the finance charges on the state's mistake, will now be refunded that money.

Basicaly, the state will refund some money after refunding money when they not have. The taxpayers will be refunded money that was refunded to them accidently which they then re-paid with interest.

Got that?

Confusing?

Yep, that is government for you.

These are the same government that wants to control your health care.

Scary isn't it?

Kenosha Schools closed

Check my sidebar under Storm Center- Closings and Cancellations

All Kenosha schools appeared to be closed today.

I am guessing, but perhaps the buses were having problems.

No child should be standing out in this weather at a bus stop anyways.

Enjoy your day off, kids.

Congressman Paul Ryan for President

Let me be honest, I probably will not be completely happy with any of the Republican choices until we nominate Congressman Paul Ryan for President.

Who's with me?

Hmm? I wonder if Congressman Ryan would make a good vice Presidential candidate to offset McCain's liberalism?

Congressman Ryan is a true fiscal conservative. He is a true social conservative. He is young and energetic.

The man does not have one single ounce of "give up" in him. He does not waiver. He does not flip flop.

No matter what happens, you cannot break the man's spirit.

Who's with me?

Senator Clinton did the right thing

I know that it is really weird for me to make that statement, but I believe it to be true.

Senator Hillary Clinton did the right thing tonight by showing up in Florida and thanking the 1 million plus Democrat voters that spent part of their day doing their Democratic duty and cast a vote.

The people in Florida matter, no different than Michigan. It does not matter what the Democrat National Committee continues to say.

I think it is a huge risk for Senator Obama to continue to downplay Florida. Yes, he is correct to say that no delegates were at stake tonight. However there is something more important that happened today in Florida.

No single person put it better that Fred Barnes tonight when asked by Brit Hume whether or not the Florida Democrat race was important. Fred exclaimed- "Yes it is important, because the most important thing in the world happened today- PEOPLE VOTED!"

You tell 'em Fred!

I think it was proper for Senator Clinton to properly thank the voters in Florida and I think it is a mistake for Senator Obama not to thank the 300,000+ people who went to the polls today and voted for him.

McCain wins Florida

Republicans voted for McCain.

I know that question had been hanging out there for a while. Could McCain win over Republicans?

Apparently he can.

The hardcore conservatives do not control the party.

Personally, I have my doubts about McCain. There are things I like about McCain, but there are other things that I really do not like.

Honestly, I could say the same about President Bush and just about every single person I have voted for.

Romney is still in the race, but he is the only one still left in the race.

Despite what Huckabee says, he is done.

Giuliani is currently giving his concession speech. He has not pulled out of the race, but he sure sounds like he will pull out soon, perhaps tomorrow.

Good luck to McCain and Romney on Super Tuesday, just one week away.

Congress is paralyzed

As I sat thru last night's speech, I could not help but notice as the cameras continuously panned the crowd our elected congressional leaders, how many of them just sat there.

I remember thinking to myself, yes- this is pretty much what they have done all year long.

That symbolism pretty much represented the last year of Congress. Angry, bitter, sullen and pouty is pretty much what we have seen for a while now.

A year ago, the congressional leaders were a lot more raucous. With a newly elected Congress, dominated by Democrats, the people of this great country had sent a new Congress to the hill to handle the business of this country.

There the new Congress sat last night, with over half of them refusing to budge from their seats. Almost paralyzed with anger, is how they looked.

I have to say, I cannot blame the new Congress for sitting in their seats last night.

They have nothing to cheer for, they have accomplished next to nothing in a year's time.

Perhaps the newly elected leaders of Congress do not realize that the Democrats got exactly what they wanted. They are in charge.

To call them a "do nothing" Congress is putting it mildly.

I love to ask my democrat friends, what has this new congress done?

They immediately jump at the raising of the national minimum wage.

Okay, then, what else?

I usually get a perplexed look back from my democrat friends. They immediately start spouting off about President Bush, war in Iraq, and the usual drivel. They cannot name any other accomplishments in Congress this year. NONE!

Of course, upon closer inspection, even the raising of the national minimum wage was a paltry accomplishment.

If you look at this map, most states already had a minimum wage set well above the amount that Congress raised up. A whopping three states actually had minimum wages set lower than the rate raised by Congress. Three states! This is their major accomplishment?

What has happened here?

At the beginning of last year, we were promised a great deal, and nothing has been delivered.

Health Care reform? Nothing. They could not even extend Schip beyond a few months. Schip is a program created by Republicans and signed into law by a Democrat president.

Earmark reform? Nothing. Bills are still being shoved thru Congress chock full of billions of dollars in earmarks.

Spending reform? Nothing. Well, last year saw the rise and the collapse of the Democrat's Paygo plan. Paygo did not make it a few months before Congress set it aside.

Immigration reform? Nothing. Hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants poured across our borders last year.

AMT reform? Little to nothing. Congress did manage to propose the largest tax increase in American history. Amazingly, after this proposal hit the airwaves, and incredible amount of Congressional members learned how to do the backstroke. Congressional attempts to backstroke their way out of that proposal was amazing.

Taxes? The new Congress wants to raise these. Did Americans elect the new Congress so they could enact tax increases? That is doubtful.

Social Security reform? Nothing.

Medicare reform? Nothing.

I am not the least bit surprised to see over half of the Congress sitting on their hands last night with a frown on their faces and anger in their hearts.

Speaking of which, did you see the look on Senator Harry Reid's face? Have you ever seen a more grumpy and angry man before in your life? At least Speaker Pelosi managed to keep a smile plastered on her face for the first few moments of the speech.

Senator Harry Reid is in charge of the United States Senate, one of the most powerful leadership positions in the world. Apparently he hates the job.

Sitting in those chambers last night, were the men and women charged with leading our country forward.

Instead of embracing this, over half of them sat there. They are angry, bitter, sullen and full of hatred for the man standing in front of them, giving a speech.

Their hatred has grown to such bitter levels that they are now paralyzed and consumed by that hatred.

As a result, the growth and the natural changes we need as a country become paralyzed. No real issues can be addressed.

Instead we are left to deal with a continuous stream of Bush Derangement Syndrome. Get Bush at all costs. It does not matter what issues stand before our country as this time. Get Bush at all costs.

Last night was a embarrassing expression of a paralyzed Congress obsessed with destroying the President and letting everything else fall by the wayside.

KC for Alderwoman

I have a new webpage up strictly devoted to my aldermaic race.

KC for Alderwoman

Democrats- your choices are angry or angrier

The race wars taking place on the left side of the aisle has now become a complete embarrassment for America in general.

The 2006 election was an angry vote. The Democrats played into that anger and handily won the Senate and the House.

Now the Democrats have turned their anger against each other.

Anyone watching Obama's victory speech last night can clearly see that he is angry about a lot of things. It was not really the words in his speech, but the venom and anger in his voice. He behaved as if he was vindicated instead of victorious.

