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

They didn't ask me!

As I watched last night’s returns, my mind flew back to an incident almost 10 years ago.

My Mom and I were talking on the phone about the Clinton/Lewinski scandal.

The conversation had turned to the polling numbers showing that very few Americans could have cared less about what was taking place on the national stage with Clinton and Lewinski.

Many folks told pollsters that they continued to support President Clinton, even though Clinton had lied and he was about to be impeached, they did not really care all that much.

I remember my mother telling me that she was stunned that so many Americans continued to support Clinton. I made the argument that all of the pollsters said that people did not care.

That is when she said to me about the pollsters “They didn’t ask me!”

True enough.

After seeing those numbers last night, something tell me that tens of thousands of folks stood in line yesterday in New Hampshire with the very same thought in their heads about the pollsters as my mom did years ago- “They didn’t ask me!”

Frankly, I am beginning to wonder whether the pollsters changed the way they were polling based on all of the media reports. Obama would be a strong winner! Hillary is done! Hillary’s campaign was on life support!

Repeatedly we heard this from the media through out the weekend. Almost 100% of the polls being taken were showing Sen. Obama with as much as double digits lead in New Hampshire.

Did the pollsters change their sampling demographics and they too began assuming that Sen. Obama would steam roll to the nomination? Did the pollsters actually post accurate information?

Something happened yesterday and it happened in a very short period of time. Even at 5:00pm last night pollsters and pundits were completely convinced that Obama would win.

It was not until the actual votes began to be counted that anyone could see a sign that something may be wrong on the Democrat side of the ballot. I had to giggle a little watching the deer in the headlight look on all the faces of the political pundits.

Once the realization kicked in to some of the pundits that Obama had yet to be elected king and ruler over all the land, the shock turned to anger.

The look on Fox’s Juan Williams face as it began to hit him that Obama was not only not going to win by double digits, but that he would actually lose the primary, was priceless.

Williams was so angry, stammering, “I am so proud of Obama!” Williams did not look proud. He looked furious!

No matter what we see and what we read over the next few weeks, I think that it would be wise for all of us to remember all of those people that have never been called by a pollster. They are out there and they will be voting.

I think that it is wonderful that we do not have a frontrunner in the Republican nomination. 3 states, 3 different winners on the Republican side.

This means that more and more states will actually be able to be part of the nomination process.

As far as the Democrat side, I do not know what the future holds. I tend to believe that Obama now has some serious problems. Among core Democrats, Hillary is doing quite well. The independent vote that Obama has been getting will not be as effective in the state to come. Independents will not be allowed to vote as Democrats.

In the meantime, let us enjoy the democratic process that our forefathers envisioned. This is kind of fun.

Name, Address, City, State, Zip Code

What is so difficult about it?

Name
Address
City, State Zip Code

How is it that this was screwed up again?

MJS

For the second time in just over a year, a state publication has been sent to tens of thousands of people with their Social Security numbers printed on the mailing labels.

We have been doing things this way for years and years and years.

Yet, suddenly the state of Wisconsin is having trouble protecting the identities of it's residents.

Last year we spent hundreds of thousands of tax dollars to pay to monitor the identities of those folks that had their social security numbers exposed by the state.

Well, it looks like we will be paying again this year. I wonder how many hundreds of thousands of dollars it will cost this year?

Hillary wins

This is huge.

Even just by watching Obama's speech, wasn't quite the same speech as 5 days ago.

This is a huge shock to his campaign.

The media built him up too high, he may crash.

Democrats: Shocker in the works in New Hampshire

I don't know guys, the mantel of the Democratic Party had been handed to Obama, Hillary may swipe it back.

31% in, Hillary 40% to Obama 36%.

Let me highlight a few articles out today-

Hardcore Democrat E.J Dionne:

Hillary Clinton may have unintentionally written the obituary for the Iowa and New Hampshire phase of her presidential campaign, and perhaps her candidacy, when she told voters on Sunday: "You campaign in poetry, but you govern in prose."

Washington Post:

What happens after New Hampshire no one can quite tell, but this is Obama's moment and he is driving it and riding it all at the same time.

