Nanny government strikes again

It now appears that the nanny government is attempting to regulate how much food a model eats.

Now this is just getting ridiculous-

Fearing that young models strutting down the runways in New York City are too skinny, a state lawmaker proposes that weight standards be established for the fashion and entertainment industries.

Bronx Assemblyman Jose Rivera wants to create a state advisory board to recommend standards and guidelines for the employment of child performers and models under the age of 18 to prevent eating disorders.

continued...

This picture could be used against them...

My guess is that this photo will be used against both of these candidates for President by their primary opponents...

Anti-war protesters spray paint Capitol building

The police just sat back and let these anti-war protesters do whatever they wanted to do...

Anti-war protesters were allowed to spray paint on part of the west front steps of the United States Capitol building after police were ordered to break their security line by their leadership, two sources told The Hill.

According to the sources, police officers were livid when they were told to fall back by U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) Chief Phillip Morse and Deputy Chief Daniel Nichols. "They were the commanders on the scene," one source said, who requested anonymity. "It was disgusting."

After police ceded the stairs, located on the lower west front of the Capitol, the building was locked down, the source added.

A second source who witnessed the incident said that the police had the crowd stopped at Third Street, but were told to bring the police line in front of the Capitol.

Approximately 300 protesters were allowed to take the steps and began to spray paint "anarchist symbols" and phrase such as "Our capitol building" and "you can’t stop us" around the area, the source said.

Morse responded to these claims in an e-mail Sunday afternoon explaining that the protesters were seeking confrontation with the police.

"While there were minor instances of spray painting of pavement by a splinter group of Anarchists who were seeking a confrontation with the police, their attempts to breach into secure areas and rush the doors of the Capitol were thwarted," Morse said. "The graffiti was easily removed by the dedicated [Architect of the Capitol] staff, some of whom responded on their day off to quickly clean the area."

He added, "It is the USCP's duty and responsibility to protect the Capitol complex, staff and public while allowing the public to exercise their First Amendment rights … at the end of the day, both occurred without injury to protestors or officers."

Yet, the sources who talked to The Hill were furious that protesters were not stopped before reaching the Capitol.

"To get that close to the Capitol building, that is ridiculous," the second source said. "[Police] were told not to arrest anyone."

The second source added that police had to stand by and watch as protesters posed in front of their graffiti.

Tens of thousands of people rallied on the Mall and the Capitol complex Saturday in protest of the increased troop deployments and the war in Iraq.

If a person spray paints on a bridge, we arrest them for defacing public property. However, if a anti-war protesting anarchist decides to deface property that belongs to all taxpayers, that is considered free speech.

Huh?

I am pretty sure that my tax dollars pays Mr. Morse's and Mr. Nichol's salary. Why have they not been terminated?

It's a drag being in charge

More "culture of corruption" issues for the Democrats. Suddenly, these guys find themselves on the hot seat-


House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Rahm Emanuel and Sen. Evan Bayh find themselves in hot water-

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and two other prominent Democrats have failed to disclose they are officers of family charities, in violation of a law requiring members of Congress to report non-profit leadership roles, USA Today reported in its Monday editions.

Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, the fourth-ranking House Democrat, and Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana also did not report they serve as family foundation directors, according to financial disclosure reports examined by USA TODAY.

continued...

Isn't Evan Bayh running for President???


Senator Reid also finds himself in more trouble AGAIN for some land deals-

It's hard to buy undeveloped land in booming northern Arizona for $166 an acre. But now-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid effectively did just that when a longtime friend decided to sell property owned by the employee pension fund that he controlled.

continued...

I cannot believe that these are the same goofs that Americans are trusting to fix the ethical problems in Congress.

Wisconsinites are being over taxed???

Well, no kidding- of course Wisconsinites are being overtaxed.

It is finally starting to dawn on people that assessment values on property are way higher than they should be.

Taxing times for homeowners

For years, taxpayers have been complaining about this. The assessed value of their homes is way higher than the re-sale value of your home-

"Our townhouse in Wauwatosa, on the market for eight months, was reassessed at $391,000 last summer," Boyce said. "Our asking price, after being lowered twice, is now $349,900 and still we have not received any legitimate offers. Assessments are completely out of whack with values."

Because of these outrageous assessments, we are being overtaxed. You gotta love this statement:

"It's not that big of a deal for the most part because probably everybody is valued higher. But to the extent that one area is declining more than the others, you might get distortions. Those residents might be overtaxed slightly," Knapp said.

