This seems strangely appropriate.
Month: September 2016
Gennifer Flowers Will Be Ringside for the Debate
Gennifer Flowers, the woman that Bill Clinton had an extramarital affair with, said she would accept Donald Trump‘s invitation to seat her in the front row of Monday’s presidential debate against Hillary Clinton.
Teacher Shortage? Maybe.
Borsuk has an interesting article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel today.
According to a report from the respected RAND Corp. think tank, widespread shortages of qualified teachers loom nationwide unless major changes make teaching an attractive career choice for talented individuals.
That report was issued in 1984.
A few days ago, the Learning Policy Institute, a non-profit based in Palo Alto, Calif., issued a report, “A Coming Crisis in Teaching? Teacher Supply, Demand, and Shortages in the U.S.” It warned that unless major changes occur, the supply of teachers nationwide will fall substantially short of the number of teachers needed within a few years.
An education gadfly and writer named Mike Antonucci drew attention to the similarities in the two reports, including that Stanford Professor Linda Darling-Hammond, one of the most prominent figures in American teacher education, was an author of both. (By the way, she is likely to be on the short list of candidates for secretary of education if Hillary Clinton is elected president and she was honored last spring by Alverno College.)
In the years after 1984, the number of kindergarten through 12th grade teachers of all kinds increased nationwide and no real shortages appeared.
D.C. Hotels Use Picture of Wisconsin Capital
Oops.
The photo is beguiling: Pink clouds hover over the capitol building at sunset, stirring the hearts of visitors to the District of Columbia as they prepare to tour a city that stands as a symbol of democracy.
Except the photo, used on the websites of at least five Washington-area hotels, isn’t a photo of the U.S. Capitol — it’s a photo of downtown Madison, the capital of Wisconsin. And while Madison is, perhaps, no less beguiling or democratic than the District, it is more than 800 miles away from the banks of the Potomac River.
Websites for the George Washington University Inn, Avenue Suites Georgetown and One Washington Circle Hotel were among the hotels that displayed the photo. A spokeswoman for parent company Modus Hotels said the selection of the photo was an accident.
Around the Bend by Judy Steffes
Korean War vets from Wash. Co. receive Ambassador for Peace honors
Korean War veterans from Washington County were presented with Ambassador for Peace medals during a special banquet in Seoul, South Korea. The ceremony was held at the Grand Ambassador Hotel.
Medals were presented to Nick Habersetzer, Norbert Carter, Francis ‘Jerry’ Wanty, and Merlin Stockhausen.
There were 123 Korean War veterans from around the world on hand to receive their awards. Each was greeted with a warm round of applause from the Korean ROTC as they entered the banquet hall.
Distinguished guests included the Hon. Park Sung Choon Minister of the Patriots and Veterans Affairs and Lt. General Thomas W. Bergeson, Deputy Commander UNC/USFK.
An interesting side note, Lt. Bergeson took a moment during his speech to say, “Anyone here from Wisconsin? Go Packers!” Turns out Lt. Bergeson hails from Wisconsin Rapids. “I’m a 1981 graduate of Wisconsin Rapid High School,” he said as he posed with veterans from Washington County. “My son is currently enrolled at UW Madison and my parents still live in Wisconsin Rapids.”
Throughout the evening veterans were praised for their “gallantry and sacrifice.”
Korean War veteran Norbert Carter
Norbert Carter, 85, of West Bend is one of the Korean War veterans on tour this week in South Korea. The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs is hosting a Revisit Korea Program where they express appreciation and respect for Korean War veterans who sacrificed themselves to defend Korea’s democracy and peace.
Carter was 20 years old and married for a couple years when he was drafted in 1951 into the Army. He entered service in 1952.
“I never got to go to high school,” said Carter. “I was put on the farm to help my uncle because he couldn’t get a hired man during the war.” Carter was one of 7 boys in the family; four of his siblings were also in the service. “My dad was in World War I; my oldest brother was in the Navy during Pearl Harbor. Two of my brothers were in Germany, two of us were in Korea and my youngest son was in Desert Storm.”