New York Times:

With polls showing Barack Obama opening up a significant lead over his rivals, most of the unanswered questions today, barring a significant surprise, would seem to be on the Republican side.

The fact that Hillary is running this close right now is actually a victory for Hillary after last week.

McCain wins. Obama maybe????

Perhaps the Democrats should not hand the nomination to Obama so quickly.

He still may win New Hampshire, but yesterday, he was a shoe in. Not today! Polls showed Obama up by double digits over the weekend.

Yahoo...

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton dueled with Sen. Barack Obama in an unexpectedly tight Democratic race.

As of 7:32 pm, Hillary was up by 40% to 36%, but only 16% is in.

We will see.

Obama's camp is already trying to spin this.

This is kinda fun.

Update: 7:50pm with 22% in, Hillary is up 40% to 35%.

New Hampshire: Did you know?

Did you know that New Hampshire is actually not very good at picking on next President?

The last time a Democrat won a contested primary in New Hampshire and went on to win the presidency was back in 1976, Jimmy Carter.

The last time a Republican won a contested primary in New Hampshire and went on to win the presidency was back in 1980, Ronald Reagan.

There have been some relatively uncontested primaries, like George Bush in 2004, who won. However, the contested primaries have brought bad results.

I am not sure if winning in New Hampshire is the best thing to happen to the Democrats or the Republicans.

Kenosha: Still checking

Thanks to every single person that called or emailed.

I am fine.

However, all of Kenosha County is starting to access the damage.

Places like the First Assembly of God, got hit and no one is reporting this.

This a the sanctuary of the First Assembly-



Here is a link to more pictures at First Assembly.

As I said before, this is in an area that no one is reporting any damage. Clearly there is some. This is on Kenosha's south side.

For those trying to get an idea of the locations, First Assembly is that huge church on Hwy 50, just off of I-94 to the east.

Growing up in tornado alley in Texas, I have seen this before.

What appears to have happened is that the storm was overhead, a twister would pop out of the sky, drop down and hit an area, then disappear quickly. Then another one would pop in a different area. These do not appear to be the type of long twisting tornadoes that hit the ground and roll around for a while. They kind of jump out the sky, hit something and then jump back up.

The picture that I posted yesterday, kind of shows it. There are at least 2 or 3 tornadoes bouncing around in that picture.

It will probably take all day today to figure out what kind of damage has been done. Clearly tornadoes have done some damaged both east and west of I-94. On the north east side of town and the south west side of town.

Damage has already been confirmed in Wheatland- hardest hit, Somers, Twin Lakes, Camp Lake, Burlington, Brighton, Westosha and Kenosha.

I have not heard about any damage done in Silver Lake, Bristol, Paris, Paddock Lake or Pleasant Prairie . I am not saying nothing happened there, I just have not heard anything yet.

Email me, if you have a story to tell-

stepping_right_up at yahoo.com

So far, only minor injuries.

What a mess.

Want Packer Playoff tickets?

I received this email from the MS Society.

You can purchase tickets to the Packers game on Saturday on Ebay. The entire cost of the tickets will be donated to the MS Society.

So bid away-

See the game live and support
the National MS Society at the same time!

Want to go to the Green Bay Packers NFC Playoff game this weekend at Lambeau Field and help the National MS Society?

Tom Carlson, a veteran participant of the MS Snowmobile Tour is donating his tickets to this weekend’s NFC Divisional Playoff game between the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks for purchase on eBay, with all proceeds benefitting the National MS Society Wisconsin Chapter.

Seattle Seahawks at Green Bay Packers
NFC Divisional Playoffs
Lambeau Field, Green Bay, WI
Saturday, January 12, 2008
3:30 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=120206652809

Help out the National MS Society and cheer the Pack to victory at Lambeau!

Photo: Kenosha tornadoes

Here is a photo of the tornadoes that hit Kenosha's northside.



The Kenosha News has confirmed that the second floor of an apartment complex on the northside did partially collapse, people trapped inside.

Kenosha: Early damage assessment

It appears that there are no major injuries, but it is still early.

As far as the city limits in Kenosha, it appears that the 4th district has been hit the hardest, over by the Casa Capri and south.