Overtaxed slightly???

Conservatives fight back!

So have you had enough of Senator Chuck Hagel?

I support our troops and winning the war in Iraq.

Despite what the media may be touting, Chuck Hagel does not represent Republicans or our values!

Fight back by signing this pledge that states:

If the United States Senate passes a resolution, non-binding or otherwise, that criticizes the commitment of additional troops to Iraq that General Petraeus has asked for and that the president has pledged, and if the Senate does so after the testimony of General Petraeus on January 23 that such a resolution will be an encouragement to the enemy, I will not contribute to any Republican senator who voted for the resolution. Further, if any Republican senator who votes for such a resolution is a candidate for re-election in 2008, I will not contribute to the National Republican Senatorial Committee unless the Chairman of that Committee, Senator Ensign, commits in writing that none of the funds of the NRSC will go to support the re-election of any senator supporting the non-binding resolution.

Sign the Pledge here: http://www.thenrscpledge.com//index.php

Feingold to propose cutting off all war funds

In typical Feingold fashion, he says he supports the troops, at the same time he is proposing cutting off funding for the troops.

Feingold suggests cutting off funds for war

And Feingold is not just suggesting not funding the so-called "surge", he wants all the funds cut!

Feingold's comments came a day after President Bush announced his plan to send 21,500 more troops to Iraq.

"And I'm not talking here only about the surge or escalation," Feingold said.

Beginning next week, Feingold plans on holding hearings-

Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., has scheduled a hearing next Tuesday in his Judiciary Committee subcommittee to explore whether Congress has the authority to cut off funding for the U.S. military campaign in Iraq. The move comes as Congress prepares to vote on a congressional resolution opposing President Bush's escalation of the war.


Speaking of a surge or an escalations- Feingold's hatred for Bush has now "surged" and "escalated" to the next level.

Total Bummer

Well this is a total bummer-

Kerry bows out of '08 presidential race

I am going to miss making fun of Kerry.

Here are a few photos, that I picked up from Free Republic, that we have had fun with over the last few years-

A couple of observations

I missed most of the President's SOTU speech. However, I have picked up a few clips here and there on the news and some websites.

A few observations:

Winning the elections in November has not changed the mood of the Democrats. Did you see the looks on their faces? The anger, hatred and rage of the Democrats was on display loud and clear last night.

From what I saw, no one in the room smiled more than President Bush.


For a live reaction- Jessica McBride live blogged the SOTU.

Could someone do me a favor?

The State of the Union is on soon and I need a favor.

I could have sworn that I saw my very own Senator, Herb Kohl, taking a cat nap during one of the President's State of the Union speeches.

Could someone just keep elbowing Senator Kohl to keep him awake?

I mean really, it is awful embarrassing, even if these speeches are boring.

Continued prayers for Scott Procknow and family

My heart goes out to all of the family and friends of Scott Procknow, a biology teacher at Tremper High School.

His wife and family lost a good man.

The Kenosha community lost a good teacher and mentor for our children.

I think most of you who read this blog understand how I feel about drinking and driving. I just don't know what else to say.

The life of a innocent schoolteacher was taken by a drunk driver.

When does the nightmare of drinking and driving end?

Obama vs. Hillary

I read an article in Insight Magazine that has the fingerprints of Hillary all over it-

Are the American people ready for an elected president who was educated in a Madrassa as a young boy and has not been forthcoming about his Muslim heritage?

This is the question Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s camp is asking about Sen. Barack Obama.

Of course, several days after this article came out, the Hillary camp is denying that they are the ones digging up the dirt on Obama. Instead, Republicans are being blamed for leaking this information in a Times Online article-

But the article also claimed that the madrassa allegations came from aides to Hillary Clinton, Mr Obama’s main opponent for the Democratic nomination.

This may be wishful thinking on behalf of Republicans. The Clinton camp is determined not to be accused of digging dirt on Mr Obama because they fear such tactics could backfire, given his popularity.

But the Insight allegations represent an exquisite double shot at the Democrats’ two leading White House contenders: it implies that Mr Obama, whose middle name is Hussein, is a closet Islamic extremist, and that Mrs Clinton is so rattled by his candidacy she is using underhand tactics to weaken him.

Of course, Insight Magazine's article is full of un-named sources. It is impossible to know where this information came from.

When Hillary made her claim- "I'm in to win", this was her first warning shot to her Democratic opponents.

Obama's supporters need to heed these words of warning. Hillary is serious about winning.