Carter went to Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania for basic training. That was followed by a stint in Washington and later he spent 17 days on a ship to Japan. “We spent one night in Japan, got back on the boat and I spent the next 15 months and 22 days in Korea,” Carter said.
Immediately stationed on the front line, Carter recalls his orders.
“We were on night patrol and walked up to one area and were handed a steel vest and they said ‘put it on — this is the area where you need it’ and we walked some more and pretty soon we were up on Old Baldy,” he said referencing the site of five engagements during a 10-month span of the Korean War.
“For 32 days I helped build bridges while we were under fire,” Carter said. “There were some Army tanks on a couple mountains up there and we had to get them back for service work.
“The biggest bridge we had was 280-feet long and it was all steel tread way. We couldn’t work during the day because the enemy could see us and every day for the first five days the bridge was knocked out by artillery, so each day we had to tear it out and start over.”
Carter was discharged in 1953 as a staff sergeant Section B in the Second Division Combat Engineers. Carter, 85, is well-known in the local military circle; he is Veterans of Foreign Wars chairman in West Bend and has been commander for 15.5 years.
Carter has been active for 57 years in the local post honor guard and military squad.
Korean War veteran Merlin Stockhausen
Merlin Stockhausen, 86, of West Bend is one of the Korean War veterans on tour this week in South Korea. The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs is hosting a Revisit Korea Program where they express appreciation and respect for Korean War veterans who sacrificed themselves to defend Korea’s democracy and peace.
Stockhausen was drafted when he was 20; he was part of the 933rd Field Artillery.
Stockhausen went to basic training in Fort Hood, Texas, and Fort Bliss, Texas, before being shipped to Japan and then Korea. “I was part of an anti-aircraft unit,” Stockhausen said.
“We laddered at night over at Inchon, Korea, and they put us into these LST boats and we went on shore with water up to our waist and we got loaded into little box cars and headed up to the front line from there,” Stockhausen said. “We had a lot of gun positions dug in around petroleum centers.”
An acting corporal, Stockhausen was awarded a number of medals including a Bronze Star and the Korean Campaign Medal. Returning to West Bend, Stockhausen went into construction. Stockhausen was part of the Stars & Stripes Honor Flight in 2013.
Korean War veteran Nick Habersetzer
Nick Habersetzer of West Bend is one of the Korean War veterans on tour this week in South Korea.
Habersetzer was 18 and a half years old when he enlisted in service on Sept. 26, 1955. “I graduated West Bend High School in 1954 and got a job at the Gehl Company,” said Habersetzer. “They gave me three years of service time.”
For eight weeks Habersetzer went through basic training at Fort Carson, Colorado and then went to jump school at Fort Bragg for three weeks. “We jumped out of C-19s,” he said. “My older brother went so I had to go and then my next brother also went. I was actually the scaredy cat of the three.”
Habersetzer served shortly after the Korean War ended and was part of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division. “We went to Korea by ship and I was very sick,” he said.
While in Korea, Habersetzer worked in the 120 MEDEVAC hospital just outside Incheon, Korea. Ranked a Spec-4 Army corporal, Habersetzer worked as a diet cook in the kitchen at the hospital until his discharge in 1958.
“I hitchhiked home from Fort Sheridan, Illinois and got to about this side of Chicago and got another ride,” said Habersetzer. “Then a guy gave me a ride within a mile of my house. He bought me a beer in St. Anthony and then I walked to Kohlsville where my parents lived.
“I was carrying a duffel bag and didn’t have much in it; only two sets of clothes because I had to leave the rest in Korea because of disease.”
Habersetzer returned to the Gehl Company and worked in tool and die for 46 years. This is his first time back to Korea.
Amazing food in South Korea
Veterans from Washington County are staying at the Grand Ambassador Hotel in Seoul while on tour in South Korea and the food is amazingly diverse.
