travelins: The - Not - So - Great American Blog

DONALD DRIVER AUTOGRAPH SESSION TRUELY SPECIAL

2012-02-13T13:37:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, February 8, I was up, packed, and on my way south by southeast on Highway 94 - the first leg of a journey to Waukesha, Wisconsin, to obtain Donald Driver's autograph with and for my buddy, Tom Johnson. I took this first photo just as I got up to speed north of Osseo. Osseo would be my first stop for breakfast.
The Norske Nook is an obligatory stop anytime I travel east on 94 and this morning was no different.

I took a seat at the counter, right next to the tower of freshly baked pies and ordered my one egg, white toast, and coffee black. My stomach was giving me some trouble - some queasiness that I found would just not go away for the entire trip. I sat next to an old timer who was poring over the newspaper and complaining to the waitress about this "goddamn recall petition". He didn't look to be a man of extravagant wealth and it always astounds me when people take a political stand against their own interests.

Just the morning before as I was about to enter my car with the "Recall Walker" bumper sticker, I was confronted by yet another less than wealthy looking gimpy guy about my age who rasped: "ONE WALKER IS A DAMN SIGHT BETTER THAN FIFTEEN RUNNERS!"

For an instant, I didn't quite grasp the gist of his message so I merely said "okay" and went on my way. As I drove home I realized that the "15 runners" was a put down of the 15 Democrats that left the state in hopes that the public would look more closely at what Herr Walker's proposed "repair" budget contained.
So five minutes after leaving the parking lot, I had lots of good come backs, the best being: I would agree with you sir, if Mr Walker was indeed a straight walker, but as we are finding out, he appears to be a "Crooked Walker".

But I guess, in hind sight, "okay" probably pissed him off enough. I wouldn't want him coming after me with his one good leg. Although it would have been a pretty fair fight as I have a gimpy leg also.
I made it in safely to the Johnson's home in Windsor, Wisconsin, (just outside of Madison) and as both Tom and Stan were teaching evening courses that night, went out to dinner with Stan's lovely wife, Nancy, to a quaint little Italian restaurant.

Still my stomach would not let me get far into my spaghetti and meat ball and I brought home much food.
Thursday late afternoon, Tom and I piled into my scion xB and we drove down to Waukesha to get in line with many others who turned out to get Mr. Driver's autograph. Donald, as I expected, was most gracious to all who were in line and I got a chance to shake his hand and tell him that not only was he a great football player but also a great man who has done much for the community of Green Bay and as a living good example for the entire state of Wisconsin.

I returned home by Friday noon, still not feeling well. Today I am feeling somewhat better. I have more to blog about. But first a break!

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THERE'S SOMETHING ROTTEN IN THE STATE OF WISCONSIN AND IT AIN'T THE CHEESE!

2012-02-03T15:09:00.000-08:00

Did you know that the words "race car" spelled backwards still spell "race car"?

And that "eat" is the only word that, if you take the first letter and move it to the last, spells its own past tense, "ate"?

And if you rearrange the letters in "Tea Party Republicans," and add just a few more letters, it spells: "Shut the hell up you free-loading, progress-blocking, benefit-grabbing, resource-sucking, violent hypocrites, and deal with the fact that you nearly wrecked the country under Bush and that our current president is black, so suck it up and get over it."

Isn't that interesting?

Subject: SEVEN REASONS NOT TO MESS WITH CHILDREN.......

A little girl was talking to her teacher about whales.

The teacher said it was physically impossible for a whale to swallow a human because even though it was a very large mammal its throat was very small.

The little girl stated that Jonah was swallowed by a whale.

Irritated, the teacher reiterated that a whale could not swallow a human; it was physically impossible.

The little girl said, 'When I get to heaven I will ask Jonah'.

The teacher asked, 'What if Jonah went to hell?'

The little girl replied, 'Then you ask him'.

A Kindergarten teacher was observing her classroom of children while they were drawing. She would occasionally walk around to see each child's work.

As she got to one little girl who was working diligently, she asked what the drawing was.

The girl replied, 'I'm drawing God.'

The teacher paused and said, 'But no one knows what God looks like.'

Without missing a beat, or looking up from her drawing, the girl replied, 'They will in a minute.'

A Sunday school teacher was discussing the Ten Commandments with her five and six year olds.

After explaining the commandment to 'honour' thy Father and thy Mother, she asked, 'Is there a commandment that teaches us how to treat our brothers and sisters?'

From the back, one little boy (the oldest of a family) answered, 'Thou shall not kill.'

One day a little girl was sitting and watching her mother do the dishes at the kitchen sink. She suddenly noticed that her mother had several strands of white hair sticking out in contrast on her brunette head.

She looked at her mother and inquisitively asked, 'Why are some of your hairs white, Mum?'

Her mother replied, 'Well, every time that you do something wrong and make me cry or unhappy, one of my hairs turns white.'

The little girl thought about this revelation for a while and then said, 'Mummy, how come ALL of grandma's hairs are white?'

The children had all been photographed, and the teacher was trying to persuade them each to buy a copy of the group picture.

'Just think how nice it will be to look at it when you are all grown up and say, 'There's Jennifer, she's a lawyer,' or 'That's Michael, He's a doctor.'

A small voice at the back of the room rang out, 'And there's the teacher, she's dead.'

A teacher was giving a lesson on the circulation of the blood. Trying to make the matter clearer, she said, 'Now, class, if I stood on my head, the blood, as you know, would run into it, and I would turn red in the face.'

'Yes,' the class said.

'Then why is it that while I am standing upright in the ordinary position the blood doesn't run into my feet?'

A little fellow shouted,
'Cause your feet ain't empty.'

The children were lined up in the cafeteria of a Catholic elementary school for lunch. At the head of the table was a large pile of apples. The nun made a note, and posted on the apple tray:

'Take only ONE . God is watching.'

Moving further along the lunch line, at the other end of the table was a large pile of chocolate chip cookies.

A child had written a note, 'Take all you want. God is watching the apples..'

At the wedding reception someone yelled,

"Would all the married men, please stand next to the one person who has made your life worth living."

The bartender was almost crushed to death.

A sweet grandmother telephoned St. Joseph 's Hospital. She timidly asked, "Is it possible to speak to someone who can tell me how a patient is doing?"

The operator said, "I'll be glad to help, dear. What's the name and room number of the patient?"

The grandmother in her weak, tremulous voice said, "Norma Findlay, Room 302."

The operator replied, "Let me put you on hold while I check with the nurse's station for that room."

After a few minutes, the operator returned to the phone and said, "I have good news. Her nurse just told me that Norma is doing well. Her blood pressure is fine; her blood work just came back normal and her physician, Dr. Cohen, has scheduled her to be discharged tomorrow."

The grandmother said, "Thank you. That's wonderful. I was so worried. God bless you for the good news."

The operator replied, "You're more than welcome.
Is Norma your daughter?"

The grandmother said, "No, I'm Norma Findlay in Room 302.
No one tells me shit."

TRUE STORY

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SOMETHING ROTTEN AND IT AIN'T THE CHEESE

Just hours after he delivered a State of the State address that he hoped would set the tone for his campaign to avert a recall election threat, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker was hit with exactly the sort of news that embattled politicians fear most.
Two former aides to Walker — one of whom was in the employ of his campaign until just days ago — have been charged with felonies and misdemeanors in the ongoing John Doe investigation of wrongdoing by aides, political allies and campaign donors with links to the embattled governor.
These charges follow closely on the filing of felony charges against Tim Russell, a former Walker deputy chief of staff and one of the governor’s closest aides over the past decade.
The aides charged Thursday were, according to Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm, engaged in fundraising and other political activities during work hours while on the staff of Walker when he served as county executive.
Chisholm explains in a pair of detailed complaints that Russell and the newly indicted aides established a “secret email system available to and used by select ‘insider’ staffers for both official and unofficial business.” That system was built around a wireless router that was kept in an armoire in the office of Walker’s deputy chief of staff — just a few feet from Walker’s office. Its existence was “never disclosed to county employees outside a closely held group within the Walker administration.”
The complaint discusses the exchange of thousands — yes, thousands — of emails involving fundraising and political activity. Many of these email exchanges involve the deputy chief of staff who is now charged with four felony counts of misconduct in public office, Kelly Rindfleisch, and top political aides to Walker, including Keith Gilkes, who went on to serve as the governor’s chief of staff.
Walker admits that during the campaign he was in constant communication with Gilkes about fundraising and campaign strategy.
Rindfleisch was in constant communication with Gilkes and other campaign aides.
Despite the fact that it is illegal for county officials to use their offices for campaign work, Rindfleisch revealed in one email that “half” her taxpayer-funded work was “for the campaign.”
Another individual who appears to have been in email contact with the Walker aides was Reince Priebus, the former Republican Party of Wisconsin chair who now heads the Republican National Committee.
Additional emails went to the campaign of Brett Davis, a Walker ally who was running for lieutenant governor in a 2010 Republican primary. Davis lost that race, but now works in the Walker administration as a top appointee of the governor. The manager of the Davis campaign for lieutenant governor was Cullen Werwie, who exchanged emails with Rindfleisch.
Werwie, who now serves as Gov. Walker’s spokesman, has been granted immunity in the John Doe investigation.
For Rindfleisch, Walker’s former deputy chief of staff, the charges are very serious — major felonies that carry with them the prospect of multiple years in jail. The 57-page complaint against her, and against a lower-level political operative named Darlene Wink (who has agreed to aid prosecutors), provides a rough outline for what political observers have begun to refer to as a classic “pay-to-play” political operation, where key government aides are involved in both policymaking and campaign fundraising from parties that are interested in those policies.
The added twist: Rarely if ever has an investigation into this sort of activity revealed that discussions about money and policy were mixed on a “secret email system.”
The investigation is ongoing. It continues to expand at an exponential rate, touching more and more of Walker’s inner circle, including aides in the county executive’s office, 2010 campaign aides and donors, and aides in the governor’s office and Walker’s current campaign. Notably, Rindfleisch, who was paid by Milwaukee County taxpayers during the 2010 Walker campaign, left county employment after Walker’s election to help organize the new governor’s inauguration. Rindfleisch then went to work as a top fundraising aide with the governor’s political operation, Friends of Scott Walker, with which she was employed until January 2012.
This John Doe investigation is still in the early stages of sorting through mountains of information obtained in FBI raids and related investigations of Walker aides and donors. Key players are cutting immunity deals and agreeing to talk. That means that the charges and complaints will continue through the recall campaign demanded by the 1 million Wisconsinites who petitioned for Walker’s ouster.
The potential that the John Doe inquiry will be a major political problem for Walker now seems a good deal greater than it did just days ago.
Here’s why.
The latest complaint ties wrongdoing to Walker’s 2010 gubernatorial campaign.
This new complaint makes the connection to Walker’s current spokesman Cullen Werwie, who has requested immunity in the John Doe probe. The private email network in the county executive’s office was aiding both Walker’s campaign and the campaign of a Walker ally, Brett Davis, who was running for lieutenant governor. Werwie was Davis’ campaign spokesman. (In addition to Werwie, Davis is now a top Walker appointee.)
The complaint features a reference to an email from Walker showing at least some knowledge of problems with politicking in the office. He is primarily concerned that there be no media stories about political operations being run out of the county executive’s office — following the revelation in 2010 that one of the aides charged Thursday, Wink, was doing political work on county time. “We cannot afford another story like this one,” reads the email, which was included in the complaint. “No one can give them any reason to do another story.” The governor even counsels his political wingman about the use of laptops and websites during the workday.
The complaint released Thursday is the most detailed and serious yet directed at the official and political activities on behalf of Walker.
And few will debate that these charges are the most serious to arise thus far from the John Doe probe. They bring the investigation dramatically closer to the governor.
This does not mean that the governor is going to be indicted, or that he is guilty of wrongdoing.
But it does raise the classic question from the Watergate era inquiries into the misdeeds of aides to President Richard Nixon. Of Nixon it was asked: “What did he know and when did he know it?”
With the latest charges and the fresh complaint, it is now entirely reasonable to say with regard to Scott Walker: “What did he know and when did he know it?”
John Nichols is the associate editor of The Capital Times. jnichols@madison.com

message from UNITED WISCONSIN TO RECALL WALKER

2012-01-26T09:18:00.000-08:00

-Message to Our Supporters-

Congratulations! Over the last two months, over a million of you, from truck drivers to teachers, signed the petition to recall Scott Walker. With each signature you said you would not allow our state to be steamrolled by Walker’s radical polices. No more will you tolerate his drastic cuts to our prized education system, watch jobs flee our state in droves, and no more will you sit on the sidelines as Scott Walker assaults our working class institutions and values. The day that over 1,000,000 signatures were turned in, was the day that the people of Wisconsin won the first battle in the war to take back our state.

What’s next?
In just the past 30 days, Walker raked in over 4.6 million dollars, 1.6 million of which has come from only 17 individuals. Additionally, over 60% of these contributions defending Scott Walker have come from out-of-state interests. Walker received over $500,000 dollars from Bob Perry, the Texas home builder and key funder of the “Swift Boat” smear campaign against John Kerry in the 2004 Presidential election. Clearly, these payoffs from Walker's big corporate allies have flooded into our state to defend their candidate. Please donate $12 to tell Walker that the people of Wisconsin will not be bought.

Thank you for your hard work and support! United Wisconsin made a promise to you to force the successful recall election of Scott Walker. We still have work to do. In the next few days, you will be asked to tell us what you feel is most important to focus on to ensure getting Walker out of office. We know that victory requires putting the people first.
We cannot meet this outrage with silence. Please donate $12 dollars to help defend Wisconsin against out-of-state interests. Your $12 dollars will send a clear message that we may not have millions of dollars, but we have the will of over a million Wisconsinites.
Together we can take back our state.
Thank you all for your hard work,

Your friends at United Wisconsin

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DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF WISCONSIN ASKS:

IS WISCONSIN FOR SALE?

While our grassroots activists were collecting more than 1.9 million signatures to save Wisconsin, Scott Walker was secretly flying all over the country on a corporate cash bonanza to put Wisconsin up for sale to the highest bidder.

The total haul for Scott Walker? More than $4.5 million in just five weeks, with $1 million from just four right-wing donors in Texas and Missouri.

We don't have billionaire donors bank-rolling our grassroots campaign in exchange for massive corporate tax breaks or massive handouts. We have extraordinary supporters like you who are committed to putting government back on the side of the people.

Make a grassroots donation of $10 or more right now to counter Scott Walker's corporate cash bonanza and receive a limited edition "I recalled Walker" bumper sticker for free.

https://secure.wisdems.org/donate/Wisconsin-Is-Not-For-Sale

Scott Walker's latest campaign finance report shows that he has doubled down on financial support from Texas billionaire Bob Perry. He's a good ol' boy of George W. Bush and Karl Rove who ponied up more than $4.45 million to launch false attacks trashing Senator John Kerry's heroic Vietnam War record in 2004.

Bob Perry specializes in funding smear campaigns against Democrats and he has now given Scott Walker a record-setting donation of $490,000 to flood the airwaves with false and misleading television ads.

Scott Walker has made it clear that he stands with New York hedge fund managers and right-wing billionaires from Texas, Kansas and Missouri.

Stand with our grassroots campaign to save Wisconsin from Scott Walker's fire sale and help give us the resources we need to defeat Scott Walker in the general election.

Donate $10 or more right now and receive a limited edition "I recalled Walker" bumper sticker for free.

https://secure.wisdems.org/donate/Wisconsin-Is-Not-For-Sale

We'll never match Scott Walker's corporate millions, but we do have more than a million Wisconsinites who don't want to see their state sold off to the highest bidder.

Please make a donation today so we can win this historic fight for Wisconsin's future by defeating Scott Walker and his billionaire friends.

Thank you,

Mike Tate

Chair, Democratic Party of Wisconsin

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TIRED OF REPUGNICANS CALLING THE HEALTH CARE LAW 'OBAMACARE'

2012-01-21T15:55:00.000-08:00

This just in:

The same week that 1 million signatures were turned in to recall him from office, Scott Walker continued to make national headlines with his assault on Wisconsin values. In a move he claimed would save Wisconsin from the “the encroachment of ObamaCare in our state,” Walker announced he is turning down a $38 million grant from the federal government to develop the central element of the national health care reform law, a competitive health marketplace. This reform would have outlawed insurance discrimination based on gender, age, and preexisting conditions, and guaranteed a fair marketplace where consumers have a number of high quality coverage options.

It is clear that the real threat to public health is not ObamaCare but WalkerCare. Under WalkerCare the needs of health insurance industry CEOs come first, and nearly 65,000 people, including nearly 30,000 children, will be forced off BadgerCare.

The more Wisconsin voters learn about WalkerCare, the more certain will be Walker’s defeat in the upcoming recall elections. We need your help to get the word out. Please give $100, $50, or what ever you can afford to help us build a major campaign to educate the public about the threat of WalkerCare.

Walker began his assault on health care reform this fall when he filed for a waiver from new federal standards which cap excessive health insurance profits and overhead. If Walker gets his way, Wisconsin consumers will lose $14 million in rebates owed to them by the large national health insurance corporations.

Then, Walker’s bureaucrats used the unilateral power given to them by Act 10, the same law that stripped union rights from most public employees, to move a plan forcing nearly 65,000 people off BadgerCare in the middle of the worst jobs crisis since the Great Depression.

Please support Citizen Action of Wisconsin, so we can continue to get the word about the devastating consequences of WalkerCare. We need to make Walker’s assault on health security a major issue in the upcoming recall elections.

When Walker announced his latest assault on health care reform, I happened to be in Washington, DC at the largest gathering of state health care reform advocates. I can tell you that even advocates from deeply conservative “red states” are stunned by the radicalism of WalkerCare. My mobile phone has been ringing of the hook with media inquires. Walker has clearly overreached yet again, and his attack on BadgerCare and health care reform can play a major role in defeating him in the upcoming recall election.

The 1 million signatures that were turned in this week is truly historic, and shows that there is a grassroots movement beyond anything we have ever seen in Wisconsin. The next step is to win the public debate on the issues that matter most.

Please give $100, $50, or what ever you can afford to help us build a major campaign to educate the public about the threat of WalkerCare.

Sincerely,

Robert Kraig, Executive Director, Citizen Action of Wisconsin

P.S. Listen to our Battleground Wisconsin Podcast every week to get the latest updates and news about Scott Walker’s assault on Wisconsin values.

WISCONSIN WINTER FINALLY MAKES A REAL APPEARANCE

2012-01-19T14:33:00.000-08:00

This is my favorite photo of the office, my little haven out in the middle of nowhere. I really like days like the one pictured because I can fire up the wood stove and get it so warm in here that I can strip down to my long johns!

This past Monday, while my friend Tom was visiting, after supper, in front of a good hot wood stove, we got to reminiscing about a couple of gigs on which he had kept me company for the road and Tom mentioned that he'd seen me at gigs when the audience was really with me, and gigs where there was a distinct feeling of disconnect.

We talked about what performers refer to as "a hell gig" - mine being an after dinner 45 minute set for Phillips Plastics. Should have known there was going to be trouble when the woman who contacted me told me that my fee was too high, talked me down $100, and when we got there we found a table piled with door prizes - enough prizes that by the end of the evening, everybody won something - and not cheap crap, either!

I tried my best to loosen them up and get them to laugh but I became aware that in their estimation, I really sucked. After about ten minutes, some of them got up, went out to the bar, ordered up some drinks, and talked loudly among themselves.

Guess it could have been worse. No prime rib for me, but at least I got my downsized check.

The only bright side of that gig was that it was on our way to Green Bay, the very place we were looking for as we had tickets to a Packer game.

I went into that job thinking it would be really fun!

Then Tom brought up the gig I did down near where he lives. It was one of the winters in which I had slipped and fallen on the ice and I actually did the luncheon from a wheel chair.

So Tom and his good brother Stan came with me to be my "roadies". Can't remember where the supper club was except it was going west out of Madison near Mt. Horeb.

This was for a farm credit organization - so we got there early so as not to be in the way when the members started showing up to sign in for lunch. Farm folk love a "free" meal - who doesn't? so it was a big crowd. Then just before they all sat down, a number of Amish signed in and took seats way in the back corner.

I began to worry when the crowd that had gathered didn't take the conversation level up to a roar - which usually is a good sign that they are tipping a few and relaxing, will be sitting down to good cooking soon, and surfeiting themselves enough to be a good audience -

But this crowd stayed timid right up until the saying of Grace.

By the time they finished eating I was a nervous wreck, mostly because I was certain the Amish were going to really find the show disgusting.

I did my first bit and got an amazingly good response. By mid-show, everybody was laughing - and the Amish were laughing harder than the "Englishers"!

So it goes to show you never can tell. right?

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I love what's going down in politics right now! It's been a long time since the ordinary good guy American has some signs of hope!

This first e mail is one I got today from Mike Tate .. just want to pass it on as it talks abut the first step in getting rid of the King:

Dear Lawrence,

While volunteers from counties all across Wisconsin were turning in more than 1,000,000 recall signatures on Tuesday, Scott Walker was in New York City holding a $2,500 a plate dinner hosted by former AIG Chairman Maurice Greenberg at Citigroup's world headquarters.

Instead of facing the people of Wisconsin, Scott Walker decided that he would rather beg for more unlimited corporate cash from the Wall Street swindlers and fat cat bankers that destroyed the global economy to line their own pockets.

Will you show Scott Walker and his billionaire Wall Street pals that you stand with our One Million Strong people-powered movement by making a donation of $5 today?

https://secure.WisDems.org/donate/Wisconsin-vs-Wall-Street

Your donation of $5 or more will go directly to our legal defense fund to protect the voices of more than 1,000,000 Wisconsinites who want Scott Walker recalled from frivolous lawsuits and challenges filed by hot shot Wall Street-funded attorneys.

Scott Walker is in denial over the 1.5 tons of Democracy that you delivered on Tuesday. He didn't think working, middle-class people could do it. He didn't believe that the people of Wisconsin would rise up and take on his corporate army.

But you did. Now Scott Walker's last hope is to game the court system to toss out the historic number of signatures you turned in on Tuesday.

Their shady Wall Street legal shenanigans will fail. And that's because of the strength and determination of grassroots supporters like you.

More than 1,000,000 Wisconsinites are fighting Scott Walker's extreme vision that puts the interests of Wall Street and powerful corporate lobbyists ahead of working, middle-class families.

Protect their voice and stand with them. Make a donation of $5 or more to our legal defense fund right now.

https://secure.WisDems.org/donate/Wisconsin-vs-Wall-Street

Thank you for your support,

Mike Tate
Chair, Democratic Party of Wisconsin

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So I did! And I have done before! Not much - I don't have much - but every little bit helps! I hope you will consider funding the war on Walker too! Together we can make another glorious chapter in the history of THE GREAT PROGRESSIVE STATE OF WISCONSIN!

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Then there's this! One of the greatest things that has happened in my lifetime is the conscientious attempt to keep our wild life thriving. For me, it was exciting to see large flocks of wild turkeys working their way through corn stubble, to see an occasional coyote along the road, and right outside my door I have seen badger, fox, and eagle.

Now in addition to the polar bear, the wolves, tigers, and god know what else, the North American Bison, which was brought dangerously close to extinction at the end of the 19th Century, and which I thought was making a huge come back, is once again being threatened.

There are few North American wild animals as iconic as wild bison.

Once hunted to near extinction in one of the most shameful episodes in American history, only the bison of Yellowstone National Park survived in the American wild. Today this wild herd still numbers only around 3,500.

But each winter, when they descend from the park in search of forage free of Yellowstone’s deep snow, these magnificent animals are hazed back into the park, rounded up in holding pens or shipped to slaughter, all out of exaggerated fears that they could spread disease to cattle.

With winter well under way now, Yellowstone’s bison are once again at risk of hazing, capture or even slaughter as they search for food outside the park. Will you help them survive?

Help fund our efforts to increase tolerance and expand habitat for wild bison around Yellowstone, and prepare new homes for Yellowstone’s bison on tribal lands. Text WILDLIFE to 90999 now.

Last month, we achieved an important milestone in our efforts to restore wild bison to more places, when Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer approved moving 68 wild Yellowstone bison now in quarantine to tribal lands of Fort Belknap and Fort Peck Indian Reservations to start new conservation herds.

Defenders staff played an important role in these negotiations and in working with tribes to prepare areas for bison, and caring supporters spoke up time and time again in support of the tribes’ requests to help secure new homes for these bison.

Unfortunately, our work is far from finished.

Support our efforts to increase human tolerance and safeguard even more wild bison and other imperiled wildlife. Text WILDLIFE to 90999 now to make a $10 donation.

To date, Defenders of Wildlife is the only national conservation group to help fund bison restoration on the tribal lands of the Assiniboine, Gros Venture and Sioux Tribes. In the months ahead, we aim to increase our efforts to protect this animal we consider to be one of the most important biological and cultural species in North America.

Your $10 mobile contribution now will not only help offset the costs of completing the necessary fencing and other infrastructure needed to make their homes on tribal lands, but it will also support work to expand habitat for bison around Yellowstone National Park, oppose the annual hazing and slaughter of Yellowstone’s wild bison, increase human tolerance, and advocate for other wildlife-saving initiatives.

Why can't we just get along?

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Here is this week's letter from Senator Larson:

This past year has been one of little progress, especially in the area of job creation and economic growth. Below we look at the partisan road blocks that have prevented our state from moving forward.

As usual, please feel free to contact me with any questions, concerns or opinions you may have about our community or our state.

Sincerely,

Chris Larson
State Senator, District 7

Wisconsin at a Standstill, Forward No More

Wisconsin is the birthplace of progressive reform, the home of progressive leader Fighting Bob La Follette, and boasts the motto "Forward" on its state flag. Our state's history and traditions center around the ability of Wisconsinites to work together to keep our state moving in the right direction.

Unfortunately, under Governor Walker's control, Wisconsin has become divided like never before, bringing common sense reform and work on real solutions to a stand still. Like a car that has run out of gas, our state is currently stalled, even on issues that garner bipartisan support. Below we will examine issues that remain untouched and ignored by Governor Walker and Republican legislators.

Job Creation and Support for Small Business
Governor Walker's major campaign promise was to create 250,000 jobs by 2014. To reach this promise, he should have been creating approximately 5,200 jobs each month. However, his promise remains unfulfilled. Under Governor Walker's leadership, which began in January 2011, the number of jobs Wisconsin has created is quickly approaching zero as we have lost jobs every month since his budget went into effect. Over the past year, Governor Walker has created less than 1% of the jobs he promised.

Governor Walker also called for two special session this year under the guise of prioritizing job creation in our state. Unfortunately, the governor chose to take advantage of this fiscal crisis to give away our school funds and middle-class tax breaks to large corporations in one of the biggest special interest giveaways in state history totaling $2.3 billion.

Democrats, on the other hand, made jobs their main focus this session by:
Unveiling a jobs package of 10 bills on the first day of session designed to put our unemployed Wisconsinites back to work
Introducing legislation to encourage investment in start-up businesses, increase access to capital for small businesses, and expand grant programs to provide training in manufacturing
Proposing an additional package of nine bills aimed at giving our workers much-needed training and connecting skilled workers with potential employers
Despite our hard work, dedication and commitment to advancing these job creation measures, extremists continue to throw up partisan road blocks. As a result, these measures are currently languishing in their assigned committees unable to move forward.

Other Legislative Priorities On Hold
Job creation and economic growth are not the only issue areas with bills being held hostage by the majority party. There are many other legislative initiatives that Wisconsinites would like to see move forward that are being held up by Governor Walker and Republican legislators. Below are just a few examples of bills that continue to be ignored by Governor Walker and Republican leadership despite having bipartisan support or approval from the majority of Wisconsinites:
Strengthening Wisconsin's lax drunk driving laws through increased used of ignition interlock devices
Returning the $35 million cut from our technical colleges, which are crucial for producing skilled workers
Ensuring voters can get the documents needed to obtain a photo ID free of charge
Requiring ethics reports to be filed by members of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation to prevent fraud
Applying our Open Meetings Laws to the Wisconsin State Legislature
Providing adequate funding for women's health services such as breast exams, pap smears and birth control
Immediately removing the caps on FamilyCare that were wrongfully imposed by Governor Walker and his administration
Turning down $38 million federal grants to help Wisconsin implement portions of federal health care law, which provides coverage for pre-existing conditions and ensures the majority of funds are spent on patient coverage not profits
Allowing cooperation between municipalities in order to save money
Restoring funding to the recycling program, preventing a cost-shift to local government who already faced cuts to shared revenue in the budget
Wisconsin deserves better. Traditionally, it has been the Wisconsin way to put our partisanship aside in troubled times to get things done. Governor Walker has soundly rejected this tradition.

Wetlands Destruction Bill Passes Committee
This past Thursday, Republicans on the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Environment ignored a scientific and balanced approach to wetlands preservation by rejecting efforts to craft a consensus bill. Rather than turn the bill into something that hunters, anglers, environmentalists and neighbors could stand behind, Republicans voted against a tradition of bipartisan work and in lock-step opposed amendments to decrease flooding and preserve wildlife habitats. As a result, Senate Bill 368, legislation that significantly diminishes environmental protections that keeps our water safe for drinking and recreation and protects our valuable wetland resources, is now available for scheduling on the Senate Floor.

Concerns were raised during the hearing about how passage of this legislation will likely irreversibly degrade our wetlands and contribute to increased flooding. Wetlands are critical in protecting the health of our community. They purify runoff from cities, farms and construction sites, reducing our water treatment costs and ensuring we have cleaner water for drinking and recreation. Furthermore, wetlands are able to store large quantities of water to help prevent devastating shore erosion and flooding in our neighborhoods. The protection provided by wetlands is crucial in the Milwaukee area, which was devastated by flooding in June 2008 and 2009, and July 2010.

Wetlands also play a prominent role in Wisconsin's environment and tourism industry. According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, nearly 40% of Wisconsin's 370 species of birds live in or use our wetlands as well as many mammals, fish, amphibians and reptiles, such as white-tailed deer, waterfowl and walleye. Additionally, Wisconsin's wetlands are home to one-third of the plants and animals on our state's endangered and threatened species list. The nature and wildlife featured in Wisconsin's wetlands provides the perfect setting for recreational wildlife watchers, anglers, hunters and boaters.

Senate Bill 368 became a clear choice of priorities with legislators opting to side with hunting and fishing groups along with environmental scientists or aligning themselves with special interests seeking easier profits. The following are some of the more problematic provisions that remain in this legislation:
Eliminates protections for areas designated as having significant ecological, educational or recreational value
Rolls back the "avoid and minimize" rule that ensures developers consider alternative non-wetland sites to avoid unnecessary destruction of our valuable natural resources
Allows for automatic approval of some permits after only 30 days, leaving our communities at risk if the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is hampered in their review process
Changes mitigation rules to allow high quality natural wetlands to be replaced with lower quality artificially created wetlands elsewhere in Wisconsin

January is Reproductive Awareness Month
This week is national reproductive awareness week. Access to reproductive health care services is directly linked to bettering health care outcomes for women. In addition to the primary purpose of allowing women to plan and prepare for pregnancy, basic reproductive health services also aim to save lives by preventing and treating life-threatening diseases such as HIV/AIDS and breast, cervical, and ovarian cancer through pap smears, breast exams, and screening and treatment for STDs.

I am supporting a resolution to proclaim January 22 through January 28 of this year Reproductive Rights Awareness Week in Wisconsin. This resolution encourages public awareness, conversation and support for reproductive health statewide. Some of the issues highlighted in this resolution include:
Emphasizing the importance of prenatal care in decreasing our infant and maternal mortality rates
Recognizing that reproductive services encourage prevention and treatment of health problems including ovarian cancer and cysts, pelvic inflammatory disease and osteoporosis
Supporting access to contraception for all women to better prevent unintended pregnancies
Acknowledging that issues related to women’s reproductive rights are personal issues that should be decided by women with their families, health care providers or clergy members
The unprecedented assault on women’s reproductive rights by Governor Walker and Republican legislators over the last year have reinforced the need to raise awareness about the grave consequences women face if access to reproductive care is restricted. The attack on women’s health began in Governor Walker's 2011-2013 Biennial Budget, which restricted access and funding for preventative health care services for women.