Before Obama's camp gets too excited, remember this is the same state that John Edwards carried 4 years ago and we can clearly see where that got him in the end game of winning the nomination in 2004.

The Clinton machine is even angrier. Senator Clinton has a screeching problem as it is, this is just getting awful.

Say what you will about Republican nominees, they have not made this a race about the color of a person's skin.

Racism has reared it's ugly head and it is the Democrats that have created this race war.

The media has been stoking this race war since almost the beginning. Talking about how white Iowa had no problems voting for Obama, but white New Hampshire did. How many times have we heard in the last week that at least 50% of those voting in South Carolina would be black voters?

Who cares what color their skin is? They are Americans.

The eventual winner of the Presidency will need voters with every skin color and every religious background voting for him or her.

Can you imagine the Iraqis sitting in their living rooms watching this thing play out?

They have got to wondering how Americans can sit back and smuggly talk about Iraqi civil war when they are watching this on their TVs. The Iraqis must be saying to themselves, Shiite vs. Sunni- no problems. Just check out those Americans tearing each other apart.

Senator Obama and Senator Clinton have turned their race for Presidency into a national embarrassment.

There you go Democrats. You have get to choose between a angry black man and a angry white woman. You must be so proud.

It's our money!

Wow, how egotistical can you get?

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has this pronouncement-

KRM: Climb on board or get out of the way

Seriously, who died and gave these folks at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel the right to speak this way to their fellow Wisconsinites.

Of course, the MJS editorial board would claim that they are talking to the politicians this way and not the people.

My guess is that the MJS editorial board has no clue that the politicians are actually representatives of the people.

In fact, not only do they not recognize this, they are demanding that the politicians defy the wishes of the people and advanced the KRM anyway-

And the political reality may well be that referendums are the only way to
get something done on rail, although we would argue that politicians are elected
to make tough choices.

Tough choices?

Are they asking the politicians to ignore the people that elected them and cower in the face of the special interest businesses?

The MJS does seem to realize that the people should be on board, but they are telling the politicians to ignore the people anyway. They are calling it "tough choices"

The idea is to make sure that those who would be paying for transit have a say
in determining what kind of transit system is created.
That's an
understandable sentiment. And the political reality may well be that referendums
are the only way to get something done on rail, although we would argue that
politicians are elected to make tough choices.

Here are some more political realities for the MJS to ponder:

It's our money and if the people do not want to pay for it, why is it being shoved down our throats?

Politicians are to represent the people, if they do not honestly represent the people, they will be replaced!

Politicians work for the people, not Johnson Wax and Tax!

If Johnson Wax and Tax and the rest of their buddies want a commuter rail line, they can pay for it themselves. They can pay for the maintenance. They can even pay their own employees to ride it. If they choose to pay for it themselves, amazingly few people would say a peep about it.

I have to say, as I read thru this article, I could not help but giggle a little at this statement-

But that would mean that southeastern Wisconsin would fall further behind its competitors in the global marketplace.

Seriously, creating a commuter rail line between Kenosha and Milwaukee will turn us global?

The commuter rail line only covers about 50 miles. That does not exactly cover GLOBAL proportions.

Do you believe him?

The Governor says he will not raise taxes to fix the budget hole.

Gov. Jim Doyle is promising not to raise taxes to deal with the state's budget shortfall.

Too late....

The Governor already raised taxes and fees.

Perhaps the Governor does not remember that back in October, he raised taxes and fees.

Many of those increased taxes and fees went into affect less than a month ago. The cost to get a driver's license just went up January 1st. The cost to register your car, just went up on January 1st.

By doubling the cost of the real estate transfer fee, the cost to sell a home just doubled. So those folks trying to get out from underneath the sub prime crunch, will have to pay even more money when selling their homes.

And oh, by the way, the Governor also raised your property taxes by changing the cap from 2% to 4%.

Basically, this is the same Governor that a little more than a year ago, while he was running for re-election boldly stated, "I have balanced the budget" and "I have not raise taxes", has now raised taxes and the budget is seriously out of balance. Of course, the budget was out of balance a year ago when the legislature was providing emergency funding to fix the last budget hole.

Now the Governor expects us to believe that he will not raise taxes????

By the way, even though the Governor knew that we are facing this massive budget hole, less than a week ago he was announcing new programs to give away more money.

Yard signs

So I have to ask- Have any of you tried to ram a yard sign into the frozen earth when it was -3 degrees outside?

Well, I have and it does not work. I spent this past weekend and this week trying to do exactly that.

I finally went home and got some empty two liter bottles and filled them with hot tap water. With a little effort, I managed to get a few signs up.

Back at it again today. Only now I have a cordless drill. That works way better!

Anyone interested in a yard sign and you live in Kenosha's 5th district, just email me at kc_for_alderman@yahoo.com

I have a cordless drill and I will travel.

If you are not sure if you live in Kenosha's 5th Aldermanic District, click on this link for a map.





Paid for by Friends of Kathy Carpenter, Erin Decker, Treasurer.

Be afraid. Be very, very afraid.

Look who is staging a comeback....

New Kids on the Block Stage Comeback

After months of speculation and rumor, the Kids are coming back. A well-placed source tells PEOPLE exclusively that New Kids On The Block are indeed getting back together.

Can they really call themselves kids when they are now in their late 30's and early 40's?

Making the grade...

I completely missed the Republican debate on Thursday night. However, I heard pretty much the same thing from everyone I have spoken to that saw it- Romney helped himself, McCain and Giuliani did not help themselves- but did not do bad. Huckabee and Paul did poorly and probably hurt themselves.

Time graded the debate as follows-

Romney--- A-

Despite months of floundering, and his unofficial coronation as Most Unpopular by the media and his rivals, Romney is suddenly re-energized. Buoyed by his Michigan win, his delegate count, his promising poll numbers and a chaotic economy that boosts his CEO platform, Romney came out strong, unapologetic and on message. The man l-o-v-e-s to talk about the economy and it shows. Was less on edge—and less edgy—than in the last few debates, and settled comfortably into the 'looks and sounds like a president' zone that is one of his chief assets. Swiftly back-pedalled from a too-pointed barb about Bill Clinton, transforming his response into a crowd-pleasing poke at Hillary Clinton. Seemed to anticipate an eventual one-on-one contest with McCain, and displayed the confidence of a man who feels certain he has a spot in the finals. Bottom line: Benefited more than anyone else from the oddly low-key nature of a high-stakes forum.

McCain---- B+

Sober or grim? You make the call. Handled some early light jabs from questioners and rivals with ease, although he fumbled a bit when apparently denying his own quote about lacking economic expertise. Eagerly welcomed another opportunity to rhetorically run against Hillary Clinton on Iraq. To his great benefit, his elegant, vital, and sharp-tongued mother was more prominently referenced than either Clinton, and he charmingly parried a question about her televised comment that he had limited support from the Republican Party. Graciously offered unsolicited praise of Giuliani's 9/11 record. Overall, though, was too often tense and forced in his delivery, rather than presenting himself as the happy warrior with a frontrunner's breeze at his back.

