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Kevin Fischer is a veteran broadcaster, the recipient of over 150 major journalism awards from the Milwaukee Press Club, the Wisconsin Associated Press, the Northwest Broadcast News Association, the Wisconsin Bar Association, and others. He has been seen and heard on Milwaukee TV and radio stations for over three decades. A longtime aide to state Senate Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature, Kevin can be seen offering his views on the news on the public affairs program, "InterCHANGE," on Milwaukee Public Television Channel 10, and heard filling in on Newstalk 1130 WISN. He lives with his wife, Jennifer, and their lovely baby daughter, Kyla Audrey, in Franklin.

There were many great Olympic moments....

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 1, 2010

Inspirational stories


But this one was tough to beat:





A Daughter's Story

"Convinced by her mother she would win a medal at the 2010 Olympic Games, Canada's Joannie Rochette weeks earlier selected Madonna's "Die Another Day' for her program in the Olympic Gala on Saturday night, an exhibition of the Games' top figure skaters.

The musical choice would add to the sense of surreal in a week of extreme and heartbreaking contrasting emotions for Rochette."

Spring has officially arrived in Franklin

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 1, 2010


I don't care what the TV weather folks or groundhog say.

Spring is here.

These critters....







 

Read more

The "good" husband or, what happens to guys when they get older

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 1, 2010


Over the weekend, I saw a friend of mine, an older gentleman who I knew had been to the Milwaukee Auto Show earlier in the week.

As we got into a conversation about the show, I asked if he saw any “hot models?”

Of course, I was referring to…..







Without hesitation, my friend replied, “You mean those older cars?”

He is definitely a devoted husband who will live a heckuva lot longer.

On a more serious note, he told me no one was stopping (no pun intended) to check out the Toyota section at the show. Imagine that.

Say No to More and Bigger Government

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 1, 2010

              


Say No to More and Bigger Government

Senator Chuck Schumer strikes again...



Washington D.C. just doesn't get it. First it was Card Check, then more spending with the boondoggle budgets, next cap and trade, CFPA and of course health care.

You'd think they would get the message that the American people don't think more government is the solution to get our economy back on track.

Of course, Washington isn't exactly known for its common sense. So now, the Senate is going to continue to negotiate on a yet another new bill to regulate America's financial industry -- and of course they are trying to ram it through before elections are any closer.

The latest proposal threatens to harm businesses and jobs, decrease consumer choice, and create more bureaucratic red tape. Shocker.

Unfortunately, it's just more of the same.

Click here to email your Senators to urge them to oppose the misnamed "Shareholder Bill of Rights".

Originally introduced by Sen. Charles Schumer, this proposal would federalize state corporate law, creating a one-size-fits-all approach that takes power away from investors and gives it to Washington bureaucrats.

This bad idea will likely create unintended consequences that will harm economic growth and job creation and force American businesses overseas.

Please email your Senators today to oppose this flawed proposal.

We encourage the Senate Banking Committee to go back to the drawing board and draft solutions that actually allow American businesses to be competitive job creators without adding more bureaucracy and increased costs on taxpayers, consumers and businesses. Basically, just use common sense.

Contact your Senators today and let them know you don't support turning back the clock on our free enterprise system by federalizing our businesses.

Sincerely,


Bill Miller
Senior Vice President and National Political Director
U.S. Chamber of Commerce

The latest News You Can Use from WRTL

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 1, 2010

Wisconsin Right To Life News You Can Use  
In This Issue:
 
Important Right To Life Links

Showdown Vote in House on Pro-Abortion Health Care Bill Likely This Month!

Kyla's Korner- Musings of a Mother (03/01/10)

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 1, 2010

Kyla's Korner


By Jennifer Fischer
Mother of beautiful angel, Kyla

I can’t begin to guess how many times in one day I tell Kyla that she is beautiful.  She IS beautiful… every baby is.  Everyone in our family tells her she is pretty, as do complete strangers.  I’m not sure what it is, exactly, with our society:  we feel perfectly comfortable telling a baby or very young girl that she is pretty.  But then there comes a certain age in a girl’s life when it becomes inappropriate, or at least very uncommon, to tell her that she is gorgeous.  It seems to me that it is about the time in the young lady’s life when she needs to hear it the most. 

 

Read more

Thou shalt not stand

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 1, 2010


Take a good look at this evil, threatening, harmful monument.




2004 file photo: Tulsa World

The 8-foot tall Ten Commandments marker on the lawn of the Haskell County Courthouse in Stigler, Oklahoma is probably coming down.

The U.S. Supreme Court is refusing to hear a case surrounding the monument. So a lower court ruling that the marker must go will stand.

Atheists are dancing in the street.

The World's First Online Video Bible

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 1, 2010


A federal lawsuit filed on behalf of three pupils accuses the school district of Willis, Texas of refusing to allow children to carry or read the Bible.

"My daughters called me, were hysterical, and said, 'Mama, they took our Bibles and called them garbage and threw them in the garbage and then threatened to call Child Protective Services,' " Deborah Bedenbender, a Willis homemaker told the Houston Chronicle back in 2000.

Those school administrators and teachers can’t stop this.

Beginning today, anyone in the world will be able to take part in a first of its kind: an online video Bible. They simply read their chosen passages from Scriptures on camera and then upload the videos to a web site.
 

Read more

Sure Obama wanted to listen to Republicans....really he did!

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 1, 2010

Read more

Obamacare prospects on thin ice

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 2, 2010

Political Cartoon by Michael Ramirez


Why Obama's Great Bet Will Fail

"In a sense, he's sort of backed into a corner. He hasn't improved the economy, the unemployment situation has not stabilized--much less improved, Gitmo is still open, four terror attacks against the U.S. have happened on his watch, and people are tired of all of his speeches--while seeing no results. The American people are telling CNN, not Fox News, that they do not like the President's priorities, nor his policies."

Ricardo Pimentel, do you actually read the Journal Sentinel?

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 2, 2010


Great column by Ken Blackwell, a senior fellow at the Family Research Council and American Civil Rights Union. It’s titled, “Do Liberal Editors Read Their Newspapers?"  Here are excerpts:

“In recent Philadelphia Inquirer comes a horrific story of a dirty, dangerous, and deadly abortion center. The abortionist, Kermit Baron Gosnell, has been killing unborn children for almost forty years. The long trail of women killed and disastrous abortion practices he approved makes for depressing -- but necessary – reading.

Contrast this with a beautiful story this week from the New York Times by Benedict Carey: "Evidence That Little Touches Do Mean So Much." This article describes touching as ‘the first language we learn.’ The piece reviews the work of Berkeley psychology professor Dacher Keltner. The touch of the human hand remains ‘our richest means of emotional expression" throughout life.’

I hope the editors of the New York Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer will actually read their own papers and seriously reflect on their meaning before they editorialize in such antiseptic terms about abstractions like ‘a woman's freedom to choose’.”

Here’s Blackwell’s piece.

Doctors inflicting death on children

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 2, 2010

If this is true, then it’s an abomination.

A study just published in the March edition of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine analyzed interviews with parents of 141 children who had died of cancer and were treated at three hospitals in Boston and Minnesota.  In the following excerpt from the study, HD stands for “hastening death,” or administering drugs to the children to end life:

“Nineteen of 141 parents (13%; 95% CI, 8%-19%) reported that they had considered asking about HD, and 13 parents (9%; 95% CI, 4%-14%) reported having discussed intentionally ending their child's life. Five parents (4%; 95% CI, 0.5%-7%) reported having explicitly asked a clinician for medications to end the child's life, and 3 parents (2%; 95% CI, 0%-3%) reported that their child's life was intentionally ended with medication. In all 3 cases, the medication used was morphine.”

I guess the hell with that oath they take.

And shame on those parents.  If it was my little child, I’d want medical staff to do everything they could to help and not give up.

Read more from ABC News.

The Kevin Fischer "Whippersnapper Hall of Fame"- Inductee #14

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 2, 2010

Whippersnapper Hall of Fame


She is Keli Carender who gets credit for founding the massive Tea Party movement that has swept the country.

The New York Times recently published a profile of Carender:

“I basically thought to myself: ‘I have two courses. I can give up, go home, crawl into bed and be really depressed and let it happen. Or I can do something different, and I can find a new avenue to have my voice get out.’

The daughter of Democrats who became disaffected in the Clinton years, Ms. Carender, 30, began paying attention to politics during the 2008 campaign, but none of the candidates appealed to her. She had studied math at Western Washington University before earning a teaching certificate at Oxford — she teaches basic math to adult learners — and began reading more on economics, particularly the writings of Thomas Sowell, the libertarian economist, and National Review.

Reading about the stimulus, she said, ‘it didn’t make any sense to me to be spending all this money when we don’t have it. It seems more logical to me that we create an atmosphere where private industry can start to grow again and create jobs,’ she said.

Her fiancé, Conor McNassar, urged her to channel her complaints into a blog, which she called Liberty Belle.

It was not enough.”

So she organized a porkulus protest, and the fever spread into a nationwide phenomenon.

At her blog, Carender writes she has received, guess what? You got it.....many angry comments from the warm, fuzzy, compassionate left:

“Most of the attacks consisted of the usual hyperbole and empty, hateful rhetoric of people who presume themselves to be intellectually and morally superior to anyone who does not share a liberal, progressive or left-wing ideology. They demonstrate a proclivity for ad hominem attacks, appealing to prejudice, emotion and irrationality, rather than intellect or reason.

This inability to discuss principles without personal insults is on full display in the comment wishing that I ‘or somebody very close to [me] gets a serious long-term illness and [I] get to see real close what happens to them in our crappy disjointed medical system.’ During the heat and drama of the left’s protests against the Iraq war, I do not recall ever reading a comment by a conservative wishing a terrorist attack on a progressive or their family so that they would better comprehend the need to fight terrorism. This propensity to engage in personal attacks is also seen in the liberals’ efforts to denigrate the Tea Party movement with juvenile name-calling. However, at the end of the day, ad hominem attacks can be ignored.”

Stay strong, passionate, and committed, Ms. Carender!


THE KEVIN FISCHER "WHIPPERSNAPPER HALL OF FAME"

1) The Conservative Casanova

2) American Sweetheart

3) Eva Lorraine Molina

4) Matt Kallerud

5) Hannah Giles

6) Jillian Bandes

7) Jonathan McCoy

8) James O’Keefe

9) Jackie Seal

10) Jill Metzler

11) Ron Fournier

12) Jake Shafer

13) Bree McMahon

14) Keli Carender

Will people pay to get their newspaper online?

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 2, 2010


“I think it’s a very short term strategy and it will die with its readers.”
Jeff Jarvis, CUNY journalism professor

Jarvis appeared today with former newspaper editor Alan Mutter on NPR’s Radio Times, a one-hour discussion program produced by WHYY in Philadelphia.

It’s a fascinating and yes, quite grim discussion about the current status and its future. Here are, and I’m paraphrasing, some of the comments made by Jarvis and Mutter:

Hoping consumers will pay for online news and expecting it to work is a pretty tough call after the product has been free for years.

Despite the fact that the Internet and web browsers aren’t new, newspapers continue to struggle trying to adapt.

The change is too great, the cost is too great and the pain is too great. The future of news is more entrepreneurial as opposed to institutional. Newspapers are too high-bound by an old cost structure of doing things the old way.

The newspaper industry got too fat and too happy for too long in a monopoly-type scenario.

They don’t know how to innovate.

Newspaper revenues have just collapsed, losing almost half of their total revenue since 2005. That’s a major crisis that takes their eye off the ball of doing anything innovative. They are not capable of thinking differently because they’re in a state of abject panic.

Reality is harsh. One editor of a highly respected paper told one of the guests she thought it would be best if the institutions just died so they could be replaced and get on with doing journalism again.

This edition of Radio Times is very enlightening.

And by the way, that idea of charging to see news online has been a disaster in one example.

And we should release registered sex offenders....

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 2, 2010


Why?


Political Cartoons by Steve Breen

Franklin blasts Muskego in boy's basketball regional

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 2, 2010


Final score:

FRANKLIN 75

MUSKEGO 56

For their efforts, Franklin advances to the regional final against Milwaukee Hamilton at Hamilton this Saturday at 7:00. Hamilton is considered one of the favorites to win the state title.

Yours truly will be the official timer for this Saturday's big game.

Is a municipal bus driver worth $100,000?

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 3, 2010


In Madison, the answer is yes.

No wonder taxes are so awful in Tax Hell, USA.

When the going gets tough, Obama lights up

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 3, 2010

Political Cartoon by Gary Varvel


President Obama is a smoking hypocrite

“Technically, being a hypocrite is saying that something is bad (i.e. smoking), but not really believing it's bad, and doing it anyway--just precluding it for others. But technicalities don't matter to the left, so let's just say President Obama is a hypocrite……..Currently, he's trying to get health care legislation passed that would require me to pay more so that a guy like him doesn't have to pay extra because of his upped chances of all forms of cancer.”

MORE

ONE OF THE BEST COLUMNS OF THE WEEK

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 3, 2010


A stunner from conservative writer of lists, John Hawkins:

“In the next decade or two, we're likely to face a financial crisis more dire than any this nation has ever seen. What is that going to mean in real terms? It means that barring an unforeseen miracle, our out-of-control spending is going to lead to some very painful decisions that will make a lot of people, including conservatives, very unhappy. What you're about to read are the ugly truths about what our behavior today means for our country's future.”

5 Ugly Truths Americans Will Have to Face

Those poor, poor teachers: Average MPS teacher compensation tops $100,000

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 3, 2010


Hard to sympathize when the teachers union cries the blues and the School Board raises property taxes by double digits.

From the MacIver Institute.

The Obama reconciliation flip-flop

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 3, 2010



Obamacare to have uneasy reconciliation

"The reconciliation rules, which are primarily used to deal with budget and deficit-cutting proposals, were not meant for complicated policy-making that can wreak havoc on America's private health care system. There are time limits, but senators can also offer an unlimited number of amendments, too, that many Democrats may not want on their voting record in a tough election year. It is a process that can drag on for weeks, while opposition to Obamacare grows along with demands that Congress turn its attention to the economy and jobs."

No more Saturday mail?

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 4, 2010

Dave Granlund/davegranlund.com


Not so fast

"Postmaster General John E. Potter is again pushing this week to eliminate Saturday delivery as a cost-cutting measure at the beleaguered United States Postal Service, which is projected to lose $7 billion this year. But his effort faces a big roadblock…"


 

Sounds so nice, gonna tax you twice

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 4, 2010


From today’s paper about a new RTA proposal in Madison:

"Milwaukee-area taxpayers could wind up paying a second time for buses that already have been purchased with their tax dollars - a price tag that could come to some $20 million - under new regional transit authority legislation unveiled Wednesday.

Milwaukee-area taxpayers could wind up paying a second time for buses that already have been purchased with their tax dollars - a price tag that could come to some $20 million - under new regional transit authority legislation unveiled Wednesday.

If the RTA uses its borrowing authority to buy the bus systems, and then repays the bonds with sales tax revenue, many of the same residents whose property taxes bought the buses for Milwaukee County also would be paying the sales tax to buy the same buses for the RTA."

And now, my favorite part of the article:

"(State Rep.Tamara) Grigsby (D-Milwaukee) said the authors never intended for taxpayers to pay twice....."

Yeh, right.

Friday night on InterCHANGE

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 4, 2010

 

Here are the topics the panel discusses on InterCHANGE on Milwaukee Public Television Channel 10 Friday night at 6:30 with a repeat Sunday morning at 11:00:

1 – Racine Mayor.


The former Racine mayor gets three years in prison after being set up and then arrested for meeting a cop who was posing on-line as a fourteen year old girl.  The defense attorney had asked for probation, the prosecutor had asked for ten years, and the maximum possible sentence was twenty-seven years.  Surprisingly, the judge said he hadn’t planned to give him any prison time, until he hear that Gary Becker had gone to Boston Store a few weeks ago and purchased a bunch of pairs of girls undergarments.  Is three-years enough?  Did he really do anything wrong?  Did anybody get hurt?  Was it fair that he was set up?  Is this a case that cries out for treatment and rehabilitation?  Or, is this guy one sick dude who deserved a lot more of a prison sentence than he was given?


2 – No School Money.


Even though Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett and Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle are good friends and supporters of President Obama, Wisconsin is not a finalist for any of the Race to the Top federal funds which are intended for use in improving public schools.  Doyle blasts the legislature for not going along with his proposals to improve schools.  Is this yet another sign that the MPS Board is lost in space, or is it to be admired for fighting to maintain local control?


3 – Train Factory.


A Spanish train-builder says it will use a building at the old Tower Automotive site here in Milwaukee to build at least two 14-car-trains for the Milwaukee-to-Chicago Amtrak Hiawatha line.  They might also build trains for the proposed Milwaukee to Madison route, and for other states as well.  It’s expected the plant will employ about 125 workers.  Again, does this signal a rebirth of Milwaukee as a manufacturing center?  Is this yet another big win for Mayor Tom Barrett, who can brag that he’s the “job creating” candidate for governor?  Or, will it not turn out to be that big of a deal?  


4 – Saturday Mail.


Is it time to allow the post office to do away with Saturday delivery?  In the age of the internet, will the post office even survive?  How will the model have to change?  Should the post office be allowed to continually raise rates as well?  Is 44-cents still a bargain to get a letter delivered across country in three days?


5 – Fr. Robert Wild.


Fr. Robert Wild will be retiring as president of Marquette University, a post he has held for the past fourteen years.  The university has seen incredible growth under his leadership.  There’s been a new Dental School, a new athletic facility, an expanded library, a new Law School, a new administration building, and ground has been broken for a new School of Engineering.  He’s an incredible fundraiser.  Some would argue his only mistake was in the way he handled the change of the team name from Warriors to Golden Eagles.  What is left for the next president to accomplish at what is surely one of Milwaukee’s most respected resources?

Obamacare Equals Massive Taxpayer Abortion Funding and Rationing of Senior Care

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 4, 2010

Life - Wisconsin Right To Life - News Release


Obamacare = Massive Taxpayer

Funding of Abortions and Health

Care Rationing for Seniors

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Putting MPS basketball in perspective

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 4, 2010


When fans of the Franklin boy’s basketball team travel to Milwaukee Hamilton this Saturday night to watch the Sabers take on the Wildcats in a WIAA regional final, they will be confronted inside the doors with what for many will be a brand new experience at a high school game: metal detectors.  The procedure, though far less of a hassle than airport security, is totally necessary.

During the early 1980’s, somehow a gun made its way into the Milwaukee Custer High School gym. It went off, causing chaos. Fortunately, no one was injured, but new safety measures and intensified security were implemented at Milwaukee Public School basketball and football games.

Fans who are accustomed to the most pleasant of atmospheres at an athletic event can find it a bit unnerving to walk into a high school gym only to be frisked.

Since the gun incident at Custer, several high profile incidents have given the impression that attending an MPS basketball game is like wandering into a war zone.

Last week, Milwaukee Washington star players Quevyn Winters were suspended for the tournament following an episode at Bradley Tech. After Tech beat Washington, a Washington player went after an official. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported, “The referee filed a report on the matter with the WIAA. In it Deb Hauser, the WIAA’s associate director, said the official wrote that a punch was thrown at him and that an individual ‘launched at me again and struck me in the chest’.”

Read more

Where's Charlie Rangel?

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 5, 2010



Political Cartoon by Nate Beeler


Eventual return to powerful post is unlikely

Read more

How about helping a poor kid from California out

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 5, 2010


C'mon!

He called us, "awesome!"

Paul Ryan continues to impress

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 5, 2010


The Weekly Standard calls it, “Paul Ryan’s moment.”

Matthew Continetti writes, “If national security or social policy were at the center of debate, the Wisconsin congressman wouldn't be nearly as prominent as he is today. But President Obama wants to reshape the American economy and welfare state so that it looks more like a Western European social democracy. And since fiscal policy is Ryan's specialty, he's become the GOP point man when it comes to entitlements and health care.”

Read more here.

Some Obama Changes Give Me Hope

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 5, 2010

Making its way around the Internet:

That is right - I will say it. THANK GOD FOR THE PRESIDENT!

WHY?

1. He destroyed the Clinton Political Machine - Driving a stake thru the heart of Hillary's

Presidential aspirations - something no Republican was ever able to do.  Remember when a Hillary Presidency scared the daylights out of you!

2. He killed off the Kennedy Dynasty.

3. He is destroying the Democratic Party before our eyes!

Chris Dodd, had never lost a race-- quit 

Dennis Moore had never lost a race - quit

Evan Bayh had never lost a race - quit

Byron Dorgan - had never lost a race - quit

Harry Reid - Soon to be GONE

These are just a handful of the prominent Democrats whose political careers Obama has destroyed! By the end of 2010 dozens more will be! We may not be able to take over every vacated seat in blue-state areas, but a great start has been made in Massachusetts of all places. 

In December of 2008 the Democrats were on the rise.  In the last two election cycles they had picked up 14 senate seats and 52 house seats.  The press was touting the death of the Conservative Movement and the Republican Party. In just one year, Obama put a stop to all of this and will probably give the House, if not the Senate, back to the Republicans.

4. He has completely exposed liberals and progressives for what they are--bright children who think they know everything. Every generation seems to need to relearn the lesson on why they should never actually put liberals in charge. Even extremely bright children aren't allowed to play with matches. He is bringing home the lesson very well!

Liberals tax, borrow and spend - check

Liberals won't bring themselves to protect America - check

Liberals want to take over the economy - check

Liberals think they know what is best for everyone - check

Liberals aren't happy till they are running YOUR life -check

5. He has brought more Americans back to conservatism than anyone since Reagan. In one year he rejuvenated the Conservative movement and brought out to the streets millions of Freedom Loving Americans. Name me one other time in your life that you saw your friends and neighbors this interested in taking back America ! The old "Silent Majority" is back and isn't silent any more.

6. His amazing leadership has sparked the greatest period of sales of firearms and ammunition this country has seen. Law abiding citizens have rallied and have provided a "stimulus" to the sporting goods field while other industries have failed, faded or moved off-shore!

7. In all honesty one year ago I was more afraid than I had ever been in my life. Not of the economy but of the direction our country was going. I thought Americans had forgotten what this country was all about.  My neighbors, friends, strangers proved to me that my lack of confidence of the Greatness and Wisdom of the American people was flat out wrong.

8. When the American People wake up, no smooth talking teleprompter reader can fool them! Look at the Tea Party rallies and town meetings. Those are grass roots Americans saying we're mad as hell and we're not going to take it any more. Barack Obama woke up these Great Americans!  Americans can--and will-- dig ourselves of whatever mess his obsolete liberal Congressional majorities have the temerity to enact in the face of majority opposition from the People.  

Again I want say, thank you Barack Obama!

UPDATE: The Barking Lot (10/03/09)

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 5, 2010


The October 3, 2009 edition of The Barking Lot featured my take on whether pit bulls should be banned:

“Are there good pit bulls maintained by conscientious owners? Probably.

But not as many as pit bulls that would tear your throat out or chew your child into shreds in seconds if given the chance.

