FREEDOM EDEN

Dolan: Too Soon to Approve WH Mandate Movement

2012-02-10T14:15:00.008-06:00

The United States Catholic Conference of Bishops has issued the following statement in response to Obama's latest mandate:

Bishops Studying Initial White House Movement on Religious Liberty

February 10, 2012

New opportunity to dialogue with executive branch

Too soon to tell whether and how much improvement on core concerns

Commitment to religious liberty for all means legislation still necessary

WASHINGTON— The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) sees initial opportunities in preserving the principle of religious freedom after President Obama’s announcement today. But the Conference continues to express concerns. “While there may be an openness to respond to some of our concerns, we reserve judgment on the details until we have them,” said Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan, president of USCCB.

“The past three weeks have witnessed a remarkable unity of Americans from all religions or none at all worried about the erosion of religious freedom and governmental intrusion into issues of faith and morals,” he said.

“Today’s decision to revise how individuals obtain services that are morally objectionable to religious entities and people of faith is a first step in the right direction,” Cardinal-designate Dolan said. “We hope to work with the Administration to guarantee that Americans’ consciences and our religious freedom are not harmed by these regulations.”

Cardinal-designate Dolan calls Obama's latest mandate to be a "first step in the right direction."

It would appear Dolan believes it's the first step on a journey.

More from Dolan:

"While there may be an openness to respond to some of our concerns, we reserve judgment on the details until we have them," Cardinal-designate and Conference president Timothy Dolan said.

"Today's decision to revise how individuals obtain services that are morally objectionable to religious entities and people of faith is a first step in the right direction," he added. "We hope to work with the Administration to guarantee that Americans' consciences and our religious freedom are not harmed by these regulations."

Newark Archbishop John Myers isn't pleased with Obama's spin on his mandate.

From CBS New York:

Obama hopes that the announcement will be seen as an accommodation to Catholic Church leaders furious that they have been told Catholic institutions like schools and hospitals will have to pay for birth control and “morning after” pills as part of their employee health packages.

The proposal allows religious employers not to offer the contraception care they object to. Insurance companies will be required to offer care directly to those employees.

“Religious liberty will be protected and a law that requires free preventative care will not discriminate against women,” Obama said.

The compromise did little to appease Newark Archbishop John Myers.

“This step doesn’t truly address the religious liberty issues or the conscience protection issues,” said archdiocese spokesman Jim Goodness.

“To pretend that we get something out of this when all you’re doing is a back door technique is insulting and quite frankly, it’s also devious,” said Catholic League president Bill Donohue.

He says the compromise will pit more liberal Catholics against conservatives.

Gwen Moore: Pregnancy Danger to Women's Health

2012-02-10T14:00:00.005-06:00

Gwen Moore wants you to believe that the National Institutes of Health have declared pregnancy to be a danger to women's health and a threat to their families.

Absurd?

Yes.

Video:

GWEN MOORE: ...Not allowing the Church to stand on its bully pulpit and separate women from critical, vital health care needs. The National Institute of Health has said that it is a danger to women's health and safety of their families that for 30 years to be exposed to the prospects of pregnancy.

Once again, Moore attacks the Catholic Church. Then, she goes on to lecture about pregnancy being a health danger.

Moore doesn't qualify her statement. She simply states that pregnancy is a danger to women, women in general.

Moore isn't talking about a smaller group of women with underlying health problems that would be complicated by pregnancy.

She's speaking of women's reproduction and fertility.

Furthermore, her "30 years" remark is rather bizarre. Has the NIH asserted that women are in danger for 30 years due to pregnancy possibility? When does the 30 year danger zone begin and when does it end?

I can only shake my head. Wisconsin Democrats aren't what they used to be.

Obama Contraception Mandate Statement (Video)

2012-02-10T12:15:00.000-06:00

Here's the video of Obama's shameless spin:

Obama Mandate 'Compromise'

2012-02-10T11:50:00.001-06:00

Obama's statement on the alleged compromise to allegedly exempt religious employers from paying for treatments against their principles was truly an embarrassment.

Obama, as he stood at the podium and read his remarks off paper rather than his teleprompters, could not have looked more untrustworthy. He was a case study in "how to spot a liar."

The tyrant Obama stood there, allegedly granting dispensation.

Bottom line: The alleged compromise is a joke. Even Obama's Leftist media mouthpieces admit that the alleged exemption is no exemption at all. His accounting games are so sleazy.

Obama had the audacity to claim he was respecting Catholics and the Church in his statement to the American people.

He pandered. He scolded. He lied.

His alleged retreat is really no compromise.

Tyrant Obama has ruled the religious employer won't have to pay for contraception, sterilization, and abortifacients. Instead, he will force the evil insurance companies to pay the bill.

Really?

And... how will that keep religious employers from funding what they find morally objectionable?

Rep. Chris Smith nails it:

The plan, touted as a concession to freedom of religion and conscience, was immediately denounced by pro-life Rep. Chris Smith. “The so-called new policy is the discredited old policy, dressed up to look like something else,. said Smith. .It remains a serious violation of religious freedom. Only the most naï or gullible would accept this as a change in policy.”

“The White House Fact Sheet is riddled with doublespeak and contradiction,” Smith continued. “It states, for example, that religious employers ‘will not’ have to pay for abortion pills, sterilization and contraception, but their ‘insurance companies’ will. Who pays for the insurance policy? The religious employer.”

Bill Wilson writes:

"The White House merely wants the religious institutions to pretend with them they are not funding this coverage, when the reality is they will be. This is unconscionable. Now the President is attempting to get religious institutions to be complicit in this lie, forcing his rule and will upon them. This is wrong and it must be rescinded immediately.

"The White House is claiming it will be paid for by the insurance companies themselves. But since the employees will not have to pay an additional premium for that coverage nor the religious-affiliated employers given a discount on their premiums to offset the costs, and the monies under the plans are fungible, the net effect will be that the religious institutions that are paying the premiums will still be paying for the contraceptives.

"As a result, it remains a violation of the First Amendment and an affront to religious liberty."

Obama's grand scheme of this alleged retreat is an insult to people of faith. It's an insult to all Americans.

Planned Parenthood and Religious Liberty

2012-02-10T04:01:00.002-06:00

Planned Parenthood is joining the attack on Catholics.

Of course, the largest provider of abortions would be on board with Obama's mandate.

Here's the organization's petition:

To Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, John Boehner, and every other politician who wants to deny women access to birth control:

I'm calling on you to tell the truth about birth control.

The new birth control coverage requirement doesn't apply to churches, mosques, or other religious employers. In fact, approximately 335,000 such organizations are exempt from the new requirement. When you say differently, you're not telling the truth about women's health, and you should stop.

The rule guarantees coverage for contraception, not abortion services. When you say differently, you're not telling the truth about women's health, and you should stop.

President Obama and Secretary Sebelius' rule protects all women who work at religiously affiliated hospitals or universities. It is about fairness and basic health care. When you say differently, you're lying about women's health, and you should stop.

Nearly all sexually active women rely on birth control — including 98 percent of Catholics. Large majorities of Americans support the new birth control coverage requirement, including the majority of Catholics. That's because we know the truth: Birth control is basic health care. It shouldn't be attacked. It shouldn't be politicized. And it shouldn't be lied about.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[City, State ZIP]

Planned Parenthood claims politicians are lying about the Obama mandate.

In reality, Planned Parenthood is lying. This petition is brimming with lies.

Paul Ryan: VP

2012-02-10T04:00:00.001-06:00

Paul Ryan hasn't completely ruled out running in 2012 after all.

Hugh Hewitt asked Ryan if he would agree to run for president if drafted in the event of a deadlocked convention. Hewitt also asked Ryan about a possible vice presidential run.

Ryan did not give a Shermanesque response.

And the goatee is gone.

Here's an audio clip from the interview:

Transcript

HUGH HEWITT: All right, so with a minute left, Congressman, I want to be the first to ask it. After this speech is given to that audience, and you get the response which will be forthcoming, people will ask you if the convention deadlocks, would you be available?

PAUL RYAN: That’s ridiculous. I just don’t think that’s going to happen, Hugh. I just do not see that happening.

HEWITT: If the convention deadlocked, would you be willing?

RYAN: You know, Hugh, let’s not even bother…it’s not anywhere even close to my mind. So I’ve got a job to do here in the House. I think I can make a big difference where I am. I’ve got to write a budget, and that’s what’s on my mind. I’m not thinking about anything like that.

HEWITT: And the vice presidency?

RYAN: Again, that’s…what I see is a bolt of lightning striking. If it happens, I’ll think about it then. If I ever got to that bridge, I’ll think about whether to cross it or not. And right now, I’ve got a lot to do here.

HEWITT: Well, deep breath and a great delivery. It’s going to be a terrific speech tonight. Paul Ryan, Congressman from Wisconsin, always a great pleasure. Good luck.

_____________________

Watch Paul Ryan's CPAC speech.

Here's the complete transcript.

Barbara Walters and Abortion

2012-02-10T00:01:00.004-06:00

The Democrats/Leftists, including Obama, love to say that they believe in science.

Science, science, science. Absolute truth.

They claim that conservatives are against science.

That, of course, is absurd. Conservatives don't object to sound science.

The Leftists, however, do, especially when it comes to revealing the truth about life in the womb.

They kick and scream over giving women information, the science, of human development. That, for some reason, is cruel and hateful. For some reason, the truth about fetal development is something they want to withhold from women.

So who really is against science?

I know Barbara Walters is getting up there in years and she may not be as sharp as she used to be. Taking that into account, she said some ridiculous things on The View regarding abortion.

From the Media Research Center:

The liberal women on The View, Wednesday, shrieked at the "totalitarian" decision by a Texas judge to uphold a law requiring women to look at an ultrasound before having an abortion. Co-host and journalist Barbara Walters found the legal ruling– and not the act of abortion itself-- to be "heartbreaking."

Regarding the ruling, left-wing comedienne Joy Behar spewed, "It's very totalitarian in my opinion. I mean, it smacks of forcing somebody to confront something that they have already decided they don't want to deal with."

Rather than focus on the actual abortion, Walters lectured, "Then to have to go and be forced to hear, to see the fetus, to hear the heartbeat, to put more guilt on you, I think is heartbreaking."

Walters continued, declaring that the decision to "give up a child that is obviously unwanted... is such a tremendous decision, it's involved with so much fear of what you're doing and guilt."

No.

First, no child is unwanted. Some are unwanted by their biological mothers, but no child is unwanted. Someone wants to parent and love every "unwanted" child.

Second, it's not heartbreaking to know the truth about a baby developing in the womb. It's a beautiful, joyous, miraculous thing.

What's heartbreaking is for a woman to not realize the truth about what she's about to do to the human life inside her when she's planning on killing it.

If a woman doesn't believe abortion is morally wrong, if she doesn't think it's killing human life, then what's the big deal?

She could hear the baby's heartbeat for hours, for days, and it wouldn't matter.

It comes down to this: Either abortion is simply a "choice" to do away with a bit of tissue, or it's the intentional decision to stop a beating human heart. It's killing human life or it's not. There is no middle ground.

Women should not be spared the reality of the life they "choose" to abort. They should not be denied the SCIENCE.

It would be heartbreaking to learn too late the truth about the human life one "chose" to kill.

The only way to guarantee no regrets is by giving the woman the facts.

Pro-abortion advocates should have enough respect for women to permit them to deal with reality. I think preventing a woman from seeing the developing baby and hearing its heartbeat is a cruel act.

A woman should "choose" based on all the facts available to her.

Here's video:

Justin Vernon: "Perth"

2012-02-10T00:00:00.000-06:00

Justin Vernon of Bon Iver recently played "Perth" for the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon studio audience.

Recently [Justin Vernon] was in New York and he was kind enough to stop by and jam with the Roots as a treat for our studio audience. We are now very pleased to present this exclusive performance of "Perth," the lead track from Bon Iver's latest album Bon Iver, Bon Iver.

Dolan and Obama's Lies

2012-02-09T16:30:00.004-06:00

Did Obama LIE to Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan?

Did Obama invite Dolan to the White House and proceed to tell him LIES?

This mess is getting worse and worse for Obama and his administration.

The longer he drags it out, the more damage he's doing to his chances for reelection and his legacy.

Does Obama really want to go down in history as the president who ignored the Constitution, oppressed Catholics, and reneged on his promises to Cardinal-designate Dolan?

From CBS New York:

Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan says President Barack Obama hasn’t kept his promise, when it comes to the new White House policy on contraception.

Sources told CBS 2′s Marcia Kramer that Archbishop Dolan feels betrayed after his meeting with the president on the issue late last year.

A Catholic group in Alabama filed the first lawsuit against the Obama administration’s new birth control regulations as the controversy got even more heated Thursday.

The president ducked questions about the contraception controversy that is bedeviling his administration. The reason may be the latest attack from Dolan, who, sources told CBS 2, feels he was stabbed in the back by the president after the two met to discuss the issue.

“He was worried about being at odds with the Church, especially when it came to health care and education and charitable outreach,” Dolan told Kramer.
Kramer: “He made promises to you that he apparently hasn’t kept?”

Dolan: “Well, yeah. I’m honest in saying I feel a bit let down.”

Sources close to Dolan told Kramer that the archbishop felt betrayed after a November meeting with President Obama to discuss the contraception issue. Sources said the president promised Dolan that he would “get most of what he wanted.”

"GET MOST OF WHAT HE WANTED"?

When it comes to morality, there isn't room for negotiating.

Apparently, Obama doesn't understand what it means to have values that are not up for compromise.

Apparently, Obama doesn't understand the First Amendment protects religious liberty.

I suppose he's willing to string out this controversy rather than backing down quickly because he wants the radical Leftist groups to believe that he was forced by people of faith to give in. He had no choice. He tried, etc.

The problem is backing down in this case means upholding the Constitution and respecting religious freedom.

A president should not be standing in opposition to one of our fundamental freedoms.

Cardinal-designate Dolan isn't the only one betrayed by Obama. Every American who cherishes the right to freely worship according to the dictates of one's conscience has been betrayed.

At this point, no matter how this all plays out, Obama is going to regret this.

________________

In the Oval Office, President Obama refuses to answer if he stands by contraception rule. Says to reporter: "Come on guys."

With all due respect, that's very sleazy.

If he stands by it, Obama should not hesitate to answer the reporter's question.

Obama lacks character. That's evident. He's tarnishing his legacy.

Ron Johnson: Lack of Budget a 'National Scandal'

2012-02-09T12:15:00.003-06:00

Ron Johnson calls the Democrats' failure to pass a budget, under Obama's "phoning it in" leadership, a "national scandal."

I agree with his assessment. It is a scandal.

From the Daily Caller:

White House spokesman Jay Carney said Wednesday that President Obama has no opinion on Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s assessment that not having a budget creates uncertainty and could damage the economy.

That should be a “national scandal,” according to Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, who lambasted Senate Democrats and Obama for not attempting to pass a budget.

Johnson asked Bernanke at a Tuesday hearing if not passing a federal budget was a problem, even though there were spending caps in place from the Budget Control Act.

“Is uncertainty about the future of the tax code, government programs and so on a negative for growth?” said Bernanke at the Senate Budget Committee hearing. “I think it is, because firms like to have certainty, like to be able to plan.”

Carney was asked by Jake Tapper of ABC News about that comment, and whether the president agrees with Bernanke, or with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who has said it is not necessary to pass a budget this year.

“I have no opinion, the White House has no opinion on Chairman Bernanke’s assessment of how the Senate ought to do it’s business,” said Carney. “What the president believes is important is that the Budget Control Act that was signed into law last year provides the top line spending caps for the coming budget and he will obviously meet those in the budget proposal he puts forward.”

NO OPINION?

The White House has NO OPINION on the Senate's failure to pass a budget?

We need a president who is willing to lead and be engaged in more than NCAA brackets and oppressing Catholics.

Watch Ron Johnson discuss the issue:

I am so glad Ron Johnson is representing me in the U.S. Senate. Finally, I have a voice.

Thank you, Sen. Johnson.

Thank you, fellow Wisconsinites, for voting to fire Russ Feingold.

'Fake Sick Notes' Doctors: Street Corner Exams Better Than Office

2012-02-09T12:00:00.003-06:00

Next time you see a doctor, you might want the exam to take place on the street.

The doctors involved in the union "sick note" scam last year in Madison claim the exams were more thorough than those performed in their offices.

That's scary. And just plain stupid.

From MacIver News Service:

Doctors who handed out sick notes to protesters while on the corner of Mifflin and Hamilton streets last year claim protestors received more thorough examinations on the street in public than they would have at an office visit. This revelation was discoverd in an examination of documents obtained by the MacIver News Service through an open records request.

The Medical Examining Board issued reprimands to seven doctors in October, who had given hundreds of sick notes to protesters last February so they wouldn’t get in trouble for skipping work.

The MacIver News Service was the first to report on the incident with a video catching the doctors in the act. The video included one of the doctor’s examinations, in which the videographer gave a list of trivial symptoms. Dr. Shropeshire said he should take some time off of work and wrote him a note.

...However, during the investigation, the doctors not only defended their actions, but they claimed the exams they provided on the street corner were superior to examinations they perform in their own offices.

“Many evaluations are done on the phone and often are based on a quite brief conversation with my nurse. In that common circumstance I don’t have any conversation with the patient,” said Dr. Louis Sanner, who can be seen in the MNS video. “On February 19, however, I did see and speak with each patient.”

Dr. James Shropeshire, who appeared in the MNS giving a sick note to the videographer, wrote to the MEB, “None of these notes were ‘phony’ or contained false information. I did not distribute blank notes to anyone. My evaluations of these patients were often more comprehensive than those I, or my support staff, perform when we prepare work or school excuses in my office.”

Note to self:

Don't visit the following doctors-

Adam H. Balin
Mark B. Beamsley
Hannah M. Keevil
Bernard F. Micke
Kathleen A. Oriel
James H. Shropshire
Louis A. Sanner
Ronni L. Hayon
Patrick A. McKenna

A visit to their offices would really suck.

Dolan to Obama: 'Stop Intruding Into Internal Life of a Church'

2012-02-09T04:01:00.001-06:00

Obama made a grave miscalculation when he tossed out the First Amendment and assaulted the religious liberty of Catholics.

Really, who thought that would be a good idea?

When a president spits on the Constitution, it's not going to turn out well.

As Americans, we cherish our freedoms.

Generations have fought and died to preserve them.

Does Obama really think that we would just accept his mandate and be OK with his attack on our freedom?

Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan, former Archbishop of Milwaukee, is taking a strong stand against the Obama administration's violation of the Constitution.

From CBS New York:

There was a sharp rebuke Wednesday from Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan that put even more pressure on the president to calm a widening election year uproar. The issue at hand was the president’s insistence that Catholic institutions provide free birth control to their employees.

Dolan came to the South Bronx to bless a library, but he had no blessings — just harsh words — for President Barack Obama, who wants Catholic institutions to pay for birth control, the morning after pill and other services for people who work for them.

“The federal government should do what it’s traditionally done since July 4, 1776, namely back out of intruding into the internal life of a church,” Dolan told CBS 2’s Marcia Kramer.

