Thank you, Hillary

The Democrat nomination looks to be over.

I am guessing that Hillary will probably stay in it until June 3rd, even though she has little chance of winning the nomination.

Still Hillary Clinton will have left her mark on this year’s democrat nomination.

The biggest mark Hillary left is on Barack Obama.

Hillary managed to damage Obama. She made Barack Obama beatable. She exposed his weaknesses.

In what should have been a horrible year for Republicans, Hillary shined some negative light on Obama and gave the Republicans the blueprint to beat him.

So what are Obama’s weaknesses?

Let’s start with his glaring weakness with working middle class America. For years, the Democrats have told America that they stand for the working class. Obama is losing this voting class by big numbers, even in North Carolina.

Obama is an elitist. This may turn out to be the more damaging to Obama than anyone in the media are willing to admit. It was the same problem that John Kerry had and now the problem has shifted to Obama. Obama only has himself to blame for this one. Saying what he said in San Francisco about God and guns is not going to just disappear.

Even as pundits and the media are praising the “Messiah” today, it appears that a week from today, Obama will be stuck explaining why once again, he gets clobbered among working class whites. West Virginia has their primary next Tuesday and unless a large group of the work class whites can be convinced to switch to Obama, things will get ugly all over again.

Another glaring weakness is that Obama has a glass chin. You smack him with anything; he either over-reacts or fails to re-act quickly enough. Obama’s first reaction to Rev. Wright cost him votes. It will cost him votes in the general election. Even Obama’s second reaction to Reverend Wright will damage him. Obama behaved like a wounded child when finally reacting to Reverend Wright. This is not the sign of a strong leader.

I could go on. Obama has zero leadership experience. (Obama has never been the top dog anywhere for anything. Never)

Obama has absolutely no policy when it comes to national security. (He says he will get us out of Iraq. That is how he plans on protecting us?????)

Obama has absolutely no coherent policy when it comes to foreign relations. (He plans on sitting and talking with people- this is not exactly a policy)

Obama has zero business experience.

And on and on…

So, thank you Hillary Clinton. You succeeded is smacking Obama around.

Three more weeks of smacking Obama is exactly what the Republicans need.

Ethanol- the dumbest idea ever?

For years we have been told that bio fuels were the answer to America’s insatiable appetite for fuel.

Now as the government mandates have been passed, the global market for oil has been stretched and the false advertisements have been played, we find out that ethanol may be one of the worst products ever produced.

Not only has the ethanol not worked to curb our dependency on foreign oil, but also the damage caused by bio fuel has succeeded in damaging our economy. Food prices have skyrocketed. Basic commodities have also skyrocketed. (Such as metals)

Absolutely nothing is immune from the damage caused by bio fuels.

Probably the worst part about this is that it is not a natural disaster that has caused this problem, we have created this problem ourselves.

I want to know who the idiot was that first suggested we use our worldwide food supply and stick it in our gas tanks.

To not know that this was a recipe for disaster proves that the engineers caved to the pressures of the environmentalists instead of the pressures of the market.

There are some apologists that claim that putting our food supply in our gas tanks is not the reason the price of food is through the roof, but most folks with a little common sense are well aware of the truth. See the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel this morning-

In a new study, University of Wisconsin-Madison agricultural economist Randy
Fortenberry says it's clear that the increasing use of corn to produce fuel has
played a role in rising corn prices - but he cautions that the magnitude of the
increase has been overstated.

We need to stop making excuses and pretending that there is not a serious problem

The ethanol mandates must end immediately.

The boutique fuels created by environmentalist must end immediately. This is only adding to the problem of high fuel prices.

At the price of corn right now, it also seems completely crazy to subsidize the corn growers. They don’t need subsidies; many folks are getting rich as it is.

Both Republicans and Democrats created this problem in their rush to appease the environmentalists. However, the Republicans seemed to have caught on a little sooner that the Democrats. At least most of the Republicans had the good sense not to vote for the additional ethanol mandates this past December.

Of course, these actions in December also succeeded in driving up the cost of food. When the cost of food goes up, the cost of fuel goes up. When the cost of fuel goes up on farm equipment and trucking, then the cost of food goes up.

It is a vicious cycle and it needs to be broken now. People are starving to death and we only have ourselves to blame.

Howard Dean is lying

As plain as the nose on his face, you can see that Howard Dean is lying.

Dean was caught lying over and over again and still

Hot Air has the scoop-

It’s a remarkably dishonest effort from a remarkably dishonest man. Pay attention to how Dean never actually answers Wallace’s accusations of distortion, changing the subject back to the DNC’s talking points each time. Dean never defends his ads directly, and for good reason; they’re indefensible. Dean found himself overmatched against Wallace. Next time, he should stay in the intellectual minor leagues at MS-NBC with Keith Olbermann.

The ads currently being run by the DNC are a clear misrepresentation. In this video, Fox News Chris Wallace showed everything in it's entirety. You can see plain as day that Dean is lying. Worse yet, he continues to lie.

According to Fact Check.org the DNC is representing exactly the opposite of what McCain said.

“We are the DNR and we can do what we want to”

The frustration level between Kenosha county residents and the DNR has hit reached a fevered pitch.

The latest frustration with the DNR is the killing of 14 mute swan at some of our local lakes.

During the week of April 19th, the DNR was skulking around our lakes looking for mute swans. They found 14 of them and proceeded to shoot them as horrified Kenosha residents looked on.

One woman in particular who heard a gunshot ran down to the lake where she knew the two swans were at to find the male has been shot and killed already. She then watched as they shot and killed the female sitting on the nest.

Furious, she confronted them and they said, “We are the DNR and we can do what we want to”.

This is our DNR. This is a government agency that supposedly works for us.

Now, if this was the only frustration in the last several months, it might be easier just to dismiss this as a horrible incident that will not happen again.

Problem is, the DNR already has a serious image problem and this latest incident just makes things much worse.

Even as recently as a few months ago, the veterans in Burlington, were engaged in a battle over a building a new Veteran’s Memorial Building. The DNR was against the building because they said there was a 1% chance the building might flood. 1% Chance! (My guess is that most building built in our area has a 1% chance of flooding. We are surrounded be many small lakes and rivers)

This battle raged for a little while until State Representative Samantha Kerkman stepped in. Finally, the DNR was willing to negotiate. The bill put forward by Rep. Kerkman to exempt the Veteran’s Memorial building was no longer needed.

Our relationship with the DNR was really called into question when Kenosha residents found out that one of our brand new schools in Kenosha was built on the contaminated site that used to be the home of “The Brass”.

This is one site that the residents of Kenosha wish the DNR had stopped our local government school board from moving forward.

I guess when the DNR states that “we are the DNR and we can do what we want” is true.

Probably the most frustrating part about this whole thing is that we, the residents of Kenosha County and Burlington, have a seat at the table.

Our State Senator Bob Wirch sits on the Committee of Environment and Natural Resources, which overseas the rules and regulations imposed by the DNR.

Where in the world has Senator Wirch been as we fight tooth and nail against the DNR?

We need someone to stand beside us and fight for us instead of sitting in these committee meetings in virtual silence.

WAKE UP, SENATOR!

If you cannot stand and defend us when you sit on the actual committee, then what is the point of you being in Madison in the first place?

For those interested, the families around these lakes where the swan were shot will be holding a memorial service to give the children a chance to mourn.

Kenosha News

The service will begin at 2 p.m. May 10 at the Rock Lake Beach at 121st
Street. Residents of other lakes where mute swans were killed are invited to
attend.

Turnbow: What took so long?

Over and over again- Ned Yost continued to place Turnbow in situations he could no longer handle.

Ned Yost has given Turnbow more chances than most pitchers get anywhere else.

