Wisconsin 'No Call' List

What's almost as annoying as getting calls from telemarketers?

Registering again and again and again to be on the "NO CALL" list.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

The phone lines to sign up for Wisconsin's "no call" list were so busy Tuesday that officials doubled the number of incoming phone lines for the service.

Sandy Chalmers, administrator of the state's Division of Trade and Consumer Protection, said the division had been receiving phone calls Tuesday morning from people who could not get through. The Journal Sentinel received similar calls from readers Tuesday who said the state's phone lines were not working.

Chalmers said the division contacted its phone vendor, which increased the number of incoming phone lines from 96 to 200 by midmorning. The division uses an external phone service to manage the no-call list registrations.

The no-call list helps people avoid calls from telemarketers. Those on the list have to register every two years to remain on the list. Tuesday was the deadline for getting on the list when it updates July 1.

...There are four quarterly registration periods for the no-call list during the year. The most recent list will go into effect July 1, while any registrations filed after Tuesday will go into effect Oct. 1.

I can't stand this repeated registration.

From the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection:

How long does my number stay on the List once I register?

Your phone number will go on the List approximately 30 to 120 days after you've registered. Your number will stay on the List for two years after it gets added to the List. In other words, if you register by December 1, 2002 to be put on the List starting January 1, 2003, your number will stay on the List until December 31, 2004.

When do I need to renew my registration?

You need to renew your registration two months before it expires to ensure uninterrupted service on the List. For example, if your last day to be on the List is January 1, 2004, then you will need to renew before December 1, 2003. If you fail to renew your registration by that time you may have to wait up to four months for your number to be updated to the List again.

Instead of going through this stupid process, why not allow people to simply stay on the list?

Once on the list, people can take action to get off if they wish. Otherwise, the list stays as is, a lifetime registration.

Why screw around with the last minute flood of calls whenever the NO CALL list story hits the media?

How many people are clogging phone lines even though their registration doesn't need to be renewed?

Why have to keep track of when it's time to renew?

In the age of the Internet, why would it take 30 to 120 days to get on the list?

Are state employees filling out little note cards, copying phone numbers to the list with dull, little, stubby pencils?

It should not take 4 months to get one's phone number on the list. This perpetual registration routine is a pain.

Here's something to remember if you missed the deadline for registration, or thought your registration wasn't ready to expire:

IMPORTANT: Even if a call is exempt from this law, you can still stop many of these calls just by telling them not to call you again. Federal law requires each and every business to place your name on their "no call" list, if you request it.

This method means you have to be bothered with the incoming call, but at least you can find some satisfaction in telling the caller not to bug you again.

I can't stand the telemarketing calls.

I can't stand Wisconsin's method to be on the NO CALL list.

It's an inefficient system.

It's a headache.

If the NO CALL list's purpose is to truly protect citizens from a barrage of unwanted telemarketing calls, then why force people to repeatedly register?

I think it would be better to register your phone number with the state if you want to receive calls.

I doubt there would be a four month wait to get on that list.

Kloppenburg Concedes

And we have a winner of the 2011 Wisconsin State Supreme Court election...

Justice David Prosser.



From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg said Tuesday that she was conceding the Supreme Court race to Justice David Prosser, ending what had been a contentious campaign that culminated in a rare statewide recount.

Kloppenburg made the concession at a Madison news conference just over a week after the state's Government Accountability Board reported that final count numbers showed Prosser with 7,006 more votes.

She said she had run a campaign that was respectful, honest and fair.

Her decision to concede is expected to pave the way for Prosser to begin a new, 10-year term on Aug. 1.

If Kloppenburg had challenged the recount, Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson would have had to name a reserve judge to hear Kloppenburg's court challenge. Court observers say it is likely that Abrahamson and the reserve judge would move as quickly as possible to consider the appeal.

Kloppenburg asked for the taxpayer-financed recount - the first statewide recount in two decades - after losing by 7,316 votes in the April 5 election. Waukesha County, a key stronghold for Prosser, finished its recount last.

Kloppenburg's team had said in advance of Tuesday's decision that they would analyze the election evidence and the law before making their decision.

Though the April 5 election was officially nonpartisan, the campaign had all the feel of a partisan race: conservatives tended to support Prosser, while liberals backed Kloppenburg.

Wisconsinites knew Prosser was the winner weeks and weeks ago. We knew that before hundreds and hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars were pissed away.

Today, JoAnne Kloppenburg conceded, she gave in to reality and admitted that she lost the election.

However, she did it in the most graceless way imaginable, whining about the mountain of "anomalies and irregularities and more" that allegedly tainted the results.

I suppose the whining was necessary to justify her demand to put the state through the idiotic recount.

I'm surprised her announcement came as early in the day as it did. I expected her to remain true to form and speak at around 4:00 PM, waiting until the last minute to meet the deadline on challenging the recount results.

Did Kloppenburg think the late morning announcement would make her appear more reasonable and less politically-motivated than staging another late afternoon drama?

It didn't.

I thought it was interesting that during the Q & A of her news conference she answered a question that wasn't asked.

Kloppenburg stated that she wasn't a union puppet, that she made her own decisions and was not doing the bidding of the union thugs.

Maybe she's not their puppet. Maybe her commitment to their extreme Leftist agenda is deeply entrenched.

Whatever.

Bottom line: She was content with sticking it to Wisconsin taxpayers for her ridiculous statewide recount but was not willing to foot the bill to challenge those results.

She did concede.

The election is over but this Kloppenburg news conference will live on in Wisconsin political history.

Let it be a lesson to other candidates.

"Wisconsin voters have spoken and I am grateful for, and humbled by, their confidence and trust."

"I'm ecstatic. My supporters are ecstatic, and I'm looking forward to becoming a justice on August 1st."

"We ran a campaign that was focused on being positive and respectful and, and winning; and we did win, and we're confident that the margin will hold."

"You know, the numbers showed that we won and we are gratified to have that victory in hand."

--JoANNE KLOPPENBURG

Reince Priebus: Money, Media, Obama

From The Daily Caller, read "RNC chair taking on Obama, the media and millions in debt."

Kloppenburg Deadline

The clock is ticking.

The deadline for JoAnne Kloppenburg to file a lawsuit challenging the final results of the absolutely senseless recount in her loss to Justice David Prosser in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race is today.

What will she do?

Will she call Justice Prosser and finally concede?

Does Kloppenburg have the decency to do the right thing?

Short answer: NO.

I would love to say I'm wrong. Later today, I would love to say I was wrong about Kloppenburg.
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UPDATE: Kloppenburg concedes.

Technically, I'm wrong.

Kloppenburg did have the decency to concede.

However, she did it in the most graceless way imaginable, whining about the mountain of "anomalies and irregularities and more" that allegedly tainted the results.

I suppose the whining was necessary to justify her demand to put the state through the idiotic recount.

At least she did concede.

WeinerGate

UPDATE, June 8, 2011: Gawker posts the DEMOCRAT Weiner photo.
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UPDATE, June 6, 2011: DEMOCRAT Weiner says with certitude the photo is of his crotch.

Rep. Anthony Weiner of New York said today he has engaged in "several inappropriate" electronic relationships with six women over three years, and that he publicly lied about a photo of himself sent over Twitter to a college student in Seattle over a week ago.

"I take full responsibility for my actions," Weiner said. "The picture was of me, and I sent it."

DEMOCRAT Weiner is a liar.

