Did IQ's drop significantly in the past few weeks?

Both referendums are poised to pass. Sick pay will now be mandated by the government. Never mind your business, business size, pay rate, other benefits . . . businesses will now have to offer 9 days paid sick leave.

And . . .

Our sales tax will now rise by 1% making Milwaukee a tax island. This ought to be real good for businesses near the borders. Your stuff is now more expensive and you have to pay out 9 days of sick leave.

Whaddaya mean you're moving out of the city?

I need to say this. Some people are too stupid to vote.

Ain't gonna play nice

Fact is, what ever shit happens locally and nationally, will affect me. So, there's a large part of me that desires things go well for the country and the state. We're all in this together, so to speak, and we should all hope the same. It's in our best interest.

The problem with that, though, is those who represent us aren't acting in our best interest. Politics has become a platform for special interest, minority groups, and self importance. I'm all too willing to go along with the majority, but only if we're all given a fair chance. We're not. I have two issues with this election.

One. It was bought. Forget about everything else . . . and there's a lot . . . Obama bought this election. 600 million? That's gross. It's beyond excessive. One could argue, why not? If people are supportive of a candidate and donate more money, what's the issue? Principal, for one. It means elections can be bought by the more powerful special interest groups. Elections shouldn't be about the rich getting their candidate elected every time. Elections should be about the people deciding, not special interests.

Two. The press helped Obama win. McCain never had a chance with the press.

No question, McCain's campaign wasn't strong. Parts of it stunk. Plus, he wasn't the ideal Republican candidate. In fact, it still amazes me he received the nomination over the other Republicans. So, take the two issues I have with this election out of it and I still think Obama would have won. The "Change" platform served Billy Clinton well. Stands to reason it would work again. Particularly with an unpopular president. Of course, no really knew what the change was. There was a scant record to go on, when he did decide to show up an vote. How the change platform came about is anyone's guess as Obama was more about the status quo in his districts than he was about change. What did it mean? Mostly that he wasn't Bush. But, now that he's president, what does it mean? What is this change?

Here's the thing. Ok, he won. Great. First black president. Kudos. Really. I have to be honest, I care little that he's black and more that he has crazy ideas. Actually, that Pelosi and her ilk have crazy ideas that Obama will simply rubber stamp.

But, let's see what this "change" is. He's made some way out there sort of campaign promises. Let's see what happens.

But, be nice? Forget it. As a Republican I put up with the vile, hate, ridicule, directed toward GW Bush and some in his administration. Even Dennis Miller said we need to stop the hate, Fuck that. Let's see how much fun it will be to be continually lobbing the ridicule, the condemnation, the he's an idiot barbs and comments Obamas way. Let's see how he handles it, and let see how the bloggers handle it.

Point is . . . he's under a microscope now. Everything he says, and does is out there for fair review and critique. And it will be. As will be the other members of congress. We can start with what he's promised and what he'll eventually deliver on.

So, have at it Obama. The whole world is watching. Particularly me. And I ain't gonna be nice about it.

Guitar Hero

The spots spoofing Tom Cruise in Risky Business are reeeeeeally stupid. Particularly the one with the athletes. But, however stupid they are, Heidi Klum makes it a bit more watchable:



That's the director's cut. Not what appears on TV.

Prediction

It's going to be a mess.

I hope one of them wins outright. Even if it's Obama. With so much already in the news if it's close, it will get messy.

Happy Election Day, everyone.

Bring Your Own Barf Bag

Haven't had one in a while. Since it's the football season, I present this gem:

It's freakin' Snowing!

I'm sick of winter already.

You know what else pissed me off today? I forgot they moved Daylight Savings! I thought I had an extra hour this morning.

Halloween Movies

I've stated this before, so I'm repeating myself, but Halloween is my favorite holiday. There are a few good reasons for this.

One, no gifts. Even better, the kids get treats from everyone else.

Like I wouldn't buy whatever my girlie wants.

