Amber Alert for Kenosha Girl

Keep your eyes open folks. Let's help get this little girl back to her family

An Amber Alert has been issued for a missing one-year old girl from Kenosha.

Liliana J. Torres was last seen at 11 a.m. on the 5200 block of 43rd Ave. in Kenosha with her father, Antonio J. Torres of Zion, Ill., according to the alert.

The missing child is described as 2'6" tall with blond hair and hazel eyes.

The suspect drives a 1999 blue-gray Mercury Mountaineer, Illinois license plate X552596.

If you have any information on the whereabouts of the child, call the Kenosha Police Department 262-605-5200.

Democrats cannot handle what they have...

...and they think they are qualified to take over my health care needs?

Medicare is scheduled to cut payments to doctors. Something that has been known for years and yet, the Democrats in control of Congress could not be bothered to get their business handled before skipping town. After all, this was cutting into Nancy Pelosi's and Harry Reid's vacation time.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration said Monday it is freezing a scheduled 10 percent fee cut for doctors who treat Medicare patients, giving Congress time to act to prevent the cuts when lawmakers return from a July 4 recess.

Physicians have been running ads hinting that as a result of the cuts, patients may find doctors less willing to treat them. The administration's delay in implementing the cuts spares lawmakers from having to use the recess to explain to seniors why they didn't do the job before leaving town.

Kevin Schweers, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, said Monday the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will hold doctors' Medicare claims for services delivered on or after July 1. Claims for services received on before June 30 will be processed as usual, he said.

Congress, not willing to face millions of angry seniors at the polls in November, will almost certainly act quickly when it returns to Washington the week of July 7 to prevent the cuts in payments for some 600,000 doctors who treat Medicare patients. The cuts were scheduled because of a formula that requires fee cuts when spending exceeds established goals.

Of course, President Bush bailed them out.

Notice that last line in the above quote?

These same Democrats that cannot control excessive spending in Medicare actually believe they should have control of everyone's health care.

Can you believe that?

Imagine letting the incompetent Democrats that currently control our governor's office, our state senate, our US House of Representatives, and our US Senate, actually control your lives.

They cannot even handle a small portion of the US medical requirements and we are supposed to place our lives into their hands.

Kenosha County in summer

One of the great things about Kenosha County in the summer, there is always something fun taking place. I miss this kind of stuff in the winter.

The latest- water fights in Wheatland. I should have gone.

Wheatland firefighters put their ability to the test Sunday, battling other fire departments from Kenosha County and northern Illinois in their annual water fighting competition at the town festival.

I did have the pleasure of attending a pancake breakfast in Silver Lake yesterday that benefited the Silver Lake rescue squad.

It is hard to keep up with everything happening in the summer.

Obama surregate attacks John McCain's military service

Seriously?

Barack Obama's henchman, Wesley Clark is actually attacking John McCain military service.

"In the matters of national security policy making, it's a matter of understanding risk," he said on CBS' "Face the Nation." "It's a matter of gauging your opponents and it's a matter of being held accountable. John McCain's never done any of that in his official positions. I certainly honor his service as a prisoner of war. He was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands and millions of others in the armed forces, as a prisoner of war.

"He has been a voice on the Senate Armed Services Committee and he has traveled all over the world, but he hasn't held executive responsibility," Clark said. "That large squadron in the Navy that he commanded - that wasn't a wartime squadron."

Moderator Bob Schieffer, who raised the issue by citing similar remarks Clark has made previously, noted that Obama hadn't had those experiences nor had he ridden in a fighter plane and been shot down. "Well, I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president," Clark replied.

The audacity of the Barack Obama camp to send this guy out to attack John McCain military service is stunning.

By the way- according the Obama camp, apparently unless you served in the military during a war, it doesn't count.

What exactly qualifies Barack Obama to be president, since he did not serve one lousy day in the military, much less during war time.

Staggering revelations about Barack Obama

On Friday, the Boston Globe released an in depth look into Barack Obama's community activism in Illinois.

As a state senator, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee coauthored an Illinois law creating a new pool of tax credits for developers. As a US senator, he pressed for increased federal subsidies. And as a presidential candidate, he has campaigned on a promise to create an Affordable Housing Trust Fund that could give developers an estimated $500 million a year.

But a Globe review found that thousands of apartments across Chicago that had been built with local, state, and federal subsidies - including several hundred in Obama's former district - deteriorated so completely that they were no longer habitable.

Grove Parc and several other prominent failures were developed and managed by Obama's close friends and political supporters. Those people profited from the subsidies even as many of Obama's constituents suffered. Tenants lost their homes; surrounding neighborhoods were blighted.

This story is not just about Tony Rezko, but many other developers that have received millions upon millions of taxpayer dollars.

Barack Obama has used his power as a community activist/attorney, State Senator and US. Senator to line the pockets of developers with millions of dollars.

The developers, in turn, launched his political campaigns and have carried him to the verge of the US presidency.

Barack Obama wrote legislation that made it easier for the developers to line their pockets.

Obama translated that belief into legislative action as a state senator. In 2001, Obama and a Republican colleague, William Peterson, sponsored a successful bill that increased state subsidies for private developers. The law let developers designated by the state raise up to $26 million a year by selling tax credits to Illinois residents. For each $1 in credits purchased, the buyer was allowed to decrease his taxable income by 50 cents.

Obama also cosponsored the original version of a bill creating an annual fund to subsidize rents for extremely low-income tenants, although it did not pass until 2005, after he had left the state Senate.

Barack Obama sat on boards and committees that doled out millions of dollars to these developers-

Allison Davis, Obama's former law firm boss, dabbled in development for years while he worked primarily as a lawyer. He participated in the development of Grove Parc Plaza. And in 1996, Davis left his law firm to pursue a full-time career as an affordable housing developer, fueled by the subsidies from the Daley administration and aided, on occasion, by Obama himself.

Over roughly the past decade, Davis's companies have received more than $100 million in subsidies to renovate and build more than 1,500 apartments in Chicago, according to a Chicago Sun-Times tally. In several cases, Davis partnered with Tony Rezko. In 1998 the two men created a limited partnership to build an apartment building for seniors on Chicago's South Side. Obama wrote letters on state Senate stationery supporting city and state loans for the project.

In 2000 Davis asked the nonprofit Woods Fund of Chicago for a $1 million investment in a new development partnership, Neighborhood Rejuvenation Partners. Obama, a member of the board, voted in favor, helping Davis secure the investment.

Stunningly, many of these same developers continue to play a vital role in Barack Obama's campaign for the presidency.

Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to Obama's presidential campaign and a member of his finance committee. Jarrett is the chief executive of Habitat Co., which managed Grove Parc Plaza from 2001 until this winter and co-managed an even larger subsidized complex in Chicago that was seized by the federal government in 2006, after city inspectors found widespread problems.

Allison Davis, a major fund-raiser for Obama's US Senate campaign and a former lead partner at Obama's former law firm. Davis, a developer, was involved in the creation of Grove Parc and has used government subsidies to rehabilitate more than 1,500 units in Chicago, including a North Side building cited by city inspectors last year after chronic plumbing failures resulted in raw sewage spilling into several apartments.

