A George Will must read

JUST DO IT!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40073-2005Jan26.html

He was at Harvard, where he is president. Since then he has become a serial
apologizer and accomplished groveler. Soon he may be in a Khmer Rouge-style
reeducation camp somewhere in New England, relearning this: In today's academy,
no social solecism is as unforgivable as the expression of a hypothesis that
offends someone's "progressive" sensibilities.

Surely a local hero

Sadly, the WSJ has no pictures, but the billboards are fantastic. I plan on calling some friends in Madison to try and get some pictures. As someone who was at the Packer game that fateful Sunday and sitting on the side of the endzone that Mr. Moss defiled I feel this public taunt is more than appropriate. Burn in NFL hell Randy (otherwise known as Oakland)...hopefully that trade goes through.

http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local//index.php?ntid=26156

Social Security Choice blog

The Club for Growth has a fantastic new blog
(http://www.socialsecuritychoice.com/) about the #1 domestic issue
facing young American's today. If you haven't checked out the SS link
posted earlier, make sure to do so to see how much of your FICA tax you
can hope to get back. It also gives an average indication of what you
will pay into this Great Society scam.

The Club for Growth site has a veritable who's who of prominent thinkers
on the issue and is probably the best (along with the Heritage
Foundation) advocate for Social Security reform. I think the best
aspect of this reform is only being touched on lightly, but increasingly
the talking points from the right are beginning to focus on this;
ownership. It isn't so much that you can decide where to divert your
FICA dollars for retirement planning, it is that when you die, YOU get
to decide where the accrued assets go. This is a way to leave a
financial legacy upon which your children and other beneficiaries can
begin to build. Social security personalization will provide every
American the opportunity to leave a nest egg for their children. Even
those people who toil in the lower to middle class for their entire
lives will be able to leave something for their children if they so
choose, so that their children really can make a better life for
themselves, and get a tremendous leg up in the process.

It seems to me that if the ideal of the American dream is that each and
every generation has it better than those who came before them, allowing
Americans to control a large part of their assets, while still
maintaining a safety net for those who need it, is an important step
towards reaching that goal. I sincerely hope that President Bush is
prepared for an incredible fight from leftists who want to remain in
control of our money, and that he sticks it out at any political cost.
If this can be done in the next four years in a way that cannot be
undone, President Bush will have solidified a legacy as impressive as
that of any President before him. Working class citizens will be able
to tell their children that because of President Bush and his bold
initiatives, they will be starting life with a modicum of economic
freedom that can be built upon from generation to generation.

Weekend updates

In what will probably be a continuing habit, I will not be updating the
site over the weekend. This weekend will be starting this afternoon as
I am going out of town to honor a friend. Check back Monday (possibly
Sunday) and I should have some fresh content.

In the meantime, here are some stories to tide you folks over:

Worst case scenario? I would think that would have to do with a barren
wasteland and scorching days followed by freezing night, not turning
England into a tropical wasteland:

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/environment/story.jsp?story=604955

Voter fraud probed in Milwaukee...about damn time.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/jan05/296408.asp

Check out how much Social Security will cost you. Right now I am
getting a -.75% return on my "investment"
http://www.heritage.org/research/features/socialsecurity/

Walker's letter to Charlie Syke's

Well, Scott Walker is definitely getting out of the gates quick. He has sent out multiple mass email's in the past few days in addition to doing an interview with Charlie on Monday. Now, he is commenting on some of Governor Doyle's recent policies in an email to Mr. Sykes, which he posts on his blog, Sykes Writes.

Wow. Governor Jim Doyle really did a number on school choice parents in
Milwaukee. After weeks of leading them on that he was willing to compromise on a
bill to give some relief for families with kids in choice schools, Doyle went
back to siding with the liberal special interests in Madison.How ironic that
Doyle is suddenly worried about property taxpayers since his last state budget
cut the amount of state aid to schools from 66.7% to 63.6%. Not surprisingly,
the school property tax levies in the state went up by more 7% for 2005. The
reason is simple: Doyle's budget cut the percentage of school aid from the state
and Doyle's vetoes allowed those school districts to make up the lose of state
aid through higher property tax bills.

In addiditon, it looks like voter ID cards will be one of "cause celebre" for Wisconsin.

Feingold/Kohl vote against Gonzales

In a rare move, Feingold bowed to party politics. I personally think he
is basically a worthless Senator whose only legislative accomplishment
is a complete and utter failure (finance reform) but at least he is
usually a fairly independent thinker. He has a history of acquiescing
to cabinet choices and even voted for (GASP!!) John Ashcroft. However,
in what looks to be a page out of Evan Bayh's book from earlier today,
Sen Feingold voted against Mr. Gonzales citing his role in terror
torture. Is this yet another leftist kicking off his campaign by
kicking a Bush nomination (Kerry against Condi, Bayh against Condi,
Boxer against the world...)?