He addressed the media repeatedly about the photo and he lied repeatedly.

Because of the cover-up and the lies, I think DEMOCRAT Weiner should resign immediately.
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UPDATE, June 1, 2011: DEMOCRAT Weiner "can't say with ceritude" if the photo is of him.

Yeah, right.
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Why doesn't DEMOCRAT U.S. Representative Anthony Weiner want an investigation into the alleged hacking of his Twitter account?



Weird, in a Brett Favre sort of way.

Obama Golfs on Memorial Day - AGAIN!

The White House wants people on Twitter to see this photo of Obama placing a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington Cemetery.

Where's the photo of wartime president Obama GOLFING on Memorial Day?

The White House isn't tweeting about that one.

Afghanistan: Memorial Day

Obama: Memorial Day, Wreath (Video)

Here's video of Obama acting like the president of the United States on Memorial Day 2011-

He went to Arlington, Virginia to place a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

"Our nation owes a debt to its fallen heroes that we can never fully repay, but we can honor their sacrifice," Obama said at a Memorial Day service at the cemetery. "And we must."

What's next on Obama's schedule for today?

Four hours on the golf course, like in 2009, his first Memorial Day as president?

His schedule is wide open this year.



I'm guessing this wartime president will be spending the afternoon golfing.
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UPDATE: Obama does it again!

Memorial Day on the golf course.

A president during wartime on the golf course?

This really bugs me.

Memorial Day 2011 - National Moment of Remembrance

Observe Memorial Day by taking part in the National Moment of Remembrance at 3:00 PM.

Who: All Americans

What: The National Moment of Remembrance

When: Monday, May 30, 2011, 3 p.m. local time

Where: Wherever you are

Why: There are too many Americans who do not have a sense of our history or understanding of our proud heritage and all those who gave their lives to protect our precious freedoms. That is why we must continue to remind them of those whom they must remember – and why.

How: Stop for a moment and observe the “Moment” in your own way. It can be a simple gesture such as, placing your hand over your heart, bowing your head, or offering a prayer, and making the following promise: “I promise to make myself, my community, my country, and the world better in memory of America’s fallen.” It puts your remembrance into action.

Background: In 1996, Carmella LaSpada, founder of the organization No Greater Love, met a group of school children touring Washington, D.C. She asked them what Memorial Day meant to them and they responded, “that’s the day the pools open.” This unknowing response made her determined that those who died for our country and our freedom should never be forgotten and lead to the creation of the National Moment of Remembrance.

A Gallop Poll revealed that only 28% of Americans knew the true meaning of Memorial Day. In 2000, No Greater Love asked Congress to officially establish the National Moment of Remembrance.

We must ensure that the sacrifices of the dead of all our wars, and conflicts, and the thousands of those who have died from emotional wounds and training accidents are acknowledged.

Brat Fest 2011

Politics is part of the World's Largest Brat Fest in Madison this weekend.

It is unbelievably lame.

The great Wisconsin company, Johnsonville, is a major sponsor of the annual charitable event.

Some INDIVIDUALS connected to the business made contributions to Governor Scott Walker. Johnsonville, did NOT.

Nonetheless, the people who hate Walker decided to target Johnsonville. Boycotting the company's products includes boycotting the annual Brat Fest.

Of course, Brat Fest's success translates into charitable aid.

To the Walker-haters, punishing Johnsonville is more important than raising money for charities.

What self-centered people!

Politics and personal gain before all else.

From Channel 3000:

After weeks of protests at the State Capitol over a budget repair bill that would strip most state workers of most collective bargaining rights, you'd think a gathering that's primary focus centers around a Wisconsin staple would be welcomed.

But nowadays, politics can hang a cloud over even one of Madison's most talked about events.

Residents were making choices, go to the World's Largest Brat Fest like you may have done for as long as you can remember, or go get your bratwurst somewhere else.

"We tried the one on the Capitol Square, but the lines were too long, so we came to this one," said Jim Hollar, who attended Wurst Times event. "I wanted to avoid the one at the Alliant Energy Center."

"I guess it's kind of protest against Scott Walker and this is a way to show it," said Roger Bass.

"It seems kind of silly in the sense that it is guilty by association, but we wanted to avoid (Brat Fest)," Hollar said.

Those at the People Brat Fest didn't see it as silly, but rather a chance to draw connections to Johnsonville, a main sponsor of Brat Fest, and a company linked politically to the governor.

"I definitely oppose Walker and this seemed like a better way to support Madison rather than a big corporation," said Tom Ver Hoeve.

The event on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard was billed as a Brat Fest alternative and those who were willing to wait for long lines were toting their opinions along with hunger.

Ver Hoeve said he preferred the downtown location because it felt more like a Madison event and he said it was nice knowing that proceeds would also benefit local charities.

...There is a fourth event will compete with Brat Fest on Sunday. Alt Bratfest will be held at Orton Park on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. It's being held by the Weary Traveler Freehouse. Proceeds will also go to local charities.

Brat Fest organizers insist the alternative options have not had any impact.

"The turnout has been fantastic," Metcalfe said.

One thing we can say without debate is that each and every brat eaten this weekend will raise money for local charities and that generosity is what makes Madison such a great place to live.

It's great to hear that the politicized brat sideshows aren't impacting the main event.

As for the protest events, their organizers claim proceeds will go to local charities. So, that's good, too.

It's too bad that some people harbor so much hatred for Governor Walker that they refuse to support the annual event just because some of the INDIVIDUALS connected to Johnsonville made political contributions to Walker.

It's lunacy. It's so extreme.

In short, it's Madison.

Here's video:

Obama and Poland

Obama finally got around to acting as if he sort of cares about Poland when he went there as his final stop on his European tour.

From the BBC:

US President Barack Obama has reaffirmed relations between the US and Poland, as his six-day tour of Europe drew to a close.

He praised Poland's economic growth and its support of pro-democracy movements in North Africa and the Middle East.

Mr Obama also said the shelving of his predecessor's plan to build a missile defence shield in Poland did not put the country or region at risk.

Poland PM Donald Tusk said 0he had been reassured by Mr Obama's words.

In a brief press conference with Mr Tusk, Mr Obama said Poland was "one of our strongest and closest allies and a leader in Europe" and "a living example of what is possible when countries take reform seriously".

He praised efforts by members of Poland's Soviet-era pro-democracy Solidarity movement to offer support to Egypt's post-revolution government.

The BBC's Stephen Evans in Warsaw says Polish leaders had been hoping Mr Obama would rectify what many saw as a slight, when he cancelled President George W Bush's missile shield plan as part of efforts to "reset" US relations with Russia.

Many in Poland were disappointed when the US decided not to go ahead with the shield on Polish soil, says our correspondent, reading is as deference to Russia and as a sign of a lack of commitment to Poland.

Mr Obama repeated his insistence that the strategy was about reaffirming the Nato principles of mutual defence, saying it allowed their two countries to deal with shared threats.

Obama and the missile shield - another massive mistake among so many in Obama's foreign policy.

Read more about Obama's betrayal of Poland here and here.

Some video of Obama in Poland:



Not everyone in Poland gave Obama a warm reception.

From the Daily Mail:

Poland's former president and Solidarity founder Lech Walesa has snubbed an invitation to meet with President Barack Obama.

Mr Walesa, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, had been invited by Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski to attend a gathering of Poland's leading political figures with the U.S. President in Warsaw on Saturday.