Antoin "Tony" Rezko, perhaps the most important fund-raiser for Obama's early political campaigns and a friend who helped the Obamas buy a home in 2005. Rezko's company used subsidies to rehabilitate more than 1,000 apartments, mostly in and around Obama's district, then refused to manage the units, leaving the buildings to decay to the point where many no longer were habitable.

Campaign finance records show that six prominent developers - including Jarrett, Davis, and Rezko - collectively contributed more than $175,000 to Obama's campaigns over the last decade and raised hundreds of thousands more from other donors. Rezko alone raised at least $200,000, by Obama's own accounting.

Tony Rezko has already been tossed under the Barack Obama bus. My guess is that Valerie Jarret and Allison Davis will be the next victims to be tossed under the bus.

So what does Obama have to say for himself? Not much.

Obama's campaign, in a written response to Globe questions, affirmed the candidate's support of public-private partnerships as an alternative to public housing, saying that Obama has "consistently fought to make livable, affordable housing in mixed-income neighborhoods available to all."

The campaign did not respond to questions about whether Obama was aware of the problems with buildings in his district during his time as a state senator, nor did it comment on the roles played by people connected to the senator.

In fact, Obama is working on the next phase of pillaging the pockets of taxpayers and lining to pockets of his developer friends.

And as a presidential candidate, he has campaigned on a promise to create an Affordable Housing Trust Fund that could give developers an estimated $500 million a year.

What a guy, huh?

Chairman Reince Priebus on WISN/ Jay Weber this morning

RPW Chairman was on Jay Weber's show this morning discussing Barack Obama and the Second Amendment ruling in the Supreme Court yesterday.

Click on this link and download.

I agree with the K-News Editors

The search process for a chancellor has upset the Kenosha News editors also

In fact, it is a secretive process designed more to protect candidate identities than to ensure a thorough vetting by allowing public involvement throughout the process instead of opening the doors at the last possible minute. That's not inclusive, it's a cynical manipulation of the system.

Cynical manipulation?

Yep- the K News is right- the process is a cynical manipulation.

More on the Felner mess...

With each passing day, a new revelation on the Felner mess.

As we were made aware yesterday, UW Parkside search committee were well aware of the no-confidence vote against Felner long before they made a decision on whom to appoint as chancellor. They decided that the no-confidence vote was no big deal and did not vigorously pursue the investigation of the no-confidence vote.

As it turns out, UW Parkside officials were well aware of the problems surrounding Felner before last Sunday when he called them and told them.

University of Wisconsin-Parkside officials knew as early as last Friday that there was a federal investigation into Robert Felner when agents showed up at the chancellor's office to take away boxes of paperwork he already sent here.

The question I have is why in the world did the school not bother to contact Felner and immediately demand to know what was going on.

According to Giroux, federal agents showed up at Parkside at 3 p.m. Friday with a search warrant.

The moment the FBI walked into the offices at UW Parkside with a search warrant, they should have been on the phone with Felner and UW officials.

This process could not have been handled much worse.

I agree with one of the comments in this post(link)(Citizen79) . It appears that the UW Parkside search committee fell in love with Felner and his hard luck story and refused to see anything else. I know that Felner worked hard to get where he was. But that does not mean that he should have just blindly been handed the job at UW Parkside. I feel that the search committee got stuck on their favorite and chose to look no further.

This is racism, isn't it?

I am a little curious why Eugene Kane refuses to call McGee a racist-

The evidence in the federal trial also helped suggest the answer to another nagging question: Why did McGee remain so popular in some parts of the black community even while accused of serious charges?

Seems to me, that answer is simple: McGee wasn't shaking down African-Americans.

He focused most of his dubious fund-raising efforts on Arab, Middle Eastern and Indian businessmen with liquor stores and gas stations in the black community. It's almost as if McGee was exacting his own personal "sin tax." The problem was the money usually went right into McGee's pocket.

I am with Charlie Sykes on this one- What "sin" did these people commit in the eyes of McGee?

Perhaps their skin color was the wrong color in the eyes of Eugene Kane and Michael McGee?

Guess who is running for re-election

I bet you cannot guess, from this announcement today,(in today's Wheeler Report) who is running for re-election-

DOYLE PLANNING ‘NO GROWTH’ BUDGET FOR 2009-11; MAY CUT BASE BY 10%.

State agencies have been told to assume “zero growth” in overall General Purpose Revenue appropriations in each year of the next biennium and to prepare plans “to absorb a ten percent permanent base cut.” The directions are included in a letter and major budget polices and budget instructions sent to all state agencies on Thursday. Agency budget requests are due in the State Budget Office by September 15.

“While much progress has been made, Wisconsin’s economy, like the rest of the nation, continues to encounter challenges,” Gov. Doyle said in a cover letter outlining budget priorities. “Expanding Wisconsin agricultural and manufacturing exports to countries all over the world and strong growth in important fields like biotechnology and renewable energies have been very important to the state’s economy. However, the recent flooding and downsizing of manufacturing jobs has put stress not only on the individuals involved but also highlighted the need for continued investments in worker training, health care, infrastructure and education.”

Doyle said exceptions to the “zero growth” policy will include K-12 school aids; required cost-to-continue needs for the state’s institutions (Dept of Corrections and DHFS institutions); entitlement and related assistance programs in DHFS (Medical Assistance); the Dept of Children and Families Division of Prevention and Permanence; Dept of Workforce Development Division of Vocational Rehabilitation; UW System instruction and research activities “that are focused on economic growth;” and, housekeeping adjustments like standard budget adjustments, fuel and utilities and debt service.

The “zero growth” policy will also apply to the SEG-funded administrative operations appropriations in all agencies supported by the Transportation Fund, Conservation Fund, Environmental Fund and Lottery Fund.

The instructions also noted Act 20 authorization for the DOA Secretary to lapse or transfer $200 million over the 2009-11 biennium to the General Fund. “Agencies should begin planning for these lapses as part of the budget development process,” the instructions said. “At a minimum, each agency should plan to lapse an amount similar to the amounts lapsed in the 2007-09 biennium.”

Further, under Act 20, the UW System and WI Technical College System are required to lapse $25 million and $1 million, respectively, over the 2009-11 biennium.

“Agencies with state operations administrative appropriations, including the administrative activities of the University of Wisconsin System, should prepare plans to absorb a ten percent permanent base cut,” the instructions said. The reduction is to be equal to 10% of all non-FED sum certain state operations administrative appropriations, excluding debt service and fuel and utilities, and “should be in addition to the lapse amounts required for the 2009-11 biennium under Act 20.” Reduced base budget plans are due Monday, November 17.

The directions note that where reductions and efficiencies in state operations will result in reductions in positions, “agencies should plan to accomplish this reduction without layoffs,” and any areas needing additional staff “must be met through base reallocations.”

Hmmm. When the Republicans suggest this, they get accused of cutting the funding for Wisconsin's children and elderly.

Just like Republicans, I guess that means Doyle doesn't care about the children or the elderly either.

I guess we will wait for the WEAC ads to come out condemning Governor Doyle.(yes, I am being sarcastic)

UW Parkside knew about Felner's problems before he was approved

This ought to get people's blood boiling.

The search committee working to find a new chancellor for UW Parkside was aware of the "no confidence vote" against Dr. Felner. Still they chose him anyway.