Baby octopus for breakfast anyone? I took the plunge in a tapas sort of way. A tentacle of this a dime-sized portion of that. My plate looks like a colorful chess board and I secretly wonder if my stomach will welcome it home.
The chef at the Grand Ambassador puts out an eye-appealing display of hearty breads, freshly diced fruits, carved meats including steak and pork chops and there’s a wealth of seafood including sea eel, seaweed, and salted and fermented squid.
The rich colors of the food are brilliant. It’s a vista of choices and I’m glad there are labels to help decipher what’s for dinner. This is not your mother’s Hamburger Helper.
A salt-free diet would be difficult. Many of the fish dishes, including the cellophane like square of seaweed, is salty… and that’s being nice. Bottled water should be close at hand.
The octopus comes with visible suction cups on tentacles. “Is that considered fish or meat,” asked veteran Nick Habersetzer as he digs into his safe plate of fruit.
“It’s a cephalopod; like a snail or a slug,” I said. (actually I had to Google it)
The tentacle, by the way, is not moving. I’m a little disappointed because that would have made for a better story and more of a pull-back reaction.
The octopus has a rubbery consistency, kind of like a bicycle tire and just as flavorful. (My aspirations as a regular on The Food Network I’m sure have been dashed by this review.)
In South Korea the foods are flat out raw and presented as art or they’re prepared with colorful spices and mixed with vegetables. (To all moms – did you see what they did there?)
The food strategy is much different than the good ole’ American way of drowning things in ketchup.
Tidbits from the tour in South Korea
-On our way to the DMZ students from Korea are interviewing veterans on the bus ride. The students are fluent in English. The bus is zipping through rush-hour traffic with a police motorcycle escort.
-At Chicago O’Hare my troop got hung up at security. One vet had metal in both knees and an ankle. Years of hard work also took a toll on his mobility. While maneuvering the full body scanner, Merlin Stockhausen had to lift one arm with the other to get it to extend to the TSA directed height. Finally the guy at security scrubbed the idea and said, “Please step out sir; we’ll just pat you down.”
-Another vet was told to empty his pockets and take off his belt. A hand full of loose change clattered on the metal table. It was accompanied by a pocket full of peppermints and a rosary.
-The stewardesses for Korean Air arrived at our gate in a wave of high-fashion. The fellas stared and commented how “they all look the same.” The airline obviously has a very strict dress code and cookie-cutter appearance: short khaki skirt, light blue button down blouse, scarf that resembled a starched piece of Origami caught in a brisk wind capped by an overall loveliness.
Isabelle Muckerheide funeral is Tuesday
Isabelle Muckerheide, formerly of Kewaskum, has died.
Muckerheide, 98, was part of the fabric of the community in Kewaskum. She’d been a staple at several farmers’ markets in Kewaskum and at the VFW in West Bend where she was noted for her card table and sales of homemade jam, ground cherries and $1 loaves of banana bread.
In May 2015 Mike Paul from Paul Auction Co. in Kewaskum officially retired Isabelle’s bid card No. 1 after she sold her home and moved in with her kid sister, 94.
How Isabelle became the official holder of card No. 1, is best told by Paul.
“One time, for reasons no one remembers, Isabelle and her husband were late to the sale and No. 1 was issued to somebody else. It was not well received,” he said. “A hasty discussion between mom and dad established that the Muckerheides would permanently be No. 1 and they have been, for the last 46 years.”
Paul said “Al and Izzy” were regulars back in 1969. “Izzy has been a fixture for so long we always just assume she’ll be there,” he said. “If she can’t make it she calls ahead to let us know.”
Every year Muckerheide can be found sitting in a wood rocker in the entryway of the old log cabin, knitting during Kewaskum’s Early Farm Days. Under her frock is her trademark brooch, it’s something she’s worn since she was 6 years old.
Born in 1918 when Woodrow Wilson was president, Muckerheide remained sharp telling stories of seeing Liberace in concert in Appleton. “He played after dinner and had dancing water with colored lights,” she recalled.