So how do we approach those breeds like pit bulls that pose a serious threat? The answer is breed specific laws that target "vicious" and "dangerous" animals like pit bulls. Owners of such dogs, like pit bulls, face stiffer fines and education requirements.

Don’t like it? Tough. I’m tired of hearing about pit bulls attacking innocent children.”

Recently while driving home from Madison (Thank God for Sirius Satellite Radio), I listened to a debate on this very subject on NPR's Radio Times that was spurred by three attacks by pit bulls on humans in Philadelphia a few weekends ago.

Lengthy, long form radio, but quite interesting (See if you can pick out which side the public broadcasting moderator leans toward).

OF COURSE it's the safest neighborhood

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 5, 2010


Back in the 90’s when I was working at WTMJ Radio, a manager on the TV side kept one of those maps of the city of Milwaukee and inserted a pin at a location of every Milwaukee murder.

Some were on Milwaukee’s near south side, and some more were committed on the east side. The rest were all concentrated in one area that made a big blob on the map. This area was roughly North Avenue on the South, Capitol Drive on the north, about 37th Street on the west and 20th Street on the east.

That’s just a fact and that’s why news that the southwest side of Milwaukee is the safest part of the city is, arguably, not news. One of your neighbors is probably a policeman. And let’s face it. Folks in those neighborhoods just aren’t running around shooting people because they didn’t look at them just right.

Read the details.

Think the Journal Sentinel will now publish where the worst neighborhoods are? They’ve done it in the past. Or would that violate their love affair with being PC?

Dontcha just love the weekend?

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 5, 2010


Looks like our gradual warm-up continues.

Sports galore this weekend.

And they hand out these little beauties....






Our regular weekend lineup begins tonight with our goodnight music piece. If you like movies, you'll like this week's theme.

Then Saturday morning, wake up to the Barking Lot, complete with DOGS IN THE NEWS. How valuable would you say a dog like this is?








Also Saturday, Week-ends, our weekly week in review.

Oh, oh.

Will this.....



cb
 


Be a good or bad story?

Saturday also brings you Recommended Reading.

Then on Sunday, My Most Popular Blogs, Culinary no-no, and Photos of the Week. This picture did NOT make the final cut.....





A demonstrator dances in front of Oakland police officers in riot gear as they monitor demonstrators during a national day of action against school funding cuts and tuition increases March 4, 2010 in Oakland, California. Students across the country are walking out of classes and holding demonstrations against massive tuition increases and funding cuts to college universities. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

The future of America? Tuition dollars well spent, Mom and Dad?

Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by This Just In...

Goodnight everyone, and have one of your "Best" weekends

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 5, 2010

Nostalgia

It's Friday night. Time to unwind with our regular Friday night feature on This Just In.

The weekend has finally arrived.

The sun has set.

The evening sky has erupted. 

Let's put controversy and provocative blogs aside for the rest of this work week and smooth our way into Saturday and Sunday.

Tonight, movie music.

The Academy Awards will be presented Sunday night.

There have been close to 80 years worth of memorable Oscar-winning best songs. Let’s enjoy a few of them beginning with a trip all the way back to the 1936 winner.

The film was Swing Time.

The song is a timeless standard.

The re-invented Rod Stewart sings.



Read more

UPDATE: Uhhhh, say Kev......why are you congratulating Mark Maley?

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 6, 2010

Back in October, I wrote this.

The update is here.

The Barking Lot (03/06/10)

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 6, 2010

The Barking Lot


The Barking Lot is a regular weekly feature of this just in…Written by my lovely wife, Jennifer and me.  It opens with the weekend dog walking forecast followed by the main blog from dog lover, Jennifer. Then it’s DOGS IN THE NEWS and our close. Enjoy!


THE WEEKEND DOG-WALKING FORECAST: We grade the weather outlook for taking your pet outdoors. 

TODAY:  Mostly sunny.  High of 42.  "C"

SUNDAY:  A few showers. High of 42. "C"


Here’s my lovely wife, Jennifer with this week’s main blog:

Often frustrated at the lack of common sense and basic skills of many “parents,” I have commented that you need to pass a test and get a license to drive but anyone can become a parent.  I know I am not the only person who feels this way.

I have also heard many stories about incompetent pet owners.  The Barking Lot’s Dogs In The News feature has shared many of these nerve-wracking situations with our readers.  Some of these stories just make you scratch your head in disbelief; others can make you downright sick to your stomach.

So what can be done about the occasional idiot?  (Sorry, there is really no other word to describe cruel, irresponsible pet owners). One of my favorite suggestions for the geniuses who leave their dogs in the car with the windows rolled up in the summer is that they need to sit in the same car for the same amount of time.  Whatever happens to them, well, too bad (I’m all for “an eye for an eye” in many situations).

Why don’t we actually make potential owners take a competency test similar to what we have to do when we are given our driver’s licenses?  There should be a written test (we can even offer it in multiple languages just like the DMV!), and a practical test where you prove you know how to

  • connect a lead to a collar

  • pour water and kibble in a bowl

  • use a pooper scooper



Read more

Week-ends (03/06/10)

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 6, 2010

Week-ends


A look back at the people and events that made news the past week.
Week-ends is a regular weekly feature of This Just In...


HEROES OF THE WEEK


Ian Fortune


Aki Ra


Truckers


Georgios Kontsas


Cody Book


Tallahassee women....watch:


Read more

Recommended Reading (03/06/10)

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 6, 2010

Recommended reading


Here are, in my view, interesting, noteworthy columns and articles from the past week that I highly recommend (You will note that on occasion, I do not endorse the opinions of the author and may point that out. Despite my disagreements, I still feel the piece is worth a read).


Not One Major Poll Favors Obama's Health Proposal

‘In my entire career, I have never been as confounded as I am over President Obama and the Democratic leadership's obsession with a piece of legislation that not one major national poll has shown to be popular. A quick glance at this week's surveys shows about a 10 percent spread between those who favor the latest health care legislation and those who oppose it.

"In the world of politics, that's a blowout. So I have to ask, why are the president and the leaders of Congress willing to see their entire party and a multitude of other policy proposals go down in flames over something that the public can't stand?”


Dangerous Negotiations Over Abortion

“America’s Catholic bishops are being used in a negotiating ploy that could lead to enactment of Obamacare and to federal funding of abortion.”


Does the GOP have enough balls?

“And no, I’m not talking about basketballs or baseballs or golf balls. You know what I’m talking about — excuse the language, but we need to be blunt. And you know that it’s the question that will hang over the Republican Party from now until November as it tries to persuade the base — let alone the American electorate — that it can provide a real alternative to the current crop of big government corruptocrats in power in Washington.

So: Does the GOP have enough balls to fight the Left or doesn’t it?”


Living Legends

“Stay with me, because you are not going to believe this column. This month in Chicago, an event will honor three men as "living legends." The men are…”


Tea Party heroes deserve our thanks---not abuse

“Like a hero rescuing a damsel tied up and lying on the railroad tracks as a train approaches, the Tea Party movement has been trying to save America from runaway leftism. But this hero, instead of being applauded, is taking it on the chin from critics who will invent any calumny and revise any truth to make their case.”


5 Ugly Truths Americans Will Have to face

“Our out-of-control spending is going to lead to some very painful decisions that will make a lot of people, including conservatives, very unhappy. What you're about to read are the ugly truths about what our behavior today means for our country's future.”


Baby Claire Hits the Jackpot!

“Not many people in Las Vegas beat the odds. Last November, one yet-to-be-born baby with the highest odds stacked against her did, thanks to a couple of never-give-up pro-life people and her courageous mom.”


The not-so-fast track for high speed rail

“The $8 billion in federal stimulus money billed as ‘high-speed rail’ funding that will pay for the Wisconsin improvements is going to 31 states to improve service on trains of all speeds. But as even the straightforward case of Wisconsin shows, the path for states to actually build high-speed rail promises to be long, costly and, in some cases, politically contentious.”


Alberta works quietly to improve image of Oil Sands

“Wisconsin is one of nearly 20 states trying to reduce the amount of carbon that's released from family sedans and delivery trucks. For Canada, it's a personal blow. The United States is a massive market, both nearby and with lenient access. Now, that might be changing. In the Midwest, that's especially important. The heartland uses more Canadian crude than any other region in the nation.

"But the benefits flow both ways. And Canadian officials are making sure that local leaders around the country know that if they slap the cheek of Canadian crude, they might feel the pain themselves.”


The Flu Season that Fizzled

“Normally at this time of year, influenza is rampant in the U.S., prompting hundreds of thousands of people to stay home in the dead of winter with fever, aches and pains.  Now, after raging through college campuses and communities last summer and fall, cases of the new H1N1 swine flu virus have dwindled to a trickle, and run-of-the-mill seasonal flu has barely made an appearance.”

*SPECIAL FRANKLIN COMMON COUNCIL MEETING TODAY re: Franklin sex offender ordinances*

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 6, 2010

CITY OF FRANKLIN

SPECIAL COMMON COUNCIL MEETING

Saturday, March 6, 2010 at 4:30 p.m.

FRANKLIN CITY HALL, COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS

9229 WEST LOOMIS ROAD

FRANKLIN, WISCONSIN 53132

AGENDA
 

I.          Call to Order and Roll Call

Read more

The generous Milwaukee County pension system

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 6, 2010


Take a look.

No wonder Milwaukee County government is in a hole.

MJS letter to the editor: High speed rail a "boondoggle"

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 6, 2010


This guy gets it.

From today’s Your Opinion section in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:


HIGH-SPEED RAIL

A boondoggle

Read more

Big Brother stinks

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 6, 2010


Literally.

Mama don't let your babies grow up anywhere near Hilary Mantel

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 6, 2010


The British novelist believes 14 is an ideal age for little Susie to have a baby:

 

Read more

After losing its star player, Hamilton defeats Franklin

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 6, 2010


Despite having its best player ejected just before halftime, Milwaukee Hamilton was able to beat Franklin in a regional final tonight at Hamilton, 68-56.

With 59.3 seconds left in the first half, after slamming a dunk, Hamilton’s Elgin Cook was given a technical foul for taunting a Franklin player. He also slammed the ball on the court after the dunk. An official went up to Cook to talk to the player and after a few seconds, Cook shoved the official away with an elbow.  Another official saw the contact and whistled Cook for another technical and ejected Cook from the game.

Franklin trailed Hamilton at the half, 34-28 and had some momentum. But they could get no closer than five at 43-38. Most of the second half saw Hamilton enjoying a 10-13 point lead.

When Cook was tossed, he already had scored 16 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. There was a lot of talk around the gym of what happens now to Cook. Will he be suspended for the rest of the tournament?  That will depend on the WIAA.

Remember, two of Milwaukee Washington’s star players were ousted from the tournament for going after an official following a recent game. If the same punishment is imposed against Cook, it will be a severe blow to the team’s state title chances.

Why Olympic hockey is 500 kazillion times better than the NHL

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 7, 2010

No goonish  thuggery.

Dallas Stars defenseman Jeff Woywitka (44) fights with Los Angeles Kings right wing Wayne Simmonds (17) in the second period during an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, March 2, 2010, in Dallas, Texas. (AP Photo/Sharon Ellman)

A new UWM arena? Are you kidding me?

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 7, 2010


Take a good, I mean, a really good look at this picture.



Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Riley Walker, left, is fouled by Illinois-Chicago's Zavion Neely, right, in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Horizon League men's tournament Tuesday, March 2, 2010, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Darren Hauck)


This is a  CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT game in MILWAUKEE.

Notice all those empty seats?

Take another look.

See 'em?

The report is students are willing to help fund a new arena.

Sorry, UWM fans.

YOU CAN'T PUT FANNIES IN THE SEATS OF FACILITIES YOU'VE GOT RIGHT NOW!!!

My friend, Dave Begel is far more blunt than I am on this matter.

My Most Popular Blogs (03/07/10)

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 7, 2010

Most popular


As I post every Sunday, here are the five most read blog entries of mine from the previous week. NOTE: some entries may have been posted prior to the past week.

1) Doctors inflicting death on children

2) ONE OF THE BEST COLUMNS OF THE WEEK

3) Sounds so nice, gonna tax you twice

4) Culinary no-no #154

5) TIE  

    Ricardo Pimentel, do you actually read the Journal Sentinel? 

    The Obama reconciliation flip-flop

Photos of the Week (03/07/10)

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 7, 2010

Photos of the Week



U.S. President Barack Obama speaks about healthcare reform, surrounded by health care personnel, from the East Room of the White House in Washington March 3, 2010. President Obama on Wednesday said it is time to pass his healthcare overhaul using only a slim Democratic majority in Congress if necessary.

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks about healthcare reform, surrounded by health care personnel, from the East Room of the White House in Washington March 3, 2010. President Obama on Wednesday said it is time to pass his healthcare overhaul using only a slim Democratic majority in Congress if necessary. Photo: Reuters






Former members of the military, from left, Anthony Woods of Arlington, Va., Stacy Vasquez of Denton, Texas, David Hall of Washington, and Todd Belok of Ridgefield, Conn., are seen during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 3, 2010, to discuss an effort to repeal the military's ban on openly gay service members. (AP Photo/Harry Hamburg)






Phillip Dunham, left, of Washington, and his partner Allen Pittinger, who have been together for nine years, embrace after arriving at Superior Court to obtain their marriage license after the District of Columbia legalized gay marriage in Washington, on Wednesday, March 3, 2010. "Exciting, overjoyed, I think phenomenal is the word," says Pittinger. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)






House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y. makes his statement on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 3, 2010. Rangel said he has decided to temporarily step down from his post as committee chairman. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)






President Barack Obama makes a comment to reporters about his cholesterol level as he passes a plate while siting down with other customers as he visits Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room in Savannah, Ga., Tuesday, March 2, 2010. At right is Savannah Mayor Otis Johnson. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)







Protestors lay face down on Interstate 880 after they were arrested by Oakland police officers for attempting to block the freeway following a rally for the national day of action against school funding cuts and tuition increases March 4, 2010 in Oakland, California. Dozens of protestors were arrested after they stormed the 880 freeway as students across the country are walking out of classes and holding demonstrations against massive tuition increases and funding cuts to college universities. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)






An Iraqi patient shows his inked finger after voting in the country's parliamentary elections at a special polling station on March 4, 2010 in Baghdad, Iraq. Special voting for about 790,000 Iraqi prisoners, hospital patients, doctors and security force members were held in Iraq ahead of the parliamentary elections. At least 17 people were killed in a string of attacks targeting special voting polling station. (Photo by Muhannad Fala'ah /Getty Images )






Amidst high security, Iraqi army soldiers are searched by Iraqi police as they arrive to cast their votes at a polling center in central Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, March 4, 2010. Early voting in Iraq for detainees, hospital patients and military and security personnel is taking place Thursday, ahead of the parliamentary elections on Sunday, March 7, 2010. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)






Hostesses prepare tea for delegates before the opening session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, in China, Wednesday, March 3, 2010. (AP Photo/Alexander F. Yuan)






A girl carries a baby at a camp set up for homeless earthquake survivors in Port-au-Prince, Monday, March 1, 2010. A magnitude-7 earthquake struck Haiti last Jan. 12. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)


 



Friends, relatives, sellers and buyers set up their sales tables on the very same spot they did before a 7.0 earthquake destroyed this marketplace along the Grand Rue March 1, 2010 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Commerce and marketplaces are beginning to show life again after the January 12 earthquake killed more than 200,000 and left more than 1.2 million dead (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)






A pepper ball fired by riot police officer pops as it hits a protester, center, in the forehead during an-anti government protest outside the parliament in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, March 2, 2010. Protesters hurled rocks at police who returned fire with tear gas canisters and water cannons outside the building where a parliamentary comimittee investigating irregularities in the government's $715 million bailout of Century Bank in 2008 is holding a meeting. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)


 

Read more

Oscar's "Best" isn't

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 7, 2010


Tonight that nauseating mutual admiration society of leftist, America-hating Hollywood elitists will pat themselves on the back and overestimate their worth and importance.

Oh for the days when Bob Hope was the emcee and real talent walked up to the podium to accept their awards.

I’m a firm believer in that age old phrase that “they just don’t make 'em like they used to.” We did this last year. Let’s take a look, in increments of five years, at the previous Academy Award winners for Best Picture:

1928-1929 - The Broadway Melody
The Broadway Melody Poster


1934 - It Happened One Night
It Happened One Night Poster


1939 - Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind Poster


1944 - Going My Way
Going My Way Poster


1949 - All the King’s Men
All the King


1954 - On the Waterfront
On the Waterfront Poster


1959 - Ben-Hur
Ben-Hur Poster


1964 - My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady Poster


1969 - Midnight Cowboy
Midnight Cowboy Poster


1974 - The Godfather Part II
The Godfather Part II Poster


1979 - Kramer vs. Kramer
Kramer vs. Kramer Poster


1984 - Amadeus
Amadeus Poster


1989 - Driving Miss Daisy
Driving Miss Daisy Poster


1994 - Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump Poster


1999 - American Beauty
American Beauty Poster


2004 - Million Dollar Baby
Million Dollar Baby Poster



2009- ???

The nominees......there are ten this year as opposed to the five that have been an Academy tradition for many years. Ten nominees? For "Best" Picture? There aren't 10 good films released in a year.

Avatar

The Blind Side

District 9

An Education

The Hurt Locker

Inglourious Basterds

Precious

A Serious Man

Up

Up in the Air

Again, would someone tell me that movies of today are that much better than movies of the past?

(Source of movie posters: www.movieposteraddict.com)

The Best Actor

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 7, 2010


The nominees for Best Actor in a Leading Role tonight are:



Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)



George Clooney (Up in the Air)



Colin Firth (A Single Man)



Morgan Freeman (Invictus)



Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker)


And the Oscar goes to:

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Political Cartoon by Steve Breen


UPDATE: I see ultra-liberal Alec Baldwin on tonight's Oscar telecast. 





But that couldn’t possibly be Baldwin. Didn't he swear he'd move out of the country if George Bush ever became president? 

Read more

Culinary no-no #155

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 7, 2010

Culinary no-no's


Cigarette advertising has been all but dead for decades.






And just a few years ago, Hollywood decided it might be best to snuff out scenes of actors and actresses puffing away.


Read more

IF YOU WANT TO KEEP SEX OFFENDERS AWAY FROM YOUR CHILDREN, THIS IS A MUST READ

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 8, 2010


Two identical bills in the state Legislature would pre-empt local ordinances that restrict where sex offenders can congregate and live. That  means landmark ordinances like the two in effect  in Franklin that have served as models for similar laws around the state would be killed.

One of the bills gets a public hearing this Thursday at the state Capitol in Madison in the state Assembly. It is imperative a strong showing be made in opposition to Assembly Bill 759 before the Assembly Committee on Corrections and the Courts. The hearing begins at 10:00 a.m. in Room NW 415.

If you cannot attend, it is important you telephone and/or e-mail your state Senator and state Representative and respectfully request that they oppose Assembly Bill 759 and its companion in the state Senate, Senate Bill 548.

These ordinances have been adopted because communities wanted them and believe them to be effective in protecting their children. The laws have been ruled to be constitutional.

Here is the important history of how Franklin adopted its ordinances.

The following municipalities have approved restrictive sex offender ordinances and would be affected by Assembly Bill 759 and Senate Bill 548:

Ashwaubenon

City of Brookfield

Brown Deer

Butler

Caledonia

Cedarburg

Village of Crivitz

Cudahy

Elm Grove

Franklin

Germantown

Town of Gillett

Glendale

Glenmore

Grafton

Greendale

Greenfield

Hobart

Village of Hortonville

Hudson

Kenosha

Village of Kohler

Town of Lac Du Flambeau

Little Chute

Marinette

Menomenee Falls

Muskego

New Holstein

North Prairie

Oak Creek

Oostburg

Town of Paris

Peshtigo

Village of Pewaukee

Village of Random Lake

Reedsburg

Town of Salem

Town of Sheboygan

Silver Lake

Somers

South Milwaukee

St. Francis

Thiensville

Town of Vernon

Waukesha

Wauwatosa

West Allis

Village of Wrightstown

USPS gets innovative

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 9, 2010

Sex predator info from Franklin Mayor Tom Taylor

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 9, 2010

Sexual Predator Information

Read more

Hey, Kev....you call that blogging?

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 9, 2010


I mean, you're always posting newsletters from people like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

You just post.

Never a comment.

Why, Kev? Why?

Because it works.

              

"Friends of the U. S. Chamber" Gains

Momentum...

Your Efforts Make Front Page of the LA Times



We are starting to make a difference....and it's getting noticed.

Today's LA Times highlights your efforts to push back against bad ideas in Washington and positions "Friends" as one of the most effective grassroots movements in our country today.

Take a look:
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is building a large-scale grass-roots political operation that has begun to rival those of the major political parties...

The network, called Friends of the U.S. Chamber, has been used to generate more than a million letters and e-mails to members of Congress, 700,000 of them in opposition to the Democratic healthcare plan. That is an increase from 40,000 congressional contacts generated in 2008.


This success didn't happen overnight -- and it wasn't on accident.

It's only because you took the time to add your voice and make a difference. You've taken the time to fight for policies that will re-start America's economic engine -- and fight tooth-and-nail against wrongheaded policies that won't.

Now, we're preparing for November and we need your help. Please consider sending us a few bucks today for the resources we need to hold these politicians accountable for their bad ideas and bad votes and also thank our friends who have held the line.

Click here now to make an online contribution to help us fight for the issues that matter this fall.

We've got their attention. Now is not the time to let up.

Help ensure our grassroots force remains stronger than ever.

Our adversaries aren't letting up or slowing down -- and neither should we.

Sincerely,


Bill Miller
Senior Vice President and National Political Director
U.S. Chamber of Commerce

P.S. A small donation from FRANKLIN could be the difference in 2010. Help us keep the momentum by donating now.

Here you go, sweetheart, have a condom

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 9, 2010


This story that broke over last weekend, though quite important, doesn’t seem to have picked up any traction.

The Washington Post reports:

“The District (Washington D.C.) will become the first city in the United States to distribute female condoms free, part of a project that will make 500,000 of them available in beauty salons, convenience stores and high schools in parts of the city with high HIV rates. City officials said the distribution could begin within the next three weeks in parts of wards 1, 2, 3, 6 and 7, where a study showed that large numbers of African American heterosexuals engage in risky sexual behavior that could easily lead to infection.”

Free condoms tossed around like candy from a float at a parade. Now what in tar nation do you think those condom recipients are going to do?

Hmmmmm.

Just one guess.

Any guess at all.

It’s like giving a gang member with an empty gun some bullets. .

To me, here is the fascinating excerpt from the Washington Post story. Read carefully:

“The move is an official acknowledgment of the futility of relying solely on the use of male condoms, which have been distributed citywide for nearly a decade, to stem the District's epidemic of HIV and AIDS.”

Did you catch that?

Again.

 

Read more

Tommy has Russ sweating bullets

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 9, 2010


In politics, a candidate goes negative when the candidate is really worried.

When the candidate is an entrenched incumbent and the candidate goes after a potential opponent that hasn’t even announced yet, then the incumbent is running scared, very, very scared.

Psycho 2010

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 10, 2010





Political Cartoon by Michael Ramirez


Do shower run-ins happen a lot in Washington?