I am hearing rumors that there is also damage in Kenosha's 5th district and 6th district also. Every few moments

I drove down into the 4th district and saw some damage, but it is pitch black out there with no power anywhere. The only lights are from the cars and the emergency vehicles.

Fox News seems to have the best coverage. They are reporting that 3 tornadoes hit Kenosha.

They have yet to really report the damage done in the city limits and I am not sure why. They were there showing the pictures of the damage in the 4th district.

They even interviewed Ralph Nudi, candidate for alderman in Kenosha's 4th district. His house sustained quite of bit of damage. With blown out windows and missing siding. Some of his neighbors lost their roofs.

I talked to Ralph and he and his family are doing fine. They were working on boarding up his house along with their neighbors.

Literally hundreds of people are milling around that area. It is not safe. Some areas are pitch black that you do not realize that people are standing in the streets until you drive right up on them.

I am not sure if the tornadoes in the city actually touched down or if they just got close enough and blew out windows and tear off roofs.

All in all, there is still so much going on. We will not really be able to tell what kind of damage has happened until the light of day.

In the meantime, everyone stay inside and for heaven's sake, stay out of the damaged area and stop standing around in the streets. Someone in going to get hurt.

Don't touch any power lines, even if you think that they are not live because the power is out.

Call the power company!

Say a prayer for Kenosha

Certain areas of Kenosha have been hit pretty hard.

My area appears to be fine.

I do have friends that live in the areas that have been pretty hard hit. I am watching one of them right now on the news.

So far no serious injuries to report.

I was going to head out to check on some friends that I cannot get through to, but we are all being told to stay home.

Say a prayer.

Kenosha: Change is in the air

Change is coming to Kenosha.

Kenosha News-

Kenosha's recent aldermanic elections have seen only a handful of contested races and little turnover.

This spring could bring radically different results.

A city-record 38 people are running in aldermanic elections, including 26 non-incumbents. Those numbers come as Mayor John Antaramian is not seeking re-election after 16 years in the office. And five incumbent aldermen - Everett Butler, Mike Pitts, Kenneth Polzin Jr., Julia Robinson and Sam Spair - are not running.

But while those seeking aldermanic seats hope to be a part of change in the city, very few said turnover in the mayor's office and the City Council were their main motivation for joining the race.

I suppose it depends on whom you ask, some want the changes to come to Kenosha government, some do not.

But the change is inevitable.

For 16 years, Kenosha has had the same mayor, John Antaramian. The mayor has chosen not to run for re-election.

This, obviously, will bring change.

Many folks are excited about the new path Kenosha will be taking and others are nervous.

Clearly, changes are coming to the city council also. Just like the mayor, many of the same people have been alderman in Kenosha for a long time. Most have run unchallenged for years. Even when challenged, the incumbents won re-election.

Those days are over.

A record number of 38 people are currently running for alderman in Kenosha. 26 of them are challenging incumbents.

Clearly, Kenosha is headed in a new direction. In a few short months, Kenosha's future will change.

Where that will lead will come down to who is elected as mayor and who is elected as alderman.

Kenosha has a lot of different choices to make and I think it is very exciting to see so many people step up to lead Kenosha is a new direction.

Where are the grown ups?

I totally missed the debates tonight, and I really wanted to see them.

So I thought I would go read about them.

4 of the 6 stories highlighted on Real Clear Politics about the debates are about every single candidate on stage that were Romney bashing.

INITIAL TAKE AWAY: EVERYONE GANGS UP ON ROMNEY

Romney and the Onslaught

They all hate Mitt

Too Much Romney-Bashing

I have question, did a single GOP adult show up to this debate?

This is embarrassing for the GOP. This type of behavior out of people who want to lead the country is horrible.

The New Republic-

It was all a bit much. With all the "oohs" and "ahs" in the press-filing center, it felt like we were watching a game of the dozens rather than a presidential debate. At certain moments it had the effect of making Romney look more sympathetic, at others it made him look like the only adult on stage, and at others it made him look like he must be the front-runner, since people were so determined to take him down a peg. McCain in particular seemed to go too far, looking and sounding downright snide at times.