The health care options for Wisconsin’s young women was also negatively impacted with the repeal of the Healthy Youth Act, which helped ensure that Wisconsin’s youth were kept informed about contraceptive and sexually transmitted disease prevention. According to the Wisconsin Alliance for Women's Health, approximately 87% of Wisconsin voters support requiring sex education instruction that includes information about both abstinence and contraception.

We owe it to women across the state and future generations to not only bring awareness to the importance of reproductive health services, but to also support these services whole-heartedly to ensure that Wisconsin women will have adequate access to vital and life-saving reproductive care. I will continue to support legislative proposals that keep our state moving in the right direction on women’s health.

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Pizza and Using the Leftovers

2012-01-17T14:35:00.000-08:00

My good friend and traveling buddy, Mr. Thomas Johnson, stopped for an overnight last night, which of course meant that we would be having his favorite "Larry Heagle" pizza, the treasured "Blinky", so-called because of an eye condition Mr Johnson once suffered on a trip to Lambeau Field - the trip wherein he gained the nickname "Blinky" and yours truly the nickname: "Little Bladder Man", which needs no explanation and sounds somewhat Native American. The pie is home made Italian sausage and jalepeno-stuffed green olives on a bed of sauce and real Wisconsin provolone.
After blueberry buttermilk pancakes, Mr. Johnson was on his way to Madison around 9:30 AM and I have been working steadily all day - at what, I couldn't tell you, but I know I have kept the wood stove going at a rapid burn all day.

Around 2:30 earlier this afternoon I decided I would make myself some lunch - so I used up some left overs. I made an Italian Breakfast Sandwich:

One slice Muffin bread, toasted, buttered
One hamburger sized patty of the left over Italian sausage
One circle cut of the provolone cheese
One large egg

I toasted and buttered the bread, set it aside while I grilled the Italian sausage patty in a wrought iron frying pan. After turning the patty, I topped it with the provolone and continued to cook until provolone began melting.
In the meantime, I dropped the one large egg into a small no stick pan, added a couple of drops of water, covered it and cooked just til yoke began to be translucent.

I put the cheesed patty on top of the toast, topped that with the fried egg and called it breakfast! And it was good!

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I have some stories to tell - but it's already going on 6PM and I gotta run to the house and feed those kitties! Story time tomorrow!

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GO PACK GO?

2012-01-15T07:04:00.000-08:00

Well, here it is - Green Bay Packer's first post season game! And I am facing it alone. dropped Kimmy off at the airport shuttle and she's bound for warmer temps in Arizona with "The Get-Away-Girls" - so it's me and the kitties for the rest of the week. And Hammy and Stella don't much like football because all of daddy's screaming at the TV makes them run for cover under the bed.

And here's the awful truth. I don't think the Packers can do it today. The defense has been suspect all season - Yeh, I know they went 15-1 over the regular season. But this is a PLAYOFF game and playoff football is a whole different kettle of fish, ball of wax, or whatever overused hackneyed expression you want to insert here. If you don't believe that, you haven't been watching the playoffs thus far.

Unless we can get some turnovers, Mr. Rodgers neighborhood could very well turn into a Bronx slum.

And wasn't the 49'er/Saints game just one of the best you have ever watched? Wild and crazy all the way! Happy for the Niners. Mostly because my friend Doug Cox lives out there half the year - I just took him up to the airport this past Monday.

And I know this is going against the flow, but I really enjoyed watching Timmy Tebow aka the "Baby Jesus" get REALLY beat up yesterday. How come when he loses he doesn't take time to thank his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ?

And as long as I am talking football, I have to comment on the NFL Channel's talking heads. Please, please, please get rid of Michael Irvin, Deon Sanders, and Warren the sap. I didn't think much of them when they played the game and now they are really full of hot air and BS!

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WHERE IS MY STUPID CHECKBOOK??

2012-01-11T10:44:00.000-08:00

It took some doing, but with the help of a charity that came out and loaded up a large sofa that took up way too much room, and moving everything else around into a logical, space saving order, I know have a humidified room in which to practice or just sit and read!

I had one of "those days" today. I opened up the monthly statement from good old AT&T to write a check for the monthly amount and suddenly realized that my check book was not in the one of two places it usually is in at my little office.

I back tracked the past week in my mind and decided that the last check I wrote was for dinner with Doug Cox and Kim at T.J.'s Inn in Downsville - home of the best aged sirloin anywhere. I checked my online checking account and according to it, the check to T.J.'s was the last check I wrote.

If you have ever misplaced something as important as either your check book or your wallet you know how entirely exasperated (or as Doug would say "hesperasated) I was - If you are like me, you start looking everywhere it possibly could be, including the laundry basket, the garbage can, the inside pocket of all winter jackets, the top drawer of the dresser, back pockets of jeans -places where you know darn well it isn't, but you look anyway.

This went on for nearly three hours until I decided I had better go through some old notebooks that I had discarded near the stove for burning. And I will be doggone! Right in the middle of that mess I find the blue-covered RCU logo'ed check book!

Usually when I find something I will then remember when I put it where I found it - but what is entirely frightening is that I have no idea why my check book was where it was.

So I have it back in front of my computer where it usually resides. But now I have a much more uneasy feeling about taking care of things like wallets and check books. I don't like it!

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SENATOR LARSON RIPS OFF WALKER'S CLAOK OF SECRECY

2012-01-05T16:04:00.000-08:00

Every week, State Senator Larson e mails an update from Madison. The one I received today needs to be shared by everyone in Wisconsin who is concerned about the lack of transparency in our state government since Walker was elected just over a year ago and why the recall is about much more than the collective bargain issue.

I wrote to Senator Larson and asked permission to disseminate the excellent information he provides and he was glad to grant me that permission, so here goes:

Lifting the Veil of Secrecy
Under Governor Walker we have seen an ever-growing culture of secrecy and misdirection. Fortunately, as we enter the new year these efforts to keep the people of Wisconsin in the dark are starting to come to light. Just this week we saw indictments handed out to top Walker aides, verified that Governor Walker unjustly created a cap on FamilyCare and tried to take credit for its repeal, and saw Republican leaders harshly criticized for the backroom tactics used to draw the new legislative district maps. We will look at these events in more detail, in addition to others that occurred over the past year that steered Wisconsin off the path of transparency.

Removing the Unjust Cap on FamilyCare
During debate on Governor Walker's budget, my Democratic colleagues and I expressed our concerns about how people across Wisconsin would suffer because of the proposed cap on Medicaid programs, including FamilyCare. Since then, I have been contacted by hundreds of neighbors voicing their opposition to the cap and sharing how this change affected them personally or a family member.

It was hard for many of us to accept that cutting our safety net by imposing this devastating cap was even a possibility that could be considered by the Walker administration. As it turns out, it was not. Late last week we were made aware that caps placed on Wisconsin's Medicaid programs was not legal and as a result, the federal government ordered Governor Walker to lift the cap he placed on FamilyCare. Once session resumes, the Legislature will need to pass a bill to officially remove the current cap on Wisconsin's health safety net programs.

Courts Condemn Secret Process for Drawing Maps
After legislators, advocates and neighbors voiced concerns over the new legislative district maps drawn and hurriedly passed by Republicans earlier this year, two former legislators and 13 others filed a legal challenge. The group raised concerns that the partisan boundaries violate the federal Voting Rights Act and the equal-protection clause of the U.S. Constitution because of the way they treat minority communities and shift voters from one district to another.

In September a federal three-judge panel was assembled to hear the challenge. The panel, two of whom are Republican appointees, includes J.P. Stadtmueller of the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Diane P. Wood of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals and Robert M. Dow Jr. of the Northern District of Illinois.

Republicans introduced several motions attempting to keep the process used to craft the maps secret. Not only did the three-judge panel rule against these attempts, but they issued a scathing opinion saying the following:

"Quite frankly, the Legislature and the actions of its counsel give every appearance of flailing wildly in a desperate attempt to hide from both the court and the public the true nature of exactly what transpired in the redistricting process."

The court went on to say that the taxpayers should not have to pay for the sanctions it issued and instead ordered the Legislature's attorneys to cover the costs because they are “those ultimately responsible for the sandbagging, hide-the-ball trial tactics that continue to be employed.”.

Pattern of Decreased Transparency
Governor Walker and his rubberstamp Legislature began their attack on our common sense open government protections with a special session, which allows them to fast-track bills. The following are just some of the bills authored and passed by Republican legislators during that session, reversing Wisconsin's progress in ensuring open government:
Special Session Senate Bill 1--Prevents victims and their families from obtaining justice against negligent corporations and manufacturers. Republicans rejected Senate Amendment 2, a Democratic amendment to ensure reports relating to health care violations are not kept secret.
Special Session Senate Bill 3--Creates tax incentives for corporations that relocate to Wisconsin. Republicans rejected Assembly Amendment 2, which would have required tracking the number of jobs created by these incentives to ensure tax dollars are being spent wisely.
Special Session Senate Bill 4--Gives $25 million more to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation for corporate tax credits. Amendments were rejected by Republicans, which would have required the Audit Bureau to conduct an annual audit of the program and recoup credits if a business submits false information or fails to fulfill promises.
Special Session Senate Bill 6--Replaces the Department of Commerce with the public-private Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation. To protect against the potential for corruption, an amendment was introduced to require all WEDC employees to be subject to the open records law. It was rejected by Republican legislators.
Special Session Senate Bill 8--Requires approval by the Governor on all administrative rules. This is an unprecedented power grab that decreases the power of the Legislature and makes Wisconsin's executive branch one of the most powerful in the country. I introduced Senate Amendment 8 that would have prohibited a Wisconsin governor from accepting campaign donations from those that would benefit financially from rule changes. Republicans ultimately rejected this amendment that would have eliminated the potential for conflicts of interest and maintained integrity in the rule process.
Following these bills, Governor Walker and Republican legislators continued to send Wisconsin in the wrong direction by pushing through the Republican budget, which was brimming with special interest giveaways, sneaking nearly 80 non-fiscal policy items into what was promised to be a purely fiscal document. The following provisions are some of the most egregious:
Approved a $162 million corporate slush fund for the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, but provided no details on how the agency would use these funds.
Eliminated the clean election initiatives in Wisconsin, taking power from voters and giving more control of our elections to wealthy, out-of-state corporations.
Seized powers from the constitutional offices of the Secretary of State and State Treasurer.
Granted unprecedented dictatorial authority to Secretary Smith at the Department of Health Services who will be able to make unilateral, unspecified changes to Wisconsin's medical Assistance programs, which could include dramatic service cuts to our most vulnerable.
Ripped authority from the Department of Public Instruction regarding its educational authority and stunted DPI’s power to develop important education improvement initiatives.
Allows the Walker Administration to sell state assets without bidding for the best deal for taxpayers.
My Democratic colleagues and I introduced amendments to remove such backwards provisions from the budget in order to ensure Wisconsin maintains its tradition of clean, open and transparent government. Unfortunately, Republicans voted down these amendments with little consideration for Wisconsin’s traditions.

In addition to placing the wish lists of special interests ahead of working families when pushing his legislative agenda, Governor Walker and Republican legislators have also tried a variety of methods to keep the doors of the Capitol locked to the public, by doing the following:
Abruptly halting public hearings on controversial legislation before citizens were able to speak
Violating Wisconsin's Open Meetings Law
Physically locking the public and legislators out of the Capitol
Implementing guidelines that makes it nearly impossible for individuals or groups that are not wealthy to utilize their constitutional right to free speech and assembly
No matter which party is in control, we need more accountability and transparency, not less. I will continue doing what I can to promote good government policies, not follow in Governor Walker's footsteps by forwarding legislation and policies aimed at keeping government actions under lock and key. I will also continue to keep you updated on the most recent events and any future events that indicate a threat to our tradition of open government as they develop.

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I would suggest that you e mail Senator Larson and ask to be on his mailing list!

DOING A COMMERCIAL LEADS TO SELLING THE PRODUCT TO US!

2012-01-05T12:39:00.000-08:00

Sometime during the month of August, Eau Claire Electric Cooperative offered a service in which they come in to your dwelling and point out where you are losing heat to the outside world and wasting energy and money. The service wasn't free but we decided we really should have it done with propane prices skyrocketing annually.

About that same time, Kim and I did a TV commercial for Chippewa Valley Siding, Roofing, and Supply. We were both impressed with the professional manner that owner, Gary Schilts displayed and so after the energy study, in which we found that the house leaks like a sieve, we gave the bid to Chippewa Valley Siding, Roofing and Supply. (notice how I got that plug in twice?)

First we had our good friend and carpenter Ron Wendt come out and do all the basement walls, which were unfinished concrete. When he finished we could actually feel how much warmer the basement had become!

Then Gary's crew, and Gary himself, came out to tackle the main floor's leak problems. They spent nearly two days sealing off various cracks , nooks and crannies where heat was escaping around such things as window casements, doors, and closet walls.
One of the biggest heat losers was the entire fireplace fixture so we had to make a big decision. We were aware that our roof and the current shingles were starting to be less than up to standard but Gary thought they could last another three years or so. However, insulating the chimney was going to be nearly impossible until such time as they actually opened up the area from above and could see what needed to be done to really get it insulated properly.
We thought it over for several weeks and decided that if putting a new roof on with entirely new blown insulation topped with regular insulation and brand new 50 year warranted shingles would really seal up the house and have a real effect on our heating costs then we might as well do it now as who knows what materials will cost three years down the road - certainly not less!

To top it all off (no pun intended) the weatherman gave us temps in the 40's this week from now until the weekend, by which time the crew pictured intends to have the roof entirely insulated, re-boarded, and shingled.

The only real casualties in this project are our two cats, Stella and Hammy. Every day it must sound to them like the world is coming to and end with the incessant pounding and scraping they can hear coming from above them. They seek refuge under the bed all day every day, quaking in their little fur booties. It is only after the crews shut down for the day that they come out of hiding to eat and take care of their bath room duties.

Poor kitties!

But we keep telling them how nice and cozy they will be for the rest of their lives!

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Wilson/Heagle Conclave Celebrates 35th wedding Anniversary

2012-01-02T10:37:00.000-08:00

January first is Kim and Larry's wedding anniversary. I always joke that the reason I wanted to marry on January 1 was so I would remember the occasion by waking up with an alcohol induced pounding headache from New Year's Eve.

Boy! Have things changed. New Year's Eve day I picked up my friend Doug Cox and we went down to Water Street and joined the "old timers" from UWEC theatre who gather every year at noon on the 31st.

I had a shot of Stolichnaya (Russia's revenge) before I left to pick up Doug and over lunch I had a Bloody Mary backed with a "snit" of beer. That's all the alcohol I consumed!

By the time I got back home, around 2PM, I was physically ill from the drinks. Not drunk - just nauseous. I simply cannot drink anymore. and that's a blessing in disguise - who needs to spend money on alcohol anyway? I can get the same effect just by standing up too quickly!

It was good to see the old guard - we all sang Auld Lang Syne and David White performed two monologues - The Walrus and the Carpenter and The Jabberwock(?) both by Lewis Carroll - how David can remember THAT is beyond my comprehension..

We shared theatre "war stories" - I told my favorite. I was in Shakespeare's "A Comedy of Errors", portraying one of the twin slaves. Late in the show there is a confrontation between my master (who is accompanied by his wife) and a courtesan. He is adamantly denying that he knows this strumpet, played by a gal named Nancy Briggs.

She has the line: "Sayest thou doth not know me? Here is the ring you snatched from my finger."

The night of final dress rehearsal she got to that line and unknowingly said: "Sayest thou doth not know me? Here is the ring you fingered from my snatch."

Needless to say, the entire cast lost it! Except for Nancy - she was totally unaware of what she had said. "What?" "What?" "Why are you laughing?"

Needless to say Dr Earl Kjer, our director, was not happy with our reaction and the complete loss of character. The show opened and every night, when we got to that line, the entire cast would hold their collective breath - and Nancy would slow down her delivery and concentrate!

She got through the entire ring without making that mistake!

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What an amazing show Mr. Matt Flynn put on yesterday in the Packers 45 - 41 defeat of the Lions! He set a franchise record of 6 touchdowns in a game!

I fired off an e mail to my friend "Blinky" Johnson who was in Superior, Wisconsin over the weekend and I have to share the e mail I got from him in reply:

No local TV here Sunday, and I didn't feel like fighting the crowds in bars with a dish. Followed the game in the old-fashioned way: listened to it on the radio. Happy that Flynn had such a great game: almost 500 yards and 6TDs! So, I'm inclined to trade Rogers for many draft choices, keep Flynn and bring back Favre as the quarterback coach and assistant GM. Is Ray Rhodes available to be the DC, by the way? Flynn could even take over the lease at Favre's Steakhouse and text message a picture of his penis to Dianna Favre. I'm spending a lot of time alone here in Souptown and these things make perfect sense to me. Did I mention my idea about trading Donald Driver to the Vikings ?

A great thing for Flynn is that he is going to get beaucoup bucks next year for wherever he signs. MMNM seems to be having a resurgence at the end of the season, and then Jennings is coming back! I can't wait to see the Saints bitch slap the Lions. Bitch slap them, Mr. 'aitch!
El Loco

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WALKER ATTEMPTS DAMAGE CONTROL WITH OUT AND OUT LIES

2011-12-30T10:01:00.000-08:00

Federal government ordered Walker to lift program cap

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Gov. Scott Walker failed to reveal that the federal government had ordered him to immediately lift an enrollment cap on a state program to help the disabled and elderly stay out of nursing homes, instead telling reporters that his administration removed restrictions after identifying tens of millions of dollars in efficiencies in the program.
Walker, a Republican, called a news conference Wednesday morning to announce he would lift the two-year enrollment cap on the Family Care program and expand it to the 15 counties that don't currently offer it.
He imposed the cap in the budget that took effect July 1. Lifting it marks a surprising reversal for Walker, who has been pushing to slash state Medicaid spending since he took office in January.
Walker told reporters the move was spurred by discussions with Family Care program providers that identified $80 million in savings. He never mentioned that the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services had ordered him to remove the cap more than two weeks earlier. In a Dec. 13 letter to the state, CMS Associate Regional Director Verlon Johnson said the center was still reviewing whether to approve the enrollment cap. Until then, Johnson wrote, the state must run Family Care as it was before the cap was imposed and lift the limit straight away.
"We are directing the state to identify any individuals not currently enrolled onto the Family Care ... and immediately enroll those individuals in the ... programs," Johnson wrote.
Pressed by The Associated Press hours after the news conference about whether the federal government had denied the state permission to impose the cap, state Department of Health Services Deputy Secretary Kitty Rhoades was vague and made no mention of the CMS order.
Walker spokesman Cullen Werwie said in an email Thursday morning that the letter was part of an "ongoing discussion" with the federal agency. He said the cap was always intended to be temporary and that the governor had been planning to lift it for months, pending data on the program's financial sustainability. Although the letter specifically ordered the removal of the cap imposed in the July budget, Werwie insisted the letter only referred to a permanent cap.
Minority Democrats in the Legislature wrote to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in mid-July, after the budget was finished, calling the cap bad public policy and asking her to reject it. They hammered Walker Thursday morning, calling his news conference a sham.
Rep. Jon Richards, D-Milwaukee, said Walker made a "despicable" attempt to take credit for something he was forced to do.
"I don't remember anywhere in the Boy Scout oath the dishonesty we saw yesterday," Richards said, playing on Walker's assertions that he learned to conduct himself with integrity as an Eagle Scout.
Werwie, the governor's spokesman, reiterated Thursday that the governor had planned for months to lift the cap.
Family Care offers a variety of programs through Medicaid that provide long-term care for the disabled and elderly to help keep them out of nursing homes. The programs' cost has been growing; Family Care cost $936 million last year; the state budget laid out roughly $1.5 billion for it in each of the next two years.
In an effort to control the program's burgeoning costs, Walker included a provision in the budget to cap Family Care enrollment at July 1 levels, which translated to about 43,440 people. As of October, about 6,600 people were on a waiting list to join.
Walker has made cutting Medicaid expenses a priority. Earlier this year his administration froze enrollment in BadgerCare Plus Basic, which provides health insurance coverage for childless adults and announced $554 million in cuts to various Medicaid programs, changes that could force as many as 65,000 poor adults and children off state health insurance. The CMS has given Walker the preliminary go-ahead for those changes, but final approval is pending.
A CMS spokesman said Thursday that all he could say was that the agency was talking to the state and "all issues are under consideration."
Lifting the enrollment cap will take legislation. Walker's fellow Republicans control both the Senate and Assembly, but Rep. Robin Vos, R-Rochester, co-chairman of the powerful finance committee, broke with Walker on Wednesday and said there's no evidence to suggest Family Care is cost-effective and expanding it would be irresponsible.
A message left at Vos' state Capitol office Thursday wasn't immediately returned.
Beth Swedeen, executive director of the Wisconsin Board for People with Developmental Disabilities, appeared beside Walker at his news conference Wednesday. She said Thursday she didn't learn of CMS' order to lift the cap until she saw media reports about it hours after the news conference.
She declined to comment on Walker's failure to disclose the letter, saying her organization is focused on making sure Family Care is adequately funded and provides high-quality services.
"For us, the bottom line is the outcome," she said. "We're very interested in making sure those cost savings won't be detrimental to the populations (Family Care programs) serve."

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How anyone in their right mind can read the above article and not want to sign the papers for this crook's recall is beyond my comprehension.

As I drive home on Highway 53 South I am amazed that there is a resident displaying a sign that reads: "IT'S WORKING. STAND WITH GOVERNOR WALKER".

What exactly is it that's working? The lies? The usurping of Wisconsin residents' rights? I can't stand to look at the man!

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STELLA AND HAMMY GROW UP - MEMORIES OF POYNETTE

2011-12-29T11:34:00.000-08:00

Been a while since I published photos of two of God's loveliest creatures. Stella, although full grown, is still a small cat by cat standards.

It's been fun watching both cats grow up over the past couple years. Lately both have become more friendly with me and one or the other or both will join me for an afternoon nap most of the time.
Had to get a picture of Hammy on his now "way-too-small" bed. He has grown to be quite a bit larger than Stella and has a bad habit of picking on his little sister until she screams like she is being killed.

Currently we are having the house completely done over for insulation and both the cats are much afraid of the influx of workers and the hammering and sawing that goes on while they are in the house. Both cats seek refuge under the bed and stay there well after the time the workers depart.

This is a week of destroying old banking records from the 1980's. I took boxes and boxes of them over here so that they would be out of the way for the workers to get the insulation in properly. I have been shredding and shredding and shredding.

Yesterday my shredder heated up so badly that it shut down. At first I thought I had burned the motor out but I came back after supper, turned the on switch and it kicked in.

It workd for a couple of hours today and then it overheated again. it currently won't start and that's why I have time to write. I am hoping that eventually it will cool off enough and start, but have the nagging fear that this time I DID burn out the motor.

It is weird to be going through all these old checks - years of child support checks and checks for booking agents among them.

I stumbled upon check #3103, made out on December 11, 1985, to agent Bert Koelbl. When I looked at the "for" line it says: "agent fee, December 7, 1985, The Gables, Poynette, Wisconsin."

My mind was instantly flooded with all the bad memories that went with that gig. Bert had booked me into this bar to do my comedy and music routines. What he didn't bother to tell me is that the bar had never had a comedian there before - only country western or rock and roll dance bands.

The stage was located in a separate room from the bar and that night nobody would come into the room! Every once in a while someone would stand in the doorway and give me a dirty look. after doing a set to absolutely no one, I made my way to the bar with all patrons purposely looking away and not making eye contact with me.

I told the owner that this was all a big mistake and that if he would give me $25.00 I would clear out immediately as it was obvious I was not something the clientele was interested in.

As soon as I started packing up, the regulars came flooding into the room, plugging coins into the juke box and taking up pool cues.

I remember that it was a bitter cold night and that I pulled my vehicle around to a side door, that opened near the pool table. I got my equipment over near that door and began taking what I could carry, carefully and quickly closing the door behind me each time I went out.

Even so, several times I got "SHUT THE DAMN DOOR!" from the pool players.

Now every time I drive to Madison and see the Poynette exit sign I think of that disastrous night and secretly hope that "The Gables" burned down.

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WALKER - ONE YEAR IN - Larson Report

2011-12-24T07:56:00.000-08:00

Walker's Wisconsin--One Year In
January 3, 2012, will mark the one-year anniversary of Governor Walker taking over the state of Wisconsin. His broken promises and misplaced priorities have pushed Wisconsin in the wrong direction. Few can remember a time when those in power were this divisive and promoted an agenda that was this extreme.

Below we will take a look at just how our community and state have been harmed by the Walker administration's radical policies and devastating cuts in the areas of jobs, education, health care, public transit, the environment, accountability and transparency, and taxes and investment in our communities.

JOBS & ECONOMY
Earlier this week, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics released its report on national jobs statistics from last month, showing that Wisconsin lost 14,600 more jobs in November and continues to lead the nation in job losses.

Governor Walker has also held two special jobs sessions, which were both complete failures as they focused on corporate giveaways, producing little to no jobs. His inability to create job growth over the past year has left Wisconsin ranked 43rd in the nation for job growth.

The governor was quick to use the monthly jobs figures to boast with at a press conference in June when they showed gains, primarily in seasonal tourism jobs. Since his budget plan took effect in July, the numbers have fallen every month. Now Governor Walker refuses to take responsibility and ownership for this economic drought.

Governor Walker promised the people of Wisconsin that he would create 250,000 jobs statewide during his term, but has failed to create even 1/10 of the jobs he promised. According to BadgerStat, Wisconsin needs to gain about 5,210 jobs per month on average to reach that goal, but is currently moving at a pace below what is needed.

In order to increase Wisconsin's job growth prospects, Governor Walker should be focusing his efforts on supporting factors that encourage businesses to start-up or relocated to Wisconsin. We need our governor to start investing in K-12 education, our technical colleges and our universities so that we will have a skilled workforce. He also needs to work on protecting our natural resources and reducing crime and poverty rates so that employers can see Wisconsin is a state with a high quality of life. Additionally, we need him to demonstrate that he values an accountable and transparent government, which tells businesses that government will work with them on all aspects of job creation and growing their company. This long-term investment in our state will spur economic development and more sustained job growth for generations to come.

EDUCATION
Our children took the brunt of Walker's cuts this year as he slashed funding from our neighborhood schools to give away our taxpayer dollars to special interests and corporations. Under the Republican budget approximately $1.6 billion was stripped from education statewide. These decimating cuts hit some communities harder than others and have been especially detrimental to children in Milwaukee and the surrounding area.

New legislation at the state level recently expanded the voucher program in Milwaukee to allow private schools outside Milwaukee to participate, while also removing all enrollment caps on the program and raising the income limits on participants. Under these changes, Milwaukee Public Schools will be forced to funnel 22.6% of its tax levy into the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, leaving City of Milwaukee taxpayers on the hook for $55.4 million. In truth, Milwaukee taxpayers are now being billed for both the largest school district in the state, Milwaukee Public Schools, AND the fourth largest, which is what the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program has grown to be with 22,400 students.

The effect of Governor Walker's cuts to education and his continued allegiance to private and religious schools over our neighborhood schools can already be seen across the state. Below are results from the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrator's annual survey:
Wisconsin lost 4,000 educational jobs, leaving our schools understaffed and our children underserved
2/3 of responding school districts expect to make the same or greater cuts next year as a result of no longer receiving one-time federal dollars
4 in 10 students attend a district with larger class sizes in grades K-6
40% of students are in districts that eliminated sections or increased class size for the core subjects of English, Math, Science and Social Studies
Districts are offering fewer art, music, physical education, Advanced Placement and foreign language classes
Roughly 3 in 4 students attend school at a district that reduced at least one essential support program.
The biggest cuts were to special education programs, which are followed by library and media center staff, reading coordinators, programs for at-risk youth, and drug and alcohol abuse programs
Cuts to education far out weighed the savings from increased pension and insurance contributions
Similar results can also be seen right here in our own community. Here is how Milwaukee County's 18 school districts have been negatively impacted by Governor Walker's sweeping education cuts:
Milwaukee County is struggling with 1,719 fewer teachers, aides and administrators this year compared to 2010
Most Milwaukee County school districts expect to make the same or deeper cuts to balance their budgets for the next school year, with only one of the 18 reporting that they expect to make fewer cuts next year compared to this year
1/2 of Milwaukee County school districts reported increased class sizes and higher student-to-teacher ratios
Cuts to support services, such as special education, were made in five of our 18 Milwaukee County School districts

Governor Walker’s misplaced priorities have left our children and educators struggling to get out of an impossible situation. His actions have also jeopardized the future economic success of our state and limited opportunities for our children. Educating our children is not like riding a bike. If you fall off you cannot just get back up again and ride. Our children only have one shot at early education and developing the skills they need to succeed.

HEALTH CARE
Currently, about one out of five Wisconsin residents rely on Medicaid programs, for their health care needs. The number of individuals enrolled in the state's Medicaid programs has been steadily increasing in recent years due to the ongoing recession and increased health care costs, making it one of the worst times to consider chopping away at our health safety net.

Unfortunately, Governor Walker did just that this year, beginning with his budget proposal. Nearly $500 million was cut from Medicaid programs, which is hurting families in every community throughout Wisconsin. Notable health care cuts are listed below:
Only extends SeniorCare through 2012, bringing uncertainty to the long-term availability of the program, which is a cheaper option to Medicare Part D for our seniors and taxpayers.
Places a cap on the FamilyCare program, which provides access to vital health services for frail seniors and individuals with disabilities. There are currently 2,000 people on the FamilyCare waiting list in Milwaukee County alone.
Substantially restricts women's access to preventative health care, including: cancer screenings, pap tests, birth control and medical exams.
Reduces the eligibility and services for BadgerCare, which provides services to working families and had a wait-list of 50,000 Wisconsinites in June 2010.
The Governor continued his extreme agenda announcing an additional $554 million in cuts this past October. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) has estimated that almost 65,000 Wisconsinites, including 30,000 pregnant women and children, will lose their current BadgerCare health care coverage. Another group that will be disproportionately affected by these additional Medicaid cuts are people suffering from chronic illnesses, such as cancer and heart disease. Chronic and life-threatening illnesses often leave individuals unable to work, causing them to exhaust their lifesavings and unable to cover their medical expenses without the use of Medicaid.

Wisconsin's vital health care programs ensure that our families and neighbors are able to receive quality, affordable health care to prevent costly emergency room visits. These programs also help keep loved ones out of nursing homes and in-patient facilities, saving taxpayers money.

Walker's Republican legislators are pushing legislation to repeal current comprehensive sex education standards. According to the Wisconsin Alliance for Women's Health, approximately 87% of Wisconsin voters support requiring comprehensive sex education instruction that includes information about both abstinence and contraception.

The positive impact of comprehensive sex education on Wisconsin's young adults can also be seen right here in our neighborhood. According to the Milwaukee Health Department, Milwaukee's teen birthrate has dropped dramatically for the second year in a row, from 46.73 births per 1,000 teens in 2008 to 35.68 births per 1,000 teens in 2010.

PUBLIC TRANSIT
Governor Walker opted to push massive highway expansion projects this year rather than support our local roads and public transit. According to a WISPIRG study release earlier this year, Wisconsin taxpayers will be footing roughly $2 billion to fund questionable and unnecessary transportation projects in the Republican budget rather than putting those funds towards local roads and public transit. In addition to a loss of $77 million in shared revenue, the following communities can expect cuts to state transportation funds in the amounts listed below:

Cudahy = $98,181
Milwaukee = $2,546,188
Oak Creek = $164,524
Saint Francis = $65,933
South Milwaukee = $90,118

Governor Walker's cuts to public transit and our local roads had an even greater domino effect in our community as it led to the end of the new Regional Transit Authorities and high-speed rail. There are also communities in Wisconsin that are now facing the very real possibility of being forced to shut down their transit systems.

Having a well-supported public transit system is vital to maintaining and creating jobs in our community. According to the Milwaukee County Transit systems, on average 140,000 rides are provided daily. Of these, 39% are commuters traveling to and from work, another 5% are heading to job interviews, and 11% are students making their way to classes to learn valuable skills for their future careers.