The leader of the New York Archdiocese picked up support from Speaker John Boehner, who said either Obama reverses the policy or the House will.

“The federal government has drifted dangerously beyond its constitutional boundaries. This attack by the federal government on religious freedom in our country must not stand and will not stand,” Boehner said.

The attacks left the White House foundering. It wants to find some way to calm Catholic opposition, but will not back down on the policy, itself.

“I want to be clear today that the commitment to insuring the women have access to these important health care services remains very strong,” Press Secretary Jay Carney said.

Obama actually supports the oppression of Catholics.

What's happening in America is unreal.

Obama Mandate: Six Things Everyone Should Know

2012-02-09T04:00:00.002-06:00

Here's an informative press release from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops:

WASHINGTON— The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops offers the following clarifications regarding the Health and Human Services regulations on mandatory coverage of contraceptives, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs.

1. The mandate does not exempt Catholic charities, schools, universities, or hospitals. These institutions are vital to the mission of the Church, but HHS does not deem them "religious employers" worthy of conscience protection, because they do not "serve primarily persons who share the[ir] religious tenets. "HHS denies these organizations religious freedom precisely because their purpose is to serve the common good of society—a purpose that government should encourage, not punish.

2. The mandate forces these institutions and others, against their conscience, to pay for things they consider immoral. Under the mandate, the government forces religious insurers to write policies that violate their beliefs; forces religious employers and schools to sponsor and subsidize coverage that violates their beliefs; and forces religious employees and students to purchase coverage that violates their beliefs.

3. The mandate forces coverage of sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs and devices as well as contraception. Though commonly called the "contraceptive mandate," HHS's mandate also forces employers to sponsor and subsidize coverage of sterilization. And by including all drugs approved by the FDA for use as contraceptives, the HHS mandate includes drugs that can induce abortion, such as "Ella," a close cousin of the abortion pill RU-486.

4. Catholics of all political persuasions are unified in their opposition to the mandate. Catholics who have long supported this Administration and its healthcare policies have publicly criticized HHS's decision, including columnists E.J. Dionne. . . , Mark Shields. . . , and Michael Sean Winters. . . ; college presidents Father John Jenkins. . . and Arturo Chavez. . . ; and Daughter of Charity Sister Carol Keehan. . . , president and chief executive officer of the Catholic Health Association of the United States.

5. Many other religious and secular people and groups have spoken out strongly against the mandate. Many recognize this as an assault on the broader principle of religious liberty, even if they disagree with the Church on the underlying moral question. For example, Protestant Christian. . . , Orthodox Christian. . . , and Orthodox Jewish. . . groups--none of which oppose contraception--have issued statements against the HHS's decision. The Washington Post. . . , USA Today. . . , N.Y. Daily News. . . , Detroit News. . . , and other secular outlets, columnists. . . , and bloggers. . . have editorialized against it.

6. The federal mandate is much stricter than existing state mandates. HHS chose the narrowest state-level religious exemption as the model for its own. That exemption was drafted by the ACLU and exists in only 3 states (New York, California, Oregon). Even without a religious exemption, religious employers can already avoid the contraceptive mandates in 28 states by self-insuring their prescription drug coverage, dropping that coverage altogether, or opting for regulation under a federal law (ERISA) that pre-empts state law. The HHS mandate closes off all these avenues of relief.

Additional information on the U.S. Catholic bishops’ stance on religious liberty, conscience protection and the HHS ruling regarding mandatory coverage of contraceptives, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs is available at http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/conscience-protection/index.cfm.

What should give Obama serious pause is the way leaders of other religions have joined Catholics in their opposition to this unconstitutional assault on religious liberty.

As Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki wrote:

"We cannot—we will not—comply with this unjust law."

Gwen Moore Attacks Catholics

2012-02-09T00:01:00.005-06:00

Rep. Gwen Moore went to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives and trashed the Catholic Church.

She was angry and raised her voice.

Moore can scream as loud as she wants but it won't alter reality.

FACT: Obama is attacking religious freedom. He's shredding the Constitution.

From TMJ4:

A contraception controversy is heating up. Should employers, including religious groups, be forced to provide free birth control?

It's a growing conflict among Catholics. The church teaches them contraceptives are wrong, but the Obama Administration is telling them religious institutions must cover contraceptives free of charge for their employees, churches are exempt.

...Milwaukee Democrat Gwen Moore defended the president's policy in Congress and went after those who disagreed.

"No one is trying to take away religious freedom," said Rep. Moore. "The concept of separation of church and state does not mean a church can use their bully pulpit to separate millions of women from critical health care benefits."

Moore is wrong.

Of course, Obama is attacking religious freedom by FORCING religious institutions to act against the teachings on which they're grounded.

Moore's attack on the Catholic Church for what she calls its use of the "bully pulpit to separate millions of women from critical health care benefits" is really out of line.

Is Moore aware of the Bill of Rights?

Has she heard of the First Amendment?

I know she's following the tyrant Obama's lead. That's no excuse.

Moore is using terrible judgment by siding with Obama.

He's going to lose this battle.

He can't tread on our religious freedom. He can't.

Here's video of the disgraceful Moore defending the tyrannical Obama:

_____________

UPDATE: Gwen Moore claims being exposed to pregnancy is a danger to women's health.

Video:

GWEN MOORE: ...Not allowing the Church to stand on its bully pulpit and separate women from critical, vital health care needs. The National Institute of Health has said that it is a danger to women's health and safety of their families that for 30 years to be exposed to the prospects of pregnancy.

Hamilton High School - Student Attacks Assistant Principal

2012-02-09T00:00:00.000-06:00

The thugs attending Milwaukee Public Schools are spreading the violence, and arrests, around.
February 6, 2012 - Bay View High School, 12 arrested.

January 30, 2012 - Madison High School.

January 27, 2012 - Madison High School, 11 arrested.

January 26, 2012 - Washington High School, 12 arrested.

On February 7, 2012, there was an incident at Hamilton High School.

From WISN TV:

Milwaukee police said an assistant principal at Hamilton High School was attacked by a student.

Police spokeswoman Anne Schwartz said police used pepper spray to bring the student under control.

One officer was treated for a minor injury after being exposed to the pepper spray.

The student was arrested on a felony charge.

MPS said the student has been removed from Hamilton High School and will be placed in an alternative program for students with behavior problems.

"We will not let the actions of a few disrupt the education of 80,000 students," MPS spokesman Tony Tagliavia told 12 News.

This is horrible.

It's good that the student was arrested on a felony charge.

There must be consequences for these thugs, and they are thugs.

Removing them from school is appropriate. They shouldn't be allowed to be a permanent distraction to the students actually interested in getting an education, working for a bright future.

Students shouldn't fear for their safety while at school.

It's crazy that police have to be called and students are arrested.

The level of violence is frightening.

I can't help but think that these thugs are Milwaukee's future adult population. It's a very scary thought.
______________

The news from MPS isn't all bad. Read more.

Congratulations, Felix Ramsey!

Santorum, Catholics, and Obama

2012-02-08T04:01:00.011-06:00

During his victory speech in Missouri last night, Rick Santorum addressed Obama's assault on Catholics and religious freedom.

RICK SANTORUM: Look what happens when the government gives you rights. When the government gives you rights, unlike when God gives you rights, the government can take them away. When government gives you rights, the government can tell you how to exercise those rights.

And we saw that just in the last week with a group of people, a small group of people, just Catholics in the United States of America, who were told you'd have a right to health care but you will have the health care that we will tell you you have to give your people, whether it is against the teachings of your church or not.

I never thought, as a first generation American, whose parents and grandparents loved freedom and came here because they didn't want the government telling them what to believe and how to believe it, that we had a First Amendment that actually stood for freedom of conscience, that we'd have a president of the United States who would roll over that and impose his secular values on the people of this country.

And it's worse than that. When one of the Catholic bishops tried to communicate that through Army chaplains, the Obama administration said, 'No you can't do that. No, because your language is seditious.' And they made them change the language of a letter from a bishop to his people.

Ladies and gentlemen, freedom is at stake in this election. We need to be the voice for freedom.

In that founding document, the Declaration of Independence, at the end of that document, those founders signed their names. But the last clause of that document says we pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.

Ladies and gentlemen, every generation of Americans doesn't create freedom, but they have, in many respects, a harder job. They have to maintain freedom.

Your charge tonight, your charge tonight here in Missouri - because we're not done yet with you here in Missouri, you've got a caucus coming up next month - is to go out and pledge, pledge, no, not your lives. (Maybe your fortune. RickSantorum.com is the website.) But your honor, the honor that you stand on on the backs and the shoulders of your ancestors, the people here in St. Louis, the people here in Missouri, the people across this country who sacrificed for this country, for the freedoms we have.

America's honor, your honor, is at stake. Go out and preserve the greatest country in the history of the world.

That's stirring.

Santorum is an excellent speaker. I think it's because he sincerely believes what he's saying. It's easy to sound sincere when you are.

This election truly is about freedom.

I am horrified that my rights are under assault.

Obama is rolling over the First Amendment. I won't accept this oppression.

Nothing he can do now can change what he's done. Every American knows with certitude that Obama will shred the Constitution, attacking religious liberty.

If Obama voluntarily reverses his unconstitutional mandate attacking Catholics, that won't alter the fact that he's a tyrant.

Rick Santorum Sweep - Victory Speech (Video)

2012-02-08T04:01:00.006-06:00

I think it's time to take Rick Santorum seriously. His tenacity has paid off.

He had a very good Tuesday.

Watch Santorum's victory speech.

RICK SANTORUM: Ladies and gentlemen, I don't stand here to claim to be the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney. I stand here to be the conservative alternative to Barack Obama.

Chris Matthews: Obama Mandate 'Frightening'

2012-02-08T04:00:00.002-06:00

Can it be?

Can it be Chris Matthews actually understands that Obama's assault on Catholics is "frightening"?

Video.

Matthews claims to be a Roman Catholic.

He must be so conflicted.

Michelle Obama and Jimmy Fallon (Video)

2012-02-08T00:01:00.001-06:00

Jimmy Fallon takes on Michelle Obama in a series of physical competitions at the White House.

Guess who wins?

The spot raises awareness for Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" initiative.

Here's video:

Jon Huntsman and Jay Leno (Video)

2012-02-08T00:00:00.009-06:00

Jay Leno is really getting annoying.

I'm so sick of his political yapping.

Jon Huntsman was his guest on Tuesday night. Leno fawned all over him and Huntsman lapped it up.

Of course, lib Leno would never have supported him over Obama. Nonetheless, he kept singing Huntsman's praises.

Huntsman, for his part, all but denounced his Republican party affiliation and endorsed Obama.

JON HUNTSMAN: I think this kind of churning, this kind of debate is actually very good for the party, because the party I'm not sure knows what it is.

JAY LENO: See, I don't know what it is. When I was a kid, Republicans were about defense and fiscal responsibility. Now it's about, 'A condom! Oh my God! Get that outta here!' I mean, when did it become the party of all these social issues?

HUNTSMAN: Well, so, you know, if you believe in science as I do, if you're in favor of civil unions as I am, uh, then sometimes you get a few doors closed on you.

But I say, OK, let's go back to the origins of the Republican party, back, you know, to 1864, 1865, where you had our first election. That guy lost, John Frémont. And then Abraham Lincoln won in 1860. He did OK.

So you drop from Abraham Lincoln, who stood for individual respect and dignity; and then you had Theodore Roosevelt who cared about the land and environmental issues; you had Eisenhower who built the interstate, who cared about infrastructure. People forget that Richard Nixon, despite all of his travails and drama, he created the EPA. He created the National Cancer Institute, the National Institutes of Health.

And so I say we're drawing from a broad literature of successes. We forget, you know, that there's some history to the Republican party, and I think we do ourselves a disservice in this nation when we forget about that. But I'm also convinced that we're at a point in time where we're likely to see a third party movement that is very significant in the years to come.

Obviously, Huntsman has some problems with his dates.

It's also clear that Huntsman wants to be the go-to guy for a third party.

When Leno asked him if he'd run again, he was open to it.

Leno ended the interview by calling Huntsman a "true gentleman" and "great American." Leno said he hopes he gets back in the race again.

Right. As if Leno would ever vote for a Republican for president.

I'm sick of the Left's mantra that the Republican party is a bunch of extremists who focus foremost on social issues.

That's false.

Leno's constant reiteration of that Leftist lie is pure propaganda. Drives me nuts.

The Democrats/Leftists are ruthless when it comes to their pet "social issues." They go for the jugular. Their viciousness and bullying is really jawdropping. Think of the Komen - Planned Parenthood rumble.

If a Leftist doesn't tow the party line, the individual is not only booted out from under the tent, the person is ripped to shreds.

Democrats/Leftists set out to completely destroy conservatives. Respectful disagreement is out of the question.

Leno has to stop stating that Republicans are the extremists and the Democrats are moderates.

It's not true.
_______________

Here's video from the segment:

Jon Huntsman on Newt Gingrich

Jon Huntsman on Donald Trump

Rush Limbaugh: Clint Eastwood 'Halftime in America' Parody

2012-02-08T00:00:00.004-06:00

Clint Eastwood's Super Bowl ad, "Halftime in America," is perhaps generating the most discussion of all the commercials.

Here's the ad:

Kind of weird coming from Clint Eastwood.

Leftists are thrilled, claiming Eastwood embraced the bailout of Chrysler and is on board with Obama.

Eastwood begs to differ, sort of:

Clint Eastwood is setting the record straight on the Chrysler Super Bowl ad and claims in the liberal blogosphere and elsewhere that it was an implicit endorsement of President Obama and his decision to support the bailout of the U.S. auto industry.

"I am certainly not affiliated with Mr. Obama," Mr. Eastwood told a Fox News producer for "The O'Reilly Factor" on Monday. "It was meant to be a message just about job growth and the spirit of America. I think all politicians will agree with it. I thought the spirit was OK."

The gripping spot heralded the car industry's comeback — for which Mr. Obama increasingly has sought to claim credit in recent weeks — and rallied Americans to work together to help rebuild the entire economy, using Mr. Eastwood's trademark no-nonsense language.

...Mr. Obama's supporters started laying claim to the "Halftime in America" ad after David Axelrod, the president's chief political strategist, tweeted about it Sunday night, deeming it a "powerful spot."

Karl Rove, a former adviser to President George W. Bush, then said the ad "offended" him and accused Mr. Obama's "political minions" of "using our tax dollars to buy corporate advertising." White House spokesman Jay Carney on Monday said the Obama administration had absolutely no involvement in ad and didn't even know about it until it aired.

Trying to clear the air, Mr. Eastwood said that he's not supporting any politician at this time and that any money Chrysler paid him went to charity.

"If Obama or any other politician wants to run with the spirit of the ad, go for it," he told Fox News.

Eastwood has decided to balance on the political fence.

From The Hollywood Reporter:

The right and left are having their fun goofing on Clint Eastwood’s controversial Super Bowl ad, with probably the most significant parody being broadcast multiple times Tuesday on Rush Limbaugh’s nationally syndicated radio show.

“When somebody tells me Clint Eastwood did a halftime commercial for Chrysler, I expect it to be something like this,” Limbaugh told his 20 million listeners....

Here's the parody, the Eastwood ad Limbaugh-style:

GAB Won't Verify Signatures

2012-02-07T19:20:00.003-06:00

The Government Accountability Board is a disgrace.

From MacIver News Service:

Citizens not affiliated with either the recall organizations or the office holders targeted for recall this spring have found scores of problems with the petitions, but Wisconsin’s elections watchdogs have decided they will not consider any of their evidence.

GAB Director and General Counsel Kevin Kennedy said there is no process in place for accepting information from outside groups and individuals. Governor Scott Walker and the four Republican state senators against whom recall petitions were filed last month are the only parties that can contest the validity of signatures, according to Kennedy.

The GAB will not investigate or consider independently-submitted evidence of recall petition fraud. This includes circumstances wherein individuals might notify the board that their own name and forged signature were submitted.

According to the GAB, anyone concerned that their signature was fraudulently included on a recall petition, therefore, must notify not the GAB, but rather the target of the recall. In addition, they must do so by the challenge deadline if they want that signature reviewed and ultimately, possibly, struck.

Can you imagine what the outcry would be like if a board stacked with Republicans issued such a declaration?

Good grief. The shouts of "SHAME, SHAME, SHAME" would echo well beyond the borders of Wisconsin.

The GAB is so wrong on this.

Obviously, it's not an "ACCOUNTABILITY BOARD" at all.

Truly disgraceful.

________________

Mark Belling took time out of his cruise to release this statement on the "Government Accountability Board Refusing To Do Its Job":

In all my years of following Wisconsin politics, the decision by the Jim Doyle-appointed "judges" on the Government Accountability Board is the biggest disgrace I have ever seen. The GAB is making up the law as it goes along in attempt to put the fix in for the Democrat Party. The Board's statement that it will not attempt to verify petition signatures is outrageous enough. It's like a police department saying it won't investigate murder. But the board went on to say it will not accept challenges from the Verify The Recall group or, for that matter, anyone else.

This decision reflects on the lack of character of the members of the board. A
Wisconsin citizen who finds thast his/her name is wrongly signed on a recall petition now has literally no recourse. Further, since, by law, Verify The Recall cannot coordinate its efforts with Governor Walker's campaign, it will not be able to share the information it has dug up. The GAB executive director, Kevin Kennedy, is a longtime Madison hack whose tenure at the State Board of Election was filled with one outrage after another. But he, and the board he reports to, are outdoing themselves here. These recall petitions are ridiculed with fraud which is precisely why the Doyle-appointed GAB won't do anything about it.

Now we know what it was like to live under Stalin, or in Iran.

------Mark Belling

February 7, 2012

Karen Handel

2012-02-07T19:15:00.003-06:00

The Planned Parenthood bullying of the Susan G. Komen Foundation continues.

Karen Handel felt she had the responsibility to step aside for the good of the organization. In effect, the Planned Parenthood thugs forced her out via their vicious attacks on the organization.

Here's video of Megyn Kelly interviewing Handel:

Obama and Marshmallow Launch (Video)

2012-02-07T19:00:00.000-06:00

Obama: Milwaukee, February 15

2012-02-07T04:01:00.000-06:00

For some reason, Obama will be in Milwaukee next Wednesday.

From WISN TV:

12 News reporter Kent Wainscott learned that Obama will visit Milwaukee on Feb. 15.

The White House has confirmed the visit, but is not releasing any further details on the visit at this time.

WISN 12 News was told the visit is an official one and not a campaign stop.

Not a campaign stop.

YEAH, RIGHT!

Of course, it's a campaign stop.

I doubt that Obama is coming to Milwaukee to point out that the city has its lowest level of black male employment ever recorded.

What sort of official presidential business does Obama have in Milwaukee? What's the environmental footprint of this romp? Not very green.

This is just more campaigning on the taxpayers' dime.

The Associated Press tries to connect Obama's visit with Scott Walker.

Obama was last in Wisconsin on Jan. 26, 2011, when he came to Manitowoc the day after his State of the Union address.