Honk Against the Health Care Takeover

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 10, 2010


Next Tuesday, March 16, Americans For Prosperity AFP) is encouraging the "Honk Against the Health Care Takeover" event. At 12 Noon on March 16, AFP is asking you to drive to your member of Congress's district office and join a car caravan there, circling your representative’s office while honking against the health care takeover.

Here are more details.

Obamacare unraveling

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 10, 2010


57% think government health care will wreck the economy.

Isn't he at the wrong rally?

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 10, 2010

Supporters of national health care legislation demonstrate outside the Ritz-Carlton Hotel March 9, 2010 in Washington, DC. Demonstrators protested outside the hotel as America's Health Insurance Plans annual policy conference took place inside. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

I thought raving lunatic angry old white men only attended Tea Party rallies.

If you’re going to the Assembly Corrections and the Courts Committee meeting Thursday….

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 10, 2010


To oppose the bill that would repeal over 100 local ordinances that restrict where sex offenders can congregate and live, there‘s been a change in the room location.

And that’s a good thing. It signals that a large crowd is expected.

Originally scheduled in a very tiny room, the public hearing has been moved to the 2nd Floor North Hearing Room of the state Capitol.

The answer to Miller Park taxes is NOT more taxes and fees

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 10, 2010


The most important element of the Journal Sentinel’s story today about the Miller Park tax taking longer to pay off (sales tax revenues are waaayyyyyyyyyy down due to the sluggish economy) is this morsel buried in paragraph 10 of a 12-paragraph article:

“Mike Duckett, the (Miller Park stadium) district's executive director, and members of the board said Tuesday that the district will not need to collect more taxpayer money. It will simply take longer to collect the revenue they need.”

This non-controversial news item re-opened some old wounds. You’ve heard the arguments before: Miller Park is a playpen for millionaires. Let them pay more out of their own pockets.

WTMJ’s Jeff Wagner, in an effort to be provocative (which I truly understand) raised the question on his talk show today of whether a user fee and parking fee should be imposed on Milwaukee Brewer patrons to make up for this slack.

Of course, it’s a horrible idea (Wagner opposes it, for the record) and it will never happen, thank goodness. By the way, it’s no surprise that a tax and spend liberal is making that suggestion.

Slap another tax on those who buy tickets? They’re already paying a fortune to go to games. Why must the answer to every dilemma in Wisconsin be higher taxes?

Keeping you abreast of what's happening in Madison

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 10, 2010


I have blogged about this issue and talked about it on while filling in on Newstalk 1130 WISN.  A bill allowing breastfeeding anyplace, anytime, anywhere is a bad idea. And I’m 100% pro-child, 100% pro-breastfeeding. There just have to be reasonable limits.

The bill, signed into law today by Governor Doyle, states:

“A mother may breast-feed her child in any public or private location where the mother and child are otherwise authorized to be. In such a location, no person may prohibit a mother from breast-feeding her child, direct a mother to move to another location to breast-feed her child, direct a mother to cover her child or breast while breast-feeding, or otherwise restrict a mother from breast-feeding.”

In other words, in some terms used by many women who called my show on WISN to voice opposition, a breastfeeding mom can just whip those babies out whenever and wherever she chooses whether you like it or not.

So, using a scenario I’ve outlined in the past, when I usher at church on Sundays, and a woman in the front pews surrounded by children decides it’s time to breastfeed, I cannot politely approach her and kindly request that she come to the back of church where I will make sure she’s comfortable.

No, I can’t do that because “a person who interferes with that right is subject to a forfeiture not to exceed $200 under the general penalty provision under current law.”

Our legislative priorities (remember, liberal Democrats run everything, for now, in Wisconsin)  are totally out of whack.

The spoiled American voter

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 11, 2010

Political Cartoon by Dana Summers



U.S. military reassesses Iraq election violence

"Amid a series of deadly bombings that killed at least 38 people across the country, according to Iraqi police, nearly 20 million Iraqis were eligible to vote in Sunday's elections. At about 10,000 polling stations, Iraqis were able to choose from more than 6,200 candidates vying for 325 seats. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis turned out for early voting that started on Thursday."

About those shovel-ready jobs...

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 11, 2010


Veronique de Rugy, a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center, crunched the stimulus data to find out where the money went.

Rejuvenating the private sector?

Hell no.

Construction, road projects?

Are you crazy?

It’s not even close where most of the funding was applied. The stash of cash propped up a significant faction of the Democrat base.

A Marquette-Notre Dame Big East Conference Final?

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 11, 2010


Probably not gonna happen.

But oh would that be nice!

Franklin Aldermanic debates scheduled

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 11, 2010


Wisconsin GrandSons of Liberty

We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert  the Constitution." – Abraham Lincoln

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release!
Contact:  larryg@wisconsingrandsonsofliberty.com      
Phone:  414-465-8683 

Franklin Aldermanic Debates


Monday, 3/22/2010


6pm to 8pm


Root River Center, 7220 W. Rawson Ave., Franklin

 

Strong opposition demonstrated in Madison against repeal of local sex offender ordinances

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 11, 2010


The state Assembly’s Committee on Corrections and the Courts got an earful and an eyeful at today’s public hearing on the poorly advised and designed bill to eradicate the 100-plus local ordinances now in place around the state to restrict where released sex offenders can live and congregate.

If committee members have any sense whatsoever, they have to realize that they have opened a Pandora’s Box.

Our area was well-represented at today’s hearing and all of these people deserve our deep appreciation and thanks. Some testified. Others were there to join in the opposition to the bills that would repeal our laws that protect our kids. Their appearance was significant.


State Senator Mary Lazich

State Representative Jeff Stone

Franklin Mayor Tom Taylor

Franklin Alderman Steve Olson

Franklin Alderman Ken Skowronski

Franklin Alderman Kristen Wilhelm

Franklin Police Chief Rick Oliva

Former Franklin Alderman Basil Ryan

Franklin Inspector Gaylord Hahn

Franklin Police Captain Clark Groen

Greenfield Mayor Michael Neitzke

Greenfield  Police Chief Francis Springob

Greenfield Alderwoman Linda Lubotsky

Cudahy Alderman Joe Mikolajczak

Wauwatosa Mayor Jill Didier

Sheboygan Mayor Bob Ryan and his Common Council President

Police officers from South Milwaukee and Denmark


If you see these wonderful folks, please extend to them your appreciation and gratitude.

You can see Senator Lazich’s testimony on her blog.

Franklin Mayor Taylor challenged the committee, suggesting that if an Open Records request was done, he wondered how many, if any correspondences the sponsors of the legislation had received imploring them to pursue this legislation.

Dear Mayor Taylor, if you have nay money left over from the resolution that was adopted last Saturday, please consider spending it to do that very open records request.

Great testimony from Franklin Police Chief Oliva who shot a gigantic hole in the argument made against sex offender ordinances that the offenders will just go underground. Chief Oliva with his many, many years of law enforcement experience reminded the predominantly-Democrat committee, i.e. soft on crime, that refusing to comply with the sex offender registry is a major felony. Would we passively enforce laws because some people will choose not to abide by those laws? No, said the chief. The proper approach is to enforce current laws, and if an offender fails to comply with the sex offender registry requirements, the offender should be arrested.

Not a peep from the committee.

Overall, there was a tremendous showing today in opposition to the repeal of ordinances that communities approved because they believe in them, and they are satisfied such laws work.

That’s not to mention the avalanche of calls Senator Lazich and Representative Stone received. Both officials strongly object to these efforts to pull the rug out from local communities and always have been. Now we need to work on others. Stay tuned, and be proud of your communities and those who represent you.

No vote was taken today. The meeting was a public hearing. An executive session, where committee members actually vote on legislation, could be scheduled soon.  An identical bill in the state Senate has yet to be scheduled for a public hearing.

I have two words for clueless Milwaukee County Supervisors Mayo, Johnson, and Thomas

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 11, 2010


TOM

AMENT

Why are the courts wasting time on issues like....

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 12, 2010


This!

Friday night, it's InterCHANGE

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 12, 2010


Here are the topics we discuss Friday night on InterCHANGE on Milwaukee Public Television at 6:30 with a repeat broadcast on Sunday morning at 11:00:


1 – Suburban Sex Offenders.


A hearing will be held in Madison today on a proposed state law which would prohibit municipalities from passing local ordinances restricting where convicted sex offenders can live.  Some lawmakers feel that there should be a state law, so that all the offenders aren’t dumped into the few communities that don’t have these restrictions.  Should local communities be able to decide for themselves if they want these guys?  Is it fair to dump them all back into Milwaukee, even though that’s where so many of them came from?  Should we even care about whether these convicts are being treated fairly?


2 – Voter Fraud.


The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel releases communications between the District Attorney’s office and city elections officials claiming that the Milwaukee Police Department is not actively investigating credible claims of widespread voter fraud in Milwaukee.  Is the MPD sitting on this because it’s not important?  Because the mayor tells them to concentrate on violent crime instead?  Because the police department feels it has better things to do?  Meantime, the Attorney General charges five people statewide with criminal voter fraud.  Is this an important issue, or simply a political campaign issue?


3 – Raw MIlk.


There’s a move to change state law so that people can buy and sell unpasteurized “raw” milk?  Supporters say it tastes better, and is healthier for you.  Opponents say all milk should be pasteurized because the intense heat kills most of the bacteria.  Is it in the public interest to force people to buy only pasteurized milk?  If a farmer or grocery store sells raw milk, should they be immune from liability lawsuits if someone gets very sick?  We allow the sale of raw fish, eggs, and meat.  Should we allow the sale of raw milk? 


4 – Government Sponsored Journalism.


A Madison newspaperman is getting quite a bit of attention for an argument that he’s making that journalism enterprises should get government funding.  He thinks that the government should subsidize journalism (not just public and community TV stations) to the tune of tens of billions of dollars.  As newspapers across the country continue to downsize or go out of business, and as TV news becomes little more than entertainment, does this guy have a point?  He argues that good journalism is as important to the country as public education is.  Or, should we just let the market dictate what types of information we receive?

The president has already filled out his bracket

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 12, 2010

Political Cartoon by Bob Gorrell

Last chance to stop the health care takeover

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 12, 2010

Americans for Prosperity


AFP in the news


Time Magazine

On the Scene with Tea Party Patriots in Scottsdale, AZ.


Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Read more

The latest from Rehorst

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 12, 2010
The Monthly Newsletter of Wisconsin's First Craft Distillery      -Special-
 
     
             
 
In This Issue
Blog / Facebook
Bourbon Released
The Party
Technical
 
Featured Article

 
Featured Article

 
Add us to your Social Network
 


Follow us on Twitter and Facebook
FacebookTwitter
Also check out "Distilled!" a blog where we spew about alcohol related topics a bit more frequently than the newsletter allows.
 
 
Featured Article
Author Charles Cowdery will be on hand for this historic event!
 
Featured Article

     


After years of waiting we're having a very limited and historic whiskey release, and of course this means a release party.
 

 Details below...
 
Introducing our Bourbon- The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 
 
First the good news- Wisconsin's first Bourbon will be available soon. This batch of Bourbon we are releasing will be a historic first- It's the first Wisconsin made bourbon certainly since prohibition (and quite possible before). It is also the oldest whiskey produced in Wisconsin and I might add it's damn tasty!

 
Shortly after our distillery was licensed we began producing test batches of several spirits. Frankly, some of these tests turn out pretty disappointing. But some of them turned out well. Some turned out so well that they were scaled up and ultimately became products that we currently sell on an ongoing basis such as our award winning gin. Unfortunately to make a good bourbon you just can't make more of it and sell it sooner. It takes time to mature. This particular bourbon was produced nearly three years ago and aged in smaller barrels making more of the woods surface area (and the flavors within) available to the spirit, and we think this particular test batch turned out great!

 
This is where the bad news comes in. Un-aged spirits such as our vodka, gin and absinthe can be scaled up and developed into saleable products very quickly, but whiskey that turns out good after nearly three years of living in a barrel cannot be quickly scaled up and replicated. Therefore, you're not likely to see any more Bourbon from us for several more years. We now have a great recipe and we have begun aging several batches, but they just won't be ready for a very long while.

The ugly part- we only have 263 (375ml) bottles. Because there is so little we will only be selling it at the distillery. It will go on sale Saturday March 20th at 5:30PM with a sale price of $44.95ea. We will be holding a release party at the distillery that night (details below) and will limit customers to two bottles per person.

Technical detail about the Bourbon below... 
 
Celebrate the Bourbon Release with us
 
The release party is Saturday March 20th 5:30- 8:30PM.
While we'll be able to make a limited number of bourbon cocktails with our test batch, we will of course have our other fine spirits available (for the bourbon impaired).
Special guest will be Chuck Cowdery -Bourbon expert author of "Bourbon, Straight" and Blogger.

Please note- you must be in attendance Saturday March 20th after 5:30PM to buy a bottle, we cannot reserve any for you! When they are gone they are gone for good.

Here's the details;
  • Saturday March 20th- Party starts at 5:30 goes to 8:30PM
     
  • Bourbon Cocktails available (while they last!)
  • Complimentary samples and light munchies
     
  • Special guest Bourbon expert and writer Chuck Cowdery
     
 
If you plan to attend please RSVP to-
rsvp@greatlakesdistillery.com
this is not absolutely mandatory but gives us an idea of how many to expect. Just let us know how many will be joining you and be sure to mark your calendar!
 
 
The Technical Stuff
(for Bourbon geeks only)
  • Distilled in October and November of 2007 from a 4 grain mash (Corn, Wheat, Rye and Barley)
  • Made from a "sweet" mash- no backset
     
  • Aged in new charred 15 Gal. American White Oak barrels. (53 Gal. is industry standard)
  • Angels share losses amount to about 25% of the original volume
  • NO chill filtering. We used only a course plate filter to remove the wood solids.
  • Bottled at 92 Proof (46% ABV)
  • Bottled in 375ml bottles- only 263 in existence
  • Each bottle numbered and signed by distillery founder Guy Rehorst and distiller Doug MacKenzie
If you're not a bourbon geek and you don't know what all this means, we'll be happy to explain it at the release party!
 
We look forward to seeing you for this historic Bourbon release next Saturday!
 

Sincerely,
 
Guy Rehorst
Great Lakes Distillery, LLC
 
             
     
 
Rehorst Premium Milwaukee Vodka is 40% Alcohol by Volume (80 Proof).
Rehorst Premium Milwaukee Gin is 44% Alcohol By Volume (88 Proof).
Rehorst Premium Milwaukee Citrus & Honey Flavored Vodka is 40% Alcohol By Volume (80 Proof). 
Artisan Series Pear Brandy Eau-de-Vie, Grappa and Kirschwasser are 40% Alcohol by Volume (80 Proof).
 
Drink Responsibly.
Great Lakes Distillery, Milwaukee WI

Great Lakes Distillery, LLC | 616 W. Virginia St. | Milwaukee | WI | 53204

Local TV coverage of Thursday's public hearing on sex offender ordinances

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 12, 2010


In case you missed it...

Channel 12

Channel 4

Channel 58

Celebrate! It's the weekend!

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 12, 2010


So that's what my lawn looks like.

Basketball, basketball, and more basketball.

I love March Madness.

Our regular weekend lineup begins tonight with our goodnight music piece. Pour a pint, sit back and relax.

Then Saturday morning, wake up to the Barking Lot, complete with DOGS IN THE NEWS where we will explain this........



Mabel the hen



Also Saturday, Week-ends, our weekly week in review and this girl's amazing story......

 

Read more

Goodnight everyone, and have a four leaf clover weekend

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 12, 2010


It's Friday night.

Time to unwind.

The weekend has finally arrived. 

Let's put controversy and aside for the rest of the work week and smooth our way into Saturday and Sunday.

Tonight, we get in the mood  for St. Patrick’s Day next Wednesday with this rousing opening.



Read more

Life in three stages

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 13, 2010

The Barking Lot (03/13/10)

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 13, 2010

The Barking Lot


The Barking Lot is a regular weekly feature of this just in…Written by my lovely wife, Jennifer and me.  It opens with the weekend dog walking forecast followed by the main blog from dog lover, Jennifer. Then it’s DOGS IN THE NEWS and our close. Enjoy!


THE WEEKEND DOG-WALKING FORECAST: We grade the weather outlook for taking your pet outdoors. 

TODAY:  Windy with rain.  High of 45.  "F"

SUNDAY:  Morning clouds, afternoon sun. High of 50. "C"

Here’s my lovely wife, Jennifer with this week’s main blog:

Last week, I wrote about our friends “over the ocean” who want to make sure dog owners are competent enough to handle the responsibility.  I still shake my head in disbelief at this concept.

Well, those brainy Brits aren’t stopping at competency tests.  Apparently they also feel that all dogs need to be microchipped and insured.  I think microchipping is a great idea for keeping your pet safe in case it runs away or is dognapped.  But microchipping because there could be a potential attack?  Mandatory insurance for the same reason?

I don’t have a problem with signs on owner’s property, warning people about their dog.  I don’t have a problem with euthanizing a dog that has attacked an innocent person, either.

However, this legislation will (like gun control laws) penalize the law-abiding citizens and just give one more thing to the criminals that they can laugh at.  Do you honestly think a drug dealer or dog fight perpetrator is going to suddenly stop using their dog as a weapon, or worry about insuring & microchipping them?  I think these ridiculous additional ideas fall in to Kevin’s “But if it can save just one life” category.  

Someone better consult this woman before any more crazy canine laws are considered: 

Read more

Jon Carroll, I know exactly how you feel

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 13, 2010


Regular readers know the story but new ones may not.

So here goes a brief but entirely accurate explanation.

My wife, Jennifer loves dogs.  She writes a weekly dog blog here on Saturday that I assist with.

Jennifer wants a dog.

Badly.

Intensely.

We do not have a dog.

Word on the street is that I am a no good, dog hating, crummy husband.

My response? Nobody’s perfect.

Now that we are proud beaming parents of a beautiful little girl, the requests for a hound will stop, right?

Well...... it was a just a thought.

I have to chuckle at San Francisco Chronicle columnist Jon Carroll. Jon, I can really sympathize.

Of course Democrats aren't very happy this morning

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 13, 2010


Their party is going up in flames as they feebly attempt to govern.

 

Read more

Week-ends (03/13/10)

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 13, 2010

Week-ends


A look back at the people and events that made news the past week.Week-ends is a regular weekly feature of This Just In...


HEROES OF THE WEEK

This one's incredible: Carlos ......... MORE.


Kelly Hart


State Senator Mary Lazich, State Representative Jeff Stone, Franklin Mayor Tom Taylor,
Franklin Alderman Steve Olson, Franklin Alderman Ken Skowronski, Franklin Alderman
Kristen Wilhelm, Franklin Police Chief Rick Oliva, former Franklin Alderman Basil Ryan,
Franklin Inspector Gaylord Hahn, Franklin Police Captain Clark Groen, Greenfield Mayor Michael Neitzke, Greenfield  Police Chief Francis Springob, Greenfield Alderman Linda Lubotsky, Cudahy Alderman Joe Mikolajczak, Wauwatosa Mayor Jill Didier, Sheboygan Mayor Bob Ryan and his Common Council President, police officers from South Milwaukee and Denmark.



Alonzo Cushing


Vincent D'Onforio


Zeitoun


Phoenix Police department assistants


Brink Boehnlein


Ryan Simonson


Paul Robertson


Leonardo da Vinci


Michael Meece


Wanda Carroll


Betty White


This brave little girl....

Read more

Sen. Brown: Obama, Dems on "bitter, destructive, and endless drive to completely transform America's health care system"

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 13, 2010


Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown delivered the GOP weekly address today like a Prince Fielder bomb to deep center field at Miller Park:

“The President and Congress are focused on ramming through their health-care bill, whatever it takes, whatever the cost.

Maybe you remember what President Obama promised in his State of the Union address. He said he was going to finally focus on jobs and the economy for the remainder of this year. I applauded him for that. Well, here it is, it’s almost spring. And what is he out there talking about again? That same 2,700-page, multi-trillion dollar health care legislation.

So, an entire year has gone to waste. Millions of Americans have lost their jobs, and many more jobs are in danger. Even now, the President still hasn’t gotten the message.”


“In speech after speech on his health care plan, the President has tried to convince us that what he is proposing will be good for America. But, how can it be good for America if it raises taxes by a half trillion dollars and costs a trillion dollars or more to implement? In addition, how can it be good if it takes another half a trillion dollars away from seniors on Medicare, and still includes all the backroom deals you have been hearing about for months?”

“The Americans aren’t buying it.”

“What’s going on is a last, desperate power play.”


Watch as Brown simply annihilates:
 

Read more

Paul Ryan vs. Barack Obama

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 13, 2010


Jillian Bandes, one of my favorites writes:

"It’s depressing that President Obama is the one calling the shots on the budget right now instead of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.)."

How true.

Meanwhile, the National Taxpayers Union has rated members of Congress on how taxpayer-friendly they were during the First Session of the 111th Congress.  Here is the entire list.

Recommended Reading (03/13/10)

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 13, 2010

Recommended reading


Here are, in my view, interesting, noteworthy columns and articles from the past week that I highly recommend (You will note that on occasion, I do not endorse the opinions of the author and may point that out. Despite my disagreements, I still feel the piece is worth a read).

Why Obama can’t move health care numbers

"For every voter who strongly favors the plan, two are strongly opposed."


Repeal Obamacare? Unlikely

“There seems to be growing optimism among some Republicans that if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi finagles the votes to pass Obamacare, the GOP will triumphantly sweep into power and immediately repeal it. While short-term GOP gains are almost certain, there are numerous problems with this kind of quixotic thinking. To begin with…..”


Is health care a right?

“To argue that people have a right that imposes obligations on another is an absurd concept. A better term for new-fangled rights to health care, decent housing and food is wishes. If we called them wishes, I would be in agreement with most other Americans for I, too, wish that everyone had adequate health care, decent housing and nutritious meals. However…..”


Eric Massa: Conservative Hero?

"Sometimes the weird just gets weirder, and the saga surrounding the dramatic resignation of New York Rep. Eric Massa is Exhibit A this week."


Gov’t workers feel no economic pain

“The recession and the ongoing jobless recovery devastated much of the private-sector work force last year, sending unemployment soaring, but government workers emerged essentially unscathed, according to data released Wednesday by the Labor Department.”


Left wing lashes out at Obama

“Liberal filmmaker Michael Moore  railed on Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, predicting, ‘Democrats on Election Day 2010 are going to get an ass-whoopin' of biblical proportions if things don't change right now’."


No profit in protecting pregnant teens

“Planned Parenthood is so committed to securing profits … er, sorry… providing health care services to teen girls that they're willing to skirt the laws of various states to do so, even laws intended to protect those girls from unhealthy, unsafe and illegal abuse at the hands of adults.”


The Keillor memorandum

“The National Catholic Education Association (NCEA) has invited Garrison Keillor, a pro-abortion, pro-gay ‘marriage’ Episcopalian, as a keynote speaker at the group's annual convention. Keillor, well-known as a humorist and host of A Prairie Home Companion, has repeatedly published his pro-abortion, pro-same-sex ‘marriage’ views - and has labeled pro-life, pro-family, and anti-pornography activists ‘shrieking ninnies and pompous blowhards’."