The question finally became- How bad does one's ERA have to be before Ned Yost sees the light?

I guess a 15.63 ERA this year finally did Turnbow in.

Even Gagne, who has started off this year awful rough only has a 5.27 ERA.

Finally the end is here for Turnbow in Milwaukee. Perhaps he can catch on with another team.

I guess the only question is why it took Ned Yost this long to finally do what was best for the ball team.

The Silencing of the Mute Swans

'Pierre and Simone' swimming on Rock Lake
before they were killed by the DNR.

Folks are pretty upset over the killing of a pair of mute swans on Rock Lake.

Click here to read about it in the Kenosha News.

For all the people upset about these killings, here's a little bit of information that the Kenosha News hasn't told you. State Senator Bob Wirch is on the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. He did nothing to save the mute swans.

More Healthy Wisconsin info...

For those who attended the Republican Party of Kenosha County's Pints and Politics last night, here is a link for additional information about the dangers of Healthy Wisconsin.

Thank you to Rep. Leah Vukmir who joined us last night and shed a little more light on the extremist over-reaction by the Democrats on fixing exorbitant health care costs.

This much we know, Healthy Wisconsin will not fix our health care crisis. Healthy Wisconsin will permanently damage Wisconsinites if the Democrats get their way and this is allowed to pass.

The Audacity of Nope

I stole this from the Ol' Broad

Pints & Politics- Healthy Wisconsin Edition

Don't forget tonight's Pints and Politics

7:00pm

Birchwood Grill(across the street from the Brat Stop on Hwy. 50)
7515 125th Ave
Kenosha

Sponsored by the Republican Party of Kenosha County

Special guest- Rep. Leah Vukmir

Double click on photo to enlarge

Barack's Bologna

I am just not buying it.

Barack Obama made excuses for his pastor until the moment his pastor insulted him.

It was not until Rev. Wright was directly addressing him and his campaign did Obama bother to distance himself:

Referring to Obama having distanced himself from Wright, the pastor said,
"Politicians say what they say and do what they do based on electability, based
on sound bites, based on polls."

"He didn't distance himself," Wright explained. "He had to distance himself, because he's a politician, from what the media was saying I had said, which was anti-American."

Wright said that he and some of his friends understand that in his Philadelphia speech Obama was deceiving the American people.He explained, "several of my white friends and several of my white, Jewish friends have written me and said to me. They've said, 'You're a Christian. You understand forgiveness. We both know that, if Senator Obama did not say what he said, he would never get elected.'"

Every other thing that Wright said on Monday was just a repeat of what we have been seeing on TV for months.

The only thing different on Monday was that Wright spoke about Obama directly. That is the only difference.

When Rev Wright called for God to D*** America, Obama did not stand and defend our country- he defended Rev. Wright.

When Rev. Wright called us the “U.S. KKKA”, Obama had no defense for us, he defended Rev. Wright.

When Rev. Wright accused the US government of giving AIDS to African Americans, Obama had no defense for anyone except Rev. Wright.

Suddenly, after the Rev. makes him look bad, Obama sees the light. Now he understands how offensive this stuff was.

Good grief.

I am not buying this garbage.

I want to know what happened to all of those political pundits raving about the wisdom of Barack’s speech in Philadelphia a few weeks ago.

I found this at the Ol' Broad's place after I wrote this article. It fits perfectly.

AD66 Race

I found this information posted by Mr. Zamba's campaign.

"I'm Larry Zamba, the Democratic candidate in 2008 for Wisconsin's 66th Assembly District. If you want health care for everyone, green collar jobs, an environmentalist, a greater emphasis on alternative energy, and just bringing back the government to the people, you can find out more about my campaign at ..."
Apparently Mr. Zamba doesn't have a clue what the concerns of the residents of the 66th District are. He's just a crazy progressive-liberal-democrat that doesn't represent the majority of the citizens of the district. His only concern is to advance his own pet causes and not the concerns of the residents of the district.

Nowhere do I see anything about smaller government, reduced taxes, health care reform, lower gas prices, increasing employment or a better business environment in Wisconsin to promote job growth.

AD 66- should be an interesting race

Now, I am not a political expert. Sure, I probably know a smidgen more than your average person does, because being a political junkie does have a few benefits.

I get a kick out of studying the new candidates that will be running in this fall’s election.

Doing a little research on some of these new candidates can get quite entertaining sometimes.

One in particular has me a little curious.

Larry Zamba is running as a Democrat against Rep. Samantha Kerkman is western Kenosha County.

I guess what I find as a little startling is in doing a little research, based on his website, Mr. Zamba is a strong supporter of PETA and is anti-death penalty.

These are not normally issues that the folks in western Kenosha County embrace, but who knows.

It should be an interesting race between Mr. Zamba and Rep. Samantha Kerkman.

For years, Samantha Kerkman has been aptly representing Kenosha County. The western part of the district loves her.

Perhaps they love her so much because she is just one of them.

Samantha has lived her entire life in the western part of Kenosha County.

The residents have watched her grow up and graduate from their local high school, Wilmot. She stayed relatively close to home by attending college at UW-Whitewater. After graduation she then began working for very popular state Representative Cloyd Porter.

Samantha first ran for state Representative in 2000 and won a pretty comfortable victory with 58% of the vote. Since then, that is about as close of an election she would see. Her margin of victory has grown larger over the years. In 2006, she captured 75% of the vote.

The residents in western Kenosha have been very supportive of Samantha. They have watched her get married and begin her family.

Samantha has been their champion for almost 8 years in western Kenosha and she grows more popular each year. She have fought for them and stood by the residents for a long time.

I suppose I do not see any way possible that anyone can represent western Kenosha County better than Samantha Kerkman.

To the residents of western Kenosha County, Samantha Kerkman is one of them, she is family.

As I said, it should be an interesting race. I guess we will have to wait and see if Larry Zamba and his PETA family can turn Samantha Kerkman’s family against her.

Dream ticket???

It is not like we have not heard this argument before-

If Democrats are going to win the White House in November, they need a shotgun wedding in June. This is not something that either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton wants to hear, nor is it anything party leaders have been willing to say — at least not publicly. But without both Clinton and Obama on the same ticket, Democrats stand a good chance of suffering a humiliating defeat in the general election.

The big question that no one seems to want to answer is "Who's on top?"

Who leads this ticket- Clinton or Obama?

20 years

That is all I have to say to the Obama defenders commenting in this post on Rev. Wright. Over 1300+ posts so far with many folks attempting to defend Obama

For 20 years Obama sat in the pews listening to this garbage. The man performed the marriage ceremony and baptized his children.

Yes, Obama can do everything in his power to distance himself from this character, but the damage is done. Americans know that Obama considered Rev. Wright to be a mentor. Obama even wrote a book titled after one of the Pastor's sermons.

After what the media stated was one of the greatest speeches of all times, Obama actually dug himself into the hole even further because he refused to distance himself from the pastor. Any attempt to distance himself now would just look like a pure political ploy.

Rev. Wright may have handed the presidency to John McCain.

Obama's numbers are plummeting

Wow, what a difference a few days make.

A few days ago, Obama held a lead of 10 plus points over Clinton on national polls.

His average is at +5.8%

It is probably easy to tell why that is happening. Rev. Wright is back with a vengeance and he may take Obama with him.

Rev. Wright is even suggesting that secretly Obama agrees with him in the inflammatory issues and the only reason Obama is trying to distance himself now, after 20 years, is purely political.

Wright suggested that Obama was insincere in distancing himself from his pastor. "He didn't distance himself," Wright announced. "He had to distance himself, because he's a politician, from what the media was saying I had said, which was anti-American."

Explaining further, Wright said friends had written to him and said, "We both know that if Senator Obama did not say what he said, he would never get elected." The minister continued: "Politicians say what they say and do what they do based on electability, based on sound bites, based on polls.