(sigh)

Two, if you look up last year's entry, I have excuse to wear nail polish. Weird, I know.

Three, many women use it as an excuse to dress up sexy.

Four, horror movies.

I love horror movies. So, I ask . . . what are your favorites?

Here are mine in no particular order:

The Exorcist. Still the greatest of all time.

Hellraiser

The Omen

Dawn of the Dead

Evil Dead

Legend of Hell House

The Blair Witch Project (Awesome)

Night of the Demons

Nightmare on Elm Street

Suspiria

I didn't say it

Last night on Iron Chef, organ meats were the secret ingredient. Cady Huffman was one of the judges. At one point Alton Brown asked her if she had had any organ meats in her mouth lately.

She answered: "A couple of times."

Yeah.

Just sick of everything

I haven't posted in a while. Mostly I've ben a little under the weather and haven't ben inspired to do much of anything. Also, and perhaps it's because of how I feel, I've just ben sick of everything, lately. I can't wait for election day. I don't care much who wins, anymore. More on that later.

And, there was no Sunday Night NFL game! That really sucked.

Plus, the idiocity of the MPS school board and the people who just let things happen. It drives me crazy. I'm certainly doing what I can about things. It's too bad more parents don't take a more active role . . . or understand the issues correctly.

Hey! I watched a Badger game . . . and they won! Woo hoo!

I'm gonna suck with my football picks this week. I took some chances. Things started off alright. But, didn't end up that way.

Last night my wife cooked an asparagus stuffed chicken breast with some home made risotto. She had gone to Kohler over the weekend for their Food and Wine Experience and was itching to try out some things she learned.

She learned good. Real good.

Milwaukee's Go House to House and Expect Candy was this weekend. As our neighborhood will do it at night on Halloween, we don't participate. My daughter went with a friend in her neighborhood. Jamie dressed up as a medieval princess. My wife did her makeup. This is scary.



I've already told her . . . no dating until you're married.

What Sort of Man Reads Ask Men?

With over 200,000 votes cast in AskMen.com's 49 "Most Influential Men" poll, the top 10 and tech-related votes from a very eclectic list that's heavily populated with contemporary athletes are:

• 01 - Barack Obama (Illinois Senator (4 yrs.); U.S Democratic Presidential Nominee)

• 02 - Steve Jobs (Apple CEO): No other CEO in the world is so intimately associated with his company’s products. Does anyone think of Subrah lyar while using a WebEx application? Who thinks of Steve Ballmer as their XBox powers up? But iPod and Jobs, Mac and Steve -- one ceases to be without the other. After all, while in some ways, Steve Jobs may seem like the accidental CEO, an eccentric hippie in the right place and time, when in fact he’s as savvy as they get. Furthermore, his design aesthetic is impeccable: He blends form and function into visionary elegance, making products so hip and so useful, they divide the world into Apple owners and Apple enviers.

So if you have ever wondered which contemporary your grandkids will pester you about, wonder no more: Steve Jobs is posterity’s wet dream. We’re merely lucky enough to have known him when.

• 03 - Michael Phelps (Swimmer)
• 04 - Robert Downey Jr. (Actor)
• 05 - Stephen Colbert (TV personality)
• 06 - Gordon Ramsay (Chef)
• 07 - Christian Bale (Actor)
• 08 - Rob Kay (Rock Band)
• 09 - Cristiano Ronaldo (Soccer)
• 10 - John McCain (Arizona Senator (22 yrs.); Republican U.S. Presidential Nominee)
---
• 13 - Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook)

• 23 - Jonathan Ive (Apple SVP Design): As one of the key figures behind the design of such indelible Apple products as the iPhone, iMac and iPod, Jonathan Ive has revolutionized the way that consumers view computers and their various peripherals. He successfully transformed the home computer from a clunky piece of hardware to a sleek piece of art, and his work has garnered him awards and kudos the world over (earlier this year, for example, The Daily Telegraph bestowed upon him the title of Most Influential Briton in America). His penchant for consistently topping himself (as impressive as the iPod is, it’s hard to deny the “wow” factor of the iPhone) has earned him the respect and admiration of his colleagues, yet its his willingness to share credit with his coworkers and his preference for keeping out of the spotlight that’s won Jonathan Ive a well-deserved place on this list.