Just over two weeks later, Gov. Scott Walker unveiled his collective bargaining plan that set off massive protests and led to the ongoing effort to recall him from office.

Walker's spokesman did not know if the governor planned on greeting Obama on this trip like he did last time.

Is Obama coming to Milwaukee to campaign against Walker?

Good grief.

On TMJ4's 10:00 PM newscast, anchor Mike Jacobs actually said that Obama's trip coincides with the anniversary of the Capitol Chaos.

The Leftist media certainly appear to want to frame Obama's visit as political.

Besides, I don't know if Obama has any "official" business anymore.

Obama: 'I Deserve Second Term' (Video)

2012-02-07T04:00:00.001-06:00

I don't like it when the Super Bowl pregame show is interrupted with a lame Obama interview. It really bugs me. It's so out of place.

Obama and Matt Lauer?

No thank you.

I saw the interview begin, the chitchat. I left the room. So, I missed this part of the Obama Super Bowl Sunday intrusion:

Transcript

MATT LAUER: Three years ago, we sat for this interview on Super Bowl Sunday. You had been president for just 10 days. And we talked about the state of the economy which was in dire straits. And you said this to me, quote: 'If I don't have this done in three years, then it's going to be a one-term proposition.' You got good news on Friday in terms of jobs. The unemployment rate went down to 8.3 percent. But I think if you go out on the street and you ask average Americans 'Is the recovery done?' overwhelmingly they will tell you it is not. So, do you deserve a second term?

OBAMA: I deserve a second term, but we're not done.

But Obama said if the recovery is not done in three years, he's going to be a one-termer.

Now, he's redefining success.

The way Lauer set up the question for Obama made me feel like I was watching a state-run TV network, the propaganda machine chugging along.

It's as if we're supposed to accept Obama's failure and view it as a job well done.

Khalilah Ford

2012-02-07T00:02:00.005-06:00

Finally, authorities have named the African American female student responsible for throwing the UW-Parkside campus into a panic.

It's Khalilah Ford, a 21-year-old junior.

The former student at UW-Parkside allegedly threatened to commit hate crimes on campus.

Here's the story from FOX6 News:

The Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department has released the name of the student who allegedly created a “hit list” (with her own name included) targeting African-American students. Officials say 21-year-old UW-Parkside junior Khalilah Ford, of Louisville, Kentucky, confessed to creating the hit list found on campus last week. The hit list was found after two nooses were found, made from rubber bands. The incidents created fear on campus, and led to a meeting of the student body, before it became clear the situation was a “hoax.”

Officials say Ford sent a fake threat to the student who discovered a noose made of rubber bands in the Pike River Suites dorm. Then, detective say Ford put her own name, along with the names of other African-American students on the hit list, discovered in the dorm Thursday night. Ford allegedly told officials she created the hit list because she didn’t feel the noose incidents were being taken seriously enough. Ford did not admit to creating the nooses – just the hit list and a threatening note.

Officials say charges of disorderly conduct and obstructing an officer are being requested, and if the Kenosha County District Attorney’s office agrees with the sheriff’s department’s assessment of the case, Ford will be mailed a notice to appear in court.

Kenosha County Sheriff. Bill Beth says Ford’s name was the only name to appear spelled correctly on the hit list, and that was a big clue for detectives.

That wasn't too bright.

If Ford wanted to pull off her "hoax," she should have misspelled her name as well if she couldn't spell the names of the students she targeted. How does one misspell all those names on the hit list?

Ford is on “emergency suspension” and not on campus. UW-Parkside Interim Dean of Students Cynthia Graham says Ford has withdrawn from school, and also says the school is re-evaluating how it handles racist incidents in the future.

It's good that Ford dropped out of Parkside. The university doesn't have to expel her, possibly making her appear to be a victim in some people's eyes.

Here's more on Khalilah Ford, from the Journal-Times:

Detectives are requesting that the Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office file charges against Khalilah N. Ford, 21, of Louisville, after detectives said evidence implicated her amid an investigation into a series of reportedly racially motivated incidents on campus last week, which included two purported nooses and the alleged “hit list.” Ford’s name was released Monday afternoon as the person who created this list of targeted students.

The incidents coincided with the beginning of Black History Month.

If approved, Ford could be charged with disorderly conduct and obstructing an officer, the sheriff’s department stated.

...If prosecutors agree to charge her, Ford would be sent a notice through the mail informing her to appear in court. No court date has been set.

Multiple messages were left Monday for several staff with the Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office, but they weren’t available for comment.

Attempts to reach Banks on Monday also proved unsuccessful.

The university, at 900 Wood Road, hosted campus-wide meetings at the end of last week. Administrators and police also increased security patrols and opened a criminal investigation.

Parkside spokesman Dave Buchanan said while officials are expected to charge Ford, detectives still are investigating. Other charges could be filed later against subsequent suspects.

“But it’s not over with yet,” he said.

There is no question that Ford should be charged.

Her stunt went on for days. It wasn't a momentary lapse in judgment. She escalated the situation, knowing the fear she was inciting. Her behavior was inexcusable.

A 21-year-old woman doesn't stage hate crimes. She intentionally caused individuals to fear for their physical safety. She tortured them emotionally.

"[F]liers containing racial slurs were found listing several black students and Ford by name and stated they were going to die in two days."

That's not a harmless prank.

Ford should be held accountable. She's an adult. Actions have consequences. I hope. I hope there will be consequences for Ford in this case.

Here's video, from FOX6 News:

Bay View High School Fight - 12 Arrested

2012-02-07T00:01:00.000-06:00

It's unfortunate, but when I think of Milwaukee public schools, I think of violence. I know there must be some hardworking students and devoted teachers, but the frequent serious violent incidents are difficult to dismiss.

On January 26, 2012, a fight at Washington High School resulted in 12 arrests.

The following day, a fight at Madison High School ended with a police officer injured and 11 arrests.

On Monday, Bay View High School was the site of the latest public school disgrace.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Another melee Monday at a Milwaukee high school resulted in 12 students being taken into custody and cited for disorderly conduct.

Police were called to Bay View High School, 2751 South Lenox St., about 2 p.m. for a fight inside the building, Milwaukee Public Schools spokesman Tony Tagliavia said.

The students later were released, but they will not be allowed to return to school and the district will seek alternative placement for them, Tagliavia said.

No one was injured in the incident, the fourth in less than two weeks in which police had to be called to quell disturbances at an MPS high school.

A police officer was injured Jan. 30 at Madison Academic Campus at N. 81st and W. Florist Ave. shortly after officers were called to the school to break up a fight between a female student and a woman who came to the school to confront her. Three boys were arrested in connection with the incident in which the officer was injured.

On Jan. 27 officers called to Madison for multiple fights Tasered a girl who kicked one of the officers in the face during a disturbance in which 11 people were arrested. That incident followed a fight at Washington High School the day before in which 12 students were taken into custody.

The thugs involved in these fights certainly aren't at school to get an education.

They need to be removed permanently. They should not be allowed to drag down the schools and disrupt learning. Surely, some students attending the schools want an education. Some must have goals for higher learning. Right?

Those kids need to be protected. Their futures are at stake.

The thugs must be placed in a school that is meant to handle sociopaths. Sadly, MPS needs a facility like that.

I really have no idea how many Milwaukee public high school students are behavioral problems. Maybe it would be easier to have one facility to cater to the kids who want to learn and let the other schools remain as dens of chaos and violence.

Leno: Bill Belichick, Letterman

2012-02-07T00:00:00.000-06:00

JAY LENO: And Patriots Coach Bill Belichick, he's pretty curmudgeonly anyway. He was not happy after the game. I haven't seen a man that miserable come out of Indiana since... Letterman.

Hari Trivedi for Governor

2012-02-06T18:00:00.000-06:00

He's baaack!

The weekend before the 2010 election for Wisconsin's governor, I saw an odd commercial. Because it aired during Saturday Night Live, I initially thought it was a joke. It didn't look real, but it was.

Hariprasad Trivedi, a physician and professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin was running a write-in campaign for governor.

Hari Trivedi is running for the same office again.

This time, many more people saw his commercial. It ran before and after the SUPER BOWL - kind of a high profile airing compared to the ad time he brought for his 2010 candidacy.

Here's the ad:

Trivedi intends to run as an "independent candidate for governor of Wisconsin."

The ad is "Paid for by Hariprasad Trivedi Committee to Elect for Governor, Hariprasad Trivedi, Treasurer; Approved by Hariprasad Trivedi."

Here's Trivedi's website.

His biography is exactly the same one he used in his 2010 bid.

It's not really a "biography."

This guy must have money to burn.

Paul Ryan Goatee

2012-02-06T12:00:00.002-06:00

Paul Ryan, dream Republican presidential candidate, is growing a goatee.

U.S. presidents and vice presidents haven't had facial hair adornments for generations.

(Nixon's permanent shadow doesn't count.)

Is Ryan sending a message?

I kind of like it. I just don't understand it.

In recent years, public figures grow facial hair when they go off the deep end. Think Al Gore. Think Conan O'Brien. It's a rebellion of sorts.

A goatee doesn't say, "Think of me as leader of the free world."

It says, "Eat some Swedish pancakes and meatballs."

One Year Ago Today

2012-02-06T11:59:00.000-06:00

Clint Eastwood: Halftime in America

2012-02-06T04:01:00.000-06:00

Clint Eastwood delivered a message during the Super Bowl.

He said it's halftime. He wasn't talking about the game. He was talking about America. Actually, he was talking about the taxpayers' bailout of Chrysler in a positive light. Kind of strange coming from Eastwood.

Here's the commercial:

OK. Let's go with the halftime analogy.

We need to make some major adjustments in the second half or we're going to lose.

Of course, rushing the passer is important. We need to sack the quarterback.

Defense isn't enough to make us victorious. We need to sharpen our offense.

If we don't make the necessary adjustments now, if our team is sloppy and loses focus, we will be defeated.

M.I.A. Super Bowl Finger: NBC, NFL Apology

2012-02-06T04:00:00.001-06:00

Another Super Bowl, another halftime controversy, another silly set of apologies.

The problem: M.I.A. didn't act like a lady when she performed with Madonna. (I'm shocked!!!)

She embarrassed herself by flipping the bird during a close-up.

Charming!

Video:

NBC has apologized.

From The Hollywood Reporter:

NBC and the NFL have apologized for M.I.A.'s middle finger moment during Sunday's Super Bowl halftime show.

The rapper flipped the bird while performing alongside Madonna and Nicki Minaj on the network's telecast, which was watched by millions as one of the biggest events on television.

"The NFL hired the talent and produced the halftime show," NBC said in a statement to THR. "Our system was late to obscure the inappropriate gesture and we apologize to our viewers."

For its part, the NFL released a statement that seemed to blame the fault delay system for the airing of the gesture. "There was a failure in NBC's delay system. The obscene gesture in the performance was completely inappropriate, very disappointing, and we apologize to our fans."

NBC blames the NFL for hiring M.I.A. and the NFL blames NBC for its delay system.

I think they're both at fault.

The apologies are for the viewers who were offended, but I don't think any heads will roll at NBC because of this. No big deal. In fact, I think NBC is pleased there was some controversy to keep people talking.

The NFL can pin the blame on NBC and avoid taking responsibility for the crude gesture. By calling out NBC, the NFL can avoid being held accountable for M.I.A.'s inappropriate behavior while avoiding criticism that its halftime acts are too safe and geriatric.

And for her part, the once edgy Madonna, now a middle-aged woman (if one lives to be 106), didn't have to misbehave. She had a surrogate do the dirty work.

So, the apology statements have been made, but I don't think NBC or the NFL are actually sorry. I'm sure there are no regrets.

Happy 101st Birthday, Ronald Reagan!

2012-02-06T00:00:00.001-06:00

Madonna Super Bowl Reviews (Video)

2012-02-05T23:00:00.005-06:00

Nicki Minaj, Madonna and MIA perform during the Bridgestone Super Bowl XLVI Halftime Show at Lucas Oil Stadium on February 5, 2012 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo-Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)

I wouldn't say reviews of Madonna's Super Bowl Halftime extravaganza are very enthusiastic. They aren't bad, but they're not great.

Here's video of the Super Bowl XLVI Halftime Show:

Here's a sampling of reviews of Madonna's Super Bowl halftime performance:
Los Angeles Times:

To label the selection of Madonna as a halftime performer at the Super Bowl as curious is to neglect the surreal history of what has become one of the year's most discussed 10 minutes of music on American television. From the high-water mark Janet Jackson-Justin Timberlake nip slip to the weird nonsequitur Rolling Stones gig to a children's choir singing "Michael Row the Boat Ashore," the Super Bowl has never been short on ridiculousness.

But all different kinds of musical craziness had nothing on this year's Bridgestone Super Bowl XLVI Halftime Show performance. Madonna was defiantly unconcerned with the more conservative red state wing of the football fan base who'd never be caught dead singing along to one of her songs, and her halftime show was pure spectacle by the Cleopatra of the game.

Think about it. In less than 10 minutes, America watched marching warriors pulling a massive chariot; faux trumpeters announcing the arrival of Madonna; a man name Redfoo with a ridiculously large afro fronting a duo called LMFAO; a polyglot British-Sri Lankan rapper slyly flipping the bird at the camera; a cartoonish multiple-personality Nicki Minaj; and a charismatic Buddha of a singer with a golden voice in one of the best bandleader outfits ever created, to say nothing of his stunning black choir robe.

At the center of it all was Madonna in her element, vogueing with a break-dancing lyre player, riding a bejeweled human serpent, slipping into her best single of the '00s, "Music," dancing near a tightrope walker who did a back flip as she passed, and sitting on Redfoo's shoulders during a mash-up with LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem." We saw Madonna looking absolutely silly as a 53-year-old cheerleader with equally noncheerleaders M.I.A. and rapper Minaj, and, perhaps most improbable of all, Madonna in front of a church choir pretending to be chaste.

...But despite its success AND extravagance, this whole halftime package most of all was little more than an ingeniously well planned — and shockingly transparent — advertisement for "MDNA," and not much more. The rollout for the album began with the announcement that she'd be performing at the Super Bowl and was teased by a music video released Friday for her new single, "Give Me All You're Luvin'," featuring Minaj and with a remix also featuring LMFAO, which, of course, she performed. Talk about marketing to a lot of eyeballs.

But then Madonna is Madonna for a reason. And we saw it firsthand Sunday.

Chicago Sun-Times:

Leave it to Madonna to transition from over-the-top Roman decadence to a gospel revival meetin' within the span of barely 15 minutes.

The veteran pop star's satisfying halftime spectacle in the middle of Sunday night's Super Bowl XLVI hopscotched through her musical career and featured its own second string team of special guests.

Entering Indianapolis' Lucas Oil Stadium in full Cleopatra mode, the mighty Madonna Louise Ciccone, now 53, was preceded by a legion of Roman soldiers clad in black and gold armor. Revealed behind enormous palm fronds, she barked, "What are you looking at?" before launching into "Vogue." Poses were struck, nothing was to it.

The Material Girl's next song was the dancefloor-designed title track to her 2000 album "Music," and from that point on, Madonna's performance wasn't entirely her own.

A track-suited dancer flipped back and forth on a tight wire, while Madonna bobbed helplessly to one side. As the song ended, the wacky rock duo LMFAO joined Madge on stage for a smidge of their own "Party Rock Anthem" and "Sexy and I Know It."

Next up was "Give Me All Your Luvin'," the humdrum single released ahead of next month's new Madonna album, "MDNA." As in the video for the thin, self-celebratory dance-pop tune -- complete with a shameless tied-in football motif -- Madonna (now shaking golden pom poms) shared the spotlight with M.I.A., Nicki Minaj and a squad of gyrating cheerleaders.

If everything's over-the-top (including the marketing) and the costumes are outlandish, you know who comes next. After a marching drum corps strode on stage, suggesting a Fleetwood Mac appearance, the omnipresent Cee Lo Green joined Madonna for a one-two punch finale of "Express Yourself" and "Like a Prayer." Despite the song's gospel groove and Green's sequined choir robe, no one, thank heaven, Tebowed.

Green didn't contribute much and seemed to be there largely as a means of promoting "The Voice." This is Madonna, and she sounded great (however "supported" her vocals might have been) by herself. It's the Super Bowl, of course, so spectacle is a given. But with all these side characters crowding her on stage as well as in the new video and recording, we're left to wonder as we approach another album from once such a singular personality: Can this sister still do it for herself?

The show's ending was anticlimactic -- but interesting. Instead of basking in a flash-bulbed, curtain-call moment, Madonna suddenly disappeared through a smoke-shrouded trap door. She sang the last note from under the stage, while our focus was redirected to the words "World Peace" illuminated across the Super Bowl field. An admirable momentary secession of her own glory.

Philadelphia Inquirer:

Where does the the Madonna Super Bowl half time show rank with the competition? I'd put it above the Black Eyed Peas and The Who, below Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, and not even close to Prince, the clear gold standard of recent years.

The Material Mum started out pretending she was Cleopatra with a phalanx of faux-Roman dancers on "Vogue," then moved into her fabulous electro-pop hit "Music," with those two hairy dudes from LMFAO acting as helpmates.

Next was the new single "Give Me All Your Luvin'," with Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. chanting their role model / employer's name. Minaj's rapid-fire rap gave the ultra-choreographed performance a welcome burst of energy, and agit-popstress M.I.A. was clearly prepared for the criticism that participating in such a mainstream extravaganza might gain her grief with her indie fanbase. Her strategy: Flipping the entire world the bird on television, with NBC techies failing in their attempt to scramble her one raised digit.

Was that the most interesting thing that happened during the entire performance, during which it never appeared that Madonna was doing her own singing? Probably.

New York Times:

The bad girl is a grown-up now, like it or not. Madonna, 53, danced her way back toward worldwide visibility Sunday as the halftime attraction for the Super Bowl, with a giant supporting cast — gladiators, acrobats, cheerleaders, drummers, a gospel choir — and a downright benign stance.

She sang about dancing, music, loving and praying, with a little star power on the side. It’s impossible to guess what the Madonna of decades past, fascinated with lust, power, religion and transgression, might have done with this platform. But it’s probably not something the Super Bowl would have booked in the first place.

...For the worldwide audience of her halftime show, Madonna went all out on spectacle; at the Super Bowl, anything less would be dwarfed. She arrived on the field to sing “Vogue” as a gold-robed queen with a platoon of gladiators, dancing on a giant throne and doing precise, right-angle moves amid acrobats from Cirque du Soleil. “Music” brought her to the top of a bleacher-like set surrounded by more acrobatics; soon, she was assisted in cartwheels that had her head-over-heels. The pop duo LMFAO joined her, interspersing their 2011 hit “Party Rock Anthem” and giving Madonna a chance to deliver the line “I’m sexy and I know it” from another LMFAO song.