Folks, the Democrats has already nominated Obama. I know officially Clinton is still in it, but the numbers do not add up. If this nomination is taken from Obama, their will be a war in the streets with Democrat on Democrat.

If someone had said a year ago that McCain would have come back to life and actually has a shot at winning the White House, no one would have believed.

Today, the Dems have nominated a man with little political experience, who has asked America to support him because of his outstanding judgment. Or they can take the nomination from him and give the nomination to a woman with imaginary bullets whizzing past her head.

The Actual Cost of "Healthy Wisconsin"

While I was looking for some information last night on taxes, I found some interesting information about Wisconsin and its uninsured. (Look out math ahead.)

According to a report by the Taxpayer's Alliance (2006 data) 90.6% of Wisconsin residents have health insurance.

100% - 90.6% = 9.4% do not have insurance. (This report does not state how many are in between insurances, don't want insurance, etc.)

State population: 5,609,705 people

5,609,705 x 9.4% = 527,312 people do not have insurance (no breakdown of the number of children. Children would be covered under Badger Care if without insurance.)

$15,400,000,000 Cost of "Healthy Wisconsin"

$15,400,000,000 / 527,312 = $29,204.72

$29,204.72 That is what we, as taxpayers, are going to pay per uninsured person to have health care coverage through "Healthy Wisconsin."

Go Jo!

This is awesome!

Blogger, activist, conservative and all around great person, Jo Egelhoff is running for the 57th Assembly seat.

I could not be more thrilled.

Congrats, Jo!

Silent Auction and Dinner in Kenosha to benefit American Legion Baseball team

Hat tip- Peter DiGaudio from Texas Hold 'Em Blogger

Come on folks, it is only $5 and the proceeds will benefit the American legion Baseball Team in Kenosha.

Sunday, April 27, at the VFW Hall, 6618 39th Avenue from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. Tickets are $ 5.00 each and are available at the door.

You can also contact Peter for tickets @ texasholdemblogger@gmail.com

See you there.

The President's power

Even the Democrats are being forced to admit that for a lame duck President, Bush is still getting what he wants when he wants it.

The President wants a war funding bill.

The Democrats are smart enough to realize that they will lose this battle in the public eye if they vote against funding the troops during this election year.

So, instead the Democrats are attempting to pile additional items into the war funding bill so they have an explaination to their constituents as to why they are funding a war they say they vehemently oppose.

The Dems are looking for political cover and Bush will not give it to them.

Yahoo!

But the hard line from the White House has Democrats scaling back plans to use the must-pass bill as an engine to carry everything from a summer jobs programs to a Senate proposal for $10 billion for infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges and new schools.

Republicans are eager for a battle with Democrats over add-ons to the war funding bill. Despite record low approval ratings and his status as a lame duck, Bush has to be rated as a clear favorite in any veto battle.

"If the president stands his ground on this he'll win," House GOP Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said. "And I believe he's prepared to stand his ground and we'll stand with him."

Not too bad for a lame duck President.

Okay Republicans, stop laughing

My fellow Republicans, I know that it is really hard to stop laughing, but the Democrats are upset.

Was it just me, or did you the rest of you guys have trouble controlling the giggles as you watched the liberal pundits and liberal media goofs spitting and spinning on TV last night?

One woman in particular was near hysterics on MSNBC when talking with Pat Buchanan. I cannot stand Pat Buchanan most of the time, but he was pushing some buttons last night with some of the liberal media pundits.

Buchanan continued to ask the question ask the same question I have been asking- After being christened as the front runner, the new hope, the great messiah and all that jazz- Why is it Barack Obama is losing a big state like Pennsylvania to Hillary Clinton this late in the nominating process.

Barack Obama did not just lose in Pennsylvania; Hillary Clinton slaughtered him.

Now before you liberals go blathering about how much ground Obama made up against Hillary, please remember that he only won 5 of 67 counties in PA.

5!

Worse yet, Obama tried to win this state- he outspent her 2 to 1 in this state.

Check out these categories he lost in:

Obama has lost the woman
Obama has lost the white vote (both men and women)
Obama has lost the blue collar vote
Obama lost the Catholic, Protestant and Jewish votes
Obama lost the Union vote
Obama lost the Suburban vote (he was to win big on this one)
Obama lost the vote of those identifying themselves as Democrats
Obama lost the vote of those making less than 50K a year



After last night, the latte lapping liberals will have to once again shamefully admit that the bitter, gun toting, bible reading, and church going middle class America defeated them.

Still, finding a latte lapping liberal who will admit that this could be a problem in the general election is difficult. Even with this latest Obama trounce, the media is in full throat denial of a problem.

Mr. Obama seems to get it. He proved as much when he responded to the Jeremiah
Wright controversy last month with an intelligent, soul-searching and deeply
personal speech that immediately reminded millions of Americans why they liked
him in the first place. It was a preview of what he’ll have going for him in
September and October, when the caricaturists really get to work.

Clearly, Obama getting his tail clobbered yesterday means nothing to these latte liberals.

As I said earlier, I could not help but laugh as Pat Buchanan attempted to get a straight answer from the liberal pundits last night and I thought one woman’s(I do not know her name) head was going to start spinning around and she would start spitting green soup.

It was very funny.

Not only an embarrassment...

This is not only an embarrassment, but it is also very dangerous.

Wisconsinites drive under the influence of alcohol - or, at least, admit to it - at a higher rate than the residents of any other state, a newly released federal study shows.

Most of you know where I stand on drinking and driving. I lost a very dear friend to a drunk driver.

This is not something Wisconsin should be proud of.

Drinking and driving is unacceptable!

No worries

No worries, Obamabots. Obama is already preparing to spin a loss in Pennsylvania as a victory.

An Obama aide said that even if Clinton wins by 15 or 20 percentage points, she can’t change the race’s underlying dynamic.

Sorry folks- if the clear front runner in the Democratic nomination process cannot win a big state like Pennsylvania this late in the nomination game, then he most certainly is in for real problems in November.

An Obama loss today is pathetic. Of course the media will not see it that way, but common sense folks will.

Votin’ in PA.

Well, the bitter, angry people in Pennsylvania are currently voting.

I wonder if they will be clinging to their guns and God as they walk into the polls?

Of course there are those that may be voting today that believe that Obama is god and they don’t need guns, ‘cause he will protect them.

There is no crying in Politics (unless your last name is Clinton or Pelosi)

There is no crying in politics. However, sarcasm is a perfectly expectable reaction to Senator Chuck Hagel’s (RINO- Nebraska) stunning announcement this past weekend.

In fact, sarcasm is a perfectly acceptable reaction to anything Hagel does or says at any time!

Remember Chuck Hagel? He was, and actually still is, a U.S. senator from Nebraska. Last year he announced that he planned to decide whether America was worthy of having him as president. America was nervous. Would it make the grade?

In the end, it did not. Six months later, Chuck Hagel declared that not only wouldn't
he run for the president, but he wouldn't even defend his Senate seat.

America begged him to reconsider. It promised it would change. But it was too little, too late for Chuck Hagel. Now, Chuck Hagel says he may not even grace America with an endorsement in this year's presidential race:

I love those guys at the Wall Street Journal. Who says the number’s geeks do not have a sense of humor?

Obama to lose Pennsylvania

Barack Obama is already trying to soften Hillary Clinton's probable victory in Pennsylvania-

SCRANTON, Pa. - Barack Obama predicted Monday that Democratic presidential rival Hillary Rodham Clinton would get the critical victory she needs in Tuesday's Pennsylvania primary, but said his goal is to keep it close.

I find it simply amazing that this late in the nomination process, there are plenty of Democrats still not voting for Obama.