ENVIRONMENT
Wisconsin has a long tradition of protecting our natural resources, as they are not just a part of our landscape, but a part of who we are as stewards of this great state. This year, Governor Walker and Republican legislators pushed an agenda that has left our state's natural resources vulnerable. Many of these changes were instituted under the most recent budget, including:
Cutting funding for recycling programs by 40%. According to Recycle More Wisconsin, recycling programs keep 1.69 million tons of materials out of Wisconsin's landfills, supports 97,000 jobs and contributes $5.4 billion to our state's economy.
Eliminating $26 million in Stewardship program funding used to safeguard Wisconsin's precious lands and valuable natural resources for today and tomorrow.
Reducing funding for the Focus on Energy program that promotes in-state economic development, helps Wisconsin residents and businesses manage rising energy costs, and protects our environment. In the past 10 years, more than 91,000 businesses and more than 1.7 million residents used the program and saved $2.20 for every $1 spent on average.
Eliminating the Office of Energy Independence, which provides long-term planning and development of fuels, technologies and business practices in Wisconsin to reduce our state's dependence on foreign energy resources.
Eliminating the Renewable Grants and Loan Program and the Green to Gold Program. The former provides incentives for Wisconsin businesses to develop renewable technologies including biofuels, while the latter helps Wisconsin's industries lower their energy costs and encourages job creation and growth.
Repealing water quality standards that require communities to reduce the total amount of suspended solids in local water supplies. Without such regulations to protect our water quality, sewerage waste, toxic chemicals, fertilizers and pesticides could make their way into our drinking water and lakes, and significantly harm the health of our families and communities.
Holding up wind siting rules forcing alternative energy investors to send jobs elsewhere.
This agenda to place polluters over people continued with the introduction of Senate Bill 326, legislation that undoes important environmental protections that keep our air clean and our water safe for drinking and recreation. The following concerns can be found in this environmentally harmful legislation that threatens our natural resources and families by:
Tying the hands of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) by not allowing follow-up requests for information from permit applicants
Encouraging DNR permit applicants to submit incomplete or false information since DNR is restricted in follow-ups
Giving DNR the authority to issue permits without a public hearing
Removing air quality protections, such as requiring industries to model their expected air quality impact to ensure the health of neighbors is not adversely impacted by pollutants they produce
There is an undeniable link between a healthy environment and sustainable economic growth. Therefore, we should not allow polluters to bully us into making a false choice between conservation and economic growth.

TAXES & SPENDING
The Republican budget broke significant fiscal promises by increasing spending by over $1 billion compared to the last budget, raising taxes and fees by over $180 million, and raiding $411 million from segregated funds.

Not only did Governor Walker and Republican legislators increase spending and raise taxes, but they did it on the backs of Wisconsin workers, middle-class families, children and seniors rather than having all Wisconsinites share the burden. This current budget also favors CEOs and big corporations by creating a $196 million corporate slush fund and $2.3 billion in tax giveaways.

ACCOUNTABILITY & TRANSPARENCY
Wisconsinites have sought to preserve accountability and transparency in our government since the days of fighting Bob La Follette. This is illustrated by our laws requiring open meetings and records, thoughtful checks and balances in our government structures, and significant disclosure for political campaign contributions.

Governor Walker and his rubberstamp Legislature began their attack on these common sense protections with their first special session. The following are just some of the bills authored and passed by Republican legislators during that session, reversing Wisconsin's progress in ensuring open government:
Special Session Senate Bill 1--Prevents victims and their families from obtaining justice against negligent corporations and manufacturers. Republicans rejected Senate Amendment 2, a Democratic amendment to ensure reports relating to health care violations are not kept secret.
Special Session Senate Bill 3--Creates tax incentives for corporations that relocate to Wisconsin. Republicans rejected Assembly Amendment 2, which would have required tracking the number of jobs created by these incentives to ensure tax dollars are being spent wisely.
Special Session Senate Bill 4--Gives $25 million more to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation for corporate tax credits. Amendments were rejected by Republicans, which would have required the Audit Bureau to conduct an annual audit of the program and recoup credits if a business submits false information or fails to fulfill promises.
Special Session Senate Bill 6--Replaces the Department of Commerce with the public-private Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation. To protect against the potential for corruption, an amendment was introduced to require all WEDC employees to be subject to the open records law. It was rejected by Republican legislators.
Special Session Senate Bill 8--Requires approval by the Governor on all administrative rules. This is an unprecedented power grab that decreases the power of the Legislature and makes Wisconsin's executive branch one of the most powerful in the country. I introduced Senate Amendment 8 that would have prohibited a Wisconsin governor from accepting campaign donations from those that would benefit financially from rule changes. Republicans ultimately rejected this amendment that would have eliminated the potential for conflicts of interest and maintained integrity in the rule process.
Following these bills, Governor Walker and Republican legislators continued to send Wisconsin in the wrong direction by pushing through the Republican budget, which was brimming with special interest giveaways, sneaking nearly 80 non-fiscal policy items into what was promised to be a purely fiscal document. The following provisions are some of the most egregious:
Approved a $162 million corporate slush fund for the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, but provided no details on how the agency would use these funds.
Eliminated the clean election initiatives in Wisconsin, taking power from voters and giving more control of our elections to wealthy, out-of-state corporations.
Seized powers from the constitutional offices of the Secretary of State and State Treasurer.
Granted unprecedented dictatorial authority to Secretary Smith at the Department of Health Services who will be able to make unilateral, unspecified changes to Wisconsin's medical Assistance programs, which could include dramatic service cuts to our most vulnerable.
Ripped authority from the Department of Public Instruction regarding its educational authority and stunted DPI’s power to develop important education improvement initiatives.
Allows the Walker Administration to sell state assets without bidding for the best deal for taxpayers.
My Democratic colleagues and I introduced amendments to remove such backwards provisions from the budget in order to ensure Wisconsin maintains its tradition of clean, open and transparent government. Unfortunately, Republicans voted down these amendments with little consideration for Wisconsin’s traditions.

In addition to placing the wish lists of special interests ahead of working families when pushing his legislative agenda, Governor Walker and his rubberstamp legislators have also tried a variety of methods to keep the doors of the Capitol locked to the public, by doing the following:
Abruptly halting public hearings on controversial legislation before citizens were able to speak
Violating Wisconsin's Open Meetings Law
Physically locking the public and legislators out of the Capitol
Implementing guidelines that makes it nearly impossible for individuals or groups that are not wealthy to utilize their constitutional right to free speech and assembly
We need more accountability and transparency, not less. I will continue doing what I can to promote good government policies, not follow in Governor Walker's footsteps by forwarding legislation and policies aimed at keeping our neighbors in the dark.

Disappointing DOT Decision
Last Friday, December 16, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) announced its decision to ignore the thousands of cycle enthusiasts, commuters, and business leaders that advocated for a bike and pedestrian lane on the Hoan Bridge as part of the bridge restoration project scheduled to begin in 2012.

As you know, WisDOT concluded a feasibility study earlier this year that included five possible options for adding a bike and pedestrian lane to the bridge. Had the project been approved by WisDOT, the addition of a bike and pedestrian lane could have been constructed within the current estimated budget for the reconstruction of the Hoan Bridge. The proposed project would have also served as the last puzzle piece in connecting the Oak Leaf Trail, a multi-state trail network that runs from Downtown Chicago through Milwaukee and up to Sheboygan.

On November 9, I was joined by Rep. Richards, Rep. Sinicki, county and local government officials, and the Coalition to Bike the Hoan at a press conference, where we presented the results of the "Petition to Bike the Hoan." The petition generated over 5,000 signatures from individuals requesting that WisDOT add a bike and pedestrian lane during the bridge's upcoming reconstruction. The Bike Federation of Wisconsin also presented a letter to the Governor from over 40 business leaders, who employ more than 4,000 Wisconsinites, in support of the project.

I am disappointed that WisDOT refused to listen to the voices of business leaders and the thousands of neighbors who advocated for this once-in-a-generation opportunity. The vast majority of constituents I heard from supported this project and it is truly unfortunate that we will probably have to wait at least another 40 years to revisit this. Friday's decision by the DOT represents a missed opportunity for Milwaukee as expanding access to the Hoan would have been a positive step forward in cementing our city's commitment to providing multi-modal forms of public transit.

I will continue with working to move our community forward by expanding safe alternatives for bicyclists and pedestrians in Milwaukee County. Furthering such efforts will help to simultaneously promote tourism and encourage economic growth.

Capitol Access Policies Remain Unclear
Last week, Governor Walker and his administration implemented a new policy to prevent Wisconsinites from using their First Amendment right to free speech and to freely assemble. This policy stipulated that groups of four or more people would need to obtain permits for all activity and displays in state buildings, including the Capitol, and apply for those permits at least 72-hours in advance. Additionally, families and groups of four or more could also be required to pay a fee or obtain liability insurance or a bond before getting a permit.

Governor Walker and his Department of Administration appointees were rather vague in the language used to draft the policy. It is expected that Capitol Police will be responsible for determining who is in violation of this policy and what action should be taken on a case-by-case basis. Because of the unclear language and the inability of the Department of Administration and Capitol Police to list examples of what does or does not violate the provision limiting access to the Capitol, many people may unknowingly be in violation of this order and be forced to face the consequences.

While the rules have been slightly modified, serious concerns remain over the cost barriers and the potential for selective, or even biased, enforcement.

Our governor should be encouraging input and participation from his neighbors, not seeking retribution and suppressing those that may disagree with his policies. We must work together to encourage a more open government and increase accessibility to our elected officials, rather than adopting policies that aim to restrict First Amendment rights.

If Governor Walker and his administration continue to pushing for these policies of exclusion, it will only be a matter of time before a lawsuit is filed against the state.

Making Our Roads Safer with Ignition Interlock Devices
We are now in the holiday season, which tends to be one of the most dangerous times of the year for alcohol-related driving offenses. This should be a time of celebration with family and friends, not tarnished by a tragedy resulting from drunk driving. Our family, friends and neighbors cannot afford to wait any longer for stronger drunk driving laws. Wisconsin’s drivers and passengers deserve greater peace-of-mind while on the road.

Like many in Wisconsin, I understand the tragic cost of the drunk driving epidemic that has touched all corners of our state. Too often drunk drivers cause accidents that kill or injure our family, friends and neighbors, shattering lives and tearing the fabric of our communities. We must do more to end these preventable tragedies and safeguard our loved ones.

In the past, the solution has simply been to take away the driver’s licenses of convicted drunk drivers. However, we know this does not do enough to prevent them from driving. DOT estimates for 2010 show that over 32,000 people were convicted of driving drunk in Wisconsin and nearly 32% of these were repeat offenders.

It is time that we do more to stop the fatalities, injuries and property loss caused by drunk drivers, which is why Rep. Tony Staskunas (D–West Allis) and I have introduced bipartisan legislation recently to strengthen our state’s drunk driving laws through increased use of ignition interlock devices.

Click here to view a copy of this legislation.

This legislation strengthens our lax drunk driving laws by stipulating that all first-time convicted drunk drivers have an ignition interlock device placed in their vehicle. Currently, ignition interlock device are only installed in vehicles of first-time offenders with blood alcohol content of .15 or higher and repeat offenders. This life-saving technology has been proven to reduce drunk driving recidivism by 67 percent, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

This legislation is a step in the right direction. I will continue to work with advocates and law enforcement to untangle and improve Wisconsin's drunk driving laws.

Senator Larson

Small Biz Owner In Walker Ad Actually a Billionaire Outsourcer, Member of China Business Council

2011-12-21T11:58:00.000-08:00

Here at 4896 Hobbs Road, we have begun the arduous and expensive task of sealing up the house and adding insulation everywhere to begin to try to get a handle on rising energy costs. As we live in a modified A-frame, much of the problem is the condition of the present roof and how it originally was insulated.

Although our present shingles could probably suffice for two or three more years, we are considering the newest alternative, steel roofing with a lot of good insulation installed first.

We are trying to outrun the ever rising expense of heating our living space!

___________________________________________

I received the following e mail today:

Dear Lawrence,

I wish that today I could send you a cheerful message with good news, wish you a wonderful holiday season and reflect on the incredible work we’ve done in the past year.

But we can’t rest and recharge: Six million unemployed workers are counting on us to keep on fighting for them, and we won’t let them down.

Please call Speaker Boehner at 202-225-0600. Tell the person who picks up the phone: “Speaker Boehner should be ashamed of himself. He needs to get his House in order, stop the partisan games and extend unemployment aid immediately.”

The two things House Republicans seem to be most passionate about are protecting millionaires from having to pay taxes and cutting unemployment benefits for jobless workers.

All 229 House members who voted yesterday to cut off unemployment benefits were Republicans. They should be ashamed of themselves. Once again they’ve blocked survival aid for men and women who want to work but can’t find jobs in this brutal economy. If House Republicans continue to block action, nearly 2 million people will lose unemployment benefits in January alone. How can they sit back and enjoy the holidays?

Please pick up the phone and call Speaker Boehner at 202-225-0600. Tell him to extend unemployment aid immediately.

Thank you for being a voice for jobless workers, and for all the work you do.

In Solidarity,

Richard L. Trumka
President, AFL-CIO

P.S. 89 Senators—Democrats and Republicans—voted to extend unemployment this weekend. House Republicans have a decision to make. They can continue standing with the wealthiest one percent by taking directions from the most extreme of the Tea Partiers, or they can come to their senses and start standing up for working people and paying attention to the jobs crisis.

Please call John Boehner and ask him: What’s wrong with Tea Party Republicans in the House—and why can’t they get anything done for working families? His number is 202-225-0600.

_______________________________________________________________

I made the call this morning - and let me tell you, it felt REALLY good to say it into Boehner's phone!

Closer to home, I received the following e mail from Mike Tate:

Dear Lawrence,

A new report shows that last month, Scott Walker ranked #1 in the country in job losses thanks to his extreme, divisive agenda that has failed to produce jobs for Wisconsin families.

But rather than take responsibility for costing 34,900 Wisconsin workers their jobs in the last five months, Scott Walker and his administration have been blaming others, blaming you and even blaming the jobs data itself.

Scott Walker thinks that if he changes the subject or blames others for his failures, he'll be able to save his own job while more Wisconsin families struggle to make ends meet.

Enough is enough. It's time to hold Scott Walker accountable for making working, middle-class families suffer while his super-rich campaign donors receive billions more in corporate welfare and tax giveaways.

Can you chip in with a donation of $5 to help us expose how Scott Walker's extreme policies are directly responsible for the more than 34,900 pink slips Wisconsin workers have received in the last five months?

http://www.WisDems.org/donate/Hold-Walker-Accountable-On-Jobs

Unlike Scott Walker, numbers don't lie. The numbers show that since Scott Walker signed his devastating budget into law in June, our state has been hemorrhaging jobs each and every month. In fact, Scott Walker's regressive policies have harmed our state to such a degree that another report shows that Wisconsin has the worst economic indicators of any state in the entire country.

It's not working, but Scott Walker is too arrogant to admit that he has failed. We must act now and recall Scott Walker to get Wisconsin's economy moving again.

Please donate $5 right now so we can hold Scott Walker accountable for all the harm he has done to our state's economy and our middle class.

http://www.WisDems.org/donate/Hold-Walker-Accountable-On-Jobs

With your help, we'll recall Scott Walker and elect a new governor that the people of Wisconsin can believe in to take job creation seriously.

Thank you for your support,

Mike Tate
Chair, Democratic Party of Wisconsin
_______________________________________________________________

Unfortunately, I am behind on bills. But I pulled out my credit card and sent in $10 myself. I hope if you read this that you will do the same!

I am sure you have seen some of King Walker's bullshit television ads. The one that really got me was about how he has promoted small business - In one ad, he taps "small businessman" Chris Rebholz.

As progressive Wisconsinites approach the necessary number of signatures to force a recall election of Governor Scott Walker, the man known best for union-busting and prank phone call gumpsmanship is making his case for Wisconsin being a better business environment since he took office. It is a tough case to make considering that Wisconsin has led the nation in job losses for five consecutive months. Despite this absolute truth, Walker has been releasing ads touting his accomplishments and abilities.

This ad shows a "small business" owner talking about how Scott Walker is a friend to the small businessman. But as popular Wisconsin blog UppityWis notes, “Chris” is Chris Rebholz, owner of TriStar Products, a company specializing in outsourcing jobs to China. TriStar Products makes all of the useless items you see on TV infomercials...and they make them in China. In fact, Rebholz likes working with China so much that he is on the China Business Council. From UppityWis:

...the reality is that Wisconsin is hemorrhaging manufacturing jobs almost exclusively to China. And when customers buy from a TV ad or online, it also requires fewer jobs to get that product to the customer because there is no store and the jobs that go with a store.
In other words, if you were going to set up a business model with the fewest American jobs possible, it would be Chris Rebholz's business model. That's the guy... that Scott Walker chose to promote his job creation efforts.

Rebholz was able to set up such a good system for importing Chinese trinkets, selling them on TV or online, and then mailing them out to people that he's gone to other businesses and offered up his expertise of getting a product, made cheap in China, and to the hands of the American consumer with the fewest American jobs possible.

Americans are growing tired of the "big business" megalomania that has come to represent the Right. Walker is a product of this mindset, someone so engulfed in ideology that it is difficult to tell if he even thinks he is lying anymore.

And sure, in these ads Walker is telling a special version of the truth. If you are the kind of company that makes cheap products in China and has them sent here to sell wholesale then yes, Governor Walker’s economic policies may work for you. But Wisconsin's firefighters, police officers and public employees aren’t willing to take anymore bullets for the likes of Chris Rebholz.

Biztimes.com states the obvious, that having someone like Rebholz tout your economic policy might be foolish.

Yes, you heard that right folks-- Walker's job-promotin' carny barker helps companies with their "downsizing."
Here's the kicker, though: Rebholz is also a member of the "China Business Council" which features on their logo a Chinese flag placed in front and almost completely covering-up the American flag below it.

As the name suggest, the Chinese Business Council helps facilitate the manufacturing of products in China and then selling them in the United States.

The problem with being a 1% flunky is that you only gain support from the 1%, leaving 99% of Wisconsinites wondering if their Governor has their best interests in mind. Having a billionaire who has made his money outsourcing jobs to China does little to strengthen Walker's case. But hey, Walker and Rebholz are a match made in Heaven. After all, Rebholz is familiar with recalls, too. In 2007 his Hulk Hogan Ultimate Grill was recalled for being a fire hazard.

______________________________________________________________

I AM A LUMBERJACK AND I AM OKAY - I SLEEP ALL NIGHT AND IWORK ALL DAY!

2011-12-19T15:56:00.000-08:00

Some time ago I realized that we had an elm tree that was looking very dead and that it was leaning precariously towards the garage. We called a tree specialist, Matt Staudenmaier, who came out to look over the situation.

He told us he could drop that tree successfully. He also pointed out that the huge oak next to the elm was dying and should be harvested at the same time.

So Last Saturday Matt and a helper dropped both trees and cut them up in lengths that could be split into firewood for the office.

so I called my friend Tom Johnson who lives near Madison but quite often treks to Superior, Wisconsin, to look in on the homestead there, as he had expressed an interest in helping me split any wood that I might acquire. Tom is a great friend who has been helpful over the years and we always have a great time in each other's company.

Saturday afternoon I went to A-1 Rental and rented a hydraulic gas driven splitter which I towed home with "the Big Tamata". Tom arrived just about dusk so we waited until Sunday morning to attack the mound of wood that Matt had dropped in the yard in front of the office.

After a good hearty breakfast of buttermilk blueberry pancakes and lots of coffee we set to work feeding the splitter. We would work for 50 minutes, then take a 10 minute break. The night before I had set the DVR to record the Packer game, so we worked right through the noon hour up until around one o'clock, at which time we had both had it! It was all I could do to climb the stairs to watch the recorded game.

Now I wish I hadn't watch it!

This morning, we were both up and at it for about an hour before we returned the splitter which was due in by 8:30 AM.

What you see in the photo is the result of our labors! I am typing this in a very cozy office!

My sincere thanks to Tom for helping me with a pretty monumental task. Later in the year I will be going down to help him out with an English class he is teaching as a way of paying him back.

________________________________________________________________

RECALLING WALKER A NO BRAINER - IF YOU BELIEVE IN TRUE DEMOCRACY

2011-12-16T05:45:00.000-08:00

Capitol Access Restricted...Again
Governor Walker and his administration are set to implement a new policy to prevent Wisconsinites from using their First Amendment right to free speech. Starting today, December 16, groups of four or more people must obtain permits for all activity and displays in state buildings, including the Capitol, and apply for those permits at least 72-hours in advance. Families and groups of four or more can also be required to pay a fee or obtain liability insurance or a bond before getting a permit.

Who Would be Affected?

Governor Walker and his Department of Administration (DOA) appointees were rather vague in the language used to draft this new policy. It is expected that Capitol Police will be responsible for determining who is in violation of this policy and what action should be taken on a case-by-case basis. Because of the unclear language and the inability of DOA and Capitol Police to list examples of what does or does not violate the provision limiting access to the Capitol, many people may unknowingly be in violation of this order and be forced to face the consequences.

This provision has the potential to be applied to families of four or more, 4th grade classes on a field trip, tour groups, and advocacy organizations handing out literature on their lobby days. Capitol Police would also have the authority to choose when to enforce it or not as they could penalize a group of six choosing to sing a song in opposition of Walker, while choosing to allow a group of 10 to chant in support of Walker.

Continuation of Policies to Decrease Government Accessibility

Throughout this year, Governor Walker and Republican legislators have:
Abruptly halted public hearings on controversial legislation before citizens were able to speak
Violated Wisconsin's Open Meetings Law
Locked the public and legislators out of the Capitol
Rejected transparency and accountability measures proposed on numerous bills
Pushed special interest legislation that had no public author
Our governor should be encouraging input and participation from his neighbors, not seeking retribution and suppressing those that may disagree with his policies. We must work together to encourage a more open government and increase accessibility to our elected officials, rather than adopting policies that aim to restrict First Amendment rights.

Walker has no respect for you! Why would you not sign the petition?

_______________________________________________________________

Wisconsin Collects More Than A Half-Million Signatures In One Month

2011-12-15T10:19:00.000-08:00

-- In just one month, Wisconsin has collected more than a half-million signatures from 'Sconnies hoping to kick Gov. Scott Walker (R) out of office, putting them well on their way to hit the threshold to trigger a recall election in 2012, with time to spare.

United Wisconsin, the group coordinating the recall effort, announced the news in a press release on Thursday, and Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Mike Tate will be holding a video conference Thursday afternoon.

Activists still plan to collect more than 700,000 signatures before the Jan. 17 deadline, when recall organizers must turn their petitions into the Government Accountability Office, which oversees state elections. They must have 540,208 valid signatures in order to trigger a recall race.

"Scott Walker continues to spend millions on misleading TV ads trying to convince voters that his drastic cuts to education and other 'reforms' are working," said Meagan Mahaffey, United Wisconsin's executive director, in a statement. "But the people of Wisconsin are not buying his lies and are moving at record pace to stop Walker's destruction and recall him from office."

A recall election could occur as early as March 27, although it will likely be later if Republicans challenge the petition signatures or file lawsuits.

Once recall organizers turn in their petitions, the GAB will determine how many of those signatures are valid.

As Patch reported, GAB "set off a firestorm this week when one of its staffers said the agency would not automatically strike names like Mickey Mouse and Adolf Hitler from the petitions -- as long as those signatures were dated and had Wisconsin addresses."

The Walker recall is the next step in a campaign to oust Wisconsin Republicans who pushed forward controversial budget legislation stripping collective bargaining rights from state employees. In August, Democrats recalled two Republican state senators from office, but they fell short of the three needed to take control of the chamber.

There have been only two successful gubernatorial recall elections in history, one against California Gov. Gray Davis (D) in 2003 and one against North Dakota Gov. Lynn Frazier (R) in 1921.

Triggering a recall election won't mean that Walker will necessarily get kicked out of office; a candidate still needs to step forward and beat Walker in a match-up.

Tate has said the party won't put a candidate forward until early 2012 in order to keep the fight focused as a referendum on Walker.

The recall effort has become rough in recent days, with allegations flying that activists are being intimidated by Walker supporters and, on the other side, that recall organizers are collecting signatures on private property and are having people double-sign petitions.

Republicans have started a website asking people to report "any cases of fraud, intimidation, or other shady tactics" perpetrated by recall organizers.

"A majority of citizens have grown increasingly frustrated with the recall process, and this effort allows these people to get involved and protect their state from repeated fraudulent activity," said Republican Party executive director Stephan Thompson.

THE HISTORY OF WELL WORN EXPRESSIONS FASCINATE ME

2011-12-15T04:45:00.000-08:00

Where did the expression “piss poor” come from ?

We older people need to learn something new every day..

Just to keep the grey matter tuned up.

Where did "Piss Poor" come from?
Interesting History.

They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot

And then once it was full it was taken and sold to the tannery...

if you had to do this to survive you were "Piss Poor".
But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn't even afford to buy a pot...

They "didn't have a pot to piss in" and were the lowest of the low.

The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature

Isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be.

Here are some facts about the 1500s

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May,

And they still smelled pretty good by June. However, since they were starting to smell,
Brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor.
Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water.

The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water,

Then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children.

Last of all the babies.

By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it.

Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water!"

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath.

It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals
(mice, bugs) lived in the roof.

When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof.
Hence the saying, "It's raining cats and dogs."
There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house.

This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings

Could mess up your nice clean bed.

Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection.

That's how canopy beds came into existence.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt.

Hence the saying, "Dirt poor." The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery

In the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing.

As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door,

It would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance-way.
Hence: a thresh hold.

(Getting quite an education, aren't you?)

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire.

Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables

And did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers

In the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day.

Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while.

Hence the rhyme:

“Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old”.
Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special.

When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off.

It was a sign of wealth that a man could, "bring home the bacon."

They would cut off a little to share with guests

And would all sit around and chew the fat.

Those with money had plates made of pewter.

Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death.

This happened most often with tomatoes,

so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status.

Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle,

and guests got the top, or the upper crust.
Lead cups were used to drink ale or whiskey.

The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days.

Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial.

They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around
and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up.

Hence the custom; “of holding a wake”.

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people.

So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave.

When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive.

So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell.

Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be,
“saved by the bell” or was "considered a dead ringer”.

And that's the truth.

Now, whoever said History was boring!!!
So get out there and educate someone! ~~~

Share these facts with a friend.
Inside every older person is a younger person wondering,

'What the heck happened?'

We'll be friends until we are old and senile.

Then we'll be new friends.
“Smile”,

it gives your face something to do!

NOTE: MY THANKS TO LINDA GRUEN FOR PASSING THIS ON TO ME!

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MERRY CHRISTMAS AND WELCOME TO MY THOUSAND AND ONE POST

2011-12-14T12:00:00.000-08:00

Christmas is creeping ever nearer, and our beloved Green Bay Packers are setting all kinds of records this year. According to Bleacher report:

During the Packers' current 19-game winning streak, the team has decided to rewrite the history books. Plenty of records have already fallen victim and many more are still possible.

With an incredibly deep roster, the Packers success this season has been a team effort. Along with the near-perfect play of Aaron Rodgers, different Packers have stepped up each week to help the team win. Injuries haven't slowed the Packers as the next-man-up mantra has never been truer.

Looking at the statistics for the 2011 Green Bay Packers, some explain the success that the team has had this season, some are mind-boggling, and others are meaningless but still fascinating at the same time.

The Green Bay Packers have had no problems taking the ball from opposing quarterbacks. In 13 games, the Packers have collected 27 interceptions. Tied for second, the Detroit Lions, New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers each have 18 picks.

Leading the pack, Charles Woodson has seven interceptions on his own. He has collected more interceptions than the whole Indianapolis Colts and Minnesota Vikings teams who have six each.

Individually, Woodson has single-handedly countered the Packers' quarterbacks interceptions, a combined seven (Rodgers-six, Flynn-one).

Nine different players on the Packers roster have come up with interceptions this season. Five have come from linebackers, seven from safeties and 15 from cornerbacks.

Through 13 games, three quarterbacks have a realistic shot of taking down Dan Marino's single-season yardage record. Drew Brees and Tom Brady are on pace to shatter the record, while Aaron Rodgers is on pace to finish just over seven yards shy.

To this point, Brees and Brady are only outpacing Rodgers based on their number attempts. Brees is on pace to finish the season with 5,376 yards on 668.3 attempts, Brady is on pace to finish with 5259.2 yards on 610.5 attempts and Rodgers' current pace would leave him with 5076.8 yards on just 539 attempts.

It took Marino 564 yards to reach his record 5,084 yards.

Brees and Brady will likely break the record, but as the Packers near home-field advantage, it is unlikely that Rodgers plays enough and throws enough to reach the record. It's noteworthy however, that Rodgers is putting up incredible yardage on far fewer attempts.

The 2011 Green Bay Packers have already scored more points than any other Packers team in history. Coming into their Week 14 game against the Oakland Raiders 41 points shy of the team record, the Packers broke the record and added an extra five points bringing their total to 466 points.

Every point the Packers score from now until the end of the regular season will help to create a healthy distance between the 2011 Packers and the other Packers teams that came before. Through 13 games, 20 different players have contributed to scoring record (19 players have scored touchdowns and Crosby in the kicking game).

The previous record for total points in a season was the 2009 Packers teams that scored 461 points in 16 games. Including this record-breaking season, the two highest-scoring Packers teams have been led by Aaron Rodgers.

It's no secret that Jordy Nelson is having a breaking season. He started it off with a magnificent performance in the Super Bowl and has carried that momentum through 2011. Nelson leads the Packers in receiving yards and touchdowns.

This year has been far and away his best season in the league with career highs across the board. In 2010, his best year previously, Nelson caught 45 passes for 582 yards and two touchdowns. This year, Nelson has caught six more passes for a total of 51 but has gained 957 yards.

Nelson has increased his yards per reception from 12.9 yards in 2010 to a juicy 18.8 yards in 2011. While bringing up his average, Nelson has turned into a variable threat. He can beat corners deep, while also having the speed to take a short pass the distance.

Coming into this season, under Mike McCarthy's leadership, the Packers had struggled with special teams. In the majority of games, the Packers were outmatched by opposing teams' special teams units. They were missing that return that could flip field position and change a game in an instant.

When the Packers drafted Randall Cobb, they believed they got their man. Cobb wasted no time proving the Packers' front office correct as he erupted for a 108-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the Packers' season opener.

This season, the Packers currently are ranked seventh in average yards per kickoff return with an average of 25.4 yards and fifth in average yards per punt return with an average of 12 yards. The addition of Randall Cobb has done wonders for the Packers' special teams.

This season, the Packers have scored a ridiculous amount of touchdowns. Through 13 games, the team has 57 total touchdowns—nine more than any other team.

While the end zone has been a familiar hang-out spot for the Green and Gold, other teams haven't been quite as successful. Through the first 13 games of the season, the St. Louis Rams have found the end zone a lowly 14 times.

Jordy Nelson (10) and Greg Jennings (nine), each, have more receiving touchdowns than the entire Rams team combined (seven).

The Packers have scored more than four times as many touchdowns as the St. Louis Rams. A ridiculous amount.

One of the most impressive stats of the 2011 Packers is that they have never been behind in the fourth quarter. If you include last season's playoff run, the Packers haven't trailed in the fourth quarter since their Week 15 loss to the New England Patriots—19 games ago.

A true testament to the Packers success, the stat is mind-blogging and demonstrates just how dominant the Packers have been over the last calendar year.

This season, the closest they have come to trailing was against the New York Giants as Eli Manning led a game-tying drive leaving 58 seconds remaining. Rodgers immediately rushed the Packers down the field for a game-winning field goal.

GO, PACK, GO!

______________________________________________________________

WELL WRITTEN EDITORIAL FROM CHIPPEWA FALLS TEACHER

2011-12-13T15:35:00.000-08:00

There has been much debate in the media as to whether there should be a recall of Gov. Scott Walker. Here is why I want to see a recall.

It's not because the governor is slashing the education budget; other governors before him have done the same, even Democratic ones. It's not because he is cutting health care for many in the state who need it; this country has long denied the poorest of its citizenry access to basic health care.

It's not because he's supposedly balancing the budget on the backs of teachers and other public employees by requiring them to pay more for their health care and pensions, thus eroding their take-home pay. None of those are the reasons I want to recall this governor.

There is something bigger going on in our country, something insidious that is undermining the very fabric of our democracy nationwide. And Walker, whether purposefully or because he is an unwitting puppet, is part of it.

The Republicans thought they had finally attained Karl Rove's vision of a "permanent Republican majority" when George W. Bush was handed the presidency by the Supreme Court in the 2000 election. Imagine their surprise when Democrat Barack Obama was elected in 2008.