She also cooked for Hollywood actor Spencer Tracy in 1941. “He was receiving an honorary degree from Ripon College and the dinner was held at a private home. My boss brought him back into the kitchen and Spencer Tracy shook my hand. I didn’t wash it for a week,” grinned Muckerheide.
Muckerheide had been living in West Allis with her sister. She would often say, “We haven’t had to call the cops on each other yet.”
The funeral for Isabelle Muckerheide will be Tuesday, Sept. 27 at Holy Trinity Church in Kewaskum. Mass will start at 11:30 a.m. Burial will follow in the parish cemetery. Isabelle’s family will greet relatives and friends at the church on Tuesday from 9:30 a.m. until the time of Mass.
New memorial underway at American Legion Post 36
The American Legion Post 36 in West Bend is offering neighbors an opportunity to recognize veterans who have served honorably in the armed forces as a new memorial is constructed. The centerpiece features a 30-foot aluminum flag pole donated by a member of Post 36. Money raised from the sale of granite engraved stones will help defer the construction costs of the memorial and the main granite stone. The honored veteran does not need to be a member of the American Legion. To launch the project, from now until Oct. 1, 2016 the granite stones can be purchased for half price. A 16 x 8 engraved stone can be purchased for $200 to honor organizations or specific military actions, conflicts or wars. Contact Mike Hartwell at 262-305-4036 for more details.
Wet down in Allenton is Wednesday
On Wednesday, Sept. 28, the Slinger and Kohlsville Fire Departments will hold a wet down ceremony at 6:30 p.m. at Zuern Building Products, 426 Railroad Street, for Allenton Volunteer Fire Department’s Engine 1361. A wet down is when neighboring fire departments come with a rig to spray water over the new unit. A similar ceremony is held for ships and aircraft as they enter service to help others when they can no longer help themselves. Fifteen or more fire departments will be on hand to help with the christening. An interesting side note: this ceremony is for a unit which is replacing the apparatus [1361] that had the first wet down in Wisconsin.
Updates & tidbits
-A note has been posted on the front door of Benders Sports Pub, 1102 E. Paradise Dive in West Bend. The note read: To all of Benders loyal patrons, thank you for your past business. Unfortunately the time has come to close our doors. The note is signed Tim and Donna Pruett. Tim took over the restaurant in 2013.
-Today’s Dentistry, 2675 E. Washington Street in West Bend, will host an open house Sept. 25 from 5 p.m. – 7 p.m.
-Rummage-A-Rama is October 15 – 16 at the Washington County Fair Park.
-The Walk for Diabetes is Saturday, Oct. 15 at Ridge Run Park in West Bend. The goal is to promote community awareness of diabetes and raise $2,900 for diabetes research. Contact David Reed for more information 630-862-2711.
-Baylor Cain Golf Outing for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) is Sunday, Oct. 9 at Hon-E-Kor Golf Course in Kewaskum.
– Jobs at Spaulding Clinical in West Bend. A new study is underway that pays up to $2,525. Spaulding Clinical will cover an Uber ride so you can schedule a screening and receive up to $250. Call today 800-597-4507 or visit spauldingpays.com.
-West Bend School District Superintendent Erik Olson will be the guest speaker Sept. 28 at the Common Sense Citizens meeting held 7 p.m. at the West Bend Moose Lodge on 18th Avenue. The meetings are free and open to the public.
– Golf marathon for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Washington County is Friday, Sept. 30 at Kettle Hills Golf Course in Richfield. Golf 100 holes in one day all for a great cause in Washington Co.
-Sixth graders from Holy Angels School in West Bend recently participated in the Environmental Stewardship Program (ESP) at Camp Gray near Wisconsin Dells. The annual overnight retreat provides students with many opportunities to experience and learn about the wonders of God’s creation.
Vos Isolated on Transportation Tax Increases
Good.