If Obama is truly the messiah, as his followers believe, why is he getting ready to lose another very large state to Hillary Clinton???

We have been told for months that this nomination belongs to Obama. In fact, not so long ago, Democrats were demanding Hillary drop out.

Still, either Obama is that bad of a candidate and folks do not really believe he can win, or Hillary is that good of a candidate and has held him off for over four months.

Build a bridge

For years, I have been involved in partisan politics and have thoroughly enjoyed it. Of course, that is not going to change now.

However, I have learned something over the last several months.

People are not as partisan as we like to think they are. Just running for local office has taught me that.

Common sense would tell you that a Republican couldn’t win an election in the heart of Kenosha.

Common sense would tell you that living in a Democratic stronghold in Kenosha, the chair of the Republican Party in Kenosha County, stood no chance of winning.

Common sense would tell you that a woman, much less a conservative woman, stood no chance of winning amongst the old school Democrats that vote religiously.

Yet, it happened. A known female Republican Party board member won in a Democratic controlled area of Kenosha.

It is not like folks did not know that I was the chair of the Republican Party of Kenosha County, because they did. The Kenosha News rarely mentioned my name without mentioning the Republican Party stuff.

Why now?

I think the answer is a lot simpler than many of us in Wisconsin are ready to admit.

Wisconsinites, even here in Kenosha, are a lot less partisan than we believe they are.

People care about themselves and their families a lot more deeply than they care about the Democrat Party or the Republican Party.

On January 24th, 2008- I learned a very valuable lesson. Former Speaker Newt Gingrich was visiting in Wisconsin and I had been invited by RPW chair Reince Priebus to attend. It was at that moment that my campaign came together.

Speaker Gingrich stated that if you wanted to win elections in Wisconsin, it was time to embrace the issues that folks on both sides of the aisle care about.

For example- taxes, spending, and public safety are issues that both sides of the aisle share.

So I embraced some of these ideas when I was running for office.

I noticed in my area that even voting Democrats are as frustrated with high taxes and out of control spending, as Republicans have been.

In fact the Democrats on the state level and on the national level are already running their campaigns with the idea to raise taxes. I am almost surprised by this.

Recently the Democrats in this state proposed yet more tax increases instead of spending cuts in order to fix the millions of dollars worth of shortages they have created in our budget.

The idea that millions of Democrats in this state are thrilled about this proposal is dead wrong. They are not. Yes, there are a few liberal political pundits that actually will try and sell the idea that these tax increases are only for the businesses and not on middle class Wisconsinites. Common sense tells us that if you increase taxes on businesses, you increase taxes on the working folks of Wisconsin.

I love the idea that Democrats will run on tax increases. Let us see how far that will get them in November.

Republicans on the other hand, need to stop pretending that the rising cost of health care in Wisconsin is not a big issue. It is a big issue. People care about this issue and it is time for Republicans to talk about it and bring their own ideas to the table.

In order to win in November, Republicans will have to talk about health care and their plans to fix this issue. In my opinion, the very first thing we need to do is get the free market involved in our health care. It is time for a little competition.

Another issue that will have to address in our elections is Voter ID. It is only a matter of time before folks finally explode on this issue.

I am completely convinced that both Democrats and Republicans want to know that elections are fair and free in Wisconsin. So, the day will come when both sides have to face this issue head on.

People will embrace good ideas and policies, if we just give them a chance.

Over the next several months, the media will try to once again align people behind the Democrat flag or the Republican flag, but in truth, folk care about themselves and their families.

This November’s election will come down to some very basic principles- whichever candidate on the state and national level that does a better job preaching the ideas that are important to both sides of the aisle, will be the candidate that wins.

It is time for Republicans to once again build a bridge like President Reagan showed us how to do. Reagan did not win a single election by jumping up and down screaming about illegal immigrants and daring people to defy him. Reagan stood no chance of getting his tax cuts passed unless the Democrats were willing to step across the aisle and work with him.

Tommy Thompson did not win in Wisconsin by turning a deaf ear to so called “democrat” issues- he embraced them. Badger Care is one of those very ideas that both Democrats and Republicans embraced under Governor Tommy Thompson.

Newt Gingrich was right- if we want to start winning elections in Wisconsin, it is time to start embracing some of the issues that we all share and see as a problem.

Earthquake!

Wow- has it ever been a strange year.

From a tornado is January, to my first earthquake.

I did not really feel it, but my cats freaked out.

I had just gotten up and sat down next to my computer. I knew something had happened because both cats came running out of the bedroom at the same time. One jumped into my lap. (Whenever he gets scared he normally comes running to me. He hates thunderstorms.) The other cat ran into the kitchen and flipped open the cabinet and dove in. (She does this whenever she gets scared.) Yes, I have a cat that can open just about any cabinet or drawer. I have to refrigerate all of the cat treats. She has not been able to open the refrigerator yet, although she is working on it.

So did anyone feel the earthquake?

Obama pummeled and pummeled

I woke up this morning in anticipation of reading about last night's debate-

The general consensus- Obama got creamed:

Clinton Fuels Storm Over Obama

No Whining About the Media

No way Obama could have fared worse

Obama kept on defensive during debate

there are more

It's back

From Hot Air

Obama's flag pin is back. Surely it is not because of his small town America gaffes this week, huh?

It's official

It is official.

Tonight I was sworn in as an Alderman for the City of Kenosha.

They cannot take it back now.

To all of my friends that stepped up so big and carried me through this process- Thank you.

I have to admit, I got a smidgen emotional when I raised my right hand and swore an oath to the uphold the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Wisconsin.

I also swore an oath to carry out my duties to the best of my ability to the people in Kenosha and especially to Kenosha's 5th district.

Pictures to follow. I had several friends in the crowd that will forward pictures as they get them.

Okey doke Obama

Obama is busy trying to prove to America that he is not as elitist as his recent comments may appear.

It is just more of the same double talk from Obama.

I thought I would post a video that was out back in March about "Obama's Doubletalk Express-The Great Pretender".

Keep in mind as you watch this since the making of this video, one of Obama's campaign advisers is stating that 60 to 80 thousand troops would stay in Iraq until 2010.

Candidate of Hope?

Apparently, Barack Obama has changed his candidacy from being about "Hope" to the Candidate of "Anger".

Sigh. I guess all hope is lost with Obama in charge.

King Barack Obama!

According the Barack Obama-

"You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years. ... And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

He stood in front of a bunch of elitist Democrats in San Fransisco when he said this.

Just to drive his point home as he is attempting to defend his elitism, he repeated it on Friday in Indiana-

"People don't vote on economic issues because they don't expect anybody is going to help them," Obama told a crowd at a Terre Haute, Ind., high school Friday evening. "So people end up voting on issues like guns and are they going to have the right to bear arms. They vote on issues like gay marriage. They take refuge in their faith and their community, and their family, and the things they can count on. But they don't believe they can count on Washington."

Oh, I see- people vote their values because they do not have jobs.

This is interesting- people take refuge in their religion and God, because they do not have jobs.

Seriously, this man is the candidate of hope.

So Senator Obama, should we put our faith in you instead of God, because you will get us jobs?

Or maybe we should stop relying on our families, so we can rely on you, Senator?

That is a great campaign slogan- "Give up your family, guns and religion and I, the Great Barack Obama, will give you a job!" or "Sacrifice all and Vote for King Obama and he will take care of his loyal subjects".

Hey Senator, you are not running for almighty King and all powerful ruler- you are running for President.

What a complete jerk this guy is.

The cloudy stench of unethical politics is damaging Kenosha

One right after the next, Kenosha’s elite citizens are pleading guilty to unlawful activities surrounding the Kenosha Casino.

The latest, Former Kenosha County Executive Allan Kehl will be pleading guilty to federal charges.