Giuliani---- B-

As always, showed up without any strategy to win—on the night he most needed to win big. Offered shrewd, vigorous answers but without a schematic purpose that would define a rationale and theme for his candidacy. Nevertheless, he was a cool customer, with the same unflappable, calm delivery he has presented in every debate for nearly a year, regardless of polls, news-of-day, or media expectations. That persona was good when he was the national frontrunner, but on the eve of the most important election of his presidential career, it just wasn't good enough.

Huckabee--- B-

Low-key to the point of soporific. His patented one-liners did not seem to win over this audience as they had past debate audiences, although he kept on zipping and zinging whenever possible. Seemed to be playing out the string as a sidekick and quipster rather than a man who won Iowa three weeks ago.

Paul---- C

Did not stand out as a rousing alternative to the establishment, unlike in past debates. Didn't pick fights, wasn't the target of attacks—and launched no dramatic speeches, passionate outrage, or singular ideas. As always, however, he struck a chord with the anti-war wing of the party whenever he mentioned Iraq.

So what do you guys think?

Was Romney the clear winner?

What a fine mess...

You thought the Republicans had problems with their nominees, at least we are debating policy and not debating racial boundaries.

The good news for Democrats is that they finally get to vote in South Carolina tomorrow.

MJS-

But the GOP presidential campaign is looking stately compared with the emotion and acrimony overtaking the Democrats in South Carolina, which votes Saturday.

To the horror of party leaders, and glee of their GOP counterparts, the Hillary Rodham Clinton-Barack Obama rivalry has descended into an angry pitched battle, played out on the rocky ground of race, gender, credibility and character.

Remember back a few weeks ago, this mess all started a few weeks ago, after the New Hampshire.

The pollsters and the media got it dead wrong by glibly handing New Hampshire to Obama long before the people actually voted in that state.

When the vote did not turn out as predicted, in order to keep from having to admit they were wrong, the media and the pollsters immediately injected racism into the battle.

That battle has been raging ever since.

It is great to finally see the media recognize the fractured elements of the Democratic party. They have been denying it for weeks as this battle has raged.

Either in spite or because of the lack of big policy differences, the Democratic race has become more personal and rancorous than the Republican contest, which features larger philosophical divisions.

All of those folks that think Obama is just a nice guy and the Clinton machine is unfairly attacking him need to realize that Obama has gotten his shots in too.

"Hillary Clinton. She'll say anything and change nothing. It's time to turn the page," says a radio ad in South Carolina, Obama's answer to a Clinton ad accusing him of embracing Republican ideas.

$15 Million- That's it?

The MJS is touting Doyle's $15 million in tax breaks.

$15 Million? That's all Doyle has?

We currently have a budget shortfall of $200 million that the state's agencies have to fix by June 30th.

The only incentives that Doyle can find is $15 million?

Who voted for this guy?

Seriously- we have a huge economic crisis facing us nationwide and Doyle coughs up a measly $15 million!

We have 5.5 million people that live in this state.

That $15 million amounts to about $2.72 per per in Wisconsinite.

Wow- I wonder where I will manage to spend my $2.72 tax break from our governor.

Well, I know that I cannot buy a gallon of gas or even a pack of cigarettes.

Think! Think! Think!

Where can I spend my $2.72?

Hum?

Our governor is a joke!

Is Huckabee finished?

Personally, I believe Huckabee is finished, but it is not up to me to decide. A second place finish in a state that he should have easily carried with religious conservatives may have been the nail in his coffin.

Now it appears that Huckabee is close to bailing on Florida-

Battling to stay competitive after his weekend loss in South Carolina, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is taking new steps to save money, including no longer scheduling planes and buses for journalists trying to cover his presidential campaign.

Huckabee said he will continue to campaign in Florida on a shoestring budget, but added that he may pull out of the state before its Jan. 29 Republican primary if his prospects look dim.

Huckabee's campaign has been diving since Iowa.

Defending the American Dream Summit

Americans for Prosperity presents:

Defending the American Dream Summit 2008

Today, the voices of average Americans are being drowned out by lobbyists and special interests. The result: policies that are threatening to destroy the American Dream – wasteful pork-barrel spending, higher taxes, job-killing regulations, and endless red-tape.

Earlier this year, we held the largest taxpayer rally in Wisconsin's history on the steps of the state capitol in Madison to send a message to the Governor and Legislature to hold the line on taxes. They heard us, but we have a lot of work to do. We need to send a message for transparency in the budgeting process to end anonymous earmarks in Wisconsin, stop taxpayer funded lobbying, educate the citizens on what a disaster passing the "Healthy Wisconsin" plan for socialized medicine would do to our state.

You Can Help. Join us in sending a powerful message to the politicians, special interests, and the mainstream media by taking part in the Defending the American Dream - Wisconsin Summit.

On February 9th at the Country Springs in Pewaukee, you can join Wisconsin’s foremost free-market voices, top experts on grassroots mobilization, and Wisconsin’s largest gathering of grassroots leaders from across our great state in a massive show of force for our shared belief in lower taxes and more limited government.

Confirmed guests include Congressman Paul Ryan, Attorney General JB Van Hollen, Rep. Leah Vukmir, Vicki McKenna, Mike Gableman, and many, many more.

Register here.

First and foremost on the minds of Florida voters is...

Tax cuts.

Few people realize that as Florida Republicans and Democrats walk into the voting booths on Jan. 29 the top issue on the minds of Floridians is tax cuts.

As important as the race for President is, Floridians also have the opportunity to cut their own property taxes. They actually get to vote on it! Very cool!

Imagine that!

A constitutional amendment is on the ballot that would force $9.2 billion in property tax cuts.

Palm Beach Daily News-

That "portability" will free homeowners — including young, growing families and seniors such as Crist's own parents — who want more suitable housing but feel trapped because of the prospect of losing a substantial tax benefit.

"It's about economic freedom, and the ability to move and to improve their lives," Crist said. "And the most beautiful part is, it's not up to me, it's up to you."

Like it or not, this will affect the thinking of those walking into the voting booth on Jan. 29th in Florida.

So which candidates does this help or hurt?

First, this hurts all of the Democrats. The DNC decided to punish the state of Florida for moving their primary date up, and Florida has now lost all of their delegates.

I think it is pathetic that the DNC is disenfranchising each and every single democrat in the state.

On the Republican side, this hurts McCain and Huckabee, the media favorites. This is why I believe that the media is attempting to ignore that this is happening in Florida on the same day as the primary election. They know this will hurt their favorite liberal Republican sons and they do not like it.

First and foremost, McCain voted against the Bush tax cuts that blunted the recession during 2001. McCain again voted against tax cuts in 2003 that literally pulled us out of a recession.