'It's difficult to tell journalists what you'd like to say to the president of a superpower. This time I won't tell him, I won't meet him, it doesn't suit me,' Walesa told news station TVN24.

...It is the President's first time in Poland and he will take the opportunity to hold political meetings that will focus on security, energy and joint U.S.-Polish efforts to promote democracy in North Africa, Belarus and elsewhere in Eastern Europe.

But hours before his arrival, Polish headlines were dominated by news that Mr Obama was being snubbed by Mr Walesa.

...Mr Walesa insisted that he preferred to travel to Italy for a biblical festival, and that he had no interest in a meeting that would amount to little more than a photo-op.

He did not divulge more but it seemed likely that Mr Walesa was offended at not being offered a one-on-one meeting with Mr Obama from the start.

...The aim of Mr Obama's trip is to inject new vigour in a relationship with an ally that has sometimes felt slighted by Washington.

...[U]nlike past U.S. presidents who visited Poland, Mr Obama will not meet or address the Polish public directly.

That deprives him of the chance to connect directly - and emotionally - with Poles in the way former presidents such as George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton did on visits to the country.

That will also make it harder for him to win over a nation that has never warmed to him the way many have in more liberal Western Europe, according to Marcin Zaborowski, a political analyst and director of the Polish Institute of International Affairs.

Obama was scheduled to be in Poland for less than 24 hours.

His photo-op visit doesn't alter his failure to safeguard the freedom of the Polish people.

Storybook Gardens

The Wisconsin Dells bills itself as the "Waterpark Capital of the World."

I believe it. It has become one giant waterpark.

The quaint little attractions have been swallowed up.

Storybook Gardens is history.

It's sad.

"Truly the Land of Allurement - the Land Where Years Don't Count. Whether you're years number two or ninety-two, you will never forget the magical charm of this place of beauty, fantasy, and peaceful charm." - From a 1960s-era postcard for Storybook Gardens

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Apparently there's no storybook ending for Storybook Gardens.

The Wisconsin Dells attraction that's featured in countless family photo albums has called it quits.

For carloads of families arriving this weekend as the summer tourist season kicks off over the Memorial Day holiday, there are still plenty of things to do in the Dells: boat rides, roller coasters, miniature golf, go-carts, water parks, bungee jumping and other thrills.

One of the original tourist attractions in the Dells, Storybook Gardens had become dated and old-fashioned - a dinosaur park in a 24/7, instant-gratification, ever-changing world that embraces speed and adventure, not a bucolic retreat with fairy tale characters.

That means no more Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Humpty Dumpty or Cinderella for tiny Dells visitors who nowadays, if truth be told, probably never heard of nursery rhymes.

Jason Field, whose grandparents opened Storybook Gardens in 1956, admits it had become passé.

"Storybook Gardens didn't keep up with the times," said Field, who manages the property and also owns Army Ducks, Wild Thing Jet Boats and Bigfoot Zipline Tours. "It had a pretty good run there. But if you don't keep reinventing yourself, you're going to fall by the wayside."

Here's more, from the Wisconsin Dells Visitor & Convention Bureau:

Maybe Jack Be Nimble, a Baby in the Tree Top and Simple Simon could have stuck it out a few more years.

But when the Wisconsin Dells fully opens later this week for the summer season, one of the most well-known and longest-running tourist attractions in the state will be off limits.

Storybook Gardens, a staple in this community of fun since 1956, will not reopen this season. The 10-acre park, created by Melvin Flath and known for its fairy-tale scenes, ponds and the Goodship Lolli Pop, has succumbed to the wear and tear of the elements and time.

The park, located between Dells Army Ducks and Noah's Ark, served as an oasis of calm as Wisconsin Dells Parkway exploded with development over the decades. It was also void of video screens, loud music, images of Harry Potter and vampires with GQ looks.

At Storybook Gardens, it was all about bringing old school tales like the Three Bears, the Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe and Sing a Song of Sixpence closer to reality.

"Storybook Gardens has run its course," said Flath's grandson, Jason Field, who manages the property. "What kids know about these characters? Jack and the Bean Stalk, maybe, or Humpty Dumpty. We're at a new generation now."

...But the memories of Storybook Gardens run deep and its closing will be a downer for some who arrive this summer only to learn Humpty Dumpty and his wall are gone and the Three Bears were sold to the highest bidder.

The Wisconsin Dells is now the chlorine capital of the world.

It smells of chlorine and sunscreen and dirty, wet towels - not exactly a magical "place of beauty, fantasy, and peaceful charm."

Innocence and imagination, fairy tales coming to life, have been replaced with waterslides and wave pools.

Childhood moves at a different pace now.

Families don't spend their vacation time together strolling through a quiet oasis of storybook scenes and nursery rhymes. That's a bygone era.

Nothing lasts.

Things change.

I have such sweet memories of Storybook Gardens.

Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep,
And can't tell where to find them;
Leave them alone, And they'll come home,
Wagging their tails behind them.

Gil Scott-Heron R.I.P.

From the Associated Press:

Musician Gil Scott-Heron, who helped lay the groundwork for rap by fusing minimalistic percussion, political expression and spoken-word poetry on songs such as "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," died Friday at age 62.

A friend, Doris C. Nolan, who answered the telephone listed for his Manhattan recording company, said he died in the afternoon at St. Luke's Hospital after becoming sick upon returning from a European trip.

"We're all sort of shattered," she said.

Scott-Heron's influence on rap was such that he sometimes was referred to as the Godfather of Rap, a title he rejected.

"If there was any individual initiative that I was responsible for it might have been that there was music in certain poems of mine, with complete progression and repeating `hooks,' which made them more like songs than just recitations with percussion," he wrote in the introduction to his 1990 collection of poems, "Now and Then."

He referred to his signature mix of percussion, politics and performed poetry as bluesology or Third World music. But then he said it was simply "black music or black American music."

Rest in Peace.

Jeff Conaway R.I.P.

From KTLA News:

Jeff Conaway, who starred in "Taxi" and "Grease," has died after 2 weeks in a coma.

The 60-year-old actor was taken off life support Friday morning at Encino Hospital.

Conaway was found unconscious on May 11 and was rushed to Encino Hospital Medical Center.

He had apparently been unconscious for nearly 9 hours before anyone found him, manager Phil Brock said.

Conaway had reportedly suffered from pneumonia and sepsis.

Celebrity addiction expert Dr. Drew Pinsky tweeted Friday that Conway was being kept in a Propofol-induced coma.

After learning of his death, Pinsky posted again.

"I'm saddened to report he has succumbed to his addiction, thus far we have no evidence of an intentional overdose, rather this is the natural history of prescription drug addiction, pneumonia, septic shock, etc," he tweeted.

Rest in Peace.

Honor Flight

The emotional mission of STARS AND STRIPES HONOR FLIGHT:

Our mission is to fly WWII veterans and terminally ill veterans from other wars to see their memorials in Washington, DC. We also work closely with schools throughout Wisconsin to ensure that the heroic stories of our veterans are built into the curriculum so that future generations will fully appreciate the sacrifices made on their behalf.

TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE

As the last of the Greatest Generation approach their final curtain call, we are witnesses to a tremendous loss as we embrace a precious opportunity. They will die – 900 heroes – men and women who defined dignity, pass from us each and every day. They take their stories and history and enormous bravery with them. But many are among us still. There is no earthly way we can approach a gift that reflects our depth of gratitude. But we thank them anyway. With YOUR HELP we thank them.