When talking to people in Kenosha, the real problem they are having with this is "Was Felner's background checked?" and "If the Felner's background was checked, how is it possible that none of this stuff came up?"

Well, we learn today that a thorough background check was performed and the committee members were aware of the problems taking place with the other faculty members at the College of

Kenosha News (Congrats to K News reporter Matt Olson who stayed on this until he got some straight answers)

But the search committee was aware of a no-confidence vote against Felner at his current university.

Make no doubt about it, I do not believe that anyone knew about the federal investigation taking place. Still there were clearly problems.

Clearly there were so many complaints filed against Dr. Felner that a "no confidence" vote was brought to the floor during a regular meeting.

Look at this list of complaints:

Portes, a professor of education psychology who now works at another university, told the faculty he supported the motion because of "public humiliation of faculty; workplace harassment; retaliation for voicing opinions; little or no governance; decisions that hurt the college; unacceptable and unfair hiring practice(s); rude, offensive, unethical behavior by (college) representatives; denial of support for research to those who differ in opinion; and extreme inequity of pay."

Fellow staff member Namok Choi, associate professor of educational leadership, said she also supported the "no confidence" vote because she was bothered by the college's hiring practices. She said committee works have not been respected and that many times people were hired without being interviewed by the search committee.

The excuses being made by the committee are pathetic:

Evans said the committee became aware of that vote once the four finalists were announced. But Evans said that vote did not discourage support for Felner.

“We knew that there had been conflict, and it was only what you would expect from someone who was a determined change agent,” Evans said. “He never presented himself as uniformly popular. His references said that the faculty that objected to him were vocal, but they were definitely a minority. That didn’t cause us any alarm at all.

At a minimum, a little checking into the "no confidence" vote would have been appropriate by the search committee. They would have easily seen that a number of complaints had been filed. Ms. Evans and the rest of the committee would have also known that it not a small minority complaining but a majority of faculty members were have a problem.

Sorry to Ms. Evans and the rest of the search committee, but I have got to cast my own "no confidence" vote in the abilities of the search committee.

How is the community supposed to put it's faith and trust into a system that has already failed us once before?

We are packing up our children and placing their future's into the hands of a school chancellor and faculty. We must be able to have the utmost faith and trust in the men and women chosen by UW to lead them.

Gas Prices Too High?

Do you feel like this when you go to fill up at the pump?


Thankfully the Republican controlled Senate and Assembly were able to pass the repeal of the automatic gas tax increase before the Senate fell to the Democrats. (It does make me wonder how the bill passed without being vetoed by Governor Jim "watch your wallet" Doyle. Oh, that's right it was an election year for him ...)

As a fiscal conservative, I don't believe in taxation without representation. Isn't that one of the reasons we fought for our independence from England? Remember the Boston Tea Party? Bob "I'm a fiscal conservative" Wirch should remember, he does have a degree in history. Guess he missed class that day because Bob "I'm a fiscal conservative" Wirch voted against the repeal.


What is Wirch's excuse for not supporting the repeal of the automatic gas tax increase?

Because the state can't afford it?

Why can't the state afford it?

Could it be because Democrat politicians like Sen. Wirch are too interested in spending our money rather than cutting spending?

Senate Democrats, including Sen. Wirch PASSED a $15.2 BILLION increase in our payroll tax. (Thankfully the Republican controlled Assembly saved us from the largest tax increase in Wisconsin history.)

Wirch asked for -- and received -- a $500,000 earmark for the choo-choo train in downtown Kenosha.

Wirch just wants more, more, more so he can spend, spend, spend.

We need to elect the Republican candidate, Ben Bakke, to replace Bob Wirch. We also need a few more Senate Districts to elect and re-elect Republicans so we can restore sanity when it comes to spending our tax money.

It's time we vote Wirch out of office and elect someone who cares about the wallets of constituents rather than those of special interests, lobbyists, and campaign contributors.

How do you like that Justice Kennedy

Once again- Justice Kennedy was the deciding vote in a very tight case. The Supreme Court today outlawed the death penalty for child rapists. Another 5-4 vote.

The court's 5-4 decision struck down a Louisiana law that allows capital punishment for people convicted of raping children under 12. It spares the only people in the U.S. under sentence of death for that crime — two Louisiana men convicted of raping girls 5 and 8.

Even as that was taking place, a large prostitution ring which included children, was being broken up by the US Department of Justice, along with the FBI. 21 children were rescued from the pimps.

Hundreds of people have been arrested and 21 children rescued in what the FBI is calling a five-day roundup of networks of pimps who force children into prostitution.

You must be so proud Justice Kennedy!

Never lose you sense of humor, Kate!

I have no idea where Kate finds these comics, but they are the funniest around. Here is another good one-



Publish Post

Obama's Change

This about sums it up-

That's "money in the bank", huh Senator Dodd?

Think of the amount of campaign donations Senator Dodd will be getting now. As it is, Senator Dodd received a savings of $75,000 in loans based on his relationship with Countrywide.

The good senator also received another $70,000 in campaign donations to usher though the mortgage bailout, from Bank of America.

Now that he has rammed the American people with another $300 billion in debt and gotten that Senate bill passed, how much more money will Senator Dodd make off of the mortgage lenders for bailing them out???

Hey, you cannot blame a Senator for picking up a little scratch money on the side!

Check out this article from Rich Lowry, both entertaining and dead on in his assessment:

The Connecticut senator has been saddled with favors that may save him as much as $75,000 on his mortgages. Dodd says he knew he was part of a VIP program, but figured it was nothing unusual -- who in the senate is not "very important"? Dodd can be forgiven his lack of curiosity given that he's very busy as chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and can't be bothered with questions of who might be trying to influence him with which particular favors.

To his credit, Dodd holds no grudges. Even though Countrywide so badly served him by shaving points off his loans, he is honchoing a $300 billion mortgage bail-out bill that will benefit Countrywide by allowing it to unload its worst loans onto the federal government. When duty calls, Dodd answers.

Bank of America is on the verge of buying Countrywide, and an internal Bank of America "discussion document" from a few months ago happens to coincide with the bailout provisions of Dodd's bill. According to the Washington Examiner newspaper, Bank of America's PAC has given Dodd $20,000 since he became chairman of the Banking Committee last year, and Bank of America employees have given him $50,000. This can only be described as a string of very bad luck for Dodd, who -- given his selfless gullibility -- probably figures everyone is showered with donations from the financial industry.

Times are tough out there. Gas prices are high and the housing market has yet to hit bottom. But keep in mind Sens. Conrad and Dodd, and remember it could be much worse: You could be a U.S. senator.

Didn't the Democrats promise to clean this up if you just gave them the power in Congress. Now they are the ones committing the crimes!

By the way, where is the media?

A Republican doing this would have been hung from the rafters by now.

Oh yeah, I know where the media is- they are out trying to get Barack Obama elected president! Silly me.

Breaking News: McGee Guilty on All Counts

Justice finally comes to "the Gatekeeper." Michael (Jackson?) McGee is found guilty on all counts.

Read the entire story at WTMJ here.

Breaking News: Dr. Robert Felner has resigned

The gentleman hired as chancellor at UW Parkside has resigned.

He was not due to start until July 1st, but since news of the criminal investigation is traveling about at his old school, he did us a favor and resigned.