In the meantime, Hillary will continue to claim that it is the "Vast Right Wing Conspiracy" making all of this up.

Those of us that are part of the "Vast Right Wing Conspiracy" can sit back and watch this battle in the Democratic Party unfold.

Obama vs. Hillary

Oh boy, this is going to be alot of fun to watch.

Hillary's In.

Hillary Clinton made it official today, she has entered the race for president in 2008.

Oddly enough, Hillary is claiming- "I'm In to Win!".

Well, duh? Of course she is in to win.

My guess is that all of the presidential candidates are "in to win". I have yet to hear one single candidate claim they are "in to lose". Duh!

Teacher's merit pay

I still have not been able to figure out why the teacher's unions are so "anti-merit" pay.

You would think that improving the education of a child would be a good thing in the eyes of a teacher's union.

The Opinion Journal has a article on teacher's merit pay. As it turns out the "merit pay" program is working in Little Rock.

Is there a bigger scandal in America than the low state of inner-city schools? Oprah Winfrey, utterly frustrated with the problem, last month discussed the $40 million she has spent building the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls--in South Africa. Ms. Winfrey said South African students want to learn, but in U.S. schools, "the sense that you need to learn just isn't there." Where'd it go?

There are multiple-choice answers to that question, and most of them are right. Mayor Mike Bloomberg of New York offered one answer in his State of the City speech Wednesday: The desire to learn disappeared down the bottomless well of centralized public-school bureaucracies. Mayor Bloomberg proposed greatly increased autonomy for school principals--one irrefutably proven answer to making a school better. He also wants teachers to prove they deserve tenure, an idea so obvious that it probably has no chance.

One measure of the tenure decision for New York City teachers would be their students' test scores. News accounts said the city teachers' union is "certain to fight" linking test scores to tenure. This, too, is among the multitude of correct answers for why students have no incentive to learn in big-city schools.

Mike Bloomberg, a name difficult to keep out of conversations about national politics, has been known to make visits elsewhere in the country on what we political gamesters would call "exploratory" trips. Let me suggest that the mayor explore a Southern strategy in Little Rock, Ark., where five grade schools are continuing an experiment in linking teacher merit pay to student test scores, first described in this space in October 2005.

That column, "How One School Found a Way to Spell Success," described how teachers at the Meadowcliff School, formerly full of student underachievers, were promised bonuses linked to improvements in the standardized test performance of each student. (The column is available on OpinionJournal here.) The size of the bonus increased relative to the student's year-over-year test gains. A 4% improvement earned a $100 bonus, rising to $400 if the student gained 15% (some did). Everyone in the school was in the bonus plan, including the cafeteria ladies, who started eating with the kids rather than in their own lounge. It worked. Scores improved. Twelve teachers got bonuses from $1,800 to $8,600. The checks were handed out in a public ceremony. Oprah would love Meadowcliff.

continued...

You gotta just love the Drudge Report...

Sometimes I just love the Drudge Report. Currently up on their site they have the following blaring headline:

Pelosi announces 'Global Warming' Panel

Here is the photo that accompanied this headline:





Perhaps Pelosi should have announced a panel on the 'Citrus Growers Crisis' before announcing a "Global Warming" panel.

It makes you wonder what Nancy Pelosi's own homestate constituents think about her right now as they watch millions and millions of dollars in frozen citrus crops die.

Of course the taxpayers will have to pay for government's mistake

I don't think there was any doubt in anyone's mind that the taxpayers would have to pay for this governmental mistake-

State taxpayers likely will have to pitch in hundreds of thousands of dollars - and perhaps much more - to provide credit monitoring to help protect the 171,000 people whose Social Security numbers inadvertently were printed on the outside of tax booklets.

If everyone affected signed up for the credit monitoring, it would cost taxpayers more than $4 million, but state officials said the bill would be lower than that. They cited examples of security breaches elsewhere that suggested taxpayers would have to pay at most $232,000.

This is why Americans are so frustrated with our government. Government's mistakes cost us alot of money.

One Last Holiday Party to close out the Season!

Kenosha County Republican Women

Postponed due to pending inclement weather.

Rescheduled for late April or late May as a "Spring Fling"!

Details to follow!

Due Thursday @ Noon: Responses to Kenosha News Focus Question

I just wanted to give everyone a head's up that your responses to this week's Kenosha News focus question is due in by Thursday at noon.

Let your voices be heard!