Please… Help Honor Flight FLY.

IT HAS BEEN SAID that a veteran is someone who at one point in his or her life wrote a blank check made payable to the United States of America for an amount "up to and including my life." On islands in the Pacific. In the skies above Europe. On the beaches of Normandy and Iwo Jima and beneath the war torn seas, in the middle of nowhere, far from home, they served they bled and they died. Harder still they will tell you, was watching their buddies suffer. They demur, that “those who never came home are the real heroes.”

FOR THOSE WHO DID RETURN from World War II and are with us still, it is time for a simple Thank You. A profound day of reunion and renewal. A trip to the nation's capitol to see their WWII Memorial before it is too late.

Donate here.

Watch the Honor Flight documentary trailer:

Oprah Thinks She's God

JOAN RIVERS: I’m so tired of Oprah already. The woman truly thinks she's God! Today she’s at Barnes & Noble signing copies of the Bible.

Obama and Kenneth Clarke

Here we go again.

When Obama speaks, people sleep.

Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke dozed off during Obama's speech at Westminster.

Video.



Funny.
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Related post:

I understand why someone listening to Obama drone on and on would fall asleep; but you'd think Joe Biden, vice president, could manage to stay awake while the president delivers an important, albeit horrible, speech.

Alas, Biden either couldn't or wouldn't remain alert as Obama spoke Wednesday afternoon.

Video, from ABC News:



This isn't the first time Biden has been caught napping as Obama read from the teleprompter.

It happened in September 2009 during Obama's nationally televised speech to a joint session of Congress.

Obama has this effect on Biden. Other people have similar reactions, also falling asleep when Obama talks.

Last year, a student at Kalamazoo Central High School dozed off during Obama's commencement address.



In 2009, Obama put cadets asleep at West Point during a prime time televised address.



ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
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Since we're on the topic of sleeping during a speech...

Here's a funny video - Bill Clinton nodding off in 2008, at Harlem's Convent Avenue Baptist Church in Harlem during a Martin Luther King, Jr. event:

Obama: Information and E-pants-ipation

OBAMA: Information becomes a distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment, rather than a tool of empowerment, rather than the means of e-pants-ipation.

A free society demands information. We need it.

It's necessary for us to be empowered, as well as epantsipated.

27 May 2008

Maryann Sumi Strikes Down Law

UPDATE, June 14, 2011: Maryann Sumi's ruling is overturned by the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
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I knew Dane County Judge Maryann Sumi was going to strike down the budget repair law. It was inevitable.

I'm sure her husband, the very anti-Scott Walker, pro-union, Democrat Carl Sinderbrand, and her very anti-Scott Walker, pro-union, Democrat son, Jake Sinderbrand, are happy.

What really bugs me is that Sumi took weeks, MONTHS, to make her decision.

I suppose once it became clear that JoAnne "I'm Ecstatic" Kloppenburg couldn't find a way to disenfranchise thousands and thousands of Wisconsin voters and that bit of recount chaos was no longer sucking the air out of the room, Sumi saw no point in dragging her feet any longer, particularly with the June 6, State Supreme Court date looming.

Besides, the Leftists needed something to celebrate this Memorial Day weekend, however temporary.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

A Dane County judge has struck down Gov. Scott Walker's legislation repealing most collective bargaining for public employees.

In a 33-page decision issued Thursday, Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi said she would freeze the legislation because GOP lawmakers on a committee broke the state's open meetings law in passing it March 9. The legislation limits collective bargaining to wages for all public employees in Wisconsin except for police and firefighters.

"It's what we were looking for," said Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne, a Democrat.

"It's what we were looking for."

No kidding.

Was there really ever any doubt it was what the Democrats would get?

Of course not.

...Steve Means, the number three official at the state Department of Justice, said the agency and GOP Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen have been surprised at Sumi's handling of the case and asked whether she would recuse herself from it.

"Obviously we're disappointed in the ruling. We do think it reflects a number of legal errors, but it's for the appellate courts at this point," Means said.

Means said Sumi had made her decision without holding a trial or making clear beforehand that no trial would be held.

...Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) responded in a statement. "There's still a much larger separation-of-powers issue: whether one Madison judge can stand in the way of the other two democratically elected branches of government. The Supreme Court is going to have the ultimate ruling, and they're still scheduled to hear the issue on June 6. This overdue reform is still a critical part of balancing Wisconsin's budget."

Ozanne agreed that the court case is still far from settled.

"It's not over yet. I'm positive of that," Ozanne said. "The supremes are the supremes. They can do what they want."

GOP lawmakers like Fitzgerald also have said they would consider passing the law a second time as part of the 2011-'13 state budget if it was necessary to ensure that it takes effect.

"Act 10 was passed and signed into law in accordance with the rules of the state Legislature," said Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald (R-Horicon), Scott Fitzgerald's brother. "I remain confident that the Wisconsin State Supreme Court will rule accordingly and Act 10 will become law."

Here's video and more information, from the MacIver Institute:

The judge who had been blocking implementation of Wisconsin’s public employee collective bargaining reforms has now struck down the law altogether, saying legislative Republicans failed to give proper notice before acting on the bill in committee.

Dane County Circuit Court Judge Maryann Sumi issued her ruling Thursday, writing that the law is voided because lawmakers failed to provide proper public notice of a Conference Committee meeting wherein the bill was amended.

“The court must consider the potential damage to public trust and confidence in government if the Legislature is not held to the same rules of transparency that it has created for other governmental bodies,” Sumi wrote.

Republicans argued that the Legislature, when in Special Session, is not bound by the law requiring a broad public notice.

“This was not the case in which proper notice was missed by a few minutes or an hour,” Sumi wrote.

However, GOP lawmakers asserted they did provide the minimum two hour notice justified by the the ‘good cause’ provision of the statutes, even though that was also unnecessary. Sumi disagreed.

“Act 10 was passed and signed into law in accordance with the rules of the state legislature,” said Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald. “I remain confident that the Wisconsin State Supreme Court will rule accordingly and Act 10 will become law.”

Republicans are expected to immediately appeal the decision. Since an appeal would likely take time to be heard, they may also move to pass identical provisions as a part of the biennial budget next month.

Read Sumi's ruling.

The Supreme Court takes up the matter on June 6.

Hopefully, it will eventually put an end to this obstruction.

Erin McHardie and Bernie Brewer

The uproar over the outcome of the Milwaukee Brewers' "Where's Bernie" promotion is bizarre.

Should we be surprised that there are greedy, selfish people?

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Jeremy Schultz wants everyone to know that he played by the rules in the Milwaukee Brewers' "Where's Bernie" promotion.

He had every opportunity to snatch plenty of Bernie Brewer lawn ornaments as he was delivering the Journal Sentinel to customers early Tuesday on Milwaukee's south side.

Instead, he completed his route and waited for 5 a.m., just as the rules stated.

Schultz got his lawn ornament at Zablocki Park, one of the parks where lawn ornaments were left, according to Sue Black, Milwaukee County parks director. Schultz was able to nab a Bernie, but not without hassling with another man who wanted more than one, he said.

It turns out that Schultz snagged the lucky ornament. He discovered later that he had won the grand prize in the promotion: 20 tickets at a Miller Park suite for a Brewers game.

"There were so many people who were upset that others were grabbing all of the Bernie Brewers," Schultz said in a telephone interview Wednesday. "This puts a positive spin on it.

