Prima Donnas At Play

Pete says that Sarah can't play in the same sandbox as Newt.

It’s the story of the day that GOP leaders have been battling over who’s to
blame for the fact that Palin was “snubbed” when she was disinvited from a
speaking role at the big fundraiser, which is for the two Congressional
committees, the NRCC and the NRSC. Politico laid
the blame on NRCC chief Sessions, claiming he didn’t want her to
upstage keynote speaker Newt
Gingrich, prompting a round of bitter finger-pointing.

Rush and Hugh don't want anybody to play with the General.

"In the effort to reverse this lurch beyond the farthest left fringe of
previous Democratic statist urges, individual Americans have a role to play.
They have to say no to GM products and services until such time as the
denationalization occurs," says Hugh
Hewitt. He acknowledges that this is a serious step that could hurt
people currently working for GM: "But there isn't any alternative,

The Party of kNOw, indeed. It's as if they have a pathological need to be loudly wrong.

Remember?

Do you remember all those wingers who were absolutely certain that Joe Biden would withdraw as a candidate for VP for "health reasons" just before the election so that Hilary Clinton could step into the spot?

Whatever happened with that?

Somebody Should Spend Less Time Watching TV...

...and more time working on their English.

Do you think Adam Lambert should of won American Idol

Just Sayin'

I love my twenty-eight year-old sons without equivocation but I still flinch a little if they have to drive one of my cars.

North Korea Dear Leader reportedly taps
26-year-old son as successor

Republican AG Says, "Do Whatever You Want To The Girl. Just Leave Me Alone."

Budget cuts for thee, but not for me says van Goodhair.

I say, cut his budget by $300 a week until he produces those terrorists training in upstate WI.

A Word To Brett Favre Regarding The Fine Line Between Fame And Futility

Braves release 305-game winner Tom Glavine

Ahem

Aren't those who seek a judicial overturning of Roe v Wade looking for empathy for their cause in the face of laws to the contrary?

Just askin'.

It's Not Just Judge Sotomayor

Most of these guys would be attacking any Obama pick for SCotUS. That makes it a lot easier to ignore them.

The good news is that Newt is getting an early start down the low road that wiped out John McCain's electability.

Do You Suppose?

Do you think that the originators of the TSA security procedures at the airport ever heard of the Maginot Line?

Do you suppose that they learned anything?

What The Serious People Are Saying

Mark Krikorian over at NRO weighs in on the Sotomayor appointment by pissing and moaning about the way the Judge pronounces her name.

Deferring to people's own pronunciation of their names should obviously be
our first inclination, but there ought to be limits. Putting the emphasis on the
final syllable of Sotomayor is unnatural in English (which is why the president
stopped doing it after the first time at his press conference), unlike my
correspondent's simple preference for a monophthong over a diphthong, and
insisting on an unnatural pronunciation is something we shouldn't be giving in to.

Let's assume for the moment that young Mark doesn't pronounce his last name Crick-oh-ryan, shall we? Let's assume that he doesn't Americanize and pronounce Justice Skalya's name or Justice Al-eye-to's name using the same standard. How does the lad order fajitas or hors d'ourvres or even, for that matter stop to by a souvenir?

It seems that the serious people have run out of even their specious arguments and are now just casting about for the anti-furriner support.

I'm Offended

Rep. Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse), who rarely speaks during the
committee's hours-long meetings, said both sides repeatedly made the same
points, slowing down the budget process. But she reserved most of her anger for
Vos.

"Were you in community theater?" she asked. "Because this is
theater of the absurd right now.... Can we be statesmen and grow up?"

Speaking for actors everywhere, Robin Vos couldn't be good at community theater, either.

Yeah. They Got Nothin'

The Young Cons Rap.

We're Not Laughing At Them. We're Laughing Near Them.

Those lovable scamps at Americans For Prosperity Pennsylvania have taken exception with some of Arlen Specter's positions and have launched a robocall campaign to go with their letter writing push.

How much weight do you think he'll give to letters addressed using AFP's spelling? They've only had 30 years to get it right, after all.

OTOH, the Wisconsin chapter's website is still advertising for the April teabaggery and hasn't been updated since the end of March. That's just their way of staying relevant, I guess.

It's Hard To Be A Wingnut #6

It's hard to believe that VP Al Gore somehow has no legitimacy to share his views about global climate change but that Liz Cheney is a reliable spokesperson whose views should carry extra weight in discussions.

Just Because He Eliminates Dark Matter Doesn't Make Him, "Icky"

Nibbler

You Know?

There were some of us who weren't in a rush to accept Roland Burris' credentials.

Memorial Day

Never forget.

SSgt., L.R.B.
7499th Composite Squadron
Wiesbaden, Germany

It's Hard To Be A Wingnut #5

The rare double wingnut.

You have to believe that Arlen Specter is a man of no principle because he changed parties and that all union members are thugs but that Ronald Reagan, former Democrat and Union President was a better Republican than Lincoln.

Note To Kris Allen

Think about the choices you'll have to make today and tomorrow and then ask yourself when the last time was that you saw anyone scalping tickets to a Phantasia show.

Volunteers Invited to Join Local 6th Graders in Community Clean-up

From Evansville Community Partnership.

Evansville Community Partnership(ECP) is proud to announce that the annual spring downtown clean-up is expanding this year to include the Memorial Day parade route. We are happy to again be partnering with the Evansville Community School District, The City of Evansville, and Shannon & DeMarb, LLC. Downtown public parking lots, service alleys around Main Street, and the Main Street Business District will also be cleaned to help spruce up our community in time for Memorial Day.

Community volunteers are invited to join 140 local 6th Graders and teachers, organized through the Roots & Shoots program, to help clean-up our community next Friday, May 22nd from 11:20 AM to 1:30 PM. The students will divide into six cleaning teams , At least one adult supervisor will be with each group and selected by our local teacher organizers, Butch Beedle and Joanie Dobbs.

If you want to join a cleaning crew, adult volunteers can bring work gloves and wait outside the Eager Free Public Library on the First Street side as the students walk from the Middle School to their assigned areas. If you can’t join a crew but have an extra broom or dustpan to loan to us, please put your name on it and bring it to the ECP/ Chamber office at 8 W. Main Street during business hours before Friday. Downtown businesses could loan brooms and dustpans by leaving them outside their doors for pick-up if they would like to help out. Loaned materials should be labeled so they can be returned.