• 28 - Arnold Schwarzenegger (Governor of California)
• 35 - Sam Houser (Rockstar Games)
• 49 - Kevin Rose (Digg.com)

Stephen Colbert? Are you kidding me? Cristiano Ronaldo? Are you serious? A soccer player?

Of course, most troubling is the number one spot . . . Obama. The only good news is that the readers of Ask Men will likely be too busy jerking off to the girlie pictures to bother going to vote.

Global Foolishness

For nearly 30 years, Professor Christy has been in charge of NASA's eight weather satellites that take more than 300,000 temperature readings daily around the globe. In a paper co-written with Dr. Douglass, he concludes that while manmade emissions may be having a slight impact, "variations in global temperatures since 1978 ... cannot be attributed to carbon dioxide."

That's from up above. Now, let's back up a few months and remember this:

Some 3,000 scientific robots that are plying the ocean have sent home a puzzling message. These diving instruments suggest that the oceans have not warmed up at all over the past four or five years. That could mean global warming has taken a breather. Or it could mean scientists aren't quite understanding what their robots are telling them.

The whole upper article here.

Actually, I find this rather distressing as I like 70 degree October weather.

Oh well. Can we be done with this, yet?

Packers vs Colts

Bottom line, the Packer DB's owned the Colts WR's. Each one caught only two passes the entire game! The Colts are very much a finesse team and up against a team like the Packers, who play very physical with the receivers, have problems. It didn't hurt that the Packers also provided a steady dose of pressure on Manning, though there weren't any sacks. But, between the pressure causing Manning to throw early and the disruption of the timing, Manning was frustrated and it showed.

Rodgers was efficient. Grant started to get some mojo back. The game, though, belongs to Rouse. Not only did he stay "at home" in coverage, he read Manning like a book with large type and moved on the pass beautifully to make the interception. Plus, he ran it all the way back, 99 yards, for a touchdown. I have to say, I was surprised at his speed.

4 and 3 and going in to the bye week. Beautiful.

Benedict Brett?

Cornerback Charles Woodson says that if a media report indicating that Brett Favre shared inside knowledge of the Green Bay Packers' offense with Detroit Lions coaches is true, it's nothing short of sabotage.

The whole article.

I can't imagine this is true. But, if it is . . . what will the Favre fanatics say now?

Milwaukee German Immersion School and MPS

My daughter brought home a newsletter from MGIS PTA today. It reminded us that the fight for the school budget isn't over. For those with kids who attend MGIS, you'll remember we almost lost our PE and music teachers. Many concerned parents banded together to fight this, including myself, went before the board and got our teachers back.

I knew this was a temporary situation, though. While there were things . . . monies . . . that could be had for this year, it didn't guarantee being a permanent solution. Hence, the newsletter.

While my daughter attends MGIS, this affects everyone. Kids or not, as the school budget affects our taxes. The front of the PTA newsletter essentially announced the news of the budget and gave us information as to upcoming board meetings that we should attend . . . again. That's fine.

On the reverse side of the newsletter, however, was a breakdown of budget options with each showing the ramifications of cost to taxpayers and monies to schools. This is where it gets a bit infuriating for me. Heres how the newsletter broke it down:

Option 1
• Adopt the budget as is. No increases in spending or taxes (on school portion only)
• State Aid lost: 7.5 million
• Cuts to MPS: 14.5 million
• Cost to taxpayer: 9% increase or $121 a year.