We’ll get naked to show terrorists who’s boss

"Because of Charlotte’s reputation as a terror hotbed, the federal government is giving Charlotte/Douglas International Airport priority in the rollout of new body scanners at security checkpoints. We absolutely welcome this development because it means somebody, somewhere must think we’re world-class and because it will hardly disrupt the pleasure and convenience of modern air travel. Here’s the way it will work…”


Are legislative Democrats betting against Tom Barrett?

"Now, with a Republican administration seeming more likely, Democrats are willing to propose more stringent restrictions on the governor’s veto pen – something they refused to do in 2005, when Doyle was still popular.These attempts to hamstring Scott Walker couldn’t be more obvious if they put a picture of him on the bills. 


Senate Democrats admit they made auto insurance unaffordable

“In a move clearly meant to provide political cover in an election year, Senator Kathleen Vinehout (D-Alma) introduced a bill that would repeal some of the changes she and Senate Democrats made in the state budget that resulted in auto insurance rate increases for many working families.”

NRLC update on fight to defeat pro-abortion Senate health care bill

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 13, 2010

Read more

Please join our next governor and lieutennat governor at taxpayer rally Sunday

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 13, 2010




More details.

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS CAN KILL YOU!! THE STORY TONIGHT AT 10:00!!!

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 13, 2010


When I was working in the news media 24/7 and at one time wore the many hats (unprecedented at the time, totally misunderstood by former MJS media critic and aging hippie Tim Cuprisin) of news manager, news reporter, news anchor, radio and TV commentator and pundit and talk show host, WHEW!, whenever called upon to issue an opinion, my philosophy then as it is now was to be able to back it up.  You can’t just go on the air and proclaim that so and so is a yahoo. You can if you have the goods that so and so is a yahoo.

Thus, yours truly was fully capable of anchoring an unbiased newscast during Charlie Sykes’ radio program, and then sliding into the pundit chair during his weekly Week in Review radio program on Fridays from 11-12 noon (now gone). Cuprisin just couldn’t quite understand how this was possible, though I’m sure the light bulb would have gone on if I was a flaming lib.

But this isn’t about my diversified media role (that seems to bug the crap out of Milwaukee Magazine and liberal bloggers and one supposedly, now former muckraking blogger who claimed she was conservative but is really about as conservative as George McGovern).

No, no, no! It’s about daylight savings time, that annual ritual when we move the clocks forward so we can enjoy more daylight and grill brats until 9:00.

I LOVE daylight savings time.

Now there I go again, issuing an opinion. According to liberals and one Waukesha

blogger/columnist….

n629638370_9679
Jim Wigderson (Duhhh, I thought legislative staffers weren't allowed to blog???!!!)

I have no business possessing thoughts of my own because I’m just a lowly state employee, a lowly legislative aide, a lowly state Senate employee. And I get to go on radio and TV??? OH MY GOD, THE INJUSTICE!

My First Amendment rights apparently were surrendered when I decided to work for the people.

(KF’s conscience: Uhh, Kev, even though, as always you are rock solid on target that drives the left out of their minds, you need to get back on topic).

You need to deliver on your printed or spoken word promises. That has been my belief for years as I juggled those hats I previously mentioned.

So, I’m very skeptical that as we change our clocks tonight, people won’t die or immediately fall into financial ruin as CBS News is reporting.

I don’t doubt their numbers that more people keel over and lose their money shortly after the clocks are set forward. But I have a noodle and it tells me it’s not because the sun sets an hour later but because of other factors like, my time was up or I simply made bad investments.

Despite CBS’ panic alert, I welcome DST. Bring on global warming and longer days and shorter nights.

And since we’re talking about clocks, the most important measuring device that matters most of all……......

Read more

My Most Popular Blogs (03/14/10)

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 14, 2010

Most popular


As I post every Sunday, here are the five most read blog entries of mine from the previous week. NOTE: some entries may have been posted prior to the past week.

1) TIE

    Oscar's "Best" isn't 

    IF YOU WANT TO KEEP SEX OFFENDERS AWAY FROM YOUR CHILDREN THIS IS
    A MUST READ

2) Culinary no-no #155 

3) After losing its star player, Hamilton defeats Franklin

4) The Best Actor

5) Psycho 2010 

Photos of the Week (03/14/10)

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 14, 2010

Photos of the Week





President Barack Obama delivers a speech on his health care plan for the nation on March 8, 2010 at Arcadia University in Glenside, near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The President, after meeting fierce Republican opposition to his health care proposals, is beginning a last-ditch attempt to persuade lawmakers and the American public to adopt his plan for health care reform. Many lawmakers are increasingly skittish on supporting the bill in an election year in which the health care proposal has become a central issue for Republicans seeking to win seats in midterm elections. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)






Supporters of national health care legislation demonstrate outside the Ritz-Carlton Hotel March 9, 2010 in Washington, DC. Demonstrators protested outside the hotel as America's Health Insurance Plans annual policy conference took place inside. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)






Clothes dry on a line outside of an apartment building in the Russian enclave of Brighton Beach March 7, 2010 in the Brooklyn borough of New York. As the 2010 population count begins, neighborhoods like Brooklyn, one of the most diverse in the country, are notoriously difficult for census workers to count as the population is dense and often weary of revealing ethnicity to the government for fear of immigration difficulties. In order to get an accurate population count the Census Bureau is mailing the 10-question forms to 120 million U.S. households on March 15. The Census count is conducted every 10 years. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)






An FBI evidence response team member walks up to an the scene where the remains of Amber Dubois were found at the Pala Indian Reservation in San Diego county Monday, March 8, 2010. The remains of 14-year-old Amber Dubois were found Saturday, four days after the presumed body of the 17-year-old Chelsea King was discovered in a shallow grave. Amber Dubois vanished walking to school on Feb. 13, 2009, about 10 miles from where Chelsea was last seen in running clothes at a park. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)






CFD captains Shawn Royal (left, kneeling) and Troy Ratchford (right, kneeling) catch their breath after exiting a training fire Wednesday at the corner of Wendover Road and Ellington Street. The veteran firefighters lead CFD 19 recruits during the training. The recruits participated in real-time structure fire training under the supervision and guidance of certified live-fire instructors and their CFD training officers. Recruits made multiple entries into vacant structures under live-fire conditions. Charlotte Fire Department does controlled burns for training, and in this case also demolishing old houses on the site of a new police substation in Grier Heights. Photo: OHN D. SIMMONS - Charlotte Observer.






Joseph Dieujuste waits for help after he got trapped in the rubble of a collapsed building in Port-au-Prince, Friday, March 12, 2010. Dieujuste and at least two other men were injured after a wooden roof fell on top of them while scavenging in a government building that was damaged in the Jan. 12 earthquake. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)






Joseph Dieujuste reacts as a mechanical shovel removes the wooden roof that fell on top of him in a collapsed building in Port-au-Prince, Friday, March 12, 2010. Dieujuste and at least two other men were injured while scavenging in a government building that was damaged in the Jan. 12 earthquake. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)






Joseph Dieujuste grimaces as he's checked for injuries by a US Army soldier after being rescued from the rubble of a collapsed building in Port-au-Prince, Friday, March 12, 2010. Dieujuste and at least two other men were injured after a wooden roof fell on top of them while scavenging in a government building that was damaged in Haiti's Jan. 12 earthquake. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)






Women search for family members trapped in the debris of a destroyed house in Okcular village in the eastern province of Elazig, Turkey, Monday, March 8, 2010, hours after a strong earthquake, with a preliminary magnitude of 6, hit eastern Turkey early Monday, killing scores of people and knocking down houses in at least six small villages, the government said. The quake affected villages near the town of Kovancilar, toppling stone or mud-brick homes and minarets of mosques, officials and media reports said. The worst-hit area was the village of Okcular where homes crumbled into piles of dirt.(AP Photo )






A pedestrian walks through the streets as the city continues to deal with the aftermath of the recent earthquake on March 12, 2010 in Talca, Chile. The newly sworn in president Sebastian Pinera is faced with the challenge of the damage done by the natural disaster. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)






Posters are seen hanging from the wall of a child's room in a home that was damaged during the Feb. 27th earthquake on March 13, 2010 in San Pedro De Alcantara, Chile. The newly sworn in president Sebastian Pinera is faced with the challenge of repairing the damage done by the natural disaster. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)


 



Villagers carry a young cow they have saved from debris in Gocmezler village in the eastern province of Elazig, Turkey, Wednesday, March 10, 2010, two days after a strong earthquake, with a preliminary magnitude of 6, hit eastern Turkey. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici)






In this Monday, March 8, 2010 photo released by the Colorado Department of Transportation, a portion of a 17-mile stretch of Interstate 70, which has been closed after a rock slide, is shown in Glenwood Springs, Colo. The slide struck around midnight Sunday near the Hanging Lake Tunnel in Glenwood Canyon, a deep and narrow chasm about 110 miles west of Denver, the Colorado Department of Transportation said. (AP Photo/Colorado Department of Transportation)






An Afghan policeman looks at remains of an attacker who blew himself up after storming an abandoned government building in Khost, east of Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, March 8, 2010. Police say attackers have detonated a bomb near a government building in eastern Afghanistan and have holed up in another building nearby where they are firing on Afghan police and U.S. troops. The attackers were the only people to die in the shootout, but one police officer and an Afghan army soldier were wounded, said provincial Gov. Taher Khan Saberi. (AP Photo)






A US Marine with the 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion pauses during night patrol in the farmfields March 10, 2010 in Khan Neshin, Helmand province, Afghanistan. The Marines at Khan Neshin are the southernmost troops in Afghanistan, using the earthen walls of an ancient Afghan castle as a base to monitor activity in this hotbed of smuggling and insurgency near the southern border of Afghanistan and Pakistan. (Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images)






A US Marine uses water tanks as weights to do leg exercises March 12, 2010 at combat outpost Khan Neshin in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Marines in the spartan base set up in the ruins of an old Afghan castle have no workout facilities, but have improvised a gym out of plywood, pipes, sandbags and other materials found around the base, and have dubbed it their own "Venice Beach." (Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images)






U.S. Army Pvt. Mark Goodwin, 21, from Mt. Holly, North Carolina, of the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, writes to his fiancee Jillian De Voe as he sits on his stretcher inside a U.S. Army compound in the Badula Qulp area, West of Lashkar Gah in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan. He proposed to her on Oct. 6, and she made him say "Will you marry me?" over and over because she liked the sound of it. He proposed again on her birthday four days later, and this time he got down on one knee with a diamond ring. His mother was on the phone, listening in as a witness. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)






Marine Cpl. Ramona Brown of Fayetteville, North Carolina shakes hands with young Pashtun girls March 11, 2010 in a hamlet near Khan Neshin in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Marines in the area have been assigned to help gather census data for planned Afghan government in the area, and female Marines like Cpl. Brown are sent out on census-gathering patrols, as men cannot enter homes as easily in conservative Pashtun culture. (Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images)






Marine Sgt. Henry Reyes of Ontario, California tries to teach a young Afghan girl gestures to the popular American dance song "YMCA" March 11, 2010 in a hamlet near Khan Neshin in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Marines in the area have been assigned to help gather census data for planned Afghan government in the area, and are making visits to rural compounds to get the demographic information in their area of operations. (Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images)






US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates places a coin at each of the 21 memorials within the Stryker Tepee Memorial while visiting US Army troops of the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Frontenac, in Kandahar, Afghanistan, Tuesday March 9, 2010. (AP Photo/Jim Watson/Pool)






The statue of Christ the Redeemer is seen surrounded by scaffolding in Rio de Janeiro, Thursday, March 11, 2010. The iconic statue that was inaugurated in 1931 is getting a $4 million renovation. Heavy rains have eroded portions of its face and hands and it has also been damaged by lightning strikes over the years. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)






This photo provided by the National Park Service shows a nesting California condor on Friday, March 5, 2010, in a cranny near the High Peaks Trail in Pinnacles National Monument, Calif. Biologists at Pinnacles are celebrating the first condor egg laid by a mating pair in more than a century. Park spokesman Carl Brenner said a condor pair released in the park in 2004 at Big Sur had been observed engaged in courtship behavior earlier this year. "They are now the proud parents of a small egg," Brenner said. (AP Photo/National Park Service, John Maio)






A cat named "Tigger" gasps for air while getting oxygen provided by firefighters on the scene of a fire on Cannon Street in Syracuse, N.Y., Thursday, March 11, 2010. (AP Photo/The Post-Standard, Mike Greenlar)






A bald eagle comes in for a landing in a tree at the Jacobson Park reservoir in Lexington, Ky. An eagle has been spotted around the Richmond Rd. reservoirs during the winter the past several years. The eagle had been eating a bird in the tree as evidenced by the feather stuck in the top. (AP Photo/Lexington Herald Leader, Charles Bertram)




'

Taronga Zoo's latest elephant baby, as yet unnamed, is tended to by specialists following a difficult birth at Taronga Zoo on March 10, 2010 in Sydney, Australia. The Asian elephant mother Porntip had a protracted labour with the new calf, spanning six days of concern which are not over yet as the calf struggles but remains stable. The calf is believed at this stage to have survived the labour in a coma and thus was first thought to have died in the womb. (Bobby-Jo Vial/Taronga Zoo via Getty Images)






Siberian tigers jump for a chicken tossed by a feeder at a branch of Harbin Siberian Tigers Breeding Center in Shenyang in northeast China's Liaoning province. Eleven rare Siberian tigers kept in small cages and fed only chicken bones have died of malnutrition at the nearby Shenyang Forest Wild Animal Zoo, state media said Friday, March 12, 2010. (AP Photo)






A group of chickens cross Route 44 in Jerseytown, Pa., in the rain on Friday afternoon, March 12, 2010. (AP Photo/Bloomsburg Press Enterprise, Bill Hughes)


 

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Culinary no-no #156

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 14, 2010

Culinary no-no's


REGULAR READERS OF CULINARY NO-NO UNDERSTAND THAT WE DON’T GET TO THE GIST OF THE ENTRY UNTIL ABOUT PARAGRAPH #39.

WELL GUESS WHAT?

THIS WEEK IS NO EXCEPTION.

WHAT’S THAT YOU SAY?

“I'M NOT STICKING AROUND FOR 39 PARAGRAPHS TO FIND OUT I SHOULDN’T PUT KETCHUP IN SOMETHIN!!!”

OH YES YOU WILL.



I had no idea, honestly.

My very good friend….





Never mentioned it in his book….









Turns out restaurant patrons are being victimized by menu seduction.

And who’d have thunk it that those nice, friendly restaurant owners and managers were actually diabolical psychologists trying to manipulate me from the very moment their menu is placed in my hands.

That is the first salvo in the GOTCHA game played by restaurants: The warm, courteous, smiling greeting as you are seated and the gentle, inviting presentation of the menu.

It’s a trap according to William Poundstone, author of “Priceless: The Myth of Fair Value (and How to Take Advantage of It)” who has extensively studied why we spend money.


 

Cover Image


Poundstone believes there are ways restaurateurs can get diners to order what they want you to order.

In the restaurant business, there are some items that are quite profitable for restaurants and others that are not.  So, menu consultants are hired to devise menus in such a fashion that customers’ attention is drawn to those dishes that will bring in higher profits.

That’s why you will see some menu items enclosed in a box. Boxed dishes are usually the restaurant’s most profitable items or highlight the chef’s culinary expertise. The eyes of the hungry diners are automatically drawn to those boxes that customarily feature outrageously priced offerings.

Here are some examples the This Just In research team was able to find.

If you look at a Bar Louie’s Glendale menu, note the shaded or boxed areas.

The burger section encourages you to make it a double or triple for $3.00/patty.

The pizza section highlights one the most expensive options.

The dessertinis section boxes a trio costing $11.99. The other dessertinis are all $3.99.

Here’s another example. The Nine Steakhouse in Chicago menu obviously steers you to their big beef items of $36-62 prime meats and extra if you order a sauce or a go-with for your filet like sautéed mushrooms. No box around the organic chicken, lamb shank or rabbit.

But here’s an even more blatant example according to Poundstone.

Take a look.


Main Image


 

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Obama in the morning

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 15, 2010

Political Cartoon by Mike Lester

When 2,000 conservatives meet in a mid-sized WI city to protest their government, what do you call that?

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 15, 2010


NEWS!

March Madness

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 15, 2010




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Could your child dial 9-1-1?

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 15, 2010

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Shameless: Wait till You Hear Washington's Latest Health Care Scheme

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 15, 2010

              

Shameless
Wait till You Hear Washington's Latest Health Care Scheme



Don't have public opinion on your side? No worries.

Don't have the votes in Congress? Not a problem.

Overwhelming public opposition doesn't appear to stop House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has cooked up yet another new scheme to jam the health care bill through Congress.

This latest gimmick -- aptly named the "Slaughter Strategy" after its brainchild, Rep. Louis Slaughter (R-NY) -- would allow the House to "pass" the Senate version of the health care bill without even voting on it. Now tell me exactly where the "transparency" is...shameless.

Yes, you read that correctly. Unfortunately, we're not making this stuff up. But you're not surprised.

Click here and demand accountability -- if Congress is going to support this flawed measure they need to own their vote.  The American people deserve to know where their Congressman stands on this issue.

What happened to the President's demand for an "up or down" vote on health care?

It appears there's no room for transparency in today's Administration.

If Congress is so desperate to side step the American people in order to pass flawed health care reform, they need to be willing to face their constituents.

Instead, desperate to hold on to their seats in 2010, the House may avoid a public vote all together.

Write Congress now and tell them not only are you paying attention but you oppose this bill and demand a public vote.

Sincerely,


Bill Miller
Senior Vice President and National Political Director
U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Hannity is right: Obama is "The anointed one"

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 15, 2010


The Catholic League’s latest news release rips the NY Times:

“On the front page of the ‘Week in Review’ section of Sunday's New York Times, there was a piece on health care titled, "Is Failure Forgivable?" Accompanying the article was a photo of President Obama in shirt sleeves with his finger pointed upwards. Superimposed in the background was an illustration that showed an illuminated cross; a halo over Obama's head was also depicted. A small picture of the White House was shown at the bottom of the cross.

 

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A decisive week

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 15, 2010

 
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After all our calls, emails, town hall meetings, "Hands Off My Health Care" bus tour rallies, tea parties, television ads and everything else - the final House vote on the health care takeover is going to be in the next 5 to 10 days. 

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What value are political yard signs?

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 15, 2010

Not much.

The hard truth is they don’t automatically or necessarily translate into votes. And thank God for that. If you vote for someone solely because you saw their yard sign, well then, you’re basically a simpleton.

Yard signs are of some worth and voters should display them.

They make the candidate feel good.

And they make the candidate’s supporters feel good, thus supplying some energy and confidence to the campaign.

But that’s it.

Yard signs do not equal votes.

If candidate X has 500 signs and candidate z has 50 signs, it’s meaningless.

So please, don’t make any foolish judgments about signage you may see in the next few weeks.

*BREAKING NEWS: SCOTT WALKER DOESN'T ALWAYS LIKE A SANDWICH FOR LUNCH!*

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 15, 2010


One of the worst kept secrets in Wisconsin journalism is that the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Editorial Board simply hates Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, the next governor of the state of Wisconsin.

Walker could find the cure for cancer tomorrow and the newspaper would bash him.

The local mainstream media, in general, despises Walker because he, unlike them is a conservative. And history tells us that that liberals, from Al Gore (I invented the Internet) right on down to local lefty bloggers will say and do anything to get themselves/their guys elected. That includes the wing of the Democrat Party known as..... the press.

The latest waste of time disguised as investigative journalism could be a new low, even for the once venerable news organization known as the Associated Press (AP).

The AP decided to find out what Scott Walker eats since he has said he often packs his own lunch. Yep, it’s come to that, ripping the guy about his meals. Well guess what fellow voters? It turns out that after exhaustive (and I use that term loosely) review by those workaholics at the AP, they found that:

Scott Walker GASP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! doesn’t always pack a lunch.

Scott walker GASP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! doesn’t always eat a dry sandwich.

Scott Walker GASP !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! sometimes eats out.

Scott Walker’s campaign staff GASP!!!!!!!! doesn’t always pack a lunch or eat at crummy hotels/motels.

Scott Walker’s campaign GASP !!!!!!!!!!! spends its campaign funding on campaign expenses.

Of course, whenever someone spends a few dollars that are, in the media’s view, questionable, reporters in this state run to their usual suspect, the completely biased Jay Heck, a former employee at the now defunct Assembly DEMOCRAT Caucus who, before he goes on the record, puts on his holy garments and then tells the naïve reporter who sucks up everything Heck says like a Hoover, “Oh, my goodness. Something definitely doesn’t look tight here!”

The AP reporter exuberantly runs in a mad dash to his computer to gleefully bang at his keyboard, thinking he is a modern day Woodward or Bernstein:

WE CAUGHT SCOTT WALKER AT SUBWAY!!!!

The lefty dolts who blog jump for joy sensing a smoking gun that will put away the guy they so desperately fear that they blast him on their insignificant pages once every 12.5 minutes.

The AP thought they had sandbagged a Walker spokeswoman with their 60 Minutes-like gotcha interview, only to have it shoved back in their face.

"Of course, we spend money for food on campaign fundraising events, Scott doesn't have the time to pack a lunch for everyone and not everyone likes ham and cheese on wheat,” said Walker campaign spokeswoman Jill Bader.

Touche!

You know, I’ll just bet Herb Kohl doesn’t always eat at George Webb’s or George Webb facsimiles.

Seriously, liberal Democrats and the press that doesn’t want Scott Walker to win fear him something fierce. This is the kind of garbage we can expect between now and November.

Those of you that oppose big, fat, bloated government, high taxes, and too much spending, hit them where it hurts…….at the ballot box.

Read more

The Reagan Obama debate

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 15, 2010

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MUST SEE VIDEO--Ryan: "This abuse of the process, this abuse of the constitution are not worthy of your support"

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 15, 2010


Wisconsin' s Paul Ryan today speaking before the House Budget Committee:

 

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It's called a perk, thanks to you

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 15, 2010


“The economy is still limping along, but some members of Congress are nevertheless riding in style: At least 10 House members are spending more than $1,000 a month in taxpayer money to lease cars.”

Read the rest here.

# 1 to # 65

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 16, 2010


The Charlotte Observer has a pictorial ranking of all 65 teams in the NCAA Men's basketball tournament.


 #14 Wisconsin




Is there any coach in the tournament who will have his team more prepared than Wisconsin's Bo Ryan? It's doubtful. Unexciting? Sure. But the Badgers are always dangerous and 2010 is no exception. Sneaky guard Trevor Hughes is tough to handle. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)


# 23 Marquette




Lazar Hayward (18 ppg) has nothing to slouch about. Sure, Marquette lost to N.C. State, but his team was picked to finish 12th in the Big East preseason yet finished 22-6 and in fifth place. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)


#24 Notre Dame



Irish dunker Luke Harangody (23.3 ppg), sidelined because of a knee injury, is back in the fold and sixth-seeded Notre Dame is dangerous again. (Henny Ray Abrams -- AP Photo)

Now, I would show Illinois, but....