As a chorus line of cheerleaders filled the stage, Madonna grabbed golden pompoms for “Give Me All Your Luvin’,” which has a handclapping beat reminiscent of Toni Basil’s 1982 “Mickey.” It’s a heavy-handedly self-promoting song — “L-U-V Madonna, Y-O-U you wanna” — that’s second-tier Madonna at best. Guest raps by Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. didn’t make the song’s retro-rock any fresher. But M.I.A. offered the Super Bowl set’s glimmer of transgression: Her verse included half of a four-letter word while she raised her middle finger.

The drum corps appeared, with the singer Cee Lo Green, to back Madonna and Green for snippets of her “Open Your Heart” and “Express Yourself.” Then came the reverence in “Like a Prayer,” a song that has shed any hint of double-entendre it might have had when it was released in 1989. A black-and-white-robed choir joined Green and Madonna, who had gotten herself into a long dress. The stadium flickered with white lights, Green belted like a soul-gospel singer and Madonna beamed, on and off her knees, until she disappeared in a blast of smoke, singing, “I hear you call my name and it feels like home.”

Madonna wasn’t the indefatigable trouper of years past. Though she’s still lithe, she measured her moves, letting her supporting cast offer distractions. As she climbed into the bleachers during “Music,” she missed a step, though she recovered fast. At the Super Bowl, Madonna was the party girl turned regent: a queen on her throne, a homecoming queen strutting in the bleachers, a church singer fronting a choir. At the end, the words World Peace glowed from the field in giant letters. Madonna was proffering virtue.

CBS New York:

Madonna positioned herself as the queen of a new generation of pop stars at the Super Bowl halftime show — complete with throne — but didn’t have complete control of her show.

Guest singer M.I.A. flipped the middle finger to the audience after uttering a barely disguised expletive during a performance of Madonna’s new single. M.I.A. was one of two guests who contributed vocals to the bubblegum pop song, “Give Me All Your Luvin’,” along with Nicki Minaj. Dance rockers LMFAO and singer Cee Lo also joined the halftime show.

“Madonna rocking … well received here in the stadium,” WFAN’s Boomer Esiason posted to his Twitter account.

“When did Madonna forget how to dance?” tweeted Craig Carton, Boomer’s morning show co-host. “Oh thats right last time she had a hit.”

Madonna seemed like Roman royalty when muscle-bound men carried her extravagant throne across the football field to the stage for her opening song, “Vogue.”

The singing and dancing on that song was smartly choreographed, as Madonna moved more deliberately but still adroitly in moves that took into account that she’s now in her 50s. She briefly appeared to stumble at one point while trying to make a step on the stage set, but recovered in time.

She let a tightrope walker make the more acrobatic moves during a performance of “Music.”

That song was augmented by dance rockers LMFAO, who performed a snippet of “Party Rock” as Madonna joined them in a brief routine.

Madonna carried gold pompons for a performance of her new single. Twitter was alight with questions about the vocals being lip synched or augmented by tapes, particularly during this song.

At the end of her lines, M.I.A. appeared to sing “I don’t give a (expletive),” although it was hard to hear clearly. Her extension of a middle finger to the audience was clearly visible, though. The camera shot briefly blurred after that, but too late.

The best guest was clearly Cee Lo, who joined Madonna for the final song, “Like a Prayer.” They were joined by a robed chorus in the show’s most soaring performance.

With a puff of white smoke, Madonna disappeared down a trap door in the stage, and lights on the field spelled out “World Peace.”

The veteran star’s vocals were not strong throughout, lending to the sense of distance during the spectacle.

Billboard:

It's Madonna Louise Ciccone's world, we're just living in it. The pop icon took to the world's biggest stage to rock three-and-a-half older tracks and a playful new song during the Super Bowl halftime show.

Entering on a golden throne pushed by an army of dancing Roman gladiators, the 53-year-old singer started things off with her 1990 classic "Vogue." Around ten backup dancers kept the pace as she sauntered the scene in a head piece and black thigh-high boots.

By the time "Music" revved up, she was down to four very acrobatic backup dancers on a bandstand. To the side of the stage -- playing the parts of "Hey Mr. DJ" -- were those party rocking dudes of LMFAO at which point "Music" began getting an infusion of the SoCal duo's biggest hits, "Party Rock Anthem" and "Sexy And I Know It."

Those with sharp eyes may have noticed Madonna slipping a bit while she was atop the bandstand, but she quickly recovered with a smile.

Then came the new song "Give Me All Your Luvin.'" The track's two guest stars -- Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. -- made the trip to Indy and got wrapped up in the Rome/Cleopatra-esque concept. The cheerleader-themed track was a perfect pick for halftime show, no doubt.

M.I.A. may have caused a bit of controversy when at the end of her rapping bit, she flipped the bird at the camera while saying the lyrics, "I'mma say this once, yeah, I don't give a s--t."

NBC quickly apologized after the game, telling The Hollywood Reporter in a statement, "Our system was late to obscure the inappropriate gesture and we apologize to our viewers."

Here's video of M.I.A. giving the finger to Super Bowl viewers:

How sweet!

If M.I.A. thought acting out like that would get the same attention Janet Jackson and the wardrobe malfunction thing got, I think she's mistaken.

M.I.A. simply made a fool of herself. It was such a childish stunt. Just lame.

I think NBC wanted controversy to generate some buzz about the show, or there would have been a longer delay to cover any "mishaps." NBC's apology doesn't cut it.

Overall, I thought the halftime show was heavy on spectacle and light on talent. It was a gaudy mess.

That's OK. I expect the Super Bowl halftime show to be a quick shot of fun. It can't be judged like a concert. It always feels kind of rushed and compressed. The medley aspect makes it seem like a Time-Life ad.

Bottom line: I think Madonna set out to promote herself, not entertain the audience. It was a commercial. She exploited the forum.

SNL: Newt Gingrich, Moon President (Video)

2012-02-05T04:01:00.003-06:00

Saturday Night Live opened with an especially lame sketch.

Newt Gingrich, played by Bobby Moynihan, was the leader of a colony on the Moon.

Bill Hader was the "Reagatron 3000," Gingrich's trusted robot advisor.

Kenan Thompson was the sex-obsessed Herman Cain.

Jason Sudeikis was Mitt Romney, wearing a flowered dress.

Kristen Wiig played Callista Gingrich.

The sketch was particularly mean to Gingrich's wife.

After the group witnesses the earth destruct, Callista suggests an open marriage to start a new civilization on the Moon, saying "it's a perfectly reasonable request for a man to ask of his wife."

Why target her for attack?

I don't recall SNL ever portraying Michelle Obama in a derogatory way.

Here's video:

SNL: Bon Iver, "Holocene," "Beth/Rest" (Video)

2012-02-05T04:00:00.002-06:00

Bon Iver was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live this weekend.

Justin Vernon, of Eau Claire, is the front man.

The band performed "Holocene" and "Beth/Rest."

Here's video:

Super Bowl Depression

2012-02-05T00:00:00.006-06:00

It's Super Bowl Sunday.

I don't feel good about it. It's depressing.

No funny $3 million for a 30-second spot commercial will help.

Food won't help.

The Packers' 15-1 season wasn't supposed to end at LAMBEAU by giving the Giants a chance at the Super Bowl XLVI title.

This is going to be a long day.

Originally posted February 7, 2011 - Fondly remembering last year, when the Lombardi Trophy came home:

Everything has a beginning.

Will Packer fans look back on Super Bowl XLV and mark it as the beginning of yet another dynasty in the history of the franchise?

Who knows? I think it's possible. After Sunday's game, after overcoming all the adversity of the 2010 season to become Super Bowl champions, the future seems so bright.

It's been a long time, 1998 to be exact, since I really cared about the outcome of the Super Bowl.

Of course, football takes center stage but fun and food and drink and the commercials and the half time show usually get plenty of my attention, too.

Not this year. Not with my Packers playing.

I was relaxed enough to concentrate on some of the pre-kickoff happenings. I heard Christina Aguilera screw up the lyrics of the National Anthem. It was just a little mistake and I don't think she should be bashed because of it. She recovered very well and overall did a great job.

I missed most of the commercials because we were listening to Wayne and Larry on the radio. The volume on the TV was muted. I watched some commercials but none seemed worth unmuting the volume.

No way could I stomach Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, not with being as tense as I was.

I was too stressed to eat as much as I normally do during the Super Bowl.

The Packers got off to such a fantastic start but then the injuries started to pile up. No Donald Driver. No Charles Woodson. Even with the 11-point lead after the first half, it was unsettling. Actually, it was nightmarish, like it was all going to slip away.

Half time: I could not have cared less about the Black Eyed Peas or Slash or Usher. It was background noise. I cared about the game and was worried about what would happen in the next two quarters.

The second half did not start off well. The anxiety was building.

It didn't feel like the Packers had a lead the entire game. We were never trailing. Still, the momentum swing was tough. It seemed like we were trying to catch the Steelers even though they were never winning. Never.

I was hoping Wayne would have been able to throw that Super Bowl Championship dagger much, much earlier in the fourth quarter. I desperately needed some relief.

But finally, the moment came. The Packers would be Super Bowl Champs for the fourth time. The Lombardi Trophy was coming home to Titletown.

Elation!

Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers holds up the Vince Lombardi Trophy as Clay Matthews looks on after winning Super Bowl XLV 31-25 against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Cowboys Stadium.
(AFP/Getty Images/Al Bello)

Fireworks display over the Dousman Street bridge in downtown Green Bay after the Packers defeated the Steelers 31-26 in Super Bowl XLV on Sunday, February 6, 2011. (Photo by Matthew L. Becker)

Video, from WLUK:

Green Bay celebrates Super Bowl title: fox11online.com

What the team accomplished really is remarkable.

Tony Walter, the Green Bay Press-Gazette, writes:

The trophy’s 14-year sabbatical from Wisconsin has ended. The satisfaction of being champion won’t grow weary to the ears of the Packers and their fans until somebody comes along to replace them. And the sight of another banner hanging in Lambeau Field will never grow too old for many.

The victory brought to a joyful conclusion an adventurous 2010 Packers season that moved between the valley and the mountaintop and finally, with a resolve that wouldn’t let injuries interfere, was not denied the ultimate prize.

Champions! Our time.

...Packers fans are known for their passion and a Super Bowl title is an annual dream.

That dream seemed fantasy less than two months ago when the Packers stumbled against the Detroit Lions, lost valiantly to the New England Patriots and were left with only one option.

Win the rest of the games. All of them.

The Giants, the Bears, the Eagles, the Falcons, the Bears. And the Steelers.

It is an accomplishment that will find its deserving place in the team’s proud history, alongside Curly Lambeau’s direction of triple titles of 1929-31, the three-peat of Vince Lombardi’s 1965-67 teams, and the Mike Holmgren-led victory in Super Bowl XXXI at the end of the 1996 season.

The Packers' only option to achieve their goal was to pull off six straight wins.

They did it.

Mike McCarthy should be Coach of the Year. I guess he'll have to settle for a street named for him in Green Bay. Win a Super Bowl and that happens, as it should.

Dom Capers deserves at least a cul-de-sac.

The players showed such heart and such grit and such talent.

Aaron Rodgers was snubbed for the Pro Bowl, but being the Super Bowl MVP has to take the sting out of that.

He takes his place among the elite quarterbacks in the league.

Already, his place in Packer history is secure. Aaron has matched Favre's one Super Bowl victory and he did what Favre never accomplished - be Super Bowl MVP.

It's well known that the disgraced Vikings quarterback Brett Favre "wanted to stick it to Ted Thompson."

The reality, Favre knows now, is he not only wanted to play again, but he wanted to show Green Bay -- particularly general manager Ted Thompson -- that it was making a big mistake in going forward without him.

Well, in just three seasons after Favre left, the Lombardi Trophy is back in Green Bay.

It was most definitely not a big mistake going forward without Favre.

We are celebrating another title.

Congratulations, Green Bay Packers!

Thank you for bringing the Lombardi Trophy home!
___________________

Greg Jennings' Tweets:

Dreams do come true! You know what it is Green and Yellow Green and Yellow Green and yellow!!! http://twitpic.com/3xbw1c

This feeling is surreal. But I'll take it any day. superbowl champs. Great day to be a packer baby.

___________________

___________________

Posted by Tom Crabtree on Saturday, February 4, 2012:

One more day as defending champs. Eternity as champions.

True.

Double Tebow (Video)

2012-02-04T21:10:00.001-06:00

Aaron Rodgers MVP

2012-02-04T19:10:00.004-06:00

Congratulations, Aaron Rodgers! MVP!

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

The Green Bay Packers quarterback was named the National Football League's most valuable player. He's the fifth Packers player to win the honor.

The drama was deflated some. The Packers' quest to defend their Super Bowl title ended in the divisional playoffs against the New York Giants, but the loss didn't cloud a regular-season's worth of near-flawless play.

Rodgers threw for 4,643 yards, had 48 total touchdowns and only six interceptions, and his sizzling 122.5 passer rating was an NFL record.

And thus, New Orleans' Drew Brees and New England's Tom Brady were left in the dust.

Rodgers is the third Packers quarterback to be named MVP, joining Bart Starr (1966) and three-time winner Brett Favre (1995, 1996, 1997). Paul Hornung (1961) and Jim Taylor (1962) were the other winners.

...Historically, Rodgers' season may rank as the best ever. In 2007, Brady threw 50 touchdown passes to just eight interceptions. Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning, the league's only four-time MVP winner, threw 49 touchdown passes in 2004. But Rodgers' final passer rating of 122.5 topped both seasons.

Such steady excellence was rare. He didn't put the Packers in compromising situations in 2011. More than anything, this uncanny, gaffe-free accuracy defines Rodgers' MVP run.

"He had a phenomenal season," Packers wide receiver Greg Jennings said. "Just his performance and the way he was able to carry the team. His touchdown-to-interception ratio was off the charts. Everything he did this year was just phenomenal. I'm glad to be on the receiving end of his balls, trust me."

Added Green Bay tight end Jermichael Finley, "He's the best quarterback in the league in my opinion. The sky's the limit for him."

Rodgers broke a slew of team records, including Lynn Dickey's mark for passing yards.

This is something wonderful for Packer fans to celebrate this weekend.

Instead of wearing black tomorrow, maybe I'll wear my Rodgers jersey.
________________

Aaron Rodgers tweets:

Thank u to our incredibly loyal and supportive fans, special night tonight. Got to meet Joe Montana for the first time. #kidnacandystore

Very cool.
________________

Rodgers wins MVP, excited about future
________________

The envelope, please...

Here's the envelope that was opened during the awards ceremony, making Rodgers' selection as league MVP official:

________________

From the Associated Press:

Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers has won the 2011 Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player award in a landslide.

Rodgers earned 48 votes to two for New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees in balloting by a nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the NFL.

Wow. That is definitely a landslide.

Clay Matthews, Ellen DeGeneres (Video)

2012-02-04T13:20:00.004-06:00

Clay Matthews visited Ellen DeGeneres for her Super Bowl show yesterday.

Here's video:

video platform video management video solutions video player

ELLEN DEGENERES: So, Clay, will you be watching the Super Bowl?

CLAY MATTHEWS: Yes, Ellen. I'm having all my friends and family over at my house this Sunday. We're all gonna gather around my big screen TV, and then I'll put in my DVD of last year's Super Bowl, Packers versus Steelers.

ELLEN: That is a good game.

CLAY: I predict the Packers will win by 6.

ELLEN: Well, we'll see if you're right.

...

CLAY: You know, a survey said that 44 percent of women that watch the Super Bowl are for commercials.

ELLEN: Oh. Although a survey of the women in my audience said 100 percent of them watch it for the extremely tight pants.

CLAY: That's right, Ellen. Ladies love tight pants, and they also love long hair as well.

...

ELLEN: Now, Clay, I know this is a sensitive subject for you, but I wanted to ask you about your playoff loss to the Giants. A lot of people credit the Giants' pass rush, but personally, I think you lost because of this woman.

(Video)

CLAY: She wore sparkly nail polish. That's why we lost. You can't bedazzle your nails and expect a victory.

ELLEN: No, no. Well, those are words we can take right to the Super Bowl.

Leno: Dog Pops Balloons, Picks Patriots (Video)

2012-02-04T13:00:00.003-06:00

Last year, Jay Leno had a dog pop balloons to predict the Super Bowl winner.

A mat was covered with balloons - black for the Steelers and gold for the Packers. The last balloon the dog popped would be her pick to win the game.

The dog picked the PACKERS!

Of course, the Packers did win.

The dog returned to make a prediction for Super Bowl XLVI.

Alas, the balloons were only blue this year. No gold for the Packers.

Here's video:

Prediction: The Patriots will win.

Whatever.
_____________________

UPDATE, February 5, 2012: The dog that's "never wrong" in its Super Bowl predictions was wrong this year.

UW-Parkside Racial Threats Hoax

2012-02-04T04:00:00.005-06:00

Earlier this week, racially-motivated threats were directed at African American students on the UW-Parkside campus, creating fear and chaos.

From the Associated Press:

The University of Wisconsin-Parkside has tightened security after racially-motivated threats were made against black students.

A third threat was reported Thursday night, shortly after a Black Student Union meeting where participants discussed a rubber band noose found in a residence hall.

The Journal Times reports a group of students reported finding fliers at a residence hall that listed several names, racial slurs and death threats.

UW-Parkside spokesman Dave Buchanan says police are maintaining a heightened presence all over campus. Police are also on duty indefinitely at the two residence halls in the evenings and requiring people to sign in.

More details on this week's events at Parkside, from the Journal Times:

Parkside reports hate crimes in residence hall, third incident reported Thursday evening

PHOTOS, VIDEOS: UW-Parkside holds all-campus meeting in response to recent hate crimes

Parkside community denounces recent campus events

UW-Parkside students students say apparent hate crimes don’t reflect the campus

The first incident reportedly occurred Wednesday when a student found a noose, made of rubber bands, hanging in the fourth floor common area of Pike River Suites, one of the university’s residence halls. On Thursday morning, Aubriana Banks, a senior studying criminal justice and ethnic studies who had found the noose and reported it, received a threatening note and a second noose on her door. Then on Thursday night, the situation further escalated when students found fliers at Pike River listing names of about a dozen black students and threatening them.

The fliers read: “(Racial slur) will die in 2 days. No (racial slur) wanted,” with 13 names listed below.

Obviously, this is extremely disturbing.

Discovering such acts of racial hate had to frighten the campus community. It appeared Parkside fosters an environment that's hostile to black students.

Turns out the perpetrator wasn't a crazed white supremacist.

A female African American Parkside student orchestrated the terror that gripped the campus.

She confessed.

Following days of reported hate crimes and heightened security at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, a student has confessed to creating the list threatening black students because she wanted greater attention to the issue, according to authorities Friday night.

The suspect, whose identity was being withheld for her protection, reportedly told authorities she created the fliers —which listed 13 black students by name and threatened they were going to die in two days — found Thursday because she was not satisfied with the initial response from a resident assistant to rubber bands that were said to look like a noose, according to a press release from the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department Friday.

In an escalation of events since Wednesday, which kicked off Black History Month on campus, a series of what was initially believed to be racially motivated threats at Parkside, 900 Wood Road, had sparked an atmosphere of fear among students and launched a criminal investigation on the campus.