McCain has flipped and flopped on the tax cut issue. In May of last year, McCain claimed to believe that the Bush tax cuts actually did increase revenue.

Less than a month ago, McCain claimed that he would still vote against the Bush tax cuts that his votes were not a mistake, not once, but twice.

If the voters happen to notice this, McCain is in huge trouble with the Floridians.

Huckabee's tax increases have been well documented in Arkansas. An editorial written in the Arkansas Leader made this claim:

Ernie Dumas writes: Mike Huckabee raised more taxes in 10 years in office than Bill Clinton did in his 12 years.

Currently, Huckabee is diving in the polls in Florida. Tax cuts could be one of those reasons.

The property tax cut amendment being voted on in Florida may actually help Romney and Giuliani.

Guiliani has been in Florida for weeks touting tax cuts.

Miami Herald-

Rudy Giuliani promised tax cuts as he courted voters in his must-win state, three weeks before voters go to the polls in a Florida primary that is looking increasingly influential.

At a speech here, the former New York City mayor -- making his 28th visit -- positioned himself as a fiscal conservative, pledging ``the largest tax cut in the history of the United States.''

Later in West Palm Beach he used a nine-minute speech to highlight conservative touchstones, like support for school vouchers and opposition to government-provided healthcare.

Romney has been doing the same thing in both Nevada and Michigan, two states he won. In fact, a couple of political pundits believe that Romney's touting of a huge tax cut plan was one of the reasons he so soundly defeated McCain in Michigan.

I believe that this plan proposed by Romney is a great idea and an idea that should be implemented whether he wins the nomination and presidency or not-

I have proposed changing the rate of taxation on capital gains, dividends and interest to 0 percent for middle class Americans. ... In 2003, we passed major cuts in the tax rate on capital gains and dividends, instituting a new, lower top rate of 15 percent. Many Democratic critics of this tax cut claimed that cutting rates would blow a hole in our budget and hurt our prosperity. In fact, the opposite occurred. ... The rate of economic growth in our economy more than tripled, going from 0.8 percent in the two years before the rate cuts to 3.1 percent in the two years following the tax cuts. Capital gains tax receipts actually increased from $58 billion in 2002 to $103 billion in 2006. ... Under my plan, any taxpayer with Adjusted Gross Income of under $200,000 would pay a tax rate of absolutely 0 percent on all of the income they earn from their savings. This will allow over 95 percent of American families to save and invest tax-free without worrying about the federal government reaching into their pockets and snatching a share of their savings income each year.

Why is heaven's name are we taxing people for saving money?

Common sense would tell you that both Giuliani and Romney should kick the garbage out of McCain and Huckabee on this issue for the next 8 days.

I know that McCain and Huckabee will whine and complain that Giuliani and Romney are being big meanies for pointing out their poor records on taxes. This is politics, Huckabee needs to learn how to practice what he preaches and McCain needs to stop being so stubborn on the tax issues. People care when government reaches into their pockets and swipes as much as they can.

This is what I believe the candidates need to do in order to win Florida and the tax issues:

First, McCain and Huckabee need to separate themselves. Clearly they have become monkey see, monkey do candidates. Both of their tax records are so bad, that the other person is dragging them down even further. Next, they both need to admit they were wrong on taxes and come up with their own new proposals to help the American and Floridian economies. Perhaps there is still time for these two to sell their new proposals to the Floridians.

Perhaps Romney and Giuliani should partner up and hammer away as this tax issue. Make this a two person race for the next 8 days by pounding on McCain and Huckabee's records would be good for both of them.

We have already seen the tax issue work for Romney in Michigan. He is a businessman, he needs to move in for the hard sell. Making tax cuts his number one issue in Florida could prove to be a winning message.

Giuliani needs to do the same. Keep pushing and keep pounding on the tax issue, just like he has done for weeks. Even a strong second place finish is Florida will keep him in the race for another week until Super Tuesday.

Romney and Giuliani could actually help themselves by helping each other.

McCain Still Against Bush Tax Cuts

Yeah, okay.

This statement was made less than a month ago by McCain. In the meantime, the US is fighting off a recession and McCain would prefer to keep the American taxpayer under his thumb.

Fred Thompson quits

I think we all saw this coming-

Yahoo-

Republican Fred Thompson, the actor-politician who attracted more attention as a potential presidential candidate than as a real one, quit the race for the White House on Tuesday after a string of poor finishes in early primary and caucus states.

continued...

At least Thompson had the decency to leave the race. Hopefully Huckabee will follow suit, shortly after getting creamed in Florida.

Now, spending cuts?

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel-

Collections of the three most important Wisconsin taxes increased less than
1% in the second half of 2007 - falling far short of the 3% assumed growth
needed to cover state expenditures this year and raising fears that deep
spending cuts will be necessary.

Not to worry liberals, Governor Doyle is not even thinking about it-

It's still too early to ask for spending cuts, because retail chains won't
report their year-end tax collections until the end of January, said state
Revenue Secretary Roger Ervin and Legislative Fiscal Bureau Director Bob
Lang.

It's too early to ask for spending cuts????

Why?

The Governor can clearly see that this state is in big trouble. We cannot afford the bills we have now, much less the new ones that are being created as a result of this.

To make matters worse, our government did not have the foresite to see this coming and decided to jack taxes and spending anyway.

Even during this economic downturn(which always comes), Wisconsinites are faced with massive fee and tax increases this year. It would have been worse, much worse, if the Democrats had their way.

Governor Doyle has saddled Wisconsin will massive debt, services it can not pay for, massive fee increases, doubled the allowable property tax increases and he continues to take money that does not belong to them and they have no right to take.(Patient Compensation Fund)

All of this is taking place just as the governor is forced to stand in front of the people of this state and promise that he is truly the best choice to lead us out of the tax hell hole that government he has helped create for the people of Wisconsin.





The handwriting is on the wall.

Oh goody, a cage match

Pretty please, can we have a real cage match?????

Krugman-Obama Cage Match

Technically it is not a real cage match but a war of words.

The rift between the Obama camp and Paul Krugman is getting ugly. There are now doubters in the Obama camp.

When Barack Obama's campaign decided to post a bit of oppo trash talking against Paul Krugman on its website, they didn't know what they were getting themselves into. Krugman hasn't let up since, and Matt Yglesias comes to the rescue here. But after performing rhetorical CPR, he adds this:

That said, I'll freely grant that I'm getting a bit tired of defending Obama and his campaign. Stuff like this from Krugman clearly hurts them, but the easiest way to deflect claims that Obama is the more conservative choice would be for Obama to say so himself in a clear and direct way. Given that Clinton is very much running as her husband's wife, it should hardly be impossible to make the case that establishing continuity with the moderate Clinton administration is the moderate choice.

Believe me, I sympathize. But look: Obama has clearly chosen his course, and there's really no way for him to give a wink and a nudge to folks like Matt and me to let us know that he's just kidding about all this kumbaya stuff. After all, it's part of his whole appeal to both independents and moderate conservatives, and his candidacy depends on that. So if you're a liberal in Obama's camp, you just have to cross your fingers and trust him.