Both Feingold and Kohl cited Gonzales' role, as White
House counsel, in concluding the Geneva Convention protections for
prisoners of war did not apply to terror suspects, and in requesting a
memo arguing for a narrow definition of torture as "excruciating and
agonizing pain.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/daywatch.asp?id=53&entry=6014

Protracted debate about a foregone conclusion

I would just like to commend Mr. McCain for his short but sweet speech
on the floor of the senate today. He put it bluntly, saying that there
are better things to focus on that debating something that even Babs
Boxer admits was going to be a slam dunk.

I just wish he had stood during Kennedy's diatribe with an enraged "How
dare you...who the hell are you to comment on moral authority." Just
once someone should put that blow hard in his place.

In other news, Gonzales passed committee on a party line vote (10-8)
same as Ashcroft four years ago. Opposition (soon-to-be-called
insurgent) senators couldn't resist a few shots at Ashcroft in the
process. ""Even voting against him (Gonzales), he's a significant
improvement over the attorney general we have there now," said Sen.
Joseph Biden"

Link to Gonzales story:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=536&e=3&u=/ap/20050126/a
p_on_go_co/senate_gonzales

Link to Rice confirm story:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=536&e=5&u=/ap/20050126/a
p_on_go_co/senate_rice

esk (emailed in at 12:05)

Votes on Dr. Rice Confirmation

Final Tally is 85-13 in favor of confirmation

Nay's: Boxer, Kennedy, Levin, Byrd, Kerry, Jeffords, Reed (RI), Durbin,
Dayton, Akaka, Harkin...I know, I missed two, my bad.

On edit: It was Dayton (MN) and the two I missed were Lautenberg and Bayh, I am somewhat surprised by his actions the past few days...perhaps moving to the kook base to gear up for an 08 run at Prez?

The President meets the Press

In his first major press conference since inauguration President spoke
again to broad goals. I missed the first part of it, listening to the
senate debate. (McCain actually acted like a Republican for once,
claiming this was all about lefty sour grapes...about time Mr. McCain).

As to the pres conference, President Bush seems a little ill-prepared
and somewhat short-tempered. I missed his response to taking up the
tax-code reform (an issue second only to SS reform in my mind)...damn
you co-workers!

Social security: will not raise payroll tax. Won't talk about
specifics (that is very disappointing...I was really hoping he would lay
out some serious proposals in this press conference but it looks like
they still haven't worked up a sellable package).

Troop withdrawal: "we'll leave when the mission is done." Honestly,
what the heck don't these people get about this?
Paying reporters: Bad, Williams and Dept. of Education made mistakes,
White House didn't know about it
Economy: growing jobs, forecasts strong. President says he wants legal
reform and a "good energy bill"
Kennedy criticisms: sort of rendered speechless, seems like he wants to
tear into Kennedy but he's not mentioning him or referenced him at all
(knock the fat man down President!). President Bush just continues to
hammer the importance of the Iraqi vote...caught his stride "Firmly
planted the flag of liberty for all to see" (we are with you)
Immigration reform: against amnesty (damn well better be); reform to
make it easier to control the borders (ID cards for border jumpers...is
that what we're talking about here?) "family values do not stop at the
Rio Grande" (schlock, pure schlock).
Dr Rice/AG A.G.: total dodge, "99 senators other than that person
[Boxer] and I look forward to working with them"

Quick close, and poof, he's gone...

Well, nothing new really, I am personally disappointed. Hopefully in
his speech later today he'll give some SS reform specifics.

C-Span will be replaying the press conference later in prime time if you
want to catch it yourself.

Anyway, back to the Senate...oh and work

ESK via email (sent 9:50 am)

Tracking the Rice Vote

I'll be listening to the Dr. Rice debate this morning, so most of today's posts will probably be specific to this. I'll try to get the updated vote as soon as possible, we already know Feingold is going to vote to approve, we'll see how Kohl votes. I have a feeling that less than 20 Dems will vote nay, among them the usual suspects.

If you want to follow it yourself, here is the link: http://www.c-span.org/watch/cspan2_wm.asp?Cat=TV&Code=CS2

(I'll figure out how to do that cleaner in the coming days).