“There is absolutely no danger to the students at Parkside due to this threat,” the release said. “Through investigation KSD’s detectives were able to determine that there never was a threat of harm to students at Parkside.”

...Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth said charges will be filed after discussing the case with the District Attorney’s Office.

“Too many people were frightened and upset to let this case go without charges being filed,” he said in the release.

The suspect’s name is being withheld in order to “provide the opportunity to remove her from campus,” according to the release.

“Obviously, a high volume of emotions were generated over the last 24 hours,” the release stated. “Those emotions need to air out and not become focused on an individual.”

University officials had initially said at the onset of the incidents that the perpetrator, if caught, would at the very least likely face expulsion.

This student must face charges.

Of course, she should be expelled.

She kept the "hoax" going for days. It received plenty of media attention. Rather than quickly confessing, she made things worse by continuing to issue threats. She didn't back down. She ratcheted up the hate.

This student behaved despicably.

Sadly, there are real hate crimes, horrendous incidents.

Her scheme was just as horrendous. Hate is hate. Crime is crime.

To attempt to convince students that Parkside is a racial powder keg is inexcusable. Her actions ceratinly had the potential to do tremendous damage to Parkside's reputation.

The student has to be held accountable.

Charges need to be filed. She doesn't deserve the privilege of being a student at Parkside.

She needs some sensitivity training. The woman is racist.

Here's video from FOX6 News:

Student on UW-Parkside “hit list” admits to hoax

RAW VIDEO: UW-Parkside campus meeting on hate crime

Shaq and Jimmy Fallon (Video)

2012-02-04T00:15:00.002-06:00

Shaquille O'Neal is a man of his word. He lost a bet to Jimmy Fallon.

He paid it off on Friday.

Video.

OK...

Jerome Listecki: Response Contraception Mandate

2012-02-04T00:00:00.005-06:00

Read Archbishop Jerome's Listecki's response to the Obama administration's attack on the Constitution and religious freedom:

January 31, 2012

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

In conjunction with the U.S. Bishops and the Bishops of the State of Wisconsin, I write to you concerning an alarming and serious matter that negatively impacts the Church in the United States directly, and that strikes at the fundamental right to religious liberty for all citizens of any faith. The federal government, which claims to be “of, by, and for the people,” has just dealt a heavy blow to almost a quarter of those people—the Catholic population—and to the millions more who are served by the Catholic faithful.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced last week that almost all employers, including Catholic employers, will be forced to offer their employees’ health coverage that includes sterilization, abortion-inducing drugs, and contraception. Almost all health insurers will be forced to include those “services” in the health policies they write. And almost all individuals will be forced to buy that coverage as a part of their policies. My recent blog on this topic is available at www.archmil.org.

In so ruling, the Administration has cast aside the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, denying to Catholics our Nation’s first and most fundamental freedom, that of religious liberty. As a result, unless the rule is overturned, Catholics must be prepared either to violate our consciences or to drop health coverage for our employees (and suffer the penalties for doing so). The Administration’s sole concession was to give Catholic institutions one year to comply.

We cannot—we will not—comply with this unjust law. People of faith cannot be made second class citizens. We are already joined by our brothers and sisters of all faiths and many others of good will in this important effort to regain our religious freedom. Our parents and grandparents did not come to these shores to help build America’s cities and towns, its infrastructure and institutions, its enterprise and culture, only to have their posterity stripped of their God-given rights. In generations past, the Church has always been able to count on the faithful to stand up and protect her sacred rights and duties. I hope and trust she can count on this generation of Catholics to do the same. Our children and grandchildren deserve nothing less.

I would ask of you two things. First, as a community of faith we must commit ourselves to prayer and fasting that wisdom and justice may prevail, and religious liberty may be restored. Without God, we can do nothing; with God, nothing is impossible. Second, I recommend visiting www.usccb.org/conscience, to learn more about this severe assault on religious liberty, and how to contact Congress in support of legislation that would reverse the Administration’s decision.

We cannot stand idle and allow the infringement of government in the practice of our faith.

With assurance of prayers, I am,

Sincerely yours in Christ,
Most Reverend Jerome E. Listecki
Archbishop of Milwaukee

Archbishop Listecki makes it very clear:

"We cannot—we will not—comply with this unjust law."

He spells out the seriousness of the assault on our freedom:

"People of faith cannot be made second class citizens. We are already joined by our brothers and sisters of all faiths and many others of good will in this important effort to regain our religious freedom. Our parents and grandparents did not come to these shores to help build America’s cities and towns, its infrastructure and institutions, its enterprise and culture, only to have their posterity stripped of their God-given rights. In generations past, the Church has always been able to count on the faithful to stand up and protect her sacred rights and duties. I hope and trust she can count on this generation of Catholics to do the same. Our children and grandchildren deserve nothing less."

Obama is counting on the silence of Catholics on this matter. He thinks Catholics will back him rather than stand up to protect our freedom.

Prove him wrong.

Obama Assaults Catholics

2012-02-04T00:00:00.000-06:00

Has Obama read the Constitution?

Seriously.

Planned Parenthood Attacks Catholic Church

2012-02-03T13:16:00.002-06:00

This ad from Planned Parenthood supports Obama and his administration's attack on religious freedom.

Obama's assault on the Constitution should trouble every single American.

Look at the larger issue. This is about our fundamental freedoms being stripped away.

Want a clear reason to rise up against Obama?

This is it.

Fellow Catholics, if this doesn't bother you, I suggest you do some self-reflection. Ignoring this, compartmentalizing it, is not an option.
_______________

Read "First, they came for the Catholics," by Michelle Malkin.

Roseanne Barr for President

2012-02-03T13:15:00.000-06:00

I suppose this could be categorized as performance art.

I give it two thumbs down.

Video.

Susan G. Komen and Planned Parenthood

2012-02-03T12:30:00.003-06:00

Susan G. Komen for the Cure has buckled under pressure from pro-abortion activists and slaughterhouse Planned Parenthood.

From FOX News:

Susan G. Komen for the Cure announced Friday it was reversing its decision to end grants to Planned Parenthood, after facing mounting pressure from pro-choice lawmakers and accusations that the breast cancer awareness organization had bowed to political influences.

"We want to apologize to the American public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women's lives," the group said in a statement.

The statement from Komen founder Nancy Brinker and the Board of Directors defended the organization's intentions. The group has claimed all along that its decision was not a political one and that it was merely setting responsible standards for grant money.

"The events of this week have been deeply unsettling for our supporters, partners and friends and all of us at Susan G. Komen. We have been distressed at the presumption that the changes made to our funding criteria were done for political reasons or to specifically penalize Planned Parenthood. They were not," the group said.

Komen announced that it would change that criteria. Originally, Planned Parenthood was disqualified because of criteria that barred funding to groups that are under investigation -- Planned Parenthood is being probed by a Republican Florida congressman. Going forward, Komen will not count "political" investigations.

"Our original desire was to fulfill our fiduciary duty to our donors by not funding grant applications made by organizations under investigation. We will amend the criteria to make clear that disqualifying investigations must be criminal and conclusive in nature and not political. That is what is right and fair," the group's leadership said, adding that it would continue to fund Planned Parenthood grants and preserve the group's eligibility for future grants.

The move is sure to draw heated complaints from anti-abortion groups, which applauded Komen for its original decision earlier this week.

If anyone has any doubt that pro-abortion activists are ruthless and unforgiving, the events of this week should put those doubts to rest.

Komen not only reversed its decision but disgracefully grovels in its apology to Planned Parenthood and its pro-abortion allies.

It's extremely unfortunate that Komen has decided to actually CHANGE ITS POLICIES just to satisfy the very vocal pro-abortion crowd.

Komen has lost all credibility. The group is in bed with the largest abortion mill in the country. It bowed to the almighty Planned Parenthood.

So much for caring about women's health.

I guess one way to prevent disease in women is to kill them in the womb.

Way to go, Komen!

Bottom line:

Komen = Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood = Slaughter of the unborn

When you see that Komen pink ribbon and its logo plastered all over products in department stores and on supermarket shelves, think of the group bowing to murderers.

Video.

Mark Demet

2012-02-03T00:01:00.005-06:00

I assumed plenty of instances of fraud would be found on the recall petitions circulated in Wisconsin.

It's troubling to think about in the abstract, but actually seeing the concrete evidence of the fraud really makes me angry.

Such evidence is found on the petition to recall Sen. Van Wanggaard. Jeff Demet says he never signed the petition but his name is there - FOUR TIMES.

From Media Trackers:

On Wednesday, Citizens for Responsible Government in Racine reported that Racine native Jeff Demet’s name was found four times on the petition to recall Republican Senator Van Wanggaard. Finding the same signature four times is bad enough, but when Demet was contacted about the four signatures, he claims he never signed the Wanggaard recall petition at all!

This week, Ken Brown of CRG Racine was perusing the recall petitions for names he might recognize and came across his friend Jeff Demet. Brown thought this was interesting because not only does Demet not support the recall of Senator Wanggaard, but Demet even signed up with Verify The Recall to ensure his name was not on the recall petition.

Nevertheless, there he was was supposedly signing the recall petition four times.

Demet’s signature can be found on the following four Wanggaard recall petition pages:
Wanggaard Page 809
Wanggaard Page 2559
Wanggaard Page 2745
Wanggaard Page 2755

According to Ken Brown of CRG Racine, the current theory is that Jeff Demet’s brother Mark may have signed Jeff’s name since he is a circulator on page 2755 and the handwriting is remarkably similar.

There's more. It's possible Mark Demet forged his mother's name, too.

From Citizens for Responsible Government of Racine:

I found that "Jeff" had been recorded as a signer on forms circulated by Carmen Lassiter, John Scott, Brittanny Calloway, and on page 2755 by Mark Demet. On this very same page Mark collected names and signatures of Mary, (Mark's own mother, who is unlikely to have signed this recall), and Jeff and Mark's other brother Greg Demet, who doesn't live in Racine and has lived in WATERTOWN, for the past 25 years!

The other 3 signatures for "Jeff" appear to match the writing style of Mark Demet, based upon his, (Marks) signature on page 2755 as the circulator! Thus I don't presume the forgery was committed by Carmen, John or Brittanny.

Mary['s] signature as recorded above on form # 2755, is also located on form # 3428, which was also circulated by Mark Demet! not once but twice he knowingly either forged, or allowed to have forged his own Mothers signature!!

Also recorded twice was a "Jackson Demet", who is the son of Mark..and is signed with 2 different addresses. one on Arlington...the other on Buckingham, in Sturtevant I believe. Mark also signed twice as himself on form #2509 with Sergio Angliano; and secondly on form #241, where Laura Betker was the circulator.

Mark Demet is lashing out.

He left the following comment on Media Trackers' post:

Mark Demet said
Feb 2, 2012 at 8:33 PM

Nice dollop of libel there, boys. See you in court.

CRG doesn't back down.

CRG of Racine said
Feb 2, 2012 at 10:39 PM

Mark I urge you to contact me ASAP. Not only has your brother denied signing. Several of your neighbors are now claiming you “witnessed” their names without their permission! Signed affidavits are being collected. My email is linked. BTW does your son Jackson live on Buckingham? Arlington or LaCrosse as his Facebook page states? Did Jackson sign the Dan Kapanke recall’s? Did he vote in LaCrosse in the Kapanke recall? I will be looking into that as well Mark!

Yes, this is messy.

I'm sure the Leftists never expected to be held accountable. I'm sure they thought they could falsify signatures without being called on it.

I suspect there are many petition circulators and signators fearing they are going to be next to be busted.

The lawbreakers have more to fear than fear itself.

Sweet Dreams, Obama

2012-02-03T00:00:00.001-06:00

Real Housewives of Late Night with Colts' Wives

2012-02-02T23:50:00.005-06:00

The latest episode of Real Housewives of Late Night included a visit from the wives of five Indianapolis Colts.

Here's video:

I miss Renee Biddle.

Leno: Real Housewives of Milwaukee

2012-02-02T22:55:00.005-06:00

The women of Milwaukee get no respect.

On Thursday's Tonight Show, Jay Leno did a bit about TV midseason replacements.

One of the replacements: The Real Housewives of Milwaukee.

JAY LENO: There's something like six Real Housewives shows on TV right now. You've got the Housewives of Beverly Hills, Orange County, Atlanta, New York. People love watching these women with extravagant lives, living in big houses, partying all the time.

They tried a new one. This one takes place in the middle of the country. Could be a hit. You be the judge.

[clip]

ANNOUNCER: Tonight on The Real Housewives of Milwaukee...

(Two women burp nonstop.)

ANNOUNCER: Coming soon to Bravo.

Not funny.

Johnny Thomas - Bribe

2012-02-02T16:00:00.002-06:00

Milwaukee County Supervisor Johnny L. Thomas, candidate for city comptroller, has the endorsement of many major Milwaukee Leftists.

Mayor Tom Barret, County Supervisor Chris Abele, and U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore all support Thomas.

Here are the supporters Thomas lists on his campaign website:

Elected Officials

Mayor Tom Barrett
County Executive Chris Abele
Congresswoman Gwen Moore

Milwaukee County Treasurer Daniel Diliberti

County Board Chair Lee Holloway
County Board Supervisor Eyon Biddle, Sr.
County Board Supervisor Gerry Broderick
County Board Supervisor Marina Dimitrijevic
County Board Supervisor Jason Haas
County Board Supervisor Nikiya Harris
County Board Supervisor Willie Johnson
County Board Supervisor Michael Mayo
County Board Supervisor Peggy Romo-West
County Board Supervisor Joe Sanfelippo
County Board Supervisor James "Luigi" Schmitt
County Board Supervisor John Weishan

Common Council President Willie Hines

Alderman James Bohl
Alderwoman Milele Coggs
Alderman Joe Davis, Sr.
Alderman Ashanti Hamilton
Alderman Nik Kovac
Alderman Willie Wade
Alderman Tony Zielinski

Milwaukee School Board member Mark Sain
Milwaukee School Board member Meagan Holman
Milwaukee School Board member Jeff Spence

State Senator Spencer Coggs
State Senator Lena Taylor

State Representative Elizabeth Coggs
State Representative Jason Fields
State Representative Tamara Grigsby
State Representative Fred Kessler
State Representative Jon Richards
State Representative Sandy Pasch
State Representative JoCasta Zamarripa

Hon. Carl Ashley, Milwaukee County Circuit Court
Hon. Jane Carroll, Milwaukee County Circuit Court
Hon. Pedro Colon, Milwaukee County Circuit Court
Hon. Rebecca Dallet, Milwaukee County Circuit Court
Hon. Valarie Hill, Milwaukee Municipal Court
Hon. Derek Mosley, Milwaukee Municipal Court

Organizations
AFSCME District Council 48
SEIU Wisconsin State Council
Milwaukee Police Association

Community Leaders
Anderson Craig
Angela Adams
Bishop Darrell Hines
Bishop Sedgwick Daniels
Bobbie Weber
Bobby Drake
Carey Flowers
Carl Brown
Carmen Martin
Carolyn Walker
Cathy Edwards
Charles Harvey
Chris Boston
Chris Layden
Christopher Ware
Corey Hoze
Cory Nettles
Craig Mastanuono
Danae Davis
Darryl D. Morin
Darryl Fortune
David Riemer
Deidre Edwards
Demond Means
Derrick Martin
Dextra Hadnot
Dimitri Mack
Don Cohen
Doug Patton
Dr. Enrique Figeroa
Dr. Howard Fuller
Dr. Randy Pollard
Dr. Regina Flippin
Dr. Robert Davis
Dr. William Finalyson
Earl Buford
Emmanuel Mamalakis
Enoch Dukes
Evan Goyke
Florence Dukes
Florida Perry- Smith
Frank Gimble
Gary Goyke
Genyne Edwards
George Torres
George Walker
Gerald Jones
Gregory Williams
Harry E. Santiago
Hattie Daniels-Rush
Hector Colon
Hope DeVougas
Ihsan Atta
Jacqueline Ward
Jameson P. Delgadillo
Jamie Hummert
Jeff Fleming
Jeffrey Childs
Jenelle Williamson
Jennifer Green
Jennifer Morales
Jeremy Levinson
Jerry Fulmer
Jerry Fulmer
Jesus Rodriguez
Jim Wahner
Jim Zilli
Joe Volk
John Davis
John Draper, Sr.
John Finerty, Sr.
Johnna Scott
Joseph Alioto
Juan Carlos Ruiz
Karl Rajani
Kevin Flaherty
Kris Martinsek
Kyle Weatherly
Lafayette Crump
Larry Ashley
Leann Minor
Margaret Henningsen
Mark Cameli
Mark Phillips
Marvin Bell
Marycarmen Villasenor
Mathew P. Tharaniyil
Matt Flynn
Maurice Pulley
Michael Maistelman
Michelle Bryant
Michelle Mason
Mike D’Amato
Moira Fitzgerald
Nancy Rottier
Noah Domintz
Orlando Rice
Oscar Tovar
Oshiyemi Adelabu
Ossie Kendrix, Jr.
Dr. Pam Malone
Pamela Bell
Pastor John W. McVicker, Sr.
Pastor Martin Childs
Pastor Mose Fuller
Patricia McGowan Rowen
Pauli Taylorboyd
Rafael Acevedo
Randal Ali
Randy Crump
Ray Harmon
Ray Vahey
Raymondo Lopez
Rebecca Coffee
Richard Badger
Rita McCain
Robert Craig
Robin Reese
Ron Adams
Roy De La Rosa
Ruben L. Anthony Jr.
Scott Wiler
Shantel Bacchus
Sharron Jewel
Shirley Lanier
Steve Huff
Sushil Pillai
Themla Sias
Thomas Harris
Tim Elverman
Tim Mahone
Tony Baez
Tony Higgins
Tracy Meeks
Trevor Trimble
Tyna Rule
Ugo Nwagbaracha
Vicor Dennis Harmon
Vincent Lyles
Vivian King
Vivian McNealy Mays
Wallace White
Willie Brisco

Given the following revelations about Johnny Thomas, will some of these individuals change their minds about endorsing him?

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Milwaukee County Supervisor Johnny L. Thomas - the frontrunner in the race for city comptroller - was charged Thursday with accepting a bribe in exchange for promoting a company for a county contract.

Prosecutors charged Thomas with two felony counts, one for accepting a bribe and the other for misconduct in office.

Thomas, 43, is accused of taking a $500 in cash in an undercover sting operation with Pat Farley, head of the county Department of Administrative Services, in exchange for promoting a company for a county financial services contract, according to the complaint.

The first-term supervisor accepted the money during the second of two meetings with Farley at the Dunkin Donuts, 622 W. Wisconsin Ave. The charges say Thomas also agreed to accept another $500 in campaign donations to move forward with recommending the contract.

One day after accepting the $500 bribe, the charges say, Thomas added an item to his committee agenda to extend the contract from the company that he thought was offering the cash.

...The charges were brought as part of a John Doe that was opened in late October or early November - less than two months after Thomas announced his bid for comptroller, according to those familiar with the investigation.

Asked about the John Doe probe earlier in the day, Thomas said he knew nothing about it.