Because in the end, this is what it all comes down to. Is Obama kidding or not? Does he really believe that he can enact a progressive agenda by reaching out to Republicans and bridging the red-blue divide, or is he just saying this as a way of shaping public opinion and winning an election? And if he does believe it, is he right?

continued...

I am loving this.

I would still prefer to see a real cage match. I would even pay for a night of Pay-per-view!

Oh please! Oh please! Oh please!

On second thought, can you imagine seeing Krugman or Obama in tights???? Oh my!!!

Rep. Kreuser has a opponent

Without opposition for the several elections in a row, State Assembly Minority Leader Jim Kreuser will be opposed in the November election.

Congratulations to Jeff Cassity in Kenosha for having the fortitude to challenge Rep. Kreuser.

Go get 'em, Jeff.

Cassity Press Release-

Cassity Campaign: Cassity to seek 64th Assembly seat
1/19/2008

Contact:
Jeffery Cassity
(262) 705-9514

CITY OF KENOSHA – Jeffery Cassity will be announing his candidacy for the 64th Assembly District seat currently held by Jim Kreuser.

The announcement will take place on Monday, January 21st at 3:00pm in front of the main entrance to the Edward Bain School of Language and Arts(EBSOLA). EBSOLA is located at 2600 50th Street. The candidate will read a brief statement and be available for questions from the press and public.

A 'Meet and Greet' session with the candidate is also schedulded at the Northside Library, 1500 27th Avenue, from 6:00 to 8:00pm that same evening (January 21st). Cassity will be available to answer questions from the public and find out more about what concerns the 64th District residents.

Cassity, 43, is Office Manager for the M&M Allstate Insurance Agency in Greenfield. He has been married to his wife, Isabel(nee Hernandez), since 1988. A life-long resident of Kenosha, Cassity attended Kenosha Unified Schools and holds a B.A. in Political Science from UW-Parkside.

Cassity is actively involved in many communities organizations. He is a member of the Kenosha Branch of the NAACP and the Urban League of Racine and Kenosha; he is a Board Member/Secretary of the Spanish Center of Racine and Kenosha. Cassity is also the current President of the League of United Latin American Citizens(LULAC) Council 320 for Racine and Kenosha as well as State Treasurer for LULAC-Wisconsin.

Cassity was a past local member of the Society of St Vincent de Paul. Cassity has served on several Kenosha Unfied School District committees. He has run previously for the School Board.

Cassity hopes that as Representative for the 64th District, he will be able to bring about real change in education, health care, and taxation to Kenosha, Somers, and Wisconsin. He also hopes to actively represent the needs and concerns of the 64th District which have gone unrepresented by the current occupier of the 64th Assembly District seat.


The 64th Assembly District consists of the northside of Kenosha and Ward 8 in the Town of Somers.

That's kinda fancy

I just added a new link on this blog that will take you directly to weather related closings taking place in the Milwaukee area.

Click on the link in the sidebar and it will take you to My Fox Milwaukee Storm Center

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Martin Luther King, Jr. August 28, 1963

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves, who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity. But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacle of segregation and the chains of discrimination.

One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languish in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land So we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

continued...

Calling George Clooney

Even though I am not in a laughing mood after the game, somehow I managed to find myself cracking up at this piece I just read:

Nigerians Seek Clooney as Mediator

Yes, folks- they are calling on George Clooney, the actor, to go and broker a peace deal in Nigeria between the terrorists and the corrupt government running Nigeria.

These guys in Nigeria are serious too-

"Mr. Clooney, MEND extends an invitation to you to see things for yourself and is willing to work with you and other credible peace makers of international repute to stop Nigeria from plunging into the abyss of war," the group said in a statement e-mailed to reporters.

Credible peace maker of international repute????

What has George ever done that makes him a credible peace maker of international repute?

Maybe someone should tell these guys that Clooney is really a actor and a international playboy!

Hopefully wiser thinking will prevail. This does not sound like a safe place for an international playboy to be playing-

Nearly 200 foreign workers have been kidnapped in the region in the past two years; they normally are released unharmed after a ransom is paid.

Perhaps someone should inform the Nigerian government that George Clooney is not really a doctor either, he just played one on TV.

TV is not real.

Well that stinks.

'Nuff said.

Seriously, did anyone expect to see Green Bay in the NFC championship game at the beginning of this year?

That being said, the Packers played lousy today.

It's Packers Day!

It is the Lord's day first.

Hopefully the Lord will be smiling down on our Green Bay Packers and the Frozen Tundra today.

The Packers Prayer:

"Our Favre,

Who art in Lambeau,

Hallowed be thine arm.

Thy bowl will come,

It will be won.

In Phoenix as it is in Lambeau.

And give us this Sunday,

Our weekly win.

And give us many touchdown passes.

But do not let others pass against us.

Lead us not into frustration,

But deliver us to the valley of the sun.

For thine is the MVP, the best of the NFC,

and the glory of the Cheeseheads,

now and forever.

Go get'em. Amen."

MPS school board screws it up again

It amazing to me how badly the MPS school board continues to operate.

The federal government and the state's DPI are standing there, ready, willing and able to throw millions upon millions of dollars into the schools in Milwaukee and still the MPS school board allows chaos to rule the day.

MPS stands to lose $30 million in federal funds because they refuse to cooperate and meet the minimum requirements set out in federal law to improve their school district.

MJS-

Joan Aguado Ware, a contract specialist for MPS, told the board, "I don't think I'm exaggerating to say $30 million is immediately at stake."

A few short months ago, MPS had agreed to follow the guidelines set up by the Department of Public Instruction, now they are refusing-

Reacting to the board's actions, Elizabeth Burmaster, state superintendent of public instruction, said Friday, "If they're not going to use the funds for what we directed them to do, which their board approved earlier, I guess we'd be looking at not giving them that money."

Who gets hurt in the end? The kids who are not receiving the help they need.

The MPS board had agreed to the required changes and the federal government was ready to throw millions of dollars at them to get it done.

Now the MPS board is refusing to comply with the plan that they had a hand in creating.

Of course this means that they are no longer in compliance and they will lose the money the government is trying to give them so they can better educate the kids.

What seems to be the problem now?

Hiring the first three assistants to Catherine Thome, the new director of the compliance program. Morales said it wasn't enough to hear that federal aid would pay for the positions - she wanted the U.S. Department of Education to write a check to MPS specifically for the full cost of the jobs. The board's finance committee voted 4-1 to hold up approval of the hiring, which, in effect, puts the jobs in the refrigerator and MPS out of compliance with the plan.

and...

Spending $1.6 million to purchase materials and software to start a program called Read 180 with about 2,050 students in 16 schools. The program, which has been popular around the country and is used in other MPS schools, targets middle and high school students with reading problems.