So, the behind-the-scenes power brokers and the political action committees with big corporate money geared up and in 2010 helped states elect a large group of governors and state legislators who would take their marching orders. Those marching orders include legislation to end collective bargaining state by state and, thus, to quell one powerful voice of the people. Those marching orders also include legislation to make it more difficult for people who tend to vote for Democrats to vote at all.

Around the country, Republican-led legislatures began redrawing district boundaries to keep Republicans in power. In Arizona, where the people chose (via referendum) to have a bipartisan commission draw their lines, the Republican governor moved to have the chairwoman of the commission removed because she didn't like the way they were drawing the lines (the court overruled that governor).

The Republican governor of Michigan signed a law giving him the right to declare a municipality or city to be in "financial crisis" and then to appoint a private-sector manager who would take over that municipality. The manager could dismiss elected officials!

There is an egregious takeover of our democracy by people who hold economic power. The Citizens United Supreme Court decision gave corporations the ability to buy elections. One individual, Grover Norquist, has somehow gotten a significant number of Republican legislators (both state and federal) to sign his pledge to do what he demands, rather than what is right for constituents. He apparently holds the purse strings to their re-elections, and somehow that is legal. And no one seems to be able to do anything about it.

So, why do I want to recall Walker? Because I can. Because my rights as an individual elector in our grand, 200-year-old experiment in democracy are being systematically and systemically eroded. If I don't do something now to preserve our democracy, I will lose the ability to effect any change in the future.

The people of Wisconsin spoke last spring when they rallied week after week. They said they want our democracy preserved. It begins by preserving our right to collectively bargain. Because without that right, we have no voice.

Those rallies emboldened the Wisconsin electorate to recall two Republican state senators this past summer. The recall of those senators emboldened the people of Ohio to overturn an anti-collective bargaining law in November, as well the people of Michigan to recall one senator, the people of Mississippi to reject a "personhood referendum" and the people of Maine to demand that same-day voter registration be allowed in defiance of their governor's signed law to repeal it. The people are choosing to take back their democracy.

Yes, the recall here will be expensive. Democracy does not come cheap. Yes, Walker was voted in by the people a year ago. But that was under false pretenses funded by corporate denizens. And, no, we cannot wait until his term is over in 2014. If we wait that long, this governor and the people who bought his election will have further eroded our democracy and the ability of the people to have a say in how we are governed.

If we are successful in changing who sits in the governor's seat in Wisconsin, that - added to what Ohio, Michigan, Mississippi, Maine and other states are doing - will send a clear message to the corporatists that we will not accept their form of government. And it will embolden other citizens to take action.

Democracy is precious to me. It is why I am proud to be an American. I have a voice today. If I do not exercise that voice now, I may lose the ability to exercise it tomorrow. This is why I am working to recall Walker. I am working to preserve our democracy.

Fire is the Devil's Friend - CLOSE CALL AT OFFICE

2011-12-13T07:28:00.000-08:00

The old expression: "Here today, gone tomorrow" has been in my head a lot since last Sunday. That's the day my office couch erupted in flames!

I have a standard winter routine. I come to the office, turn on the computer so it can load, then attend to the stove. If there are live coals from the day before, I add small kindling.

Sunday was one of those mornings where there was little life in the bed of coals - or so I thought. I had been saving up card board for just such an occasion, so I tore some of that up and laid it on the dying embers. It came to life a lot faster than I anticipated so I went and got more card board.

I am not completely sure I know what happened but a live ember most have jumped ship when I was looking the other way. I added a small amount of kindling, closed the stove door, and went to sit at the computer. Within seconds I heard foreign sound behind me - I turned to see my little couch in flames!

First I attempted to beat the flames out with a pillow - then realized only water would extinguish the rapidly climbing flames. I rushed to the sink, ran a small jar of water (it seemed like hours for it to fill) and threw it on the flames. It didn't go out - there was still signs of burning so I went and got more water.

By the time I got the fire out completely, the couch (as you can see) was severely damaged. To say that I was in a state of shock is an understatement. First I couldn't believe that it had actually happened and as time passed I couldn't believe that I was able to extinguish the fire without a fire extinguisher! How stupid am I not to have one at the ready!

Today I realize how very lucky I was to have been able to get it out before the whole office and contents were destroyed. Of course, I would like to replace the couch, but have no money for that. I found that it will suffice for now by covering it with a blanket.

It is much more important to get to Menard's and purchase a good fire extinguisher.

The "fire sale" smell of smoke has dissipated - and I have cleaned up the mess. And I have given thanks many times since last Sunday!

Tuesday, December 6, I went in to Mayo Clinic, Midlefort, in Eau Claire and had a basal carcinoma about the size of a nickel removed from just behind and below my left ear. Carcinomas are a form of skin cancer, brought on by exposure to sunlight - I had noticed the strange little growth nearly a year ago, but it wasn't until I was assigned to a new doctor that he found it.

Turns out, carcinomas are rampant with the deterioration of the ozone, thanks to greedy corporations like the Koch brothers who don't care if the ozone is destroyed - there is money to be made.

Then we have our illustrious newly elected Senator Ron Johnson who tells us that there is no such thing as climate change. I have a wish: Senator Johnson sun bathes in the nude and gets several carcinomas on his pee pee.

The incision is healing nicely with the help of Kim who is acting as my nurse and changing my bandage daily. Hopefully I will be bandage free by the weekend.

Please say a prayer for my friend Matt Capell who underwent double knee replacement surgery last Monday. The first couple weeks are really rough. I can attest to that - and I only had one knee done!

get well, soon, Matthew!

______________________________________________________________

WALKER HAS TO GO!

2011-12-01T13:03:00.000-08:00

Our not-so-beloved governor says that the number of people signing the petition for his recall doesn't really bother him. According to Politico.com, he looks forward to putting his record before the people. He is already running ads paid for by the greedy - slick commercials with "teachers" telling us how much better off their district is since Walker took over.

What you should know is the "teachers" are not from the public sector but from charter schools in Mr. Walker's own home district.

Not entirely lies, but half truths, misrepresentations. It's the way he and his greed mongers. the Koch brothers work!

Get used to it for you will be getting a lot more of these before he's finished.

It really bewilders me that most people think that it is teachers and other public sector workers who are the only ones that are upset and only because of the destruction of collective bargaining. There is as lot more terribly destructive moves going on.

Let's start with BadgerCare. BadgerCare is a Wisconsin success story that guarantees health security for more than 775,000 people. Despite its popularity, the program is on the chopping block as the Walker administration implements $554 million in budget cuts to Wisconsin's Medicaid program.

The rationale for BadgerCare is even stronger now than it was 12 years ago when it was initiated by Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson. BadgerCare has enjoyed unusual bipartisan support because it grew out of a consensus that the private health insurance market has utterly failed to provide affordable coverage to lower-income working families struggling to lift themselves out of poverty and into the middle class.

Hey Republicans. Read that again! Initiated by Tommy Thompson, enjoyed bipartisan support. Wasn't he one of the good guys in you grand old party?

The Walker administration's zeal to cut BadgerCare is partially explained by its unwillingness to admit the magnitude of the health insurance cost crisis. They have pointed to the number of people enrolled in BadgerCare as a problem, without recognizing that because of our deeply flawed private health insurance market, and the acute shortage of family sustaining jobs with decent health benefits, many have no affordable alternatives. In a statement that reveals a stunning disconnection from reality, Walker's insurance commissioner recently downplayed the cost of health insurance, stating that Wisconsin's private health insurance costs "are manageable."
Recently the Walker administration launched a sneak attack against a key national consumer protection intended to reduce health insurance costs by capping excessive insurance industry profits and overhead. Without any public announcement (Citizen Action of Wisconsin actually had to inform the media and legislators), Walker’s Insurance Commissioner Ted Nickel quietly filed an official request asking the federal government for a three-year waiver from new standards requiring that health insurance companies spend at least 80 percent of premiums on medical care. The reform went into effect this year, and is part of the national health care law, the Affordable Care Act. Waiving these requirements will cost Wisconsin consumers millions of dollars in rebates health insurers would otherwise have to pay back if their profits and overhead exceed the new standards.
Given the pain skyrocketing health insurance premiums are causing throughout Wisconsin, and rampant health insecurity which threatens so many working families, it is stunning (and highly revealing) that the Walker administration is seeking to put industry profits ahead of the interests of consumers. One would think that even Walker and his allies would fear the wrath of Wisconsin consumers fed up with outsized health insurance industry profits and angry that skyrocketing costs are undermining the freedom to control their own health care decisions.

In other words, the Walker administration is saying that highly profitable health insurance companies need this money more than Wisconsin workers struggling to make it through the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. This is a stunningly callous and morally bankrupt position, even for the Walker administration. The people of Wisconsin deserve better.

There are so many other areas by which Walker is hurting this great state. Consider what he wants to do with laws pertaining to clean air and water. Wisconsin is a state that used to be proud of sparkling clean, fish- filled rivers and lakes. but again, Oil and Coal greed and Mr. Walker are in favor of destroying our air and water to make another buck for the Koch Brothers.

I have a friend in Ohio who writes to me often and he tells me that Walker is running ads (on Fox news, of course) in Ohio! What? Must be nice to have the Kochs money to waste.

I saw a bumper sticker in Eau Claire that says it all. "If you are a working person and you support governor Walker you are like a chicken who supports Colonel Sanders.

I think Wisconsinites - honest Republicans and Democrats alike, are fed up to here with greed and lies - and will do something about it! The fast-disappearing middle class will take back the State house!

________________________________________________________________

TIM TEEBOW, JOE BUCK, AND TROY AIKMAN - YUK!

2011-11-25T14:46:00.000-08:00

I have two really huge (make that three) pet peeves when it comes to professional football.

The first relates to our "Jesus freak" Tim Teebow, who constantly tells the press and media that everything that he does on the field is because of his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Even as far back as the NFL Trials, he was spouting off about Jesus to the point that his fellow tryout team mates found him a real pain in the ass.

Okay, Timmy. We get it. You love Jesus. But when you have to keep telling us again and again, then we wonder if there is something else going on! Here's the deal, pal. It is enough that you have this personal relationship with Jesus. you demean it when you feel you have to tell us about it in every other sentence.

It's like a reformed alcoholic that finds it necessary to preach about his reformation every time you see him.

And it's not just Tim. All the other players who feel it necessary to point to heaven when they score are just as sickening. I wonder why they don't point to heaven when they fumble? Or drop an easy pass? don't you think Jesus wants to know that you love Him then, too?

My other two football pet peeves are the tandem of TV announcers who have been assigned to Packer games this season: Joe Buck and Troy Aikman. I hve tried but I cannot bear to even listen to them prattle on every Sunday anymore!

Buck is officious and Troy Aikman's English is atrocious. He constantly uses the word "what" incorrectly in sentences.

Last Sunday I finally turned the volume on the TV all the way down and tuned in 100.7 on the radio and followed the Packer announcers. At first it took a while to adjust to the fact that the radio signal is about two seconds ahead of the action on the screen (due to satellite delay), but once I got used to it, I find I like it because I can concentrate on the receiver or back that is going to be involved in the play before the play actually begins.

There, I said it.!

________________________________________________________________

WHY WOMEN TAKE SO LONG TO GO TO THE BATHROOM AND INSIST ON A FRIEND GOING WITH THEM

2011-11-25T07:40:00.000-08:00

Received this from my drummer friend, Lori Denzine:

FOR ALL THE MEN IN WOMEN'S LIVES WHO ASK "WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG?"

When you have to visit a public bathroom, you usually find a line of women, so you smile politely and take your place.
Once it's your turn, you check for feet under the stall doors. Every stall is occupied.

Finally, a door opens and you dash in, nearly knocking down the woman leaving the stall.
You get in to find the door won't latch. It doesn't matter, the wait has been so long you are about to wet your pants!
The dispenser for the modern "seat covers"(invented by someone's Mom, no doubt) is handy, but empty.
You would hang your purse on the door hook, if there was one, but there isn't - so you carefully, but quickly drape it around your neck, (Mom would turn over in her grave if you put it on the FLOOR!), yank down your pants, and assume " The Stance.."

In this position your aging, toneless (God I should have gone to the gym!!!) thigh muscles begin to shake.
You'd love to sit down, but you certainly hadn't taken time to wipe the seat or lay toilet paper on it, so you hold"The Stance".

To take your mind off your trembling thighs, you reach for what you discover to be the empty toilet paper dispenser. In your mind, you can hear your mother's voice saying, "Honey, if you had tried to clean the seat, you would have KNOWN there was no toilet paper!" Your thighs shake more.

You remember the tiny tissue that you blew your nose on yesterday - the one that's still in your purse. (Oh yeah, the purse around your neck, that now, you have to hold up trying not to strangle yourself at the same time). That will have to do. You crumple it in the puffiest way possible. It's still smaller than your thumbnail.

Someone pushes your door open because the latch doesn't work.
The door hits your purse,which is hanging around your neck in front of your chest,and you and your purse topple backward against the tank of the toilet.
"Occupied!" you scream, as you reach for the door, dropping your precious, tiny, crumpled tissue in a puddle on the floor, lose your footing altogether, and slide down directly onto the TOILET SEAT.
It is wet of course.
You bolt up, knowing all too well that it's too late. Your bare bottom has made contact with every imaginable germ and life form on the uncovered seat because YOU never laid down toilet paper - not that there was any, even if you had taken time to try.
You know that your mother would be utterly appalled if she knew, because, you're certain her bare bottom never touched a public toilet seat because, frankly, dear, "You just don't KNOW what kind of diseases you could get".

By this time, the automatic sensor on the back of the toilet is so confused that it flushes, propelling a stream of water like a fire hose against the inside of the bowl that sprays a fine mist of water that covers your butt and runs down your legs and into your shoes.
The flush somehow sucks everything down with such force that you grab onto the empty toilet paper dispenser for fear of being dragged in too
At this point, you give up.. You're soaked by the spewing water and the wet toilet seat.
You're e-x-h-a-u-s-t-e-d.
You try to wipe with a gum wrapper you found in your pocket and then slink out inconspicuously to the sinks.

You can't figure out how to operate the faucets with the automatic sensors, .....so you wipe your hands with spit and a dry paper towel and walk past the line of women still waiting.

You are no longer able to smile politely to them.
A kind soul at the very end of the line points out a piece of toilet paper trailing from your shoe. (Where was that when you NEEDED it??) You yank the paper from your shoe, plunk it in the woman's hand and tell her warmly, "Here, you just might need this".

As you exit, you spot your hubby, who has long since entered, used, and left the men's restroom.
Annoyed, he asks, "What took you so long, and why is your purse hanging around your neck?" ...........

This is dedicated to women everywhere who deal with a public restrooms (rest??? you've GOT to be kidding!!).It finally explains to the men what really does take us so long. It also answers their other commonly asked questions about why women go to the restroom in pairs. It's so the other gal can hold the door, hang onto your purse, and hand you Kleenex under the door!

Send this to all women that understand what bonding in the bathroom is all about!

A Friend Is Like A Good Bra...
Hard to Find...
Supportive.....
Comfortable ...
Always Lifts You Up...
Never Lets You Down, or Leaves You Hanging,
And Is Always Close To Your Heart!!!

_______________________________________________________________

Share with anyone who needs a good laugh!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! HOPING THAT YOU ARE WITH PEOPLE YOU LOVE TODAY

2011-11-24T06:00:00.000-08:00

TODAY IS THANKSGIVING DAY - the day that I spend cooking - one of my favorite hobbies - watching Packer football - and taking stock in the people I am most thankful for in my life.

I guess I should start with the medical community because various surgeons have saved my life several times since the year 2000. I need to start with the great heart surgeon who saved my life in 2000 with a quadruple bypass, Dr. Robert Emery. Thee have been others, too numerous for this old man to conjure up at this point but I am thankful for their expertise in back surgery, knee surgery (twice), gall bladder surgery, hiatal hernia surgery - It's a wonder that I am still of this world. for that I am thankful.

Soon I will be reporting for yet another surgery, this time to have a spot of skin cancer removed from just behind and below my left ear. I am thankful that my present GP, Dr. Storlie, caught and analyzed it at this point.

Enough of the morbidity of life!

I am thankful for my three brothers: Bob, John, and Anson, all great men in their own right. I am very thankful that they are all still alive and healthy as of this writing. I miss my brother Anson because he is too far away - living in Algoma, Wisconsin. For that same reason I miss my brother John, who is living way out in Oregon. Nevertheless, I am thankful for all of them and the love they have given me!

I am very thankful to have been in the lives of my two sons, Jonathan and David. They, too, live way too far away in Brooklyn, New York. I am thankful that they both have visited me recently and that they love me enough to call me quite often to talk about life. They are both good, talented men!

I am thankful for all the musicians that have helped make me look good in various bands over the years. I probably shouldn't start naming them all because i am bound to miss some - excuse my bad memory - but here are a few in no particular order: Bob Johnson, Gene Larson, Bill Niederberger, Jerry Holubets, Jerry Way, John Buchholz, Steve Zens, Bob Storti, Paul Fischer, Ron Keezer, Ed Treinen, Mike Richson, Jon Heagle, Justin Vernon, Gary Spaeth, Mike Vlahakis, Mike Quick, Dave Barneson, Tom Wieseler, Chuck Solberg, Tim Keilholtz, Randy Sinz, Dave Shrader, Denny Marion, Howard Leudtke, Billy Krause, Trevor LaBonte, Tiit Raid, Bill Rude, Lori Denzine, Judy Willink, and any others I may have misssed! I am grateful and thankful for all of their talent and willingness to share it with me.

Most of all, I am thankful for my wife, Kim Wilson, who is still the best person that I know. I told her just this morning that I am thankful for her love of some 33 years and for standing by me in good and bad times. She is an amazing person and I get to share Thanksgiving dinner with her today.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

__________________________________________________________________

ANSWERS TO WALKER'S ATTEMPT TO RESTRICT VOTER TURN OUT - CLIP AND SAVE

2011-11-23T10:24:00.000-08:00

My office and I have received many questions in recent months regarding the implementation of a new law
adding restrictions on voting in Wisconsin. Here are some of the most common questions and answers.
While I did not vote for these changes, I think it is important to spread the word so neighbors are prepared
before they get to the polls. If you have additional questions, please contact me directly.

CHRIS LARSON
STATE SENATOR

Q:When will I be required to show
photo identification to vote?
A: Voters will be asked to show photo identification at all
future elections, but are not REQUIRED to show an ID
until the 2012 Spring Primary.
Q:What IDs are acceptable?
A: Below is a list of acceptable IDs:
•Wisconsin DOT-issued driver’s license
•Wisconsin DOT-issued identification card
•Identification card issued by a U.S. uniformed service
(military ID)
•U.S. passport
•Certificate of naturalization issued no earlier than two
years before the date of the election it is presented
•An unexpired driver’s license or identification card
receipt issued by Wisconsin DOT
•Identification card issued by a federally recognized
Indian tribe in Wisconsin
•An unexpired identification card issued by a
Wisconsin-accredited university or college that
contains a date of issuance, student signature and
expiration date no later than two years after the date
of issuance
Q:What is the monetary cost of
IDs for voters?
A: The Wisconsin Department of Transportation will
waive the $28 fee and provide FREE ID cards to any
individual who will be at least 18 years of age on the
date of the next elections, if they specifically state the
ID is for voting purposes. This is true for voters
applying for new, renewed or reinstated IDs. So be
sure to check the box on your application form stating
the ID is for voting purposes and also let the attendant
know when you get to the counter.
P.O. BOX7882
MADISON, WI 53707-7882
(608) 266-7505
(800) 361-5487
FAX: (608) 282-3547
SEN.LARSON@LEGIS.WI.GOV
SENATORCHRISLARSON.COM
New ID Restrictions for Voting Q&A
Q:Does the address on the ID need
to be current and match the
address on the voter list?
A: No. However, if the address listed on your photo ID is
no longer current, remember to provide proof of
residency as well.
Q:Can I use an ID that is expired
for voting purposes?
A: Yes, if it expired after the date of the most recent
general election.
Q:What are election inspectors
verifying with the ID?
A:Election inspectors are verifying that the name on the
ID matches the name on the poll list and that the
photograph resembles the elector.
Q:Are any voters exempt from having
to show a photo ID?
A:The following voters are exempt from having to show
a photo ID:
•A military or overseas voter who votes by absentee ballot
•A voter who has a confidential listing, as result of
domestic abuse, sexual assault or stalking, may show
their confidential ID card or provide the election
inspector with their name and confidential ID serial
number
•An absentee voter who is indefinitely confined
because of age, physical illness, disability, or infirmity
and who has qualified to receive absentee ballots
automatically may submit a statement with their ballot
signed by an individual who witnesses them voting to
verify that the name and address are correct
•An absentee voter who resides in a nursing home,
qualified retirement home, community-based
residential facility (CBRF), residential care apartment
complex, or adult family home where special voting
deputies are sent may submit a statement with their
ballot signed by the special voting deputy to verify
that the name and address of the voter are correct
•An absentee voter residing in a qualified retirement
home, CBRF, residential care apartment complex, or
adult family home where special voting deputies are
NOT sent may submit a statement with their ballot
signed by an individual who witnesses them voting to
verify that the name and address are correct
Q:How do homeless people vote now
that a photo ID is required?
A: The Government Accountability Board and
Department of Transportation have yet to devise a
policy to properly address how a homeless individual
will prove their residence and their identity in order to
obtain an ID for voting purposes.
Q:Can university or college student
ID’s be used as their identification
and proof of residence?
A: Yes. To verify their identity the student can present a
valid student ID that contains a photo of the
cardholder along with an issuance and expiration
date. To also use the ID for proof of residence, the
student must show a fee payment receipt issued to the
cardholder by the university or college dated no
earlier than nine months before the date of the
election or their name must be on the list of current
students provided by the university.
Q:Are mail-in absentee voters required
to provide photo identification?
A: Yes. All mail-in absentee voters will be required to
send in a photo copy of photo ID with their request for
an absentee ballot, unless they request the ballot by
fax or email, in which case they must submit the photo
copy of their photo ID with the absentee ballot itself.
This requirement will also go into effect starting with
the February 2012 Primary.
Q:Once a mail-in absentee voter
provides photo identification, do
they need to continue providing
ID with subsequent requests?
A: No. Once a mail-in absentee voter has provided a
photo ID, they do not need to provide an ID again
with subsequent absentee ballot requests unless their
name or address changes.
Q:What if I do not present a photo ID at
the polls or mail it in with my ballot?
A: If a voter does not present a photo ID at the polls they
will be offered a provisional ballot. Additionally, if a
voter does not present a photo ID with an absentee
ballot, the official must treat the ballot as a provisional
ballot. In order for their vote to count, the voter must
provide proof of identification at the office of the
municipal clerk or board election commissioners no
later than 4 p.m. on the Friday after the election.

ARLO'S THANKSGIVING LETTER

2011-11-23T10:13:00.000-08:00

Occupy Thanksgiving - Merry Everything!
It's early morning, 2011 Nov 23rd. I'm at my desk as usual drinking some decent coffee while the rest of this part of the world begins to wake up. This is my favorite time of day, before it actually starts. My family is flocking to the area - My brother is here. I haven't had him stay with us in a while. My kids are all around as well as my niece and her two kids. Yes, it's that time of year again and I'm loving it. I'm thinking about all the young people I've seen over the past month or so out in the streets around this country occupying their cities and towns - trying to change the world. I'll be joining them again where and when I can. And I'm hoping that they find food and shelter from those who can provide it. For my part there will be a Thanksgiving Dinner at the Guthrie Center (The old Trinity Church where I wrote and later filmed Alice's Restaurant). It'll be packed this year. I will spend my Thanksgiving with friends and neighbors unable to do so on their own.
I am not at all discouraged or angry with the politicians and authorities who have shown contempt and disrespect for our young people out there. I feel sorry for them. They are self-made slaves to the great whore of our times - the idea that government is best when it serves those with the most. It should come as no surprise that those bowing and groveling at the feet of privatization - social security, medicare, roads, schools and everything else, should desire that government be privatized. The idea that congressmen and women, judges and elected officials on federal, state and local levels work best when bought and paid for by those who can afford to do so is at the heart of the matter. All the other issues before us, as a nation and a world, arise from this disgusting and anti-American core value.
I urge everyone, here and abroad to show respect and gratitude to these nameless young people. Talk about them in the coffee shops and luncheonettes with friends and neighbors. They are the heroes of a new generation. They will be vilified and slandered by those who have the most to lose. But, their courage and conviction is exactly right and appropriate. They need all the support they can get as they push us forward as a civilization toward a more perfect union. And they will succeed. Slowly and inevitably they will push us into the light of a better world. The signs are all around us. There is a great hope and a wonderful dream shared by countless generations of good people inching forward through history. It will burst like a dam upon those who try to hold it back. Resistance is indeed, futile.
The coffee is cold, the frozen rain keeps falling. But, inside there is a flame which seems to get brighter. It flickers at the edge of my thoughts though I sit alone. And I send my prayers and salutations to others around the world on this day… The day before we here in the USA celebrate the things for which we are most thankful. This year, I am not only thankful but hopeful and excited. Happy Thanksgiving - Merry Everything! adg

THE TRUTH ABOUT TARGET AND OTHER UNSAVORY FACTS

2011-11-23T07:13:00.000-08:00

This morning I came across this from blogger BlondmamaFollow:

Before 2010 I was a frequent Target shopper. I was proud that my city, Minneapolis MN, had a World wide corporation that had it's home in Minneapolis on the Nicollet Mall! I was also glad that it was owned by The Dayton Family, one of the most iconic families in Minneapolis. I used to brag it up on Camfrog, a video chatline I often visited. But this all unraveled in January 2010 when The Supreme Court decided corporations would be treated like people and allowed to help finance political campaigns with unlimited funding. So the sky was the limit and there would be no watch dog to monitor how much was given to whom! The only two Journalists who talked about it and how it could be a problem for political equity were Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow both of MSNBC at the time. I was concerned at the time but unknowingly kept shopping at Target.

Then a report came out that a new political organization was being formed in Minnesota called, MN Forward. It's press release stated that it was formed to promote Private Sector Job Growth and facilitate economic opportunity in Minnesota. It sounded great like most organizations that help the unemployed get jobs but it was a facade to fool the general population and the media! The local media dug deep to get to the truth and found out that it was secretly procuring funds from corporations for The Republican Party to help fund it's political campaigns. The largest recipient of funding from MN Forward was the Republican Gubernatorial Candidate, Tom Emmer! But the biggest shocker was that the largest financial contributors to MN Forward were The Target Corp. and Best Buy!

I thought this is nuts! The Democratic Gubernatorial candidate was Mark Dayton! Why would his family turn against him? I found out that Target had been sold by the Dayton family to another retail corp. But that still didn't make any sense because most of Target's customers are low income people. There are some that are middle class too but their primary customers are the poor ! This was like a double whammy! They are helping the political party that has always shafted the poor! This is very hypocritical of Target! All the glitzy ads saying they donate to the community is a big BS!

I made a pledge then to NEVER SHOP AT TARGET AGAIN! The only way I would is if they were apologetic and said they were sorry for their major faux pax and promised they would stay out of politics! I haven't heard that yet so I have switched to Walmart! I was sad to see the First Lady, Michelle Obama< shopping at Target! Bad move Michelle! The newly remodeled Walmart Supercenters are just as attractive as Target!

There are many alternatives to Target for you to shop. I have already mentioned Walmart,you could also join their other store, Sam's Club. Both of my twin daughters belong to Sam Club. They sell lower cost electronics, clothing, and some furniture! You have to buy in bulk food and cleaning products but if you have a big family it saves you money. If you want to save money on food shop at Aldi's! It's their brand but it's comparable to the brand name products, in fact their canned chili is much better then Hormel Chili! There are other stores too where to shop, the venerable Kmart, Big Lots, and Family Dollar, They all sell groceries too! The best dollar store is Dollar Tree because it is a genuine dollar store and they have good merchandise!

So, who needs Target? Not us LOYAL DEMOCRATS! We are not stupid enough to finance the Republican candidates indirectly! THAT'S WHAT YOU DO IF YOU SHOP AT TARGET!!!

Then I found the following in an e mail from Robert Kraig, executive director of Citizen Action of Wisconsin:

As we celebrate Thanksgiving with our friends and families, it is worth reflecting that by next Thanksgiving 65,000 Wisconsinites, including 29,000 children could be forced off BadgerCare, and tens of thousands more could be forced to pay up to 10 times more for coverage.

If Scott Walker is still Governor a year from now tens of thousands of Wisconsin families, struggling to work their way into the middle class, may have to choose between health care coverage and basic necessities.

Together we have the power to prevent this heart breaking scenario. BadgerCare could be Scott Walker’s undoing! BadgerCare is so immensely popular among all types of voters that it could be an even bigger issue in the recall elections than the attack on workers rights.

That is why I am asking you to make a special Thanksgiving gift to Citizen Action of Wisconsin to make cuts to BadgerCare a winning issue in the recall election of Scott Walker. Can you please give $65 or $29. That’s $1 for every thousand people that will be forced off BadgerCare, or $1 for every thousand children that will be forced off BadgerCare if Walker gets his way.

As I have written in columns for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Capital Times, and many other newspapers across Wisconsin, Walker’s savage attack on the health security of Wisconsinites already reeling from the worst jobs crisis since the Great Depression is happening because Scott Walker thought it was more important to give large new tax breaks to large corporations and the wealthy.

Citizen Action of Wisconsin is working tirelessly to get the word out. We are the only Wisconsin organization deeply involved in the health care issue with capacity and credibility to make BadgerCare a major issue in the recall elections.

You can help give us the resources to educate voters about Walker’s attack on BadgerCare by giving a special Thanksgiving gift of $65 (that is $1 for every 1,000 people Walker wants to force off BadgerCare) or $29 ($1 for every child that will be forced off BadgerCare).

Unbelievably, Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch recently launched an ad which claims that the expense of running recall elections will take money away from health care for the poor. This is stunning, given that she is part of an administration that is seeking to force 36,000 adults and 29,000 children off BadgerCare.

The most certain way to prevent crippling cuts to BadgerCare is for Scott Walker and Rebecca Kleefisch to be voted out of office.

You can help give us the resources to educate voters about Walker’s attack on BadgerCare by giving a special Thanksgiving contribution of $65 (that is $1 for every 1,000 people Walker wants to force off BadgerCare) or $29 ($1 for every child that will be forced off BadgerCare.

Thank you in advance for your strong support!

Happy Thanksgiving from the entire Citizen Action of Wisconsin team.

Robert Kraig
Executive Director

P.S. If you wish your contribution to be tax-deductible you can support the non-partisan issue work of our charitable arm, Citizen Action of Wisconsin Education Fund. (click here, CAWEF donation page)

So next time some buffoon wants to know why you are soliciting signatures for our beloved governor's removal, tell said buffoon about what Mr. Mange Walker intends to do with the cutting of BadgerCare!

___________________________________________________________________________________

AMERICA WANTS WEALTHIEST AMONG US TO PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE

2011-11-22T04:50:00.000-08:00

The chairs of the congressional super committee just made a huge announcement:
The super committee will fail to send a deficit reduction plan to Congress before its deadline this week.

Progressives demanded that the rich pay their fair share, or no deal, and Democrats stood strong.

Democrats tried to craft a compromise with Republicans that included the 1% paying their fair share, but Republicans refused to budge. So Democrats walked away from the bad deals Republicans offered, just as hundreds of thousands of progressives asked them to do.

This news means that Congress will have no fast-track path for dismantling crucial programs like Social Security and Medicare.

Progressives are debating this big news at a special discussion page on ProgressivesUnited.org right now. See what they have to say and weigh in.

Hundreds of thousands of your fellow progressives around the country petitioned the super committee or contacted members directly, and this outcome couldn't have happened without progressive action.

We prevented a bad deal from the super committee, but the fight isn't over. Republicans have shown that protecting corporations and the 1% is their top priority, despite an overwhelming majority of Americans wanting the wealthiest among us to pay their fair share.

Now we must take the fight directly to Republicans, and force them to explain why protecting corporate tax loopholes is more important than preserving Medicare; why cutting Social Security benefits is better than asking the wealthiest individuals and corporations to pay their fair share in taxes; and why coddling corporate America is more important than standing up for average working families.

Progressives are debating this big news at a special discussion page on ProgressivesUnited.org right now. See what they have to say and weigh in.