The current plan is to clean-up the following areas: 1. A Team will be dropped off at the cemetery and walk back up to East Main Street and follow the Memorial Day Parade Route to the VFW so that the route will be spic-and-span for the parade, 2. service alley and parking lot behind the West Main business block from Rock N Rollz Sandwich Co to the Grange Store, 3. the parking lot and adjoining alleys behind M&I Bank and Hagen Insurance, 4. the service street behind UB&T down to Shannon & DeMarb and up Montgomery Street, 5. the parking lot and service entrance behind The Night Owl and Eager Economy Building, 6. the Main Street Business District from the VFW to the Eager Free Public Library.

Please contact ECP at 882-0598 or email ecpi@litewire.net to participate or for more information. A rain date will be announced in the fall when school resumes.

Can't Tell The Players Without A Scorecard

Elliott apparently has mixed feelings that the original K.I.S.S. is coming to Summerfest but he's missing out on the intense rivalry between two tribute bands.

Joey Fatale, the 4-foot, 4-inch New Yorker who heads the all-dwarf KISS
tribute band MiniKiss, is denying published reports that he tried to sneak past
security last month at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas to confront a
rival band leader, 4-foot "Little" Tim Loomis of Tiny Kiss, for allegedly
ripping off his idea for such a group.

This story from the LA Times contains what may be the most wonderful sentence of the decade, redolent of the brilliance of Paddy Mac hisself.

Loomis, a former drummer for MiniKiss, was performing with Tiny Kiss, which
includes three little people and a 350-pound woman, on St. Patrick's Day at
Beacher's Madhouse

It's impossible to make this stuff up.

Local Artists' Exhibit At EFL

Summer Opportunities For Youth

From the Gifted and Talented Newsletter

Summer is the time to dive into subjects that feed your passion and find others who share that same passion. In addition to the opportunities listed on the attached “Summer Opportunities” document, here are some more ideas that just came in!:

Wisconsin's Young Authors & Artists Conference August 13 & 14

Sponsored by the Milwaukee Art Museum. Students entering grades 5 through 12. The student participation fee of $100 includes student's two-day Museum admission, Friday's morning snack and pizza luncheon, conference materials and supplies, speakers and teachers, and one copy of this year's Wisconsin Writes book. Families are responsible for procuring their own lodging during the conference. For more information contact either wiwrites@kmsd.edu or the Milwaukee Art Museum's school and teacher programs manager by calling 414-224-3827 or e-mailing jane.nicholson@mam.org.
------------

CyberGirlz is a FREE camp designed for incoming 6th, 7th, and 8th grade girls who are interested in learning more about technology. Campers will be instructed by a combination of UW-Whitewater staff, students and IT professionals. Campers will participate in a number of fun activities which will introduce various Information Technology topics.

What will Campers Do?
Build your own computer;
Create a digital scrapbook and slideshow;
Digital video recording ;
Design and build your own website
When, Where and Other? 7/20 – 7/24 7:30 am - 8:00 am at UW-Whitewater ;
Specific building and room locations to be determined.
Snacks will be provided
It's FREE... so register today! More information at: techcamps@uww.edu or call: 262 472-1322
-------

UW-Rock County Offers College for Kids July 20-24

Students going into grades 2 through 8 in the fall can register now for LEAPS and College for Kids classes at the University of Wisconsin-Rock County. Courses will be held Monday-Friday, July 20-24, on the campus at 2909 Kellogg Ave. These courses allow highly motivated students to develop new interests, interact with students with similar abilities, enhance their interests through stimulating activities, and use creative thinking and expression.

LEAPS courses for students going into grades 2 through 4 include Aspiring Architects, The Fun & Fest of Puppetry, Shoebox Science, Breaking Things, Create Your Own Board Game, How Stuff Works and Spanish Around the World.

Participants can choose up to two of these courses, which will meet from 9 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. with a snack break included in between the courses. Tuition is $89.

College for Kids courses designed for grades 5 through 8 will be offered: Poly by Golly! Polyhedrons and Polytopes; Dare to Draw & Super Sculptors; Fun with Photoshop; Vamos de Viaje; Gear Up for Bicycles; NXT Mindstorms Mission: The Next Generation; and You Got Game! Computer Game Programming.

Participants can take two of these courses that will meet between 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Two snack breaks will be provided, but students should bring a lunch from home each day. The tuition is $159.Courses with insufficient enrollment may be cancelled. Limited scholarships are available thanks to the generosity of the Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin and the Janesville Education Foundation. For more information or to register for College for Kids, call the Office of Continuing Education at (608) 758-6565 ext. 360 or visit http://www.rock.uwc.edu/courses/continuing/courses.asp.
Enjoy the summer feeding your passion!

Well, Now. That's Not Good

One more nail in the coffin of our Summer dreams.

Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Rickie Weeks is to undergo surgery on a
wrist injury and will not play again this season, the team said on
Monday.

Weeks sustained the injury during a first-inning strikeout on
Sunday in St. Louis and will have surgery this week to repair a torn sheath that
surrounds a tendon in his left wrist, the Brewers said on their website

Get Your Road Construction Updates

From Sen Erpenbach's e-newsletter. Travel Easy Brochure Available –

The 2009 Travel Easy brochure details about 50 major highway work zones
travelers will encounter during this construction season. The brochure also
details rest stops and provides information on how to use the 511 travel
information system.

Travel Easy Information can be viewed online: http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/travel/traveleasy/

I Give Up. You Guys Are Right

It's time to find out what Nancy Pelosi knew and when she knew it. It's time for a full-blown investigation of the torture timeline and its rationale.

Let the subpoenas begin with Yoo and Rummy and let them find their way through to Pelosi and Jay Rockefeller. It's time to shine our brightest national light on this disgrace and see who skitters from it.

A Few Questions About Furloughs

Capper has already done the math showing that putting certain health-care workers on furlough will cost more dollars than it saves and will also raise exposure questions regarding diminished evels of service.

I just wonder about the legality and propriety of furloughing University employees who draw substantial portions of their wage from grants.

Will granting institutions reduce the level of funding correspondingly?

Will the University be required to repay a comparable portion of the grants?

If the University starts welching on grant terms on a wide-spread basis what effect will that have on pending and future grants?

Don't misapprehend. Furloughs are far better than lay-offs but are they the magic bullet that some think they are?

Quick Civics Lesson

This is pointed mostly one direction. For the rest of you, I offer my apologies for being remedial.

The School District is not the same as the city. The School Board does not answer to the Council. Yes. Your school taxes show up on the same bill as the city's.

The Fire District is not the same as the city. The city is represented but does not control the Fire District. Yes. Your fire district taxes show up on the same bill as the city's.

The Post Office is a federal facility. The city doesn't get to decide where the Post Office goes. In light of route changes proposed in Milton and put in place in other cities perhaps we should be thankful we have a Post Office here.