"I followed the rules. I didn't cheat."

The promotion, done in concert with the Milwaukee County Parks System and in other areas of the state, went awry when some people grabbed dozens of the lawn ornaments hours before the official hunt for the ornaments was supposed to begin. Some of those collectors then apparently tried to resell the suddenly hot items on Craigslist and eBay.

By his own admission, Schultz, 32, has had a rough year. His mother died last year. He has been involved in custody issues involving his ex-wife and their daughter. He was unemployed for a long time.

But Tuesday made things a little bit brighter for Schultz, who has been an independent contractor for Journal Communications for nearly three years.

...Schultz drove to Zablocki Park, near S. 35th St. and S. Loomis Road.

"I went over there and looked in the parking lot. Nobody was there. I'm walking through the park and I didn't see anything. Then I found one behind a tree," Schultz said.

Schultz wasn't alone. Another man apparently saw the same ornament, ran toward the tree, pushed Schultz out of the way and grabbed it.

"There were some expletives," Schultz said. "I said, 'Really? You have to do that?'"

The man ran back to his car and sped away. Schultz headed back to his truck.

Then he saw another Bernie Brewer. And he noticed the same man who had pushed him out of the way for the first one had also spotted the second ornament.

Schultz got there first and had his ornament.

Some people are such jerks!

I'm glad that Schultz won the big prize and the guy who pushed him didn't. Schultz took one lawn ornament, abiding by the rules of the promotion. Good for him. (I wonder if Schultz would have taken another if he had the opportunity. I like to think he wouldn't.)

Some people, like Erin McHardie of St. Francis, were hoarders.


Erin McHardie/Twitter profile photo





McHardie ignored the "one per household" rule.

She decided not to play fair. Then, she was incredibly stupid to post photos of her haul online. She was asking for trouble.

When the Brewers chose to do the promotion, they had to realize that the Erin McHardies of the world and jerks like the guy who shoved Schultz at Zablocki Park were out there. The organization must have known the potential for "complications," that all might not go smoothly.

That was a risk they chose to take.

So what have we from learned?

---Some people are jerks.

---Some people are greedy.

---Some people are really stupid.

---Some people get way too upset over silly things.

Didn't we already know that?

I think it's insane that FOX 6 News considered the Bernie Brewer promotion fiasco worthy of being the night's lead story.

This has really been blown out of proportion.

Who cares?

You didn't get a Bernie. Deal with it.

Here's video from FOX 6:

 

Death threats against McHardie?

If that's true, that's terrible. She didn't do the right thing, but a death threat is not an appropriate response. Good grief.

The promotion was a bad idea.

It was mistake to trust people to play by the rules. It was a mistake to assume that people even knew the rules.

Without question, it was a big mistake.

Lots of people involved used poor judgment and behaved badly.

TMJ4 interviewed McHardie.

She doesn't appear on camera, but you can hear what she has to say.

Erin McHardie is speaking out for the first time, and says she is feeling the heat from Brewer's fans after she posted a picture on twitter of nearly 30 Bernie the Brewer gnomes.

"I can see where people are mad, but it wasn't just me. I didn't take 27 Bernies."

It was supposed to be a fun, promotional scavenger hunt to find 1,400 Bernie the Brewer gnomes in area parks. Even though the Brewer's posted rules saying only one gnome per household, Erin McHardie claims she and her friends took 28 gnomes.

"We didn't keep them all. We were giving them to our family, to people who couldn't make it. Just like anybody else was doing down there."

While McHardie explained that she and a group of friends were going to share the gnomes, she never once apologized, or said that she would return the gnomes.

"Everybody thinks I'm trying to sell them on E-bay. I'm not. There's no profit here. We just wanted them, like anyone else."

But several Bernies did end up on E-bay.

Brewer's fans are taking to social media to lash out against Mchardie. A Facebook page has even been created and more than 700 people have "liked" the page.

“There's no need for these people to attack me personally. Say what you want about me being greedy, but the Facebook page is ridiculous," McHardie said.

Here's a letter McHardie sent to TMJ4's Mick Trevey:

"I am sorry that I missed you this afternoon. I am writing to this to clear the air. I along with four of my friends collected all the Bernies, not just me. Between the five of us we split them to give to our families and friends.

"WE ARE NOT OUT TO SELL THEM ON EBAY OR MAKE A PROFIT OF ANY KIND!!!

"What we saw on Twitter did not say you can only take one, we never saw the official rules page. We are sorry for that misunderstanding.

"I don't wish to be on camera, This is what I am saying about the matter and I hope people can forgive me and my friends.

"We, like many other fans, also were only out to get gnomes for our families who could not come but wanted to have one.

"I just would really like to say that this was mine and my friend's fault and I wish that people would stop harassing my parent's home phone and to please leave them alone.

"Again we are very sorry this happened and I hope that Brewers fans out there can forgive us."

This is lunacy.

There's a Facebook page attacking McHardie: Erin McHardie is a Greedy Bitch.

I think people should take it down a notch.

There were only 1,400 Bernies planted for promotion.

Obviously, the vast majority of people would come away empty-handed.

Another lesson: If you're going to break the rules and tick people off, don't brag about it online. It will not turn out well.

_________________

Watch this video. It's very sweet. I think this is what the Brewers had in mind when they came up with the promotion.

David Crosby, Graham Nash, Jimmy Fallon

"Neil Young" stopped by Late Night with Jimmy Fallon again.

This time he sang Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA," with a little help from David Crosby and Graham Nash.

Great harmonies.

Here's video:



More Late Night performances by "Neil Young":

"Whip My Hair," with Bruce Springsteen

"Double Rainbow"

"Pants on the Ground"

"Fresh Prince of Bel-Air"

Ed Schultz: Laura Ingraham, 'Slut'

Yes, those Leftists are so civil. They are beyond reproach.

Sure.

On his syndicated radio show, MSNBC host Ed Schultz called Laura Ingraham a "Right-wing slut."

Audio from The Daily Caller, via Brian Maloney, The Radio Equalizer:



Transcript

ED SCHULTZ (02:52): And what do the Republicans thinking about? They're not thinking about their next-door neighbor. They're just thinking about how much this is going to cost. President Obama is going to be visiting Joplin, Mo., on Sunday but you know what they're talking about, like this right-wing slut, what's her name?, Laura Ingraham? Yeah, she's a talk slut. You see, she was, back in the day, praising President Reagan when he was drinking a beer overseas. But now that Obama's doing it, they're working him over.

Why does MSNBC give someone like Ed Schultz, good buddy of Chris Larson, a platform?

There's a problem when an outlet like MSNBC is willing to tolerate its hosts denigrating women like that.

Does MSNBC really want Ed Schultz to be on its team?

Do Brian Williams and NBC News approve of the MSNBC extremists dragging down the credibility of the NBC News brand?

I guess it doesn't matter.

NBC News lost credibility long ago.
_________________

UPDATE: MSNBC suspends Schultz for calling Ingraham a 'slut'

MSNBC has suspended Ed Schultz, host of the “The Ed Show,” for one week without pay for calling conservative talk show host Laura Ingraham a ‘right-wing slut’ on his syndicated radio program Tuesday.

“Remarks of this nature are unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” MSNBC said in a statement.

MSNBC said Schultz will address the remarks on his show Wednesday night, and begin his leave immediately afterward. He will return on June 6th.

“MSNBC management met with Ed Schultz this afternoon and accepted his offer to take one week of unpaid leave for the remarks he made yesterday on his radio program,” MSNBC said.