Illinois didn't get selected.

Sniff.

Here is the complete list.

Obama's health care strategy is quite transparent

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 16, 2010

Political Cartoons by Steve Kelley

Noooo, the Franklin School Board would never do that!!!!

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 16, 2010


The Franklin School Board may have violated open meetings laws.

Remember some members convened under questionable circumstances last year at the city’s annual 4th of July celebration.

It’s too bad school board member Janet (I really, really do care about district communications) Evans dumped her FranklinNOW school board-oriented blog. Maybe we could have been offered some sort of explanation.

The School Board continues to blunder. It raises taxes and spending during a recession, then makes cuts, possibly without notice to the taxpaying public.

Wisconsin needs more education leaders like Dave Schoepke

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 16, 2010


Dave Schoepke is a middle school principal in Marshfield. Schoepke is in hot water with his superiors, those upper educrats who always seem to know what’s truly best for students.

Seems Schoepke used an unconventional method to try to encourage his failing students to improve.

The Marshfield News Herald reports, “Schoepke posted in the alcove of his office a list of students, by name, who were failing so they could raise their grades and attend a Friday night school dance.”

Ooooooooooooooooooooo! Sounds pretty serious, doesn’t it?

Poor old Schoepke is attempting to motivate a bunch of slugs. However, his MOI doesn’t fit into the current public school playbook of never admonish, always make the student feel good.

His students who don’t work hard and who don’t seem to care aren’t the problem according to the school district. Schoepke, who’s trying to reach out and push these lazy kids ….he’s the problem.

Why, he’s violating those kids’ privacy rights. Is he really? Not if the misconduct was unintentional. And intent, boys and girls, is awfully difficult to prove.

Instead of treating these loafing malcontents with kid gloves, I wish there were more like Schoepke who did his best to light a fire under these lazy under-achievers.

But we can’t upset little Jimmy and Jane, now can we? It’s much better they go home with a s mile on their face than their homework.

Here are some comments from readers to the Marshfield News Herald:

“Because Mr. Schoepke wanted to help failing kids raise their grades and be allowed to go to a dance, this is an issue? Why weren't the failing grades an issue with the parents when mid-term grades came out a few weeks ago? He seems to care more about helping his kids raise their grades than those parents!”

“We are a society that sugar coats anything perceived to be 'negative.'
-It's not ok to tell someone they are overweight but it's ok to tell someone they look good with a six pack of abs?
-It's not ok to hold a kid accountable for his actions but it's ok to make numerous excuses as to why little Johnny acts the way he does, etc. etc.”

“I'm still amused that publishing a list of 'F' students on the school's wall is considered an evil invasion of privacy and is illegal without written consent, yet plastering the same information about 'A' and 'B' honor students on the walls and in the papers is just fine with no prior consent from students/parents needed.”

So we continue to coddle youngsters, we set the bar low, the kids never attain high achievement, and we blame it on Madison because they’re not spending enough on schools.

Here’s more from WXOW.

Let's play which one doesn't belong: France, the United States, Great Britain, or Croatia

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 16, 2010


The answer is...........................
 
The United States.

All the other countries are flying their country flags at their military compounds in Haiti where relief is pouring in.

Needless to say, aid from the United States far eclipses that from any other country. Yet the Stars and Stripes isn’t flying in Haiti to remind their people of which country has stepped forward the most to lend a helping hand and then some.

Why, you ask?

Blame our president who will not allow it.

Read more in the Army Times.

Census forms are in the mail

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 17, 2010

This week's Democrat strategy on socialized medicine

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 17, 2010

Political Cartoon by Glenn Foden
 

Political Cartoon by Michael Ramirez


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Why does St. Patrick get all the 3/17 pub?

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 17, 2010


The answer is supplied by the Irish Times....HERE.

The Year of My Mother: Erin Go Bragh

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 17, 2010

The Year of My Mother


"THE YEAR OF MY MOTHER" IS A YEAR-LONG SERIES OF BLOGS DEDICATED TO MY DEAR, SWEET MOM WHO DIED IN EARLY JANUARY OF THIS YEAR. I PLAN TO DEVOTE SPECIAL BLOGS THROUGHOUT 2010 TO MY MOM WITH SPECIAL REFLECTIONS AND MEMORIES THAT I HOPE WILL INSPIRE READERS AND CAPTURE THE TRUE SPIRIT AND CHARACTER THAT WAS THE GREATEST WOMAN I HAVE EVER KNOWN.


It was Christmas Eve, 1991.

The Fischer family was gathered at my brother’s house. Dad had been gone for several years.

No one knew what was coming.

We alternated from person to person, each opening a present from his/her stack, one at a time, in order.

Eventually, my mother opened up a relatively large gift from #2 son, me. It was one of those large coffee table books featuring brilliant photos of Ireland.

“Go ahead, Mom. Look inside at some of the pictures.”

And she did, paging and paging until she got to an envelope containing a card informing Mom that yours truly had already made arrangements to take her to Ireland in March.

My mother was extremely, extremely, extremely proud of her Irish heritage. And being the unselfish way she was, had I not made all the arrangements ahead of time, she would have never been satisfied and insisted that the trip she wanted for a, lifetime, her first to her beloved Emerald Isle, be totally on her.

No way.

I have so many wonderful memories of that 1992 trip.

On St. Patrick’s Day, we headed out that morning in Dublin to find a spot for the parade. There is no green beer and acting bonkers on St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland. The day is reverent, a national holiday. Everything is closed, schools, businesses, banks, restaurants, pubs while the 3-hour plus parade winds its way through the Dublin streets.

Following all the advice from the travel experts, Mom and I had dressed appropriately with winter coats.

Wrong.

Bright sunshine and temperatures around 65 degrees.

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Action Needed NOW to Stop Abortion in Health Care Bill

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 17, 2010

Citizens for a Pro-Life Society Logo

From Monica Migliorino Miller, Ph.D. Director of CPLS
see www.prolifesociety.com

See Requiem for the Disappeared on You Tube

TAKE ACTION NOW! AGAINST ABORTION IN HEALTH CARE BILL!   CALL YOUR SENATORS AND CONGRESSMEN TODAY!  

Here’s what the Senate Bill will do:

*Create authority for the federal government to
 MANDATE ABORTION COVERAGE

*Individuals and families would be FORCED into
insurance plans with mandatory abortion coverage

*American taxpayers would be forced to pay a new
"ABORTION PREMIUM FEE" to cover the costs of
 abortions for other people

*The bill would direct $11 BILLION in funding to
"community health centers" and deputizes them to
 become new abortion facilities

*Planned Parenthood and the rest of the abortion
industry would get a massive, GOVERNMENT-FUNDED
BAILOUT -- to the tune of billions of dollars

*The bill WOULD NOT adequately protect the
consciences of medical providers who refuse to
participate in life-destroying practices

*If the Senate health care reform bill is passed by the  
House of Representatives, it will result in the largest 
 expansion of abortion since Roe v. Wade!

 Need help finding your  Representative? Go here to contact  
 him or her TODAY:
 http://www.stoptheabortionmandate.com/call

The following Democratic Legislators, especially need to hear from you!  Tell them to vote “NO” on Health Care!

Jason Altmire (PA-04)
Paul Kanjorski (PA-11)
Brad Ellsworth (IN-11)
Baron Hill (IN-09)
Steve Dreihaus (OH-01)
Charlie Wilson (OH-06)
Marcy Kaptur (OH-09)
John Boccieri (OH-16)
James Langevin (RI-02)
 

Hundreds Rallied at District Offices

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 17, 2010

 
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Tuesday, we asked Americans in targeted congressional districts to turn out for events to let these undecided members of Congress know just how strongly the folks back home oppose this health care takeover. 

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Franklin taxpayers, are you asking for a big fat tax increase?

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 17, 2010


This is why I strongly support Franklin Alderman Steve Olson. He’s the only member of the Common Council that has any measure of common sense.

DISCLAIMER: I know all the Franklin aldermen. I met Steve Taylor once and gave him the benefit of the doubt, but since being elected he’s been a major disappointment, masquerading as a conservative, but making constant liberal statements and votes. My alderman Kristen Wilhelm is a lost cause. She hasn’t met a tax increase or new spending proposal she doesn’t like. But then, as she once told me, “Kevin, you’re just one constituent.” Wrong, Kristen. I am “a” constituent. “Kevin, you are just one constituent.” Translation: Screw you.

My feelings about tornado sirens for Franklin are well documented. They are too expensive and totally unnecessary.

News bulletin to Franklin residents: The city is flat broke. We are in a deficit. We don’t have extra cash to toss around to spend willy nilly. And even if we did, warning sirens in this day and age are not necessary.

Bravo to Franklin Alderman Steve Olson for making this statement Tuesday night at the Common Council meeting:

"I'm going to make this statement, (and) I'm sorry if it offends people: I don't need the government to tell me when to come out of the rain. Just because we have the cash doesn't mean we have to spend it."

Amen.

Do we have to depend on City Hall to tell us to run inside and hide under our beds?

Olson was 99.9999999999999999999999999999999999999999% right.

FRANKLIN MAY HAVE SET THE MONEY ASIDE FOR POSSIBLE SIRENS, BUT THE CITY IS OUT OF MONEY.  IF THE CITY DOESN’T ROB YOU (AND IT WILL) THEN THE SCHOOL BOARD IS POISED TO STICK THE REVOLVER IN YOUR RIBS.

Is it any wonder they keep taxing and spending when people keep asking for new taxing and spending and then, when it’s far too late, moan and groan every December? They gaze at their property tax bills and wonder out loud, “Gee, how in the world did this happen?”

Franklin taxpayers, when you’re being fleeced and are bending over saying take more, please take some more, you have yourselves to blame.

What's that gorilla in the room?

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 18, 2010

Political Cartoon by Gary Varvel


National debt up $2 trillion under Obama's watch

"President George W. Bush still holds the record for the most debt run up on his watch: $4.9 trillion. But it took him over four years to rack up the first two trillion dollars in debt. It has taken Mr. Obama 421 days."

TV weather folks already spreading anti-business panic for this weekend

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 18, 2010


You had better stay tuned to your favorite local TV station's Storm or Winter Central ‘s special Weather Desk.  OHHHHHHHHHHHH  NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Bad weather is coming, or so they claim.

Did you know that, HOLY ISOBAR, this weekend we will have not just rain but snow?

When I worked at WTMJ, I took more than a few calls from people who literally and seriously asked whenever we gave severe forecasts if it was safe to go outside.

Focus, people. We are at the end of winter. We will get some piddly rain and snow this weekend. We’re not talking measurable anything. By now, we should know how to handle any inclement weather.

And yet, the weather folks on TV will have people tied up in knots, freaking out, ready to barricade themselves in this weekend.

Ask any restaurant or bar owner how he/she feels about TV meteorologists and they will rank somewhere down there with lawyers, used car salesmen and the Chicago Bears.

When business owners suffer this weekend because of overly frightened forecasts, will the TV weather bunch apologize for their hysterics?

Gimme a break.

PS: Gene Mueller and John Jagler, I know you read my stuff and feed it to your fearless forecaster. If he goes on the air and boldly proclaims this weekend is nothing to worry about, I just might give him a break and not pick on him for the next three months.

UPDATE: It's not just the TV guys.

"This is going to be an incredibly wet, slushy snow."

UPDATE TO THE UPDATE:  Never mind.

Shameful Alliance Between Planned Parenthood and UW-Hospitals and Clinics Authority

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 18, 2010

Life - Wisconsin Right To Life - News Release


UW Medical Students Learn How to

Destroy a Baby's Life at Planned

Parenthood Madison Facility


Thursday, March 18, 2010

Senator Tob Coburn issues strong warning to Dems

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 18, 2010

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Big Labor: What the unions are up to at the taxpayers' expense.

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 18, 2010

              

SPOTLIGHT: BIG LABOR


An Update on Organized Labor's Latest Power Grabs


Up until last year, much had been written about the "death" of Big Labor in America.

But they're making a comeback -- courtesy of their allies in the Administration and Congress. The unions spent big bucks in the 2008 elections, and now it's time for payback.

Don't worry: even when they think no one's paying attention, we're taking note. But there's so much to report on we weren't sure where to begin! So we compiled it all in our first ever Spotlight: Big Labor newsletter -- chock full of what the unions are up to at the taxpayers' expense.

Please forward to interested parties.

Enjoy.

Sincerely,


Bill Miller
Senior Vice President and National Political Director
U.S. Chamber of Commerce




A Union Sneak Attack?

Despite the U.S. Senate's vote last month to block the nomination of radical Union activist Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board -- the Secretary of Labor, Hilda Solis, is promising a "recess appointment" to sneak Becker on to the NLRB. First the "nuclear option" on health care -- and now a recess appointment on an appointee already blocked by the Senate. Hope and change -- or tricks and games?

Click here to call Secretary Solis today.




Big Labor: Political Powerhouse

When President Obama delivered his tongue-lashing to the Supreme Court in his State of the Union address -- accusing the justices of opening "the floodgates for special interests" -- he didn't mention the No. 1 beneficiary of the Court's Citizens United decision. Nor did Sen. Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) when he excoriated the campaign finance case as a victory for "corporate America."

Read More




Big Labor's Big New Tax

Big Labor is launching a huge campaign designed to promote their newly proposed "stock transaction tax" -- a boondoggle that would seek to punish those who invest in our economy. Their plan: spend the money raised from their tax on -- what else -- but union projects.

Click here to join the discussion on this new tax in our online forum.




Andy the Union Boss: Obama's Newest Appointee

The Obama Administration has appointed Big Labor boss Andy Stern -- head of the SEIU Labor Union -- to its new "deficit reduction committee." Talk about letting the fox into the henhouse. This is the same guy who is pushing for higher taxes and more government spending to bail out his own labor union. How do you feel about this appointment?

Click here to vote in our online poll.




AFL-CIO Plans to Spend Record Sum during Election

The AFL-CIO plans to roll out its biggest political campaign ever, surpassing the $53 million spent in 2008 to help elect President Barack Obama, to try to avert a repeat of the 1994 midterm election when Democrats lost a majority in Congress.

Click here to read more.

 


© 2007-2010 U.S. Chamber of Commerce 1615 H St NW Washington DC 20062-2000

November Is Coming

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 18, 2010

 
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With the crucial House health care vote most likely coming in 72 hours, I'm asking you to take a new step.

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So much for the Big East

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 18, 2010


It's still the best conference, but try telling that to your Big Ten friends.

It's InterCHANGE Friday night

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 18, 2010


Here are the topics the panel discusses on InterCHANGE Friday night on Milwaukee Public Television Channel 10 at 6:30 with a repeat broadcast Sunday morning at 11:00:


1 – Obama Health Care.

 

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Franklin Alderman Olson responds to former alderman about warning sirens

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 18, 2010


Because of problems with this website, Franklin Alderman Steve Olson was unable to post a comment in response to former Franklin alderman Don Dorsan about my blog on tornado warning sirens.

My blog follows, then the comments,  followed by Olson’s response:


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Let's go deep behind the scenes at the White House for the latest on health care reform strategy

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 19, 2010

Political Cartoon by Steve Kelley

 

Obamacare: An ugly process, and it will only get uglier

"Even President Obama himself has described his attempt to overhaul health care as ‘an ugly process.’ Count on things getting even uglier when the final vote occurs this weekend."


Where this is going: Single -payer nightmare

"Democrats don't care how much ObamaCare costs. When President Barack Obama addressed Republicans, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., carefully outlined the costs of this 'reform.' He explained why costs figure to go up, not down. To someone truly interested in a cost-benefit analysis, these points warrant a rebuttal. But as MSNBC host Ed Schultz said, when it comes to health care reform and money, 'I don't care how much it costs."'An owner of an NFL team fired his coach despite the team's winning record. He explained,  'I gave him an unlimited expense account -- and he exceeded it.' To Democrats, 'economic justice' knows no price tag. "

Rehorst: Last minute notes about Saturday's Bourbon release

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 19, 2010

 
     
 

The Monthly Newsletter of Wisconsin's First Craft Distillery      -Special-
 
     
             
 
In This Issue
Blog / Facebook
Bourbon Released
The Party
 
Featured Article

 
Featured Article

 
Add us to your Social Network
 


Follow us on Twitter and Facebook
FacebookTwitter
Also check out "Distilled!" a blog where we spew about alcohol related topics a bit more frequently than the newsletter allows.
 
 
Featured Article
Author Charles Cowdery will be on hand for this historic event!
 
Featured Article

     


We've had a much greater response to our bourbon release than we anticipated, so we want to explain what's going on.
 

 Details below...
 
Important Bourbon Release Info

Due to the fact that there is greater demand than supply, and many of you have questions we need to point out a few things...
 

 
-There are ONLY 263 (375ml) bottles available.

 
-Sale price is $44.95 (+tax) per bottle.

 
-The sale takes place Saturday March 20th at 5:30 PM. This is the ONLY opportunity to purchase the Bourbon.

 
-We cannot take pre-orders.

 
- We cannot ship bottles.

 
-We will limit buyers to 2 bottles- this enables more people to have a chance to get a bottle.

 
-Because of the media interest, we expect a lot of people at the sale. It is a first come, first serve sale. Even if you have RSVP'd there is no guarantee you will get a bottle.

 
-The release party (5:30-8:30PM)  this Saturday March 20th is open to the public, but again we are concerned about the overwhelming interest. If you come, you may not get a bottle, you may not even get into the release party.

 
- There is no charge to attend the release party, and there will be light munchies only. You must be at least 21 to attend and have ID.

 
- We will reserve a number of bottles to sell drinks by the glass, we will also have available cocktails made with our other spirits including our Vodka, Gin and Citrus Honey Vodka.

 
- We will eventually have more bourbon but that is a couple years out. We may release a steady supply of Rye Whiskey later in the year and plan to release a rum near the end of May.

 
We are very sorry we cannot supply enough Bourbon to fill the demand and apologize in advance if you are unable to obtain any. Please try our other products if have not yet done so- they are yummy. Also, visit us- our tasting room is open Monday thru Saturday from Noon to 6PM. We offer tours at 2 and 4PM on those days and offer an additional tour at 6PM on Fridays. More info here- 

Thank you for your interest and again we are very sorry we won't be able to accommodate everyone.

 
 
Release Party Notes
 
Again, because of the unanticipated demand we have to set a few rules for the release party.

At 5PM we will be closing the distillery to prepare for the party and sale. This means if you show up earlier for a visit or tour you will have to leave the distillery at 5PM. No one will be admitted into the building until 5:30PM. It is quite possible a line will form outside before we open.

The release party is this Saturday March 20th 5:30- 8:30PM.

While we'll be able to make a limited number of bourbon cocktails with our test batch, we will of course have our other fine spirits available (for the bourbon impaired).
Special guest will be Chuck Cowdery -Bourbon expert author of "Bourbon, Straight" and Blogger.

Please note- you must be in attendance Saturday March 20th after 5:30PM to buy a bottle, we cannot reserve any for you! When they are gone they are gone for good.

Here's the details;
  • Saturday March 20th- Party starts at 5:30 goes to 8:30PM
     
  • Bourbon Cocktails available (while they last!)
  • Complimentary samples and light munchies
     
  • Special guest Bourbon expert and writer Chuck Cowdery
     
 
We look forward to seeing you for this historic Bourbon release this Saturday!
 

Sincerely,
 
Guy Rehorst
Great Lakes Distillery, LLC
 
             
     
 
Rehorst Premium Milwaukee Vodka is 40% Alcohol by Volume (80 Proof).
Rehorst Premium Milwaukee Gin is 44% Alcohol By Volume (88 Proof).
Rehorst Premium Milwaukee Citrus & Honey Flavored Vodka is 40% Alcohol By Volume (80 Proof). 
Artisan Series Pear Brandy Eau-de-Vie, Grappa and Kirschwasser are 40% Alcohol by Volume (80 Proof).
 
Drink Responsibly.
Great Lakes Distillery, Milwaukee WI
Great Lakes Distillery, LLC | 616 W. Virginia St. | Milwaukee | WI | 53204

It's soggy and maybe snowy, but it's still the weekend!

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 19, 2010


March Madness.

Is there anything else to say.

And because it's the weekend, naturally, the weather turns crappy.

Good reason to stay inside and read blogs.

Our regular weekend lineup begins tonight with our goodnight music piece.

Then Saturday morning, wake up to the Barking Lot, complete with DOGS IN THE NEWS  including this neat story............


An Austrian special forces trooper training parachuting with dogs


Also Saturday, Week-ends, our weekly week in review. Somewhere in this crowd......


Bagpipers march up Fifth Ave. for annual St. Patrick's Day Parade.


A hero waits to emerge.

Saturday also brings you Recommended Reading.

Then on Sunday, My Most Popular Blogs, Culinary no-no, and Photos of the Week. This picture did NOT make the final cut..... but it's still a nice photo:




A woman reacts after kissing a member of the U. S. Army's 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment during the 183rd Savannah St. Patrick's Day parade, March 17, 2010 in Savannah, Ga. St. Patrick's Day was first celebrated in Savannah in 1813, when the Hibernian Society planned a private gathering. (AP Photo/Stephen Morton)

Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by This Just In...

Hey teach, feeling stimulated?

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 19, 2010


Last week I blogged about where most of the stimulus money went.

More proof that money was just wasted: The MacIver Institute finds that more than half of the school districts it surveyed are going to lay off teachers. So much for all that stimulus loot those districts pocketed.

Goodnight everyone, and have a lovely spring weekend

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 19, 2010


It's Friday night.

Time to unwind.

The weekend has finally arrived. 

Let's put controversy aside for the rest of the work week and smooth our way into Saturday and Sunday.

Tonight, after a week of incredible wearther, we anxiously await the first day of spring. 

Or do we?

The weekend forecast calls for temps in the 30'sand 40's with rain and snow.

The thought of the advent of spring can be lovely though, when it's wrapped around the sultry lyrics of songstress Jane Monheit.

Ladies and gentlemen, from high atop Manhattan in the legendary Rainbow Room.....



Read more

The Barking Lot (03/20/10)

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 20, 2010

The Barking Lot


The Barking Lot is a regular weekly feature of this just in…Written by my lovely wife, Jennifer and me.  It opens with the weekend dog walking forecast followed by the main blog from dog lover, Jennifer. Then it’s DOGS IN THE NEWS and our close. Enjoy!


THE WEEKEND DOG-WALKING FORECAST: We grade the weather outlook for taking your pet outdoors. 

TODAY:  Snow showers early with a chance of lingering snow showers late in the day. High of 39.  "F"

SUNDAY:  Times of sun and clouds. High of 48. "D"

Here’s my lovely wife, Jennifer with this week’s main blog:


I can’t believe Kevin and I will celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary this June.  Time has gone by so incredibly fast, just like all my elders warned me it would.  I truly love being a wife and mom.  It is the perfect situation for me, and all I’ve ever wanted.  

 

Read more

Week-ends (03/20/10)

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 20, 2010

Week-ends


A look back at the people and events that made news the past week.Week-ends is a regular weekly feature of This Just In...