Your tax bill also has County taxes and Tech School District taxes on it. The City Council doesn't get to vote on these either.

State aids will be falling again. There may be no choice but to use funds tabbed for one department to address more pressing needs of another department. Think it through. If they don't take money from here to pay for that then they'll have to raise the money on the tax bill somewhere else. And that's what you were complaining about to start with, isn't it?

Remember. You Heard It Here First

When Norm Coleman's house of cards comes down around his ears remember that we were on the story nearly a year ago.

It’s Audition Time For Evansville Community Theater

The Evansville Community Theater will hold open auditions for their production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s, “The King and I,” on Saturday, May 16 and Monday May 18 at the JC McKenna Middle School. A cast of approximately 50 actors, dancers and singers is needed. The production will be staged on July 17-19 and 23-25 at the Evansville PAC at the High School.

Auditions for interested and independent children under the age of 14 will begin at 10 AM on Saturday, May 16. All children should prepare the song, “Getting To Know You,” from the score. Those wishing to audition for speaking parts will be asked to read from the script. Audition scripts are available at ectstagelights.org and Eager Free Library. Adult auditions will begin at 1 on Saturday. Adults should prepare a song from a Broadway musical. An accompanist will be provided. Bring your sheet music in the proper key.

Directing the ECT production will be Christa Stowers, the music and arts teacher at St Patrick’s School in Janesville. Christa studied theater at UW Stevens Point and has acted and directed with the Watertown Players, Phoenix Theatre Company, Penguin Productions, and Fort Atkinson Community Theatre.

Stowers says that, “The King and I,” offers a unique casting opportunity. “The play has a very large cast including a chorus, a ballet, and many roles for children. There are spots for dancers who don’t have to sing and for singers who don’t dance. Many non-singing roles for men will be available as well. It’s just a great chance for everyone to be involved. No one should stay home thinking they won’t fit in. This play suits many different types.”

“The King and I,” dramatizes the story of an English widow, Anna Leonowens, who is summoned by the King of Siam to serve as a tutor to his many wives and children at The Royal Palace in Bangkok. With both keeping a firm grip on their own traditions and values Anna and the King grow to understand and respect one another. This unique story of friendship includes many Broadway standards including “I Whistle a Happy Tune,” “Something Wonderful,” “Getting To Know You,” and “Shall We Dance?” Evansville Community Theater is a local non-profit group. Their most recent production was “Escanaba In Da Moonlight” at JC McKenna last October. This will be the group’s first musical in five years.

More information is available at the ECT website, ectstagelights.org . ECT is still looking for production team members as well. If you’d like to participate send an email to information@ectstagelights.org or come to one of the audition sessions.

It's Hard To Be A Wingnut #4

You have to believe that Miss California facing public approbation for what she said is, somehow, a curtailment of free speech but that Wanda Sykes crossed some unwritten line and should be cast out.

Corollary: You have to believe that it's possible to offend a media hound like Rush Limbaugh.

"Let The Free Market Decide," They Said

The Taco Bell Grassroots

You all know the truth about Taco Bell. They have fourteen different shapes of food but only three flavors. You've got chalupas and gorditas and tacos and burritos and nachos and so on but in the end it's ground beef with or without beans.

Sunday's paper brings news that Wisconsin Republicans are trying to duplicate Democrat's successes by creating new organizations among the grassroots. The Wisconsin Prosperity (sic) Network is envisioned to bring together 14 organizations under its banner. Ones first thought is that with such a plethora of organizations each can be led by one of the remaining Republicans.

There are some other fun things in the article. First is this cutline, the very worst if you are trying to convey integrity.

Former Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen also is playing a key role in the
Wisconsin Prosperity Network, according to an organizer. Jensen is facing trial
for using taxpayer money for campaign purposes. He was convicted on misconduct
charges in 2006, but a state appeals panel overturned the decision on grounds
the jury received improper instructions.

Not Not Guilty, you understand, just off on one of those technicalities that Republicans are always deriding.

Who else did the right bring along to show their respect for the electoral process?

Mark Block, president of the state chapter of Americans for
Prosperity, which advocates for lower taxes and less government, said in an
interview he is the main organizer of the network [snip] In 2001,
Block paid a $15,000 fine and agreed not to be involved in campaigns until 2004
after admitting to illegally coordinating Jon Wilcox’s Supreme Court campaign
with an outside group.

That's right. When the Republicans say they worry about voter fraud it's because they worry they haven't committed enough. But this group is bringing in the experts.

The group is also struggling with building their coalition.

The 14 new groups would join existing Wisconsin organizations Americans
for Prosperity, the First Freedoms Foundation, the Wisconsin Policy Research
Institute and the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, according to the
document.

But George Lightbourn, president of the policy research institute,
and Todd Berry, president of the taxpayers alliance, said their groups are
independent and not part of the effort.

Block said those groups have been removed from more recent versions
of the organization planning documents.

When such reliably conservative voices as WPRI don't want to be a part of your coalition it's not because they see you as too far out. The WPRI doesn't believe that the new group is far enough over the edge.

At least now we know why The McIver Institute was such a big deal. It was the first of the shell "think tanks" for the new alliance.

The MacIver Institute, a free-market, limited-government think tank named
after former Republican operative John MacIver, is the first of the new entities
to be formed. Network officials plan to survey state residents this summer to
identify more GOP supporters.

The story makes it sound as if Jensen and Friends will be launching a Lewis and Clark style exhibition to the wilds looking for closeted righties. I'll be surprised if they're effective much west of the Country Springs Inn.

Forteen new organizations. One worn out old message. Meet the new boss. He used to be the old boss. Good luck with that.

Just For The Record

Complaining about someone being mean to Rush Limbaugh is like whining that someone called the ocean, "Wet."

Rush Limbaugh may not have invented the snotty comment but he has honed it to a fine edge. He puts on his big boy underpants every day and doesn't need your defense against Wanda Sykes.

2009 Open Book and Board of Review

The 2009 Assessment Roll will be available for inspection beginning the afternoon of May 27, 2009 at City Hall, 31 S. Madison Street, Evansville, Wisconsin, during regular business hours of 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Assessor, Dean Peters, will have Open Book and be available to answer questions on Wednesday, May 27, 2009, from 12:00 noon - 2:00 p.m. Please schedule an appointment with him by calling Associated Appraisal Consultants, Inc., at 1-800-721-4157.

The 2009 Board of Review will be held on Tuesday, June 2, 2009, from 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers, Third Floor of City Hall, 31 S. Madison Street, Evansville, Wisconsin. The Board of Review may not hear an objection to the valuation of property unless, at least 48 hours before the Board’s scheduled hearing, the objector provides to the Board’s Clerk written or oral notice of intent to file an objection.