MSNBC should fire Schultz.

Why would management want him to be one the main faces of the network?

MSNBC/NBC News must get its act together.

Time to purge.
__________________

Ed Schultz apologizes.

Video.



And the Oscar goes to...
__________________

UPDATE, May 26, 2011: Laura Ingraham accepts Schultz's apology.

John Edwards: Indictment

Although I disagree with John Edwards when it comes to politics, I defended him when the news first broke back in 2007, that he had cheated on his wife, Elizabeth.

I thought the National Enquirer's story was concocted tabloid trash. I didn't think Edwards would betray his wife.

I gave him way too much credit.

Now, after years of public denials and lies about his affair and his baby with Rielle Hunter, Edwards faces prosecution for criminal wrongdoing.

From WTVD-TV:

The United States Department of Justice in Washington has given the go ahead for John Edwards to be prosecuted in connection with a campaign finance investigation.

A source familiar with the case tells the I-Team Edwards now knows that federal prosecutors intend to indict him.

As we have been reporting, the former Senator has been the focus of a federal grand jury investigation in Raleigh for the past two-and-a-half years.

From Chopper11 HD Tuesday evening the Edwards mansion in Orange County appeared to be quiet.

The I-team has learned Edwards is deciding how to proceed now that the Justice Department has given the green light for him to face criminal charges.

...Edwards will have the option of entering a guilty plea and will be able to avoid a costly criminal trial with an uncertain outcome.

Video, from WTVD-TV:



Edwards, the Democrat nominee for vice president in 2004, has disappointed a lot of people.

He made some shockingly bad choices.

Thankfully, the nation was spared the indignity of having someone like him as vice president.

Also, I give credit to Obama for managing to shatter Edwards' presidential hopes in 2008.

Obama: 24 May 2008

Obama, allegedly the most brilliant man ever to be president of the United States, had some problems when he signed the guestbook at Westminster Abbey.

From New York Magazine, this is what Obama wrote:

It is a great privilege to commemorate our common heritage, and common sacrifice.

Barack Obama

24 May 2008

Wow, that's bad.

It's much worse than Dan Quayle and "p-o-t-a-t-o-e."

2008?

2008???

And Sarah Palin is routinely ridiculed as being stupid?

Has she ever signed a guestbook and dated it using the WRONG YEAR?

I don't think so, because if she had done that, the Leftists and people like the spiteful Meaghan McCain would be reminding us of it constantly.

The double standard really bugs me.

Obama did an extremely stupid thing.

Clearly, he does exhibit greatness - great stupidity.
_________________

Another flub:

Obama botches toast to Queen Elizabeth II.

Video.

Paul Ryan: 'Grandma Off Cliff' Ad

The Agenda Project, a Leftist group, has created a truly disgusting political ad.

It attacks the Republicans' budget plan by depicting a figure resembling Paul Ryan pushing an elderly woman in a wheelchair in a park-like setting. "America the Beautiful" plays in the background while birds sing.

The man ignores a sign, "Do not go beyond barricade," and the woman begins to panic and struggle. Eventually, he throws her off a cliff, literally. The man then simply turns back, pushing the empty wheelchair.

The words "Is America beautiful without Medicare?" appear on the screen.

Then, "Ask Paul Ryan and his friends in Congress (202)225-3031."

Watch.



Really sick.

The Leftists have no shame, unless they're screaming "SHAME" at the top of their lungs.
____________________

Chris Matthews, MSNBC Democrat hack always yapping about ugly conservative rhetoric, really enjoyed the ad.

From Media Research Center:

A clearly amused Chris Matthews narrated and laughed at a liberal ad showing Republican Paul Ryan murdering an elderly woman by throwing her off a cliff. This is the same MSNBC anchor who railed against "ugly" conservative talk and wondered if it led to the shooting of Representative Gabrielle Giffords.

...[O]n the January 11, 2011 Hardball, Matthews highlighted the shooting of Giffords and foamed, "People like Mark Levin, Michael Savage, for example who every time you listen to them are furious, furious at the Left with anger that just builds and builds in their voice, and by the time they go to commercial, they’re just in some rage, every night, with ugly talk. Ugly sounding talk."

He lamented that conservatives see the other side "as evil, as awful. Not just disagreeable but evil." Matthews then implicated these talk radio hosts in the shooting of Giffords by a deranged person: "And my question is doesn't that give the moral license to people who have crazy minds to start with?"

Yet, on Tuesday, Matthews joked, "Finally, grandma gets thrown off the cliff." Earlier, he called it an "ad that's over the edge, literally." But, this was also made in an amused tone.

And the Leftists insist that MSNBC doesn't have a liberal bias?

Right.

Here's the video:



Transcript

CHRIS MATTHEWS: And talk about an ad that's over the edge, literally. A liberal group has produced [ad plays onscreen.]- catch- Oh, there you see it, not holding back on that one. [Laughs.] Throwing grandma or- that's- I think it is supposed to be Paul Ryan pushing the wheelchair with grandma over the edge. That's in the Sideshow. We will show you the full ad.

MATTHEWS: Finally, grandma gets thrown off the cliff. A liberal group called The Agenda Project has just released an ad whacking at Paul Ryan's to privatize Medicare. Subtle? This ad is not.

[Plays ad of Ryan throwing an old woman off a cliff.]

MATTHEWS: Boy, I love the point of view on that one as she tries to slow down with her feet. Anyway, the irony here, Paul Ryan may be driving the Republican Party off the cliff.

Bon Iver, Jimmy Fallon

Justin Vernon of Bon Iver (and of Eau Claire, Wisconsin) performed a beautiful version of "I Can't Make You Love Me" on Monday's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.



Here's Justin being interviewed by Jimmy:

JUSTIN VERNON: Man, there's not enough Hornsby in my scene.

Bon Iver will be playing two dates at the Riverside in Milwaukee, with special guest The Rosebuds.

Friday July 22 • 8PM
Saturday July 23 • 8PM SOLD OUT

Bob Dylan: 70

Happy 70th Birthday, Bob Dylan!

Prosser Declared Winner

Justice David Prosser has won the election for Wisconsin Supreme Court - AGAIN.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

State elections officials on Monday certified the results of the recount of the April 5 election for state Supreme Court, declaring that Justice David Prosser has been re-elected to another 10-year term on the court by 7,004 votes.

"I look forward to taking the oath of office and continuing to serve in a fair and independent manner as a member of the Wisconsin Supreme Court," Prosser said a statement.

Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg asked for the recount after narrowly losing to Prosser.

She now has the option of suing over the results if she wants to contest the election. Any legal action must be started by May 31.

Kloppenburg campaign manager Melissa Mulliken last week said Kloppenburg would spend the coming days deciding what to do. Kloppenburg has portrayed the election as including widespread anomalies.

In certifying the recount, Government Accountability Board Chairman Thomas Barland disputed that characterization.

“It was not a surprise that minor mistakes were discovered, investigated and corrected,” he said. “This happens in all elections.”

It's time to pull out the JoAnne "I'm Ecstatic" Kloppenburg victory speech.

Kloppenburg's decision to declare victory was one of the worst moves ever.

It showed she lacks any sense of good judgment and possesses no gravitas whatsoever.



Then came the absolutely futile recount.

Now, with the certified results of the recount essentially the same as the certified results of the election, Kloppenburg has another decision to make.