This saves us the trouble of having to figure out how to get rid of him after he has signed the cushy contract with UW.

Who is watching out for our kids?

Another day, more bad press for Wisconsin’s educational system.

Between the two blaring headlines in today’s Kenosha News, I am not sure which is worse.

We discovered yesterday that our new elite chancellor, scheduled to start a week from today at the University of Wisconsin/Parkside, could very well be in trouble with the federal government.

We also found out that three more Kenosha schools have been added to the watch list and identified as not being up to the required “no child left behind standards”.

The question though our minds today is “Who is watching our for our kids?”

In this state we pay billions of dollars a year to provide a good quality education to our children. Yet, year after year we discover more and more questionable practices taking place.

Let’s start with- who vetted the candidates for chancellor at three state schools?

The University of Wisconsin, Madison, Parkside and Whitewater all spent the spring looking for new chancellors of our schools.

Clearly there were some problems. Former Dean of University of Louisville College of Education and Human Development, Robert Felner, has been hired as the new chancellor as the UW/Parkside chancellor. It was recently discovered and Mr. Felner has admitted that his College of Education and Human Development is currently under investigation by the federal government.

It is not like this investigation just started overnight. It appears that the University of Louisville was so concerned about what was happening at Mr. Felner’s College of Education and Human Development that they contacted the federal government themselves to have an investigation launch.

Surely someone knew something was fishy long before the UW Board of Regents hired Mr. Felner on June 5th.

Clearly the Regents for UW completely missed the boat to be so completely oblivious to what was happening here.

We, the people, after having put our trust in the Regents to pick the best person to educate our children, are currently trapped into not knowing what is happening.

So what has happened in our educational system that has brought us to this point?

We, the people paying the salaries, no longer have control of education in Wisconsin.

Sure, every once in a while, we get to vote on whether or not the school systems will be allowed to build a new school building or upgrade current systems. But this stuff is all bricks and mortar and have very little to do with education.

Those of us paying the bills have no control over hiring and firing. In fact, we are all pretty much oblivious to what is taking place in our schools.

We have no control over the curriculum, planning for the future and the priorities in our children’s education.

Basically we have no control over what our children are being taught and who is teaching them. We are stuck.

There is absolutely no accountability for the billions of dollars spent in this state.

After these little bombshells that were dropped on our heads, maybe it is time for us to wake up and hold these people accountable for the choices they made.

It is time to fight back and show the UW board of Regents, Wisconsin teachers, school administrators and even the students of this state that they will be held accountable for their actions.

Being totally oblivious to the problems facing Mr. Felner right now has jeopardized the education of our children at UW/Parkside.

There is absolutely no excuse for the Board of Regents to vote on this man, especially if they have not fully vetted his background.

We, the people that are paying the bills, deserved better from the UW Board of Regents.

What happened to "Paygo"?

I guess the Democrats promise when they took over Congress of paying for items as they go along is totally out the window again-

A plan to help hundreds of thousands of homeowners avoid foreclosure is drawing bipartisan support in the Senate, setting the stage for high-stakes negotiations among congressional Democrats.

The far-reaching housing plan faces a Senate test-vote Tuesday, when it could also come to a final vote. The disputes among Democrats over key details, however, as well as a veto threat from the White House will almost certainly push any final agreement into July.

Conservative "Blue Dog" Democrats are concerned about how to pay for the measure, while members of the Congressional Black Caucus — most of them liberal — call it "unacceptable," arguing it doesn't do enough to address the needs of African Americans.

Okay- those of you goofs that actually believed the Democrats would pay for their programs by cutting funds someplace else or raising taxes, please raise your hands.

It should be a interesting vote today from Barack Obama. He was 100% behind Paygo, yet he continues to promise new programs on the campaign trail with no way of paying for them. Here is another program that there is no way to pay for, but he supposedly supports not passing legislation without figuring out where the money is coming from.

McGee- the defense rests?

In spite of what we heard from all of the apologist for McGee, there is no real defense for his actions. At least his own attorneys must not believe there is. The defense opened and closed yesterday afternoon.


For years many have been defending McGee, but all the defense team could muster was a few character witnesses for McGee and even they could not do much to defend McGee.

On cross-examination, Pratt said it was not allowable for an alderman to accept money to take a position before a committee or to extort a business to offer rewards.

Can I get an "Amen"?

AMEN!

Hallelujah!

or Yahoooooo!

The City of Kenosha is our repairing the numerous potholes that I continuously get calls on. So far only temporary work has been done to patch a hole here and there. Now a more permanent fix is going in. Hopefully they get it done before winter starts again.

Kenosha News

Money is not specifically set aside for pothole repair in the city's budget, but these funds come from street maintenance funds. The street division budget for this year included $200,000 for paving, $125,000 for crack-filling and $2 million for various resurfacing projects.

Bursek said the city is putting a greater emphasis on potholes rather than localized street repaving this year.

I cannot tell you how many complaints I have received and all I can really tell people is that the city is working on it.

Of course, I still have streets that need to be resurfaced( like 28th St- between 30th and 39th Ave).

I was super excited a couple of weeks ago when I drove past some workers on 52nd Street filling some holes. I almost stopped my car to get out and give these fellows a hug- I was so excited to see them.

Breaking News: Did we fully vet the new UW- Parkside Chancellor

I sure hope somebody did because these types of rumors are not good.

This Felner fellow is headed to our school here in Kenosha and based on rumors, he is bringing some baggage along-

Check out this - Page One- Kentucky

So. Dude is all packed up on his final day and the feds show up. How coincidental is that? Millions of dollars in grant money that can’t be accounted for– or it can be accounted for but was allegedly spent on something inappropriate. Rumors of sexual harassment. And officials at UofL literally freak out when we question them about what’s going on. You know there’s some crazy shiz going down.

Maybe- before we move this fellow into our school, someone should get a few questioned answered.

Update: The Kenosha News is now on the story also.

74% Support Off-Shore Oil Drilling in U.S. Coastal Waters

74%

That is not only a majority of Republicans(90%), Independents( 75%), but also a majority of Democrats(58%).

Now this should not come as a shock to those in Congress, but my guess is that it will surprise some.

In 2008, this is the issue to define all issues. What is America doing to rid itself of the albatross hanging around our necks as we become more reliant on foreign oil?

So far, Congress has done nothing.

To be fair there are some in Congress that are trying, but they do not control Congress.

The Democrats are in control of Congress and they have some explaining to do. The cost of a gallon of gasoline has gone up $1.75 per gallon since the Democrats took control of the Congress.

Are the Democrats really going to try and sell the idea that they really care about American families even as the costs have risen 78% to heat their homes and put gas in their tanks to get to work?

Barack Obama- you have some explaining to do.

Get the attention of Congress- Sign the Petition- Drill Here. Drill Now. Pay Less.

Food stamp crowd

What in heaven's name happened here?

Milwaukee police said they have restored order this morning but will remain outside of the Marcia P. Coggs Human Services Center after a crowd awaiting free food vouchers - which never were to be distributed - became unruly this morning

Either the flooding situation is a ton worse than the media is reporting and we have a lot more people in dire straights than we originally thought or there are some thugs trying to take advantage of the flooding situation.

Either way, this should not be happening in Milwaukee. We did not get hit with Hurricane Katrina.