We must not, and will not let up, in this important fight. Thank you for uniting with progressives,

Russ Feingold
Founder
Progressives United

_______________________________________________________________

A PERSONAL NOTE: I laughed out loud when it was announced that there would be a "Super Committee" that would work on solving our problems, consisting of half Republicans, half Democrats. Anybody with a lick of sense knew this idiotic scheme was doomed to fail from the get-go! The Just Say No Republicans have doomed every attempt at solving the problem in the Senate. Why would a stupid half and half committee produce anything different????

_______________________________________________________________

HOLY SHIBIT! LAST ENTRY AUGUST 9???

2011-11-21T05:56:00.000-08:00

I opened my blog to find out when last I contributed and was astounded to find that I haven't written since August 9th! Wish I could say that there is a good reason why, but either there are none or I don't really want to go there.

Many of my closest friends assume that because I haven't written here it means I am deeply depressed, but the answer to that is: NO MORE THAN USUAL. Decided to publish the silly picture to prove I still am sane (or insane) enough to have my sick sense of humor still working.

The hardest part of making this practical joke work is dislodging the cardboard roll from a full roll of toilet paper (note shreds) and then re-inserting it for the pay off!

A lot has happened since August 9, much of it a blur as I am a senior citizen. I have worked several gigs, all of which were very satisfying to both performer and audience. Last week at the behest of my pal Jay Moore, I performed for the Chippewa Triniteam Joy Day for Senior Citizens at the Knights of Columbus Hall on Pumphouse Road and it was one of those "All the more fun because I am doing it from the goodness of my heart, not for money" gigs and I really rolled!

Over the late summer I got really caught up in the Brewers' quest for the World Series and although they fizzled big time in the playoffs, it sure was fun while it lasted. Now I see that Fielder is at $100 million dollars a year! That is just insane! How screwed up are our priorities in this country????

Now It is Green Bay Packer time again - bread and circuses for the masses to keep them from looking where they shouldn't - like at the Occupy Wall Street Movement, which I heartily approve of.

And speaking of the greedy, the move to remove our illustrious tyrant in Madison has begun and the little guy with the mange is already sweating bullets as that movement collected 105,000 signatures within 48 hours of opening the petition drive! Only 430,000 to go.

Every time I hear a sound bite from the Republican candidates for President I wonder how in the hell any of them could be elected! Herman Cain? Imagine there's no pizza.

Have you ever had a Godfather's Pizza? I have (once) and it is very easy to imagine there's no pizza. And now the Republicans have declared that pizza is a vegetable. No, Herman is a vegetable (with big groping hands).

I took a homeless friend of ours in for a month here at the office until such time that the friend could finally find an apartment. Maybe that will help keep me out of Hell?

I wouldn't count on it.

Lately I have been opening my show this way:

"GOOD EVENING. YOU ARE LOOKING AT ME AND I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE THINKING ... YOU DIDN'T KNOW THAT THE WISCONSIN NURSING HOME ASSOCIATION HAD A WORK RELEASE PROGRAM. BUT I AM LIVING PROOF. DON'T ASK HOW OLD I AM - JUST KNOW THAT I AM SOMEWHERE BETWEEN NEVER TRUST A FART AND HELP I'VE FALLEN AND I CAN'T GET UP."

And lastly, a football joke:

This guy walks into a bar wearing a Minnesota Vikings jersey and carrying a little dog that also has a Vikings jersey on with a little Viking helmet too.
The guy says to the bartender, 'Can my dog and I watch the Vikings game here? My TV at home is broken, and my dog and I want to see the game.'
The bartender replies, 'Normally, dogs in the bar would not be allowed, but it is not terribly busy in here, so you and the dog can have a seat at the end of the bar. But, if there is any trouble with you or the dog, I'll have to ask you to leave.'
The guy agrees and he and his dog start watching the game
Pretty soon the Vikings kick a field goal and the little dog jumps on the bar and walks down the bar and gives everyone a high five
The bartender says, 'Hey, that's pretty cool! What does he do for a touchdown?'
The guy answers, 'I don't know, I've only had him for 3 years!'

I told you it was a football joke - just like dem dere Wikings!

TALES FROM THE ROAD

2011-08-09T15:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I spent most of the day in the waiting room off the surgery center at Luther Hospital because a vEry dear friend of mine was having some serious surgery.

I sat with Bob Carr, a mutual friend and another "theatre person" and to pass the time, I started relating "road stories" at his request.

When I got home late yesterday I decided that they would be a good topic for my next blog. So here's what we talked about yesterday. I may already have blogged about some of this - hell, I can't remember!

At one point early in my career as a traveling comic, back in the days when comedy clubs were fast replacing discos, I was asked to perform in Madison with the Madison Comedy Coop.

By the time the show got underway, the patrons had a pretty good buzz on - and the comic who preceded me was a young woman from Madison. She got up to do her show and the mostly male audience gave her a pretty rough go of it. So when she came down from the stage, she was not in the best of moods. she went directly to the bar and bought herself a strong one.

Meantime, the MC is up on stage doing a few transitory jokes before introducing me. The young woman comic comes back into the crowd and is standing about eight feet in front of me. Then some dipshit moves between me and her, and I see him reach around her from behind and squeeze her left breast!

She, in turn, wheels around to throw her drink in his face. But he ducks and I get the entire drink, ice cubes and all, right in the face, just as the MC says: "put your hands together for Larry Heagle!"

I went up and did my show, totally ignoring the fact that I was soaked with a drink. I never could find the gal after the show.

Years later, while touring to the west, I worked with a woman comic. The second night, before the show, she walked up to me and said: "you don't remember me, do you." I said no. She said "I threw a drink on you in Madison once".

Before I found an agency that booked me exclusively into comedy clubs, I worked bars all over the Midwest doing four hours a night with my guitar.

One week I was working in a bar in Davenport, Iowa, not far from the John Deere plant. Consequently, a lot of the customers were John Deere workers who came in after shift.

There was a guy, a regular, whose nickname was "Bear" and it was an apt nickname as he was huge and hairy.

One night I am at the bar, picking up a beer on break when a gaggle of college girls come into the joint. they are totally out of place in this joint, but they gather at a large round table facing the stage and order mixed drinks.

They are very noisy and boisterous and B ear turns to look at them. He says: "What are THEY doing in here? They don't belong in here."

About that time, one of the gals throws some money in the juke box and a very loud version of "Black Betty" comes blasting out of the machine.

As I get up to go back on stage, Bear gets up and walks over to their table, steps up on an empty chair and on to their table, turns his back on them and drops his pants!

I am facing the women and can see the shock and horror on their faces. They flee in horror and disbelief! Bear looks over to me and says: "I told ya they don't belong in here". I am convulsed with laughter!

_______________________________________________________________

One thing I learned working in bars night after night is that you don't throw a pick up line at women bartenders or waitresses because they have heard it all.

That's why my next little story is so funny to me. I am working in Wichita, Kansas. My contract is to do 20-25 minutes as a "middler" - After the opening act, and before the headliner.

The first night in, the guy who is supposed to be the opening act informs me that he is going to "middle" this week and that I should open. Knowing what my salary is, I agree. what the heck - I'll work less for more money any time.

Just after that conversation, Mr. Cocky walks up to the nearby waitress station and undresses the scantily clad waitress with his eyes and then, holding his hands out in front of his chest to signify breasts, he says: "OOOOH! WAITRESEES!
The waitress just looks at him and pumping her fist as if to represent a male masturbating, she says: OOOH! COMEDIANS!

I damn near fell on the floor laughing!

The topper? Second night in the Hot Shot from KC comes up to me and says, "I don't feel like middling this week. You go ahead."

Whatever.

______________________________________________________________

There's more -- I will continue soon.

_______________________________________________________________

IT'S NOT THE HEAT, IT'S THE HUMIDITY - YEH, RIGHT!

2011-07-20T07:41:00.000-07:00

Some folks like this kind of weather because they love to sweat and feel the sun beat down on their bodies, turning brown and beyond. I take to air conditioning and do not venture out after 8 AM until after 10PM. My heart goes out to anyone who does not have air conditioning or at least a gigantic fan!

Got an interesting e mail today I want to share:

Congressional Reform Act of 2011

1. No Tenure / No Pension.
A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office..

2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security.
All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.

3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.

4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.

6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.

7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/12.
The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen. Congressmen made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work.
__________________________________________

Of course, there is absolutely no way congress would pass such an amendment - it favors we, the common citizen WAY TOO MUCH!

_________________________________________

Working on a song! Based on a tee shirt a guy I saw at walmart was wearing:

You Had Me at “Get Lost”

Larry Heagle, words, music, June 15, 2011

I walked up to her table
Motioned to the empty chair
“Get lost!” she snarled so sweetly
“My friend is sitting there”

But I made a move to sit down
And she grabbed the waiting chair
And busted it over my head
But, Hell, I didn’t care

Chorus:
Don’t you know that you had me at “Get Lost”
Do whatever you want to
Honey, yer the boss
Don’t you know that you had me at get lost?
And every part of no -
Is the part I don’t understand

She grabbed a tequila bottle
Did the same thing she done with the chair
Then she kicked me til my shins was bloody
And the meat was all laid bare

She gave me a titty twister
While she kneed me in the groin
And I fell to the floor
Cryin’ “Gimme some more!”
Cuz there ain’t no where I’m goin’

instrumental solo

Her friend came out of the rest room
She musta been six foot two
From her flannel shirt
To her hobnail boots
She was woman thru and thru

And when she saw what was goin’ down
She said “we’re not thru with you”
She broke my jaw with a big left hook
I bet her fist is still black and blue

LOOKING FOR A GOOD ACOUSTIC GUITAR? GIVE FINE ACOUSTICS A TRY!

2011-06-30T09:52:00.000-07:00

Here are two photographs of my newest acquisition in the world of guitars. This is an all solid wood mahogany back, sides, and top 000-12 fret Recording King guitar that I just received from Fine Acoustics, a store at 185 East main Street, Westminster, Maryland.

Ordering an instrument through the internet, having only seen a photograph, can be a dangerous move. However, in this case, I had one of the most pleasant experiences I have had with a music store! Hats off to Ed Smith who handled the transaction not only with a great deal of professional aplomb, but also went out of his way to please the customer.
First, Ed is very conscientious about getting your order filled and shipped as quickly as possible. I ordered the guitar on a Saturday and it arrived UPS the following Thursday!

In addition, the guitar was very well packed to prevent damage. No space was left unfilled with packing paper and he shipped it in a heavy card board box made for that size guitar and case.

When I opened the guitar case, there was additional packing under the peg head for safety sake and although he certainly wouldn't have had to, he included a very nice polishing cloth and restrung the guitar with a fresh set of strings just before he shipped it out to me.

Throughout the entire transaction time, he communicated freely with me by e mail. I wasn't made to feel that I was "a bother".

So if you are looking for a good guitar at very reasonable price and want to be treated like royalty, go to www.fineacoustics,com, look over the impressive acoustic inventory and give Ed the business. You won't regret it!

THANKS, ED!

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I'M STARTING TO SORT OF WRITE. SCAREY!

2011-06-29T15:05:00.000-07:00

You Had Me at “Get Lost”
(to be sung as if you hate singing country songs)

Larry Heagle, words, music, June 15, 2011

I walked up to her table
Motioned at the empty chair
“Get lost!” she said in her best bitch voice
“My friend is sitting there”

But I made a move to sit
And she grabbed the waiting chair
And she busted it over my head
But, Hell, I didn’t care

(I just said)

Chorus:
Don’t you know that you had me at “Get Lost”
Do whatever you want to
Give me your best shot
Don’t you know that you had me at get lost?
And every part of no -
Is the part I don’t understand

She grabbed a tequila bottle
Did the same thing she done with the chair
Then she kicked me til my shins was bloody
And the meat was all laid bare

She gave me a titty twister
While she kneed me in the balls
And I fell to the floor
Criyng “gimme some more!”
You could hear me all over the hall

singing

instrumental solo

back to:

She gave me a titty twister
While she kneed me in the balls
And as I fell to the floor yellin gimme some more!
You could hear me all over the hall!

chorus and out

New Guitar, Old Fuses, No refrigerator!

2011-06-29T12:18:00.000-07:00

This is the week I should have gone up to the Turtle Lake Casino! My luck is still holding today. Let me explain.

Last week friday, I decided I had to come to the juncture where I really want to buy an all mahogany (including top) guitar, OOO-12 fret size, with a classic slot head peghead. (the small photo on the left)

I searched the net for a used one but to no avail. then I began to look around at on line music stores to see who would give me the best price. I finally found two sites that carried the guitar at $699.99 without a hard shell case - without a case at all, in fact!

Still, after looking around at hard shell cases I figured I could get a fairly good case for $95 plus shipping. So now I was really determined to get that guitar. but how? I ain't got no guitar money floating around!

so I looked over my arsenal of guitars and picked out the acoustic that I love the least, a high end Epiphone "Elitist Texan" flat top, very similar to the one Paul McCartney recorded "Yesterday"with. I looked around for used Texans and found that they have become rare as Epiphone ceased making them in 2004 I did find one that a store was touting at $1199.00.

So I decided to post on eBay - opening bid at $700 and "Buy It Now" at $900.00. I laid out the ad and punched sell and went away from the computer to take my morning ablutions.

10 minutes later, wrapped in a towel, I hear the ding for mail and I can't believe it! Someone has just offered me $800.00 cash if I sell it to him today.

By Friday afternoon, I have shipped the guitar and ordered the Recording King ROS-616 through amazon.com. I am assured of a Thursday, June 30 delivery.

Saturday morning I am back at the office putzing around trying to find a good picture of my new axe when I stumble upon a web site in Maryland: FineAcoustics.com. I go to their list of Recording King guitars and there it is, the ROS- 616 for $640.00 INCLUDING A HARD SHELL CASE!!

First I am furious that I didn't spend more time looking yesterday. Then I wonder if I have the option to cancel the guitar I ordered through Amazon. so I quickly bring up my order from Amazon and their policy clearly states that I can cancel as long as my item has not yet shipped. And it won't ship until Monday!

My fingers fairly flew accomplishing that act.

So I saved around $160 on the deal! I am on a roll!

Then I leave Sunday morning for two days with my friend Tom Johnson who is up in Superior, Wisconsin, working on redecorating the interior of his late mother's house.

Having read recently that to save gasoline you should make 60 MPH your top speed on the highway, I decide to see if it makes a difference in my mileage. My Scion xB is rated at 26 mpg in town and 32 mpg on the highway,

When I get home on Tuesday morning, I calculate it: I got 35 mpg - and with gasoline at $3.64 a gallon, I just saved $10.95! That's it for me, man! You can pass me and give me the finger - I am driving 60 mph!

Back to luck story;

So I go over to the office and reach in the refrigerator for a carton of yogurt and that sickening smell of thawed refrigerator greets my nose.

I, of course, immediately go into panic mode and figure that it's the compressor. Kim asks if I checked to see if it was plugged in all the way, but what does she know?

I go to Best Buy and price refrigerators - the cheapest being $358 with tax. I go to Sears. They are more expensive.

I talk to Ron Wendt, our carpenter, and he asks if the light inside the unit comes on when I open the door - well, no, it doesn't. then it may well not be the compressor or the light would turn on. It has to be electrical.

So back to the office I go, wrench the refrigerator out so as to get at the outlet. Well, it's plugged in. I try the other outlet, still nothing.

I stretch the refrigerator power cord to its limit and plug it in to an outlet in the kitchen and voila! It kicks in! I don't need a new refrigerator!

But then something more ominous comes to mind - an electrician at $85 per first hour and $60 per each additional hour. so I call Kelly electric and the truck arrives at 1PM this afternoon. He does some testing here and there and finds the source of the problem in less than half an hour - there are two circuit breakers that are so worn out that they click off by themselves.

The service guy is very helpful and spends the rest of his hour labeling all the fuses and circuit breakers - we work together using walkie-talkies and he finishes before the hour is complete!

Total bill with parts? $127.32. Tell ya what - that's a hell of a lot better than all new wiring or a new refrigerator!

Let's go to Turtle Lake, man! I am HOT!

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ANOTHER SET OF KEYS? WHO THE HELL ARE THESE?

2011-06-21T09:26:00.000-07:00

See the old lady in the cartoon? I had a day yesterday that rivals the activity pictured. I had an errand to run so I grabbed my keys off the entrance way table and pocketed them. When I reached the car, I reached into the opposite pocket, pulled out a set of keys, started up the car, and drove into Eau Claire to Fastitich to discuss whether they could "take in" a baseball cap which was too big for my head.

After leaving there, I looked across a torn up Hastings Way towards the Wendy's on the other side of no man's land. So I maneuvered my way through all the signs, pulled into the Wendy's parking lot and went in to pick up an order of my favorite french fries, the ones that are naturally cut, skin on, with sea salt.

After finishing my fries, I went out to my locked car, reached into my right hand pocket, pulled out they keys and pushed the button on the black key fob which automatically unlocks the doors - and nothing happened. I try again with the same result. Then I reach into my left hand pocket to find another set of keys with a black key fob and push the button on that one and the doors open.

Now I am completely confused and think that I must have picked up a wrong set of keys off the counter while in Wendy's, so remembering the customer who was at the counter when I was, I go back in the store and seek him out.

No, he tells me. those aren't my keys. Now I am really confused! All I can think is I must have picked up this extra set of keys over across the street at Fastitch. so instead of doing the sensible thing, I decide that crossing the street under heavy construction by foot is the most direct route, so I dodge cars, cement rollers, trucks and mud holes and finally reach the place.

When I ask if these keys belong to anybody the answer is no. Now I am totally bamboozled! Once again I work my way across no man's land, back to Wendy's and tell the counter help that I don't know whose keys they are but they should keep them.

I go out to the car and decide I'd better check in with Kim by cell phone as I have been gone long enough to have her be worrying.

I start explaining what has happened and she says: "THOSE ARE MY KEYS, YOU DUMMY! I LEFT THEM ON THE TABLE BY THE DOOR BECAUSE I HADN'T PUT MY CAR AWAY YET!"

Back into Wendy's to explain to the crew what a dolt I am. Good thing I didn't have anything to mail! I would have (as in the picture) probably tried to send it special delivery via air butt!

Some days I can't even wipe!

_______________________________________________________________

I AM MISSING MY BURGERS AND IT'S ALL CLEAN HEAD ED'S FAULT

2011-06-14T15:43:00.000-07:00

I am going into my second week of eating absolutely no solid food -- I can almost see the Culver's at the other end of the tunnel motioning me in!

Every day I daydream about a double hamburger (well done), lettuce, tomato, and a side of Culver's Thousand Island dressing - I don't even need fries! and give me a small Pepsi and I a Senior discount.

I first discovered Culver's when I was working in a pretty nice joint on the main drag of Prairie Du Sac called The Fire House. It gave me a chance to have a native of the area, Ed Treinen, now of the Minneapolis area, bring his blues harps in and really add to the show, both harmonically and vocally.

well, down the highway south towards Madison, I spied this Culver's Custard and I had never seen a store like that before. so I pulled in and got my first butter burger.

It's only now that I am realizing how much I love that juice running down my wrist while I try to master dressing, tomato and lettuce.

Any how, I got to get hold of Ed Treinen. We were last in a really hot band together about damn - I don't know how long! But I been sitting around thinking every day that hey! I am not getting any younger and if I am by God going to get a band together again, it best be now.

So here's what gave me the impetus or the kick in the ass, if you will. Patty Stangel, who has been a frIend of mine for MANY years, is opening a new Injured Wild Life rehabilitation and rescue center- and she is going to need lots of donations to keep it going.

So I want to be Patty's official fund raiser band. I want to feed the owls, the baby raccoon, the wood squirrel, the snowy owl, and all the other creatures in Patty's care.

You can read about her a couple of blogs back.

Anyway, I know Ed knows Patty - she was our photographer for the publicity shots we took of you and me leaning against that ol Oldsmobile 98 back in the "duo" days.

At any rate I want to get you, Mikey, Too Tall, and Barney together for another go-round. I want us to rehearse and learn new tunes of our choosing.

So, Ed, if you are reading this, we need to talk about where you are musically, how much you are working musically, do you have time to rehearse new material - are you even interested - and things of that nature. I miss you, man!

2011-06-09T09:57:00.000-07:00

LEARNING TO SLOW DOWN TAKES PATIENCE BUT PAYS OFF

2011-06-09T09:02:00.000-07:00

With gasoline nationally selling for $3.76 a gallon and locally going for $3.84, I think that many of us are for the first time becoming conscious of how many time we use the car a day, much less a week.

I know it kills me to have to make a trip that isn't really necessary anymore. That's why I found the following article not only interesting to read but more important to implement.

Here's the article:

The website Fueleconomy.gov states that for every 5 mph driven over the speed of 60 mph, 24 cents per gallon of gas is effectively added to the cost of fuel, because of the decrease in fuel efficiency for your vehicle when traveling at higher speeds. If this simple formula is accurate, then driving at 75 mph would cost an extra 72 cents per gallon. Driving 80 mph would add an extra ninety-six cents per gallon!

Combined with rapid acceleration, and sudden braking, speeding can reduce fuel efficiency by thirty-three percent, according to the same website. A vehicle with a fuel efficiency of twenty miles per gallon, driven aggressively as noted above, would be only getting about 12-13 miles per gallon, resulting in the owner paying far more in gas costs than if he or she drove sensibly.

Gas prices currently in the U.S. have risen, as everyone is aware, but are we aware we could simply drive slower, and in some cases, stop speeding illegally, to save money on gas?

Republicans and some Democrats, including the President, are going ahead to try to accelerate more offshore oil drilling in American waters, and yet extra drilling won’t bring gas prices down significantly because the amount of oil we can produce is so small, it is next to nothing compared to the huge amounts we consume. (The LA Times reported that we Americans consume nearly 25 percent of the world’s crude oil, and yet our own reserves equal only two percent.)

Yet the current federal government apparently is going to drill more anyway, even though it won’t help gas prices much and is clearly a political ploy. At the same time, none of the politicians are telling people free things they can do to reduce their gas consumption and therefore save money.

Maintaining the correct air pressure in tires also helps fuel efficiency, up to three percent. If the engine is tuned properly, that can save another four percent. Idling also wastes gas, so if you are waiting in a parking lot for someone who is doing an errand, turn off the engine.

Another free, and very easy thing to do to increase fuel efficiency and save money, is simply to remove any unnecessary items from your vehicle. Some people drive around with many pounds of stuff in their trunks or back areas, though they don’t use these items on their trips or when they arrive.

If possible, park your car in shade during hot weather so you don’t have to blast the air conditioner to cool it down. If it is not possible, use a windshield sun shade as the dashboard is a solar collector and can get very hot, which requires energy to cool down.

Driving around with an empty roof rack that you don’t ever use will also decrease fuel efficiency because it creates extra drag from air. Replace worn tires, and consider low-rolling resistance ones to increase mileage also.

These are just a number of things you can do that are vehicle-related, but of course, we can all car pool, drive less, ride public transportation, ride bikes, and maybe even consider walking once in a while? The Europeans ride bikes, walk and ride public transportation, and are a little less in girth than we are, so it seems to be working for them.

Image Credit: Aaron Lawrence

Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/gas-tremendous-amount-wasted-by-speeding.html#ixzz1OnOsGPKu

____________________________________________________________

Of course, you have to be prepared to have strangers give you a one-fingered salute if you slow down, but money is hard to come by, and so I can deal with that. How 'bout you?

_____________________________________________________________

A great joke:

Share: (from my sister-in-law Kristi) woman was sipping on a glass of wine, while sitting on the patio with her
husband, and she says, "I love you so much, I don't know how I could ever
live without you."
Her husband asks, "Is that you, or the wine talking?"

PATTY STANGEL ESTABLISHES WILDLIFE R&R, INC

2011-06-06T06:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Kim and I accompanied a very excited Patty Stangel out to look at what she hopes will become "Wildlife Rehabilitation and Release, Inc.", a center designed to take care of injured birds and animals that have been found in the Chippewa Valley and turned in to her by citizens who care about wild life.

Patty first became involved in this endeavor when she worked as an assistant at "White Pine Rehab" with John and June. When John was diagnosed with cancer, the couple annoounced that the center would be forced to be closed.

Patty finally talked them into letting her take the animals that were still there and she proceeded to walk the beaurocratic maize necessary to become an authorized wildlife rehabilitaion agent.

Patty is truly a renaissance woman with many talents. She is an interior decorator, an incredible wild life photographer, she successfully owned Patty's Pub down town Eau Claire for years and managed the restaurant at her brother's motel/restaurant complex.

I have known Patty for years and have never seen anyone who has a connection with animals that she has. For years she rescued wild kittens that were born on her small property before the father of the little ones could kill them. She provided us with two of our all time favorite house cats, "Harley" and "Hannah" and we referred to her as "Aunt Patty" because the cats would recognize her every time she came to visit.

Right now, Patty has in custody four great horned owls, a great snowy owl, a very small baby raccoon, a little red squirrel, a sawhett, and a Canadian gosling that devoured too much blue algae and cannot hold his head up properly.

Patty's days are spent feeding and caring for each of the creatures individually. She is truly the Chippewa Valley's version of "St Francis of Assissi

I am sure that when word gets out that the spirit of White Pine lives on, a menagerie of broken wings, broken legs, and all forms of illness will come under her care.

She takes any of the animals that need veterinary care to the vet. Right now, funding is what she is really going to need. To that end I am hoping to put my band back together and continually play fund raisers just for that purpose.
If and when that comes to be, I will post on Face Book.

I hope that the Chippewa Valley will respond to this beautiful gem that sets us aside as a very special, giving society!

June 7 - NOTE: I found out today that Partty had to have the poor little gosling put to sleep as her condition continually worsened. Too much nerve damage from the algae. Another example of how humans are ruining habitat environment - my deepest sympathy, Patty, as I know this hurts your heart!

To end on a happy note, however, today Patty signed the necessary sale papers and the log home is hers, officially! She has asked that I not disclose the exact location but to tell everyone that it is within a 20 mile drive of Eau Claire and is on a magnificent wooded hill side lot. Eventually she will build steps onto the deck for visitors as the downstairs door will lead into the animal rehabilitation center.
____________________________________________________________________

Today is D-DAY, the sixth of June. On this day in 1944, the greatest military operation in the history of man was successfully launched.

How fitting then, to have today be the day of another invasion. Today I have laproscopic surgery to repair a hiatal hernia which has impeded my singing and speaking voice for several years. I go under at 1PM! Wish me luck!

Another Note for June 7: I am home from surgery. It went very well. Now I live on liquids until June 21 and then learn how to eat all over again ... slowly with much chewing!

_______________________________________________________________________

HOW DO I GET TO HWY 100?

2011-06-04T10:06:00.000-07:00

Sitting on the side of the highway waiting to catch speeding drivers, a cop sees a car puttering along at 22 mph. Says he to himself, "This driver is just as dangerous as a speeder!" So he turns on his lights and pulls the driver over. Approaching the car, he notices that there are five old ladies, two in the front seat and three in the back -- wide eyed and white as ghosts.

The driver, obviously confused, says to him, "Officer, I don't understand, I was doing exactly the speed limit! What seems to be the problem?"

"Ma'am," the officer replies, "you weren't speeding, but you should know that driving slower than the speed limit can also be a danger to other drivers."

"Slower than the speed limit? No sir, I was doing the speed limit exactly. Twenty-two miles an hour!" the old woman says a bit proudly.

The Police officer, trying to contain a chuckle explains to her that 22 is the highway number, not the speed limit. A bit embarrassed, the woman grins and thanks the officer for pointing out her error.

"But before I let you go, Ma'am, I have to ask . . .. . . Is everyone in this car OK? These women seem awfully shaken, and they haven't made a peep this whole time," the officer asks.

"Oh, they'll be all right in a minute officer. We just got off Highway 95."

________________________________________________________________

IF I BUY, IT WILL BE CHEAPER IN DAYS

2011-06-04T09:29:00.000-07:00

I just thought of another of those "Larry's Laws" -- If I purchase something on eBay at a sale price, within a week that same item will sell for at least $15 less.

Such is the case of this Mitchell and Ness retro 1960's Packer warm up style jacket. I had been salivating over it for nearly a year but with the MSRP at $150.00 that's about all I could do - salivate.

So last week I see it being offered at $92.90 or best offer - so I make my best offer at $75. and they snapped it up. So I think I have done a hell of job in the world of thrift. today I go to a different site just to find the photo used in this blog and they are selling the jacket for $60.00.

Same thing happens when I buy gasoline. Once I fill my tank the cost per gallon drops at least four cents a gallon.

So if you are a Packer freak like I am, now is the time to buy this jacket! You can purchase it right through Mitchell and Ness's web site.

Now I want a big discount!

_____________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

EVIL IS WINNING - NO PEACE AND JUSTICE

2011-06-04T08:21:00.000-07:00

I thought this a pertinent picture to post on my blog. How does that old joke go? Politicians are like diapers - they are generally full of shit and both need changing often.

Lately it has been my thought that this country's voters are getting exactly what they thought they wanted with the 2010 election.
Yesterday I had a conversation with my chiropractor and he admitted that he had voted for Walker, a decisiion he says now he regrets.

I don't have any faith in either of our major parties. Neither will take a stand for the two most important tenets of a lasting world: PEACE AND JUSTICE.

When Barack O'Bama was elected I thought he was telling the truth in his campaign promises - but instead he has become a "Jackie Robinson" of politics, just trying to do a job but being very careful not to upset the white man. Consequently he has been a huge disappointment to me in matters of peace and justice.

What are we still doing fighting a useless war in Afghanistan ? A war by the way that recently set history as the longest war America has ever been involved in. A war that emptied our coffers and filled the pockets of the military complex - can you say "Cheney"?

It is laughable that Mr. O'bama was given a Nobel Peace Prize - for what?

And let's not even talk Republicans. They are generally insane, greedy, racist, sexist, extremely wealthy - with some totally misled dying middle class that still believes the shit that they are dealing out for good mix, included the deluded Tea Party Patriots..

I had a chance to perform for a luncheon of hospital volunteers and somewhere in the show I said: Catholic and Republican are a contradiction in terms."

As for me, as my race is almost run, all I can do is hang on to hope that the fat pigs in congress don't get rid of Medicare.

________________________________________________________________

And to prove my point:

from good old TEXAS:

Texas Cheerleader Fined $45k For Refusing to Applaud Her Rapist
May 8, 2011

A cheerleader in Silsbee Texas was dropped from her high school’s cheer leading squad for refusing to join in a cheer for a team member, Rakheem Bolton, who had raped her. His charges were bargained down to two years of probation, community service, a fine and a requirement to take anger-management classes.In exchange, he was taken back on the team for which HS was employed as a cheerleader.

Of course, when the cheerleading team was told to cheer for Bolton, this put HS in a quandary. She decided, quite understandably to stand with arms folded instead of cheering the person she had taken to court for rape.Richard Bain, the school superintendent, demanded that she leave the game, and tried to browbeat her into cheering her rapist. When she refused, he expelled her from the cheerleading squad.

Following this, HS sued Silsbee High School for violating her free speech. HS lost, and appealed her loss all the way to the Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case. Now HS must pay $45,000.00 to the school district for filing a “frivolous lawsuit”.

There is plenty of blame to go around. The court’s decision is, needless to say, outrageous. But Silsbee High School has shown loudly and clearly that it does not give a damn about rape victims, bullying victims or anyone who falls to the nether reaches of the high school food chain. Rakheem Bolton should have been expelled from the team for his behavior. Unfortunately, in Silsbee, Texas, character means absolutely nothing.Richard Bain is a failure as an educator, unfit to teach or serve in any high school. Unfortunately, he probably reflects the values of Silsbee Texas.

I can’t say a whole lot for the other cheerleaders either, who refused to stand by HS when she challenged the system. Lastly, the school should salvage a shred of decency by refusing to collect the fine levied against HS and her family.

If HS and her family must pay Silsbee High School, the entire $45,000.00 dollars should be brought to the school in pennies. Preferably, the pennies should be soaked in cat urine for about a month before being delivered to the school, so they will stink as badly as the legal decision that mandated payment. If there is any justice in the world, Rakheem Bolton will see university doors slam in his face and sport scholarships disappear in the aftermath of his crime. Hopefully, any administrator or employee who lists Silsbee High School on their resume will experience similar rejection.