So basically, MPS wants to get paid before they actually do the work.

Out here in the real world, life does not work like that.

Worse yet, there is a reading program that has proven to work in other parts of the country, but MPS is so disorganized that the reading program will fail because the MPS Board has not done their job.

The reading program is scheduled to start in a little over a week and MPS has not even hired the teachers they need to implement the program, much less get them trained in how the program should work.

MPS officials said they had hired 14 of 37 teachers needed for the reading expansion, but that they were working hard to get the hiring, training and technology installation done within the next few days.

The next few days?????? MPS has known about this new since September!

Now the MPS Board are behaving like a bunch of defiant two year olds-

"I dare them to take money out of kids' classrooms," board member Jennifer Morales said. She has led the charge to oppose two steps required under a plan the board agreed to in September for dealing with MPS' label of District Identified for Improvement under the federal law.

She dares them to take the money out of the classrooms????

For heaven's sake, Ms. Morales! You won't even let them put the money into the classrooms!!! How in heaven's name do you think they are taking it away?

I swear their are a bunch of defiant two year olds running the Milwaukee Public Schools!

By the way folks, these are federal tax dollars that will be used. Every single Wisconsinite has a stake in what is taking place in Milwaukee.

On our shopping list...

Great bumper sticker

Hat Tip: Michelle Malkin

Okay, this is funny-


Hey, I am just trying to coexist here. Gotta show support for everybody running for President.

Of course Hillary has experience running the White House!

Careful now, your bias is showing

Hat Tip- Jessica McBride

Very interesting. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is walking a very fine line and their bias is showing.

In this story about an oil magnate, on several occasions the MJS takes a swipe at Republican politicians and their connections with this oil man. The two targets of the MJS is Tommy Thompson and President George Bush.

Unless you do a little investigative work on your own, you would never know from the MJS story that Mr. Darshan Dhaliwal was playing both sides of the aisle.

Not only has Mr. Darshan Dhaliwal donated to Tommy Thompson and President Bush, but he has also donated to a whole host of prominent Democrats and Republicans.

Never mentioned in the MJS story is that our current governor, Jim Doyle, has received quite a lot of pocket change from Mr. Darshan Dhaliwal.

In fact, not a single word from the MJS on the Democrats that received money.

Jessica posted this list of donations that is on the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign website.

A lot of interesting names also pop up on this list at Open Secrets.

To be certain, there are a lot of Republicans on these lists. There are also a lot of Democrats on these lists.

The average person picking up the newspaper and reading this story are clearly lead to believe that it is Republicans only that are receiving these donations.

This is untrue.

Careful now MJS, your bias against Republicans is showing again.

Virtual schools fight back

Maybe now, legislators will stop being lead around by their WEAC wallets and do what is best for every child in Wisconsin.

Why any single person would attempt to deny any single child access to a quality education is completely beyond me.

There is absolutely no excuse for the Senate Democrats attempt as destroying virtual. They apparently have just decided that they will cut the financing by 50%. That is that!

MJS-

Lehman's bill would cut funding for virtual schools in half, set new requirements on student-teacher contacts and impose residency requirements. Fernandez, Davis and LeMahieu said those changes would kill virtual schools.

Lehman's plan is scheduled to get a hearing before the Senate Education Committee at 10 this morning.

It is time to contact every single state senator that may dream of voting to support this horrifying piece of trash bill.

I understand that WEAC and their democrat friends do not like virtual schools, but to deny these kids a quality education in unfathomable!

This is personal with me!

My state senator, Bob Wirch, received $569,270 in WEAC funds during his re-election campaign in 2004.

$569,270 from WEAC!


Contact Senator Bob Wirch and let him know that denying children a quality education with these virtual schools in order to show support for WEAC will not be tolerated!

Wisconsin Government exposing Wisconsin residents

This is beyond an embarrassment, this is now incredible irresponsible and dangerous.

Add Governor Doyle's Department of Administration to the growing list of incompetent government agencies exposing the private information of it's residents to the public domain.

For the third time in a year, our government has accidentally exposed people's social security numbers to the viewing public-

MJS-

For the second time this month - and the third time in just over a year - a state mailing sent to thousands of people had visible Social Security numbers, officials said Tuesday.

This time it was the Department of Administration, of which Governor Doyle is directly responsible.

I am infuriated by the idea that this is no big deal to the Governor-

Gov. Jim Doyle, who was in Mequon to announce manufacturing tax credits, said residents should be confident that the mistake won't be repeated.

What?

This happened a year ago and again twice in the last month. Why would a single person in the state be confident that this mistake will not happen again?

"It should be very evident that this is a very high priority," Doyle said.

How is it evident that this is a priorioty when it has happened again after last year???

Holy cow! This statement is like adding insult to injury.

By the way, today's announcement-

JS Online: NewsWatch

Information technology workers discovered in late November that a group of university identification numbers that were collected from those who made purchases at the university's tech store was available on a public Web site.

About 205 of the numbers were based on Social Security numbers, said Brian Rust, spokesman for the Division of Information Technology for the UW-Madison.

Apparently, UW Madison is also playing fast and loose with the private information of it's public employees!

Yeah! I feel all warm and fuzzy inside now that Doyle has stated: "It should be very evident that this is a very high priority".

The polls were wrong again

Am I the only person that has realized that the polling done in Michigan on the Republican side was wrong, very wrong?

After the Democrat debacle in New Hampshire, so many excuses were made by the pollsters. One of the biggest excuses is that polling was not done the day before or the weekend before the votes were cast.

This time, polling was done the day before and the weekend before the votes were cast.

Most of these pollsters were off by 8 to 10 points, that is a huge margin of error-

Rasmussen- Romney +1 point( off by 8 points)

Reuters/Zogby- McCain +1 point(off by 10 points)

American Research Group- McCain +1 point(off by 10 points)

Only one pollster came close and they make their home in Michigan-

Mitchell Research- Romney +6 (off by 3 points)

Some of these guys have a margin of error at 3,4 or 5%.

This is unacceptable data from the pollsters.

Thank you Wisconsin!

Wow-the help that has been sent Kenosha's direction after the tornadoes has been staggering.

Walmart was a huge help. They showed up with hundreds of storage bins so people could save what they could.

Hundreds of volunteers also showed up. In fact, they were sent home on Saturday night. The initial cleanup is done.

One of the first badly damaged homes was torn completely down yesterday and the re-building will start shortly. Their contractors were there the day after the tornadoes and began cleaning up and started the plans for rebuilding.

The neighbors who did not suffer as much damage as some are currently storing their neighbors items.

Some of the rebuilding and repairing will have to wait until spring, but many folks have opened up their pocketbooks and their homes to those left homeless.

By Saturday, less than a week after the tornadoes hit, the cleanup was done and rebuilding and repairing had started.

Thanks to Walmart and all those individuals that donated food, water, clothes, lighting, storage, etc...