All of this over a rumor of free food stamps??? How does a rumor like this get started?

Destroying Milwaukee's Business Climate

Wow- this may have done it. This may be the nail in the coffin the completely destroys Milwaukee's business climate.

This move will force all private business owners to pay 9 days of sick leave for every full time employee per year. This covers part time employees too.

Every single business in Milwaukee is in jeopardy.

The council must make sure the legislation is in proper form, then consider it and either pass it or put it on the ballot in the next election for voters to decide.

My guess is that for businesses that cannot afford to pay their employees an extra two weeks of vacation a year though this sick leave, with either eliminate vacation pay all together.

It is bad enough that with the latest proposal of an additional sales tax in Milwaukee will put businesses on an island, but this latest sick leave proposal will also place Milwaukee's businesses out of reach of Milwaukee residents.

Who needs a gas station in Milwaukee?

Wheatland no long part of Kenosha County

It is with a somber heart I have to relay this news readers: Wheatland is no longer part of Kenosha County.

You may ask "What? When did this happen? Why?"

I learned this interesting fact from my State Senator, Bob Wirch. Because Bob is such a wise and competent State Senator, I of course, believe everything he says, much like all the Democrat lemmings that continue to vote for him despite his dismal representation of the district.

State Senator Bob Wirch's campaign website:

I represent all of Kenosha County as well as the town and city of Burlington in Racine County.

This is a map of the 22nd Senate District:


As you can see, State Senate District 22 covers all the colored areas on the above map. Since Sen. Bob Wirch represents all of Kenosha County, Wheatland must no longer be part of Kenosha County.

I'm sorry Wheatland, the problems you have had this past year with all the flooding must have made someone in charge pretty upset.

There are a few good things to no longer living in Kenosha County, and being annexed into Walworth County.

• You will no longer required to use reformulated gasoline
• Your property taxes are lower
• Walworth county sales tax is lower
• Walworth county is approximately 99.9% Republican
• You won't be forced to pay for the KRM
• Walworth is a lot easier for out-of-state visitors to pronounce than Kenosha
• Your State Senator is NOT Bob Wirch

Come to think of it, maybe I should petition Walworth to annex the town I live in.

Drill Here! Drill Now!

A great editorial by Michael Reagan:

Prague, Czech Republic, June 18 - I'm in Europe to join the Reagan Legacy Foundation in observing the 21st anniversary of my dad Ronald Reagan's immortal words spoken at the Berlin Wall on June 12, 1987, when he demanded that Russia's Mikhail Gorbachev demolish the wall, a grim symbol of Soviet oppression of the East German people.

Against the advice of his weak-willed, namby-pamby State Department advisers, my dad looked at the wall and electrified Berliners when he said, "General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

Just over two years after the speech, the wall did come down; the brutal East German communist government and the Soviet Union came down with it, and the Brandenburg Gate was opened.

Today there is another wall, one that stands between energy independence for the United States and continued reliance on foreign oil at a time when skyrocketing prices at the gas pump threaten to wreck our economy, bankrupt millions of American businesses and reduce countless numbers of Americans to poverty and hunger.

That wall must come down, and come down now.

Continue reading here

Drink, Don't Drive

Beer is now cheaper than gas. Drink, don't drive!

Barack Obama-campaign finance-no integrity

It appears that I am not the only person to think that Barack Obama full of hooey. There are some liberals taking Barack Obama to task over his broken promise to America and campaign finances.

Even the Washington Post recognizes Barack Obama is full of nonsense.

Pardon the sarcasm. But given Mr. Obama's earlier pledge to "aggressively pursue" an agreement with the Republican nominee to accept public financing, his effort to cloak his broken promise in the smug mantle of selfless dedication to the public good is a little hard to take. "It's not an easy decision, and especially because I support a robust system of public financing of elections," Mr. Obama said in a video message to supporters.

Mr. Obama didn't mention his previous proposal to take public financing if the Republican nominee agreed to do the same -- the one for which he received heaps of praise from campaign finance reform advocates such as Mr. Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21, and others, including us. He didn't mention, as he told the Federal Election Commission last year in seeking to preserve the option, that "Congress concluded some thirty years ago that the public funding alternative . . . would serve core purposes in the public interest: limiting the escalation of campaign spending and the associated pressures on candidates to raise, at the expense of time devoted to public dialogue, ever vaster sums of money."

continued...

There are some liberals that will be snowed under by Obama's lies, some have even commented on this website.

Obama will do anything and say anything to get elected.

His campaign finance rhetoric helped him win the nomination. Now that the nomination has been won, clearly he has bailed on his principles.

He is no different than the other greedy politicians playing the system to get what they want.

Where are the McGee defenders now?

For years, we have been treated to insults and degradation as a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist continued to defend Michael McGee Jr.

We were subjected to insults and calls of racism by Columnist Eugene Kane if you believed McGee was a criminal.

We listened as Kane railed against the government for holding McGee in jail for over a year. Kane demanded to see the government's evidence against McGee- well before the trial even started.

Now the evidence is pouring out- Eugene Kane- What do you have to say for yourself?

Eugene Kane- are you sitting in the courtroom listening to this stuff? (MJS link)

Eugene Kane- did you see the video of the demand for $20,000 in order to build a gas station in McGee's district?

Eugene Kane- did you see the video of McGee taking $900 cash from a undercover informant?

Eugene Kane- have you been listening to the videos and wire taps of McGee and his this thugs shaking down the poor 6th district community for hundreds of thousands of dollars?

I sure hope all of the McGee defenders are watching and reading this stuff.

After reading and hearing about this testimony, it has probably been a great thing that McGee has been sitting in jail for the last year. At least he had fewer opportunities to victimize the people in his district.

Perhaps the McGee apologist will realize that this prosecution has nothing to do with racism and everything to do with putting a criminal behind bars for a long time.

Swiped!

Yes- I swiped this from Kate...

1,000,000 by July 4th?

I bet there were some that thought it was impossible. A goal of 1,000,000 signatures signing the "Drill Here. Drill Now. Pay Less." campaign from American Solutions by July 4th appeared out of reach 3 weeks ago.

Today- the 1,000,000 signature marker was passed. this was more than two weeks early. They did this with virtually no paid advertising. As of yesterday, the advertising campaign started. So collecting of signatures will only grow faster.

The next goal- 3,000,000 by the beginning of the Democrat Convention on August 25, 2008.

Come on folks- you can do it.

Get the attention of your Congress by signing the petition - Drill Here. Drill Now. Pay Less.

So far, the campaign is working- we are starting to get the attention of Congress and our Presidential candidates.

Obama "abandons"

What a nice way of putting it-

After making a commitment with to adhere to public financing and setting aside the big money politics, Barack has changed his mind.

Of course, instead of calling him a liar and demanding accountability, the media sugar coats it and gently calls it "abandoning"-

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Thursday he'll bypass the federal public financing system in the general election, abandoning an earlier commitment to take the money if his Republican rival did as well.

Basically, Barack Obama goes back on his word and ABANDONS the clean campaign that he promised.

Barack Obama proceeds to lie even further about Republicans and McCain-

"And we've already seen that he's not going to stop the smears and attacks from his allies running so-called 527 groups, who will spend millions and millions of dollars in unlimited donations," Obama said.