HEROES OF THE WEEK


Dave Quigley


Raymond Kelly


Chris Jones and John Duke


Elizabeth Stevens


Truett Wood


Margaret Kerr Boylan


The state of Idaho


Jospeh Zilber


Fess Parker



VILLAINS OF THE WEEK


Nancy Pelosi


113 members of Congress, most of them Republicans. Watch....

Read more

Ten Facts Every American Should Know About Democrats' Final Government Takeover of Health Care

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 20, 2010


The following is an analysis by the Office of the Republican Leader in the House:

Ten Facts Every American Should Know About Democrats’ Final Government Takeover of Health Care

Read more

Recommended Reading (03/20/10)

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 20, 2010

Recommended reading


Here are, in my view, interesting, noteworthy columns and articles from the past week that I highly recommend (You will note that on occasion, I do not endorse the opinions of the author and may point that out. Despite my disagreements, I still feel the piece is worth a read).


Why you should oppose Obamacare: 32 quotes from Democrats

“The problems with health care reform are legion…..Of course, I can point those things out all day long, but it doesn't matter to Democrats because I'm a conservative.  So, I decided to put together a series of quotes from Democrats. If Dems won't believe me about how bad this bill is, how crooked the process is, the lies that were told to promote it, how it funds abortion, and how much hypocrisy and broken promises were involved in getting to this point, maybe they'll believe other Democrats.”


If the health care bill is so darned super wonderful…..

“Why do we need bribes, threats, and possibly illegal emails?”


Process does matter

“The Democratic Party believes so deeply in the will of the American people that it may courageously not vote on a bill that it couldn't pass.

How we pass legislation doesn't matter, they say, as long as the cause is just. Don't worry, in the end you'll learn to love it. (Boy, I wonder if history offers any clues to where that kind of logic leads.)”


Top 5 Obamacare budget gimmicks

“This latest bill rivals the greatest magic tricks that J.K. Rowling could come up with."


If Obamacare passes what will happen by Election Day?

“If the House Democratic majority passes Obama's health care proposals, one of two things will happen by Election Day, 2010 — and neither one will be healthy for the Democrats seeking re-election.”


Fraud……who cares?

“It appears there hasn't been a single FoodShare (food stamp) fraud case prosecuted in Milwaukee County in at least 10 years, according to the Milwaukee County District Attorney's office.

Other states do far more.

Minnesota and Michigan conducted at least 85% more FoodShare fraud investigations in 2007 than Wisconsin. And while Wisconsin successfully prosecuted just 20 people for fraud that year (including nine who were convicted and 11 who lost their benefits due to plea agreements), the number of successful prosecutions in Minnesota was well over 1,000. In Michigan, it exceeded 2,400.”


2009 NCAA black graduation rates

“Graduation gaps among the men’s (college basketball) top 16 seeds are profound. Seven of the 16 teams should be banned for black player rates under 50 percent"


Hey, Obama, Keep Your Hands Off My Fishing Pole

“When I hear crap that Obama and his ‘progressive’ ilk want to ban fishing, it gets me … uh … how shall I put this … um… angry. Yeah, that’s a good word. Not only are they upending this nation on many different economical fronts but now they’re talking about the recreationally and economically disastrous move of banning fishing? What’s next? Are they going to ban apple pie? Blonde-haired girls? Chevrolet? No, they own Chevy now. What about baseball?”

Democrats afraid to discuss the facts about Obamacare

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 20, 2010


From Big Government:

“Making the rounds of Democrat Offices on Capitol Hill is a ‘messaging’ memo designed to help Democrat members navigate a politically dangerous environment where the public is united in opposition to their government take-over of health care. Key message:

‘do not allow yourself (or your boss) to get into a discussion of the details of CBO scores and textual narrative. Instead, focus only on the deficit reduction and number of Americans covered’.”

"What's wrong with a little socialism?"

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 20, 2010


On Friday, a small, and I mean very small Tea Party rally broke out in Evanston, Illinois.

The tiny band was immediately harassed by passer-by supporters of socialism who pulled out the usual attacks that if you are opposed to government health care, you are racist and a buffoon.

Watch for the moronic Michael Moore look-a-like. 

Read more

When will the House vote Sunday on health care?

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 20, 2010


Democratic House Caucus chair John Larson, D-Conn has announced  Sunday's  vote will take place shortly after 2:00 p.m. after an hour of debate on the rule (the rule to allow reconcilation to get to the floor).

After the House votes on the rule there will be two hours of debate on the bill.

 

Obamacare goes down to the wire

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 21, 2010

Political Cartoon by Gary McCoy

Political Cartoon by Michael Ramirez


Political Cartoon by Chip Bok
 

Read more

The stark reality of March Madness

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 21, 2010

Read more

Hypocrite Pelosi to force the hand of Catholic Democrats

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 21, 2010


Today marks the Sabbath, the day that Catholics congregate to celebrate the Eucharist, the Holy Mass.

Might I add, that should  mean, anti-abortion Catholics gather for Sunday Mass, but we know there are far too many disillusioned souls who call themselves Catholics yet wholeheartedly support the murder of innocent unborns. Many voted for Obama. They are reprehensible hypocrites.  One of them is House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (a “shrew” as one old-timer put it to me last night).

Thank God there are still millions of good Catholics who maintain the faith. Their solidarity and passionate opposition in the face of every dirty political trick in the book could very well spell the difference in the battle to save America from socialized medicine.

Pelosi sickens by her very presence, by her every utterance, but no more so than today, the day Catholics gather as one for the Sacrifice of the Mass. Like some voodoo witch doctor, Pelosi is sacrificing her own party, and especially her fellow Catholics today by ramrodding a vote on government health care including abortion coverage on the day many whose votes she’s counting on will receive Holy Communion.

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minnesota), a true conservative and freedom fighter wrote on the website, Big Government, “I am abhorred that Pro-life Democrats are asked to vote on a pro-abortion mandate this Sunday, the Sabbath. This is the Easter season for Christians, a period of time called Lent. Speaker Pelosi is demanding pro-life Democrats profane the Sabbath with a vote that will force all Americans to pay for other people’s abortions. This is a first in American history and a new low for Speaker Pelosi and President Obama.”

Amen.

God, if a vote be taken, give Congress the strength to vote against the atrocity that is Obamacare today.

God bless the true Catholics, and God bless America.

My Most Popular Blogs (03/21/10)

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 21, 2010

Most popular


As I post every Sunday, here are the five most read blog entries of mine from the previous week. NOTE: some entries may have been posted prior to the past week.

1) DAYLIGHT SAVINGS CAN KILL YOU!! THE STORY TONIGHT AT 10:00!!!

2) Franklin taxpayers, are you asking for a big fat tax increase?

3) TIE

    Franklin Alderman Olson responds to former alderman about warning sirens  

    The Year of My Mother: Erin Go Bragh 

4) Wisconsin needs more education leaders like Dave Schoepke

5) TV weather folks already spreading anti-business panic for this weekend

   

Photos of the Week (03/21/10)

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 21, 2010

Photos of the Week




Reps. Chellie Pingree, DMe., Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., Chair Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., Doris Matusi, D-Calif. and James McGovern, D-Mass., at a meeting of the Democratic members of the House Rules committee who met to discuss the health care legislation prior to the full committee meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, Saturday, March 20, 2010.(AP Photo/Harry Hamburg)






People attend a 'Kill the Bill' rally in opposition to government reform of health care in Washington, D.C. Saturday, March 20, 2010. (Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press/MCT)


Citizens gathered at the heart of Charlotte to voice their support of the Healthcare Reform Bill. Approximately 300 folks gathered at Mt. Moriah Primitive Baptist Church at 11 am on Saturday and proceeded to march up W. Trade Street to gather with about 200 other supporters at The Square. LAURA-CHASE MCGEHEE - Charlotte Observer.







Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) holds up a copy of proposed health care reform legislation during a "CODE RED" rally in opposition to the health care reform bill on Capitol Hill March 16, 2010 in Washington, DC. Sponsored by The American Grass Roots Coalition and the Tea Party Express, the rally focused attention and opposition to the congressional Democrats' efforts to push through a final vote on health care reform by the end of the week. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)






Rod Covenah, left, and Sally Sinacore, right, shout during a tea party protest against the proposed health care plan outside the office of Rep. Melissa Bean, D-Ill., in Schaumburg, Ill. on Tuesday, Mar. 16, 2010. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)






A passerby yells in support of health care during a tea party protest against the proposed health care plan outside Congresswoman Melissa Bean's office in Schaumburg, Ill., Tuesday, March 16, 2010. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)





George Martin, left, and Walt Stoelting argue over health care reform during a rally outside the district office of Rep. Joe Donnelly, D-Granger, in downtown South Bend, Ind., Thursday, March 18, 2010. Groups on both sides of the debate on the federal health care overhaul are keeping up the pressure on three Indiana Democratic congressmen who say they haven't decided how they'll vote. (AP Photo/South Bend Tribune, Marcus Marter)


 

Read more

Democrats claim they have the socialized medicine votes

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 21, 2010

Supporters of the Tea Party movement demonstrate outside the US Capitol in Washington on March 21, 2010 against the health care bill. The US House of Representatives opened a session set to culminate with a crucial vote on President Barack Obama's historic legislation to remake US health care.

Supporters of the Tea Party movement demonstrate outside the US Capitol in Washington on March 21, 2010 against the health care bill. The US House of Representatives opened a session set to culminate with a crucial vote on President Barack Obama's historic legislation to remake US health care.Photo: Getty Images


Opponents of the proposed U.S. health care bill are pictured during a rally outside the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, March 21, 2010. Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives on Sunday said they had the votes to pass a landmark healthcare reform bill seen as critical to President Barack Obama's political standing and legislative agenda.

Reuters photo


A supporter of the Tea Party movement holds a sign outside the US Capitol as they demonstrate in Washington on March 21, 2010 against the health care bill. The US House of Representatives opened a session set to culminate with a crucial vote on President Barack Obama's historic legislation to remake US health care.

Photo: Getty Images


WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 21: Protesters opposed to the health care bill gather outside the U.S. Capitol March 21, 2010 in Washington, DC. House Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said he was confident that the Democrats have the necessary 216 votes to pass landmark health care reform legislation today.

Photo: Getty Images


WASHINGTON - MARCH 21: Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) (C) carries the gavel that was used when Medicare was passed by the House in the 1960s while marching with Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) (L), Rep. John Larson (D-CT) (R) and other members of the Democratic Caucus from the Cannon House Office Building to the U.S. Capitol for the health care reform vote March 21, 2010 in Washington, DC. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said he was confident that the Democrats have the necessary 216 votes to pass landmark health care reform legislation today.

Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) (C) carries the gavel that was used when Medicare was passed by the House in the 1960s while marching with Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) (L), Rep. John Larson (D-CT) (R) and other members of the Democratic Caucus from the Cannon House Office Building to the U.S. Capitol for the health care reform vote March 21, 2010 in Washington, DC. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said he was confident that the Democrats have the necessary 216 votes to pass landmark health care reform legislation today. Photo: Getty Images


WASHINGTON - MARCH 21: Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) prepares to speak at a news conference on Capitol Hill on March 21, 2010 in Washington, DC. Rep. Stupak announced that he will vote yes later today when the House votes on Health Care Legislation that has divided both sides of Congress.

The Sellout. Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) prepares to speak at a news conference on Capitol Hill on March 21, 2010 in Washington, DC. Rep. Stupak announced that he will vote yes later today when the House votes on Health Care Legislation that has divided both sides of Congress. Photo: Getty Images


WASHINGTON - MARCH 21: Rep. Phil Gingrey MD. (R-GA) holds a paper showing photos of Congressmen who voted yes in 1993 and 34 incumbunts were later defeated, on Capitol Hill on March 21, 2010 in Washington, DC. Later today the House is scheduled to vote on Health Care Legislation that has divided both sides of Congress.

Read more

What happens next?

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 21, 2010


Mike Flynn, the editor of Big Government, provides an excellent analysis of what happens if the House has enough votes to pass Obamacare tonight. Here’s an excerpt:

“What they (Democrats) don’t realize is that today’s vote isn’t the end, but just a new beginning in the debate over health care. Buckle up, because if they manage to cobble together enough votes to pass the Senate Health Bill today, we’re set for weeks and perhaps months of a constitutional and political crisis the likes of which we haven’t seen in our lifetimes.”

Read Flynn’s entire piece.


Political Cartoon by Steve Breen

Obama's Executive Order is Political Trickery

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 21, 2010

Life - Wisconsin Right To Life - News Release


Obama's Executive Order is Political

Trickery


Does Absolutely Nothing to Correct

Pro-Abortion Provisions

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Don't forget Monday night's Franklin Aldermanic Debate

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 21, 2010


Here are the details:


Wisconsin GrandSons of Liberty

We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert  the Constitution." – Abraham Lincoln


PRESS RELEASE 
For Immediate Release!
Contact:  larryg@wisconsingrandsonsofliberty.com
Phone:  414-465-8683

 

Franklin Aldermanic Debates

Read more

Culinary no-no #157

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 21, 2010

Culinary no-no's


Come Saturday afternoon, the rule of thumb was to try to get there before 12:30. You’d probably have to stand in line, but hopefully you’d be situated somewhere near the front.

About 12:30, a woman would enter the small booth in front of the building and start selling. Doors would fly open, and the weekend movie experience was underway.

Get in line outside.

Buy ticket.

Scope out seats inside.

Then make a beeline for the concession stand.

Make sure you’re in your seat by the 1:00 start, usually a couple of cartoons before the first film of a double feature.


Read more

John Boehner's stirring speech: "We have failed to listen to America"

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 21, 2010

Read more

FREE HEALTH CARE FOR EVERYBODY!

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 22, 2010




There will be blood!

"Legitimacy can’t be had through backroom bribery, arm twisting and procedural maneuvers that corrupt and make a mockery of the spirit that enervates the principles of procedure, rule and law. Nor can it be had through default – by being the only other choice on the ballot. Legitimacy must be won the old fashioned way: it must be earned by nurturing the trust of the people."
 

The Villain of the Year, so far

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 22, 2010




Congressman Bart Stupak, Democrat and Major Sellout from Minnesota.

His huge flp-flop may have cost his party elections and control of the House this November but more importantly, many innocent lives of unborn children.

And he's a pro-lifer?

If he's a pro-lifer, God help unborn children all across America.

WRTL News You Can Use

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 22, 2010

http://lyris.wrtl.org:81/t/492608/30159454/10/0/?u=aHR0cDovL3d3dy53cnRsLm9yZy8%3d&x=2ccad40b http://lyris.wrtl.org:81/t/492608/30159454/69/0/?u=aHR0cDovL3d3dy53cnRsLm9yZy9sZWdpc2xhdGlvbi9jdXJyZW50bGVnaXNsYXRpb24vc3RhdGUuYXNweA%3d%3d&x=48d4742b Legislative Page http://lyris.wrtl.org:81/t/492608/30159454/2046/0/?u=aHR0cDovL3d3dy53cnRsLm9yZy9uZXdzcm9vbS9jdXJyZW50cmVsZWFzZXMuYXNweA%3d%3d&x=26ad437b News Releases http://lyris.wrtl.org:81/t/492608/30159454/65/0/?u=aHR0cDovL3d3dy53cnRsLm9yZy9yZXNvdXJjZXMvcHVibGljYXRpb25zL2xpZmV2b2ljZW5ld3NsZXR0ZXIuYXNweA%3d%3d&x=42c45a56 Newsletter Archive http://lyris.wrtl.org:81/t/492608/30159454/2045/0/?u=aHR0cDovL3d3dy53cnRsLm9yZy9ldmVudHMv&x=ca0ca4d9 Upcoming Events http://lyris.wrtl.org:81/t/492608/30159454/86/0/?u=aHR0cDovL3d3dy53cnRsLm9yZy9sZWdpc2xhdGlvbi9ldm9pY2UuYXNweA%3d%3d&x=40387b02 Sign Up for E-Voice http://lyris.wrtl.org:81/t/492608/30159454/48/0/?u=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cud3J0bC5vcmcvcGFydG5lcnMvZW1haWxwcmVmZXJlbmNlcy5hc3B4&x=a47673fe Change Your Preferences
Wisconsin Right To Life News You Can Use Contribute
In This Issue:
 
Important Right To Life Links

Thank Rep. Ryan for Opposing the Health Care Bill

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 22, 2010

              

Thank Rep. Ryan for voting against

government run health care



Last night, the House voted to approve one of the worst pieces of legislation in a generation.

But Rep. Ryan stood strong and voted against this deeply flawed bill.

In the face of political maneuvering and back room dealing, your Representative did the right thing. They represented the needs and voices of FRANKLIN and opposed health care that now threatens our businesses and families.

It's not easy to stand up in the face such pressure, including a leadership and administration that's willing to steamroll you and your constituents to get the job done.

But that is exactly what Rep. Ryan did. Send a letter thanking them now.

I'd also like to thank you, Kevin.

Thank you for adding your voice. You made a statement that will now be carried into the elections to support those who did the right thing, and hold others accountable.

Despite this Washington power grab, Americans will not be fooled. The only thing bipartisan about this bill is its opposition.

We didn't have the votes to defeat the health care boondoggle in Congress, but you have the votes in November.

This fight is far from over.

Sincerely,


Bill Miller
Senior Vice President and National Political Director
U.S. Chamber of Commerce

I am about to say what most men won't, but are thinking

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 22, 2010


Tonight, the latest season of Dancing with the Stars debuted on ABC.

I have watched this popular program but one season, the year that featured Priscilla Presley.  My interest was heightened because I am a huge Elvis fan. And I also think the world of his wife.

So I watched with great anticipation. How would gorgeous Priscilla do? The answer was quite pleasantly evident her first dance.

Watch her initial dance that starts about 2:48 in and remember, she is 62 years old.

Then a few weeks later, Presley was incredible again as she danced the rumba. Watch at 1:58 into the video as the 62-year old Priscila does the splits at exactly 2:31......SHE DOES THE SPLITS!!!

But this TV contest is about rigged as you can be. The old fart British judge chastised Presley. What the ***** was he watching?

The judges from day one were in love with the eventual winner, a figure skater.

My exuberance at the time was dampened by former FranklinNOW blogger (she has quit blogging from the site three times) Janet Evans who immediately criticized, not Presley's dancing or performance, but her cosmetic surgery.  Take a look and read Evans' comments.

Evans' remarks were symbolic of a nation of women who, instead of cheering Presley's courage instead acted like cackling jealous hens.

My challenge to the petty Evans at the time stands. When she turns 62, I invite her to my house, we will move all the furniture, turn on the music, and she is more than welcome to tango, rumba, and do the splits in defiance of yours truly and Priscilla Presley. 

Now, back to tonigt's broadcast of Dancing with the Stars.

The contestants include:

ESPN's Erin Andrews





Erin Andrews



Kate Gosselin...



Kate Gosselin




Nicole Scherzinger






Nicole Scherzinger

Read more

20 Ways ObamaCare Will Take Away Our Freedoms

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 23, 2010


Investor's Business Daily has the list:

1. You are young and don’t want health insurance? You are starting up a small business and need to minimize expenses, and one way to do that is to forego health insurance? Tough. You have to pay $750 annually for the “privilege.” (Section 1501)

2. You are young and healthy and want to pay for insurance that reflects that status? Tough. You’ll have to pay for premiums that cover not only you, but also the guy who smokes three packs a day, drinks a gallon of whiskey and eats chicken fat off the floor. That’s because insurance companies will no longer be able to underwrite on the basis of a person’s health status. (Section 2701).

Read the entire list here.


RE-ELECT FRANKLIN ALDERMAN STEVE OLSON!

ObamaCare:Republicans partly to blame?

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 23, 2010


Pat Archbold of the National Catholic Register thinks so.

Read...


 

Wisconsin moves to block ObamaCare

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 23, 2010

Read more

I LOVE U.S. Senator Tom Coburn........you must read why

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 23, 2010


It's all here.

More from Politico.

Joe Biden didn't just screw up once today....

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 23, 2010


The gaffemeister did it twice.


Political Cartoon by Nate Beeler

CAUTION: THE FOLLOWING BLOG CONTAINS PORN

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 23, 2010


I offer that disclaimer so that if this particular subject offends, you now have the opportunity to navigate away from this site and not subject yourself to any embarrassment or anger.

Also, it seems some readers of This Just In simply can’t handle the sometimes provocative material found on my blog.

So, if you do not want to read this entry, you have been given fair warning.


GO




AWAY




NOW.




Capiche?
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Great analysis of the United States becoming the USSR with the stroke of a pen by Mark Steyn of the National Review:

“Obamacare will result in the creation of at least 16,500 new jobs. Doctors? Nurses? Ha! Dream on, suckers. That’s 16,500 new IRS agents, who’ll be needed to check whether you — yes, you, Mr. and Mrs. Hopendope of 27 Hopeychangey Gardens — are in compliance with the 15 tax increases and dozens of new federal mandates the Deemocrats are about to “deem” into existence. This will be the biggest expansion of the IRS since World War II — and that’s change you can believe in. This is what ‘health’ ‘care’ ‘reform’ boils down to: fewer doctors, longer wait times, but more bureaucrats.

Obama is government, and government is Obama. That’s all he knows and all he’s ever known. You elected to the highest office in the land a man who’s never run a business or created wealth or made a payroll, and for his entire adult life has hung out with guys who’ve demonized (deemonized?) such grubby activities. Many of which associates he appointed to high office: Obama’s cabinet has less experience of private business than any in the last century. What it knows is government, and government’s default mode is to grow, and grow.”

OK, so where’s the porn? There’s no porn in the National Review!

BTW, if you got this far......shame on you!

Read the entire piece.

Red light cameras OK; Local laws against sex offenders not OK

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 23, 2010


Jeff Wagner talked about this for a short time today on his WTMJ radio talk show.

A bill that was introduced in the Legislature just two weeks ago would allow the installation of red light cameras. Specifically, the bill would allow municipalities the authority to install red light cameras at selected intersections. It would not mandate the cameras, but would simply allow municipalities to install them if they want to.

The bill is Assembly Bill 827. Here is an excerpt of the analysis from the Legislative Reference Bureau. Note the government-ese:

“This bill authorizes the governing body of a county or municipality to enact an ordinance that permits the use of a traffic control photographic system (TCPS) on highways under the jurisdiction of the county or municipality to detect and identify motor vehicles that fail to stop at red traffic signals at intersections and to wait for a green signal (red light violations). A TCPS is defined as an electronic system that consists of a photographic, video, or electronic camera and a vehicle sensor that work in conjunction with a traffic control signal to automatically produce photographs,

stamped with the time and date, of motor vehicles traveling through an intersection.