See the Board of Review requirements here.


Judy Walton
City Clerk

What The Silly People Are Saying

How soon they forget.

Eventually, POWs in Wisconsin were housed on two base camps and in 38
branch camps, with the state having by 1945 about 20,000 of the more than
420,000 POWs in the U.S.
[snip]
Once military base camp labor needs were met, POWs were placed in other
areas to be employed by private business owners. In Wisconsin, POWs worked
primarily in seasonal agricultural employment, although some worked in the
lumber industry or manufacturing. Because of the Geneva Convention stipulation
that POWs be paid for their work, those working in the U.S. received 80 cents
per day in “camp scrip” plus a 10-cent gratuity for personal needs. (POWs were
paid in “camp scrip” so they could make purchases only at the military bases or
camps – the money was worthless elsewhere if a POW escaped. Prisoners were
allowed, however, to start savings accounts redeemable upon repatriation.) So as
not to undercut union and other wages, the federal government collected the
difference between the pay the POWs were allowed to keep and wages paid regular
employees. POWs working in Wisconsin therefore realized an estimated $3.3
million for the U.S.

Drawing The Line

The newest member of the Judiciary Committe who will be advising on President Obama's next SCotUS appointment has clear standards.

...Sessions had labeled the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People (NAACP) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
"un-American" and "Communist-inspired."

But he thought he knew who was standing up for the American Way until they disappointed him as well.

--a black former assistant U.S. Attorney in Alabama named Thomas
Figures--testified that, during a 1981 murder investigation involving the Ku
Klux Klan, Sessions was heard by several colleagues commenting that he "used to
think they [the Klan] were OK" until he found out some of them were "pot
smokers."

It's good to have standards.

Keep Your Foot On The Gas

Dick Cheney isn't content to steer the Republican Party into the ditch. He's trying to get the wheels to fall off as well.

"You know, when you add all those things up, the idea that we ought to
moderate basically means we ought to fundamentally change our philosophy,"
Cheney also said. "I for one am not prepared to do that, and I think most of us
aren’t.

I'm hoping that the Republican Party can come back strong. One party government isn't a pretty thing, no matter who's in charge. I'm just hoping that they can find some statesmen and women to run the damn thing so it's relevant again.

I mean, how goofy do you have to be to drive Joe the Fake Plumber out?

Nagging Doubts

When I hear Fred Risser say that there won't be police stings operations to catch smokers and that police won't be making it a special enforcement effort I still remember them lege telling us that seat belts would never be the object of primary enforcement.

Another thing. If you want to kill my goose and I don't want my goose killed then it's not a compromise to kill my goose next year.

Call For Artists

Evansville Community Partnership, Inc. (ECP) is accepting registrations until June 15th from artists who wish to participate in a downtown art project called “Windmills on Parade”. The Evansville Main Street business district will be lined with original art from July 1st, 2009 to October 4th, 2009. The art will be created around a windmill structure provided by Dave’s ACE Hardware.

ECP and the volunteer committee members hope that this outdoor exhibit will help create a walk-able downtown, generating interest in visiting and shopping in our Main Street area. Discovering Youth Arts will also have an exhibit downtown featuring windmill themed art created by community youth.

More details can be found at www.windmillsonparade.com and http://www.evansville-wi.net/ or by calling Jean Wyse at 608-882-6970. Please pass this on to any artist that you think would be interested.

Thanks,
Robin Grignon
Community Coordinator

Another Step On The Road To Perdition

Favorite book? Check

Follow the link to see the mad linguistic skills of one of her counterparts.

Hold Your Next TEA Party In A Government-Free Paradise

If you think any government is too much government, if you just want them out of your life, if you think open-carry is a great idea there's a place just made for you.




Government-free since 1991!

Dear Brett F.

Do what you need to. Just don't expect a whole lot of emotional investment from this end.

How Can Milwauke Call Itself Civilized?

...when I can't get News 3 Morning News over here?

I want Rob and Charlotte!

One Of Those Days

You know it's been bad when the good news ends with, "The plane landed upside down on a stack of portable toilets."

I've Decided To Join The Handsome And Skinny Kid's Table For Lunch

I mean, if they're going to call Specter a Democrat now we might as well all be silly.

In other political news.

John Edwards being investigated for misuse of funds? Perhaps he'd consider a party switch, too. Let the chips fall. It'd be hard to blame anyone but Edwards for his actions.

Jack Kemp will be missed. He knew how to disagree without being disagreeable and he understood the value in a strong coalition of differing opinions.

Losing The Thread

In a search for relevance one House Republican has decided to show that he's not just for, "No." He's decided to come down strongly on the side of, "Hell no!"

Texas Rep. Joe Barton likened college football's Bowl Championship Series to
"communism" Friday, even as he made the case that the system is what it is
because of money.

Think about that for a moment. In the grip of rampant capitalist fervor the BCS gets accused of Communism. It's almost as if the words "Communism" or "Socialism" no longer had meaning, as if Republicans and their supporters were just throwing them around as buzzwords.

But, surely this is just a one-off, a sad attempt at attention grabbing by a back bencher.

[ ]Barton — the panel's ranking Republican — recalled the hearing he
held on the same matter several years ago. "That time, I had hoped through a
spirit of volunteerism, the BCS would decide to go to a playoff system," he
said. "That hasn't happened yet.

So, Barton is going to bring the full force of the Federal government to bear upon College Football.

“The legislation we are introducing today will prohibit the marketing,
promotion, and advertising of a post-season game as a ‘national championship’
football game, unless it is the result of a playoff system. Violations of the
prohibition will be treated as violations of the Federal Trade Commission Act as
an unfair or deceptive act or practice, and provides the FTC with civil penalty
authority.

Yes, I know. President Obama has also weighed in on the BCS system. So far as I know, though, he's not been wasting the time of The Energy and Commerce Committee of the HoR holding hearings and threatening the conferences about it.

Steele Invites Moderates To Table And Tells Them To Shut Up.

A quick shot from the WisGOP convention in LaCrosse from the JS.

"All you moderates out there, y'all come. I mean, that's the message,"
Steele said at a news conference. "The message of this party is this is a big
table for everyone to have a seat. I have a place setting with your name on the
front.

"Understand that when you come into someones house, you're
not looking to change it. You come in because that's the place you want
to be."

He'd be more than willing to tally the moderate's votes. As to listening to them? Not so much. What was it Eric Cantor just said way back on Friday?