Assembly Republicans have floated the idea of raising revenues for transportation work to hold down borrowing and avoid project delays, but Fitzgerald noted Thursday that Walker has committed to using his extensive veto powers to block such a move.
“You’ve got to live within the parameters of what he’s already laid out,” Fitzgerald said of Walker, adding that it would be pointless to oppose his own party’s governor. “How’s that productive? You’re going to have to work with the governor.”
One way to resolve the dispute would be to cut other taxes so the gas tax could be increased, he said. But coming up with a way to cut other taxes could prove tricky when state finances are tight.
Vos and the Assembly leadership has been saying that tax increases might be necessary. The Governor has said “no” to any tax increase for roads that isn’t offset by a tax decrease elsewhere. Now the Senate Majority Leader is standing with the Governor. Given that Vos was going to have a very difficult time getting a tax increase passed through the conservative wing of his own caucus anyway, this pretty much kills it. A tax increase will never even make it through the Senate to get to Walker’s desk to veto.
I guess we will have to live within our means – even when it comes to transportation.
Replacing Culture with Politics
Interesting thoughts from Ben Domenech.
Charlie Rose asks: “Why do you think this race is about even, running against a woman who has been Secretary of State, a United States senator, First Lady of the United States? And the race is about even.” And Bono replied: “I would not diminish Trump’s supporters, or underestimate their angst. Because I feel that, in a way, they have correctly assessed that the center parties haven’t yet become clear.” Rose: “What you’re saying their angst is real and genuine, a sense that ‘I worry about my country and where it is.’”
It’s interesting to think of Bono as a case study in how things change. Sixteen years ago he was working closely with Jesse Helms, one of the most right-wing members of the Senate, on a host of issues. Helms today is held by many leftists to be a racist and a bigot, as someone who held unacceptable anti-gay and anti-minority views. And yet the U2 frontman worked with him to do good. At the same time that Martin Sheen was protesting George W. Bush by putting duct tape over his mouth, Bono was working with the Bush administration on a massive relief plan. He had no qualms about walking the border between culture and politics because that is how something is achieved beyond just making yourself feel good.
Today, the left is entirely in favor of replacing culture with politics. That gives us worse culture, and worse politics. We need more border-walkers who can navigate the world between this tribal divide, or we risk a culture where the tribes become increasingly permanent, and increasingly incapable of talking one to another.
Father of NY/NJ Bomber Warned FBI
Credit to this father for trying to warn authorities. It takes courage for a Muslim man to report his own son to authorities. We need more courageous men like this to push back the terrorists among us.
The father of the man charged with setting off bombs in New York and New Jersey informed the FBI in 2014 about his son’s apparent radicalization, he said.
Speaking to The Associated Press early Friday in a telephone interview, Mohammad Rahami, father of alleged bomber Ahmad Khan Rahami, said his son underwent a personality shift after visiting Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2013. Speaking in Urdu, Mohammed Rahami said his son was not the same after that trip.
“I found a change in his personality. His mind was not the same. He had become bad and I don’t know what caused it but I informed the FBI about it,” he said.
The elder Rahami said he doesn’t think the FBI took any action against his son at the time. He said he and his family were in a state of shock following last weekend’s blasts, which injured 31 people.
“I condemn the act of my son and I am sad over injuries caused to people,” he said, adding that he was cooperating fully with investigators.
No Peace for Syria Any Time Soon
America lacks the world stature and diplomatic acumen to negotiate a cease fire in Syria right now. This is another task that will be left for the next president.
NEW YORK (AP) — The United States and Russia ended any pretenses Thursday of their cease-fire for Syria remaining in force after days of increased violence and the Syrian military’s announcement of a new offensive in Aleppo.
“We can’t go out to the world and say we have an agreement when we don’t,” Secretary of State John Kerry said after meeting the top diplomats from Russia and more than a dozen European and Middle Eastern countries.