This week's Kenosha News question is:

President Bush last week said he will send 21,500 more troops to Iraq, despite the growing unpopularity of the war.

Do you think increasing the commitment of troops to the war in Iraq is a good idea or not?

That will be the topic for Sunday’s Focus Page.

Share your opinion by calling the Kenosha News Focus Line, 656-6205 or (800) 201-6523, or by sending an e-mail to focus@ kenoshanews.com. Please be concise and give your age, gender and town of residence. Responses will be accepted until noon Thursday.

You do not have to give your name, just your age, gender and town of residence.

To those folks that do not live in Kenosha County, the Kenosha News also prints these responses also.

Whoa!

Apparently there are some folks who are not real appreciative of the fact that the newly elected Congressman, Steve Kagen, is lying.

Barely two weeks into office and the campaigns to oust Kagen have already begun.

I was floored when I read this editorial in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel-

Democrat Steve Kagen, the Appleton allergist elected in November to succeed Mark Green in the 8th Congressional District, is again in political hot water because of something he said. Or, to be more specific, something he told some supporters he said during a reception at the White House.

But the fact is that it's not clear exactly what was said because Kagen apparently was making much of it up. The behavior, odd beyond question, calls into question both Kagen's judgment and maturity.

It started when Kagen met with a group of anti-Iraq war activists Dec. 19 in Appleton. His comments were reported in the January issue of The Scene, a monthly Fox Valley arts tabloid under the headline, "Kagen introduces a little levity to the White House."

Among other things, Kagen told the group after talking about Iraq that he confronted presidential adviser Karl Rove in a White House men's room, blocked his exit and said, "My name's Dr. Multimillionaire, and I kicked your ass." He was apparently referring to besting a GOP candidate for whom members of the administration, including President Bush, had personally campaigned.

He also related how he deliberately insulted Laura Bush by greeting her as "Barbara" when Kagen and his wife later met the president and the first lady.

Did that actually happen? Depends on what part you're referring to.

Kagen told reporters at a news conference Sunday in Green Bay - and his communications director repeated it Tuesday - that Kagen did not insult the first lady, that he and his wife were thrilled to meet the president and his wife and "at no time was any disrespect shown on anyone's part."

OK, so why did he say it happened?

Asked by the Fox Valley newspaper and TV reporters if he confronted Rove and told him he "kicked his ass" in the election, Kagen was evasive: "I didn't block the door, but I did have a very playful experience in the White House," Kagen said.

When reporters rightly pressed Kagen for a more definitive answer, he appeared to become annoyed and said the media should focus on serious matters such as the war in Iraq.

When we asked about the Rove incident Tuesday, Kagen's communications director declined to comment.

A deputy White House press secretary told the Appleton Post-Crescent last week that Kagen's "version of events is not the way it happened at all."

Assuming Kagen wants to deal seriously with substantive matters, why make up such a silly story? And why decline to say exactly what he told Rove?

The congressman owes his constituents an explanation, but bottom line: The incident raises sobering questions about Kagen. Especially in light of other things he has said, namely his use of a racially insensitive term for American Indians during the campaign.

"I'm not there for playful experiences at the White House," Kagen said at Sunday's news conference. "I'm there to get a job done."

Time to start, Congressman.

Our Congressman Paul Ryan

Yesterday, the Kenosha News did an excellent write up on the front page of the Kenosha News.

As many of you have noticed- I have stopped linking to stories written in the Kenosha News. The reason is that the Kenosha News did not allow linking to their stories.

Currently, the Kenosha News is exploring a new beta program online. I scanned around looking for the "no linking" policy and I could not find it.

So I am hoping that it is okay to link to the Paul Ryan story-

WASHINGTON - As Paul Ryan strolls into the Longworth House Office Building early one morning last week, he looks like he could still pass for a member of the legion of young, post-college congressional staffers who populate Capitol Hill.

With freshly combed hair, a boyish face and a pair of little white iPod buds planted in his ears, Ryan looks like he wasn't even born when many of Congress' senior members had already become leaders.

He wasn't.

Now 36, Ryan was in the womb when the dean of Wisconsin's congressional delegation, Democratic Rep. Dave Obey, was first elected. Ryan was a third-grader when the state's senior-most Republican, Rep. James Sensenbrenner, took office.

Some members of the baby-boom generation - which Ryan frequently references in making his case to reform Social Security - are old enough to be his parents.

But looks and dates don't necessarily tell the story of a fifth-term congressman, safe in his seat and well respected by colleagues on both sides of the aisle.