We hope that will form the foundation of a concerted, policy-based forum
to listen to, partner with, and empower the
American people with ideas and solutions [ ]

A Wrong Blog

This is just wrong in so many ways but I like it. h/t Tracy Benton.

My First Dictionary

Grading "Wolverine"

CGI- C+
For a movie that lists no fewer than nine supplemental graphics houses X-Men, Origins is a fuzzy mess. For the final shot in the forest landing strip on Three Mile Island (????) it looked like old-school painted plate work. Not impressive.

Writing- C-
Nobody is going to this for the plot anyway but it just never held together for me. Characters that are well written don't change motives on the turn of a dime. Too often I found myself thinking, "He wouldn't do that," or, "Why on Earth is she going along with this?" And I'm pretty sure that elite quasi-black-ops military snipers don't just blast anything that's handy. The explosions were nifty but they hung on some pretty thin plot points.

Character Development- You're kidding, right?
If only they hadn't wasted Gambit. Ahh. Who am I kidding? There were 56 stuntmen listed without counting co-ordinators for three second units. The explosions were cool and did you see him shred that helicopter? I wonder why it didn't catch fire and explode.

Loudness- A+
Not as loud as Transformers but close.

I hope they make their money back quickly. The characters are strong enough to deserve another chance but only Fanboys are seeing this one twice.

Glad You Cleared That Up, Wade

Said [Dallas Cowboys] coach Wade Phillips: "We picked them as football
players. We picked football players that could help us on special teams. Not
special-teams players that might could be football players."

And first-year special-teams coach Joe DeCamillis: "Those guys are
all capable of playing in the NFL other than special teams. Until they get a
chance to play, they’re going to be real productive on special teams."

Ridiculous

Sublime

Absolutely

From Brett Davis' e-newsletter.

I support a comprehensive ban on fund raising for all State Legislators and
the Governor during the budget process and will continue to vote for it. This
legislation will have the full weight of law and will encompass the Assembly,
the Senate and the Governor. Real reform on this issue is not accomplished by a
simple Assembly rule. The public should demand a comprehensive ban and nothing
less.

It's past time to get this done.

Finally, Some Good News For Republicans

You're all gonna get new hats.




Wear them proudly.

It's The Fight In The Dog

WisGOP Chair Reince Preibus has his hands full these days. Not only is he facing a hard-hitting primary fight in the GOP Governor's race in which at least one candidate is certain to go ugly early, now he's putting out fires for his part time job.

Wisconsin GOP chairman Reince Priebus, a Steele supporter, is circulating a
letter warning against "this hostile attempt to embarrass and neuter the
chairman of the RNC."

Preibus, whose track record is less than stellar in staewide races, thought it would ad gravitas to his meager resume if he was one of the transition leaders for RNC Chair Michael Steele. As you may have heard Steele has not had an easy time of it, what with his tendency to shoot first and ask later and his acrimonious relationship with the losers for his position. (These are people who don't deal well with elections and turn-taking.)

Now the very serious people are coming for Steele's authority to enter contracts as part of the job he was elected to do. Oh yeah, and to prove their gravitas in the political arena they've decided to entrench their name calling.

Steele has already lost one fight going into the special May 20 RNC meeting:
Sufficient signatures have been gathered to vote on a resolution calling for the
Democratic Party to be renamed the "Democrat Socialist Party," even though
Steele had already advised against it.

Yesterday we learned that there is a move afoot to "rebrand" the GOP, perhaps as something other than big-government bumblers. And the faces of the "NEW" GOP? Same old, same old. John McCain (Who was asked by party boss Limbaugh to not let the door hit him in the backside,) Haley Barbour, and Mitt Romney. Those names just scream, "New identity," don't they?

So pity young Reince. He's grabbed the gold ring in the national arena and it appears to have come with a short expiration date.

He'll be spending this weekend soothing and smoothing and begging Neumann not to go all medieval on Scott Walker just for the sake of beating him like a rented mule. Meanwhile Walker will be twisting arms if they hold a straw poll because he knows a defeat to Neumann, who has yet to formally announce, would be the beginning of the end.

TaiPing Now SinKing

You can't make some of this up.

A replica of a Ming Dynasty Chinese sailing ship sank off the coast of
Taiwan after it was rammed by a freighter, but its sailors were rescued,
relatives of Hawaii-based crew members said Monday.

The 54-foot Princess TaiPing, a replica of a Chinese junk built in
Taiwan, was on the return leg of a trip that had taken it to ports on the U.S.
West Coast.

Channelling Bobby Bare

Now this broken back was a dyin' act of a handsome Harry
Clay
That sticky Cincinnati night I stole his wife away
But that woman she gets uglier, and she gets meaner every
day
But I got her, boy, and that make me a winner

Specter flips. Coleman flops. Dems hit 60

Let The Games Begin

Scott Walker kicks off his next Quixotic campaign for a different job than the one he holds at rallies all this week. (Wasn't that the knock the R's put on Falk when she ran for AG?) Just ten days ago Walker's people said there was no rush, that there were no plans to announce a candidacy.

So what happened? Mark Neumann has jumped into the race. Neumann, a former US Congressman from Wisconsin's First District, may be the only person who can force Walker to run to his right in the primary. Walker was forced to Tweet his candidacy in the dead-news slot on Friday afternoon. Wisconsin had all weekend to ask, "Who?"

As this Neverending Campaign starts its 19 month slogging march let us refresh the message that Walker will offer on the stump. "Wisconsin sucks. It's too hard. I can't. I won't. Wisconsin sucks. Doyle is bad. No, we can't. If we improve things now the people will expect things to keep getting better. We can't have that. Wisconsin sucks."

Instead of roaring off into the Wisconsin sunset on his Harley-sponsored, taxpayer-funded statewide campaign swing I suggest that Walker just takes wing on his mighty Falcor and continues his never-ending quest for relevance outside the reach of WTMJ.

Thanks, Sis for the pic.

Unconscionable

Stupid action, badly conceived, poorly executed, sending the wrong message at a bad time.

"The good news is it was nothing more than an inconsiderate, badly
conceived and insensitive photo op with the taxpayers' money," Bloomberg said,
echoing the comments of Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer and other New York
officials.

The director of the White House Military Office, Louis Caldera,
said New York and New Jersey officials had been notified about “mission,” though
he acknowledged it had caused “confusion and disruption.”

The Lovely Mrs Circumstance asked, "Why didn't they just PhotoShop it and be done with it?"

I'm sure that the airtime can be justified as ongoing training flights. We need to be sure that our best pilots stay current and sharp. But why in the name of all that's good and right would they fly a Low and Slow over NYC?