Option 2
• Adopt an amended budget
• State aid lost: 1.9 million
• MPS cuts: 0
• Cost to taxpayers: 14.9% increase or $199 a year

Option 3
• Adopt maximum levy budget
• State aid lost: 0
• Cuts to MPS: 0
• Cost to taxpayers: 17.5% increase or $228 a year

Then:

If we don't increase the school portion, as amended in June 2008, MPS will lose money, this year, and we will lose teachers, this year.

Don't get me wrong. I love MGIS. Anyone with children there or who works there likely knows this. I spend a lot of time this past spring fighting to keep Herr Arndt and Herr Warren. But, MPS cannot continue to reach in to our pockets to fix every problem. It's a reckless trend that has to stop.

First off, we have a State funding formula problem. How MPS gets the money and how it's distributed is greatly flawed. That alone is enough to put the brakes on any tax increase. Fix that problem! Yes, it's at the State level which means contacting Sullivan and Cullen and getting them to push for the changes needed. But, it's also about not letting this school board think that every answer lies in our pockets. The trend needs to stop. Every increase that's approved will never be enough. If we hold the line at 9%, I guarantee it will be another 9% next year. And the year after that. And the year after that. If we allow a 17% increase, it will be 17% next year. And the year after that. And so on.

It's never enough. Unless we say it's enough.

Second. In light of all the improprieties of school board spending, you've got to be kidding me. At what point is the board held responsible for OUR money? We pay them. Yet, they act as though they can do what they want with OUR money. Spend millions on consultants, have vacant schools, bus routes that make no sense, travel (Hardin, anyone?), programs that don't work . . . the list goes on and on. This board has made bad decisions after bad decisions. I'm sorry. This is like bailing out the theif who just robbed your house. I can't do it.

Third. Uh, economy anyone? Doyle just announced that the State budget might be 3 billion in the hole. That's a bunch of bull, mind you, but it sets up the excuse for raising taxes to cover the hole he created. So tack on a whole lot more to that $228 number. It's never about decreasing spending. It's always about increasing taxes. Did anyone read the article from the NY consulting firm concerning MPS benefits? Read it here. Now, tell me again, we should give them more money?

Throwing more money at a system with a broken funding formula is incredibly misguided. Regardless of the ramifications. I don't want to lose any teachers. But, continuing to throw money at a flawed system insures it won't get fixed. We need to concentrate our efforts at the State level. Contact Sullivan and Cullen. Fix the funding formula. Say no to higher taxes.

Representative Cullen: rep.cullen@legis.wisconsin.gov
Senator Sullivan: sen.sullivan@legis.wisconsin.gov

We fought once to keep our teachers without increasing the budget, we can do it again.

ACORN et al

Say what you will about ACORN. That the organization itself isn't shady and is just trying to do good. Or that all of these improprieties won't actually lead to voter fraud. Or that this is just the work of a few misguided souls . . . the fact is, when ever we hear about fraud and cheating it's always by democrats.

What's more, the right gets blamed for disenfranchising voters, but there's never any proof of that. After the last presidential election the claim in one Florida county was "tens of thousands disenfranchised". In a county of about 90,000 voters. That's just ridiculous. Never any proof.

In Ohio, the secretary of state is withholding 200,000 registrations because of discrepancies. About a third of new registrations this year. Registrations that were likely gathered and possibly made fraudulent by ACORN. Now, those 200,000, even if valid, might have to cast provision ballots. Who's doing the disenfranchising?

Let's not forget who started all of this . . . Al Gore. The voting was over. It was official. Bush won. But algore had to challenge it in court thereby forever changing the way we look at elections and the election process.

Thanks, Al. And thank you Democrats. Glad you think cheating is the way to get your guy in office.

Biden: 3 letter word, J O B S . . . huh?

Well, I've got a 3 letter word for Biden . . . N U T S

McCain vs Obama 3

McCain got the holeshot right off. But, at 289mph, he blew a head gasket. But, but, managed to coast to the finish.

I know there was all sorts of pressure on McCain to make a case out of NObama's past relationships. Perhaps what everyone didn't think of is that Nobama is as slippery as Bill Clinton. I didn't think it was going to work as I'm sure NObama was not only ready for it but also it gave him a chance to simply lie, partially or otherwise, stay calm and dismiss the issue.