Every single person on stage has been accused of Romney bashing, including the person who calls himself a man of God.

MSNBC-

What message to New Hampshire voters get when every single candidate on stage, from McCain to Huckabee to Thompson to Giuliani and Paul have beefs with Romney?

What in the world was all this about?

MSNBC-

Closing note: Was Obama also one of the winners? Huckabee made as good of a case for Obama as if he were a future surrogate.

Is Huckabee running as a Democrat now?

Packers to play Seattle

Packers.Com

With their win over the Washington Redskins on Saturday, the Seattle Seahawks earned a trip to Lambeau Field to take on the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Divisional playoffs on Saturday, Jan. 12. Kickoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. CT.

The other NFC Divisional game will be the following day, Jan. 13, in Dallas, also at 3:30 p.m. CT. The winner of Sunday's New York Giants-Tampa Bay Buccaneers game will take on the Cowboys.

Romney's minor victory

Yes, it is not earth shattering news, but Romney easily won in Wyoming.

CNN-

Mitt Romney captured his first win of the Republican presidential race, gaining most of Wyoming's delegates at stake in GOP caucuses today.

Technically, Romney is the front runner for the GOP nomination.

Just Technically.

Fred Thomson and Duncan Hunter also picked up a couple of delegates a piece.

Lawmaker and tax shaming list

I am not really sure how I feel about the tax shaming list. Especially now that the threshold for adding names to the list is now only $5,000. You and your business could have a bad year and end up owing more than $5,000 in a heartbeat. It does not make you a deadbeat. I also does not make you a irresponsible person, you may just need more time until business picks up.

Anyway, one of the lawmakers on the Joint Finance Committee ended up having his name on the "shame" list.

MJS-

The co-chairman of the Legislature's budget committee was stunned Friday to learn that his name was on the state Department of Revenue's newly expanded Internet list of delinquents who owe $5,000 or more in unpaid taxes.

In my opinion, if you are going to do this with a threshold of $5,000, then you should be delinquent for more than two years in paying or maybe something similar.

I just think that $5,000 is too low of a threshold.

Change?

Republicans: Primary vote tomorrow

Very few people have talked about it and even fewer candidates have visited, but there is actually a primary vote to be held tomorrow in Wyoming for Republicans.

I know that the 14 delegate votes up for grabs in Wyoming is not a lot, but that could very well vault someone into the primary lead before New Hampshire.

The only people that have appeared to have visited the state are Mitt Romney and Ron Paul. Two others had visited by have since dropped out of the race, Tom Tancredo and Sam Brownback.

So pay attention tomorrow to Wyoming tomorrow.

Wyoming is a hard core Republican state.

This could get interesting.

Iowa caucus- no surprises

Iowa caucus- no surprises

If folks are surprised, it is because they were not paying attention.

Let me tell you, I have heard more opinions on what this means for these candidates.

Everything you could imagine being said about these results has been said.

I just remember so many of these same things being said after the 2000 election and even further back the 1992 election. Bill Clinton lost in both Iowa and New Hampshire and still won the Democrat nomination handily in 1992.

On the GOP side, there is no real front runner. Huckabee has not polled well in NH. The latest poll showed Huck down by 17 points to McCain. That may be a huge number to overcome in 5 days. So even though he had a great night in Iowa, it may not be so great in 5 days.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/docs/editedNHDay2and3MarginalsJan32008.html

On the Dem side, Clinton is still polling well in NH. In fact, I am more than a little surprised that only 24 hours ago, Clinton was polling at 16 points ahead of Obama in the latest poll.

Still, anything could happen to Clinton over the next few weeks.

So I guess we will see.

It's a little crowded around here...

It's official, I turned in my nomination papers yesterday. I am running for the Kenosha Aldermanic District #5 seat.

Kenosha News

It is really exciting to see a record number of people running for aldermanic seats in Kenosha. There are 17 aldermen in Kenosha. In 2006 only 5 of those seats were contested. This year, 15 seats will be contested. 4 of the races will be running primaries. I will be one of those running in a primary.