Kerry’s statement, after three days of private and public diplomacy on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, provided an ominous endnote to a week diplomats had hoped would be a major capstone toward peace.
Instead, Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who negotiated the truce two weeks ago, went their separate ways as violence in Syria flared up anew and the relationship between the two key foreign powers in the conflict appeared to reach a new low.
No one spoke of being able to quickly resuscitate the cease-fire. While Kerry and Lavrov were set to hold more talks Friday, even confidence-building measures seemed beyond their reach at this point.
[…]
The war has killed as many as a half-million people, contributed to Europe’s worst refugee crisis since World War II and allowed the Islamic State group to emerge as a global terror threat.
Mayor Beats Protester
I can think of a few other protesters who could use this kind of immediate feedback.
Kevin Johnson, the mayor of Sacramento, Calif., and a former NBA star, repeatedly punched a protester in the face after getting hit with a pie during an event, witnesses say.
Witnesses told the East Bay Express that a protester ran up to the mayor during a dinner event Wednesday night and threw a pie in his face. The protester then yelled something at Johnson, prompting his response.
According to the report, the mayor hit the protester repeatedly, landing as many as 10 punches.Some sources said the protester, later identified as 32-year-old Sean Thompson, was beaten to a “bloody pulp.”
U.S. Soldiers Attacked With Chemical Weapons
Washington (CNN)The military assesses that the shell fired on a joint US-Iraqi base Tuesday was indeed a chemical weapon, according to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford.
“We assess it to be a sulfur mustard blister agent,” Dunford told the Senate Armed Services Committee Thursday. It is the first time the military has confirmed its assessment on the record since CNN reported the development Wednesday.A US military official told CNN, however, that the first field test for chemical agent was positive and the second test was negative. The substance was sent to a coalition-operated Iraq-based lab, and tests there were inconclusive. The official said the sample will now be sent to another lab for additional testing.
Walker Questions Need for More Prosecutors When the Current Resources Are Being Misallocated
“I would think most people in the state would think after the U.S. Supreme Court rules on this that there’s certainly not a lack of work to be done in Milwaukee County on issues related to crime and on other issues,” Walker said. “We hear, not only in that county, but in other counties, about the need for additional district attorneys and additional resources. I think a lot of people wonder, if they continue to spend time after the U.S. Supreme Court were to rule on this, if that’s really necessary, if they have time to spend on this even after the courts have shut it down.”
Presidential Race Narrows in Wisconsin
Eh, I doubt it.
MILWAUKEE – A new Marquette Law School Poll finds 44 percent of Wisconsin likely voters supporting Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton for president and 42 percent supporting Republican Donald Trump in a head-to-head matchup. Twelve percent do not express a preference, saying they will vote for neither candidate, will not vote, or don’t know how they will vote.
Among all registered voters in the new poll, Clinton is supported by 43 percent and Trump by 38 percent, with 15 percent not expressing a preference.
In the most recent Marquette Law School Poll, conducted Aug. 25-28, Clinton was supported by 45 percent and Trump by 42 percent among likely voters, with 10 percent not having a preference. Among registered voters in that poll, Clinton held 42 percent to Trump’s 37 percent, with 19 percent lacking a preference.
In a four-way matchup including Clinton, Trump, Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein, Clinton is supported by 41 percent of likely voters in the new poll, with Trump at 38 percent, Johnson at 11 and Stein at 2. A total of 7 percent in that matchup do not give a preference. Among all registered voters, Clinton receives 39 percent, Trump 35 percent, Johnson 12 percent and Stein 3 percent, with 10 percent lacking a preference.
This happens every cycle. The race looks narrow and everyone gets all excited, and then the Democrat wins walking away. Wisconsin is a solid blue state when it comes to presidential politics.
Charlotte Riots
I feel like I’ve seen this movie before.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Authorities in Charlotte tried to quell public anger Wednesday after a police officer shot a black man, but a dusk prayer vigil turned into a march that ended with the gunshot death of a protester.