What I liked about McCain . . .

He called in to question NObama's integrity about his campaign and spending.

The remark about not running against Bush. Finally.

Joe the plumber and spreading the wealth. Brilliant.

Generally . . .

McCain did a good job of calling out Obama's record on spending and taxes.

I thought John did a good job with energy. He stated that Obama said he would "look at" domestic drilling. I thought that was a great point.

I thought John did a good job with education. Though, some of this is simply what one wants to hear. John is right when he says you can't fund everything. But, that may not play well with many.

The abortion issue, which was actually a judge issue, was a toss up. Where ever you stand on this issue, that's where you went. The one thing John said that made sense to me, let it be a State issue, not a Federal issue.

I thought Obama took the healthcare issue. Not because I agree with him, but because it sounded better and was more specifically laid out. John spent a little too much time tying to debunk Obama's plan than hyping his own. It didn't work well.

The biggest thing is that McCain did a good job of reminding people that democrats are taxers and spenders. That could help him these last couple of weeks. Now that the ground work has been laid, McCain should pound Obama on his spending and tax plan. Forget everything else . . . almost. But, hit taxes hard.

As Brian Fraley said, it's not over.
Who won? Don't care. It didn't change anyone's mind. So, if you believe the polls, Obama still has a narrow lead. However, Dick Morris made a good point. There's the immediate reaction, and what one can build on from this. He pointed out what I stated before, that the ground work of tax and spend has been laid, and that there could be gains to be made.

Road Kill Carpet

From Oooms Studios.

They need to make one with a dog.

The Great Papa's Debate

There are no greater people in this country than those who frequent the corner watering hole. Some come to socialize, some to flirt, and some to unwind after a long day of work. Also amongst those, are those who try and solve the world's problems. They engage in articulate discourse over empty glasses of whiskey and cokes, half eaten orders of pizza, and between runs to "drain the main vein".

It is for those backseat politicians, those polluted pundits, those armchair stategerists that Papa's held a debate between presidential candidates this evening. Representing the people was Fred Dooley of Real Debate Wisconsin fame pitted against some schlub with a dorky hat representing the party party.

Here are some highlights:

When asked about the legalization of pot and the ability to tax it, the mook replied something about the influx of money, blah, blah, blah. Fred tied the issue to illegal immigration and how the indutry would attract new illegals to cross the boarder to steal good jobs away from Americans.

When asked about the rising cost of beer, the lackey said something to the effect that he would promise beer in every household if elected. Fred countered and blamed global warming for the rising costs of beer. Farmers are taking up precious land for corn for ethanol when they should be farming more barley and hops for beer!

When asked who their running mate would be, the party guy completely wussed out and answered his girlfriend. Fred chose Mary Carey. Excellent choice.

When queried about BJ's in the Oval Office, the mook's long and short of it was "why not?". Fred stated that with 131 other rooms in the place, why can't we save a little dignity for the Oval Office . . . fer cryin' out loud.

When asked what day they would turn in to a holiday the goombah declared June 9th to be "69" day. Fred stated he would make every payday "stripper day".

There were other less important issues muddled in the glasses of beer that had been consumed. While the crowd was asked not to cheer, the effects of said beer had an over riding effect on compliance.

In the end, with a concern for beer prices, immigration, the environment, with more holidays, and a whore for a running mate, Fred proved to be "stiff" competition. His opponent fell limp.

Congratulations, Fred. In the eyes of this voter, you crashed the Party Party and sent the mook home to be subservient to his girlfriend. We don't need no pansy-asses for President.

All you need to read:

The JSonline headline says it all:

Voter Fraud: We’ve been here before

Yes we have.

BTW, the article defends ACORN. I'm sure the reporter got all the information he/she needed at the ACORN site as there are no questions posed to anyone from ACORN. Just take it all at face value.