There is probably a reason for a record number of people running for mayor of Kenosha and it's 17 aldermanic seats. The most obvious reason is that Kenosha is looking for change. We have had the same mayor for 16 years and many of the city's alderman have been serving on the city council for a very long time.

For many years, Kenosha has had the same government in place.

Clearly, Kenosha is looking for a change. The same ol' same ol' just is not good enough.

Decker logic???

Perhaps someone could help me figure this one out.

As an excuse for increases gas prices even more by re instituting the automatic gas tax increases, Decker makes this very confusing statement to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel-

Decker said in future budgets he would like to revisit the automatic gas tax increases. "Out-of-staters that come here and fill up their gas tanks aren't leaving any more money behind," Decker said. "And fees are all on the backs of those of us who live here."

Huh? I have some questions about this statement.

Clearly this article is stating that we have one of the highest gas taxes in the nation.

What out of staters are coming here and filling up their gas tanks and then promptly leaving?

It is cheaper to buy gas in all of our neighboring states, than it is to buy gas in Wisconsin.

The average price of gasoline in the state of Wisconsin $3.086

The Average gas prices:

Minnesota $2.967

Illinois: $3.052

Iowa: $2.97

Michigan: $3.084

Clearly it makes no sense for anyone to leave the state they are in and travel to Wisconsin just to buy gas.

Most common sense thinking people do not drive further away from their homes just so they can pay the higher gas in Wisconsin.

Could someone please explain what Senator Russ Decker logic is in making this statement?

Clearly Decker believes that the state should now charge even higher taxes on gasoline, because the out of staters are not flooding across our borders to pay more for gasoline.

Really, someone explain Decker's logic.

Man of the Year: Someone got it right

Of course, the American magazine, Time, could not see past their own biases to recognize this great American as the "Man of the Year", but the UK seemed to recognize the leadership in General David Petraeus.

General David Petraeus has been named "Person of the Year" by the UK's Sunday Telegraph

The critics said it couldn't be done, but the vision and determination of General David Petraeus have brought greater security and cause for optimism to the people of Iraq. He is The Sunday Telegraph's Person of the Year

Huckabee's Not So Happy New Year

Imagine waking up on Jan 1st with huge expectations of a great year and find out that you have become the laughingstock of the nation.

Well, that happened this morning to Presidential candidate, Mike Huckabee.

In what will go down as one of the biggest political blunders in history, Huckabee has most of media laughing at his outrageous stunt yesterday.

First I wonder where his campaign team was and why they allowed him to pull this stunt.

Huckabee had endeared himself to the media by his one liners. As this scathing article from the AP points out, the media is no longer laughing with him, they are laughing at him:

If he loses Iowa's caucuses, New Year's Eve will forever mark the day Huckabee blew it — the day a crowd stopped laughing with the witty Republican and laughed at him.

The AP reporter best explains what happened:

Huckabee came out of nowhere a few weeks ago to overtake former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in Iowa polls, despite being massively outspent and out-organized. Romney answered back with television ads criticizing Huckabee's record in Arkansas.

While guilty of cherry-picking the worst aspects of Huckabee's resume, the negative ads stuck with the facts. For example, Huckabee did grant 1,033 pardons and commutations, including for 12 convicted murderers, as Romney's ad stated.

Huckabee's lead evaporated, which suggests that the ads worked or that a series of gaffes had caught up to him.

Or both.

So he did what desperate candidates do. Huckabee took himself off the campaign trail Sunday to shoot a negative ad. He bought $30,000 in television time to air the spot and called a news conference to unveil it.

While awaiting the late-arriving Huckabee, more than 50 reporters and a dozen photographers got to read five huge cards placed on easels by Huckabee's staff — all highly critical of Romney's record as governor.

"Enough is enough," the signs said.

When Huckabee arrived, he announced that he had just changed his mind. The ad wouldn't run. It was too negative.

"I believe the people of Iowa deserve better, and we are going to try and give them better ...," he said.

But he didn't. Instead, Huckabee showed off the spot to the journalists, knowing full well his negative message would seep out of the room. He told the media to pay close attention.

"You're not going to get a copy of it," he warned, "so this is your chance to see it, then after that you'll never see it again."