Silsbee High School is famous around the world, but not for its sports team. They are famous for tormenting rape victims and lauding rapists. A Silsbee High School diploma will be like the mark of Cain on the resume of all who invoke it.

This entire story is a nightmarish illustration of what happens when character and values are given no weight in education. There are Certainly decent people in Silsbee, Texas. Whoever they are, they are almost certainly deeply, deeply ashamed of their town.

WALKER TO SIGN ID LAW TODAY - SCORE ANOTHER FOR REPUBLICAN BUNDESTAG

2011-05-25T08:50:00.000-07:00

Some time ago, I got into a short discussion about the Wisconsin Voter ID Law. The woman who took issue with me didn't see that passing such a law was any impingement on our rights. I disagreed. However, I didn't follow up with the "reasons why" because I figured this person would not be persuaded anyway.

But today I read an article by Scot of "One Wisconsin Now" and he did an admirable job of stating my case. Here it is, in it's entirety:

Dear Friend:
Many of you have written to me in response to my email yesterday about the voter ID bill. Some of you were very enthusiastic in your support of our efforts to fight back against this assault on our voting rights. But others of you had questions about the bill, and wondered why we oppose requiring qualified voters to show an ID at the polls. "You have to show an ID to rent a video, why not to vote?" someone asked. "With all the voter fraud out there, I think voter ID is a good idea," another person wrote.
I want to address these questions and fully explain why this bill is wrong for Wisconsin.
First of all, the right to vote is guaranteed to citizens of Wisconsin in our state constitution. The right to rent a movie, open a checking account, go to the bar, get on an airplane or any other similar activity is not, and requiring an ID for these types of activities is not a barrier to exercising a constitutionally-protect right. Voter ID is fundamentally different.
There is absolutely no evidence of a widespread conspiracy to commit voter fraud. Wisconsin's Republican Attorney General JB Van Hollen has made prosecuting so-called voter fraud one of his top priorities. However, after a two year investigation into the 2008 election, Van Hollen has found a scant 11 potentially improper ballots out of nearly 3 million total votes cast. Of those, eight involved felons who voted while out in the community on probation or parole, a situation that voter ID would not remedy. That leaves 3 potentially bad votes out of 3,000,000 votes, or about 0.000001% of all votes cast. Voter ID is a solution in search of a problem.
The bill's authors, Republican Rep. Jeff Stone and Sen. Joe Leibham, have modeled their bill after Indiana's Voter ID law, which was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. According to the Supreme Court case upholding Indiana’s Voter ID bill, the lower court found “99 percent of Indiana’s voting age population already possesses the necessary photo identification to vote under the requirements.”
Wisconsin’s population is substantially less likely to have a state-issued identification. Those without state-issued photo identification and who would need to obtain one under the Wisconsin Voter ID bill include:
23 percent of all elderly Wisconsinites over the age of 65
17 percent of white men and women
55 percent of all African American males and 49 percent of African American women
46 percent of Hispanic men and 59% of Hispanic women
78 percent of African American males age 18-24 and 66 percent of African American women age 18-24
[Driver License Status of the Voting Age Population in Wisconsin, 6/05]
Yes, the bill as written does have a provision to provide free identification for some Wisconsinites. Each and every one of these people would have to take the time off (in many cases unpaid) from work or family obligations to flock to Wisconsin DMVs. However, access to the DMV is a problem in Wisconsin; Indiana provides its residents exponentially more access to its Department of Motor Vehicles offices to obtain identification.
Wisconsin and Indiana have similar voting age populations (4.35 million vs. 4,8 million), but Wisconsin is 50 percent larger geographically than Indiana (54,314 sq. miles vs. 35,870 sq. miles). Indiana not only provides its residents 50 percent more DMV offices than Wisconsin (140 to 91), but also nearly three times the total hours these facilities are open.
Also consider:
Twenty-six percent of Wisconsin’s 91 DMVs are open one day a month or less, while none of Indiana’s are open less than 100 days a year and nearly all are open over 250 days a year.
Wisconsin has only one DMV with weekend hours, while Indiana has 124 offices with weekend hours.
Three Wisconsin counties have no DMVs, no Indiana county is without a DMV.
Over half of Wisconsin’s 91 DMVs are open on a part-time basis, while Indiana provides full-time DMVs in every county.
[Wisconsin DMV service centers and hours, by county; Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles, locations and hours]
The need to expand the numbers and operational hours of Wisconsin DMVs to provide appropriate access could increase the $70 million biennial Wisconsin DMV budget by as much as 50 percent on top of the current $5 million price tag to provide free identifications.
Requiring eligible voters to produce ID at the polls is an unnecessary hurdle to exercising our right to vote which will prevent many people from voting. The "widespread voter fraud" that this bill is aimed at "fixing" does not exist, and the microscopic number of double votes will be FAR outpaced by the number of people who will be prevented from voting by the voter ID requirement. In a time when Wisconsin faces a $3 billion budget deficit, we simply cannot afford to double the DMV budget. Voter ID is a big-government, budget-busting solution in search of a problem; a solution that will make it more difficult to practice our most fundamental right.
That is why we oppose voter ID. I hope this email helps to answer your questions about this bill. If you're ready to join this fight, please sign up for our Voter Protection Task Force to push back against this assault on our democratic rights.
Sorry for the long email, but thank you, as always, for everything you do.

Scot
One Wisconsin Now

GREEN BAY PACKER JACKET BECOMING WEARABLE HISTORY OF TEAM

2011-05-25T08:21:00.000-07:00

It took some doing, but I finally found someone who does embroidery to update my wins/losses patch for my Green Bay Packer "History of the Packers" jacket. I also had difficulty finding the 1 1/2 inch numerals to match the others on the jacket back, but finally located them online through a company way out in Idaho.

The jacket has gotten many and varied comments from people

when I wear it out in public. While walking towards the Eau Claire Post Office downtown, I was approached by a young man going the other way who looked at my jacket and laughed. I thought this rather strange but suspect he was high on something as his eyes were as big as saucers.

While attending a game in Green Bay, I went into the packers Pro Shop before the game and the woman behind the check out counter asked: "Mind if I read your jacket?" I consider that a correct response.

Another woman at the grocery store looked at it and said: "Wow. You don't have any more places to put patches, do you?" I told her that the jacket was so old that the patches were all that were holding it together.

Except for the Willabee and Ward Super Bowl XLV patch, my jacket is now completed. I really can't add any more Super Bowl wins to it.

Guess I better start looking for another jacket!

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PROUD TO BE A PART OF "FIGHTIN' BOB FEST NORTH"

2011-05-22T14:00:00.000-07:00

Despite the fact that I was still fighting off my latest tussle with Spring fibromyalgia, I had enough left to do a pretty darn good twenty minute set - following one of my all time political heroes, retired senator Dave Obey, who has given so much of himself to our great state which is now in free fall, thanks to Scott "The Big Lie" Walker.

I opened with a Norwegian joke in which Ole showed up back at the house after dark, dragging a huge 18 point buck carcass - and no sign of his hunting partner, our beloved governor.

When Lena asked what happened, Ole said: "Vell, the governor had a heart attack (it was a good dream) and so I had to decide whether to drag him or the deer and I figgered nobody would steal Walker, dead or alive!"

I then launched into the Snowmobile Song, followed by my "Pinocchio and Walker" tune which the audience joined with gusto on the chorus.

I finished by honoring the guv with the "Butthead Polka", which seemed appropriate, given the circumstances.

FOSTER BAR, GREAT FOLKS - THROW A GREAT PARTY

2011-05-15T08:56:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning it felt more like early April than mid-May. I was slated to work the three o'clock slot in an all day music jam to raise money for the American Cancer Society at the Foster Bar in Foster.

Rather than do something intelligent like give them a telephone call to see if I was working indoors or out, I instead assumed we would be playing outside and dressed accordingly. Accordingly for a 70 year old man is long johns, a tee shirt layered under a long sleeve shirt and a hoody over all.

After making a run to the bank to take the lose change I keep in a jar on my bureau, I made for Foster in a light drizzle.
I had been looking forward for a long time to doing this gig as work has been hard to come by and truthfully, I haven't keep up my guitar playing and the callouses are gone.

When I got there, the very solid duo you see pictured, Dayne and Dana, were performing to a slowly building crowd. This picture was taken around 2:30PM, so things were just starting to roll.

I went on a three o'clock and did a good 45 minute set on the Gibson J-45, mic'ed through the board as I prefer the much "woodier" sound I can get that way, rather than plugging in electrically. I still haven't heard a pick up made for acoustic guitar that doesn't make the guitar sound "tinny".

I was happily surprised when my good friend and keyboard wizard Tom Wieseler arrived and asked if he could sit in for my set. Another of my pals and fellow musicians, Tim Keilholtz, volunteered to play bass so I had a Hell of a good time working as a trio.

This time around, I did something I haven't done in months and months. I had a couple of boiler makers with Wisconsin's two most consumed libations: brandy and beer. I was feeling no pain by four o'clock and even though my fingers hurt, I grabbed the J-45 and played rhythm backing one of our best songwriters, Billy Krause. Fortunately, I only live about seven miles from the bar, so I made it back safely without having to walk a straight line.

The wholE experience got me thinking about how much I would like to put the band back together again for one last and very final band tour.

I would get my old Chevy panel van repainted bright red and lettered "The Big Tamata"and would rename the band as such.

Well, a guy can dream.

I want to say a special thanks to Sandy Bowe, Jane, and the crew at Foster's Bar for the love and generosity in their hearts to do a fund raiser and also to think of me to be a part of the day.

I hope I get a chance to do it again next Spring!

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LATEST PHOTOGRAPHS REVEAL PROOF STATE SUPREME COURT RACE FIXED BY NICKOLAUS

2011-05-12T13:07:00.000-07:00

After reading the following Truthout Article, it becomes very clear that the State of Wisconsin needs to re-do the election for state Supreme Court. This is sickening!

City of Brookfield Ballot Bags Found 'Wide Open' In Waukesha County, Wisconsin
Thursday 12 May 2011
by: Brad Friedman, The BRAD BLOG

Bags of ballots from the City of Brookfield in Waukesha County were discovered to have been open during the state Supreme Court election 'recount' on Thursday. (Photos: Mary Magnuson)

Five out of six bags of ballots from first batch to be counted out of the City of Brookfield in Waukesha County, Wisconsin today were discovered "almost wide open" during Day 9 of the statewide Supreme Court election "recount." The bags were open and unsealed, according to both photographic evidence and an eye-witnesses account from the counting room.

"When the ballot bags were taken out and placed upon the counting table, we were literally stunned," one of the citizen observers, Mary Magnuson, a Kloppenburg volunteer, told The BRAD BLOG this morning. "5 out of the 6 ballot bags were almost literally wide open, and ballots could be clearly seen."

The ballots in those bags were among the 14,000 said to have been cast in the April 5th election, but left off of Waukesha County's tally as reported to the media on Election Night.

Earlier this week we offered a detailed report on the status of the statewide "recount," highlighting a host of disturbing and outright violations of the chain of custody of ballots, including unnumbered and renumbered ballots bags (many of them from Waukesha County); ballots discovered unsecured and/or left out of the original count all together; and exceedingly sloppy record-keeping and reporting of "recount" results by the state's chief election agency, the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board (GAB). In sum, we described the state of the "recount" of the contested election between Republican incumbent Justice David Prosser and his independent challenger Asst. AG JoAnne Kloppenburg, as "a mess."

Today, after the newest revelations from the Waukesha County counting room, it got a lot messier.

"We are finding significant anomalies, including chain of custody and missing ballots, that we need to shine light on," Kloppenburg campaign manager Melissa Mulliken told The BRAD BLOG earlier this week, while we were working on our previous story. The anomalies she was referring to, given where today's unsecured ballots are said to come from, have gotten much more "significant" in the past few hours...

'Widest gap seen so far'

Magnuson quoted retired Circuit Court Judge Robert Mawdsley --- appointed by the GAB to oversee Waukesha's count in place of controversial County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus, who recused herself in light of several ongoing investigations into her handling of election results --- as saying that the opening in one of the ballot bags from the City of Brookfield was "the widest gap we have seen in any of the bags so far."

Moreover, in addition to the open ballots bags, one of them had its serial number crossed out and then replaced by another number to match the one seen on the plastic zip-cord "seal" still attached to the bag --- another chain of custody violation. Also, yesterday, ballot bags with six-inch openings in the top, large enough to pull ballots in and out of, were also discovered from Waukesha's Village of Elm Grove.

The new anomalies come on top of similarly disturbing chain of custody violations previously discovered in at least eight other "counting units," mostly in Waukesha, but elsewhere in the state as well.

According to the eye-witness Magnuson today, when the unsecured Brookfield ballots were discovered, legal counsel for Kloppenburg "objected to the ballots even being counted and/or included, due to the extremely evident lack of security insofar as the ballots were concerned." Nonetheless the Kloppenburg volunteer observer told The BRAD BLOG, "Prosser's counsel argued in favor of counting the ballots and Judge Mawdsley ruled in favor of counting them."

Kloppenburg excercised her right to this "recount" after the unverified results of the post-election canvass by all 72 counties in the Badger State found her to be just 7,316 votes shy of Prosser out of some 1.5 million ballots cast in the hotly-contested April 5th election. The 0.488% unofficial margin entitled her to a state-sponsored count, which she requested after learning that some 14,000 votes from the City of Brookfield were allegedly left out of Waukesha County's originally reported Election Night tally.

It is those votes which were scheduled to be "recounted" today in Waukesha and discovered to have been left wide open in unsecured bags, as documented in photographs taken by Magnuson, who has been observing the count for several days over the past week since counting began last Wednesday.

The 'Recount': Verifying questionable results for the first time

The majority of votes cast in Wisconsin are on hand-marked paper ballots, but are then scanned by oft-failed and easily-manipulated electronic tabulating optical-scan computers made by companies like Diebold, ES&S, and Sequoia without being checked for accuracy by human beings. Thus, our use of quotes around the word "recount,"
since almost all of the ballots cast in the crucial statewide election have never, until now, been examined for accuracy by any human being.

The stunning announcement of those 14,000 votes from the City of Brookfield, two days after the April 5th election, reversed what had originally been reported as an exceedingly slim (and unverified) "win" for Kloppenburg on Election Night. The Supreme Court race had become a referendum on Republican Gov. Scott Walker's controversial move to strip rights from citizens to collectively bargain with the state. Supporters of both candidates spent millions on outside advertising in the closing days of the contest.

Brookfield's game-changing votes were revealed to have been missed during a remarkable press conference on the night of April 7th, held by Prosser's former colleague and long-time GOP activist, Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus. She is now under investigation for past election irregularities as well, including the recent discovery of some 20,000 more votes reported than the number said to have been cast in the county's 2006 general election.

Nickolaus waited nearly two days before notifying state officials or her own Board of Canvassers to her discovery of what she described as "human error" in failing to report the Brookfield totals on Election Night. The Kloppenburg campaign has asked for a special independent investigation into the matter.

The unsecured ballots from the City of Brookfield

Below are a number of photographs taken this afternoon in the Waukesha County, Wisconsin, counting room, of ballot bags from Wards 1, 2, and 3 in the City of Brookfield. (see Truthout Article http://www.truth-out.org/city-brookfield-ballot-bags-found-wide-open-waukesha-county-wisconsin/1305227275 for photos)

The plastic orange zip-cord tie attached to each bag is supposed to be a tamper-evident "seal." Each one has a serial number that is also supposed to match the one written on the bag's label, which is signed by two witnesses. The numbers are also supposed to match the one on the "Inspector's Report" filed on Election Night. (In our report earlier this week we detailed bags from the Town of Delafield, also in Waukesha County, which were missing serial numbers altogether or had their serial numbers scratched out and replaced by others.)

As Magnuson explained via email today...

"This morning, at the Waukesha County recount, things began, as usual. We were waiting to count the City of Brookfield, Wards 1, 2 and 3, when a representative from the County Clerk's office wheeled in the bin of information which included the inventory sheet, various envelopes, and, of course, the ballot bags.

"When the ballot bags were taken out and placed upon the counting table, we were literally stunned. 5 out of the 6 ballot bags were almost literally wide open, and ballots could be clearly seen. This, despite the fact that seals were around the top; still, the sides remained very clearly open with three different colors of ballots within"...

"Also made on the record was that the identifying number (or serial number) on bag 4, had been crossed out and replaced with another (serial, or identifying) number on the bag itself.

"Counsel for JoAnne Kloppenburg made that a part of the record, as well"...

[Update: "Giles Goat Boy" at Daily Kos has a link to the video and a partial transcript of the snap "hearing" that went on in the counting room to determine why the Brookfield ballot bags were open, and what explanation was offered by Brookfield's City Clerk Kristine Schmidt.]

Late this evening, Magnuson told us, "In the afternoon, six other ballot bags were pulled out when we opened the second bin for City of Brookfield, Wards 4, 5 & 6. Four of those bags had numbers scratched off of little white labels affixed to the bag."

"When the Kloppenburg representative asked the Brookfield City Clerk Kristine Schmidt for an explanation," of those labels and scratch-outs, says Magnuson, "she said, 'I don't know.'"

Here's one of those bags...

Elm Grove ballot bags: 'You could have stuck your entire hand in the damned things, your arm, maybe'...

Three bags from the Village of Elm Grove in Waukesha County, counted yesterday, were also discovered to have been unsecured. Each had "a 6 inch opening on each side" of the impenetrable plastic zip-line "seal" at the top-center of each bag.

Magnuson described those ballot bags to us yesterday as follows...

"This morning, Wednesday, May 4, at the Waukesha County recount, we began, as usual, with the introduction of a bin containing records, ballots, etc; today's count came from the Village of Elm Grove. The particular ward(s) included in the first count, were wards 5, 6, 7 and 8.

"Kelly, from the County Clerk's office brought the bin into the room and began to remove the various records, envelopes and ballot bags from the bin for identification purposes.

"At the time the ballot bags were removed from the bin and placed upon the tabulators' table, it was immediately noted by Judge Mawdsley that each of the three ballot bags, (bag 1 of 3, bag 2 of 3 and bag 3 of 3) were all sealed improperly. Specifically, despite the fact that an official seal had been placed on each bag, the tops of the ballot bags had not been properly folded over and/or tucked in, leaving an approximate six (6) inch gap on each side of the official red seal. Counsel for JoAnne Kloppenburg immediately requested that the condition of the bags be made part of the record; that request was accommodated.

"At one point, Judge Mawdsley referred to the condition of the tops of the bags as 'wing-like'. Another observer mentioned that she believed someone would have been able to 'fit their whole arm in there'. Regardless, after these observations, the bags were opened - each at the bottom, with a scissors - and the recount commenced in the normal fashion"...

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When we asked the Kloppenburg campaign for comment on the Elm Grove bags last night, campaign manger Mulliken said she did not yet have them on her list of reported incidents.

Earlier in the week, when we'd asked her about the several incidents of broken chain of custody discovered in ballots bags in other Waukesha municipalities discovered previously in the count, Mulliken expressed frustration with what was being found, but confidence in her "team of folks on the ground":

"In Waukesha," she told us, "the recount is moving slowly, partly because there have been questions and issues about almost every bag of ballots they've opened to recount. We have a great team of folks on the ground and have had an attorney there every day raising objections and making sure the record reflects what is happening and our objections."

When we queried the GAB about incidents of ballot bags with missing or scratched out numbers from Waukesha's Town of Delafield, in violation of chain of custody procedures, a spokesperson told The BRAD BLOG they would not be offering a response on such issues until after the "recount" was completed in the county.

"I haven't been briefed on that situation and so I can't comment on it at this point," the GAB's Reid Magney told us on Tuesday.

"Generally we don't have information about these things until we get minutes from the county. We don't get the minutes until the entire county has completed their count," he explained

A few other late 'recount' related items...

Machine counting in Waukesha?

Yesterday, while we were watching the live webstream of the counting room in Waukesha, we noticed ballots being tallied by machine, rather than by hand. Wisconsin "recount" procedures [PDF] specify that paper ballots are to be "recounted" by the same machines which tabulated them in the first place on Election Night, unless a court order is obtained to count them by hand.

Before the counting began, we reported that the Kloppenburg and Prosser campaigns had agreed to count paper ballots by hand in parts of some 31 of the state's 72 counties, after it had been learned that memory cartridges from theOptech Eagle optical-scan systems (sold by both ES&S and Sequoia), as used for the April 5th election in those counties, would have to be erased to accommodate the "recount." The memory cartridges, as the GAB's legal filings revealed, are no longer manufactured and are in short supply. We reported at the time that while ballots in parts of those 31 counties would therefore be counted by hand, "all" of Waukesha's ballots would be manually counted by agreement of the two campaigns.

So we were curious when we saw the machine counting going on. We queried the Kloppenburg campaign for an explanation last night, and Mulliken told us that the agreement was to count by hand only where the Optech Eagle system was used, and not in the entirety of Waukesha County as we had previously understood. In fact, there are a couple of municipalities in Waukesha which use the Sequoia-based op-scan system and others which use the ES&S op-scan system, but all of those op-scan systems are Optech Eagle according to VerifiedVoting.org's database, as updated on 1/13/08.

We will, of course, report any additional details on this as we are able to learn them.

[Update/Correction: We originally reported that two municipalities in Waukesha did not use the Optech Eagle. In fact, VerifiedVoting.org's database says they all use the Optech Eagle, at least as of 2008, though in some municipalities they use the ones put out by ES&S and, in others, the ones put out by Sequoia, since both companies used to sell those systems. We've corrected the above to reflect that additional information, but remain confused as to why the county seemed to be counting some ballots by machine on Wednesday. We're still seeking further information and will try to report back if we are able to get any.]

Prosser campaign 'lies' about 'targeting the nuns'

A story fed to the media by Prosser's camp yesterday, and published uncritically by Charlie Sykes of Milwaukee's am620 WTMJ under the headline "Targeting the Nuns," charged that a number of absentee ballots from cloistered nuns in Sauk County were missing their witness signatures and were tossed after "the Kloppenburg team argued that the ballots should be thrown out."

"The canvas board, after a long and somewhat contentious conversation voted to reject the ballots --- at the insistence of the Kloppenburg attorney," according to the published email "from the Prosser folks." (Sykes failed to identify the name of the "Prosser folk" it came from when he ran it in full on the WTMJ website.)

"This is why Kloppenburg’s goons justify a million dollar (plus) recount…to make sure the votes of nuns are [sic] counted," the email concludes.

We asked Mulliken about the incident and she was uncharacteristically blunt in quickly describing the Prosser story as "a lie."

"We did not object, that is a lie," she said. "It is just untrue. It is inaccurate. It is misinformation. We did not object."

Mulliken went on to explain that the canvass board and other officials in Sauk County decided not to count them because "that's the law."

"Ballots with missing witness signatures have been discovered in the normal course around the state," Mulliken continued, "and that makes them deficient. That's the law and that's the rule and that's what happened here. Everyone's vote is equal, whatever your occupation is. If your absentee ballot isn't witnessed properly it doesn't count."

In a statement sent to media in response to the charges yesterday, the campaign said:

The Prosser campaign has the facts wrong. To spread misinformation in order to disparage the recount process, disrespects Wisconsin voters who are entitled to have confidence that elections are fair. Justice Prosser should know that every vote is equal and every vote should be treated in accordance with the law.

A more responsible version of the nun story was published last night by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, explaining...

Because canvassers were unable to match the actual ballots to the voter, they took all 24 absentee ballots from the Town of Sumpter and randomly drew 18, which were then set aside and not counted. Of those ballots, Prosser had 14 while Kloppenburg had four.

The Prosser campaign made two appeals to have the ballots counted, including early Wednesday, but they were turned down by the board of canvassers, [counsel for Sauk County Alene] Bolin, said.

$25,000 reward posted for evidence of fraud in WI's Supreme Court Election

Finally (or almost), election integrity and government watchdog organization VelvetRevolution.us' Protect Our Elections campaign posted a $25,000 reward notice, for "information leading to the arrest and conviction of any person or persons for election tampering, resulting in reversal of the current outcome of the April 5, 2011 Wisconsin Supreme Court election."

[FULL DISCLOSURE: The BRAD BLOG is a co-founder of VelvetRevolution.us]

A printable version of the reward notice is posted here [PDF].

Dems charge GOP 'fraud' in state Senate recall petition drive...

One more...As we reported earlier today, state Democrats are alleging that Republicans have fraudulently submitted thousands of signatures on petitions for recalls of Democratic state Senators. Currently, signed petitions have been filed with the GAB for recall elections of 6 Republicans and 3 Democratic Senators in the wake of the passage of Walker's union-stripping legislation. See our earlier report for more details...

COLLECTING FOOTBALLS PUTS ME IN TOUCH WITH SPORTS HISTORY

2011-05-10T08:22:00.000-07:00

There was a time when I was collecting football helmets but that day is gone. Then one day I found (on eBay, where else?) a vintage Wilson football that was manufactured in the Ada, Ohio, plant prior to the days when the NFL balls were adorned with a facsimile of the NFL commissioner under whose administration the ball was manufactured.

These footballs were stamped with the words "The Duke", so named to honor NY Giants owner Wellington Mara whose nickname was the duke.

So I began to watch for listings of those footballs. I now have four, one of which is almost in non-used perfect condition. Then a couple of weeks later I spotted the pictured football for sale. It is a Sonnett model K5 which was manufactured originally in Kentucky. By the mid 1950's, Wilson Sporting Goods bought out that company and began manufacturing the ball at their Ada, Ohio, location with the Sonnett name on one side and Wilson on the opposite side.

This ball is in really incredibly good shape for a ball that is as old as this one is. The only flaw is that when I inflate it to a full 13 pounds pressure, it slow leaks down to about 10 pounds and then stops.

Eventually I will send it to Wilson and have the valve and bladder replaced.

I am pretty excited to have found the precursor to "The Duke"!

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Hollywood Squares:

These great questions and answers are from the days when ' Hollywood Squares' game show responses were spontaneous, not scripted, as they are now. Peter Marshall was the host asking the questions, of course...

Q.. Paul, what is a good reason for pounding meat?

A. Paul Lynde: Loneliness!

(The audience laughed so long and so hard it took up almost 15 minutes of the show!)

Q. Do female frogs croak?

A. Paul Lynde: If you hold their little heads under water long enough.

Q. If you're going to make a parachute jump, at least how high should you be?

A. Charley Weaver: Three days of steady drinking should do it.

Q. True or False, a pea can last as long as 5,000 years.

A. George Gobel: Boy, it sure seems that way sometimes.

Q. You've been having trouble going to sleep. Are you probably a man or a woman?

A.. Don Knotts: That's what's been keeping me awake.

Q. According to Cosmopolitan, if you meet a stranger at a party and you think that he is attractive, is it okay to come out and ask him if he's married?

A.. Rose Marie: No wait until morning.

Q. Which of your five senses tends to diminish as you get older?

A. Charley Weaver: My sense of decency.

Q. In Hawaiian, does it take more than three words to say 'I Love You'?

A. Vincent Price: No, you can say it with a pineapple and a twenty.

Q. What are 'Do It,' 'I Can Help,' and 'I Can't Get Enough'?

A. George Gobel: I don't know, but it's coming from the next apartment.

Q. As you grow older, do you tend to gesture more or less with your hands while talking?

A. Rose Marie: You ask me one more growing old question Peter, and I'll give you a gesture you'll never forget.

Q. Paul, why do Hell's Angels wear leather?

A. Paul Lynde: Because chiffon wrinkles too easily.

Q.. Charley, you've just decided to grow strawberries. Are you going to get any during the first year?

A.. Charley Weaver: Of course not, I'm too busy growing strawberries.

Q. In bowling, what's a perfect score?

A. Rose Marie: Ralph, the pin boy.

Q. It is considered in bad taste to discuss two subjects at nudist camps.. One is politics, what is the other?

A. Paul Lynde: Tape measures.

Q. During a tornado, are you safer in the bedroom or in the closet?

A. Rose Marie: Unfortunately Peter, I'm always safe in the bedroom.

Q. Can boys join the Camp Fire Girls?

A.. Marty Allen: Only after lights out.

Q. When you pat a dog on its head he will wag his tail. What will a goose do?

A. Paul Lynde: Make him bark?

Q. If you were pregnant for two years, what would you give birth to?

A. Paul Lynde: Whatever it is, it would never be afraid of the dark.

Q. According to Ann Landers, is there anything wrong with getting into the habit of kissing a lot of people?

A. Charley Weaver: It got me out of the army.

Q. It is the most abused and neglected part of your body, what is it?

A. Paul Lynde: Mine may be abused, but it certainly isn't neglected.

Q. Back in the old days, when Great Grandpa put horseradish on his head, what was he trying to do?

A. George Gobel: Get it in his mouth.

Q. Who stays pregnant for a longer period of time, your wife or your elephant?

A. Paul Lynde: Who told you about my elephant?

Q. When a couple have a baby, who is responsible for its sex?

A.. Charley Weaver: I'll lend him the car, the rest is up to him.

Q. Jackie Gleason recently revealed that he firmly believes in them and has actually seen them on at least two occasions. What are they?

A. Charley Weaver: His feet.

Q.. According to Ann Landers, what are two things you should never do in bed?

A. Paul Lynde: Point and laugh.

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In New Orleans, it's four strikes and you're out.

At least if you're trying to deal weed. The city, still struggling to recover from the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina, is meting out rough justice to Cornell Hood II for his fourth weed conviction. He got off with probation after three marijuana convictions in New Orleans.

But according to the Times-Picayune, following his move over to St. Tammany Parish, Hood, 35, could be headed to prison for the rest of his life. State Judge Raymond S. Childress brought the hammer down on Hood under Louisiana's repeat-offender law on Thursday after a jury found Hood guilty of attempting to possess and distribute marijuana at his Slidell home.

After moving from Eastern New Orleans to Slidell following a guilty plea to separate charges of distribution of marijuana and possession with intent to distribute marijuana on in December 2009, Hood received a suspended five-year prison sentence and five years' of probation for each. It was the same penalty he got in that court in February 2005 for the same charges.

An assistant DA used Hood's past convictions to argue he was a career criminal worthy of harsher punishment in the state, which allows for life imprisonment for drug offenders who've been convicted three or more times for a crime that carries a sentence of 10 years of more.

Does New Orleans man deserve life in prison for pot?

How depressing is this?? I got so depressed I rolled a fatty and went to New Orleans (in my mind).

TRUMAN THE LAST OF THE GREAT PRESIDENTS

2011-05-09T07:33:00.000-07:00

If someone asks me who was the last great president, I would not hesitate to answer Harry Truman.

Harry "the buck stops here" Truman was truly a man of the people - one of us. We have not seen a president since who led so strongly.

Harry Truman was a different kind of President. He probably made as many, or more important decisions regarding our nation's history as any of the other 42 Presidents preceding him. However, a measure of his greatness may rest on what he did after he left the White House.

The only asset he had when he died was the house he lived in, which was in Independence Missouri . His wife had inherited the house from her mother and father and other than their years in the White House, they lived their entire lives there.

When he retired from office in 1952, his income was a U.S. Army pension reported to have been $13,507.72 a year. Congress, noting that he was paying for his stamps and personally licking them, granted him an 'allowance' and, later, a retroactive pension of $25,000 per year.

After President Eisenhower was inaugurated, Harry and Bess drove home to Missouri by themselves. There was no Secret Service following them.

When offered corporate positions at large salaries, he declined, stating, "You don 't want me. You want the office of the President, and that doesn't belong to me. It belongs to the American people and it's not for sale.."

Even later, on May 6, 1971, when Congress was preparing to award him the Medal of Honor on his 87th birthday, he refused to accept it, writing, "I don 't consider that I have don e anything which should be the reason for any award, Congressional or otherwise."

As president he paid for all of his own travel expenses and food.

Modern politicians have found a new level of success in cashing in on the Presidency, resulting in untold wealth. Today, many in Congress also have found a way to become quite wealthy while enjoying the fruits of their offices. Political offices are now for sale. (sic. Illinois )

Good old Harry Truman was correct when he observed, "My choices in life were either to be a piano player in a whore house or a politician. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference!"

I say dig him up and clone him!!

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JON MAKES PROGRESS IN MUSIC CAREER

2011-05-07T07:28:00.000-07:00

I have taken quite a lengthy hiatus from writing here - mostly because of my annual Spring depression, which all but paralyzes me when it strikes. That coupled with our idiot governor completely destroying the afterglow of winning Super Bowl XLV with his Tea Party antics in Madison that are currently destoying our beautiful state, was enough to make me hide, whimpering, in a dark closet.