Clearly this has nothing to do with Dr. Rice

Dick Durbin has totally shattered the façade that this detour has anything to do with Dr. Rice. He has barely mentioned her name and has devolved into bringing up the lack of supplies and the inability to rebuild "anything" in the country because it will immediately be "blown up." Drop in a little Alberto Gonzales and a picture of Rumsfeld shaking hands with Saddam (courtesy of Boxer) and you officially have a leftist three ring circus.

As an update, the former Klansmen had nothing interesting to say, just did his little "this administration is unconstitutional" song and dance, and then slumped back into his corner.

Duck, Boxer is up!

Starts off on a snarky tone...man is this woman a bitch.

- Tens of thousands of people signed a petition supporting her actions?
Which petition was that?
- Believes she is doing her job. What job is that? Wicked witch of the
west?
- Obligatory constitution reading...ooohh, adds the spice of some
Federalist Papers (goes to show even the Devil himself could quote the
bible out of context).
- Calls out WH Chief of Staff; "you do no run the United States Senate"
- More election blather...yada yada yada
- Wow, she even has the democraticunderground.com favorite MLK quote
"our lives begin to end..." up on some poster board. Your taxpayer
dollars at work California. This woman is putting Perot to shame these
past few weeks when it comes to inane posters.
- Quick niceties to Dick Lugar for his fair chairmanship
- Here she goes again...reiterating her reiterations from her first
reiterations of her first statements last week.
- "Dr." Boxer guesses a third of our troops will come home needing
serious mental health attention...I haven't heard that number before
- Back to her quote boards...I'll update if anything interesting
happens.

Bucky on the cover!

I don't have the ability to post pictures but check out ESPN.com for a great picture of some Badger faithful. Sure it isn't at a Wisconsin Hockey game, but I suppose the basketball team has a little something going for it right now.

(By the way, check out www.uscho.com, Badgers men are #3 and women are #4.)

Teddy Kennedy's Remarks on Dr. Rice

Here we go, now this gets interesting:

-Plans on opposing Rice's nomination...big friggin surprise.
-Calls Iraq War catastrophic failure, and a continuing quaqmire!! (What
a prick, "hey troops, you suck...where's my bourbon?")
-Say's "Dr. Rice and others withheld information"
-"America is in deep trouble in Iraq today, and the quagmire is very
real"
-"war has not made America safer...Iraq is a breeding ground...America
more hated, less secure"


You get the idea, Kennedy is pissed because his lap dog Kerry didn't win
the election.

-Kennedy now railing against terror. Talking about water boarding,
that's a touchy subject Teddy. In water boarding, there is only the
threat of drowning, I am sure that hooker you sent to the bottom of the
creek in you drunk driving accident would have loved it if you were just
"water boarding" her, instead of leaving her to die.
-"unqualified, wrong...I urge the senate to oppose her nomination"

Jackass.

In summary:
Pretending to drown someone to get information to save American lives...BAD. Leaving a hooker to drown to save your own political life...GOOD. Thanks for the lesson Teddy.

Dr. Rice debate on C-Span 2

Fairly interesting, c-span has a live streaming web cast in both Real and Windows Media formats, either audio or video, definitely worth a look. Hell, our tax dollars are funding the station, might as well get some use out of it. It will also be a rare moment to see a Klansmen openly attack a black woman on the floor of the senate, surely a proud moment for the dems.

check it out here : http://www.c-span.org/watch/cspan2_wm.asp?Cat=TV&Code=CS2

Surprise Surprise

According to TMJ radio, federal charges will not be brought against the
thugs who slashed the GOP get out the vote tires. No compelling federal
implication? How about trying to change the outcome of a presidential
race through political terrorism? This paves the way nicely for McCann
to plea the charges down to seat belt violations and a ten dollar fine.
Forget my two month previous prediction, expect a plea in the coming
weeks.

In another "surprise" Paul Bucker will be announcing his AG candidacy
tomorrow. I'll have more thoughts on that later, after he makes a
statement. Personally, I dislike him for mistakes he made that
seriously affected an old friend of mine, but professionally, I think he
would make a great state AG, and I would love to see him and McCann
change places, so that underage drinkers in Waukesha aren't treated
harsher than political terrorists in Milwaukee.

They got rid of Hooter's for this?

I don't know if it was to make it more palatable for sale or what, but the replacement of Hooter's (which was easily within walking distance of my downtown apartment) with TJ Maxx was a bitter enough pill to swallow, now the whole mall is going to be sold, possibly to someone who is pro-Hooters. What a shame...