Will she and her allies continue to stick it to the taxpayers and drag down the state of Wisconsin?

Will she obstruct the will of the people?

Does Kloppenburg have the decency to finally concede?

If her past behavior is any indication, then no, she won't concede.

It will be beyond disgraceful if Kloppenburg sues, in effect attempting to disenfranchise over 7,000 voters in the hope of manufacturing a victory.

Bottom line: Kloppenburg's concession speech is long, long overdue.

If she won't concede, let's hope she's clueless enough to flee the state, thinking that would be an appropriate way to handle her defeat.
_________________


STATEMENT OF SUPREME COURT JUSTICE DAVID PROSSER, JR:

"I am grateful that the final results of the April 5th election have been confirmed today. I want to thank the good people of Wisconsin for their confidence in me. I look forward to taking the oath of office and continuing to serve in a fair and independent manner as a member of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

I also want to thank the literally hundreds of local election officials and volunteers across the state's 72 counties who spent thousands of hours of their time in this recount. Their dedication went well beyond their normal "call of duty" and I know the state's residents who they serve share my appreciation for their great efforts in producing an accurate final result."

Will Kloppenburg challenge the "accurate final result"?

Not if she has an ounce of integrity.

La Crosse Tornado, May 22, 2011 (Video)

From the Wisconsin State Journal:

A tornado ripped through La Crosse's South Side on Sunday afternoon, leaving a wake of leveled buildings, downed power lines and debris that stretched nearly halfway across the city.

The storm downed trees and wreaked havoc along a 1.5-mile stretch along a four-block wide path. The worst damage was along Green Bay and Redfield streets, where treetops were shorn, roofs and siding torn off houses and debris left hanging from tree limbs and power lines.

At least 200 homes and businesses were damaged, according to La Crosse County Emergency Management, including Bakalars Sausage Co., the Green Island Ice Arena, Kmart, the Pepsi-Cola Bottling building and Badger Corrugating.

Other homes just a few blocks away were untouched.

Somehow, in all the devastation, a miracle: no one was seriously hurt.

"God was looking out for a lot of people," La Crosse Police Chief Ed Kondracki said.

The tornado struck at about 4:30 p.m. Mayor Matt Harter declared a state of emergency Sunday evening.

PHOTO GALLERY
__________________

UPDATE, May 25, 2011: Raw Video: Dash Cam Catches Wisc. Tornado

A camera on a Lacrosse, WI city bus was rolling when a tornado came through on Sunday, May 22, 2011. No one was injured.

Joplin Tornado, May 22, 2011 (Video)

UPDATE, May 23, 2011: Death toll from Joplin tornado climbs to 116

Rescue crews dug through piles of splintered houses and crushed cars Monday in a search for victims of a half-mile-wide tornado that killed at least 116 people when it blasted much of this Missouri town off the map and slammed straight into its hospital.

It was the nation's deadliest single tornado in nearly 60 years and the second major tornado disaster in less than a month.

Authorities feared the toll could rise as the full scope of the destruction comes into view: House after house reduced to slabs, cars crushed like soda cans, shaken residents roaming streets in search of missing family members. And the danger was by no means over. Fires from gas leaks burned across town, and more violent weather loomed, including the threat of hail, high winds and even more tornadoes.

My prayers are with the people of Joplin and all affected by the devastating destruction and this terrible loss of life.
___________________

More death and destruction from a massive tornado.

From KNOX, via the Associated Press:

A massive tornado that blasted a four-mile path across southwestern Missouri slammed into this city with cataclysmic force, ripping into a hospital, upending cars and leaving only a forest of splintered tree trunks behind where entire neighborhoods once stood.

An unknown number were killed in Joplin on Sunday night, and officials struggling to communicate without power and cellphone service were leery of putting a hard figure on a death toll they feared would rise after daybreak. Asked about a report that 24 people had died, city spokeswoman Lynn Onstot said grimly that officials were “afraid it may be more. … Our fear is that’s a low number.” The Missouri National Guard planned to search for the injured throughout the night. “You see pictures of World War II, the devastation and all that with the bombing. That’s really what it looked like,” said Kerry Sachetta, the principal of a flattened Joplin High School. “I couldn’t even make out the side of the building. It was total devastation in my view. I just couldn’t believe what I saw.”

The same storm system that produced the Joplin tornado spawned twisters along a broad swath of the Midwest, from Oklahoma to Wisconsin. At least one person was killed in Minneapolis. But the devastation in Missouri appeared to be the worst of the day, eerily reminiscent the tornadoes that killed more than 300 people across the South last month. Onstot said the twister __ believed to be between one-half to three-quarters of a mile wide __ was on the ground for nearly four miles. It hit a hospital packed with patients and a commercial area including a Home Depot construction store, numerous smaller businesses and restaurants and a grocery store. Jasper County emergency management director Keith Stammer said an estimated 2,000 buildings were damaged in this city of about 50,000 people some 160 miles south of Kansas City.

PHOTO GALLERY

Ceasefire Sabbath

Will Milwaukee's gun-toting murderers, thugs, and assorted criminals be in church this Sunday?

It's the 7th annual Ceasefire Sabbath.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Scores of area congregations are expected to join with Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and city and county law enforcement officials to promote nonviolence as part of the 7th annual Cease Fire Sabbath this weekend.

Barrett, Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn and Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm will kick off the initiative at breakfast with faith leaders Thursday at St. Martin de Porres Catholic Church, 128 W. Burleigh. And Barrett and Chisholm will speak at six area churches on Sunday.

"The police department and district attorney have done a magnificent job in reducing violent crime in Milwaukee and Milwaukee County. But in all honesty, we can't do this alone," Barrett said at a Wednesday news conference at City Hall.

"We need the cooperation of faith leaders and the community."

Chisholm said strong families and faith communities play an important role in keeping young people from becoming involved in crime. "The more mentors and faith-based relationships we have, the better we'll succeed as a community," he said.

...Barrett and Chisholm will speak at the following churches on Sunday:

Barrett will be at New Covenant Church, 2315 N. 38th St. at 9:30 a.m.; Greater Galilee Missionary Baptist Church at 2432 N. Teutonia Ave. at 10:30 a.m.; St. Patrick Parish, 723 W. Washington St., at 11:20 a.m.; and St. Adalbert Parish, 1923 W. Becher St. at 12:45 p.m.

Chisholm will appear at Parklawn Assembly of God, 3725 N. Sherman Blvd., at 7:50 a.m.; and Jerusalem Missionary Baptist church, 2505 W. Cornell St., at 11 a.m.

Although the thugs most likely won't be in church today, people who know them may be. The good people might be able to encourage the thugs to follow a nonviolent path.

Also, children, the next generation of thugs, may be attending today's church services and be influenced by hearing the messages of Barrett and Chisholm and faith leaders in the community.

Who knows?

It's better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.
_________________

Here's Tom Barrett's May 20, 2011, e-mail message on the topic:

Dear Friends,

This weekend marks my 7th Annual “Ceasefire Sabbath” in which I ask clergy and faith leaders to promote a common message of peace and non-violence in their weekend services. I believe faith is the cornerstone of a healthy and productive community and, as history has shown us, it is often religious leaders who lead the charge for social justice and change. I believe the same holds true today.