Because Allan Kehl was an elected official at the time that he received the illegal finances, I am more than a little curious whether he will receive prison time. My guess is that he will. The federal government does not take lighting the idea of money exchanging hands.

Allan Kehl was the fourth person to plead guilty in this casino deal.

Still, the rumor mill is running rampant as to who is next. I am fully confident that more of Kenosha’s finest will go down for this.

Even as the rumor mill abounds, this whole mess is heart wrenching for your average Kenosha resident.

Even though Kenosha is now a city with almost 100,000 residents, we still have the small hometown feeling.

These are people we all know.

We see them at church festivals, we see them at little league baseball games, we see them at the grocery store, and we see them at charity fundraisers.

The people wrapped up in this casino mess are the most elite and longstanding names in Kenosha’s history.

These same people have run Kenosha for many years.

For those who do not know, an inner circle has run Kenosha for a number of years. You needed to have the right connections to the inner circle in order to advance in Kenosha. This is not 100% true, but having the right connections was the easiest way to move forward in Kenosha.

Have you ever noticed that even though Kenosha leadership does change every once in a while, the names never seem to change?

For example, State Senator Bob Wirch was a former state representative. County Executive Allan Kehl was our former Kenosha county sheriff. Retiring Mayor John Antaramian, was a former state assemblyman. Current state representative Jim Kreuser is running for Kenosha County Executive, and he looks likely to win.

Therefore, the job titles change, but rarely do the last names change.

This, of course, does not mean that every person deciding to make a change and run for a different office is necessarily doing anything wrong. It just means that if you make it into the inner circle, you most definitely have a leg up on your competition.

This is why last week’s election is so stunning.

Last week a whole gaggle of new names ran for office, especially for those running for alderman. Many of the names that folks have seen on the ballot for 10-20+ years either left or were voted out. Eight new faces start next week; this is almost half of the city council. In addition, we have a new mayor after 16 years.

Interestingly enough, even with all of this going on, some in Kenosha are still living in a state of denial. They tell themselves and us that everything is fine.

Kenosha News-

Casino spokesman Evan Zeppos noted that officials of the Bureau of Indian Affairs have stated the legal matters would not weigh into their continuing review of the proposal, as long as the individuals implicated were no longer involved with the casino.

The problem is- we do not know if all those involved with the casino’s underhanded dealings are still involved with the casino project!

How many more Kenosha politicians were “rewarded” for their support of the casino deal?

Tuesday's plea agreement notes that the payments from Troha to Kehl were intended, at least in part, to reward Kehl for his performance as county executive, as it related to Troha's efforts to develop a tribal casino in Kenosha.

There was a ton of support from Kenosha politicians for the casino project. The casino project even garnered support from our state representative Jim Kreuser and state senator Bob Wirch- both of which have received major campaign donations from Dennis Troha and others involved with the casino, including the management from the Dairyland Greyhound Park. (For those who do not know, it is the Dairyland Greyhound site that the new casino was to be built)

Listed as top contributors to Senator Bob Wirch as of 2004, when the casino referendum was on the ballot, was the Troha Family, John Erickson and 4 other Dairlyland Greyhound Park employees.

Here is the link

Also listed as the top contributors to State Representative Jim Kreuser as of 2004 was a couple more Dairyland Greyhound Park employees.

Here is the link

This is not to suggest that any of these guys have done anything wrong. They are just campaign donations and clearly they were recorded like they should have been.

Clearly, there is a pattern here. A pattern that many in Kenosha are just now discovering.

How deep into Kenosha’s elected officials does this criminal activity run?

Kenosha residents are angry and frustrated with these convictions. We are being called “Little Chicago” and we do not like it.

Our reputation as decent hardworking people has been severely damaged by the indictments and convictions of our most prominent citizens and now elected officials.

Worse yet, we have been lead to believe that there are more indictments to come.

We are in a position right now of not knowing whom to trust.

This casino project has dictated the direction Kenosha is taking for many years.

When do we begin to clear out all of the politicians that have so badly damaged our reputation?

Yes, Kenosha has made it very clear, in two separate referendums, that they want a casino. However, we want a casino deal done legally and ethically.

The federal government needs to step it up and do what they are going to do.

It is time for Kenosha to get out from under this cloudy stench of unethical politics.

We have to be able to clean house and start all over again and do this the right way. We cannot do that while the threat of more indictments is hanging over our heads.

Americans do not like universal healthcare

This may come a shock to the Healthy Wisconsin folks, but in a real survey not paid for by the Democrats such as Senator Erpenbach and Senator Robson, Americans are not exactly in favor of their health care been controlled by the Government-

Rasmussen

Twenty-nine percent (29%) of American adults favor a national health insurance program overseen by the Federal Government. A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 39% oppose such a government-led initiative while 31% are not sure.

The survey also found that 46% believe the quality of care would decrease under a national health insurance program while 16% believe that quality would increase. Twenty percent (20%) say the quality of care would remain about the same while 18% are not sure.

Just a little curious...

Can a state senator veto a bill passed by the assembly and the senate?

No, of course not.

I am more than a little curious about the title of this press release-

Rep. Jeskewitz: Response to Grothman veto

Rep. Jeskewitz seems to understand that it was the governor that vetoed this bill and not State Senator Grothman- so why lash out at Grothman?

Even more strange is that the bill passed the Senate with or without Grothman's support and landed on the governor's desk, where it was vetoed. Once again- why lash out at Grothman?

Should we feel sorry for this guy?

He molested 22 children in a 30 year period.

He served 5 years in prison.

He was institutionalized for a period of time and then deemed "at low risk for re-offending".

Now, there are no neighborhoods that want him living near their children.

Do you blame them?

With Darcy Powell facing eviction and homelessness, Kenosha Circuit Judge S. Michael Wilk adopted the Department of Health and Family Services' only alternative: send Powell to jail until a new home can be found

The Kenosha News had this to say:

Powell, 55, formerly of Silver Lake, has done nothing wrong in the more than two years he has been on supervision, according to reports. He also is monitored electronically and through a global positioning system (GPS), and is escorted to and from work each day.

So are we to feel sorry for this guy?

Society does not trust this guy. It does not matter that he has been declared a low risk to re-offend.

Would you risk your children near him?

Perhaps if this guy had truly paid his debt to society by serving the entire 43 year sentence he received, folks may be more accepting of bringing him back into society.

This is a difficult situation from all angles.

I talked to a couple of people today about this and I have yet to find anyone who feels sorry for this guy's situation. He molested 22 children, why has he been released back into society?
That is the main question being asked today.

Congrats Anthony Nudo!

Last week, Anthony Nudo won the Alderman District #11 seat from a long standing incumbent by a mere 6 votes.

Today, the recount was conducted. It's official.

Congratulations to Anthony Nudo, the new alderman for Kenosha's District #11

Sexual Predator residency restriction ordinance passes in Kenosha

I was severely critical of our city council's move to table the sexual predator residency restriction ordinance in Kenosha. I felt it was important to take a stand one way or another on this issue.

In last night's meeting, the city council passed the residency restriction ordinance for sexual predators.

This is a great move on behalf of the city of Kenosha. This is one of the issues I spent a lot of time discussing with the citizens in my district during the election. Citizens were upset over the tabling of this issue by our city council.

I knew this was on last night's agenda, and I wanted desperately to be at last night's meeting to encourage the passage of this ordinance. However, I thought it would be tacky, rude and disrespectful to my opponent in last week's election to be there last night. My opponent has given 14 years of his life to the city of Kenosha and he did not deserve that from me. As it turns out, Alderman Sinclair was not at last night's meeting.

So I watch the proceedings from afar. Did you know that on Kenosha cable channel 25, you can watch the entire city council meeting live? Check it out sometime.