The ordinance must require the local authority to provide to the owner, or in limited circumstances the lessee or operator, of the vehicle, by personal service or certified mail, the traffic citation and a duplicate of the photograph, video, or digital image of the vehicle failing to stop at a red traffic

Read more

A Day of Infamy

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 24, 2010

Political Cartoon by Michael Ramirez


The Five Keys to Killing Obamacare

Gee, Thanks Bart Stupak, For That Bogus Executive Order

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 24, 2010

Life - Wisconsin Right To Life - News Release


Gee, Thanks Bart Stupak, For That

BOGUS Executive Order

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Health Care Law Rally Draws Dozens of Concerned Citizens

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 24, 2010


Wisconsin GrandSons of Liberty

We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert  the Constitution." – Abraham Lincoln

PRESS RELEASE 
For Immediate Release!
Contact:  larryg@wisconsingrandsonsofliberty.com                      
Phone:  414-465-8683


        Dozens of Concerned Citizens Attend Health Care Rally
 
Franklin - The grassroots group Wisconsin GrandSons of Liberty hosted a Health Care Town Hall meeting at  the New Berlin Library with 75 people attending.  Dr. David Stein, a noted specialist in the Milwaukee area, presented the doctor's perspective of the impacts of health care bill that President Obama signed into law today.  After Dr. Stein's presentation, Mr. Tim Dake gave an overview of the constitutional arguments that are being circulated which claim the health care reform is unconstitutional as written and signed.

"There are about 68 grass roots organizations in Wisconsin," Mr. Dake exclaimed, "and the Wisconsin GrandSons of Liberty are working closely with 61 of them to promote the Senate Joint Resolution 62 which will guarantee Wisconsinites right to choice in their health care."  This bill SJR-62 seeks to reassert states rights regarding insurance sales and regulation.  He pointed out several cases where states have successfully beaten back over reaching acts of the Federal Government that go back as far as 1807 and as recently as a 1997 US  Supreme Court ruling that went against the feds.

Currently, Senator Jon Erpenbach, Committee Chair of the Health, Health Insurance, Privacy, Property Tax Relief and Revenue Committee has the bill stalled in his committee.  This has lead to a massive phone calling  rally by followers of these grass roots organizations and many other citizens who do not agree with the  current health care reform law.

This is the meat of SJR-62.  Two simple sentences are all it contains in the battle against a 2,000 page bill. Taken directly from the bill in committee;  "The people have the right to enter into private contracts with health care providers for health care services and to purchase private health care coverage.  The legislature may not require any person to obtain or maintain health insurance coverage or to participate in any health care system or plan."  According to Dake, "SJR-62 simply states that Wisconsinites have choice and cannot be forced or mandated into a health care program." 

When asked what the next step might be, Dake encouraged the supporters of SJR-62 to "continue calling on Sen. Erpenbach to ask for a public hearing on the bill." 

In an unscientific, WITI Fox 6 News, poll after the Town Hall meeting, the respondents were overwhelmingly in support of SJR-62 with over 70% of the callers supporting the measure.

Helloooooo Obama! Hellooooo Congress! AMERICA....DOESN'T....WANT...OBAMACARE!

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 24, 2010


From CBS NEWS....

The Year of My Mother: Tears of Joy

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 25, 2010

The Year of My Mother


"THE YEAR OF MY MOTHER" IS A YEAR-LONG SERIES OF BLOGS DEDICATED TO MY DEAR, SWEET MOM WHO DIED IN EARLY JANUARY OF THIS YEAR. I PLAN TO DEVOTE SPECIAL BLOGS THROUGHOUT 2010 TO MY MOM WITH SPECIAL REFLECTIONS AND MEMORIES THAT I HOPE WILL INSPIRE READERS AND CAPTURE THE TRUE SPIRIT AND CHARACTER THAT WAS THE GREATEST WOMAN I HAVE EVER KNOWN.


I very seldom am at a loss for words or speechless.

And yet, there I was, one year ago this evening, struggling to find a way to let the words come out.

My jewel of a wife, Jennifer had just given birth to our first child, a beautiful baby girl at 10:45 that night.

Tears flowed. Hugs and kisses abounded. Pictures were taken.

It happened all so fast and was so good and so smooth. I had no idea, at this stage in my life, that I could be so happy and so blessed.

And then, I knew what I wanted to do more than anything in the world.

Believe it or not, I am a man of good manners. I asked the nurses for permission to use the telephone.

And I dialed. Actually I punched.

If memory serves right, the phone rang but a half ring.

“Hello?” the excited voice said on the other end.

I could hardly reply. My voice trembled.

“Kyla Audrey Fischer…..

Pause.

"What?” my mother asked.

“Kyla Audrey Fischer....... was born..... at 10:45 this evening. You are a grandmother again, Mom.”

To be perfectly honest, I have no idea what was said next. My mother and I could not talk to one another, we were so overcome with joy. I was a father, a proposition I thought I’d never find myself involved in, and my mother had a granddaughter named after her.

For the next 9-plus months, my mother held, hugged, kissed, fed, touched, smiled at, laughed at, and loved baby Kyla.

And then suddenly, God wanted another angel in paradise. My mother was gone.

The days surrounding the funeral, Kyla, who I swear is very gifted, was not her usual happy self. It was as if she knew something was amiss.

Shortly after the funeral services were over, and loving relatives and friends went home, Kyla’s enthusiasm returned. It seemed as though my mother’s never-ending love and warm spirit found its way into her namesake. Our baby is constantly happy, charming, and smiling.

Thank you, Grandma!

My mother didn’t have a pretentious bone in her body. But she had an Irish pride as big as the solar system.

Jennifer and I never doubted we’d give our child an Irish name. Kyla, in Irish means, “Beauty that only poetry can capture.” In one word, Kyla means, “lovely.”

A great part of me wishes my mom, Audrey Fischer could be here to see all there is to see in the wonder that is a baby developing. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t mourn the loss of my mother, think about her, and wish that she was here. My goodness, if she was alive she’d scold me for drawing attention to her.

But somehow I know she’s watching and is aware. My faith tells me my mother is alive and already influencing precious Kyla. If our little girl is half the woman my remarkable mother was, I will be the proudest father on the planet. Come to think of it, I already am.

I love you, Mom.

Yeh, Mom, they still take their shots at me. But you know what?  It’s ok. It means very little. How can that small, petty stuff make a difference when I have so much in my life that makes me strong and happy.

Mom, I’m not perfect and never claimed to be. We need your help. Watch over us, guide us, protect us, and instill your motherly knowledge and expertise so that we can raise Kyla to be the smitten image of you.

Kyla, Mommy and Daddy love you very much. From the rock star treatment you get whenever we take you out, it appears you have quite the fan club.

Happy 1st birthday, sweetheart!

Mom, thank you for your inspiration.

And I think they call it prayer, Mom. I’ll just say, you know Mom, we’ll be talking.


1) God Bless You, Mom

2) Culinary no-no: The Audrey Fischer Edition

3) The Year of My Mother

4) The Year of My Mother - Jimmy Dean

5) The Year of My Mother - "The scarier the better."

6) The Year of My Mother: Erin Go Bragh

7) The Year of my Mother: Tears of Joy

















OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
 

Kyla's Korner- Musings of a Mother (03/25/10): I am grateful for...

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 25, 2010

Kyla's Korner


By Jennifer Fischer
Mother of beautiful angel, Kyla


Today our beautiful baby girl turns one year old.  I can’t believe how fast this year went, despite everyone warning me that it would fly right by.  Admittedly there has been an adjustment period for all three of us.  After all, we’re new to this parenting gig.  But this has been the best learning experience we’ve ever had, and certainly the most fun.  The role of motherhood truly suits me and I wouldn’t trade a minute of it for anything else in the world.  There are so many feelings I have as we celebrate this first year of a new and precious life.  I feel pride, happiness, overwhelming love, and something I can’t even describe and only another mom can understand.  And I am grateful.  I am grateful to God for a healthy & happy baby… and for so many other things.

For example, I am grateful for…

Read more

Obama + House Democrats = Fidel Castro

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 26, 2010

Political Cartoon by Mike Lester

Friday night, catch InterCHANGE

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 26, 2010


Here are the topics the panel discusses Friday night on InterCHANGE at 6:30 on Milwaukee Public Television Channel 10 with a re-broadcast Sunday morning at 11: 00:


1 – MPS.


Wisconsin African-American 4th graders have the lowest reading scores in the entire country.  Arkansas is the only place in the country where African-American 8th graders have lower reading scores.  What is Wisconsin doing wrong?  What are all the other states doing right?  Can this all be blamed on the Milwaukee Public School System?  Does this show that No Child Left Behind is not working, or was not properly funded?  Can this all be blamed on urban poverty and the unique challenges it presents?  Can this be blamed on bad teachers or a teachers union that is too powerful?  If the problem is really the fault of MPS, why can’t MPS be changed?  Why didn’t the mayoral takeover proposal succeed, even after it was “reportedly” supported by the mayor, the governor, and the president?  What do we do now?  What do we try that hasn’t been tried before?  Can it get any worse?


2 – POPE.


When you thought the whole Catholic Church Priest Abuse story couldn’t get any worse, there are now reports that may link the current pope to the story.  Will these allegations cause even more problems for the church?  Will the church survive?  What if the effort to conceal the problem wasn’t just in the local dioceses, but extended up the highest levels at the Vatican?  


3 – OBAMA HEALTH CARE.


What happens now?  Is everything that really matters already said and done?  Will Obama-Care ever be repealed?  Will it hurt or help the Democratic lawmakers who championed it?  Has the health-care landscape in America changed for at least a generation?


Rick Horowitz, we are told in his closing presentation, "will be talking about the poor treatment some members of Congress who voted for Obama-Care are getting."

Really?

Another two minutes on InterCHANGE of uncontested liberal commentary. Now there's fairness and balance.

Will my colleague Rick even mention this?

Put your money on....NO.

Looney Tunes: Democrats on Health Care

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 26, 2010

Read more

TGI........The Weekend!

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 26, 2010


Would it hurt to ask for, at the very least, seasonal temperatures?

College and high school basketball nail biters galore….gotta love it.

And don’t forget Badger hockey.

Here on This Just In, our regular weekend lineup begins tonight with our goodnight music piece.

Then Saturday morning, wake up to the Barking Lot, complete with DOGS IN THE NEWS including another story about.......



Also Saturday, Week-ends, our weekly week in review and Recommended Reading.

Then on Sunday, My Most Popular Blogs, Culinary no-no, and Photos of the Week. This picture did NOT make the final cut.....




President Barack Obama smiles as he holds up copies of Karl Rove and Mitt Romney's books during unannounced stop at Prairie Lights book shop in Iowa City, Iowa, Thursday, March 25, 2010. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)


Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by This Just In...

Goodnight everyone, and have a great weekend, Baby

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 26, 2010


It's Friday night. Time to unwind with our regular Friday night feature on This Just In.

The weekend has finally arrived.

The sun has set.

The evening sky has erupted. 

We put controversy and provocative blogs aside for the rest of this work week and smooth our way into Saturday and Sunday.

Tonight, as Barry White used to say…….Baby.

As James Brown used to say…………….Baby, baby, babeeee!

I don’t know if you heard but my little girl turned the big One this week.

To celebrate in the nostalgic way we normally do here on Friday nights, I’ve selected a few “baby” tunes to share and enjoy.

Granted, the “baby” reference tonight does refer to babies a bit older than our little Kyla. However, I think it works.

Couldn’t resist this first classic because it features a loving father and his talented daughter. It’s a great arrangement and a very interesting video.

Written in 1930, several artists recorded it, but it didn’t become a major hit until 1951 when Nat King Cole sang, and then came this virtual collaboration in 2008….


 

Read more

One of the best political cartoons of the year so far

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 27, 2010

Political Cartoon by Michael Ramirez
 

The Barking Lot (03/27/10)

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 27, 2010

The Barking Lot


The Barking Lot is a regular weekly feature of this just in…Written by my lovely wife, Jennifer and me.  It opens with the weekend dog walking forecast followed by the main blog from dog lover, Jennifer. Then it’s DOGS IN THE NEWS and our close. Enjoy!


THE WEEKEND DOG-WALKING FORECAST: We grade the weather outlook for taking your pet outdoors. 

TODAY:  Mostly cloudy. High of 50.  "C"  Showers Saturday night and a low of 35.

SUNDAY:  Partly cloudy. High of 52. "C"


Jennifer has the week off as she prepares for Kyla’s big birthday party.

And I’m taking a breather, too.

So we have a guest blog from Mark Ramirez of the Albany Times Union who raises the annual issue of dogs and leashes.

I must tell you, I rarely see in my neighborhood that has a ton of dog walkers any pooches that are unleashed. That‘s why I question why a city ordinance to clamp down on this all but non-existent crime was a priority or a necessity a year ago in Franklin.

Apparently though, in locales all across America, unleashed dogs are wreaking havoc.

Ramirez isn’t thrilled about dogs sans leashes but I’ll give him this. Ramirez comes up with “a scale for when it’s OK to let your dog run free.”

Sounds reasonable to me.

Check out his closing question. I hope your answer is, “No, other than something like, ‘hi there’.”

Time now for DOGS IN THE NEWS, canines that made headlines the past week.


Iraqi police force to start using dogs.


Dog's cruel and highly unusual death is now a criminal investigation.


Military camp bans dangerous dogs.


New Jersey town wants to ban barking.


Is this ad offensive? This columnist is definitely upset.


PETA bribes the "Octomom."


Has dog racing run its course?


Barking Lot update: Doggie anger management?


I guess not all pit bulls are bad.


Dog hit by car is rebuilt.


Beaten and left for dead.........a happy ending.


Iditarod ends with no dog deaths.


The cutest puppies you will ever see....and they're on a mission.


Sadie, say thank you to the nice officer.


Bringing dog to work comes back to bite judge.


Is your dog a drama queen?


Santa's dog saves Christmas.........the legendary Orson Welles to narrate.


Shelter dog and Olympian are reunited.


Shelter dog and cat stamps get support from Ellen DeGeneres.


That's it for this week.

Thanks for stopping by The Barking Lot.

We close with our closing video.

It's a very nice story from NBC Nightly News....

 

Read more

Week-ends (03/27/10)

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 27, 2010

Week-ends


A look back at the people and events that made news the past week.Week-ends is a regular weekly feature of This Just In...


HEROES OF THE WEEK


Paul Jacobs and Louise Smith


London doctors


Alyson Myatt


Ian Smith


Brandon Lanham


Lorraine Melgosa.....


Read more

Just who was running Wisconsin this week?

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 27, 2010


Jim Doyle was gone.

Barbara Lawton was, too.

That begs the question.

So...........who was really in charge?

The tactics Democrats will stoop to....

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 27, 2010


Coffingate.

Recommended Reading (03/27/10)

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 27, 2010

Recommended reading


Here are, in my view, interesting, noteworthy columns and articles from the past week that I highly recommend (You will note that on occasion, I do not endorse the opinions of the author and may point that out. Despite my disagreements, I still feel the piece is worth a read).


Democrats to America: Drop Dead

"Well, they finally did it. Despite more than a year of steadily rising public opposition, manifested in opinion polls and in protest rallies across the country, President Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi finally rammed through Obamacare late Sunday when House Democrats gave the bill their imprimatur."


Responding to Obamacare

"Above all, we must finally learn the fundamental lesson this political process we have been through has to teach: That there is no such thing as a conservative or moderate Democrat. Blue dogs don’t exist in real life. Only yellow dogs. The days when there were Democrats who refused to follow their radical leftwing party line are over. There are no longer 'state' Democrats who vote conservative as opposed to 'national' Democrats who vote with the left. They are an extinct species."


What Republicans should do now

“Democrats are celebrating victory. The public outcry against what they've done doesn't seem to bother them. They take it as validation that they are succeeding at transforming America. But we've seen this movie before and it won't end happily for Democrats.”


Inside the Pelosi sausage factory

“Michigan Rep. Bart Stupak sold his anti-abortion soul for a toothless executive order.”


Uninsured: It’s going to be like Christmas

"It's just going to be like Christmas," said DeCarlo Flythe, who lost health coverage for his family when he was laid off almost three years ago. "It's going to be great. You know, no worries (about) the bills. We are going to go ahead and pay our co-pay and be alright."


What’s in the bill?

“The $940 billion health-care overhaul will take nearly a decade to roll out in full. A look at the key parts of the bill and when they go into effect.”


How the left fakes the hate: a primer

“Upon decimating the deliberative process to hand President Obama a health care ‘reform’victory, unpopular Beltway Democrats and their media water-carriers now claim there's a Tea Party epidemic of racism, harassment and violence against them.

Yet, the claims that Tea Party activists shouted ‘nigger’ at black House Democrats remain uncorroborated. The coffin reportedly left outside Missouri Democratic Rep. Russ Carnahan's home was used in a prayer vigil by pro-life activists in St. Louis protesting the phony Demcare abortion-funding ban in Obama's deal-cutting executive order. Videotape of a supposed intentional spitting incident targeting Missouri Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver at the Capitol shows no such thing.”


Congressman’s office says constituent calls are ‘harassment’

“I decided to call Rep. John Garamendi’s (CA-10) office in Washington, D.C. He’s my representative and I wanted to voice my opposition to the Senate Health Care Bill. I spoke with a female staffer and politely told her that, while I support health care reform, I oppose the Senate Bill because it wasn’t true ‘reform.’ She said the Congressman thinks it’s a good bill and that he campaigned on health care reform. I told her I knew that. I also mentioned that I voted for him. When I tried to give her specific reasons why the Senate Bill would harm our system rather than reform it, she refused to listen. She said she was very busy and hung up on me. Being the persistent person that I am, I kept calling back. Each time I tried to finish my point, she hung up."


Not all Democrats are hi-fiving

"Oh yeah, remember the 'Healthy Wisconsin’ single payer health plan?  The one that was SO important Senate Democrats had to sneak it in to the state budget with one day’s notice?  The one that we’re all supposed to pretend never happened?  In some odd way, state Democrats may have been saved by their own incompetence – had 'Healthy Wisconsin’ passed, we’d probably be looking at a State Senate in which Republicans outnumbered Democrats 32 to 1.  (Madison will continue to elect Fred Risser’s democratic brain in a jar for 100 years after his death.) So while Democrats at the federal level may have delivered themselves a 'victory,’ they may have also delivered their colleagues at the state level a death blow."


Beware the jobs killer

"A dire warning from Bay State medical-device companies that a new sales tax in the federal health-care law could force their plants - and thousands of jobs - out of the country has rattled Gov. Deval Patrick, a staunch backer of the law and pal President Obama."


Getting Ahead: Eight ways to reinvigorate the ravaged Wisconsin economy

"While the good news includes the state holding on to vulnerable jobs at Mercury Marine in Oshkosh and Republic Airlines in Milwaukee, no one disputes that Wisconsin has stumbled badly. Economists from the left, center and right all agree that the situation is dire. But what to do about it?"


Tom Hanks: Stupid Is as Stupid Does

"For those who do not follow the tripe which spews from Hollywood’s charmed and preening pie-holes, last week Tom told Time magazine during a presser promoting his new HBO miniseries, The Pacific, that the conflict in the Pacific during World War II commenced way back when, little kiddies, because Americans were a bunch of 'racists and terrorists' who viewed the Japanese as 'yellow, slant-eyed dogs that believed in different gods.'

Really, Tom? Garsh. That’s weird. My uncle, Orville, fought in the Pacific, was captured by the Japanese, experienced the Bataan Death March, and spent three years undergoing torture as a POW in Mongolia; he thought he went through all that hell because the Japanese bombed us at Pearl Harbor and killed over two thousand of our personnel."

Watch liberal civil discourse on display...

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 27, 2010


Sarah Palin at a John McCain  rally today... 



HT: Huffington Post

4 Good Reasons Why You Should Vote to Return Steve Olson, Franklin Alderman

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 27, 2010

4 Good Reasons Why You Should Vote to Return Steve Olson, Alderman


1) Protects YOUR tax dollars:

In this economic environment it is INCONCIEVABLE to me to not cut spending. So many of you are experiencing job loss, furloughs and tough economic times and the city must tighten our belt too.

I will NOT vote for un-necessary spending or spending that can be deferred:

$345,000 for NEW highway snow plows

$145,000 to replace an ambulance that can be repaired for $8,000

$80,000 for sidewalks near the high school

$150,000 (minimum) for tornado sirens


2) Knowledgeable and Experienced:

Olson has been involved in all levels of city government since moving to Franklin in 1988. As alderman for both the 1st (6 years) and 2nd (3 years) Olson has a long institutional history of the city and its’ government and how to get your needs taken care of. As a member of almost all of the city boards and commissions he is effective in solving your problems quickly. Budgets are 2nd nature to Olson. Olson has an extensive list of contacts in the real-estate, financial and development markets to be used to the benefit of the city.


3) Franklin taxpayer for 22 years, businessman for 32 years.

Being a taxpayer gives great perspective when a spending measure is introduced and the budget is being debated. 32 Years as a businessman negotiating contracts, managing employees, being responsible for profits and losses, working with difficult

people all bring great value in the city government.


4) Proven track record of protecting our children and working with other communities.

After passing our landmark sex offender residency ordinance Olson worked closely with citizens groups and many other communities in crafting their own ordinances and getting them passed. He is working with state legislators in stopping predator placement in the city and to stop the legislatures attempts to over-ride our local ordinances.

VOTE Experience and Responsiveness

APRIL 6, 2010

Franklin City Hall

www.steveolson.us

425-9060

steve@steveolson.us

Authorized and paid for by Friends of Steve Olson, Mark Dandrea, Treasurer

Congratulations, Gringo...

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 28, 2010

Political Cartoon by Glenn Foden


Castro: Obamacare is a "miracle"

My Most Popular Blogs (03/28/10)

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 28, 2010

Most popular


As I post every Sunday, here are the five most read blog entries of mine from the previous week. NOTE: some entries may have been posted prior to the past week.

1) The Year of My Mother: Tears of Joy

2) John Boehner's stirring speech: "We have failed to listen to America"

3) I am about to say what most men won't, but are thinking

4) FREE HEALTH CARE FOR EVERYBODY!

5)  TIE

    Don't forget Monday night's Franklin Aldermanic Debate 

    Kyla's Korner- Musings of a Mother (03/25/10): I am grateful for...