"Oh, wow," said the first-term supervisor, who represents the city's northwest side. "I'm kinda waiting for you to say, 'Gotcha.'"

Thomas immediately left the County Board room Thursday morning after he was asked about the Doe investigation by a reporter and was gone for nearly the entire meeting.

Who is leaking all this information about these John Doe investigations?

Because this one targets a Leftist, was this leaked to take the heat off Democrat hack John Chisholm?

I suppose Barrett will say he's "disappointed," if anyone in the media would bother to ask him to comment. I don't think this rises to the Barrett "outrage" level.

Obama: Jesus and Taxing the Rich

2012-02-02T15:00:00.001-06:00

Obama is shameless.

At the National Prayer Breakfast this morning, the most radical pro-abortion president we've ever had, Obama, said that Jesus' teachings support his "tax the rich" policy.

Obama talks about the "most vulnerable among us," without blinking an eye about his fervent support of policies that permit the slaughter of roughly a million innocent lives in the U.S. every year.

Video.

Transcript

OBAMA: And so when I talk about our financial institutions playing by the same rules as folks on Main Street, when I talk about making sure insurance companies aren’t discriminating against those who are already sick, or making sure that unscrupulous lenders aren’t taking advantage of the most vulnerable among us, I do so because I genuinely believe it will make the economy stronger for everybody. But I also do it because I know that far too many neighbors in our country have been hurt and treated unfairly over the last few years, and I believe in God’s command to “love thy neighbor as thyself.” I know the version of that Golden Rule is found in every major religion and every set of beliefs -– from Hinduism to Islam to Judaism to the writings of Plato.

And when I talk about shared responsibility, it’s because I genuinely believe that in a time when many folks are struggling, at a time when we have enormous deficits, it’s hard for me to ask seniors on a fixed income, or young people with student loans, or middle-class families who can barely pay the bills to shoulder the burden alone. And I think to myself, if I’m willing to give something up as somebody who’s been extraordinarily blessed, and give up some of the tax breaks that I enjoy, I actually think that’s going to make economic sense.

But for me as a Christian, it also coincides with Jesus’s teaching that “for unto whom much is given, much shall be required.”

Jesus wasn't talking about taxes and class warfare.

Good grief.

Bottom line: Obama is a Christian when it's convenient.

Pelosi: Catholics, Obama, Contraception Mandate

2012-02-02T14:45:00.002-06:00

Once again, Nancy Pelosi is confused about the stance of the Catholic Church on abortion and contraception.

Her latest embarrassment involves the Obama administration's mandate that strips the Church of its rights under the Constitution.

Video.

Pelosi contorts the truth when she says she's going to "stick with my fellow Catholics in supporting the adminstration on this."

With all due respect, Pelosi is nuts.

If she's not nuts, she's intentionally lying, seeking to deceive.

Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan, U.S. bishops, and priests across the country have strongly spoken out against Obama's contraception mandate.

Here's video, from CNSNews:

Transcript

CARDINAL-DESIGNATE TIMOTHY DOLAN: Religious liberty is certainly front and center in conversation these days, and that's very good.

Some days ago, so many Americans of all creeds, or none at all, cheered a unanimous decision of the Supreme Court, remember? The Court ruled that churches have the fundamental freedom to choose their own ministers without government interference. Nothing could be truer. All nine justices of the Supreme Court rejected the administration's incredibly narrow and unprecedented interpretation of religious liberty in that celebrated case. The court's decision was a home run for the 1st Amendment and for our democracy. But I'm afraid the administration is on the wrong side of the Constitution again.

Now it's ordered almost every employer and insurer in the country to provide sterilizations and contraceptives, including some abortion-inducing drugs, in their health plans. And it's requiring almost all Americans, even those with ethical and religious objections, to pay for this coverage.

The administration offered a very narrow religious exemption to some employers such as churches; but the government will still require most Americans to pay for this coverage even if it violates their consciences.

That's a foul ball by any standard. Never before has the federal government forced individuals and organizations to go out into the marketplace and buy a product that violates their conscience. This shouldn't happen in a land where free exercise of religion ranks first in the Bill of Rights.

How about letting our elected leaders know that we want religious liberty and rights of conscience restored and the administration's mandate rescinded? We can't afford to strike out on this one.

Clearly, Pelosi is flat-out wrong when she says Catholics support Obama's demand.
_________________

Remember this, from 2008?

On Meet the Press, Pelosi blathered on about the Catholic Church's position on when life begins.

TOM BROKAW: Senator Obama saying the question of when life begins is above his pay grade, whether you're looking at it scientifically or theologically. If he were to come to you and say, "Help me out here, Madame Speaker. When does life begin?" what would you tell him?

NANCY PELOSI: I would say that as an ardent, practicing Catholic, this is an issue that I have studied for a long time. And what I know is, over the centuries, the doctors of the church have not been able to make that definition. And Senator--St. Augustine said at three months. We don't know. The point is, is that it shouldn't have an impact on the woman's right to choose. Roe v. Wade talks about very clear definitions of when the child--first trimester, certain considerations; second trimester; not so third trimester. There's very clear distinctions. This isn't about abortion on demand, it's about a careful, careful consideration of all factors and--to--that a woman has to make with her doctor and her god. And so I don't think anybody can tell you when life begins, human life begins. As I say, the Catholic Church for centuries has been discussing this, and there are those who've decided...

BROKAW: The Catholic Church at the moment feels very strongly that it...

PELOSI: I understand that.

BROKAW: ...begins at the point of conception.

PELOSI: I understand. And this is like maybe 50 years or something like that. So again, over the history of the church, this is an issue of controversy. But it is, it is also true that God has given us, each of us, a free will and a responsibility to answer for our actions. And we want abortions to be safe, rare, and reduce the number of abortions. That's why we have this fight in Congress over contraception. My Republican colleagues do not support contraception. If you want to reduce the number of abortions, and we all do, we must--it would behoove you to support family planning and, and contraception, you would think. But that is not the case. So we have to take--you know, we have to handle this as respectfully--this is sacred ground. We have to handle it very respectfully and not politicize it, as it has been--and I'm not saying Rick Warren did, because I don't think he did, but others will try to.

What a disgrace!

Spencer Coggs, Staffers, Illegal Campaigning

2012-02-02T04:00:00.004-06:00

A "secret" John Doe investigation is in order to examine alleged illegal campaigning by Wisconsin Democrats.

From FOX6 News:

There are new allegations of government workers campaigning on the taxpayer’s dime, but this time, it’s Democratic State Senator Spencer Coggs who’s in the hot seat. The allegations are that Coggs’ office workers campaigned for him while he was running for lieutenant governor.

The Wisconsin Government Accountability Board is looking into the complaint, but won’t comment on specifics. Senator Coggs, who is currently running for City of Milwaukee Treasurer is denying the allegations.

A former aide to Sen. Coggs says a staff member used a Capitol office for illegal campaigning, a charge Coggs denies.

...The allegation is that a Senate staffer created and updated a campaign website for Coggs’ lieutenant governor run in 2010. “That is absolutely false. The campaign contracted with a firm in Milwaukee, and paid a designer in Milwaukee who created it, and then updated the website,” Williams said.

...The GAB confirms the complaint was filed by Jana Williams, a former member of Coggs’ Senate staff. Williams was fired when the Democrats lost the majority and had to trim their staffs. “The Democrats lost control of the State Senate and her position was eliminated,” Williams said.

There is another twist in the story: the Coggs campaign says Jana Williams was dating, and then had a bad break up with the staffer she’s now accusing. “You never know what someone’s real motivations are, but this is a weird personal situation between her and the staffer who she is accusing, and unfortunately, she has chosen to drag the State Senator into this,” Zak Williams said.

Jay Heck is the executive director of Common Cause Wisconsin, a non-partisan organization that advocates for clean government. He says it shouldn’t matter if Williams is a disgruntled former employee, or a jilted lover. “I’ve never heard of a case where it had this type of circumstance. Whether that is a factor shouldn’t matter. The facts should stand on their own,” Heck said.

Whatever the circumstances, the charges must be taken seriously.

If DEMOCRAT Coggs and his staffers weren't engaged in wrongdoing, that will come out -- after a lengthy fishing expedition.

Video.

Subway 'Subs Across America' (Video) - Bronze Fonz

2012-02-02T00:12:00.004-06:00

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon partnered with Subway for "Subs Across America."

It's a compilation of videos submitted by viewers from every state in the country. In the video clips, people recorded themselves in front of landmarks, catching a footlong Subway sub from the right side and passing it to the left. With the videos spliced together, it looks like a sub is being passed across America.

National landmarks like Mount Rushmore, the Grand Canyon, the Washington Monument, and Milwaukee's "Bronze Fonz" all make appearances in the video.

Be proud Milwaukee.

Here's the video:

Jimmy Fallon: Obama, 2005 Chrysler

2012-02-02T00:05:00.002-06:00

JIMMY FALLON: A woman in Illinois is auctioning off a 2005 Chrysler that once belonged to President Obama. You could tell it was Obama's car because it gets off to a fast start and then stalls for the next three years.

Obama: Enemies List - Koch Brothers

2012-02-02T00:02:00.003-06:00

One of Saul Alinsky's RULES FOR RADICALS:

Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, polarize it. Don’t try to attack abstract corporations or bureaucracies. Identify a responsible individual.

Community organizer Obama and his fellow Leftists apply this rule routinely.

Case in point: Charles and David Koch, the "Koch Brothers."

Talk politics with a Leftist for a few minutes and the names of Charles and David Koch are sure to come up.

I know radical Leftists don't care, but to demonize individuals the way they've demonized the "Koch Brothers" is the lowest.

Ted Olson, in an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal, calls Obama out on his ruthless, cutthroat tactics.

How would you feel if aides to the president of the United States singled you out by name for attack, and if you were featured prominently in the president's re-election campaign as an enemy of the people?

What would you do if the White House engaged in derogatory speculative innuendo about the integrity of your tax returns? Suppose also that the president's surrogates and allies in the media regularly attacked you, sullied your reputation and questioned your integrity. On top of all of that, what if a leading member of the president's party in Congress demanded your appearance before a congressional committee this week so that you could be interrogated about the Keystone XL oil pipeline project in which you have repeatedly—and accurately—stated that you have no involvement?

Consider that all this is happening because you have been selected as an attractive political punching bag by the president's re-election team. This is precisely what has happened to Charles and David Koch, even though they are private citizens, and neither is a candidate for the president's or anyone else's office.

What Messrs. Koch do, in fact, is manage businesses that provide employment to more than 50,000 people in North America in legitimate, productive industries. They also give millions of dollars to medical researchers, hospitals and cultural institutions. Their biggest offense, apparently, is that they also contribute generously to nonprofit organizations that promote personal liberty and free enterprise, and some of those organizations oppose policies advocated by the president.

Olson goes on to compare Obama and his enemies list with Richard Nixon and his practices. He compares Obama and the Left's behavior with Joseph McCarthy's bullying.

Olson notes that Americans traditionally don't tolerate such abuse of authority.

...In this country, we regard the use of official power to oppress or intimidate private citizens as a despicable abuse of authority and entirely alien to our system of a government of laws. The architects of our Constitution meticulously erected a system of separated powers, and checks and balances, precisely in order to inhibit the exercise of tyrannical power by governmental officials.

Our Constitution even explicitly prohibits bills of attainder so that Congress may not single out individual citizens or groups for disfavored treatment or unequal application of the force of government. Prosecutorial power is rigidly constrained and judicially supervised so that government may not accuse private citizens of crimes or investigate them without good cause.

Whoever may be the victim of such abuse of governmental authority, the press and public almost invariably unify with indignation against it. If a journalist, labor-union leader or community organizer on the left can be targeted today, an academic or business person on the right can be the target tomorrow. If we fail to stand up against oppression from one direction, we abdicate the moral authority to challenge it when it comes from another.

This is why it is exceedingly important for all Americans to respond with outrage to what the president and his allies are doing to demonize and stigmatize David and Charles Koch. They have been the targets of the multiyear, carefully orchestrated campaign of vituperation and assault described above—and much more. It has been choreographed from the very top. When the president personally takes leadership, his political surrogates and army of allies in the press and Congress quickly and surely follow the direction and tone he sets.

The hypocritical Leftists do not disregard Obama's "enemies list." They utilize it.

They don't condemn Obama's tyrannical abuse of power. They condone it.

SHAME, SHAME, SHAME!

Obama is a disgrace. He's not a nice guy.

Bailey Page

2012-02-02T00:01:00.001-06:00

This video is so moving.

A little girl received a birthday present she will never forget. Her dad, Sgt. Adam Page, surprised his daughter, Bailey, for her sixth birthday at school after returning early from a deployment in Afghanistan. The little girl was very thankful and explained, “That’s my only birthday present I wanted this year.”

Happy Birthday, Bailey!

Welcome home, Sgt. Page!

Happy Groundhog Day!

2012-02-02T00:00:00.000-06:00

A couple of years ago, there was an article about the origins of Groundhog day in the Washington Post.

How did this tradition get started?

In ancient times, people of different cultures celebrated Feb. 2 to mark the coming of warmer weather because the day is midway between the start of winter and spring. Candles were lit in a festival of lights to mark the day, and it became known as Candlemas. (The Catholic Church later declared a festival to honor Jesus on that day.)

People living many years ago also used that day to predict the weather. Tradition said that if Feb. 2 was sunny, it meant winter would last for six more weeks. If it was cloudy, winter was said to be nearly over.

Now take those traditions and add this: Farmers used to look for the reappearance of hibernating animals to tell them when spring had arrived. Early American settlers relied on the groundhog.

That Washington Post account makes it sound as if the Catholic Church arbitrarily took the established pagan festival of Candlemas and declared it to be in honor of Jesus.

Here's a different take on Candlemas. It appeared in the Boston Herald in 2009.

At Kosmala boutique in west suburban Villa Park, shoppers are lining up to buy frilly gowns so their babies will look their best for a special mass Monday.

They finger the fabric and compare outfits with the avidity of parents preparing for a baptism.

But the babies are just doll-like figurines, and the event being celebrated is the Mexican Candelaria, or Candlemas, a holiday in which statuettes of the Christ Child — the centerpiece of household creches and family devotions — are brought into church to be blessed by a priest.

The practice of focusing one’s devotions around a figure of baby Jesus is both Mexican in its origin and broadly Christian in its symbolism. And Candelaira has grown nationwide along with a population that traces its roots to south of the border.

The holiday falls on Feb. 2, a time when Roman Catholic Latinos from many countries celebrate traditions such as the blessing of water, children and the candles that lend Candlemas its name, said Rev. Claudio Diaz Jr. director of Hispanic ministry for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago.

But it is the reverence for the child that gives Mexican Candelaria its distinctiveness. Candlemas comes 40 days after Christmas, a time when, according to tradition, Mary and Joseph presented Jesus at the temple.

The Nativity scene, rather than the yule tree, is the centerpiece of Mexican Christmas, but in most households the child isn’t placed in the manger until midnight on Christmas Eve, priests say. Over the weeks that follow, it is revered as a representation of the incarnation.

"It’s beautiful," Diaz said. "They place the image, the statue, in a little blankie, and they will cradle the image, and they will sing Christmas songs. And maybe grandma will knit a little gown, and he will be wearing his first little gown, like a baptismal gown.

"We talk about ’the Word became flesh.’ That is the metaphor."

St. Agnes of Bohemia in Chicago is expecting perhaps 200 people to participate in a Candelaria mass Monday, with parishioners bringing candles, water and their own children for blessing, along with the figurine. The Christ Child is often left out all year, and the candles and holy water are kept at hand for times of darkness, Rev. Rene Mena said.

"It could be literal darkness, caused by a storm, or it could be the sense that an evil spirit is around in the house," he said. "So they would light a candle and bless the house with the water that they brought on Feb. 2."

Accounts differ. Some stress pagan roots. Others cite 40 days after the celebration of Christmas as the reason for the February 2nd observance of Candlemas, not Candlemas being co-opted by Christians.

Some accounts consider Candlemas and Groundhog Day as interchangeable. Others maintain the uniqueness of the observances.

More history here.

It's confusing. In any case, the celebrations focus on light -- spiritual or seasonal or both.

Will Punxsutawney Phil see his shadow?

(Yes! Punxsutawney Phil is allegedly the only true weather forecasting groundhog. The others are just impostors.)

It doesn't matter in Wisconsin.

Have you ever known spring weather to arrive 6 weeks after February 2nd?

Not Better Off: Send Obama Your Resume

2012-02-01T12:55:00.004-06:00

Out of work?

Send Obama your resume.

Huge demand for engineers?

"Interesting" to be out of work?

Obama is out of touch.

NOT BETTER OFF.

Mitt Romney: Florida Victory Speech (Video)

2012-02-01T04:00:00.002-06:00

Here's video of Mitt Romney's victory speech after winning the Florida primary.

video platform
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I thought it was a good speech.

Michelle Obama and Jay Leno (Video)

2012-02-01T00:15:00.005-06:00

Michelle Obama was Jay Leno's guest on Tuesday's Tonight Show.

This was Michelle's second time on the show. She first visited in 2008, before Obama was elected.

Of course, Leno was thrilled to have her as a guest.

The two segments were light-hearted. Michelle appeared to be on her "I'm not an angry black woman" tour.

She was very charming, because they didn't talk politics much at all. When Leno brought up the Republican primary, she steered clear of saying anything newsworthy.

They talked about Barack's singing voice.

During Leno's monologue, he played the "Barack sings Al Green" clip.

Some in the audience swooned. Kind of silly.

The White House certainly wants that clip seen by as many people as possible. Apparently, Obama's running for reelection on his performance as a singer.

Leno mentioned Obama's graying hair.

Michelle said, "He's aging, but he's gorgeous."

Again, some in the audience squealed and applauded.

They talked about Michelle's recent birthday and her mother and daughters baking her favorite cake, a red velvet cake. She said it had lots of sugar in it and it had "buttercream topping" and "all that good stuff."

See. Michelle isn't a food Nazi.

Later, they talked about healthy eating, the first lady's crusade.

Michelle promoted her new book, American Grown: How the White House Kitchen Garden Inspires Families, Schools, and Communities.

She got on Leno's case for his decade-long avoidance of vegetables. Michelle said one vegetable she doesn't like is beets.

Then, it was time to eat.

Michelle got "role model" Leno to eat vegetables. She brought veggie pizza with a whole grain crust for Leno to sample. She also fed him baked sweet potato "fries" and apple slices with "White House honey," from the beehives in the garden, for dipping.

Leno made kind of an off-color joke about "White House honey."

He said, "That sounds bad. You know, with a different president that could mean a whole different thing." Kind of unseemly.

Leno then gave Michelle beets. She ate a slice, and acted like she was gagging on it.

Clearly, the visit was very scripted. In spite of that, it was pleasant enough.

Here's video:

First Lady on Singing

First Lady on Presidential Campaign

White House Honey

_________________

Full interview video.

First Lady Michelle Obama, Part 1

First Lady Michelle Obama, Part 2

First Lady Michelle Obama, Part 3

Aaron Rodgers Back on Twitter

2012-02-01T00:01:00.000-06:00

Aaron Rodgers is tweeting again.