At least the media caught him on this lie and called him on it:

Despite Obama's claim that outside groups allied with McCain will spend millions of dollars against him, few Republican-leaning groups have weighed into the presidential contest so far. In fact, Obama allies such as MoveOn.org are the ones have been spending money on advertising against McCain.

The more America sees of Barack Obama, the more he looks like the a smug, lying politician.

Congressmen on the Record for Drilling

From the American Solutions website:

Representative Lynn Westmoreland is circulating a pledge
in the House related to using more domestic energy resources.

Here's the text of the pledge:

I will vote to increase U.S. oil production to lower gas prices for Americans.

Here are the Representatives who have signed so far:
(I added the color. Why is there only ONE Democrat that signed this pledge?)

Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.)
Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii)
Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-La.)
Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-Minn.)
Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.)
Rep. Gresham Barrett (R-S.C.)
Rep. Judy Biggert (R-Ill.)
Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah)
Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.)
Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.)
Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio)
Rep. Jo Bonner (R-Ala.)
Rep. John Boozman (R-Ark.)
Rep. Charles Boustany (R-La.)
Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas)
Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.)
Rep. Henry Brown (R-S.C.)
Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (R-Fla.)
Rep. Mike Burgess (R-Texas)
Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.)
Rep. Steve Buyer (R-Ind.)
Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.)
Rep. Chris Cannon (R-Utah)
Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.)
Rep. John Carter (R-Texas)
Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio)
Rep. Howard Coble (R-N.C.)
Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.)
Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas)
Rep. Ander Crenshaw (R-Fla.)
Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas)
Rep. David Davis (R-Tenn.)
Rep. Geoff Davis (R-Ky.)
Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.)
Rep. Nathan Deal (R-Ga.)
Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.)
Rep. Thelma Drake (R-Va.)
Rep. David Dreier (R-Calif.)
Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.)
Rep. John Duncan (R-Tenn.)
Rep. Phil English (R-Pa.)
Rep. Mary Fallin (R-Okla.)
Rep. Tom Feeney (R-Fla.)
Rep. Jeff Flake (Ariz.)
Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.)
Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.)
Rep. Scott Garrett (R-N.J.)
Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-Pa.)
Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.)
Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas)
Rep. Virgil Goode (R-Va.)
Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.)
Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas)
Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.)
Rep. Ralph Hall (R-Texas)
Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.)
Rep. Robin Hayes (R-N.C.)
Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas)
Rep. Wally Herger (R-Calif.)
Rep. Dave Hobson (R-Ohio)
Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.)
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio)
Rep. Ric Keller (R-Fla.)
Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa)
Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.)
Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R-Mich.)
Rep. Tom Latham (R-Iowa)
Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-Ohio)
Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio)
Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.)
Rep. Ron Lewis (R-Ky.)
Rep. John Linder (R-Ga.)
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.)
Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.)
Rep. Don Manzullo (R-Ill.)
Rep. Kenny Marchant (R-Texas)
Rep. Mike McCaul (R-Texas)
Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.)
Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.)
Rep. Candice Miller (R-Mich.)
Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas)
Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.)
Rep. Connie Mack (R-Fla.)
Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-Calif.)
Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.)
Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.)
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)
Rep. Jim McCrery
Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.)
Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.)
Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas)
Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.)
Rep. Tom Petri (R-Wis.)
Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Pa.)
Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas)
Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.)
Rep. Deborah Pryce (R-Ohio)
Rep. Adam Putnam (R-Fla.)
Rep. George Radanovich (R-Calif.)
Rep. Dennis Rehberg (R-Mont.)
Rep. Tom Reynolds (R-N.Y.)
Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.)
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.)
Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.)
Rep. Bill Sali (R-Idaho)
Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.)
Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.)
Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.)
Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.)
Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho)
Rep. Adrian Smith (R-Neb.)
Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.)
Rep. John Sullivan (R-Okla.)
Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.)
Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.)
Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-Ohio)
Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.)
Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.)
Rep. Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.)
Rep. Dave Weldon (R-Fla.)
Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.)
Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.)
Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.)
Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska)

If your Representative is not on the the list, give them a call,
and encourage them to sign Rep. Westmoreland's pledge to
increase U.S. oil production.

Drill Here At Home

Hey Congress- find some common sense.

Drill Here. Drill Now. Pay Less.

How are you going to do this Mr. Zamba?

I received this in an e-mail from the Zamba campaign:

"Larry wants to rebuild our state by investing intelligently in our states physical and human infrastructure, and create new living wage union jobs. He’ll fight for affordable healthcare for everyone. Learn about how Larry will protect the environment and circumvent the oil companies price gouging. Learn about great new funding options for our schools that could make a huge positive difference in your tax bill."

Please Mr. Zamba, tell me how you are going to do all of this?
(hint: I bet it has something to do with raising our taxes.)

The Gerbil did it

Yesterday it was a python, today's story is on a gerbil.

Some poor girl cracked up her car and end up sending two folks to the hospital because her gerbil got loose.

Police say a teenage driver who lost control of her car while scrambling to capture her pet gerbil wasn't cited for an accident that hospitalized two people. Lt. Dave Caron said the gerbil escaped from its cage while the 17-year-old driver was southbound on state Route 51 Tuesday morning.

Making a grab for the fuzzy escape artist, the driver veered off the road and hit a stranded truck hooked to another truck by jumper cables.

The impact pushed the two trucks together, pinning a woman in between. She suffered a broken leg. A male co-worker helping the woman with her truck also suffered a broken leg. Both were taken to a Utah County hospital.

Neither the teen nor her gerbil were hurt.

Does everyone take their pet gerbils on a car ride?

Typical- blaming the Fed

You know, the money was in the Transportation fund- Governor Doyle just swiped it. These guys would have nothing to worry about if it were not for Governor Doyle's horrible budgeting methods.

The battle for money and jobs already is being fought at the state level. Wisconsin’s three budget cycles saw money moved from transportation to support general programs, and the state’s Road to the Future Committee in 2007 said the cost to maintain Wisconsin’s roads will run almost $700 million.

Transportation officials were encouraged when transportation got more money in the state’s 2007-09 budget, and McGowan said he thinks the road builders’ message is finally being heard at the state level.

“I’ve seen an awareness (in the state Legislature) that I’ve never seen before,” he said. “People are really starting to understand our needs.”

But no sooner is hope found at the state level then it’s lost in Washington, D.C.

“And as far as the federal government goes,” McGowan said. “I have no faith.”

Hope was found on the state level????

Not even a month before this article was written, the governor, with the help of some state legislators swiped millions more dollars from the transportation fund and NOW they are worried. This would not be a problem if the Governor had not swiped over a BILLION dollars in the last few years.

Tiger Woods out for the rest of the year

Total bummer.

Not that I really watch much TV, but I will watch even less now. If Tiger is not playing, what is the point of watching?

Tiger Woods will miss the rest of the season because of surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left knee, an injury he has been dealing with the last 10 months despite winning nine of 12 tournaments.

Get well soon, Tiger.

You cannot have it

Great job Josh.


Remember this video when you see the horrifyingly deceptive video that Move On. org is running right here in Wisconsin

Another Dem out on the limb...

Another Dem gets super brave and climbs out on that limb is support of Barack Obama-

Former Vice President Al Gore made his debut appearance in the presidential campaign here Monday evening, offering a vigorous endorsement of Senator Barack Obama and urging Democrats to keep in mind the consequences of not taking the general election with grave seriousness.