MONDAY, Jan. 24, 2005, 2:29 p.m.Grand Avenue mall put up for saleThe newly
renovated Shops of Grand Avenue in downtown Milwaukee is being put up for sale,
mall owner Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. announced today. The
250,000-square-foot mall, which last year added anchor tenants Linens ‘n Things
and T.J. Maxx, is being marketed for Northwestern Mutual by two commercial real
estate brokerage firms: CB Richard Ellis Inc.’s Chicago office and
Milwaukee-based Polacheck Co.Grand Avenue’s new stores, including Old Navy, have
pushed its occupancy rate above 90%. The sale doesn’t include the building that
houses the Boston Store, which is owned separately from the mall. (http://www.jsonline.com/news/daywatch.asp#5961)

Scott Walker on Sykes

Highlights
- first interview of gubernatorial campaign
- ripping Doyle's state of the state (out of touch theme obviously
going to be main focus)
- Says Doyle has been "shaking down special interests" in his bid
to raise more money than Thompson ever did
- Apparently spoke with Tommy before making his decision, hoping
for his endorsement
- Primary discussion Walker claims advantage based on Milwaukee
(55% and 58% in two elections) and strong TABOR stance (Milwaukee
freeze)
- Other Issues: Doyle out of step with WI values, touched on
defense of marriage, "out of touch Madison liberal" (I like that a lot!)
- Issue of conflicting with his current position: "my success as a
candidate depends on my ability to perform here in Milwaukee"
- Horrific by product of his win: County Executive Lee
Holloway...

Operation Elephant Takeover?

Sheer brilliance must just run in the Pratt family. While it looks for the time being that the fools involved in slashing tires on election morning will only be charged with a local felony, the name of their idiotic scheme has been released, but not much more. E. Michael (in between praising himself for being a fantastic lawyer) announced charges for five men involved, yes the Moore boy (Shaka Kan Sunshine, Supreme Solar, who can keep this guys name straight?) and Pratt's genius offspring were both charged. I'll link the story when it becomes available on the Urinal. Until then I am going to ponder what Operation Elephant Takeover could mean if not federal election tampering, and how the renowned Mr McCann interpreted this title.

In the meantime, someone has to start a "how long til this gets pleaded away" poll. My guess is within two months.

on edit: here is the link for the Urinal Sentinel article, no link for the criminal complaint yet http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/jan05/295825.asp

here is the criminal complaint: http://www.wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=30281

Lower Taxes, Higher Standards

The campaign slogan for Walker's gubernatorial campaign. Not bad, I sort of like the W for Wisconsin header I saw on his campaign website (http://scottwalker.org/) check it out for his open letter confirming reports over the weekend about his hat being officially thrown in the ring. Hopefully, he hammers on two points he made in that letter in the coming 21 (!) months.

Earlier this month, at his State of the State address, Doyle made matters
worse. Not only did he not support the Tax Freeze, he attacked it. Then, to add
insult to injury, he proposed to repeal the QEO – a compensation formula which
has helped to control school property tax levies since 1993. Jim Doyle’s plans
will raise property taxes while doing nothing to improve education.
At that
point, the night of that speech, it became crystal clear to me: we need a
change. And in the weeks since, it’s become clear that I can help bring about
that change. Just as I did in 2002 in my corner of the state, I see the public
upset and looking for new leadership. (www.scottwalker.org)

Scott Walker's Announcement

In about an hour Scott Walker, Republican rising start from Milwaukee,
will announce his bid for the governor of Wisconsin. Looking at Doyle's
approval numbers the prospects look pretty good. It will probably be a
bit of a difficult Republican primary, hopefully Mr. Green will cede to
the man who can show well in Milwaukee, but I doubt it. I honestly
think either would be good, as all we really need in office is someone
who won't veto every bill that is passed by the people's
representatives, but I think Mr. Walker represents the best hope. I
also feel that Governor will not be the last stop for Mr. Walker (should
he win) and that governor of Wisconsin is not his ultimate goal. For
that reason, I think it would be intelligent for Mr. Green to perhaps
run against Kohl for a senate seat, or wait to fulfill his aspirations
at a later date. It is my hope that once a clear favorite emerges in
the race for the Republican nominee, the other contenders will bow out
gracefully and do everything in their power to deliver their strongholds
to the eventual candidate.

E.S.K.

Introduction

I suppose I might as well get the obligatory introduction out of the way. I was inspired to start this by Scott Walker's decision to run for governor of our misguided state, and by the fact that my job offers me an incredible amount of down time. Therefore, I scour the news for political happenings and insight. I will do my best to provide interesting and important information, coupled with my own witty commentary.

In addition to politics I will undoubtedly focus on sports and general life in Milwaukee. Enjoy and come back often.