What's The Most Important Part Of A Coal Mine Other Than The Coal Itself?

Shaft
- By the Ukelele Orchestra Of Great Britain



h/t Kim Nash

Those Pesky Russkies Draw The Line At Giant Clown Shoes

They're willing to allow him to

"dress[..] himself first while walking on a wire, then within a hoop of fire,
and play[..] a drum-kit, trumpet and double-bass all at the same time."

But they won't let him wear the shoes.

...a week last Saturday when, while wearing the shoes, he fell from a
10ft-high wire, hurting his left foot.

He continued with the show in Liverpool's Sefton Park but was still
in pain and when he went to hospital later that evening he was told he had
broken his metatarsal bone.

Of course, it's all the fault of the size 18 shoes.

Roll up, roll up! The health and safety circus has come to town.

And it has made one clown very sad indeed.

Valerik Kashkin has been told by his bosses that he can no longer
wear his giant comedy shoes because they are a health risk.

When clown shoes are outlawed, only outlaws will wear clown shoes.

A Vignette From The Life Of A Man Of A Certain Age

Standing in one of the smaller rooms of the house in the middle of the night, the voice of Yoda rings in his head, "Do or do not…there is no try!"

Ah, well.

Snarkariffic!

From Josh at TPM:

Can we now say that the
Israelis, the Palestinians and the Texans
are ready for a two-state solution?

It's Hard To Be A Wingnut #3

They have to believe that President Obama is a jackbooted Fascist bent on enslaving us all and trampling those who get in his way while being too mushy to keeping torturing people, which we really never did anyway.

A Chilling Effect

Well, yes.

If you criminalize legal findings that justify human rights violations and contravene our country's basic moral tenets that should have a chilling effect on legal findings that justify human rights violations and contravene our country's basic moral tenets.

Quick Questions

What is up with Nancy Grace and why does she have a public presence? I was just unlucky enough to see four seconds of one of her...whatever it is that she does and I was devoutly unimpressed.

Wasn't that New York special election supposed to be some sort of referendum on Michael Steele's effectiveness? What's happened to that idea?

Now that Scott Walker has announced his intention to announce his intention to run three weeks after his supporteers denounced Democrats for denouncing him even thouigh he wasn't running and Mark Neumann isn't running yet but Tommy!'s team is supporting him for when he does announce that he'll be announcing that he's running (breathe) does it start to look as if outstate Republicans are being roundly ignored? If the R's keep throwing up candidates from Milwaukee (trust me Waukesha and Merton are indistinguishable from Milwaukee) are they just blowing smoke at the process?

President Obama Bows To, And Shakes Hands With, Foreign Pooch

Rightwingers go batscat nutz.

I'm Glad He Cleared That Up: Rednecks With Money Edition

Everyone "must wear pants and boots to ride the horses."

City Reorganization Agenda Tuesday 4/21

Common Council Meeting
Tuesday, April 21, 2009, 6:30 p.m.
Organizational Meeting
City Hall, 31 South Madison Street, Evansville, WI

AGENDA

1. Call to order.

2. Administer Oath of Office to Ald. Jacobson, Ald. Cothard, Ald. Roberts, Ald. Wessels, and Ald. Culbertson.

3. Roll call of new Council.

4. Nomination and election of Council President.

5. Motion to appoint The Review as the City of Evansville’s official newspaper for a term of one year.

6. Motion to waive the seven-day notice on aldermanic and citizen appointments.

7. Committee Aldermanic Appointments.
A. Motion to approve the Mayoral appointments of Ald. Cothard as Chair and Ald. Braunschweig and Ald. Roberts as committee members to the Finance and Labor Relations Committee.
B. Motion to approve the Mayoral appointment of Ald. Braunschweig to the Plan Commission.
C. Motion to approve the Mayoral appointment of Ald. Roberts to the Plan Commission.
D. Motion to approve the Mayoral appointments of Ald. Cothard as Chair and Ald. Culbertson and Ald. Ringhand as committee members to the Water and Light Committee.
E. Motion to approve the Mayoral appointments of Ald. Jacobson and Ald. Wessels to the Evansville Fire District Board, and Ald. Wyse and Ald. Cothard as alternates.
F. Motion to approve the Mayoral appointments of Ald. Braunschweig as Chair and Ald. Ringhand and Ald. Culbertson as committee members to the Public Works committee.
G. Motion to approve the Mayoral appointments of Ald. Wyse and Ald. Culbertson as committee members to the Economic Development Committee.
H. Motion to approve the Mayoral appointment of Ald. Ringhand as Chair to the Park and Recreation Board.
I. Motion to approve the Mayoral appointments of Ald. Roberts as Chair and Ald. Wessels and Ald. Jacobson to the Public Safety Committee.
J. Motion to approve the Mayoral appointments of Ald. Jacobson and Ald. Wyse as committee members to the Redevelopment Authority, currently suspended.
K. Motion to approve the Mayoral appointment of Ald. Wessels to the Historic Preservation Commission.
L. Motion to approve the Mayoral appointment of Ald. Ringhand to the Evansville-Union Implementation Committee.
M. Motion to approve the Mayoral appointment of Ald. Wyse as special Council liaison to the Library Board.

8. Citizen Committee Appointments.
A. Motion to approve the Mayoral appointment of Carol Endres, 407 Badger Drive, for a three-year term to the Plan Commission.
B. Motion to approve the Mayoral appointments of Diane Bailly, 680 West Main Street, for a five-year term, and Sharel Surles, 125 Deanna Drive, as alternate for a five-year term to the Board of Review.
C. Motion to approve the Mayoral appointment of Steve Hagen, 420 West Main Street, for a five-year term to the Police Commission.
D. Motion to approve the Mayoral appointment of John Decker, 143 West Main Street, for a five-year term to the Redevelopment Authority, currently suspended.
E. Motion to approve the Mayoral appointments of Gene Bass, 8328 N. Cemetery Road, and Roger Berg, 6508 Ron Road, for three-year terms to the Economic Development Committee.
F. Motion to approve the Mayoral appointments of Ron Carlsen, 523 Porter Road, and Richard Modaff, 103 South Third Street, for three-year terms to the Park and Recreation Board.
G. Motion to approve the Mayoral appointments of Johanna Lema, 275 Franklin Street, and Eloise Eager, 401 Badger Drive, for three-year terms to the Library Board.
H. Motion to approve the Mayoral appointment of Gilbert Skinner, 263 Garfield Avenue, for a five-year term to the Housing Authority.
I. Motion to approve the Mayoral appointments of Betsy Ahner, 66 North Water Street, Richard Modaff, 103 South Third Street, and John Decker, 143 West Main Street, for two-year terms to the Historic Preservation Commission.
J. Motion to approve the Mayoral appointments of Bill Hammann, 250 Eager Court, as Plan Commission member for a one-year term, and John Sornson, 249 Franklin Street, as citizen member for a two-year term to the Evansville-Union Implementation Committee.
K. Motion to approve the Mayoral appointment of Sandi Konkel, 340 Lincoln Street, for a three-year term on the Youth Center Advisory Committee.