Photos of the Week (03/28/10)

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 28, 2010

Photos of the Week





In this handout provided by the White House, U.S. President Barack Obama (C), Vice President Joe Biden (R), and senior staff applaud in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, as the U.S. House of Representatives passed the health care reform legislation March 21, 2010 in Washington, DC. The proposed legislation has become the signature piece of Obama's domestic policy agenda and has eluded U.S. presidents dating back to Theodore Roosevelt. (Photo by Pete Souza/White House via Getty Images)








House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif. signs the Senate Health Reform bill, Monday, March 22, 2010, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Looking on, from left are, House Majority Whip James Clyburn of S.C., House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Md., Rep, George Miller, D-Calif., Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., and Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)






Dr. Chris Hughes from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania participates in a rally with health professionals who support health care reform, on March 22, 2010 in Washington, DC. Sunday night  the House of Representatives passed the health care bill that divided Congress with a vote of 219 to 212. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)






Annamaria Evans stands with a group of activists, legislators and community leaders outside Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich., Monday, March 22, 2010. They launched a petition drive Monday to put a measure on the Michigan ballot asking voters whether they want to exempt the state from the federal health care overhaul. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)






Demonstrator Cathy Trauernicht of Potomac, Maryland, holds a sign that reads "Term Limits For Congress" during a protest in front of the House side of the US Capitol on March 21, 2010 in Washington, DC.  (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)






Demonstrator Vera Sutter of Los Angeles, California, shouts "No" while protesting in front of the House side of the US Capitol on March 21, 2010 in Washington, DC. The House voted Sunday night on Health Care Legislation that has divided both sides of Congress. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)






A Capitol Hill police officer stands between protesters for and against the health care reform bill as the House prepared to vote on the bill in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Sunday, March 21, 2010. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)






House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., holds a large gavel as she walks through the Cannon Rotunda after a Democratic Caucus, along with from left, are Reps. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., John Lewis, D-Ga., and John Larson, D-Conn., on Sunday, March 21, 2010 on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke)






President Barack Obama signs the health care bill, Tuesday, March 23, 2010, in the East Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)


 



U.S. President Barack Obama (C) signs the Affordable Health Care for America Act during a ceremony with fellow Democrats in the East Room of the White House March 23, 2010 in Washington, DC. The historic bill was passed by the House of Representatives Sunday after a 14-month-long political battle that left the legislation without a single Republican vote. Pictured is also Rep. Sandy Levin (D-MI), U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, U.S. Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY), Rep. George Miller (D-CA), House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), House Majority Whip Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), Marcelas Owens, Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), Sen. Ted Kennedy's widow Victoria Kennedy, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)






Broken windows are seen at the Albemarle County, Va., GOP Headquarters Friday March 26, 2010 in Charlottesville, Va. The headquarters were vandalized sometime overnight when bricks were thrown through several windows. (AP Photo/The Daily Progress / Brian McNeill)






Seven-year-old Luis Leon from Chicago holds a flag as he and other protestors participate in a "March For America" demonstration calling for immigration reform near the Washington Monument March 21, 2010 in Washington, DC. According to the organizers of the 'March for America' hundreds of groups from almost every state are taking part to march for immigration reform from the National Mall to RFK Stadium. (Photo by Astrid Riecken/Getty Images)






Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (L) speaks to the crowd during a campaign rally for Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) at Pima County Fairgrounds on March 26, 2010 in Tucson, Arizona. Palin traveled to Arizona to stump for McCain, who is facing a primary challenge in his bid for a fifth term in the Senate. The event marked the first time the pair had campaigned together since their failed 2008 presidential run. (Photo by Darren Hauck/Getty Images)






U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) (2nd-L), wife Cindy (R), former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and husband Todd Palin greet the crowd during a campaign rally for Sen. McCain at Pima County Fairgrounds on March 26, 2010 in Tucson, Arizona. McCain and Palin are reuniting for the first time since their 2008 presidential bid concluded to campaign for his fifth term in the U.S. Senate. (Photo by Darren Hauck/Getty Images)






Tea Party supporters await the start of a Tea Party rally in Searchlight, Nevada, on March 27, 2010. Thousands of Tea Party activists are expected at the rally which will kick off their latest cross-country protest against big government and health care reform. Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin will be the headline speaker at the rally in the hometown of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images






Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin speaks at the Tea Party Express' "Showdown in Searchlight," rally March 27, 2010 in Searchlight, Nevada. The rally, held in the hometown of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), serves as the kickoff for a 42-city bus tour that ends in Washington D.C. on April 15, 2010. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)






People hold a banner as they stand near the site of the "Showdown in Searchlight" tea party rally in Searchlight, Nev., Saturday, March 27, 2010. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)






In this March 19, 2010 photo, an ironworkers walks a steel beam at One World Trade Center in New York. When finished the tower will rise to a height of 1776 feet (541 meters). (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)






In this March 2, 2010 photo, a U.S. Marine, right, provides blocking cover during a firefight, as two fellow Marines rush with a wounded comrade across a field to a waiting U.S. Army Task Force Pegasus medevac helicopter, in Helmand province, Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)






Britain's Prince Charles, right, leaves a machine gun emplacement at Patrol Base Pimon, Afghanistan, Thursday March 25, 2010, while visiting the Scots Guards, during a surprise visit to British troops in Afghanistan.(AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini, pool)






U.S. Army Chaplain CPT. Loren Aderhold prays over a wounded American soldier at the military hospital on March 22, 2010 at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. The 82nd Airborne soldier was injured when his vehicle was severely damaged in an IED blast in Kandahar province. U.S. military chaplains travel the battlefield across Afghanistan counseling, comforting and ministering to troops dealing with the difficulties of war and far from their families. Photo by John Moore/Getty Images. (PATIENT GAVE CONSENT FOR PHOTO)






Jake Locke runs up to see his father Thomas, a pilot for the VFA-14 Top Hatters, who returned from duty Thursday, March 25, 2010 in Lemoore, Calif. Lemoore Naval Air Station strike fighter squadrons, VFA-41's Black Aces, VFA-14's Top Hatters and VFA-97's Warhawks returned home in their F/A-18 aircraft after an eight month deployment aboard the USS Nimitz. Locke was seeing his child and grandchild for the first time after being born while he was on deployment. (AP Photo/Gary Kazanjian)






A man sleeps in front of a painting of the Last Supper in Port-au-Prince, Monday, March 22, 2010. Former U.S. presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush are on a one-day visit to Haiti to assess recovery needs, after being tapped by President Barack Obama to spearhead U.S. fundraising in response to the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake.(AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)






Pope Benedict XVI waves from his popemobile during a youth gathering in St. Peter's square, at the Vatican, Thursday, March 25, 2010. The Vatican on Thursday strongly defended its decision not to defrock an American priest accused of molesting some 200 deaf boys in Wisconsin and denounced what it called a campaign to smear Pope Benedict XVI and his aides. Church and Vatican documents showed that in the mid-1990s, two Wisconsin bishops urged the Vatican office led by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now the pope, to let them hold a church trial against the Rev. Lawrence Murphy. The bishops admitted the trial was coming years after the alleged abuse, but argued that the deaf community in Milwaukee was demanding justice from the church. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)






Arthur Budzinski, center, with his daughter Gigi, right, speaks to reporters Thursday, March 26, 2010, outside the headquarters of the Milwaukee Archdiocese in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Budzinski, who is deaf, was a victim of alleged abuse at the hands of Father Lawrence Murphy at St John's School of the Deaf. His daughter was interpreting for him. (Mike DeSisti/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/MCT)






In this 1954 family photo, Arthur Budzinski, fourth from left, poses with his class at St. John's School for the Deaf in St. Francis, Wis. Budzinski, now 61, was one of about 200 deaf boys at the St. John's School for the Deaf just outside Milwaukee who say they were molested by Rev. Lawrence Murphy decades ago in a case now creating a scandal for the Vatican and threatening to ensnare Pope Benedict XVI. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Gigi Budzinski)






In this photo taken on Tuesday, March 23, 2010, a villager carries water from the bottom of a dried reservoir in Shilin county, in the drought-hit southwest China's Yunnan province. Emergency wells were being drilled and cloud-seeding operations carried out in southern China, where the worst drought in decades has left millions of people without water and caused more than 1,000 schools to close, officials said Thursday. (AP Photo)






Shakeel dives into a polluted section of the River Yamuna to scavenge for ornaments and coins left by Hindu rituals at the river bank, in New Delhi, India, Monday, March 22, 2010. Officials say factories are ignoring regulations and dumping untreated sewage and industrial pollution, turning toxic the river that gives the capital much of its drinking water. (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan)






Students from Washington's Oyster-Adams Bilingual School gather on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 23, 2010, during a rally in observance of the World Water Day. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)






French sex workers take part of a march in Paris, Wednesday, March 24, 2010, protesting a lawmaker's proposal to legalize brothels in France which they say means they would be working for a "company". They want the repeal of a 2003 law penalizing solicitation, which they say prevents them from working independently in the open. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)






A few days-old lamb stays under the watchful eye of its mother while playing this week with other lambs in the animal farm area at Chanticleer Guest House, a bed and breakfast in Sturgeon Bay. Journal Sentinel photo: Rick Wood.






Hares fight on a field near Frankfurt, central Germany, on a warm and sunny Thursday, March 25, 2010. Sinking temperatures and rain are forecasted for the next days all over Germany. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)






A newborn zebra named Dragana stands by its mother at Belgrade Zoo, Serbia, Tuesday, March 23, 2010. Dragana, a female, was born on Monday. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)






Spring is around the corner, and so is the season of baby birds. Here, young Sandhill Cranes, just three days old, grab a morsel of food from a parent in the area of Creekwood Boulevard, just north of State Road 70 in East Manatee County, Florida. The Sandhill family has attracted several wildlife photographers that have been watching the nest for several days. (Grant Jefferies/Bradenton Herald/MCT)






In this photo taken Friday, March 19, 2010, Baboon's fall out of a tree as they play at a dam next to the Constantia Uitsig wine estate situated on the outskirts o Cape Town, South Africa. Baboons are already accused of car-jacking Cape Town tourists in search of food. Winemakers say the rampaging troops of primates are also munching their fill of premium grapes in the region's famous Winelands area. (AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam)






In this March 17, 2010 photo, Kalluk, one of the polar bears at the San Diego Zoo, plays in the Polar Bear Plunge being renovated and scheduled to re-open at noon on Friday March 26. The shrinking Arctic ice cap has prompted the San Diego Zoo to renovate its popular polar bear exhibit with global warming messages. The zoo spent $1 million to add more backyard space and displays supporting cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions. (AP Photo/San Diego Union-Tribune, Howard Lipin)






Ukraine's Vladislav Goncharov places his head into the mouth of one his lions during the rehearsal of the upcoming show of the Hungarian State Circus in Budapest, Hungary, Thursday, March 25, 2010. (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky)






A diver cleans the glass of a giant, cylindrical aquarium as fish swim by at the AquaDom on March 22, 2010 in Berlin, Germany. The 25 meters tall aquarium, which contains approximately 1,500 fish from 50 different species, stands in the lobby of the SAS Radission Hotel and is part of the SeaLife Berlin underwater attraction. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)







Baltimore Orioles left fielder Luke Scott shields himself from a flock of seagulls during the fourth inning of a spring training baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies in Clearwater, Fla., Sunday, March 21, 2010. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)






Amanda Braun, left, and Maria Linn kiss the WIAA trophy after Pius' victory over De Pere Saturday at the Kohl Center. Pius won the Division 1 title, 34-23. Journal Sentinel photo: Benny Sieu


 

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Culinary no-no #158

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 28, 2010

Culinary no-no's


Take a look at this map:









Is this place where….


A) Lots of really neat people live

B) Lots of really freaky people live

C) Really cool ideas come first

D) Really bad ideas come first

E) All of the above


Culinary no-no #158 is about a really bad idea.

Tony Bennett’s favorite city has in effect what is called the Health Care Security Ordinance. Since 2006, the city by the bay requires that employers pay $1.17 to $1.76 toward health care for every hour worked by an employee who works at least 10 hours per week for 90 days.

Care to guess what category of workers the ordinance applies to?

How about restaurant employees? How about waiters and waitresses?

Phoebe Damrosch likes the concept of this government-mandated employer contribution to health care coverage. Damrosch is the author of “Service Included: Four-Star Secrets of an Eavesdropping Waiter” and has been featured previously on Culinary no-no.

Last September in a New York Times piece, Damrosch wrote about wait staff:

“In their defense, waiters work unpredictable schedules for inconsistent money. They rarely have health or dental insurance, paid sick leave or retirement planning options. Because of the high turnover that results, owners are reluctant to invest in training. So owners see waiters as expendable, chefs think they are undereducated and overpaid (on a good night, a waiter can make twice what the lowest-paid line cook or dishwasher earns, which is just over minimum wage), and diners anticipate incompetence before it occurs. Who would want a job with so little to recommend it?”

Damrosch, the former waitress, acknowledged that there are some mighty good waiters/waitresses but more need to be recruited.

“How can restaurants attract more of these professional, committed and inspired workers and how can they persuade current waiters to be proud of their work? First, restaurants need to provide health insurance and retirement planning for their employees. One way to do this would be a service charge, as practiced in Europe, put toward paying a salaried staff. Would American diners be willing to give up tipping — and its illusion of control — if it meant providing benefits and a living wage for the people who cook and serve their food?”

Hmmmmmm. “A service charge put toward paying a salaried staff.”

You know where this is going.

Liberal California Here I Come!!!!

What was that called again?

Oh, yes.

In typical sexy government-ese, The San Francisco Health Care Security Ordinance.

What do you think San Francisco restaurants are doing in response?

Passing the added cost onto patrons?

Good guess.

How are they doing it?

Jacking up the price of entrees?

Ummm.

No.

Jacking up the price of entreees?

Ummmm.

No.

Jacking up the price of everything?

Nope.

San Francisco restaurants are adding a so-called “health” charge right on customer bills. And this “health” charge is on the bills, on the menus, right there for all the world to see.

Ed Perkins of the Chicago Tribune doesn’t like San Francisco’s ordinance. And he doesn’t like the additional “health” charge.

Problem.

Perkins is upset for all the wrong reasons.

He writes:

“The restaurants' excuse for assessing this charge separately is to let customers know how much they're paying for employees' health coverage.”

That’s what restaurants should do. They should be reminding customers that local government has imposed additional costs of doing business on local businesses. You know why your Beef Wellington costs $2 more? Here’s why.

Perkins writes:

“And it's sheer nonsense. Employees' health insurance is no less of a cost of doing business than rent, property taxes, food costs, security services and all the other inputs businesses require to operate. To single out health care for a separate surcharge is unwarranted.”

I don’t think so. I’m just glad restaurants don’t sock me with a surcharge for rent, property taxes, or the price of cheese.

Perkins then writes:

“The restaurants adding this fee self-righteously proclaim, ‘It's not hidden; we print a notice on our menus.’ But that, too, is nonsense: Presumably, restaurants could apply that same rationale for extra fees to cover the cost of electricity, heat or linen service.”

Excuse me, Ed. Restaurants do pay a fee for electricity and heat. Nonsense? While I agree with Perkins and his hate for the “health” surcharge, I give total credit to the business owner for being open, honest and transparent with customers about the surcharge knowing full well if patrons don’t like it, they may not return. But the customers must be made cognizant that the additional cost is the fault of local government, not the restaurateur.

And here’s the final laugher. Perkins writes:

“It seems to me that hidden mandatory fees are becoming prevalent enough to warrant some sort of government action.”


OH



MY



GOODNESS!



Ed, baby.

Government is exactly the reason restaurants in Frisco are charging these ridiculous, but warranted “health” add-ons!

So Ed Perkins doesn’t like this non-consumer friendly surcharge. But he fails to understand why it’s being done, and why it’s right and who’s ultimately to blame.

I’ll just bet Ed Perkins voted for…..
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The role of government

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 29, 2010




Congress has a spending addiction.

Re-elect Franklin Alderman Steve Olson: THE REST OF THE STORY

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 29, 2010


THE REST OF THE STORY*

Or What my opponent doesn’t want you to know.



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The latest News You Can Use from WRTL-Think November, Stupak is unbelievable, WRTL TV ads

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 29, 2010

Wisconsin Right To Life News You Can Use Contribute
In This Issue:
 
Important Right To Life Links

Had Enough?  Think November, November, November!

The NY Times is out to smear the Pope, and here's why

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 29, 2010


The answer is provided by the Journal Sentinel's Patrick McIlheran in a great piece.

What it all boils down to is this: the Pope is on this side of the grass.

Read....

A Cleveland writer and Eugene Kane are definitely onto something

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 29, 2010


It is well documented that I am not a fan of people who comment anonymously on the Internet. In October 2007, I quoted from a column by Dennis Prager entitled, “Internet anonymity is as destructive as Internet porn”:

“There is something at least as awful -- and arguably more destructive -- that permeates the Internet: the lies, vitriol, obscenities and ad hominem attacks made by anonymous individuals on almost every website that deals with public issues.

Being identifiable breeds responsibility; anonymity breeds irresponsibility.

Anonymity only enables people to more freely express their feelings. Anonymity values feelings over thought, and immediate expression over thoughtful reflection.

There is not one good reason for any website, left or right, or non-political, to allow people to avoid identifying themselves. Anyone interested in serious political discourse, or in merely lowering the hate levels in our country, should welcome the banning of anonymous postings.”

Writers using false identities have plagued the NOW blogosphere, including this web site, and still do. I’ve written a lot about how wrong and dangerous this practice can be.

Enter Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist Eugene Kane. Today, Kane echoes the sentiments of a Cleveland columnist that has called for newspapers to ban anonymous comments on their websites.

Kane writes, “The blogosphere's popularity over the last decade or so seems to have avoided the requirement for credibility for commenters. As a result, people feel free to comment on whatever they want, however they want, and in many cases, as offensively as they want. Some of them talk big smack, mainly because nobody knows their name.”

Kane quotes Connie Schultz of the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

“Most news organizations allow anonymous comments on their Web sites. Many, if not most, journalists oppose the practice. Some of us deplore the hypocrisy of requiring that letters to the editor have verifiable identities, addresses and phone numbers, while allowing anyone with a keyboard and an e-mail address to post the kind of stuff they'd never say if they had to provide their names."

Not all anonymous commenters are at fault. But most puff their chests as they cowardly spew venom from behind the safety of their keyboards. Anything and everything goes. This lack of courage has done far more harm than good.

Bravo to any newspaper that bans anonymous commenters, and I commend Connie Schultz and, believe it or not, Eugene Kane.

Like wow, man, just chill out, y'know it's just freakin' art

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 29, 2010


In another sign I’m getting older (Who the hell is she?), Erykah Badu decided to film herself stripping in broad daylight at the site of JFK’s assassination. The raunchy act was designed for a new music video.

Obviously, it’s yet another clear sign that our culture is going down the toilet.

MSNBC.com asked, “Is Erykah Badu's new video art or just obscenity?”

Your choices:

She's just offering another creative view of her song. Nothing wrong with it.


The nudity needs to go! If she had stayed dressed, I'd be OK with the video.

The tie to the JFK assassination is most upsetting.

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There is no liberal media bias

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 30, 2010

Political Cartoon by Michael Ramirez

Good for state Rep. Brett Davis

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 30, 2010


Davis wants to slam the brakes on high speed rail or, as the Journal Sentinel is now calling it, fast rail.


 

Media in tar and feather overdrive vs.The Pope

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 30, 2010


Catholic League president Bill Donohue has issued statements I urge you to read. The first is about what Donohue calls the media ‘hysteria” about the Pope. Here are some excerpts:

“One looks in vain for a single sentence that implicates his guilt in anything.”

 “No one has any evidence that he even knew of the case of Father Lawrence Murphy.”

 “It is a sad day when al-Qaeda suspects are afforded more rights than priests.”

Read the entire statement.

Donohue also blasts the liberals’ favorite network MSNBC for libeling the Pope. NBC later apologized.

I'm on WISN

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 30, 2010


I fill in for Vicki McKenna this Thursday and Friday from 10 am-12 Noon on Newstalk 1130 WISN.

This news item isn't funny....

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 30, 2010


But it's difficult not to chuckle when you read...

HT: JammieWearingFool

 

MUST SEE VIDEO: Young Tea Partier takes on CNN, liberal FL Congressman

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 30, 2010


Jordan Marks of Young Americans for Freedom more than holds his own against a clearly biased CNN anchor and outspoken FL Congressman Alan Grayson who comes off badly.



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"Violent Liberal Hate Rhetoric: Fifteen Quotes"

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 30, 2010


From conservative columnist John Hawkins, he of the newsworthy lists:

"The sad reality is that EVERYONE who achieves any notoriety at all in this business gets death threats, but it's only treated as noteworthy by the press when it happens to liberals. Had the exact same events that followed the health care debate happened to Republicans instead of Democrats, it wouldn’t have been a page one story in any major paper in the nation…….when will Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Barack Obama finally stand up and condemn the ocean of violence and hatred being spewed by their friends, supporters and ideological allies?"

The 15 quotes follow.

Democrats super-sized about Obamacare

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 31, 2010


 Political Cartoon by Eric Allie

On the 5th Anniversary of the Death of Terri-Schindler-Schiavo

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 31, 2010

Life - Wisconsin Right To Life - News Release


Terri, We Will Never Forget You!

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Bill to eliminate local sex offender ordinances gets public hearing Thursday

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 31, 2010


Thursday, the state Senate Judiciary Committee holds a public hearing on Senate Bill 548, the bill that would repeal all local ordinances in the state that restrict where released sex offenders can live or congregate (over 100), including Franklin’s two milestone ordinances.

 

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Scummy Internet trolls

Posted by Kevin Fischer on March 31, 2010


A few days ago, I wrote about the danger, and evil of anonymous blogs and commenters on the Internet.

Internet trolls are equally despicable.

From flayme.com:


What Is A Troll?

The term derives from "trolling", a style of fishing which involves trailing bait through a likely spot hoping for a bite. The troll posts a message, often in response to an honest question, that is intended to upset, disrupt or simply insult the group.

Usually, it will fail, as the troll rarely bothers to match the tone or style of the group, and usually its ignorance shows.

Why do trolls do it?

I believe that most trolls are sad people, living their lonely lives vicariously through those they see as strong and successful.

Disrupting a stable newsgroup gives the illusion of power, just as for a few, stalking a strong person allows them to think they are strong, too.

For trolls, any response is 'recognition'; they are unable to distinguish between irritation and admiration; their ego grows directly in proportion to the response, regardless of the form or content of that response.

Trolls, rather surprisingly, dispute this, claiming that it's a game or joke; this merely confirms the diagnosis; how sad do you have to be to find such mind-numbingly trivial time wasting to be funny?

Remember that trolls are cowards; they'll usually post just enough to get an argument going, then sit back and count the responses (Yes, that's what they do!).

Troll - Angler or Underbridge Dweller?

How can troll posts be recognized?

  • No Imagination - Most are frighteningly obvious; sexist comments on nurses' groups, blasphemy on religious groups .. I kid you not.
  • Pedantic in the Extreme - Many trolls' preparation is so thorough, that while they waste time, they appear so ludicrous from the start that they elicit sympathetic mail - the danger is that once the group takes sides, the damage is done.
  • False Identity - Because they are cowards, trolls virtually never write over their own name, and often reveal their trolliness (and lack of imagination) in the chosen ID. As so many folk these days use false ID, this is not a strong indicator on its own!
  • Crossposting - Any post that is crossposted to several groups should be viewed as suspicious, particularly if unrelated or of opposing perspective. Why would someone do that?
  • Off-topic posting - Often genuine errors, but, if from an 'outsider' they deserve matter-of-fact response; if genuine, a brief apposite response is simply netiquette; if it's a troll post, you have denied it its reward.
  • Repetition of a question or statement is either a troll - or a pedant; either way, treatment as a troll is effective.
  • Missing The Point - Trolls rarely answer a direct question - they cannot, if asked to justify their twaddle - so they develop a fine line in missing the point.
  • Thick or Sad - Trolls are usually sad, lonely folk, with few social skills; they rarely make what most people would consider intelligent conversation. However, they frequently have an obsession with their IQ and feel the need to tell everyone. This is so frequent, that it is diagnostic! Somewhere on the web there must be an Intelligence Test for Trolls - rigged to always say "above 150"


Here is exhibit A demonstrating how vile these cretins truly are:



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