But the first real signs that Winter may have finally bowed out (I found a wood tick embedded on my back this morning), no snow for nearly a week, and being almost completely out of stove wood for the office, have lifted my spirits greatly.

But mostly my attitude has greatly improved because of the young man pictured with the pizza.

Jonathan, the older of my two sons, went through some very hard times this past Winter, but lately, he too, seems to be emerging into the light!

I got a call from him recently and he was feeling very, very good about a show case he had just finished playing for - Jon plays guitar and writes the music for a great new children's music group called "Shine and the Moonbeams". (If you have time, google them and listen to some of their great kids' music).

They showcased in Brooklyn at Kindiefest for agents from all over the United States and were very well received. In fact, their music is a fresh new approach to children's music, incorporating elements of blues, jazz, soul, and hip hop.

In attendance was Tor Hyams, who is THE man when it comes to the children's music industry. He is based in Los Angeles and in the past expressed some interest in the group from tapes they had sent.

Here is what Wikipedia has to say about Hyams:

Tor Hyams is a songwriter and Grammy nominated music producer whose roster of artists include Joan Osborne, Vivian Campbell, Billy Gibbons, Lou Rawls, Rachel York, Lisa Loeb, Perry Farrell and Deborah Harry. Most recently[when?], Hyams produced the Edwin McCain album Nobody's Fault But Mine.

Hyams has also worked on children's music, writing and producing the CD A World of Happiness for Disney's Buena Vista Records featuring performances from Samuel L. Jackson, Magic Johnson, Lou Rawls, Isaac Hayes, Deborah Harry, Gary Oldman, Perry Farrell, Lisa Loeb, Michael McKean, Annette O'Toole, Brad Whitford, and Jane Kaczmarek.] He also co-produced the music video for one of the tracks "The Patience Bossa", directed by Gary Oldman and featuring a duet by Perry Farrell and Deborah Harry.
In 2005, Hyams developed and presented the children's music festival, Kidzapalooza, with Perry Farrell at the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago. In 2009 Kidzapalooza was a stand-alone festival at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, again produced by Hyams and Farrell.] Kidzapalooza has run for six years with Hyams as producer and emcee. It will continue to at least 2015 and has spawned Kidzapalooza Radio on Sirius/XM and a compilation album. Hyams also produces the children's festival Austin Kiddie Limits as part of the Austin City Limits Music Festival.
Hyams formed Happiness Entertainment, a children’s music label with distribution through E1 Entertainment. In it’s inaugural year, Happiness has already released three albums, including a reissue of A World of Happiness with bonus tracks, The Kidzapalooza Compilation CD and an album by family hip hop act Secret Agent 23 Skidoo. Tor has also encouraged families to the SXSW Music Festival and through this co-founded KindieFest, a family music conference featuring panels and performances with influential figures from the world of children’s music. The first KindieFest was held in Brooklyn. He has also been named a judge for the NAPPA awards for children’s audio products.
His other work includes a Diane Warren composition for MTV which involved Michelle Branch, Bubba Sparxx & Sleepy Brown, Monica and JC Chasez. He has also produced a number of artists and compilations for TVT Records and UMS Records in New York.
For television, Hyams has composed themes and music packages for NBC, ABC, CBS, TBS, Showtime, The History Channel, USA, FX, Bravo, MTV, Sony and Paramount Television. Additionally, he has scored several feature films, including projects for Miramax, Artisan Entertainment, The Shooting Gallery and Fox Searchlight.
Another of his projects is Chutzpah (the world's first Jewish Hip Hop Super Group). Their reality-based comedy short film, Chutzpah, This Is? (The Official Hip-Hop-U-Mentary),[6] stars George Segal, Gary Oldman, Debi Mazar and Vivian Campbell. It received accolades from the HBO Comedy Festival and the Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival Audience Award and received official selection at 16 film festivals, both in the USA and overseas.[7] The group has since made several TV and radio appearances, including Fox TV LA and Good Day New York. Their second album Hip Hop Fantasy was released in July 2009.

After the show, Mr. Hyams sought out "Shine and the Moon Beams" and expressed an interest in producing their first album, hopefully by this coming autumn.

In addition, Jon has been performing with Corn Mo, an up and coming singer/songwriter - as his lead guitarist in the band .357 Lover. Some of their tunes can also be found on Youtube.

So I start each day with a prayer for Jon and success in his musical endeavors. I am very proud of the fact that he has suffered through some rough times to get to this point but has never given up on his talent or his dream.

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ALERTS TO THREATS IN 2011: BY JOHN CLEESE

The English are feeling the pinch in relation to recent events in Libya and have therefore raised their security level from "Miffed" to "Peeved." Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to "Irritated" or even "A Bit Cross." The English have not been "A Bit Cross" since the blitz in 1940 when tea supplies nearly ran out.

Terrorists have been re-categorized from "Tiresome" to "A Bloody Nuisance." The last time the British issued a "Bloody Nuisance" warning level was in 1588, when threatened by the Spanish Armada.

The Scots have raised their threat level from "Pissed Off" to "Let's get the Bastards." They don't have any other levels. This is the reason they have been used on the front line of the British army for the last 300 years.

The French government announced yesterday that it has raised its terror alert level from "Run" to "Hide." The only two higher levels in France are "Collaborate" and "Surrender." The rise was precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France 's white flag factory, effectively paralyzing the country's military capability.

Italy has increased the alert level from "Shout Loudly and Excitedly" to "Elaborate Military Posturing." Two more levels remain: "Ineffective Combat Operations" and "Change Sides."

The Germans have increased their alert state from "Disdainful
Arrogance" to "Dress in Uniform and Sing Marching Songs." They also have two higher levels: "Invade a Neighbor" and "Lose."

Belgians, on the other hand, are all on holiday as usual; the only
threat they are worried about is NATO pulling out of Brussels.

The Spanish are all excited to see their new submarines ready to deploy. These beautifully designed subs have glass bottoms so the new Spanish navy can get a really good look at the old Spanish navy.

Australia , meanwhile, has raised its security level from "No worries" to "She'll be alright, Mate." Two more escalation levels remain: "Crikey! I think we'll need to cancel the barbie this weekend!" and "The barbie is canceled." So far no situation has ever warranted use of the final escalation level.

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WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE ABOUT THE GREEN BAY PACKERS?

2011-04-14T15:32:00.000-07:00

Maybe the only truly romantic thing left in American sports: The Green Bay Packers

Seriously, America , what's not to like about the Green Bay Packers?

What's not to like about a small-town team that is not only surviving, but thriving in the billion-dollar business of professional football?

There is nothing like them in professional sports. Think about what an oddity they are. Teams have come and gone in the NFL in a continuous game of musical chairs - the Baltimore Colts moved to Indianapolis, the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore, the Oakland Raiders to L.A. and back to Oakland, the Cardinals from Chicago to St. Louis to Phoenix, the Los Angeles Rams to St. Louis.

But the Packers have stayed in tiny Green Bay , Wis.. , since their birth in 1919. America 's second biggest city, Los Angeles , with a population of 4 million, doesn't even have a franchise, but Green Bay , with a population of 101,000, does. It's like plunking down a team in the middle of Sandy , Utah .

They are the smallest market in pro sports. Green Bay 's metro area - if you stretch the definition of "metro" - is 283,000. Buffalo , the next smallest in sports, has 1.1 million. New York City has 8.5 million in the city limits alone, 19 million in the metro area.

What's not to like about a team that was dreamed up during a street-corner conversation one day? Curly Lambeau, a former Green Bay prep star and Notre Dame football player, hatched the idea and convinced his employer, the Indian Packing Company, to buy uniforms and provide a practice field. In turn, the team called itself the Packers. Lambeau was the team's first star player (for 11 years) and its first coach (for 30 years) and - you've got to like this - he pioneered the forward pass in the NFL.

What's not to like about the last small-town survivor of the National Football League? In the early '20s, the fledgling NFL consisted almost entirely of small-town teams like Green Bay - the Decatur Staleys, Akron Pros, Canton Bulldogs, Muncie Flyers, Rochester Jeffersons, Rock Island Independents. But as the league turned fully to professionalism, those teams either folded or moved to big cities for bigger profits. Green Bay found a way to keep the Packers - the community bought them.

What's not to like about a team that is owned by its fans? The Packers are the only publicly owned team in professional sports.. There's no Jerry Jones, George Steinbrenner or Daniel Snyder in Green Bay . The other teams have one very rich, often reviled, owner; the Packers have 112,000 shareholders - or 112,000 Monday-morning quarterbacks who are legally entitled to kibbitz. They've rescued the team from financial hardship four times - in 1923, '35, '50 and '97. Without them, the team simply would not exist.

What's not to like about this team? Apparently, not much. Despite their small-town roots - or perhaps because of it - they have courted a world-wide following. According to a 2010 Harris poll, the Packers are still the third most popular team in the country, 40 years after their glory years. Someone once asked the late former NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle to name the best football city in America . " Green Bay ," he replied. "A small town. People owning their own football team. Rabid supporters."

The Packers have one of the longest waiting lists for season tickets in pro sports, some 80,000 deep (Lambeau Field seats only 78,000). The average wait for season tickets is estimated to be 30 years, but if you added your name to the list now you probably wouldn't get tickets in your lifetime. Packer fans are known to leave season tickets in their wills or to place newborn babies on the waiting list. Packer games have been sold out since 1960.

"I'm a 'green and gold' season ticket holder and have some voting stock in the team," explains Walt Mehr, a Utah resident who grew up in Eagle River , Wis. , just north of Green Bay . "It took me 23 years to get season tickets. We have a big shareholders meeting in July and vote. We were involved with remodeling of the stadium. As season-ticket holders we had to put up money for that - $5,000. My tickets are in my will."

It's every fan's dream - they get to help run the team.. You've got to like that.

What's not to like about a team that has been an almost mythical force since joining the NFL in 1921? They've won 13 championships - nine NFL titles in the pre-Super Bowl era, and four Super Bowls - and no one else is close to matching them.. They won the first two Super Bowls. They won five championships in seven years during the '60s. They're the only team that's ever won three in a row. The city's nickname is "Titletown." Their coach's name is on the Super Bowl Trophy. They have 21 Hall of Famers, second only to the Chicago Bears. They are a team of legends - Starr, Nitschke, Taylor, Lombardi, Davis, Hornung, Kramer, Gregg, Hutson, Lambeau, Favre.

What's not to like about a team that is so entrenched in the community in such a personal way? It's big-time football in a small-town way that has been lost as the NFL has grown. This is the town that spawned the Lambeau Leap - players leaping into the arms of fans behind the end zone after a touchdown, a routine that has since been adopted throughout the league. It symbolizes the close connection between the team and the fans, like so many other things. Green Bay 's stadium is bordered by the back yards of middle-class neighborhoods. The players live in regular neighborhoods, with the fans.

"Unlike the other NFL cities, where players can live in mansions away from the masses, Green Bay has no real 'affluent' suburbs," says Vai Sikahema, a former Packer and BYU player. "And because of the frigid weather, everyone had second homes in warmer places. So the players lived in modest homes in regular neighborhoods.

"Playing for the Packers and living in Green Bay is generally the way it was in the '60's when Vince Lombardi lived there. The house we rented was rented by a host of former Packers, dating back to the great running back Jim Taylor.

"Another player rented a home once lived in by Bart Starr. That creates this extra unique bond with the fan base. On Tuesdays, our day off, we'd walk our children to the bus stop and all the dads would go in late so they could walk their own kids and talk football with us at the bus stop. My wife had play dates with regular moms on our street, as opposed to the closed, elitist 'wives club' on other teams."

There is a tradition in Green Bay that has received considerable publicity over the years. Kids wait for Packer players outside the locker room and often use their bikes to ride to the practice field. The kids hold the players' helmets and jog alongside the players as they ride the kids' bikes to practice. Who couldn't like that?

"I was one of those kids who ran next to a player while he rode my bike to the practice field from the locker room," says Mark Stimpson, a Salt Lake resident who grew up in Green Bay . "We did it every day during the summer. I had a metallic green stingray bike. I'd wait by the locker room. The player would hand me his helmet. The players wouldn't pedal the bikes. They were too big. They'd just stick their legs out and coast because it's a down-hill walk to the field. We'd talk to them while we walked beside them. Then, during practice we'd watch the guy who rode our bike. It was a fun time. The players were great to us."

Sikahema remembers the bike routine, as well. "The bikes are one of those unique things in Green Bay that allow fans, especially kids, to get to know the players in a personal way," he says. "I stayed in touch with the kid whose bike I used through his college years and his wedding. He's now in his mid-30s. His name is Aaron Smet. When I was there, a bunch of poor kids didn't have bikes to lend to the players and (teammate) Sterling Sharpe had Wal-Mart deliver to the complex a tractor trailer full of bikes that he gave away to less fortunate kids."

Stimpson recalls seeing Willie Wood, Ray Nitschke, Elijah Pitts and Bart Starr around town when he was a kid. The Packers were one of them. His sister, Mary Nelson, babysat for reserve quarterback Zeke Bratkowski.

"Zeke lived around the corner from us," says Nelson. "After the games some of the players would come over to Zeke's house. I got to meet Bart Starr, Jerry Kramer and Max McGee and their wives. Every time I babysat Zeke's kids he would walk me home."

What's not to like about a town that is all about its team? Green Bay businesses are Packer themed. The streets are named after Packers - Lombardi, Ray Nitschke, Brett Favre, Mike Holmgren, Don Hutson, Reggie White, Bart Starr, Tony Canadeo. Even the official Green Bay website is all about the local football team.

The town shuts down during games; churches schedule around the Packers, then open their parking lots for Packer fans. "The streets are empty during the games," says Stimpson. "When I was a boy I could ride my bike down the middle of the street because there was no traffic."

What's not to like about a team that won the Ice Bowl, one of the greatest games ever played? It was the 1967 NFL Championship game in Green Bay , and the temperature was minus-13 degrees, with a windchill hovering around 50 below.

Rick Delacenserie, who grew up in the Green Bay area and now lives in Park City , watched the Packer practices as a boy and witnessed the Ice Bowl from the same end zone where Starr scored the game-winning touchdown.

"I spent most of the third quarter in the bathroom," he recalls. "It was packed in there. Everyone was trying to get warm. Someone brought a hacksaw and cut up the goal posts. All I got was some of the foam they wrapped around the post."

You've got to love a team that inspires fans to brave sub-zero weather.

After the Super Bowl victory that followed the Ice Bowl, the Packers went into decline for 25 years until the Favre years arrived in the early '90s, but the Packers still inspired fierce loyalty and love.

"The only thing you can see on the horizon is Lambeau Field," says Mehr, who pauses to choke back tears before continuing. "I get chills when I see it. On a beautiful clear day, omigosh."

For his part, Stimpson left home decades ago to attend BYU and settle in Utah . He doesn't follow sports as he once did, and the game has changed, and yet he still says this: "The Packers are so much a part of you. The Packers still have a certain pull. They always will."

You've got to like that.

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This is an article from The Salt Lake City Newspaper, The Desert News, which was forwarded to me by Sharon Lowry. Thank you, Sharon!

HAVE YOU VOTED FOR JOANNE KLOPPENBURG YET TODAY? THERE'S STILL TIME! GET OFF YOUR BUTT!

2011-04-05T14:22:00.000-07:00

Today is the day. I am walking on eggs waiting for the polls to close and hoping and praying that JoAnne Kloppenburg can wrench the Wisconsin state judgeship away from Daddy Big Bucks chosen one, David Prosser.

If Prosser wins this election, the state is in deep shit with four more years of the kind of unmitigated arrogance Walker recently showed with this:

The comedy of errors, Part Umteen.

In his latest attempt to turn Wisconsin into Wississippi, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is reporting that Gov. Scott Walker is once again relying on his "its not what you know, its who you know" rule and has hired the ridiculously unqualified son of a GOP lobbyist, Jerry Deschane:

Just in his mid-20s, Brian Deschane has no college degree, very little management experience and two drunken-driving convictions.

Yet he has landed an $81,500-per-year job in Gov. Scott Walker's administration overseeing environmental and regulatory matters and dozens of employees at the Department of Commerce. Even though Walker says the state is broke and public employees are overpaid, Deschane already has earned a promotion and a 26% pay raise in just two months with the state.
How did Deschane score his plum assignment with the Walker team?

It's all in the family.

His father is Jerry Deschane, executive vice president and longtime lobbyist for the Madison-based Wisconsin Builders Association, which bet big on Walker during last year's governor's race.

The group's political action committee gave $29,000 to Walker and his running mate, Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, last year, making it one of the top five PAC donors to the governor's successful campaign. Even more impressive, members of the trade group funneled more than $92,000 through its conduit to Walker's campaign over the past two years.

Total donations: $121,652.

This is, of course, the same governor that wants to remove qualification requirements for our teachers and, overall, wants to kill public unions, who fought for qualification requirements in the first place.

This just in: Gov. Walker has hired dim-witted Spaulding from Caddyshack fame and put him in charge of selling the state's power plants. Stay tuned!

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Just a little aside true story here. some years ago I was hired by the Madison-based Wisconsin Builders Association to provide after dinner entertainment for them at a hotel in LaCrosse.

Arriving early, as I usually do, to find the top brass milling about the stage discussing the after dinner line up, I thought I would have a little fun with them by pulling a line that every one of us has heard from a home-builder that we hired:

"Hi, I'm Larry Heagle, the after dinner entertainment. I'm going to set up my sound system here and then i will be gone for a little while as I have another gig acrosss town. But don't worry. I'll be back."

OOOH! That raised some hackles! "THAT'S NOT FUNNY!"

Well, not to you, maybe.

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DAPPER DOCTOR ARON'S WONDERFUL BIRTHDAY PARTY

2011-04-02T07:09:00.000-07:00

It was a "last minute" booking. Liz got the call last monday that Tracy Adkins was in need of a comedian, singer, songwriter to perform at a surprise 40th birthday party and a wonderful woman, remembering having seen me do a show for her husband's business, recommended me highly.

So it was booked! But Liz, my crafty manager, always on the lookout to get me as much money as possible for a gig, suggested to Mrs. Adkins that for extra money, "Larry will write a song about the birthday boy, based on information you send him".

Two days later I had received e mails from Dr. Adkins secretary, his wife, and from one other associate. I then sat down and began writing. for some reason the melody to Carly Simon's "you're So Vain" kept nagging at me so I set the words to that song, re-worked the lyrics several times throughout the week, learned the chord structure in a key I could sing (Carly and I have a different range), put the lyrics into my word processor, found an appropriate font and some fancy stationery, then framed the piece for presentation as a gift for Dr. Aron.

Tracy, who loves April Fool's day, decided to hold the surprise party on April Fool's night - perfect because his actual birthday is not until May 5, so he was totally surprised.

The party was held in a back banquet room at Draganetti's so I arrived very early (5PM) to set up a small P.A. which I then hid behind one of those "accordion" doors. This made the set up perfect as the guest would not even know I was there until shortly after the dinner dishes had been removed at which time I pushed open the accordion door and rolled out the P.A., mic, and guitar and launched into a part roast, part celebration type show, the climax being the singing of the song made with the information I had been given.

Midway through the show, I stopped and took a picture of the group -- (Dr. Adkins is the one at the mirrored back wall, glasses and white shirt, and folded arms ( body language for self defense).

Unfortunately, his lovely wife Tracy is in the photo to the left (in red) and her face is mostly blocked!
Here's the song parody used:

Dapper Doctor Aron
(to the melody of “You’re So Vain” with apologies to Carly Simon)

He walks in to his office, straightening his tie again
He finishes off a double but his doubles are not made wth gin
His favorite is double latte with two Equal and a shot of protein
But he has to find a new cup, someone’s scratched his old one again

Aron - you’re not vain, we’re just here to share your birthday
You’re not vain, we’re just here to share your birthday, aren’t we? Aren’t we?

Aron’s so secure in his manhood that he can wear a dress shirt in pnk
He’s so secure in his manhood, This Eagle Scout doesn’t care what you think!
That’s because he’s smarter than everyone here and Apple Computers are his favorite tool
He loves Tracy and his daughters and everything but Aprl Fool

(chorus)

Aron was a great student, didn’t have to take the entrance exam
And he set a national record score on his final exam
Everyone who knows him knows he is neat and fair
Everyone who knows him knows he’s the harest workin’ doc in Eau Claire

(chorus)

Some might call Aron anal but that’s not a term that I’d use
I would call him thrifty - Here’s an example that you can use:
Scratches always upset him but he knows just what to do
He even dropped an “a” from his first name, it got scratched, there was nothing to lose

(chorus)

Now, Dr. Aron has reached forty, And he is the proudest father of four
And all his ladies love hm - wait! It looks like there may be one more!
Gone now is the Audi, a Buick in its stead
And the guests better eat all the cake here
He wants no crumbs in his car or his bed!

Aron’s not vain, This was just a birthday song about him
He’s not vain
This is a Happy Birthday song about you, about you, about you!

Happy Birthday, Aron!

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MORE GOOD NEWS? BE STILL MY HEART!

2011-04-02T06:57:00.000-07:00

Just when I thought that I had gotten enough good news to carry me through another week, the following happens!

Madison, Wisconsin Radio Station Drops Glenn Beck
Posted on February 28, 2011, 1:29 pm ET by Charles M. Kozierok
Clearly it’s all because they are a bunch of commie-loving socialists:

WTDY can no longer carry the Glenn Beck program. Over the last 12 months, the show has devolved into plugs for Fox News (the radio version of which is aired by our direct competitor), his books, and other personal endorsements. The lack of actual content becomes more apparent daily. Monday’s program was the final straw; his unabashed deriding of Madison is unacceptable for broadcast in our community.

It took them how long to notice the “lack of content”? I mean, goodness, I’m as glad as anyone to see Beck get dropped for any reason, but if any of the above was a surprise, they should try actually listening to shows before putting them on the air.

No shit!

And then there's this!

Beck Dropped from Four Stations in CT
Posted on March 29, 2011, 7:07 pm ET by Charles M. Kozierok
Not “real America” of course, but still heartening:

“He bounces around pretty radically, I think he confuses people, they’re not sure where he is coming from,” said Rick Buckley, president of Buckley Radio of Greenwich, Conn., who spoke with Media Matters. “It can change day to day, hour to hour. Consistency is, I think, the path to success in broadcasting, in radio for sure, whether it be music or talk. Glenn is sort of all over the park from time to time.”

If by “time to time” he means “from the time the show starts until the time the show ends”, then he’s got it exactly right.

Again -- no shit!

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GOOD OLD FAIR AND UNBALANCED FAUX NEWS! PALM TREES? GIVE ME A BREAK!

2011-04-01T10:10:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been reading. I bought two books by John NIchols, a very engaging speaker as well as writer, whose work I first encountered through the Rachel Maddow and Ed Shultz shows on MSNBC at the height of the Madison marches in February. The first of the books, the one he wrote entirely himself, is entitled: "Dick - The Man Who is President" which confirmed my suspicions that Cheney was indeed the president for the eight years that Dubbya pretended that he was.

The book I am currently delving into is "Tragedy and Farce" "How the American Media sells wars, spins elections, and destroys Democracy".

It wasn't surprising to me when I received an e mail forwarded to me by my friend Linda Gruen with these two photos , one of which was run on FOX news on thursday, March 31.

In case you missed Fox's fair and balanced reporting, they ran the first photograph as a "Tea Party Protest" in Washington D.C., dismissing the small size of the crowd with the excuse that "it was drizzling".

Tea party organizers had high hopes for their rally in Washington, DC—high enough hopes that they arranged for Fox to give it live coverage.

Then something sad happened. Just a few dozen people showed up. And Fox, naturally, blamed the weather! Yeah, in all fairness and "balanceness", it was drizzling rain!

Well, WAAAH!

Yeah, the weather really killed the rally. Just like the only reason the rallies were so big in Madison, Wisconsin, this past February, was its gorgeous mid-winter weather - a huge 85,000 plus crowd got little coverage at all on Fox except for the producers to hunt through some close up footage showing police handling the union slobs and thugs - (complete with sunny blue skies and palm trees!).

The only Americans who saw that on TV and knew that the Wisconsin marches were entirely peaceful were those who were actually in attendance. And those intelligent enough to see PALM TREES IN THE BACKGROUND!!

Or here's another thought: maybe the Tea Party fizzle has something to do with the fact that the Tea Party isn't popular anymore.

Still you can be certain that every time a Tea Partier farts, FOX will be there to cover it!

If you get a chance, pick up John Nichols "Tragedy and Farce". you will never watch television news the same way again.

Which brings me to more of the latest "fiction" being tossed off as truth in TV ads supporting David Prosser for Wisconsin Supreme Court. The big dollar backing of "Citizens For a Stronger America" and "Americans For Prosperity", both funded by guess who? (The Koch Brothers and the Tea Party) are running two ads of pure fiction to try to defeat JoAnne Kloppenburg for Wisconsn State Supreme Court.

As I sat in the bar at Draganetti's awaiting my turn to perform at a private party last night, I saw two ads that really pissed me off!

Because they can’t win this campaign on the facts they resort to disrespectful and deceitful ad campaigns.

Let’s set the record straight on a couple of their most outrageous allegations:

Fiction: JoAnne put an 80-year-old farmer in jail for not planting native grasses on a field.

Fact: A farmer named Wayne Hensler in Jefferson County was ordered by the State of Wisconsin to take action to stop pollution from run-off from his farm going into Rock Lake. Mr. Hensler refused to do the work but finally agreed to pay to have others do the remediation work. Then he refused to pay the money he’d agreed to pay. Jefferson County Judge Randy Koschnick (who you may remember ran against Shirley Abrahamson) ordered Mr. Hensler to pay what he owed. He would not. Finally, another Judge in Jefferson County, John Ullsvik, found Hensler in contempt and put him in jail for a few days. Two facts are pertinent here: no attorney can put anyone in jail. Only a Judge can do that. Secondly, the farmer was jailed for contempt of court for refusing to pay money he had been repeatedly ordered to pay, not for “refusing to plant a field.”

Big money being used to try to mislead you: Our research shows that the “Citizens for a Stronger America” is spending about $526,000 on this TV ad.

Fiction: JoAnne is unqualified for the Court because she has never been a judge and because in the past she has applied for open judgeships for which others were chosen.

Fact: JoAnne is a graduate of Yale, Princeton and the UW Law School. She has been a prosecutor for 21 years. Her legal experience is broad and deep and she has tried numerous cases in Wisconsin Circuit Courts, the Court of Appeals and the Wisconsin Supreme Court. JoAnne has earned the endorsement of sitting Judges who know best what what it takes to do the job.

It is not unusual for attorneys who aren’t judges to be elected or appointed as a judge and many legal experts say it is healthy that judges come from a variety of backgrounds. David Prosser was not a judge when he was appointed to the Supreme Court. Nor was Shirley Abrahamson. One of the Supreme Court Justices David Prosser says he admires most, Justice Rehnquist was not a judge before being appointed to the United States Supreme Court.

It is also not unusual for attorneys to apply for open judgeships and JoAnne has applied for open seats. Those openings usually attract long lists of very qualified applicants and only one can be chosen. Some of those applicants end up not being selected for the judgeship and running for office. For example, Brian Blanchard applied to be an appeals court judge. He was not selected. He then ran for the Court and was elected handily.

Big money being used to try to mislead you: Our research shows that "Americans for Prosperity" and the Tea Party are spending about $45,000 on radio and TV ads with this fiction in it. It is also in the Citizens for a Stronger America ad.

So now it is up to us, average Wisconsin citizens, to help to get the facts out. With only five days before the election, quickly setting the record straight is crucial -- because spreading untrue statements about JoAnne is all that our opponents have left.

I have stated it before and here it is again: THIS ELECTION IS THE MOST IMPORTANT STATE ELECTION TO COME DOWN THE PIKE IN A LONG TIME!

With the following good news, JoAnne's election is even more important as she has campaigned on being entirely non-partisan and fair in her judgements of any and all suits bought before the high court. The same cannot be said for "rubber stamp" Prosser who lives in Scotty's back pocket.

MADISON, Wis. — A week ago, Wisconsin Republicans thought they'd won the fight over the state's polarizing union rights bill. They'd weathered massive protests, outfoxed Senate Democrats who fled the state and gotten around a restraining order blocking the law by having an obscure state agency publish it. They even started preparations to pull money from public workers' paychecks.

But the victory was short-lived. A judge ruled Friday that the restraining order will stay in place for at least two months she while considers whether Republicans passed the law illegally. It was the second blow to Republicans in as many days after the same judge declared Thursday that the law hadn't been properly published and wasn't in effect as they claimed.

Republicans now must either wait for the case to wind its way through the courts or pass the law again to get around complaints it wasn't done properly the first time. One GOP leader said Friday he didn't see much point in that.

"We passed the law correctly, legally the first time," Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said in a statement. "Passing the law correctly and legally a second or third time wouldn't change anything. It certainly wouldn't stop another activist judge and (a) room full of lawyers from trying to start this merry-go-round all over again."

The law would force public employees to pay more for their health care and pension benefits, which amounts to an 8 percent pay cut. It also would eliminate their ability to collectively bargain anything except wage increases no higher than inflation.

Republican Gov. Scott Walker has said the law is needed to help schools and local governments deal with cuts in state funding he expects to make to address an estimated $3.6 billion shortfall in the next two-year budget. His spokesman referred questions Friday to state Department of Administration officials, who declined to comment.

Democrats have said the bill is meant to weaken the public employee unions that have been some of their strongest campaign supporters. Its introduction in mid-February set off a month of protests that drew up to 85,000 people to the state Capitol and sent Senate Democrats scurrying to Illinois to block a vote in that chamber.

Republicans eventually got around the Democrats' boycott by removing fiscal provisions from the bill so it could be passed with fewer senators present.

Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi has been considering a lawsuit that claims Republican lawmakers violated the state's opening meetings law when they met to change the bill. The lawsuit filed by Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne says the state's open meetings law requires 24 hours notice of a meeting but Republicans provided barely two. Republican legislative leaders say proper notice was given under Senate rules.

Sumi heard testimony Friday from people who said they heard about the meeting only minutes before it began. They said they arrived to find long lines at the Capitol's entrances and by the time they reached the room where the meeting was held, police wouldn't allow them in.

Rich Judge, chief of staff for Assembly Democratic Leader Peter Barca, testified that someone dropped off a petition at Barca's office the night of the meeting that was signed by nearly 3,000 people who claimed they had been denied access.

Brian Gleason of Madison testified he reached the Senate parlor, where the committee hearing was being held, about 20 minutes before the meeting was scheduled to begin. He found a crowd of about 150 people and a line of police standing shoulder to shoulder denying access.

"Frankly, I was angry," he said. "At that point, the train going into the Senate parlor was already closed to me."

Sumi gave the attorneys until May 23 to make additional arguments, delaying a decision for nearly two months and possibly longer. Even when she does rule, one side or the other is likely to appeal in an attempt to get the case to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The state has already appealed her restraining order to the high court, but it has not said whether it will hear the case and is under no deadline to do so.

Two other, separate lawsuits also have been filed, which could further drag out the matter.

Anger over the bill also has prompted recall efforts against 16 state senators, including eight from each party. On Friday, Democrats announced they had collected enough signatures for a recall election against one of the Republicans.

It has been a week of good news and hope! The LaCrosse area has gathered well over enough recall signatures against Dan Kapanke. Let's hope that seven more will be filed before the deadline!

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THE SUN IS OUT, THE SKY IS BLUE, THERE'S NOT A CLOUD TO SPOIL THE VIEW

2011-03-29T12:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I got a call from my friend and "marketeer", Liz Fischer, and it looks like I just nailed a last minute gig for a private birthday party at Draganetti's restaurant here in Eau Claire this coming Friday evening.

I ain't gonna lie. at this point, ANY gigs that come in, last minute or not, are gifts from God!

In addition to doing a 45 minute set, it has been requested that I write a little "birthday ditty" for the guest of honor so I have spent most of today using e mails sent to me from the celebrant's friends to put into verse. I just sent out a first draft a bit ago to get reaction from my employer.

Now I am going to be spending the rest of the week going over song lyrics and some of the most recent jokes I have written so that my show isn't rusty come Friday night.

Looking back on my blogs I see I haven't written much since returning from Mexico. That is a sure sign that my "change of season" fibromyalgia and accompanying depression have hit me very hard, knocking the wind out of my sails.