9. Motion to adjourn.

Sandra J. Decker, Mayor

Requests from persons with disabilities who need assistance to participate in this meeting should be made to the Clerk’s office by calling 882-2266 with as much advance notice as possible.

Please turn off all cell phones while the meeting is in session. Thank you.

Evansville's Ties To ZooAtlanta

From HelloAtlanta.com

The Grant Park Zoo was established in 1889 from the remnants of a traveling
circus that had run afoul of its unpaid employees. "Popcorn George" Hall sold his menagerie to a local lumber merchant, George Gress. The
animals became the centerpiece of the zoo in a 131-acre park donated to the city
by developer Lemuel P. Grant in 1883. Gress later purchased The Battle of
Atlanta, now housed in The Cyclorama next to the zoo.

It's Got To Be Hard To Be A Wingnut #2

You've got to believe that it's evil enough to give taxpayer dollars to private businesses that you're willing to march on the Capitol and at the same time believe that the state is evil for not getting in a bidding war and cutting huge incentive checks to private businesses.

Heh? Pirates, Sir! Lincoln Park Pirates

Just cause there's never enough Steve Goodman on a weekend. Forgive the quality. Somebody pirated this off a Dr Demento broadcast, apparently.

Check Your Numbers Again

Mark Block called the little get together in Madison last Wednesday, "The largest assembly of taxpayers in Wisconsin history."

Let's be charitable and go with the estimate of 6000 tea partiers. Then consider this stat.

The average home game attendance for the Milwaukee Bucks during the 2007 -
2008 season was 15,595 fans (22nd in the league).

That puts Pompador Paul and crew well down in the league. Block's bunch couldn't even draw the biggest group of taxpayers in Wisconsin this week.

Yankees Open New Stadium With A Loss

Indians won't play along.

Top ticket price is $2625. Babe Ruth made $80,000 in 1930. That would just barely buy 6 of the Yankees 41 game ticket packages at $12,950.

Joe T. of 147th St threw out the first F-Bomb 12.5 seconds after the gates opened.

"Masterson, I had you in my big-time book. Now I suppose I'll have to reclassify you — under shills and decoys".

Fox anchor goofs and speaks the truth.




What she said was,

"You know Brent, it's been interesting because Fox News (sic) covered these Tea
Parties, and we were one of the only organizations to give it any publicity or
p.r. prior to the fact that it happened,..."

I wonder if they'll have to declare that as an in-kind donation to FreedomWorks

Because I Can't Leave Comments On Your Blog

Yes. The City has a Planner. He doesn't do what you think he does and he's not full-time. The high school class can't do the work either. Sorry.

4K is not causing Janesville School's money troubles. 4K actually generates a little revenue.

Thanks for listening.

Top Ten Reasons Texas Secession Is Bad Idea

10) Having to listen to Stephen Colbert crow about the Border Patrol station at Colbert, OK North of Denison.

9) Kicking their backsides again will play hob with their self-esteem.

8) Drastic reduction in America's reserves of scrub wasteland and smug exterminators.

7) Pesky parade of big hair trying to jump the fence to get to American beauty products.

6) Listening to Eagles fans whine about having two games a year in a foreign country where none of them speak the language.

5) Shrimp grits becomes exotic foreign food instead of inedible crap.

4) Massive Federal deficit spending on foreign aid every time Galveston gets wiped off the sand bar.

3) Waiting for fire ants and killer bees to cross another international border.

2) Richard Linklater will be insufferable if he finds out he's directing foreign films.

1) It'll be a pain in the ass to invade every time somebody wants take-out brisket from The Salt Lick.

Thanks for the laughs, Tom and Rick.

It's Got To Be Hard To Be A Wingnut

After you work so hard to convince yourself that all Union members are evil thugs you have to reconcile these facts.

The crew of the Maersk Alabama is all Union. The pirates are not organized although the UFCW is handing out flyers.

Chesley Sullenberger and his heroic crew are all in the Union. The geese were not organized.

It must be very confusing

Random Tea Party Thoughts

There seemed to be some confusion about the focus of the get together yesterday. The original tea party wasn't about tea or taxes. It was about being represented. These people are represented but don't much care for the outcome. Individual signs protested (I know I'll forget a couple):
Taxes
Debt
Cap and Trade
Jim Doyle
Republicans
Democrats
Adultery
Abortion
Divorce
Obama
Truckers Podcasts
Illegal Aliens
Illegal Drugs
Voting for Obama
It was a convocation for free-floatting angst. As such, it was a failure as a single issue protest and seemed to be much more about sour grapes.

The Libertarian Party was there. They were one of several calls for a third party. They were a few Paulites roaming around and those scamps from the Lemon Party had a big sign up trying to score a little TV time. (Don't Google them. You'll be disappointed at best.)

When I first got there the crowd was sparse but it filled in that wedge nicely. I'll guess that actual attendance was somewhere between what the DOA says and what Mark Block says. (You know he's not real good with numbers. He went on the radio to say there were 2000 tea parties planned.)

McKenna can whip up a crowd but she's no Joe Pine.

The crowd skewed older, my guess is somewhere in the mid forties on average. With the exception of the preacher from Milwaukee who spoke I didn't see a person of color that wasn't wearing a uniform.

Twisted Sister? Really? The entire canon of American music was out there just waiting to be used without attribution or recompense and you decided to go with Dee Snider for your anthem? How does that fly with the Family Values crowd? (I'd forgotten until today that We're Not Gonna Take It was one of the Parent's Music Resource Center's original Filthy Fifteen and now it's being played on the Jumbotron for teabaggers.)

Last But Never Least

The New World Order? Isn't that old John Birch Society language? But, why would that surprise us at a tea party? Somebody had to pay for the jumbotron and the sound system and you can't expect taxed-to-the-limit grassroots types to come up with that coin.

This guy just rolled out some old, tired analogies and painted them on an old, tired piece of wood.

And then you had the comic relief. CRG was trying to get their ducks in a row and taking names of volunteers to get people to help collect signatures. By the time they get off the pot Mark Neumann will own Scott Walker's lunch money and Jim Doyle will cruise to re-election.