I appreciated both amendments added to the ordinance. One amendment pushed the start date for this ordinance for 90 days-giving the new city council a chance to address it. The second amendment by Alderman Ruffalo changed the wording to include not only schools, but "school property".

Yes, I have heard all of the arguments about "where do you put these guys?" and it does nothing to drive down recidivism rates.

I think it is the responsibility of the city leaders to protect the citizens and the children of our communities first, not necessarily worry about driving down recidivism rates and finding a place for sexual predators to live. These are lovely things and it would be great to find some magical fix to recidivism, but the first duty is to protect the citizens

Wonderful day

It was a wonderful day today.

Today was the first in a long while where I did not have to worry about campaigning, a GOP function, or work.

With the exception of my commitment to the Lord(which is everyday), the day was my own.

So, I went to the Brewers game.

This was the only time I ever had the pleasure of watching the team on Opening weekend.

What a great game!

Ben Sheets was lights out! I have never seen him pitch this well, ever. The first inning, one, two, three- he struck out the side. He almost did it again in the fifth or sixth inning also- he got one and two, number three had two strikes on him and ended up hitting an infield dribbler to be thrown out.

Who the heck is Gabe Kapler and where did he come from? I love that guy! He homered both yesterday and today.

I did a little digging and it turns out he was in retirement after a devastating injury with the Red Sox. He was managing a 1A team for the Red Sox last year.

He is obviously making a case to stay with the team even after Cameron is back.

Don't you just love Jason Kendall?

What a no nonsense fellow. If you need a fly ball to get a runner home from third, he walks right up and hits a fly ball. If you need a baserunner to start some scoring, he is your guy.

Braun had a great day- 3 RBIs and a homer.

Then a tailgate after the game.

It was a relaxing and fun day. Just what I needed.

New poster

If you have not already picked up on it, Stepping Right Up has a new poster.

Please welcome GOP Gal to the roster of poster.

I will be adding one more to our little group, hopefully in the next few days.

As you can probably figure, my schedule has gotten a smidgen more tight these days.

Give him a chance

There have been several letters and postings printed in the Kenosha News since the election regarding Keith Bosman. These letters haven't been very kind to the mayor-elect. It is my opinion that everyone needs to give Mr. Bosman a chance. Mr. Bosman wants to see Kenosha grow and prosper, just like every Kenosha resident. Before anyone begins bashing him, let's see how he does. The man these writers voted for may have not won, but we have someone new in office. Let's start this new administration of with a "good luck". (And that goes for everyone new in office, aldermen included.) Good luck Keith, Kathy, Dave, Anthony K, Anthony N and everyone else!

Tax time

If you have not filed your tax returns yet, now would be a good time to start thinking about it. You only have 10 days left!

April 15th!

New Blogger in Town

I have forgotten to add my friend Jed Swartz to my blogroll for a while. His comment on this post reminded me again.

Check out Kenosha blogger Jed Swartz at "May the Swartz be with you".

Jed is thought provoking, intelligent, and dedicated to our Kenosha community.

Thanks for hanging in with me, Jed.

Obama vs. King

Interesting article from Juan Williams today comparing Obama to King in the Wall Street Journal-

But when Barack Obama, arguably the best of this generation of black or white leaders, finds it easy to sit in Rev. Wright's pews and nod along with wacky and bitterly divisive racial rhetoric, it does call his judgment into question. And it reveals a continuing crisis in racial leadership.

What would Jesus do? There is no question he would have left that church.

read the entire article

It is an embarrassment

What a complete and utter embarrassment this entire Troha/Casino deal has turned our local government into.

The people of Kenosha did not deserve this mess. But a mess is exactly what our county government has become.

Last night Kenosha county residents were treated to another embarrassment by it's local government.

Kenosha News

Molinaro's criticism centered around Rose's announcement of Wisnefski's appointment, which Molinaro said should have been run by the County Board before it came out in the press. Molinaro also accused Rose of knowingly using a faulty rationale for reassigning Kehl's former office manager, a civil servant.

Molinaro said Rose announced Wisnefski's appointment to the press only after Rose learned of a plot by some supervisors to oust him from the board chairman's position.

As chairman, Rose had the legal responsibility to assume the county executive's office when Kehl's resignation took effect and to bring an interim executive appointee before the County Board.

Rose, who declined to respond to Molinaro's comments during the special meeting, acknowledged in an interview after Thursday's meeting that he was aware of a move to remove him from the chairmanship. He said he decided to come out with the Wisnefski announcement to let the board know of his intentions for the position.

Not satisfied with this embarrassment, a shouting match started again, after the meeting.

Tensions again flared briefly after Thursday's meeting, when Supervisor Jennifer Jackson shouted angrily about Molinaro's comments.

Will this nightmare ever end?

Apparently, not for a while. The investigation into Kenosha's local government and the shady dealing taking place over the casino, continues on.

The strong rumors taking place in Kenosha is that there are more local officials on the hook with this thing. Our problems may have just begun.

Worse yet, I do not think our local elected officials have yet to figure out that Kenosha is currently the butt of a lot of jokes. So these types of scenes may continue to happen.

It is an embarrassment.

Her first lit drop

I would like everyone to meet my new friend- Anna Joy



Anna was only 11 days old this past Saturday where she joined her proud parents and siblings on her first lit drop for Kathy Carpenter for Alderman Dist. 5.

As you can tell from this photo, Anna was terrible excited when she first received word of doing a lit drop for Kathy Carpenter.

Many of you may remember her proud daddy, Brian Hagedorn, former blogger with the website Anno Domini.

It is my hope that Brian will be joining me soon here at Stepping Right Up!. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, congratulations to Brian and Christine. You have a beautiful bundle of Anna Joy here.

Thank you Kenosha

I am exhausted.

I will have more later.

C Kenosha Alder. D5

11 Polls Reporting out of 11

1343 Total VotesWith 100% of the Vote Reported


Candidates Votes %

Kathy Carpenter 778 57.93

Kurt A. Sinclair 561 41.77

Write-in 30 4 .29


Thank you to Kenosha's 5th district voters and to every blogger and volunteer who got out and helped.

Kathy Wins!

Hi there, this is Fred Dooley from Real Debate Wisconsin...

Kathy called me and asked me to post something on her blog for readers as she is out celebrating.

In short, she won!!!!!!!!! 59% of the electorate said WE WANT KATHY!

(frankly I think it should have been higher).

She'll share her own thoughts a little later but wanted something up right away.

Congratulations Kathy.

Al Gore????

What fun this election is for Republicans, huh?

I spent it all

Well, I left nothing on the table.

I dropped all of the literature, put out all of the signs, paid for ads to run, put out yard signs and knock on a gazillion doors.

Better yet, all of the money that so many of you gave so generously has been spent.

I just got a call from my campaign treasurer.

I have $.19 left in my account.

I don't think I could have cut things much closer than that. Whew!

Vote Kathy Carpenter for Alderman District #5 Kenosha

Just in case you were wondering- I am a mess today.

I have gone in to work.

No sense in sitting and worrying at home.

Thousands of pieces of literature has been dropped.

Dozens and dozens of yard signs are out.

I knocked on over 1500 doors during this election cycle.

Not much more that I can do.

I know this- I completely outworked my opponent. He has not sent out any literature, no yard signs and he has been to no forums. He does not seem to be the least bit interested in doing this job.

Still- I could lose to him because he is a 14 year incumbent.

Get out and vote.

Vote for change.

Vote for someone who will listen to your concerns.

Vote for someone who will do the work in Kenosha’s 5th district.

Vote Kathy Carpenter.

Superdelegate votes for sale?

Barry and Hillary- looking for a superdelegate's support?

Donate to their campaign and your chances improve greatly.