I'm back. Have missed u all. Lots to talk about and catch up on. 1st, congrats to my good friend Joe Philbin on his head coach gig in Miami

Secondly, the fans paid money to watch the pro bowl in person. I know no one wants to get hurt but on a couple plays the effort level was...

.....really bad don't u think?? If u wanna rip me for that go ahead. I think those folks in attendance n watching on tv would agree

Thirdly, Discount Double Check. Thanks to clay and bj for spicing up the commercials. Hope u all have enjoyed them. More to come

More State Farm commercials?

Something to look forward to.

January Thaw

2012-02-01T00:00:00.003-06:00

What a glorious winter it has been!

One year ago, we had a blizzard. The drifts were so high that we couldn't open our front or back doors.

I painstakingly used a kitchen scoop to shovel out the back, little by little, until we could open the door wide enough to step outside.

It was such a pain for the weather to get in the way of making preparations for Super Bowl Sunday. I didn't have time to be snowed in when the Packers were just days away from becoming Super Bowl Champions again.

This year, there are no monster drifts, barely any snow left in the yard.

It's a beautiful January thaw. It's my kind of winter.

Perfect, almost.

We aren't in the Super Bowl.

'Cracker Counties' North Florida

2012-01-31T12:50:00.002-06:00

Whoa!

During MSNBC's discussion of today's primary in Florida, Jonathan Martin of Politico referred to the panhandle and northern areas of the state as "Cracker Counties."

Chuck Todd had no problem with that.

Yeah, "Cracker Counties."

No one is bothered by that derogatory racial term. Everything's cool.

Offensive?

Nooooooo.

Video.

JONATHAN MARTIN: Chuck, one last thing on the map if I could -- the other reason why north Florida is gonna be fascinating to watch tonight is because it's gonna give us a sense of what's ahead in March when this primary does move to deep south states. Because as you know, Chuck, a lot of those counties in the panhandle, in north Florida, the 'Cracker Counties,' if you will, more resemble Georgia and Alabama, than they do Florida.

Will Martin be yanked off the air for this?

Will he be suspended?

I crack myself up.
__________________

"You want freedom, you going to have to kill some crackers. You going to have to kill some of their babies."

--KING SAMIR SHABAZZ

Jonathan Martin. Radical New Black Panther King Samir Shabazz. Birds of a feather.

'Liberty or Lies?'

2012-01-31T04:01:00.004-06:00

Last night on PBS, I watched a good portion of the 2-hour edition of Brien Farley's documentary, Liberty or Lies?

Farley examines conservative talk radio and its influence. Interviews with local conservatives and liberals, talk show hosts, journalists, commentators, and bloggers tell the story.

The juxtaposition of perspectives was fascinating.

Those on the Left and the Right occupy parallel universes.

I found the comments by the Leftists to be so revealing, albeit insulting in many cases.

Joel McNally, Eugene Kane, Bruce Murphy, Dan Cody, and Chris Liebenthal don't get it.

Their lack of understanding is amazing to me. What is it about talk radio that prevents Leftists from grasping its reality?

It's difficult to believe that Leftists really think they have no forum to air their views and conservatives have an unfair advantage with talk radio. Are they so dense that they don't realize the mainstream media outlets are their forum?

They can't really think that the print media and the Big Three Network news operations, as well as most cable news stations, provide balanced coverage, can they?

If they do, they've taken leave from reality.

Without question, the Leftists have no respect for the talk radio audience. Very offensive.

According to the Leftists in the documentary, listeners are racist and angry and filled with hate looking for an authority figure, the talk radio host, to articulate their feelings and validate their worldview. At the same time, the Leftists depict the listeners as lacking the intelligence to form their own views. Consequently, they're easily swayed by the opinions espoused by the host. The all-powerful host pulls the strings of the simple-minded masses.

In short, talk radio is all about hate. And stupidity.

Frankly, as the program progressed, the Leftists, via their own words, made it clear that they don't comprehend talk radio. They're clueless.

I don't know if it's jealousy over conservative talk radio's popularity or fear of its power that renders them senseless.

Whatever the reason or reasons, they can't stand conservative talk radio.

In the final analysis, I think the Leftists can't deal with it because they are left out. Liberal talk radio fails miserably.

They want to play, but they can't get in the game. They just don't have the skills. Their tantrums about talk radio are probably rooted in their frustration.
_________________

The answer is "liberty."

Jimmy Fallon: Mitt Romney, Too Far to the Left

2012-01-31T04:00:00.000-06:00

JIMMY FALLON: In a new round of campaign ads, Republican candidates have accused Mitt Romney of being too far to the left, which explains why today Romney received an endorsement from the Baltimore Ravens kicker.

Earthquake - Southwest of Kenosha

2012-01-31T00:06:00.000-06:00

Did you feel the earth move?

From WISN TV:

A 2.4 magnitude earthquake struck southwest of Kenosha late Monday night, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

According to a preliminary report from its website, the earthquake struck at 9:54 p.m. The earthquake was 6.2 miles deep with an epicenter 11 miles WSW of Kenosha.

This was a weak earthquake with no damage.

I've never experienced an earthquake. I never want to.

Madison High School: Another Fight, Officer Injured

2012-01-31T00:02:00.000-06:00

This week began like the last week ended at Madison High School - with violence and police being called to the Milwaukee public school.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Another Milwaukee police officer was injured in an incident Monday at Madison Academic Campus, the second officer injured in a disturbance at the high school on two consecutive school days.

Officers were called to the school at N. 81st and W. Florist Ave. after dismissal shortly before 4 p.m. when school safety aides intervened in a fight between a female student and an adult female, Milwaukee Public Schools spokeswoman Roseann St. Aubin said.

According to St. Aubin, the adult came to the school and accused the student of stealing a cellphone. The girl fell to the pavement and the woman stomped on her. The woman fled when the safety aides intervened.

Officers who were in the building investigating the incident about an hour later intervened in an argument between two 17-year-old boys attending night classes. A third 17-year-old boy approached and pushed one of the officers to the floor and all three boys were arrested, St. Aubin said.

From WISN TV:

On Friday, eight arrests were made following multiple fights at the same school.

...On Thursday, a fight broke out at Washington High School, resulting in resisting arrest and disorderly conduct tickets for 12 people.

...Milwaukee Public Schools Superintendent Gregory Thornton called the behavior unacceptable.

"We ask parents and the community to step up and reinforce the standard of behavior that is expected in our school buildings," Thornton said in a statement. "We will not tolerate violence among students any more than parents would put up with it in their homes."

Just what are the standards of behavior expected in the homes of these violent students?

Are the parents enforcing rules of acceptable behavior at home? Are they guiding their children and holding them accountable?

If they aren't, it's hopeless.

Obama, Engineers, and Jobs

2012-01-31T00:01:00.001-06:00

Obama claims there is plenty of work for high tech engineers.

What a load of crap!

Video.

There is not a "huge" demand for engineers around the country.

"Not enough highly skilled engineers"?

That's BS.

Obama has no idea what's going on in the REAL WORLD.

Get a clue, Obama!
________________

Mr. President, I will be sending some resumes of highly skilled out-of-work engineers to you.

They will be thrilled to find employment "right away" with your help.

Thank you.

GAB and the Walker Recall Petitions

2012-01-31T00:00:00.007-06:00

UPDATE, January 31, 2012: The Government Accountability Board today announced plans for public release of copies of recall petitions for Governor Walker.

“In the interest of full transparency, the Board has always planned to release copies of recall petitions to anyone who requested them, and to post them online,” said Kevin Kennedy, director and general counsel. “However, we recently heard from a number of people who are concerned about their personal safety if their names and addresses are made public. As a result, our staff had to do a thorough analysis under Wisconsin’s Public Records Law. These are serious issues which must be given thorough consideration and addressed in light of the Statutes and the responsibilities of the Board.”

Kennedy said the staff has concluded, and Judge David Deininger, the Board chairperson, has concurred, that the petitions will be released under Wisconsin law, as well as a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, Doe v. Reed, involving the release of referendum petitions in Washington State. That position is also supported by the Wisconsin Department of Justice. Unlike an elector’s vote, which is private and confidential, the signing of recall petition is a public process.

In addition to providing copies to requestors, the G.A.B. will continue its past practice, and put all 153,335 pages of PDF copies of the petitions online later today, Kennedy said. The PDF copies are not computer-searchable.

At least the petitions are finally posted.

The GAB's explanation for the delay is truly an embarrassment.
____________________

The Government Accountability Board is not doing as it promised. The recall petitions of Governor Scott Walker were supposed to be available online Monday.

Didn't happen.

The Board is dragging its feet, citing privacy concerns.

This makes no sense at all.

Other recall petitions are published online. The recall petitions for four state senators are posted.

See them here.

Apparently, there are no privacy issues with these petitions.

What's the deal?

It seems like the Democrats don't want everyone with access to the Internet to have access to the petitions.

Obviously, it's not a privacy matter.

It's not fair to publish the state senate recall petitions online but withhold the governor recall petitions.

The Government Accountability Board adds to its record of shame.

Miss Piggy and Kermit and FOX News

2012-01-30T13:00:00.004-06:00

Kermit and Miss Piggy blasted FOX News at their movie premiere press conference.

John Nolte writes:

The Fox News segment Kermit and Miss Piggy are responding to (in the video below) can be watched here, and you can see it’s a rather innocuous and perfectly valid discussion about the culture. As a response, and nearly a week after the segment aired, the Fox-hating entertainment media (which is all of them) viralized the clip, blew the controversy up into something it really wasn’t, and did so because they find it impossible to turn down an opportunity to prove they’re one of the minions in the club.

What effectively happened, though, is a week-old Fox Business segment was consequently amplified into the news narrative, which turned the new Muppet film into a political and partisan football. Only our wildly out-of-touch entertainment media minions would think this is a good thing, and as a consequence, a well-reviewed film that opened above expectations entered the divisive culture and political wars and didn’t do anywhere near as well at the box office as some had expected and hoped.

That, however, wasn’t the fault of the Muppets. That was the immature, clubby entertainment media. The video below, though, puts the Muppets themselves into this controversy, which will only further alienate a very large segment of their audience.

Video.

MISS PIGGY: It's almost as laughable as, uh, accusing Fox News, as uh, you know, being news!

I wish children's characters, like the Muppets, didn't make partisan, politically-charged remarks.

Too bad the puppeteer thought it was a good idea to attack FOX.

I don't like thinking of Kermit, that sweet gentle soul, as a liberal thug and Miss Piggy as a Leftist loon. I don't like picturing them in the Capitol rotunda in Madison shrieking, "FOX LIES!"

I do wish that beloved children's characters would remain apolitical. There are plenty of adults to promote political agendas. There's no reason to speak through a puppet.

Let the kids be kids.

Innocence lost is irretrievable. One of the great tragedies of life.
_____________________

Here's the original segment from FOX News:

Paul Ryan: Birthday Cake, FOX News Sunday

2012-01-30T04:01:00.004-06:00

Paul Ryan was on FOX News Sunday to discuss the budget battle. He commented on other topics as well.

At the end of the interview, Chris Wallace surprised Ryan with a birthday cake.

Ryan turned 42 on Sunday.

He was presented with a rectangular cake with a large dollar sign on it, and a knife. Ryan was genuinely surprised.

According to Wallace, it was the federal dollar. Wallace pressured Ryan into cutting it.

It was odd and uncomfortable, but Wallace enjoyed it. He laughed, "Oh, what we'll do for a photo op."

Right.

Here's video of the complete interview:

Here's the cake portion:

Sarah Palin: Rage Against the Machine

2012-01-30T04:00:00.001-06:00

Sarah Palin offers a way to annoy a liberal: Vote Newt.

Video.

Transcript

JEANINE PIRRO: How can Newt Gingrich distance himself and say that he's not an, you know, an insider when there are those who would say he's the consummate Washington insider? I mean, he was Speaker of the House and he was in Congress for 20 years.

SARAH PALIN: Yeah, how can he say that he's not a part of the establishment? Well, look at the players in the establishment who are fighting so hard against him. They want to crucify him because he's tapped into that average, everyday American Tea Party grassroots movement that has said, 'Enough is enough of the establishment that tries to run the show, and tweak rules and laws and regulations for their own good and not for our nation's own good.'

Well, when both party machines and many in the media are trying to crucify Newt Gingrich for bucking the tide and bucking the establishment, that tells you something.

And I say, you know, you gotta rage against the machine at this point in order to defend our republic and save what is good and secure and prosperous about our nation. We need somebody who is engaged in sudden and relentless reform and isn't afraid to shake it up, shake up that establishment.

So, if for no other reason - rage against the machine - vote for Newt. Annoy a liberal. Vote Newt. Keep this vetting process going, keep the debate going.

As more debate happens, Judge, we'll hear more from Newt and from the other candidates who will oppose his position as he claims that he's not part of the establishment. Let's hear more about it.

Palin's real message is to allow the process to play out. I don't want to see a coronation.

I think it's nuts when Republicans say that this messy primary fight is reelecting Obama.

The argument that Republicans are giving Obama ammunition to use against the eventual nominee is silly.

Obama has been a disaster as president. The American people know it. So many are suffering because of his policies, what he's done and what he's failed to do.

Obama's record and the state of the country will provide the Republican nominee with a massive arsenal of reasons to present a convincing case against an Obama second term.

Obama has a real problem - his dreadful performance as president.

The Republican candidates need to focus on Obama.

Enough with the mudslinging. Convince me with a positive message, not negative attacks. That's what I want to hear - positive stuff.

I want to feel confident the nominee is capable of challenging Obama and defeating him.

Protests of Obama Health Ruling at Mass

2012-01-30T00:01:00.004-06:00

Reuters reports:

U.S. Catholic bishops and priests across the country read out letters at Mass on Sunday protesting plans by President Barack Obama's administration to force religiously-affiliated nonprofit groups to offer birth-control coverage to women employees.

On Jan 20, the Obama administration made final a proposal requiring most employer-sponsored health plans to offer women contraceptive services including sterilization without copays, co-insurance or deductibles.

Religious authorities including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops condemned the rule as a violation of religious conscience and the constitutional right to religious freedom.

In an organized protest, numerous local media reported on Sunday that Catholic clergy read out letters of protest Mass.

The "organized protest" wasn't too organized.

There was no mention whatsoever of the Obama administration's violation of the Constitution and disregard for religious liberty at the Mass I attended.

I'm glad some priests across the country informed the faithful of Obama's abuse and spoke out against it.

Unfortunately, the message wasn't relayed at every Mass over the weekend.

Mary Tyler Moore - SAG Award

2012-01-30T00:00:00.009-06:00

Mary Tyler Moore, TV icon, received a lifetime achievement award from the Screen Actors Guild during its annual awards ceremony.

From the Los Angeles Times:

Mary Tyler Moore took the stage Sunday to accept her award for career achievement, with her TV husband Dick Van Dyke singing her praises. And with Betty White onstage earlier to accept the award for female actor in a comedy series, the Screen Actors Guild Awards veered close to being an "MTM" episode of "This Is Your Life."

From the stage at the Shrine Exposition Hall in Los Angeles, Van Dyke recalled wondering aloud when he first met Moore: "Do you think she can do comedy?"

She could indeed, as she proved in her roles as Laura Petrie on the 1960s sitcom "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and later as Mary Richards on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show."

Moore could do drama too, with several serious roles on Broadway and TV. Her work in the heart-wrenching 1980 film "Ordinary People" earned her an Oscar nomination for lead actress.

Moore, of course, is perhaps best known for her role on her self-titled show, where she became the face of the modern single career woman. The pioneering role set the standard for countless female-driven comedy series, not to mention real-life careers.

...Moore also has helped raised funds and awareness about abused animals. The actress, who contracted juvenile diabetes, has been outspoken about the disease and has supported research for most of her career.

On Sunday, Moore enchanted the audience, telling the tale of how her trademark show business name came to be. It seems there were too many "Mary Moores" already in Hollywood.

...When Moore finished her speech, Van Dyke gave her a smooch on the cheek.

There's no question that Mary Tyler Moore deserved to be recognized for her achievements.

Dick Van Dyke, a TV icon in his own right, served as presenter.

When Van Dyke was finished with his introduction and the taped piece had played, Mary Tyler Moore was standing at the podium already. She didn't walk on stage.

After she completed her charming acceptance speech, she didn't move. When Van Dyke stepped in to give her a kiss on the cheek, she seemed startled. It was a little weird. She was never shown walking off stage.

There was an awkwardness about it. I wondered if she was suffering from a health issue.

I know she's had some health problems relatively recently.

I hope all is well. I wish her years of good health and congratulate her on the lifetime achievement award.

Bella Santorum

2012-01-30T00:00:00.004-06:00

Sarah Palin shares on Facebook: Beautiful Bella Santorum

Thank you, Rick and Karen Santorum, for living the Christ-like example of sacrifice and right priorities. Nothing is more precious or important than the life of an innocent child. Our prayers are with Bella, a perfect child in an imperfect world.

God bless the beautiful Santorum family.

- Sarah and Todd Palin and family

I so admire the respect for life exhibited by the Santorum family and the Palin family.

They live their beliefs. They understand the beauty of their blessings.
__________________

Santorum says daughter, Bella, 3, will be OK

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum, who scaled back campaign appearances to be with his 3-year-old daughter, Bella, at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, said Sunday night the little girl was getting better and should be able to go home in a few days.

Speaking to Florida supporters by phone from Bella's hospital room, Santorum said she'd had a rough 36 hours with pneumonia, but was awake, alert and back to being a "beautiful, happy girl."

Bella, one of seven Santorum children, suffers from a serious genetic disorder called Trisomy 18, a condition caused by a third copy of material from chromosome 18 instead of two, leading to a wide array of physical and mental problems.

His campaign had released a statement Sunday morning saying Santorum intended to "return to Florida and resume the campaign schedule as soon as is possible." Florida's primary election is Tuesday.

Bella, whose full name is Isabella Maria Santorum, has become a symbol of Santorum's steadfast pro-life stance on the campaign trail.

He has mentioned her in interviews and at events, saying in a video in October: "Bella makes us better."

In a column Santorum wrote for The Inquirer in 2010, he said his daughter's condition requires constant attention and "she is worth every tear."

Hermain Cain Endorses Newt Gingrich

2012-01-29T00:02:00.003-06:00

Will Herman Cain's endorsement help Newt Gingrich?

It will probably help as much as Rick Perry's endorsement.

Video.

From the New York Times:

Despite signs that he could lose the important Florida primary on Tuesday, Newt Gingrich, who picked up the endorsement of a former opponent, Herman Cain, pledged Saturday to stay in the nominating race until the very end, telling reporters he would press on until the Republican convention in Tampa in August.

“I will go all the way to the convention,” Mr. Gingrich said after a rally at a golf course here. “I expect to win the nomination.”

Mr. Gingrich alluded to two national polls that he said showed him ahead, but it is the state polls that count, and in Florida they show him lagging 8 or 10 percentage points behind Mitt Romney.