There was only one Walker For Governor sign that I saw. It was in the bundle that the guy with the Piece-Keepers (hyuk, hyuk, get it?) sign was holding. He had a FedEx envelope full of signs that he kept swapping out and the Walker schtick was one of them.

Note the guy at the top left by the Capitol. His was only one of a half dozen or so inverted flags being carried around the crowd. Remember the good old days of the Bush administration when that was considered unpatriotic and treasonous? Whatever happened to the concept of treason?

Teabag Signs Answer Our Questions

Is it evil to vote for Obama?

But why would that be?

On what do you base such a silly claim?

See? Now that wasn't in any of the position papers. Is there anything else you're against?

Divorce? Adultery? Illegal Drugs? Is that some kind of slam on Rush Limbaugh? I'll bet these guys are those plants they were talking about.

More Pics From Tea Party Wednesday

I ran into Lance about 10:45 and he looked a little concerned about the crowd. We talked a minute and realized that one of the TV stations had given an 11:30 start time. I had a rough count at 11 of 1500 or so and I'll bet that it got up near as high as 3000 by the time I wandered off at 12:30.

There was plenty of gelt and a little Galt.

I snuck off about 11 a spent 45 minutes in a Republican Assemblyman's office where I could keep an eye on the assemblage as it grew.

I came out before Noon for another round of photos.

One of these people was a Bachmaniac and the other has spelling issues. Guess which is which.

More to follow

Pictures From The Whiny People's Rally

First of several.

When Vicki McKenna natters on about the mainstream media do you suppose she understands that WIBA once had one of the premier news teams in the state. Now the company she works for has gutted the news organization in favor of rabble rousing and whining.

Okay. See if you can find a common thread in the next two pictures.

There you go. People who don't know top from bottom now feel qualified to advise on tax policy.

One of the main themes today was the lack of a unifying theme. There were anti-debt groups, anti-tax groups, Libertarians, Paulites and birthers. Even CRG had a table set up to show that they were beginning to start to get ready to commence to try to maybe collect signatures against Mark Neumann, er Jim Doyle.

This woman knew exactly why she'd taken a day off work and was standing on the Capitol lawn.

More pics later

Let's Help Rick Perry Out

...We think it’s time to draw the line in the sand and tell Washington that
no longer are we going to accept their oppressive hand in the state of Texas.
That’s what this press conference, that’s what these Texans are standing up for.
There is a point in time where you stand up and say enough is enough, and I
think Americans, and Texans especially have reached that point.

If he wants Texas to be free from the tyranny of the Federal government we should start by cosing enough bases to free them from the oppression of all those military paychecks and procurement contracts.

You Knew His Voice

Harry Kalas, dead at 73.

Say It With Me!

Ex-Senator Norm Coleman

Sweet music indeed.

"I Think You're Confusing "Tyranny" With "Losing"

That bitter, metallic taste in your mouth comes from sucking on the tailpipe of the loser bus.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Baracknophobia - Obey
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis Political Humor

Yes. I'll Concede That It's Possible

But I'm not sure how I could care less about the First Dog.

Heard At The Feingold Session Yesterday

"Anybody who thought that Barack Obama was some sort of hyper-liberal
wasn't paying attention."

Reposted Due To Spam

Lloyd Ruby may be best remembered for never having won the Indianapolis 500. When we were growing up we'd root for the Texan but he never seemed to be able to close the deal. It wasn't until we had grown that I found out just how good a racer Ruby had been.
In 1966 Ruby won the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring paired with Ken Miles. The two also won the World Sportscar Championship in 1966 and 1968. Ruby competed in 18 Indy 500s leading 5 for a total of 126 laps. His highest finish was a third in 1964. But that was not what he'll be best remembered for.
My father made us familiar with the "Lloyd Ruby Line," that dark gray scary place up in the marbles where angels feared to put a wheel. Long before Harry Gant made his home among the loose stuff Ruby was showing other drivers that the fast way wasn't always the short way around.
Lloyd Ruby won seven USAC National Championship races, including three at Milwaukee, two at Phoenix, and one each at the now gone tracks at Trenton, N.J., and Langhorne, Pa. Dad saw two of those wins from the old grandstands at State Fair Park. If I look I can find the program from the 1967 USAC race there.
Lloyd Ruby, as much as anyone, is responsible for lighting the spark of racing fandom that my family has carried for 40 years. He passed away this week at 81 in his beloved Wichita falls. He will be missed.
It also says something of the man that with all the years of his success,and, for a while, his considerable income, he never moved away from the place ofhis birth. Some of his closest friends were those with whom he had grown up andgone to school. A visit to his home likely would entail a casual drive aroundtown, cruising by the location of his old school, a malt shop or two, adrugstore and his favorite watering hole, a very down-to-earth establishmentfrequented by powerful townsfolk and city officials who were just asunpretentious as Ruby himself.

Questions I Haven't Heard Asked Yet

How would a McCain/Palin Presidency be handling the American transition away from the Bush years?

Would he have pulled our economy into a neo-Hooverite shell or would he have been all mavericky in trying to stimulate the economy?

Would he have bailed out Detroit or would we already be down to just one viable automaker?

Would he have deployed VP Palin to build business confidence in his plans?

Would we have seen the decisive, and wrong, snap judgements from the Georgia-Ossetia conflicts in response to the Somali hijacking of Maersk Alabama?

How would a McCain/Palin administration have reacted to North Korea's failed missile test?

I've heard lots of wailing and gnashing of teeth. There have been many garments rent. I still believe America chose the right course in November.

Oh, The Beermanity

Yesterday in Milwaukee.

No one was injured, but it was a mess to clean up. Crews had to remove every
keg of beer from the [overturned] truck.

I'd let those sit for a day or two before you open one.

Texas GOP'er Has A New Idea

A North Texas legislator [Rep. Betty Brown, R-Terrell] during House
testimony on voter identification legislation said Asian-descent voters should
adopt names that are “easier for Americans to deal with.”

Sometimes I don't even know how to express how silly these people are.

“Rather than everyone here having to learn Chinese — I understand it’s
a rather difficult language — do you think that it would behoove you and your
citizens to adopt a name that we could deal with more readily here?” Brown
said.

Brown later told Ko: “Can’t you see that this is something that
would make it a lot easier for you and the people who are poll workers if you
could adopt a name just for identification purposes that’s easier for Americans
to deal with?”

What she wants is for Asians to adopt a separate "Voting Name" yet she doesn't have the imagination to understand the problems with that.

Alternate Political Analysis

Perhaps you had the wrong person running.

Navel Gazing

Thank you all for putting up with me for 2000 posts.