In cases where superdelegates received money from Obama's Hope Fund but none from Clinton's PAC, Obama got the superdelegates' support 85 percent of the time. And in cases where superdelegates received money from Clinton's Hillpac but none from Obama's PAC, 75 percent backed Clinton.

Sound unseemly to you?

That is because it is.

"And while it would be unseemly for the candidates to hand out thousands of dollars to primary voters, or to the delegates pledged to represent the will of those voters, elected officials who are superdelegates have received at least $904,200 from Obama and Clinton in the form of campaign contributions over the last three years," the study said, adding that both Clinton and Obama "will be calling in favors."

This is the will of the people, huh?

Rasmussen Presidential Poll

McCain has a shot at winning Wisconsin according to Rasmussen. However, this is only a poll at the end of March and it does not mean much-

John McCain (R) vs. Barack Obama (D)
John McCain	48%
Barack Obama	46%

John McCain (R) vs. Hillary Clinton (D)
John McCain	50%
Hillary Clinton	39%

With an endorsement like this...

Who needs enemies?

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel endorses Scott Walker, and boy are they ever nasty about it.

On numerous occasions, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has demanded tax increases and Scott Walker refuses to deliver.

But Walker exacerbates the county's woes by sticking to his pledge to freeze the county property tax. The sentiment is commendable, but his intransigence is anything but. He refuses to consider other options, including raising the sales tax by even a quarter-of-a-cent to come up with another revenue stream and relieve pressure on the overused property tax.

Even when the MJS gets the tax increases they are demanding, they are still mad at Walker, because Walker is not blamed the county board supervisors are:

In recent budgets, Walker has been playing a political shell game. He makes taxpayers think the county can get by with what it spent the previous year when it can't. To prevent more cuts in needed services, supervisors then are forced to raise the levy, last year by 3.6%. So Walker takes bows as a budget hawk and supervisors take unfair grief for raising taxes, much of the flak coming from Walker's cheerleading section in talk radio.

Well, duh- the County board supervisors are the ones raising the taxes- or isn't that obvious to the MJS editorial board?

An endorsement for the kid

In a unusual move, the Kenosha News has endorsed Carl Bryan, an 18 year old, running for school board.

Their reason?

Yet we find the need to send a message to the School Board that the voters want something different. The election of Carl Bryan, a candidate who is still in school, is the best way to send that message.

Residents of the district are frustrated by the lack of progress on so many fronts that it's hard to keep count. The graduation rate is disappointing, the test scores are disappointing, attendance isn't good, the performance gap between racial groups is frustrating and improvements, where there has been improvements, have been small.

I am seriously considering voting for the young man myself. It is time to shake things up a bit.

For years, Kenosha residents have watched insane decisions being made by the school board and still they never seem to make any progress.

In fact the biggest problem could be that with every single problem that arises in our school district, the first reaction of the board is to throw money at it.

Once that does not work, the board seems to be lost on what to do- so they just throw more money at it. Mysteriously, the problems still never seem to go away.

A fresh face is exactly what is needed on the school board. Perhaps some new fresh ideas is exactly what is needed.

WEAC is wrong

So will they pull the ads?

People have actually believed this ad and Gableman could lose because of it.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A prosecutor says more claims in an ad attacking Supreme Court challenger Michael Gableman as soft on sex offenders are misleading.

The Wisconsin Education Association Council is running the ad that claims Gableman gave lenient sentences to two sex offenders. The teacher's union has endorsed Justice Louis Butler in the April 1 election.

The ad cites the case of a man convicted of sexually assaulting a girl. It claims he videotaped the attacks and made her watch them, but Gableman only sentenced him to one year in jail.

Burnett County District Attorney Ken Kutz says investigators never found videotapes and charges related to them were dropped.

He also says Gableman sentenced the man to a stiffer sentence than he recommended.

All because of a WEAC lie!

Baloney!

This is absolute baloney.

Obama says he would have left if Wright stayed

"Had the reverend not retired, and had he not acknowledged that what he had said had deeply offended people and were inappropriate and mischaracterized what I believe is the greatness of this country, for all its flaws, then I wouldn't have felt comfortable staying at the church," Obama said Thursday during a taping of the ABC talk show, "The View." The interview will be broadcast Friday.

First of all, why the sudden revelation? Obama himself claimed that he heard some offensive comments, but chose not to leave the church for 20 years.

Secondly, when did Wright ever publicly state that he recognized the error of his ways and call the his own comments inappropriate or that he had mischaracterized anything?

Obama is full of baloney.

A new direction

Official Democratic Party campaign car designed exactly the way

Obama and Clinton lay out their campaign message

"A NEW DIRECTION"

You figure it out. I have a headache.

The sky is falling

Okay- maybe the sky is not falling, but I am pleasantly surprised.

I have been endorsed by the Kenosha News against a 14 year incumbent.

In all of the other city council races where there is a incumbent running, the Kenosha News has endorsed the incumbent except for the race I am running in:

District 5: Kathy Carpenter. This district, which includes the area around
Bradford High School, has had the same alderman since 1994, when Kurt Sinclair
was first elected. Since then he has not had an opponent until this year when he
faced two challengers in the primary in February. Kathy Carpenter and Sinclair
survived the primary to compete in Tuesday's election. Perhaps the reason for
the opposition after all these years is the challengers' sense that Sinclair,
now the principal of Round Lake Area High School in Illinois, is less engaged
with the district than in the past. While we have advocated keeping experience
on the City Council in most districts, in this case we see an opportunity for a
positive change. Carpenter has enthusiasm for politics and good ideas for the
district. We recommend a vote for Carpenter.

Taxes matter

cross posted at Kathy Carpenter for Alderwoman

Taxes matter

Not only do taxes matter, but spending matters also.

I visited with a nice gentleman in my district for almost an hour on Monday night.

He had been waiting for a while for someone on the local level of government to come by and talk to him about the taxes.

His concerns were for himself, his wife and many of his friends and neighbors.

This gentleman is partially retired and is living off of social security, his pension and a part time job.

The taxes are just too high in Kenosha and he stated that he can no longer afford to have the taxes raised $100, 200 or 300 a year- which is what has been happening.

Kenosha’s property tax bill went up on average by $138 this past year, per the Kenosha News.

The average Kenosha resident, including senior citizens, pays about $3431.62 per year in property taxes.

Now to some (including our current city council members), what is the big deal, right?

Well, to many of these senior citizens cannot afford a single increase in property tax costs when they are living off a relatively fixed income.

The average person in the city of Kenosha is paying $286 A MONTH in property taxes alone.

Even if you can ignore the cost of food, gas, electricity, water and fees going up, we cannot continue to pass one property tax increase after another year after year.

When I was at the NAACP event, several of the incumbents made the standard excuses of blaming the property tax increase on the school tax levy.

The incumbents are correct in stating that the school tax levy is going up year after year, but they are not telling the entire truth that they themselves continue to add to the property tax increases also.

From the following chart in the Kenosha News, the city council and the mayor are still playing a major roll in property tax increases.

Taxing body: Ave. Home Ave. Home $ Diff. % Diff.

City $1,336.17 $ 1,385.30 $ 49.13 3.7%

KUSD $1,382.74 $1,472.64 $ 89.90 6.5%

Gateway Tech Col. $ 204.74 $ 208.08 $ 3.34 1.6%

County $ 632.50 $ 644.99 $ 12.49 2.0%

State $ 29.10 $ 29.49 $ 0.39 1.3%

Gross Property Tax $3,585.24 $ 3,740.49 $155.26 4.3%

Minus: School Tax Credit $194.95$ 223.27 $ 28.32 14.5%

Minus: Lottery Credit $ 96.79 $ 85.60 $ (11.19) -11.6%

Net Property Tax $3,293.49 $3,431.62 $ 138.13 4.2%

Of the $138 property tax increase this year, the city council raised taxes by $49 on the average property tax owner this past year.