Was there any doubt????

Pythons are just like children...

... they do not bother to listen and are not very obedient.

Bridgeport police say they arrested a city man after he ordered his pet to attack two officers. Lucky for them that 9-foot-long pythons aren't very obedient.

This is news?

Is this what Madison considers to be newsworthy?

The degradation, the insults, being the butt of jokes is what these guys consider to be newsworthy?

This is not a real newspaper, is it?

What is next? Do they plan on reporting on what is written about Republicans on the bathroom walls?

You tell 'em, Lou

I have not seen or spoken to Lou Perrine in years. I used to wait on him at one of our local restaurants years ago. From what I remember, he was a good tipper and that is all I really cared about in those days.

Most folks that have lived in Kenosha for years know of or have met Lou. The Perrine family has had a gas station in Kenosha for over 50 years on the corner of Sheridan and 52nd Street. The family now has gas stations in different areas of Kenosha and I believe they have one in Illinois also on Hwy 41.

In today's Kenosha News- Lou had a few choice words about gas prices

“Right now we depend too much on foreign oil,” Perrine said. “We allow all these companies to come in, like Citgo, that’s owned by Venezuela, and if (Hugo) Chavez says he’s cutting production to the U.S., we have to bow down to him. I buy my gas on the open market, so I have to buy from him. Iran is mad at us and says they won’t increase production. The U.S. has asked OPEC to increase production by a million barrels and they said, ‘No.’ It’s a combination of dependency on Saudi Arabia and OPEC and allowing them to set these prices. That’s why they have gold faucets on their toilets.

“On the other side, you have environmentalists who say we cannot drill here or there, blah, blah, blah. Until someone does something to change this, I don’t know. We have to wake up, because if something isn’t done, I don’t see it changing. Some people don’t want us drilling anywhere here because they say it will hurt the environment. Well we have to weigh what is good for our children in the long run.”

continued...

You got that right, Lou.

Drill here. Drill Now. Pay Less.

Normally a snoozefest

Normally the city council meetings are not in the least bit exciting to watch. Tonight could be a different story.

Here is the precursor-

After being an aldermen for 18 years, Frank Pacetti's next career is now in the hands of his former colleagues.

The City Council will vote Monday on whether or not Pacetti will become Kenosha's next city administrator.

While some alderman support the move, recommended by Mayor Keith Bosman, others have questions.

Bosman, who said a "large majority" of the council supports the appointment, said this vote is also, in part, a reflection on himself.

"This is the mayor's appointment," Bosman said. " To me the vote is, 'Do you support the mayor or don't you?"'

Herein lies the problem-

Other aldermen have raised a few concerns about this appointment.

Pacetti has held managerial positions with JHT Holdings/ATC Leasing since 1989. The company was formerly owned by Dennis Troha, who pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate political campaign contribution limits last year. John Erickson and Achille "Kelly" Infusino, both business associates of Troha who worked with JHT Holdings, have agreed to plead guilty to similar charges.

While Bosman said he was confident Pacetti was not involved in these incidents, some alderman feel differently.

"I have nothing against Frank, but I don't think he was the right choice," Alderman Ray Misner said. "It's quite possible Frank had nothing to do with that, but I don't think we should get the city caught up in the slightly questionable position that it puts us in."

Alderman Daniel Prozanski said he was concerned about the involvement of previous city administrator Nick Arnold in this process. Arnold, a friend of Pacetti, was part of the panel that determined the five finalists for this position.

continued...

Read the comments in the link, they are interesting.

Tune to Kenosha cable channel 25 starting at 7pm to see the actions live or you can even join us at room 202 at City Hall/Municipal building.

Congressman Paul Ryan says "drill".

I had the pleasure of volunteering yesterday at the Kenosha County Dairy breakfast.

It was a great event that was super organized and a lot of fun.

The event was held at the Lois Bros. farm way out in Wheatland, just a few blocks from the school.

Rep. Samantha Kerkman gave a great speech honoring the family that had been farming for 150 years.

Even though tornadoes ripped through that area in January, the Fox river swelling and engulfing their farms back in August of last year, and again swelling right now- the farmers are determined and hard working. Still they help get food on the table for Americans across this country.

Thank you Kenosha County Dairy Farmers!

I had a brief moment at the end of the event to sit down for a quick breakfast with Congressman Paul Ryan, his lovely wife and three children. The kids were super excited about seeing the animals and the congressman was just thrilled to be able to spend time with his wife and children. I got a kick out of the Congressman's middle son digging into some super hard ice cream that finally gave way, flipping ice cream across the bill of his baseball cap and across the table towards his older sister. He giggled and dug right back into that hard ice cream looking for a bite to put into his mouth.

Being the political addict that I am, I could not help but finally ask "Hey Congressman, what are you going to do about these gas prices?"

I already knew what my Congressman believed in, but it is always nice to hear.

He gave me a quick, simple one word answer- "Drill".

The Congressman is right, we need to drill.

If you are tired of high gas prices, we need to drill.

If you are tired of foreign terrorists countries taking our money and then trying to blow us up, we need to drill for our OWN oil.

If you are tired of our jobs going overseas, we need to give Americans high paying secure jobs by drilling right here in America.

If you do not want the Chinese and the Cubans drilling for oil a few miles off of our coastline and taking our share of oil, then drill for oil now!

Support high paying American jobs and drill for oil in America NOW!

Shoot you can even help Americans with jobs by building a few oil refineries all over America.

Sign the petition and join the cause- Drill Here. Drill Now. Pay Less.

Everyone is a lobbyist

So, I have been in local government for all of 5 minutes and I have already learned a valuable lesson. Everyone is a lobbyist.

Okay- maybe I have been in local government for more than 5 minutes, it has actually been a little over two months.

Probably the most important lesson I have learned from these first two months is that everyone is a lobbyist.

I have been stopped in grocery stores, restaurants, and even while I was out shopping at the local Walmart. I have received phone calls, emails and received letters in the mails.

There are lobbyists everywhere I turn. Every person I talk to has an opinion one way or another about a wide variety of issues.

I have been approached about every issue you can think of. One gentleman in particular wants me to fix the problems with NASA. I tried to gently explain to the man that a Kenosha alderman really has very little involvement with our national space program, but I encouraged him to write a letter to his congressman to see what he could do.

Everything from paint ball guns, to garbage cans, to tree branches, to potholes, to clean water, to lawn mowing, to fences, to no parking signs, to fire stations, to local parks and beaches, to local city contracts and yes, even to property taxes, someone has lobbied me on these subjects.

Guess what?

Lobbying is okay.

Lobbying is a good thing! This is my job! It is my job to listen to you and do whatever I can to improve the situation for you. It then becomes my job to lobby for you.

Now there are some in our government that would have you believe that lobbyists and lobbying is wrong.

Much fuss and muss has been made by Senator Obama about lobbyist. He is above the lobbyists and the lobbying- at least that is what he would like you to believe.

Lobbyists are evil- at least according to Senator Barack Obama.

I do not agree.

I believe that every single time Senator Obama hoots and hollers about lobbyists, he is denying some American somewhere their constitutional right to lobby their government.

Don't get me wrong, I believe that their are some lobbyists that are willing to do some illegal, immoral and unethical things in order to get their particular grievance addressed.