The man was not shot by police who had massed in riot gear to keep the marchers outside an upscale downtown hotel, Charlotte officials announced on Twitter.
But the second night of violent protests, added Charlotte to the list of U.S. cities that have erupted in violence over the death of a black man at the hands of police.
With officials refusing to release any video of the Tuesday shooting of 43-year-old Keith Lamont Scott, anger built as two starkly different versions emerged: Police say Scott disregarded repeated demands to drop his gun, while neighborhood residents say he was holding a book, not a weapon, as he waited for his son to get off the school bus.
Election Spurs Violence
On Monday, 09/19/16, at 3:45 PM, an 11 year old female reported that while riding the school bus home several older students were loudly discussing the presidential election. The student made a comment to the group and one of the older students took exception to the comment. When the bus stopped and the 11 year old got out of her seat to exit the bus a 13 year old female grabbed the 11 year old by her hair, pulled her to the ground, and slapped her several times in the face. Police took the 13 year old female student into custody for Physical Abuse of a Child and Disorderly Conduct. She was referred to juvenile authorities.
Assembly Republicans to Offer Alternative Transportation Plan
Heh.
Vos responded in his letter that he and his Assembly GOP colleagues would oblige. Vos, R-Rochester, also criticized Walker’s plan as too reliant on borrowing and lacking a long-term solution for roads.
Vos emphasized that large highway expansions in southeast Wisconsin, including of the Zoo Interchange and Interstate 94 in Racine and Kenosha counties, would face an uncertain future under Walker’s plan.“Under your plan, the unfortunate reality is that these roads may not be done in our lifetime,” Vos wrote.
In Dane County, the Verona Road project would be delayed at least two years under Walker’s plan. The plan would keep on track expansions of I-39/90 in Rock and Dane counties and of Highway 10-441 in the Fox Valley.
Vos said Assembly Republicans will hold hearings to gather input from the public and experts before offering their transportation budget alternative. Lawmakers will begin debating transportation and other areas of the next budget in early 2017.
The timing is interesting. Vos is insistent that raising taxes must be on the table, which means that he intends to propose tax increases. BUT, he’s not going to offer his plan until after the new year – AFTER the elections. If Vos wants a tax increase, he should put it out there before the election so that the voters can weigh in. But, of course, Vos doesn’t want that because he knows that the voters don’t want it.
Folks Blame Government But Want More of It
Huh?
Many in the white working class share Olah’s sentiments, according to a new CNN/Kaiser Family Foundation poll. Some 62% of white working class Americans said the federal government bears all or most of the blame for the economic troubles facing the working class. Yet, two-thirds also feel that the federal government doesn’t do enough to help working class folks.
Working class whites with lower incomes are more than twice as likely as their higher-earning peers to want more government assistance.
While there’s no set definition of the working class, CNN/KFF considers this group to include those without four-year college degrees for this poll.
Welfare Reforms Help People Get To Work
It worked when Tommy Thompson did it. It worked when Clinton replicated it on a national level. It worked when Walker did it. I sense a pattern.
The existing FoodShare Employment and Training (FSET) program was redesigned last year to help participants meet the federally mandated criteria while providing them free resources they need to enter the job market so that they can be weaned off government benefits.
Fifteen months after the program’s approximately $60 million recreation, Walker announced that Wisconsin Department of Health Services data shows that 14,400 FSET participants, 38 percent of those eligible, have found employment, averaging $11.99 per hour and working a little over 32 hours a week, which is significantly more than the state’s minimum wage and the minimum requirement to keep food benefits.
Crooks Increasingly Using Fake Guns
This is an interesting trend that makes sense.
While the federal government does not track criminals’ use of toy or replica guns, some individual police departments say they’ve noticed an uptick.
In Edmonton, Canada, police said imitation guns were involved in 1,598 incidents in 2015 — up 38 percent from a year earlier.