Think about the issues that our senior citizens are faced with year after year. They have a limited amount of money and they need to make that money last for the rest of their lives.

They must also absorb the cost of higher gas prices, higher food prices and higher living costs.

The biggest problem my new friend had with all of this is that he cannot stand the way our government is spending that money.

The wife of my new friend stated that she has heard ENOUGH out of him about the museums. He is so upset that we have to pay for new museums but we cannot get the roads repaired in a timely fashion.

He believes that our current aldermen are spending taxpayer dollars incorrectly.

I could not agree more.

Museums do not take priority over fire and police protection.

The trolley does not take priority over road repair.

It is time for the city council to put the people of Kenosha over the special interest groups squawking for our tax dollars.

My hope is that my new friends in the 5^th district will stick around Kenosha long enough to make the needed changes to Kenosha government.

They are both fibbing

It is rather entertaining watching the political pundits and the news media's reaction to the Clinton lie about Bosnia.

Hello, where have they been for the last 15 years? There have been a lot of lies from the Clinton's or don't they remember what the definition of "is" is.

Of course, these same media pundits are having difficulty remembering that Obama was fibbing, just like Clinton is right now, a little over a week ago.

Did the media forget the statement "I never heard these statements from Rev. Wright..."? Then in Tuesday's wonderful speech, he did admit hearing "controversial" stuff.

The media may not have noticed this lie, but the people have-

A day after the speech, local residents were left wondering whether Obama was candid in the last week when he said he hadn’t heard any of Wright’s most objectionable remarks, but then said Tuesday that he had heard “controversial” remarks while sitting in the pews.

“He lied to Anderson Cooper,” said Rodica Mitrea, an aesthetician and immigrant from Romania, referring to an Obama interview Friday with the CNN anchor.

The media may continue to treat Obama like the new messiah, but regular folks know the truth.

Sure many of the liberals are trying to redefine the word "is" again to prove that Obama was not lying, but people are smarter than that.

Both Clinton and Obama will say whatever is necessary to get themselves elected. Lying is no big deal to these politicians.

Just a wee bit of anger in this article

So- what do you think? Perhaps Christopher Hitchens was a smidgen upset when he wrote this article?

You often hear it said, of some political or other opportunist, that he would sell his own grandmother if it would suit his interests. But you seldom, if ever, see this notorious transaction actually being performed, which is why I am slightly surprised that Obama got away with it so easily. (Yet why do I say I am surprised? He still gets away with absolutely everything.)

Looking for a moral equivalent to a professional demagogue who thinks that AIDS and drugs are the result of a conspiracy by the white man, Obama settled on an 85-year-old lady named Madelyn Dunham, who spent a good deal of her youth helping to raise him and who now lives alone and unwell in a condo in Honolulu. It would be interesting to know whether her charismatic grandson made her aware that he was about to touch her with his grace and make her famous in this way. By sheer good fortune, she, too, could be a part of it all and serve her turn in the great enhancement.

This flabbergasting process, made up of glibness and ruthlessness in equal proportions, rolls on unstoppably with a phalanx of reporters and men of the cloth as its accomplices. Look at the accepted choice of words for the ravings of Jeremiah Wright: controversial, incendiary, inflammatory. These are adjectives that might have been—and were—applied to many eloquent speakers of the early civil rights movement. (In the Washington Post, for Good Friday last, the liberal Catholic apologist E.J. Dionne lamely attempted to stretch this very comparison.) But is it "inflammatory" to say that AIDS and drugs are wrecking the black community because the white power structure wishes it? No. Nor is it "controversial." It is wicked and stupid and false to say such a thing. And it not unimportantly negates everything that Obama says he stands for by way of advocating dignity and responsibility over the sick cults of paranoia and victimhood.

continued...

Kathy Carpenter for Alderwoman- "I'm listening"

cross posted at Kathy Carpenter for Kenosha Alderwoman

I have listened to the complaints for the last several months. The people of Kenosha's 5th district believe their needs are not being met.

You call with a problem and no one ever returns you phone call.

Years ago you used to get a newsletter about what was taking place in Kenosha city government, the newsletters have dried up.

Like many of Kenosha's 5th district, I have had the same problem. Years ago, I called and left a message- I received no response.

Kenosha's 5th district needs an advocate. Someone who will listen to your concerns and take those concerns directly to the other city council members.

You deserve someone who will address your concern about losing the fire station. This action directly affects the people in our district.

You deserve an advocate and a voice on the city council. I will be that advocate.

Call me anytime 262-657-5098 or email me kc_for_alderman@yahoo.com

I will respond.

My first act as your alderman would be to call a meeting together at Gateway, centered right in the middle of the 5th district, and listen to concerns of the residents and the business owners of the district.

My second act is to put together a plan to address the issues that have been ignored in our district for too long.

My third act is to take the plan and bring it to my fellow city council members and give the 5th district a voice in the Kenosha city government.

Let's build a better Kenosha together.

Lena Taylor: Doesn't like the questions

Oh boy- you gotta love Governor Doyle's choice for running Milwaukee County government. He must be so proud.

I cannot believe this woman would really sit at a county worker's retiree breakfast and get upset at the retired county workers when they ask her what her plans are for county retiree benefits.

Seriously, she responded: "I am not a county expert, I am your state senator".

I hope Taylor does not believe that this is a good or appropriate answer.

This is a legitimate question posed by retired county employees.

Then she gets accusatory by saying "...it's not quite fair..., gives an unfair advantage to the incumbent..."

She is running for county exec, right?

Oh what a tangled web

Obama could not have been more relieved on Friday when he was told that his passport files had been breached by unauthorized personnel. It got him off of the Wright hotseat for a few minutes.

We immediately began hearing from folks like Keith Olberman that the head of the passport division was a Clinton employee. So the Clinton folks were getting blamed.

Obama immediately hollered for a full investigation, even a congressional investigation.

Then we heard from the Clinton campaign that her passport had also been breached and they were defending themselves.

A couple of hours later, we heard from the state department that not only Obama, but Clinton and McCain's passports had also been illegal viewed.

Shortly thereafter, the media discovered that of the two companies that had contractors involved, one of the company's CEO(Stanley Inc.) had donated to the Clinton campaign for $1000.

Clinton back on the hotseat again!

The theory was that the Clinton camp had only had her filed breached to throw investigators off the trail.

The latest-

The CEO from the other contracting firm involved(TAC), gave $2300 to Obama!

Oh this is getting exciting now!!!!

In the meantime, McCain has his head down and is plodding along with his focus on carrying a real message to the people.

And the politics continues...

This was my yard sign yesterday about 10:00am

Yes, the politics continues. I am down to crunch time and snow, rain, sleet, subzero temperatures and more snow has not stopped me yet.

Although- it has really slowed the process down.

I need your help.

I need lit droppers. Most of my area is filled with walking routes, so sending people out for longer than an hour is difficult to do.

So, the more people I get the faster I can get this done.

We are meeting today at 9:00 am at the Fireside Restaurant. If you cannot make it at 9:00am, I will be at the Fireside again at 1:00pm

Meeting place:

Fireside Restuarant
2801 30th Ave.
Kenosha

Call me for any reason 262-960-1852

They should have been fired

Not only is it stupid, especially during a presidential year, but it is unethical, immoral and a betrayal of trust.

The two state department employees snooping into Obama's passport records should have been fired.

The idea that the Bush administration was plotting with these state department officials for some incendiary political purpose is ridiculous.

Update: The air just went out of Obama's balloon on this. Both Clinton's and McCain's passports were also breached.

So much for that whole incendiary political purpose stuff, huh?