For example- a local businessman can lobby his government for very lucrative contracts to build low income housing and then they receive those contracts from their government. The local businessman then helps raise over a quarter of a million dollars for the government that gave him these contracts. The local businessman may even help one of these government agents to purchase a very expensive home in a upscale neighborhood.

This action by a lobbyist and the government officials that have been bought off is illegal, immoral and unethical.

Speaking of illegal, immoral and unethical, perhaps Senator Obama should answer some tough questions about his buddy Tony Rezko. What do you think?

Even so, the people of this country have the ABSOLUTE right to lobby their government. Americans have the right to complain, get angry and launch into action to get their government's attention.

The moment anyone like Senator Barack Obama attempts to deny people the right to lobby their government, you need to stop them in their tracks.

Yes, their are a lot of groups lobbying in Washington, Madison and even Kenosha. Their are many local citizens that have banned together to make their voices stronger in Washington and those voices deserve to be heard.

You will find groups such as Citizens Against Government Waste, Freedom Works and American Solutions that lobby in Washington to make sure the voice of the people is getting the proper attention it needs in Washington.

There are even unions that have banned together and are in Washington, Madison and Kenosha that all deserve to be heard. (Does anyone doubt that Senator Obama will greatly benefit from these lobbyist during this presidential election?)

You have a right to petition your government with your grievances and do not let anyone, even a candidate for president, tell you otherwise.

Every single time Senator Obama attempts to tell you about evil lobbyists, just grab your copy of the Bill of Rights and read the first Amendment:

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Yes, ever American is a lobbyist and they have a right to be.

Don't let anyone deny you your right to lobby your government.

There are still plenty of people out their willing to listen to your grievances, even if Barack Obama has tuned out.

Tim Russert dies

Rest in Peace-

Tim Russert, NBC journalist and political heavyweight host of "Meet the Press," has died after collapsing at NBC's Washington news bureau, a source said. He was 58 years old.

I believe that Russert was the best journalist NBC had since Brokaw left. He was still willing to ask the tough questions.

Kenosha County Dairy Breakfast

The weather looks to be clear and sunny tomorrow for Kenosha's Dairy Breakfast

This is an opportunity to show your support for Kenosha County dairy farmers and celebrate Dairy month in Wisconsin.

Join us-

Kenosha County Dairy Breakfast
County:	Kenosha
Date:	June 14
Time:	6:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Location:	Lois Bros. Farm 7601 368th Ave (County Rd O) Burlington, WI 53105
Directions:	From I-94: Hwy 50 West to 368th Ave (County Rd O) Follow the signs to the breakfast
Cost - Adults:	$6
Cost - Children:	6 and under free
Contact:	Rachael Crane
Contact Phone:	(262) 206-8149
Activities:	This annual event is fun for the whole family! Join us for a morning on the farm that includes: a big farm breakfast, learning first hand how a cow is milked, petting the animals, old-fashioned children’s games and much more!

Seriously, more rain?

Another 2-3 inches is coming. Honestly- there is no more room in Wisconsin for water.

If anyone can find the main water spigot in Wisconsin, could you turn it off?

Been there, done that

Not even a month ago, I received a bill from Illinois I-Pass stating I owed $420.00 for unpaid tolls, just like the following article states.

Mike Romano was a little surprised when he received a letter from the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority - a bill for $1,430 in unpaid tolls and fines.

"I about had a coronary when I saw that," Romano said.

Romano's wife commutes to her job in Illinois, passing through several toll booths a day.

But he didn't understand how dozens of tolls could have gone unpaid, because his wife's vehicle had an I-Pass transponder mounted to its windshield, linked to an account that automatically refreshed itself from the couple's checking account.

I have an I-Pass also and it appeared to be working. I was billed for items from September of 2006.

I did call I-Pass and the bill was reduced down to about $30.00. The reality was that I ended up paying almost $20 in fees because of their screwup.

I wish I had saved the letter. Basically, the letter states that you cannot fight the system, so just pay up. I was not allowed to claim that Illinois waited too long to inform me that a toll had not registered.

It is despicable what Illinois is doing to Wisconsin residents due to a glitch in their system.

Even when the bill is finally reduced down to a reasonable amount, you are still stuck paying for fees that you have no control over.

Who else has steam coming out of their ears?

A six year old is dead.

A mom is still in a hospital.

The gentleman that ran into them in a intersection had been deported back in February. He is back and a child is dead.

I am so furious, that I will end my post here, for now.

The 29-year-old Kenosha man detained in the crash that killed a 6-year-old in West Allis on Monday was deported in February and has four prior traffic-related convictions, including one for driving while intoxicated, according to the West Allis Police Department.

Link

What were they thinking?

If the Democrats in Washington had just paid attention to the Democrats in Wisconsin, perhaps yesterday’s embarrassment would not have taken place.

A year ago, Governor Doyle, Senator Russ Decker and their fellow Wisconsin Democrats were attempting to ram a gas tax on oil companies via the budget system.

Just like Wisconsin Democrats a year ago, the Washington democrats decided that they would go after the oil companies and their huge profits.

Just like Wisconsin Democrats, the Washington Democrats were just barely stopped by Washington Republicans from ramming this down the throats of the American people.

It is becoming more and more difficult to understand exactly why the Democrats in either Wisconsin or Washington would insist on pursuing this type of tax.

Common sense tells us that whether in Washington or Madison, if you increase taxes on oil companies, the oil companies will increase the costs of gasoline.

Even with the governor’s saber rattling and threatening to jail oil executives if they attempted to pass on the “windfall” tax to consumers, over 80% of Wisconsinites believed the new tax would show up in their purchase of gasoline.

Who is feeding the Democrats this idea, that if they increase taxes on oil companies this will drive down the costs of fuel?

It does not make sense. Even in the liberal state of California, the people turned their back on the Democrats idea of windfall tax on oil companies.

Do the Democrats in Wisconsin or Washington believe that if they increase taxes that the oil companies would suddenly straighten up and fly right?

Would the oil companies hang their heads in woeful and embarrassed shame, recognizing their own evilness and immediately cut their profit margins?

What the Democrats fail to understand is that oil companies MUST make a profit. If they do not make a profit, they go out of business. They go out of business, Americans lose jobs, less

They have a responsibility to their shareholders to make a good profit.

Speaking of shareholders- aren’t many of the union heads investing their employees’ pension funds in oil these days?

Hopefully the Democrats will not continue to attempt to destroy the future of these employees any longer.

For heaven’s sake, this is not rocket science.

The first thing we need to stop doing is wagging our finger in disgust at the oil companies. They employ a lot of Americans. Damaging them is damaging our own economy.

The next thing we need to do is come up with an energy policy in this state and country.

We do not have an energy policy in this state or in this country. All we really have is a “stop energy” policy in this state.

Building new refineries, increasing our usage of nuclear energy and use our brains to create new sources of energy will all go to help advance the energy policies in this state.

It is time for Republicans, Democrats and Independents to come together and solve our energy crisis.

Stopping new sources of energy from being built and stopping new refineries is not the way to go.

It is time for the sun to shine on Wisconsin’s energy future.

Someone should have been paying attention to keep the Democrats in Washington for making the same mistakes that have been making for years.