Just this week, District Attorney John Chisholm, Police Chief Flynn and I met with more than 100 pastors and other faith leaders who serve our city. We agreed that violence prevention and community building comes in many forms. Mentoring a young family, providing summer jobs to teens, extending a hand to a reentering ex-offender and recommitting our efforts to stem the flow of illegal guns are among just a few of the many strategies offered that will make a difference in the lives of Milwaukee residents.

Everyone who cares about keeping our neighborhoods safe in this City has a role to play. A full-on community effort in cooperation with the police department is essential to the success of our common goal to strengthen the community, reduce crime and promote peace. We need to show strength and unity in spreading the message that violence will not be tolerated in our neighborhoods.

Below is the schedule of churches that I will be visiting:

8:45 am - 9:50 am Greater New Birth Church
10:30 am - 11:50 am Greater Galilee MBC
11:20 am – 11:50 am St. Patrick Parish
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm St. Adalbert Parish

District Attorney Chisholm will be visiting the following churches:

8:00 am Parklawn Assembly of God
10:20 am Canaan Missionary Baptist Church

I’m pleased we have made great progress in making our communities safer and I’m grateful to the police department, District Attorney Chisholm and the countless community members who have helped in our efforts.

Sincerely,

Tom Barrett
Mayor, City of Milwaukee

Harold Camping: Judgment Day, End of the World

Are you ready?

Harold Camping says today, May 21, is Judgment Day.

That's not a WWE pay-per-view event. Camping and others believe the end of the world will happen today.

"There’s going to be a huge earthquake that’s going to make the big earthquake in Japan seem like a Sunday School picnic," said the 89-year-old founder of Family Radio, an independent ministry that has broadcast his forecast around the world.

Camping is basing his prediction on decades of studying the Bible and his belief that the Noah’s Ark flood happened in the year 4990 BC.

He claims that since 2 Peter 3:8 says that one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like one day to God, there will be seven thousand years between Noah's flood and the end of the world.

The seven days come from Noah having seven days to warn people about the coming disaster, so he assumes there will be seven days, translated to 7,000 years, between the flood and the destruction of earth.

So 4990 plus 2011, minus one because there was no year '0', equals 7,000 years.

I have plans this weekend.

The end of the world would be very inconvenient for me today.

Mike Huckabee and Jay Leno (Video)

Mike Huckabee was Jay Leno's guest on Thursday's Tonight Show.

I'm glad he's not running for president.

Watch the complete interview.

Here's video:

Part 1



Part 2

Obama, Israel, and 1967 Borders

Obama reminds me of Jimmy Carter, the anti-Semite.

For example, Carter has spent years making offensive statements and writing books trashing Israel.

Back in 2006, David Horowitz called Carter out in his article, "Jimmy Carter: Jew-Hater, Genocide-Enabler, Liar."

Even as Islamic Hitlerites gather in Iran to deny the first Holocaust of the Jews and to plot the second, former president Jimmy Carter tours America with a new book that describes Jews as racists and oppressors, and suggests they are also a conspiratorial mafia that intimidates “critics,” controls America’s media and war policy, and are therefore also the source of Islamic terrorism and the Arabs’ genocidal campaign to eliminate them from the map of the Middle East.

In other words, Americans beware of the Jew in your midst.

Here is Carter’s description of the Middle East conflict in his own words, delivered during an interview he gave on National Public Radio during the second day of the Holocaust deniers’ conference in Teheran:

“I have spent a lot of time in Palestine in recent years. … The Palestinians have had their own land, first of all, occupied and then confiscated and then colonized. They’ve been excluded from their own gardens and fields, and pastures and churches. They have been severely restrained in their movements. They have to have different kinds of passes to go through different checkpoints inside their own lands on their own roads. The Israelis have built more than 200 settlements inside Palestine.They connect these settlements with very nice roads for the Israeli settlers, and then superhighways and so forth going into Jerusalem. Quite often the Palestinians are prevented from even riding on those roads that have been built in their own territory. So this has been in many ways worse than it was in South Africa.”

When hundreds of millions of Muslims are calling for the extermination of the Jews of Israel this is more than a lie; it is a blood libel.

Yesterday, Obama delivered a major speech and left no question that he has fully morphed into Jimmy Carter, the anti-Semite.

Here's video of Obama's full speech:



Transcript, from the White House:

OBAMA: The State Department is a fitting venue to mark a new chapter in American diplomacy. For six months, we have witnessed an extraordinary change taking place in the Middle East and North Africa. Square by square, town by town, country by country, the people have risen up to demand their basic human rights. Two leaders have stepped aside. More may follow. And though these countries may be a great distance from our shores, we know that our own future is bound to this region by the forces of economics and security, by history and by faith.

Today, I want to talk about this change -- the forces that are driving it and how we can respond in a way that advances our values and strengthens our security.

What does Obama mean by "our values"?

Is abandoning Israel, our democratic ally, an exhibition of "our values"?

I don't think so.

From the Wall Street Journal:

President Barack Obama, seeking to get ahead of historic changes rolling through the Middle East, promised support for democratic uprisings in the Arab world and called for the first time to begin negotiations for a Palestinian state based on Israel's pre-1967 borders.

Mr. Obama, in a wide-ranging speech on the Mideast, stressed to a global audience—the speech was broadcast in English, Arabic and Farsi—that with the fall of governments in Tunisia and Egypt and the death of Osama bin Laden, the era of al Qaeda and Islamist militancy is giving way to an age of popular rule.

Yet the responses to Mr. Obama's speech highlighted the difficulty he will have in reconciling myriad interests in Washington, Israel and the Arab world.

With grievances deep and ideological lines drawn decades ago, some in the Mideast, including Israel's prime minister, said Mr. Obama went too far; some pro-Israel U.S. lawmakers agreed. Others, from Palestinians to Arab diplomats, said he didn't go far enough.

...The speech had its biggest resonance in Israel and the Palestinian territories. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet Mr. Obama Friday at the White House.

Mr. Obama entered office pledging to end the Arab-Israeli conflict, and White House officials have voiced frustration with Mr. Netanyahu and his commitment to expanding construction in disputed territories.

Mr. Obama sounded pained in describing the state of the dispute, noting that "the international community is tired of an endless process that never procures an outcome. The dream of a Jewish and democratic state cannot be fulfilled with permanent occupation."

For the first time since entering the White House, Mr. Obama said his administration sees the Mideast peace process producing an independent Palestinian state set along Israel's borders as they were before the 1967 Six Day War. Creating such a state would require Israel to cede control of parts of East Jerusalem and exit settlements in the West Bank, though Mr. Obama acknowledged that some elements of a future Palestinian state's borders would still be up for discussion.

...Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, the only Jewish Republican in Congress, said the path Mr. Obama laid out for Middle East peace "undermines" the U.S. relationship with Israel. "By keeping the burden and thus the spotlight on Israel, the president is only giving the Palestinian Authority more incentive to carry on its unhelpful game of sidestepping negotiations and failing to put an end to terrorism," Mr. Cantor said in a written response to the address.

In his speech, Obama referred to the Palestinians "suffering the humiliation of occupation" by Israel.

That sort of terminology sounds exactly like it was lifted from Jimmy Carter's anti-Israel book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.

Here's stunning video of Carter slamming Israel:



What a mistake for Obama to adopt Carter's views!

That's not the way to peace. It's an invitation to annihilate Israel.

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Read "THE U.S. AND 'DEFENSIBLE
BORDERS': HOW WASHINGTON HAS UNDERSTOOD UN SECURITY COUNCIL 242 AND ISRAEL'S SECURITY NEEDS"