The media laughed.

One of the funniest, most charming presidential candidate in recent memory, Huckabee normally makes reporters and voters laugh at his one-liners. On Monday, he made himself the butt of his own joke, urging journalists to take careful note of the negative ad that he had withdrawn because he wanted to run a positive campaign.

"It's never too late to do the right thing," he said.

The ad criticizes Romney's record as governor, fairly so, but goes on to question his character. "If a man is dishonest to obtain a job," Huckabee says in the ad, "he'll be dishonest on the job."

Funny that Huckabee decided at noon that line was too negative, because he used it six hours earlier during a national TV interview.

He used it on a Sunday news show, too.

And he didn't disavow the line Monday. "I said what I said. I spoke the truth," Huckabee said.

So the man who said he would not go negative spent several days going negative and then attempted to prove that he was not going negative by going negative in front of the media.

Calling a man(Romney) a liar, which Huckabee is doing, is negative politicking. The problem is that much of what Romney has said about Huckabee's record is true.

It is bad enough reading that the world's largest news organization, the Associated Press, is trashing him, but the rest of the media elites have followed suit.

Check out these articles in addition to the AP article:

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Washington Post

Dallas Morning News

Los Angeles Times

Time

Reuters

Boston Globe

I could go on and on, there are hundreds of these articles out today, but it may take a while just to read the ones I have posted.

My guess is this is not the way Huckabee wanted to start off his new year.

The Cletus Saga...

I have posted a new poll question whether or not I should continue with the Cletus saga.

I created Cletus for several reasons.

First, I wanted to become more in tune with my inner snow bunny. As most of you already know, I do not like snow very much, but the Cletus saga has been fun for me to write.

Secondly, I created Cletus to show that I really do have a sense of humor. I write about some awful serious subjects, but many times my sense of humor does not come out. Cletus gives me that outlet.

Lastly, Cletus was created to show what a joke global warming has become. I consider myself to be a environmentally friendly conservative. In fact, I believe most conservatives agree with me. We believe in clean water, recycling and protecting the environment.

However, the environmental issue has been hijacked by Al Gore and the junk science he is preaching. Probably the worst thing about the global warming debate is that Al Gore and his minions have declared the debate over and they win. What a joke.

So the question is- should Cletus continue?

Vote in the poll located in the sidebar or post your opinions in the comments.

When I asked at the blogger holiday party on Sunday, it was a unanimous- yes.

Buried in Anti-Global Warming Stuff

So I have to ask- Is anyone else sick of the anti-global warming stuff that continues to fall from the sky and bury Wisconsin day after day?

Since Cletus is still lacking a pair of lips, I will ask the question for him-

Where is global warming?

This has been the second snowiest December every recorded in history.

Cletus finds himself buried in that anti-global warming white stuff this morning-



The investigation into Cletus's missing lips continues.

Do not fret about Cletus's eyes. They are currently buried under a blizzard of snow flakes.

The good news is that Cletus has grown a couple of inches since his creation.

Happy New Year!

I am home safe and sound after spending the night at a friend's house out in the county.

I had a blast last night, but as we drove home after midnight, I was concerned about the condition of the roads. It seemed silly to hop in my car and travel 25 to 30 miles when the wind was whipping the snow all over. So I crashed on the couch.

We got way more snow than they predicted last night. Originally, we were told that we would only get flurries. That changed yesterday afternoon to about 1 to 2 inches.

Well, out in the county, they had to have gotten at least 5 to 6 inches and the wind was whipping that stuff around. In the city, it appears we only got maybe 3 to 4 inches.

The timing of this was just really bad. The snow was coming down pretty good by 6pm, when most folks are traveling to their party destinations.

Still in traveling home this morning, the road conditions out in the county were way better than the road conditions here in Kenosha.

That is disappointing. The two snow plows in Silver Lake were doing a much better job with the roads than the dozens of plows we have in Kenosha.

Still, all in all, I am so glad I traveled out the the county to join some friends in the New Year celebration.

Happy New Year to each one of you. May you have a joyous and wonderful year.

My evaluations on 2007 and the promise of better things to come in 2008 will be out shortly.