By the end of the current term, Ryan, a Republican, will have spent a decade representing the Kenosha area in the House of Representatives.

Well-respected

In that time, his peers say, Ryan has established solid conservative credentials and a reputation as a well-thought-out source - some say the White House sometimes consults him - on such complex, divisive issues as the federal budget and Social Security reform.

"He is certainly one who my colleagues look to for good research, good information," said Rep. Jim McCrery, R-La., the ranking GOP member of the House Ways and Means Committee.

Ryan has served a few terms on the powerful Ways and Means panel, and he was recently named the ranking Republican on the House Budget Committee. To gain the latter post, Ryan leapfrogged 12 more senior Republicans on that committee.

Republicans and Democrats alike say those achievements are indicative of Ryan's drive and intellect."He's really very highly regarded on the Hill," said Sensenbrenner, who claims to be something of a mentor for Ryan.

"He has a lot of ideas; he has an infectious enthusiasm."

Sensenbrenner said that enthusiasm was once perhaps not a positive attribute.

Ryan took office in January 1999, when he was 28 years old.

A seasoned Capitol Hill staffer before he returned home to Janesville to seek election to Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District seat, Ryan had a tendency to come off as a made-to-order Washington policy wonk.

"When he started out, I think a lot people viewed him as a brash young kid," Sensenbrenner said. "When I started out, I think a lot of people said the same thing about me."

But, Sensenbrenner said, Ryan has grown further into his role with each re-election.Those haven't been a problem for Ryan - he's averaged about 66 percent of the vote in each of his biennial bids since 2000.

Even last year, when Democrats swept out the Republican majority, Ryan easily defeated Jeffrey Thomas, garnering 63 percent of the vote.Many of those national Republican losses were chalked up to widespread concern about the ethical quality of Congress.

Ryan, Sensenbrenner said, is the antithesis of a backroom dealmaker."He is a mover and a shaker, but basically he uses his ideas to move and shake things," Sensenbrenner said.

While they may disagree with him on most key issues - Ryan voted against all of the Democrats' "First 100 Hours" agenda items that hit the floor last week - Democratic representatives interviewed last week were not inclined to say anything bad about him.

Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., the new chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, said he looks forward to reaching across partisan lines to work with Ryan.

"He's a bright young man, and it's not unusual for the committee to get the brightest that we have in the House," Rangel said.

Rep. Tammy Baldwin, a Madison Democrat whose politics could not likely be farther from Ryan's, said Ryan is a person of significant political talent.

With a gradfatherly smile, Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., called Ryan simply "a good fellow."

Ryan said he has no trouble liking those with whom he disagrees. He said he genuinely enjoys the company of Democrats such as Rangel, Baldwin and Milwaukee Rep. Gwen Moore, and he once brought one of Congress' most notoriously left-leaning representatives, Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich, to Racine for a hearing on reformulated fuels.

Ryan said he does not consider himself an ideologue.

"I'm not out leading the crusade for polarizing issues or right-wing or left-wing celebrity issues," Ryan said. "I'm out there trying to fix the problems that confront the people of southeastern Wisconsin.

To be sure, Ryan paints that picture with a consistently conservative brush.

"I think Paul Ryan is a reliable Republican vote," said McCrery, of the Ways and Means Committee.

"I think his philosophy is pretty in line with most Republicans."Rep. John Shadegg, R-Ariz., a frequent ally of Ryan's, qualified this point, however.

"Although he's a conservative, I think he's viewed as a reasoned conservative who carefully thinks out his views and articulates them well," said Shadegg, who Ryan last year championed for the House Republican leader post that ultimately went to Ohio Rep. John Boehner.

Ryan said his top priorities for the new session - the first in which he will have to work in the minority - revolve around balancing the budget, preparing for the onset of baby-boomer retirements and reforming health care to make it more accessible, affordable and transparent.

As for his political future, Ryan simply says he would like to stay in Congress long enough to make a difference, though he does not offer a likely timetable. Whenever he's done in the House, he says he'll move on to the private sector.

Meanwhile, he dismisses rumblings about his possibly running for Senate, Wisconsin governor or - as an occasional insider suggests - president.

"I don't see this as my full career," Ryan said, of politics. "I see myself doing something - I don't know what it is " for the second half of my working life."

This article was written by Kenosha News writer, Joe Potente, as part of a series on the new Congress' first 100 hours.

Potente has proven himself to be fair to both sides of the ailse, which many of us appreciate.