Kenosha survived and everybody is taking giant steps forward in starting over.

I believe that cash donations are still be accepted at area banks, so keep those dollars rolling in. If Kenosha keeps moving, all of this will be a distant memory in a few short months.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Packer Playoff Tickets for NFC Championship

More Packer tickets have been donated to the MS Society. You have a chance to bid on the tickets and all proceeds will go to the MS Society

The Packers playing for the NFC Title!
One more home game at Lambeau!
Another opportunity to see it live!

Didn’t get a chance to bid on last week’s Packer tickets? Once again, Tom Carlson, veteran participant of the MS Snowmobile Tour, is donating his tickets to this weekend’s playoff game for purchase on eBay, with all proceeds benefitting the National MS Society - Wisconsin Chapter.

This time it’s for the title!

New York Giants at Green Bay Packers
NFC Championship Game
Lambeau Field, Green Bay, WI
Sunday, January 20, 2008
5:30 p.m.
Two (2) tickets, side by side

For more information, or to bid for these tickets, visit:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120210510467

Make a difference in the lives of people with multiple sclerosis and cheer the Packers on to the Super bowl!

City of Kenosha Tax Phenomenon

The Kenosha tax phenomenon has Kenosha city residents facing a problem that very few other Wisconsin residents are facing.

Kenosha city residents are now paying more out in municipal taxes than they are in school taxes. The phenomenon is almost unheard of in most Wisconsin cities, villages and towns.

A little background to help folks understand Kenosha. Kenosha County was a solid blue county that in the last few years has been fading. It is now considered a lite blue county. Still liberal, just not as solidly liberal as before.

Kenosha city government is solidly blue and has been for years and years. We have had 48.5 % in tax increases since 1998 to prove it. For years, the liberal leaders of Kenosha have stated that it was the schools fault for all of the tax increases.

As I said something has changed in the last few years. Kenosha city taxes have now risen so much, that most folks are paying as much in municipal taxes as they do in school taxes.

Kenosha residents paying their taxes will pay on average:

City- $1385.30 minus lottery tax credit of $85.60 equals $1299.70

Schools- $1472.64 minus school tax credit of $223.27 equals $1249.37

On average the city of Kenosha is charging it's residents $1299.70 in municipal taxes per year and $1249.37 on school taxes.

In comparison, Pleasant Prairie residents pay $797.38 in village taxes and $2019 in school taxes. Bristol pays $651.80 in town taxes to $1784.31 in school taxes.

This is a staggering blow to every single Kenosha resident. It is no longer a fair assumption to believe that the high taxes in Kenosha are solely the fault of our school systems. For years, the schools have taken the heat.

Somehow our mayor and our alderman have just skated without being asked the tough questions.

Certainly our city has more expenses than do the smaller towns and villages. Some of this is understandable.

There comes a point that where these high municipal taxes are no longer reasonable. Especially when residents are told that they are paying almost $10 million for a civil war museum that they never asked for.

With a record number of people running for alderman and mayor in our city, clearly the people of Kenosha are fed up.

For years the liberal government of Kenosha has lead us down a path of historically high taxes. It is almost as if the city and the schools are racing to see who can raise our taxes higher and faster.

To all those who may squawk and balk at the level of taxes in Kenosha, they are considered evil and diabolical. After all, the money is for the children. These liberal leaders believe that Kenosha's residents should just shut up and pay it.

So Kenosha, are you going to just shut and pay or are you ready to fight back?

William Kristol and the New York Times

I know some heads have been spinning and a few liberals are spitting nails, but it is very cool to see another point of view in the New York Times.

Kristol correctly points out hypocrisy the Dem's candidates Obama and Clinton are faced with-

When Obama was asked in the most recent Democratic presidential debate, “Would you have seen this kind of greater security in Iraq if we had followed your recommendations to pull the troops out last year?” he didn’t directly address the question. But he volunteered that “much of that violence has been reduced because there was an agreement with tribes in Anbar Province, Sunni tribes, who started to see, after the Democrats were elected in 2006, you know what? — the Americans may be leaving soon. And we are going to be left very vulnerable to the Shias. We should start negotiating now.”

Seriously, Obama is claiming that the success in Iraq is a result of Democrats claiming defeat in Iraq. That does not make sense to most common sense thinking folks, but he said it anyway.

Not to be outdone by Obama's ridiculous statements, Clinton was hot on his trail making another statement just as ridiculous-

Yesterday, on “Meet the Press,” Hillary Clinton claimed that the Iraqis are changing their ways in part because of the Democratic candidates’ “commitment to begin withdrawing our troops in January of 2009.” So the Democratic Party, having proclaimed that the war is lost and having sought to withdraw U.S. troops, deserves credit for any progress that may have been achieved in Iraq.

Kristol is right-

That is truly a fairy tale.

So is the New York Times balanced not that they have hired Kristol?

Not really, but it is certainly an improvement.

Are there any voices left in Wisconsin?

Late Saturday afternoon, the state of Wisconsin was rocking. The Packers were headed to the NFC Championship game.

By early Sunday afternoon, the state had turned simply giddy.

Hannah Montana was in town.

Actually, giddy is probably not the proper word for it, but I cannot think of any way to describe it. Watching the news last night and seeing the thousands of little girls bouncing up and down was fun. You know they were bouncing up and down for hours and hours yesterday.

My 7 year old niece is a Hannah Montana fan and she turns simply goofy at the mere mention of Miley Cyrus or Hannah Montana.

In honor of my niece, I will post this photo of Hannah Montana-



Then just to top off the weekend in Wisconsin, the Cowboys lost. Sending the road to the Super Bowl back thru Green Bay Wisconsin.

This, of course, sent the parents of the Hannah Montana fans right over the edge.

Most of the state of Wisconsin is hoarse from all of the cheering today.

Yes indeed, it was a great weekend for all of Wisconsin- adults and children alike!

Yes! Yes! Yes!

One more game in Green Bay!!!!

Way to go, Giants!

Giants 21, Dallas 17!!!

Tax cuts for the rich...

...or so the Senate Democrats would have you believe.

It is like the Democrats have uttered the "tax cuts for the rich" mantra for so long, they no longer recognize when they are hurting the middle class of Wisconsin.

When Governor Doyle finally showed some leadership and is now attempting to create incentives for businesses in Wisconsin, the Senate Democrats have already started their "tax cuts for the rich" mantra.

These statements out of the Senate Democrats are almost laughable, until you realize the destruction they will cause to Wisconsin's economy-

Senator Russ Decker-

Asked specifically about Doyle's plan to let some investors avoid taxes on capital gains if they plow the money back into state-based start-ups, Decker said, "We're very generous right now in the state of Wisconsin."

Generous???

Perhaps Decker does not realize that he lives in one of the most highly taxed states in the nation. Not a whole of folks that languish as Wisconsin's upper, middle or lower class taxpayers that would accuse the state of being too generous!