I know I am depressed when it takes me three attempts t get my ass out of bed in the late morning and when the sight of yet another fresh snowfall makes me downright ill.

That coupled with all the horror stories of tsunamis, earthquakes, nuclear melt downs, reports of at least two nuclear plants in this country having been built in the 1970's directly over not one but TWO faults in the earth are not conducive to a bright outlook on life.

Then several days ago I received an in-depth e mail from somebody wanting me to invest in something other than the dollar as this entity firmly believes that the dollar is going belly up within the year and we will see food rioting, mass murder by released prison inmates, no fuel, and in general a chaos in this country never experienced before.

Pretty hard to "put on a happy face".

But the sun is shining today, temperatures will be above freezing, my wife and cats still love me, and although bread cost three times what it used to, we are still eating, paying for fuel, heat, and electricity - so far.

So gather ye rosebuds why ye may.

One consolation? We all only die once. And even if there is nothing beyond this life, going back to nothingness could be a definite improvement over being left behind.

Another consolation. All these son of a bitching greedy "mothers" who have brought us to this point will all die with us, too.

Maybe they have already established an underground living space for themselves. In a way, I hope so. Then they could get down to business and tear each other apart. I certainly would not want to share a space with Scott Walker or the Fitzgeralds. Just to name a few fuckheads.

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Wow. I just re-read! Did I say I was feeling better??

Here's something that the little bit of positivity left in me clings to. Please don't forget to vote on April 5th!! In fact, you don't have to wait. I didn't. I voted last week before Asshole Westrate decided we NEED him on the school board. Ignore that write in Teabagging son of a bitch!

Vote for Trish Cummins and Carol Craig. They are doing a great job. And read this:

We are United Wisconsin, the non-partisan grassroots Political Action Committee dedicated to the successful recall of Governor Scott Walker and Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch.

In this defining moment for the direction of Wisconsin's future. United Wisconsin is formally endorsing JoAnne Kloppenburg for Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice.

Working as Wisconsin's Assistant Attorney General since 1989, Kloppenburg has worked under four Attorneys General, both Democrat and Republican. JoAnne Kloppenburg has demonstrated the capacity to work as a non-partisan judge in legal matters.

"Supreme Court Justices should not act as advocates for any cause or group nor as legislators. Rather, Wisconsin residents deserve to have confidence that judges are impartial and independent decision-makers who apply the law fairly and clearly based on the law and the facts," Kloppenburg said. "That is what my backgound and broad legal experience have prepared me to do."

Her commitment to judicial integrity and code of conduct are welcome attributes for the standard Wisconsin citizens expect from their Supreme Court Justices.

For these reasons, United Wisconsin endorses JoAnne Kloppenburg for Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice. Vote April 5th. Don't know where to vote? Find out here.

Forward this email to your family and friends to spread the word about JoAnne Kloppenburg.

To support the Kloppenburg campaign visit http://www.KloppenburgForJustice.com
Get information to volunteer or endorse Kloppenburg here.

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You really need to get every one of your personal friends to understand how REALLY important this election is. If Dipshit Prosser defeats Kloppenburg our state is royally screwed! VOTE! And take committed Kloppenburg voters with you when you go!

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Oh - and long as I have you voting on something. Might as well vote on something FUN. Go to this URL:

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/post/_/id/6076097/which-team-really-america-team

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I will never forget Asshole Scotty for spoiling the afterglow of winning Super Bowl XLV

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SOMETHING'S ROTTEN IN THE STATE OF WISCONSIN - AND IT AIN'T THE CHEESE!

2011-03-20T10:12:00.000-07:00

I guess nothing in Republican politics should surprise me anymore. Still ...

There's Wisconsin State Senator Kate Obeirne who thinks that kids who need school lunches are victims of child abuse. O’Beirne, talking at a Republican strategy session sponsored by the Hudson Institute, went on a rant about children who need school lunches and the parents who rear them:

"The federal school lunch program and now breakfast program and I guess in Washington DC, dinner program are pretty close to being sacred cows… broad bipartisan support. And if we’re going to ask more of ourselves, my question is what poor excuse for a parent can’t rustle up a bowl of cereal and a banana? I just don’t get why millions of school children qualify for school breakfasts unless we have a major wide spread problem with child neglect.

“You know, I mean if that’s how many parents are incapable of pulling together a bowl of cereal and a banana, then we have problems that are way bigger than… that problem can’t be solved with a school breakfast, because we have parents who are just criminally… ah… criminally negligent with respect to raising children.”

Obviously she never met Jaelithe, who relied on the school lunch program to survive because her mother was young, single and poor, struggling to raise her daughter and get an education to better herself. Are these the words of an abused child, or just one raised in a world where the only outstretched hand was the government's? Exactly what part of Jaelithe's mother's "self" should have given more?

But going hungry — that is a different story. That's waking up in the morning hungry. Feeling, throughout the day, hungry. Lying in bed not able to sleep just yet because you are hungry. Dreaming about feeling hungry.

And there is not any trip to the taco place down the street and not a trip to McDonald's instead and not a trip to the farmer's market or the grocery store, either, because there is no money for those things. There is not even the option of a trip to the backyard for some homegrown tomatoes or cucumbers or strawberries because there is no yard when you live in a run-down apartment or a shelter or a car.

There is only your hollow-eyed mother who is hungrier than you are dividing the last stale crackers to make them last. Assuming that you are lucky enough to have a mother. And crackers.

This goes so far beyond the sacred right-wing cow of personal responsibility. It's outright cruelty. These pigs are out there shouting to give zillionaires a fat year-end bonus and extend it for a couple of years while sticking it to poor people who rely on programs like the school lunch and breakfast program to survive. Lest you think this was just a slip of the tongue,go here for more of her teabagging nonsense:

http://www.alan.com/2010/12/06/national-review-editor-kate-obeirne-thinks-kids-who-need-school-lunches-are-victims-of-child-abuse/

Maybe she should shut up and listen to what's going on around her for a change. If she did, she might not miss the fact that food banks are struggling to meet demand as more and more families struggle to keep roofs over their heads, sacrificing other necessities like food and clothing. Since 2006, the need for some form of assistance has tripled. Tripled.

Here's an example of someone O'Beirne considers a child abuser:

Elizabeth Brown looked tired.

When her husband, "the main money-maker" died three years ago, she was left with a 10- and a 5-year-old. She worked part time at Allegheny General Hospital in housekeeping with help from her family, "but they couldn't help that much. They're having hard times themselves."

She couldn't afford child care on her earnings, so she left the job and is now, at 40, raising a 13-year old and 8-year old on food stamps worth $550 a month.

There's a profile of a child abuser for Ms. O'Beirne.

Only in her little imaginary world. That's the only place that everyone has enough to eat and to feed their children. Anyone who doesn't must be a child abuser, because they should be able to slap together a banana and cereal in the morning.

If they had cereal. Or a banana.

Or the money to buy cereal and a banana.

This is the world of the heartless and the selfish, the teabagger. They trot through life making pronouncements on others with mighty conviction without ever having walked in the shoes of the poor and likely profiting from the sacrifices yanked from the vanishing ranks of the middle class. There is no humanity, no compassion, no understanding. Just a pair of bootstraps to beat up anyone less fortunate.

If, after reading this, you are feeling the need to make a donation to a nearby food bank to offset this woman's evil, there's a tool to find one near you, should you feel the same way. It's called GOOGLE.

Then there's our fine Wisconsin state Senator Randy Hopper, who left his wife for a 25 year old lobbyist, who, oddly enough, has now found a much better job.

This from blogger Rock Strongo at the Daily Kos:

"Sometimes looking way too much at google search can pay dividends. In this case it turns up a blog post from yesterday from the Madison, WI ABC affiliate that doesn't seem to have been reported anywhere else, including on the stations newscast.

Anyhow, it turns out in the world of coincidences that Wisconsin Republican Senator Randy Hopper's 26 year old mistress last month got a job with the Wisconsin Department of Regulation and Licensing as a "limited term communications specialist."

That is especially interesting since up until last weekend she was still being reported as a member of the lobbying firm Persuasion Partners.

From the post:

Sen. Randy Hopper (R-Fond du Lac) told WKOW27 News he played no role in the recent hire of a state employee.
Sources told WKOW27 News the employee is the same woman Hopper’s estranged wife, Alysia Hopper referred to as Hopper’s mistress in a public statement and in a letter to a radio station.

Department of Regulation and Licensing spokesperson David Carlson said the woman, 26, was hired in February as a limited term communications specialist.

Carlson said he had no details on whether the woman was hired to a newly-created position or a vacant, existing slot. Carlson said he also had no details on the hiring process or the woman’s salary.

There are many interesting issues that this raises. Hopper claims he played no role in the hiring. I would think a Freedom of Information Act request may be able to prove if that is true or not. Or what the process was for her being hired.

There is also the issue of if the mistress was in fact still working for the lobbying firm at the time she was working for the state.

Additionally I believe that her salary should be public record.

Something smells funny in Wisconsin, and it isn't the fromage!

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KLOPPENBURG WHISTLE STOPS IN EAU CLAIRE, GATHERS ENTHUSIASTIC CROWD

2011-03-18T08:35:00.000-07:00

Late yesterday afternoon Kim and I went down town Eau Claire to greet candidate for Wisconsin Supreme Court JoAnne Kloppenburg. I was really glad that we got an early start because by 5 PM, there was an overflow crowd.

Ms. Kloppenburg made her entrance shortly after 5 and was greeted by a standing ovation, the applause of which went on for at least two minutes. People are really fired up about this race because we know how important it is.

JoAnne spoke of her opponent's willingness to already state that he is a Walker backer, and how it is less than ethical to be running for a judgeship and announcing sides. How can that person make an impartial judgement on anything political when he has already openly proclaimed whose camp he is in?

Along that line, JoAnne stressed how important it is for any candidate, including herself, to remain totally impartial and to weigh each case on it's merits.

She then told us a little about herself. She graduated from Yale, did graduate work at Harvard, married, and then she and here husband joined the Peace Corps and worked in Botswana. She then returned to the United States, and while beginning to raise a family, went back to school in law.

Since she started campaigning she has logged over 8,000 miles criss- crossing Wisconsin in her mother-in-law's Buick. (That line got a hearty laugh).

We came away from the meet and greet with a strong feeling of knowing we had just met someone who would be a great Supreme Court Justice as she will be hard but fair in her decisions, and not along party lines.

If you would like to learn more about her, go to her web site at : www.kloppenburgforjustice.com. I know I discussed this already in yesterday's blog, but it is very very important that all of us get out the vote and elect JoAnne. By so doing we will send a loud and clear message to Governor Walker that Wisconsin is a freedom loving progressive state and we intend to remain just that!

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STATE, TOWNS, COUNTIES FLOODED WITH PUBLIC EMPLOYEES LETTERS OF RESIGNATION, RETIREMENT

2011-03-17T08:54:00.000-07:00

Ever since Governor Walker announced his intention to strip every public employee in Wisconsin of their collective bargaining rights there has been a lot of activity. The protests and recalls have garnered national attention and a lot of love and support from Kossacks. However, there is activity which no one but insiders have noticed.

Retirement offices in every state, county, city, town, and village have been flooded with public employees who want to retire before the bill goes into effect. Nearly everyone eligible to retire wants to lock in their retirement before the loss of collective bargaining takes its toll on their retirement benefits. Without collective bargaining, public employees will not be able to negotiate the sustainment of their current retirement benefits and they can be unilaterally changed at any time.

We know that Walker isn't done peeling wages and benefits away from state workers. Stripping their collective bargaining rights is only the first step. Without unions, Walker will be able to dictate wages, pensions, and benefits for every state worker. Other public employees, who will be able to negotiate wages only (up to the cost of living and no more), can have their pensions, benefits and working conditions reduced at the whim of their municipal officials. Some mayors and county executives might be more than happy to balance their budgets, too, on the backs of their employees.

As a result, the retirement offices are very, very busy. Then the blowback begins.

State and municipal employers will be losing a large number of experienced staff in one fell swoop. Certainly they will still have employees in the workforce who are not eligible for retirement, but imagine losing a third of your staff that is the most experienced and knowledgable and losing them at the same time.
As an aside to those public employees who are retiring in Wisconsin, I want to let you know that while you are locking in your retirement benefits before they become unilaterally changed, you are not completely safe from future changes. Municipalities have tried to change benefits for retirees in the past, but have been prevented from doing so by a Wisconsin State Supreme Court decision that no changes can be made for those already retired. You may have noticed the major effort to pack right wing judges onto the Wisconsin State Supreme Court over the past several years. Should there be success in tilting the court, I wouldn't put it past Scott Walker or others to try to get that decision reversed.

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PROSSER WOOS TEA PARTY AND IN BED WITH KOCHS AND WISCONSIN MANUFACTURERS & COMMERCE

2011-03-17T07:40:00.000-07:00

Stripped of their ideological cloak of trickle-down economics, flawless market efficiency and deregulation utopia, right-wing leaders have resorted to a bare-naked power grab. A small group of plutocrats seek to slash our rights to the bone - whether it means eliminating our freedom of union association, our right to choose abortion or our right to make safe alternative energy choices.

As we look to the near future, it’s obvious that something has got to give. Just a few months ago, prospects for a tangible, justice-based movement were dark. However, it feels and sounds like real change is afoot! In Wisconsin and around the country, people are speaking their minds on the streets and in public forums, calling out the plutocrats and demanding an end to the abuse of the many for the sake of the few.

That's why it is imperative that you circle April 5th, 2011, on your calendar and write in big letters VOTE! The election for Wisconsin State Judge, in my opinion, is more important an election than any that has come down the pike.

That is because if EVERYONE gets out and votes (I am setting my alarm clock for 7 AM and doubt that I will get much sleep the night before) we can unseat David Prosser, who, to put it mildly, is in Scott Walker's pocket.

Paul Soglin, a name everyone should be familiar with in Wisconsin politics had this to say about the upcoming election:

"Should a candidate for reelection to the legal equivalent of a referee declare in advance that he'll make all his calls for his political hometown team?

Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg has blasted Supreme Court Justice David Prosser for his campaign manager's recent statement that his job would:

... include building an organization that will return Justice Prosser to the bench, protecting the conservative judicial majority and acting as a common sense complement to both the new administration and Legislature.

Kloppenburg suggests we should be outraged:

The Prosser campaign's suggestion that as a Justice, Prosser sees his role and the work of the Supreme Court as a "complement" to the political and policy agenda of the Governor and a legislature is deeply disturbing.

For a sitting judge to promise that he will work to further the ends of the other two branches of government shows an enormous disregard for the separation of powers and the role of the court as an independent, impartial body that ought to promise just one thing: to decide cases on the law and the facts brought forth in those cases."

And in a recent news story headlined:

Thousands Drawn to Tea Party Convention in the Dells

WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. (AP) -- Republicans and conservative tea party members railed against health care reform, global warming legislation and government spending at a convention Saturday that attracted about 2,000 people.

The meeting, organized by the conservative group Americans for Prosperity and dubbed an unofficial tea party convention, brought together numerous Republican officeholders, party leaders and candidates in addition to national speakers like "Joe the Plumber" and Michael Reagan, the son of former President Ronald Reagan.

Speakers said they were defending America's freedoms by opposing cap-and-trade energy proposals, tax increases, health care reform and economic stimulus bills backed by Democrats.

"We are not the party of no," said Tim Nerenz, a Libertarian candidate for Wisconsin's 2nd Congressional District, which covers Madison. "We are the party of hell, no. Do you want to give them your money? Hell, no! Do you want to give them your gun? Hell, no! Do you want to give them your health care?"

The crowd, picking up the chant, yelled, "Hell, no!"

Anti-tax zealot Grover Norquist said seeing Republicans vote for tax increases was like finding a rat head in a soft drink can.

"They damage the brand for everyone else," he said.

The meeting came roughly a year after the first tea party rallies in the state and nationwide. Wisconsin tea party organizers say they have no interest in starting a third political party and instead want to work closely with Republicans.

Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus thanked convention attendees for giving GOP candidates a chance to rebuild the party.

"I know we've got a long way to go," he said.

No Democratic officeholders or candidates spoke at the meeting or had booths, while there were numerous Republicans. Republican state Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen and U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., were among the speakers, while U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., appeared in a videotaped message.

A number of Republican candidates also were there, including candidate for governor Scott Walker, in addition to officially nonpartisan state Supreme Court justices Michael Gableman and David Prosser. Prosser, a former Republican state lawmaker, spoke out against changing the state's system for electing Supreme Court justices to having them appointed.

Americans for Prosperity national president Tim Phillips urged convention attendees to work together to oppose health care reform and what he called President Barack Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's "radical agenda."

Liberal muckraker Scot Ross, who is director of the advocacy group One Wisconsin Now, dubbed the convention a "Republican Rally for Failure." Ross said the tea party movement is an anti-Obama effort that was designed to obstruct and ensure the failure of the president's agenda.

"This was never anything more than rallying Republican base members," Ross said.

Tea party followers are an independent force that kowtows to no political party or interest group, said Mark Block, president of Americans for Prosperity in Wisconsin.

Nancy Milholland, 47, an unemployed sales manager and organizer of the Racine County Tea Party, said tea party followers were frustrated conservatives.

"We are about smaller government, less spending, national security," she said. "If the Democratic Party decided that was their route, we would be for them."

And in Ed Garvey's blog of March 10th, he states:

The problem is David Prosser

What's next? Well, pause and ask if the Republicans violated the Open Meeting laws with the slick maneuver yesterday. Assume they did. Who will ultimately decide? The State Supreme Court, and that means David Prosser will decide as the swing vote on the 7-person court.

You know Prosser as the "WMC Justice." Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce put about $6 million into his campaign. They spent like drunken sailors on leave. But they were not drunk; they knew what they were purchasing and so do you. When the Walker bill is tested in the Courts, who will ultimately decide if it violates the Wisconsin Constitution? David Prosser! Did the attorney for DOA and the secretary perjure themselves when they told Judge Albert that demonstrators caused $7.5 million in damage to the Capitol? (No sensible person could have suggested that amount, so someone lied.) Who will ultimately decide? Yup! The state Supreme Court, and that means David Prosser will decide if his pals in the Walker administration lied in court to advance their cause.

I have seen Prosser in the Legislature where he often "lost it" in debate. I have seen him on the Court and I saw him charge the Speaker of the Assembly waiving his fist. Yes, David Prosser is as predictable as the sun rising in the east.

What's next? April 5 is next. If Prosser loses the election almost everything will change in state government. So, get the recall moving, keep demonstrating, but remember April 5! "

And finally, there is this from Dave Zweifel, editor emeritus of The Capital Times, Madison:

Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser’s temperament has raised a few eyebrows over the years.
There was the time back when he was speaker of the Assembly that he threw a temper tantrum on the Assembly floor, pounding the podium and screaming at other representatives, because a film crew was there documenting debate on a health care bill. Prosser felt it was all about getting film for political purposes.
Then there was the contentious Supreme Court administrative hearing in 2009 when he not only blew up at Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson, but launched into a tirade against witnesses who were there advocating tough rules for judges to recuse themselves when principals in a case had contributed big bucks to their election campaigns.
According to sources, turns out it was not the first time for a Prosser tantrum while he was serving on the high court. The only difference was that this time the hearing was open to the public for all to witness.
Prosser and his three conservative colleagues on the seven-member court had come under fire for adopting recusal rules written by the big business lobby, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, which is far from a disinterested party. WMC has spent more than any other group on recent Supreme Court races, dropping millions most recently to elect conservatives Annette Ziegler and Michael Gableman. And Prosser, who is now up for re-election this spring himself, did not take kindly to the criticism.
Now some are questioning Prosser’s actions on the campaign trail. One of his opponents in the Feb. 15 primary, Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg, is appalled that Prosser’s campaign manager said that the Prosser campaign was putting together an organization to return the justice to the bench, “protecting the conservative judicial majority and acting as a common sense complement to both the new (Walker) administration and (Republican-controlled) Legislature.”
“For a sitting judge to promise that he will work to further the ends of the other two branches of government shows an enormous disregard for the separation of powers and the role of the court as an independent, impartial body that ought to promise just one thing: to decide cases on the law and the facts brought forth in those cases.”
Further, Mike McCabe, executive director of the nonpartisan campaign finance watchdog Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, released a letter his organization received from a prominent attorney who, for fear of reprisal, asked for anonymity.
The attorney said he was at a board meeting of the Wisconsin Association for Justice (formerly the Trial Lawyers Association) in early December when Prosser appeared to ask for its support.
“Justice Prosser indicated that he wished the trial lawyers to know that if the race led him to being attacked from the ‘left,’ he would move to the right and the trial lawyers would suffer for it. He said it would be in the best interest of the trial lawyers if he stayed in the middle.
“It should be noted that Justice Prosser’s comments to the WAJ had been made privately to other individuals who reported that he was contacting them for support. In his contact, he would indicate that if he was not supported by those on what he considers the ‘left,’ he would move to the right in his decision-making if he were to be re-elected.
“These are clearly questionable campaign tactics for someone who seeks to sit on the Wisconsin Supreme Court,” the lawyer concluded.

No kidding.

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EXERCISE YOUR AMERICAN RIGHT AS A VOTER - WHILE YOU STILL HAVE IT

2011-03-16T10:42:00.000-07:00

Circle Tuesday, April 5, 2011 in red ink! Put APRIL 5 on your calendar and get out to vote for Joanne Kloppenburg for State Supreme Court. Right now it is the most important action in which to partake to help put a stop to the arrogance of the Wisconsin Republicans!

Do not take this election lightly! Our future hangs in the balance.

WALKER JUST A LITTLE MAGGOT IN THE BIG PICTURE

2011-03-16T09:59:00.000-07:00

Every day I wake up thinking maybe I have mellowed a bit about what is happening in what used to be the great progressive state of Wisconsin but by the time I have finished my first cup of coffee I am totally pissed off again!

And that's a good thing.

Wisconsinites need to stay angry for the entire next year so that we can get the work of recalling these bastards finished. Personally I can't wait to get my assigned area to canvass area residents not only because of the importance of the project but to get a chance to visit with fellow voters and get a feel for what everyone thinks.

I am certain I will run into those who voted for Walker and because they did, no matter what he does, he can do no wrong. In my way of thinking these people are not people - they are "sheeple", willingly following the orders of the wealthy on their way to the slaughter house.

And here is another piece of truth:

If educators in the state of Wisconsin are guilty of anything, public schoolteachers have failed miserably by producing the most incompetent, mean-spirited legislators in U.S. history.

And of course the left blames that on the teachers. When are we going to realize that the first line of education is in the home where parents should be teaching their children the principles of true democracy all the while they are growing up, including competence, fair-mindedness, and good will?

But just as with everything else these days, the only ones who have the responsibility to teach are the teachers! I witnessed that way back in 1976 and it one of the principal reasons i bailed when I did.

I am proud to say that I and my former spouse did a very good job of instilling in our offspring the importance of learning to think for themselves and actually do some READING. They are now capable of carrying on intelligent discussions of current events and what is right and wrong.

Still, with the horrific events in Japan, I can't help but wonder if it is going to make any difference what any of us think. There are a number of nuclear power plants in California located right on the fault line and we have been repeatedly warned that the west coast is way overdue for major earth quakes.

One would think that there would be major concern in our senate over the situation and that instead of pouring trillions of dollars into wars, that the money would be used to put people to work, making these plants totally impervious to the worst earth quakes possible.

This will never happen because of one thing. AMERICAN GREED. We will continue to give oil companies huge tax breaks and bail out banks to maintain the top two per cent of wealthy Americans.

I used to think that all the talk of the world ending on December 21, 2012, was claptrap. Now I am not so sure. With the recent disasters in New Orleans, the increase in virulent storms, earth quakes in areas that have never had them before, extreme changes in climate, and now four nuclear reactors in near meltdown in Japan, humanity is in great danger of extinction.

The consolation? At least the rich bastards will die with us, clutching their money bags.

There, I said it.

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IN ONLY 3 DAYS CANVASSERS COLLECT 45% OF SIGNATURES NEEDED TO RECALL 8 REPUBLICAN SENATORS

2011-03-15T15:11:00.001-07:00

Today this article needs to be shared with all working class Americans who "get it" and will take it no longer:

Massive Protest in Wisconsin Shows Walker's Overreach
Tuesday 15 March 2011
by: Lindsay Beyerstein | The Media Consortium | News Analysis

About 100,000 people gathered in Madison, Wisconsin to protest Gov. Scott Walker's new anti-collective bargaining law. The state Senate hurriedly past the bill without a quorum last Wednesday. Roger Bybee of Working In These Times reports:

The rally featured 50 farmers on tractors roaring around the Capitol to show their support for public workers and union representatives from across the nation, stressing the importance of the Wisconsin struggle. Protesters were addressed by a lineup of fiery speakers including fillmaker Michael Moore, the Texas populist radio broadcaster Jim Hightower, TV host Laura Flanders, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, and The Progressive editor Matt Rothschild, among others.

The bill is law, but the fight is far from over. The Wisconsin Democratic Party says it already has 45% of the signatures it needs to recall 8 Republican state senators. So far, canvassers have collected 56,000 signatures, up from 14,000 last weekend. The surge in signature gathering is another sign that the Walker government's abrupt push to pass the bill has energized the opposition.

Polling bolsters the impression that Walker overreached by forcing the bill through with a dubious procedural trick. Simeon Talley of Campus Progress notes that, according to a recent New York Times/CBS News poll, Americans oppose efforts to limit the collective bargaining rights of public employees.

Jamelle Bouie of TAPPED notes that the enthusiasm gap that helped elect Scott Walker last year has disappeared. In June 2o10, 58% of Democrats said they were certain to vote compared to 67% of Republicans. In March 2011, 86% of Democrats and 85% of Republicans surveyed said they would certainly vote.

At a time when it's often tough to tell the difference between the corporate news and its advertisements, it's essential to keep independent journalism strong. Support Truthout today by clicking here.

Firefighters Shut Down Bank

Wisconsin firefighters found a way to get back at one of Scott Walker's most generous donors, Madison's M&I Bank, Julianne Escobedo Shepherd reports in AlterNet. Firefighters Local 311 President Joe Conway put a call out to his members who banked with M&I to "Move Your Money." Firefighters withdrew hundreds of thousands of dollars of savings in cashiers checks. The beleaguered bank closed its doors at 3pm on March 10.

John Nichols of the Nation reports that other unions got in on the act. He quotes a pamphlet distributed by Sheet Metal Workers International Association Local 565:

“M&I execs gave more money than even the Koch Brothers to Governor Walker and the Wisconsin GOP,” the message goes. “M&I got a $1.7 billion bailout while its CEO gets an $18 million golden parachute. Tell M&I Bank: Back Politicians Who Take Away Our Rights (and) We Take Away Your Business.”

Nichols explains that the next big step in the fight to overturn the bill will be the Wisconsin Supreme Court election, set for April 5. Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg is challenging conservative state Supreme Court Justice David Prosser. Legal analysts have raised serious questions about the bill and the process by which it was passed. A court challenge to Walker's law might stand a better chance if a liberal justice replaces the conservative pro-corporate Prosser.

Guess What? We're Not Broke

Steve Benen of the Washington Monthly takes on a GOP talking point, the myth that the United States is broke. It's a convenient claim for those who wish to make massive cuts to popular programs without having to justify taking them away. If we don't have the money, we don't have the money. If it's a choice between cuts and bankruptcy, cuts suddenly seem not only acceptable, but inevitable.

But the United States has a $15 trillion economy, immense natural resources, a highly educated workforce, and countless other economic advantages. The problem isn't a lack of resources, it's extreme inequality of distribution. Over the last 20 years, 56% of income growth has been funneled to the top 1% of the population, with fully one third of that money going to the richest one-tenth of one percent.

Benen notes that the Republicans didn't think we were broke when they were advocating for a $538 billion tax-cut package, which wasn't offset by a dime of cuts.

This post features links to the best independent, progressive reporting about the economy by members of The Media Consortium. It is free to reprint. Visit the Audit for a complete list of articles on economic issues, or follow us on Twitter. And for the best progressive reporting on critical economy, environment, health care and immigration issues, check out The Mulch, The Pulse and The Diaspora. This is a project of The Media Consortium, a network of leading independent media outlets.

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PLAYA GRANDE A WELCOME RESPITE FROM BOTH THE COLD CLIMATE AND THE CORPORATE MINIONS OF THE MASTER OF THE BIG LIE

2011-03-14T13:32:00.000-07:00

Looking through the myriad of photographs I took last week brings back the warmth and joy of the very special week we spent out of the country.

I had some trepidation about Mexico, having read about the increase of violence lately between drug lords and law enforcement but that was quickly forgotten after several days of the great hospitality we found on the beaches, in the restaurants, and the market where we spent a leisurely afternoon bargaining on clothing and jewelry.
I arrived at the airport wearing the protective plastic boot that I had been issued for stability of the ankle for the duration of stay. However, by the middle of the week I no longer felt that I needed the boot as the warmth of the Mexico sunshine seemed to have healing powers. The swelling and pain around my ankle began dissipating and although I missed some of the activities (Kim and Kristi went whale watching one morning) by the weekend I was able to get around well enough that I could walk down town to the open market and the marina.

Throughout our stay we had excellent food and we were adamant in ordering dishes that were authentic to the area.

Pictured here are the two dishes that the three of us shared at a quaint open air restaurant just off the marina itself. Today of course, I cannot remember the name of the restaurant but the open air atmosphere was condusive to good appetites.

We decided to order two different dishes and then share them among the three of us. The shrimp burritos pictured, served with a tasty guacamole and the chicken enchiladas accompanied with a Spanish pilaf were absolutely heavenly.

Adding even more to the sunny atmosphere and great food was the arrival of two very adroit musicians, both of whom played spanish guitar and sang. They sang a Santana tune for us before moving on to another table.

As neither Kim nor Kristi are consumers of alcohol, I took it upon myself to be the assigned taster of beer and tequila. I ordered a bottle of Negra Modelo, a brew I was familiar with thanks to the Castro Brothers Eau Claire restaurant. I also told our waiter to bring me a shot of the establishment's very finest tequila.

Again, I don't recall the brand, but it was the smoothest tequila I have ever imbibed in and I sipped it slowly to savor it.
That afternoon was spent by one of the many swimming pools right below our time/share.

My wife and sister-in-law were kind enough to let me know when a particularly well built, bronzed beauty came into view in the skimpiest of bikinis.

I can attest that the old saw is true: Men, no matter how old they get, never tire of admiring the female form!

However, I must admit that the last night we slept over, I didn't sleep very well as I was in excited anticipation of returning home to our kitties and the comfort of our own house and bed.

The plane arrived in Minneapolis at 6:30PM (right on schedule), and after clearing customs, we went outside to see if we could find Patty, who arrived in my car with her brother driving.

Within fifteen minutes, they found us at the Delta gate number 6 and we were on our way home.

It was a great vacation! And I want to thank Patty Stangel very much for not only taking us up to the airport and then picking us up when we got back, but for taking such good care of our "children"

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VACATION DAMPENED BY EVENTS IN OUR HOME STATE CAPITOL

2011-03-12T19:26:00.000-08:00

So it is Saturday night and Kim, her sister, Kristi, and I are busily repacking our suit cases as we prepare to catch a shuttle bus from the Wilsons' time share here at Playa Grande, a beautiful set of apartment buildings right on the beaches facing the Pacific Ocean.

We left home at 5 am last Sunday. Driving up to Minneapolis with us was Patty Stangel who in addition to being our delivery person, has been mother to our kitties Hammy and Stella all week long.

She will be meeting us at the main doors of the Minneapolis airport when we get in tomorrow and we will be heading for home as soon as we get in.

this has been a wonderful week of sunshine, great Mexican food, and a chance to interact with the natives of the area, all which are very friendly and helpful.

The only rain on our parade was the announcements on television concerning the ongoing war in Madison between Herr Walker and his goose stepping goons.

Both Kim and I were sorry to have missed out on the chance to gather together with the hard working unappreciated public sector workers who have been treated so poorly.

We watched as Scott Walker was exposed as a big time liar who kept repeating the bigl LIE "It's all about balancing the buget" "It's all about balancing the budget!"

The truth? IT'S ALL ABOUT BREAKING THE UNIONS

But the time has come to put down the protest signs and take up the clipboards and pens and throw the bastards out through RECALL.

I only hope I can help!

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