In Arlington, Texas, suspects are increasingly using lookalike guns, including an incident earlier this year in which a man carjacked a woman using an air gun that resembled a real pistol, and another case involving a teen who threatened an officer with a replica gun. The officer managed to knock it out of the teen’s hand and tackle him.
Arlington police Lt. Christopher Cook said that between March and August, nearly 20 percent of the weapons seized by police after they were used in crimes turned out to be lookalikes.
So far, police haven’t had to use deadly force. But Cook said that could change in an instant.
“There’s no training in the world that we know of where an officer can readily distinguish a real gun from a fake gun,” he said. “That’s not realistic, because officers have to make split-second decisions to ascertain whether it’s a firearm or not.”
It makes sense for the crooks as long as they truly don’t intend to shoot anyone. The fake guns are cheap and easier to get than real ones. Plus, it is not a crime to carry a toy gun if they get caught with one. On the down side, cops and bystanders can’t tell the difference and a crook is more likely to be shot if he or she waves it around.
Of course, the hardened criminals who truly don’t mind shooting people – drug dealers, gang bangers, and the like – still have real guns. Always assume the gun is real.
Walker makes first offer on transportation budget
My column for the West Bend Daily News is online. Here you go:
Gov. Scott Walker released his transportation budget proposal last week and made his position perfectly clear when stating he is “not going to raise the gas tax or other associated fees without a corresponding reduction.” That is a welcome statement to this taxpayer.
The issue Wisconsin is facing in the next budget is the forecasted revenue for the transportation fund falls about a billion dollars short of paying for forecasted expenditures. Whether this happens to a family, business or government, there are only three things one can do when this happens: reprioritize and reduce the forecasted spending, borrow money, or find a way to increase revenue. Walker has taken the last option off the table and attacked the issue with a combination of the first two options.
Walker’s justification for refusing to increase revenue by increasing taxes or fees is simply that despite several years of tax cuts, Wisconsinites are still taxed too much. Walker would rather the government do the heavy lifting of prioritizing and cutting back instead of forcing families to do it to pay higher taxes. The governor is right.
Wisconsin’s gas tax is still among the highest in the nation. According to a fact sheet the governor released, at 32.9 cents per gallon, Wisconsin’s total taxes and fees collected at the pump ranks as the 11th highest in the nation. But that is only part of the story. The same Wisconsinites who pay the gas tax also pay all of the rest of Wisconsin’s tax burden, and it is a heavy burden. Wisconsin still ranks as the fifth highest taxed state according to CNN/Money. As State Sen. Duey Stroebel rightly said in a recent column, “With Wisconsin’s overall tax burden still in the top 10, this is no time to be campaigning for higher taxes.”
Meanwhile, it should be noted Wisconsin spends a ton of money on transportation — more than most states. Wisconsin spends about $3.8 billion per year on highways, which ranks 14th nationally. Total transportation spending, including state and local spending, is 33 percent higher than the national average according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
In other words, despite cries of “poor” from some folks, there is plenty of money for transportation. Yes, the recipients of that spending always want more, but it is the job of the administration to prioritize the spending within the confines of Wisconsinites’ ability and willingness to pay.
That is exactly what Walker’s budget proposal does. Walker’s transportation budget proposal actually increases state funding for maintenance of existing roads and sends more money to local units of government for their transportation needs. He partially pays for those increases by halting, delaying, and slowing down some existing projects including the widening of Verona Road in Madison, expanding Interstate 94 in Racine and Kenosha, and part of the Zoo Interchange.
Walker’s budget proposal also seeks to borrow $500 million, which, according to the governor, is the lowest level of borrowing since the 2001-03 budget. That is still a lot of borrowing, but using debt to fund major projects used for 30 years by future taxpayers, too. The key is to manage debt sensibly.
Walker is taking the correct approach to managing the state’s transportation needs through prioritization and forcing efficiencies instead of turning to the taxpayers for more money. He is also right to shift more spending to maintaining the roads the state has and away from more expansions. Is it perfect? No. It still spends and borrows too much, but it is a very good start.