Senator Bob Jauch-

Democratic Sen. Bob Jauch of Poplar, who heads the Senate Committee on Tax Fairness and Economic Prosperity, said Wisconsin has already handed out too many tax breaks to "specific groups or well-connected individuals."

Too many tax breaks????

Good grief! Once again, Wisconsin is one of the highest taxed states in the nation and this senate Democrat is stating that we give too many tax breaks.

Something that the Senate Democrats have yet to figure out- Without economic developement in this state, every single resident in Wisconsin loses out.

WE NEED JOBS HERE IN WISCONSIN IN ORDER TO SURVIVE. WE NEED BUSINESSES HERE IN WISCONSIN IN ORDER TO SURVIVE.

Senate Democrats are so intent on blocking any tax cut to the rich that they do not realize that they are damaging Wisconsin's middle and lower class workers!

Welcome back to Green Bay, Coach!

Don't you just love it...

This is the way a field should look in Wisconsin in January-


Now about next week...

Go Giants???

Don't Stop Believing!

I was worried about the two turnovers to two touchdowns at the start of the game. After that, no worries!

Don't Stop Believing!

The coach and the team did not stop believing in this young man and it paid off!



Thank you, Ryan Grant!

Grow up, Huckabee!

Seriously, I think I was in junior high school the last time I cracked a "Metamucil" joke.

The man is cracking jokes that only a 13 year old and Joe Scarborough laugh at-

JOE SCARBOROUGH: Last night, now tell me what was happening. It certainly looked like Fred Thompson was doing John McCain's bidding. You know Fred, I love him, I served with him up in Congress, but he's been asleep for the last couple months. He woke up last night, and he had a hatchet, and he used it all over your head now. What's going on here?

MIKE HUCKABEE: That he did.

SCARBOROUGH: Why?

HUCKABEE: Well, I think Fred needs some Metamucil. I think it would help a lot if he gets some. You know, he was in a bad mood last night.

BRZEZINSKI: Did he just say that?

HUCKABEE: But the truth is he's going to have to hope that this writers' guild strike ends soon. He needs some new lines, and he needs to get some good research. Because when he was out there calling me things like a liberal, of all the things I've been called that's a laughable line, that's gotta be one of the great ones.

This man wants to be your President. Yeah, he might have won as our junior high president, but running a country????

The liberal elitists and Obama

I read an interesting article today from Rich Lowry called Revenge of the Lunch Buckets.

In it Lowry describes the type of liberal elitists that carried Obama in New Hampshire-

Obama crushed Hillary among voters with post-graduate degrees (43-31 percent), with no religion (46-29 percent) and who describe themselves as getting ahead financially (48-31 percent). These voters were just as jazzed about Obama as the press, because they are the same kinds of people -- educated professionals who are moved by the abstract themes Obama has articulated so grandly.

In contrast, Hillary's voters were those struggling to keep their jobs-

Hillary, in contrast, dominated among lunch-bucket Democrats. She beat Obama among high-school graduates (46-31 percent), among Catholics (44-28 percent) and among those falling behind financially (43-33 percent). Clinton beat Obama among voters with incomes below $50,000; Obama beat her in almost every income group above that. Voters who think the economy is performing poorly went with Clinton; those who think it's performing well went with Obama.

I find this very interesting. The man carrying a message of hope manages to reach the people that do not need hope for a bright future. They have their college degrees and a bright future.

Basically, Obama is preaching to the choir. However, the folks sitting in the pews are overlooked by Obama's message.

The liberal elitists feel all ooshy and gushy inside listening to Obama message of hope, but the real folks living with the real problems have been able to see right thru Obama.

Barak Obama is Jimmy Carter all over again. A nice fellow who says all the right things and makes people feel all ooshy and gushy inside. Do these qualities make for a good leader or a good President? That is for the lunch buckets to decide.

I do know that ooshy and gushy does not pay the bills.

Lowry states:

Voters might like change and unity, but they probably like their jobs and wages more.

KRM: Let the people decide

Sounds like a plan to me.

State Rep. Robin Vos is proposing a plan that would force the KRM people to fall in line with the people's wishes.

This bill requires voter approval, and lots of it, to install a sales tax of up to 0.5 percent. That money would be used to run mass transit including bus systems, and it would replace property taxes as the source of funding.

In order for the KRM to proceed every single municipality would have to approve it in a referendum.

What a novel idea. Let the people decide whether or not they want the KRM bad enough that they are willing to pay the increased taxes. If every municipality does not fall in line, then kill the KRM.

We are already aware that local politicians and some local businesses want the KRM. However, they are not paying for the KRM, the taxpayers are.

It is dead wrong for local politicians to continue to force these types of things down our throats like they have been doing.

Letting the people decide is the only right way to get this thing done.

Something wrong with this picture

I just happened to catch a glimpse of this headline story-

Dems eye tax rebates to stimulate economy

What caught my eye was this picture that accompanies the story-

Is Ron Paul a Democrat?

Hillary stole the election in New Hampshire

No, seriously- the same liberal theories that the election was stolen in 2000 by George W. Bush are now haunting Sen. Clinton.

I was reading the cheesy excuses that the Gallup folks were making about why their polls were so off in New Hampshire. Then I started reading the comments and this is what I found:

Ladies and Gentlemen, this caucus was rigged. Check out the actual hand-counted numbers below. Obama placed first. Why this isn't front-page is beyond me.
http://www.legitgov.org/nh_machine_vs_paper.html

and this:

Anybody know if you have to show ID to vote in NH? Hillary brought people in from neighboring states to make her crowds look bigger. How do we know they didn't stick around and vote for her as well?

Seriously folks, the liberal mantra of "Diebold/stole the election" has turned on Senator Clinton.

Likable?

So, I wonder if Maureen Dowd has a problem with Hillary Clinton?

Can Hillary Cry Her Way Back to the White House?

Yet, in the end, she had to fend off calamity by playing the female victim, both of Obama and of the press.

Don't you just love it when liberals smack each other around?

Kenosha County damaged homes

I was sitting at work with one of my friends watching the storms pass over Kenosha county on Monday night. My friend lives in Wheatland and I live on the northside of Kenosha. Both areas were hit hard by tornadoes. Wheatland suffered the worst damage.

My friend and his family were not let back into the neighborhoods until yesterday and these photos are what he found. He and his wife suffered minor damage, but his next door neighbors did not fair so well.

My friend has emailed me some photos of the area that he took yesterday. I will post them as I have time.

This particular home shown below suffered some major damage. This family was home at the time the tornado struck by were in the basement, so they were safe.

Both of these vehicles at this home were parked in the garage and the garage door was down. If you look close, the vehicles did indeed move, but not really by that much. Click to enlarge the picture. The house was actually lifted up off it's foundation and shifted away from backwards.




Obviously, even though the house is standing, it is leaning backwards. It will have to be destroyed. Both vehicles can be saved.

Here is another photo from the front on the same home