Later, at a West Palm Beach County Republican dinner, Mr. Gingrich accepted the endorsement of Mr. Cain, the former business executive who ended his own presidential campaign in early December. Mr. Cain, sharing the stage with Mr. Gingrich, said he understood the “sausage grinder” of a presidential campaign and was inspired by Mr. Gingrich, who has been pilloried by many in his party who are worried that if he became the nominee, he would lose to President Obama in November.

Mr. Cain suspended his campaign after reports emerged of an extramarital affair, and it is not clear how much his endorsement would help Mr. Gingrich, who has also acknowledged extramarital affairs. But Mr. Cain’s plan for a 9 percent flat tax resonated with Tea Party supporters and other conservatives.

Gingrich vows to go all the way to the convention.

It makes sense that he'd say that now. Certainly, the goal is not to drop out of the race. Who knows what will happen down the road?

I don't think a spirited debate hurts Republicans.

What I don't like is the way Gingrich and Mitt Romney are ripping each other apart. They should focus on Obama.

Hillary Clinton and Obama engaged in a lengthy primary battle. It didn't hurt the Democrats in 2008.

I think Republicans should get a grip. The current climate of panic is premature.

Occupiers and the Constitution

2012-01-29T00:01:00.001-06:00

Members of the Southern Occupy movement struggle mightily with four very simple questions about the U.S. Constitution.

Video.

Not good, but entertaining.

Vuvuzela This!

2012-01-29T00:00:00.001-06:00

The anti-Scott Walker brigade tooting their vuvuzelas should take note.

If the Leftist/Democrat/union protesters could do this with their vuvuzelas, I might be less annoyed by their blasts.

Still, even Beethoven when played as a protest, to prevent someone from being heard, is the sound of an ill-mannered, uncivilized clod.

Caroline Kennedy, Uncle Teddy Fundraising E-Mail

2012-01-28T13:15:00.000-06:00

Ted Kennedy has joined the 2012 reelect Obama effort.

Here's the e-mail:

From: Caroline Kennedy
Subject: My uncle Teddy

Friend --

Four years ago today, I joined my Uncle Teddy and thousands of excited students at American University to endorse Barack Obama as the next president of the United States.

Barack Obama had stirred something in young people and the young at heart. I saw the passion in my own teenage children, and I heard it from a different generation of people who said they felt like they did when my father ran for president.

We felt strongly that we needed to elect a president who urged us to believe in ourselves, who could tie that belief to our highest ideals, and who understood that together we can do great things.

Four years later, as I think about what first inspired me to support Barack Obama, I'm proud we have a president who has fought hard for the values Teddy held dear, and stood up on issues that matter.

Will you join me by saying what first inspired you to stand with Barack Obama?

http://my.barackobama.com/Teddy

Teddy understood that the challenges of health care aren't political -- they are personal. That's why he fought for 40 years to make health care a right and not a privilege for American families.

How proud he would have been to see his candidate sign the Affordable Care Act into law as president, giving all Americans the security of knowing that their health care will be there when they need it most.

In his speech four years ago today, Teddy reminded us all of that bright light of hope and possibility that shines even in the darkest hours. He knew that with Barack Obama as president, America would shine again. I don't think he would be surprised to know that four years later, this president would have ended the war in Iraq, repealed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," and guaranteed women the right to equal pay for equal work.

The 2012 election will be harder than the last. As you think about what role you can play this time, I want you to remember that when Teddy joined this campaign, it wasn't just Barack Obama who drew him in.

It was you.

The possibility of a campaign run by ordinary people determined to change our country for the better and willing to work as hard as necessary inspired him then, and it's what inspires me today.

Thanks for all you do.

I'll see you out there,

Caroline

P.S. -- If you'd like to take some time to watch that speech, it's here.

This is kind of weird.

Bill Maher and Saul Alinsky

2012-01-28T13:00:00.001-06:00

Bill Maher is not too smart. Or he's a liar. He could be both.

Maher claims to have no idea who Saul Alinsky is.

Video.

Here you go, Bill. Get educated. Alinsky wrote the handbook for radicals, literally.

Read Alinsky's own words in this interview from Playboy magazine, 1972.

I remember when Bill Maher was a clever, funny comedian.

Hard to believe such a Maher ever existed.

Madison High School Fight

2012-01-28T00:01:00.005-06:00

Another day, another slew of students arrested at a Milwaukee Public High School.

From FOX6 News:

Milwaukee police arrested 11 people after multiple fights broke out at Madison High School at 81st and Florist Friday afternoon.

Police say the fights broke out inside the school and officers on the scene called for help.

One officer was kicked in the face by an 18-year-old female student, after which police deployed an electronic control device to stop the threat.

Eight people were arrested for disorderly conduct; three for resisting/obstructing an officer.

Two police officers were hurt but did not require medical treatment.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett issued the following statement in relation to the fights at Madison High School:

“Today’s violent incident at Madison High School and yesterday’s after school fight at Washington High School are inexcusable. Students arrested and charged must be held accountable by their families, Milwaukee Public Schools and the courts. All of us, but in particular, parents, family members and MPS must be loud and clear in stating that there is no tolerance for the behavior exhibited over the last two days.”

The Madison High arrests were on Friday. On Thursday, police were called to Washington High School, and 12 people were arrested.

What an absolute mess!

These high school students and their peers engaging in this violence are Milwaukee's future.

It's a very scary thought.

The deterioration of the city of Milwaukee is a tragedy.

I believe Mayor Tom Barrett is sincere when he expresses his anger about incidents like the fights on Thursday and Friday at Milwaukee's public high schools. The problem is he's been outraged and issuing the same sort of statements for YEARS.

"This will not be tolerated."

OK. It might not be tolerated but I don't see any improvement. It keeps happening again and again. Instead of signs of hope, there is more mob violence, like after the July 3rd fireworks and after the opening day of the State Fair.

The city's death spiral continues.

Barrett's statements don't work. They don't change anything.

I guess the only thing that can save Milwaukee is a street car!

Crazy.

The community's leaders are utterly missing in action on the disintegration of this generation of kids. Individuals in positions of authority need to speak out and get tough. I think the leaders' ineffectiveness is as inexcusable as the violence committed by the thugs.

ACCOUNTABILITY.

RESPONSIBILITY.

MORALITY.

By the way, when was the last time police were called to a private school in the School Choice program and multiple arrests were made?

Refresh my memory, please. I can't recall that ever happening.

National Kazoo Day

2012-01-28T00:00:00.001-06:00

Today is National Kazoo Day.

Al Levie

2012-01-27T12:30:00.005-06:00

UPDATE: "Wisconsin Activist Teacher’s Paul Ryan Snub Explained," by Kyle Olson.
_______________

Once again, a Leftist Wisconsin teacher behaves disgracefully.

Al Levie joins the ranks of Wisconsin public employees to thoroughly embarrass himself.

Who is this latest embarrassment?

[Al] Levie is a social studies teacher at Horlick High School and is on the state executive board of Voces de la Frontera and the Racine chapter of the NAACP. He is an advisor to the student youth group Youth Empowered in the Struggle.

More:

[Al Levie] works as a community organizer and teacher/program director for the Wisconsin Correctional Service.

Given Levie's radical Leftist resume, I suppose it should come as no surprise that he would behave so boorishly in public.

However, Levie acting in such a divisive, offensive manner at a Martin Luther King Jr. event is really taking his activism to an extreme that should make his fellow Leftists cringe. (The operative word is "should.")

From The Blaze, via Charlie Sykes:

A Wisconsin teacher refused to accept an award from Rep. Paul Ryan during a ceremony last week, saying he couldn’t do so “in good conscience” because of the Republican congressman’s politics.

Al Levie, a high school social studies teacher in Racine, Wis., was one of three recipients of a Martin Luther King Jr. humanitarian award during a celebration honoring the late civil rights leader. Ryan, who represents the district, was on hand to present congressional recognitions to each award winner, the Kenosha News reported:
After Ryan spoke, Levie criticized the congressman’s policies before being walked off the stage. Levie had earlier stated that he would like to see collective bargaining restored in Wisconsin, fair immigration reform and a fair tax system among other suggestions.

In a video of the ceremony, Ryan is seen stepping from behind the podium to hand the award to Levie, who backs away and instead turns to speak to the audience. His words aren’t audible, but according to the video’s captions he said, “I can’t in good conscience accept this award, as a humanitarian, Paul Ryan stands for everything I don’t believe in.”

“Oh come on,” one person is heard saying.

“For the kids!” someone else adds.

...“I would not accept the award from Paul Ryan because Paul Ryan is a lackey for the 1 percent,” he said. “Paul Ryan had no business at a Martin Luther King event, it’s totally hypocritical. On the one hand he votes to slash health care, while on the other hand, King dedicated his life and he died for it, for people to have adequate healthcare, to have adequate jobs.”

“King made it very clear that he was on the side of working people,” he continued. “Ryan on the other hand, he has absolutely no affinity for the working class and for him to come to an event where somebody of King’s stature was honored is wrong.”

Here's video:

Clearly, Levie doesn't deserve the award.

To publicly display such inexplicable hate for Paul Ryan shows that Levie is no humanitarian and should not have been selected as an honoree.

Obviously, Paul Ryan was invited to the event. He was a guest. Organizers wanted him to be there. When Ryan attempted to present a Congressional Certificate of Recognition to Levie, he snubbed Ryan in an awkward and selfish fashion.

The disrespectful Levie shamelessly put his politics before decency.

Dr. King didn't do that. That was not the approach he took. He appealed to the goodness in others by acting with integrity. Levie showed he lacks the sort of integrity Dr. King possessed.

Wisconsin taxpayer employee Levie embodies the antithesis to Dr. King.

Levie is a terrible role model. It was a mistake to honor a dishonorable man like him.

Rachel Maddow - Jeopardy

2012-01-27T00:02:00.001-06:00

And the reality of MSNBC's dismal ratings rears its ugly head.

All three contestants on Jeopardy could not recognize a photo of Rachel Maddow and provide the answer (in the form of a question, please), "Who is Rachel Maddow?"

Video.

I guess smart people don't watch MSNBC.

Joe Biden: Fake Indian Accent

2012-01-27T00:01:00.000-06:00

Joe Biden is one of the most buffoonish vice presidents we've ever had.

His latest stumble: Biden Does Fake Indian Accent During Outsourcing Speech

BIDEN: Even call centers, even call centers rushed over seas, hundreds of thousands. How many times you get the call, ‘I like to talk to you about your credit card’? Or that ad on TV, what is it? ‘Nancy, this is Nancy, can I talk to a supervisor?’ Right? Ok? Well, it’s a little overdone but the truth of the matter is these jobs now are paying about $19.50 an hour if memory serves me.

What's with Biden and mocking Indians?

Remember this one?

BIDEN: You cannot go into a Dunkin Donuts or a 7-Eleven unless you have a slight Indian accent. I'm not joking.

I guess we know how Biden learned his Indian accent.

Gogebic Taconite and Mining Bill

2012-01-27T00:00:00.002-06:00

We need jobs.

Will Wisconsin legislators go "Keystone" on us?

From the Pierce County Herald:

Debate continued in the Wisconsin State Assembly this afternoon on the bill to speed up the process of granting state permits for new iron ore mines – like the one Gogebic Taconite wants to build in Ashland and Iron counties.

Germantown Republican Dan Knodl said the measure would create jobs and prosperity to people throughout the Badger State. And that includes mining equipment makers in Milwaukee, 400 miles from where the proposed Gogebic mine would be built. But Appleton Democrat Penny Bernard-Schaber said the authors of the 180-plus-page bill should start over. She criticized an amendment to raise the maximum amount the DNR could be paid for permit-related costs from $1.1 million dollars to two-million. Bernard-Schaber said the state would be left “holding the bag,” because it might cost up to eight-million-dollars for the DNR’s permit-related expenses. She also said local communities would be hurt by a proposal to give the state 40-percent of tax revenues from the products of the mines – even though the original plan called for a 50-50 split of the state-and-local shares. And Bernard-Schaber said local residents would be hurt by a $150,000 limit on collecting personal property damages due to the mine.

At one point, the presiding officer called for the Assembly gallery to be cleared because of hecklers. Madison Democrat Mark Pocan accused Republicans of over-reacting, saying it’s wrong to eject the entire gallery over the behavior of a few. But speaker Jeff Fitzgerald (R-Horicon) said quote, “It’s more than a protest to have obscenities raining down on the Assembly floor,” and unless a specific culprit can be identified, he said lawmakers did not have a choice but to throw everyone out. The culprit was apparently found, and the debate continued.

Imagine that. Hecklers.

Boy, I didn't see that coming.

Bottom line: Leftists/Democrats don't want jobs to be created on Scott Walker's watch.

Yes, they pander to the environmentalists, but for them, this is mostly about obstructing Walker and preventing the state from acquiring new business.

Of course, the Republicans control both the Assembly and the Senate, but the Senate is where things get sticky.

From the Associated Press:

Republican Gov. Scott Walker is behind the bill, calling again during his State of the State address Wednesday night for lawmakers to pass it. Republicans control the Assembly, making passage in that house all but certain.

Assembly approval would kick the bill to the state Senate, but from there things get murky. Republicans control the Senate, but they've been treading cautiously on mining changes. The GOP holds only a one-vote majority in the chamber and four GOP senators face potential recall elections later this year. Passing the bill could generate even more anger among voters.

The Senate appointed a special committee to study mining issues last fall, but the panel has met only once. Sen. Neal Kedzie, R-Elkhorn, the committee's chairman, ticked off a number of questions about the Assembly proposal Thursday, saying the Senate might revamp the bill. All he could say for sure was he wants to get a mining bill out of the Senate before the legislative session ends in March.

"I'm not here to criticize the Assembly bill. They're putting out a product they feel their members are able to support, but that doesn't mean we can't add additional ideas and make the legislation better," Kedzie said.

The bill would require the state Department of Natural Resources to make a decision on an iron mining application within a year. Currently the process is open-ended.

...Mine opponents spent the day speaking out against the legislation in a Capitol hearing room, propping signs against the walls that read "there will be no mine, end of story, get out" and "they say mine, we say ours!!"

Members of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa filled the room. The tribe's reservation is located just downstream from the mine site and fears pollution from the mine will contaminate their beloved rice beds. Tribal elder Joseph Rose regaled listeners with the tribe's creation stories, saying humans were meant to live in harmony with nature and not take more than they need.

"That's the very basis of our spirituality," Rose said. "What will we be leaving to that seventh generation? Will there be clean water? Will there be fresh air? Will there be birds and animals?"

There has to be balance, of course.

The environmental impact should be considered, but it shouldn't be used as an excuse to prevent jobs from coming to the state.

Unreasonable obstruction sends jobs elsewhere.

Creating jobs and being good stewards of the earth are not mutually exclusive.

Kelly Rindfleisch, Darlene Wink, and John Chisholm

2012-01-26T13:01:00.003-06:00

I've lost a lot of respect for Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm, DEMOCRAT.

His partisan political maneuvering has brought disgrace to himself and his office. His allegedly "secret" John Doe investigation has been a joke.

From 620 WTMJ:

Two new sets of charges have come down Thursday against two former staffers for now-Governor Scott Walker when he was Milwaukee County Executive.

Each staffer reportedly engaged in political activity and fundraising while on the job at the County Executive's office.

Kelly Rindfleisch faces four charges of misconduct in public office.

Rindfleisch, 43, was then-County Executive Walker's deputy chief of staff.

The complaint alleges that Rindfleisch illegally worked on Rep. Brett Davis' campaign at taxpayers' expense.

Darlene Wink also faces two misdemeanors of political solicitation by a public employee.

She worked as a constituent coordinator for Walker.

Rindfleisch allegedly set up a private e-mail account and operated the account from the County Executive's office.

The complaint says the e-mails were for both political campaigning and office work.

Wink reportedly raised money for Walker's gubernatorial race at county taxpayers' expense.

Chisholm's lengthy investigation has yielded nothing that accuses Scott Walker of wrongdoing.

RATS!

He tried, Leftists. Chisholm tried, but he came up with nothing.

When it comes to Rindfleisch and Wink, illegal actions are, obviously, unacceptable and should not be tolerated.

However, justice is blind, right?

It shouldn't matter that Rindfleisch and Wink were doing political work for Republicans.

Unfortunately, it does.

John Chisholm must have hundreds, maybe thousands, of public employees to investigate and charge for illegal political activities.

He must confiscate the work computers of public school teachers, and comb through all the files and emails.

We know that taxpayer employees engaged in political activity while on the clock as teachers in public schools.

Will Chisholm begin to investigate them?

Fat chance.

If this "secret" John Doe investigation sheds light on anything, it's that John Chisholm is a partisan hack.
___________________

Video, from FOX6 News:

'Wife's a F---ing Whore' - Protester to Joel Kleefisch

2012-01-26T12:30:00.006-06:00

Last night after Governor Scott Walker delivered the State of the State address at the Capitol, Rep. Joel Kleefisch, husband of Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch, was verbally assaulted by Leftist/Democrat/union protesters.

From the Capital Times:

A couple hundred people gathered at the Capitol Wednesday night for Gov. Scott Walker's State of the State speech. But the last thing they wanted to do was to actually hear it.

They were there to drown it out, with shouting, with singing, with profanity, and even with a poorly played sousaphone. And, they said, with a recall that will get Walker off the podium for good.

"We want to be really loud so they can hear us on TV," said Harriet Rowan, who was using her cellphone to tweet updates to followers. The organizers got around new Department of Administration rules restricting protests in the Capitol -- unveiled in December but not yet completely enforced -- by organizing via Twitter.

...The best part of the speech for many in this crowd was when it was over and politicians filed out.

"There's a live one!" someone shouted as Rep. Joel Kleefisch, R-Oconomowoc (also Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch's husband), strode past on his way to the bathroom.

"Shame!" shouted Jeremy Ryan, the executive director of a protest group called Defending Wisconsin.

As Kleefisch passed the crowd again later, a young woman taunted him. "Your wife's a f--- whore!" she screamed.

A man from Nebraska observing the scene was disgusted. "It's so disrespectful," he said. "We don't do this in Nebraska." He refused to give his name but said he was in town for what he described as a political convention.

This is beyond disrespectful.

It's a disgrace, an absolute disgrace.

Yes, it's shameful, as in "SHAME, SHAME, SHAME, SHAME."

There's no defending this sort of vile behavior.

I completely disagree with Tom Barrett politically. Without question, I think he should be voted out of office, not in a recall election, but when he's up for reelection. I think Barrett has been a disaster for Milwaukee. He would be a disaster for the state.

I've seen Barrett in public places. I've seen him walking around at Summerfest and the ethnic festivals.

I would NEVER start screaming at him. I would NEVER yell, "Your wife's a f---ing whore." I wouldn't whisper something like that. I wouldn't say it at all. I wouldn't think it.

I would NEVER post on Facebook, "Tom Barrett must die." I wouldn't say it and I wouldn't think it.

Such behavior is completely inexcusable. The lack of civility is shocking. Only a sociopath would act out in such a disgusting manner.

The public unions and other Scott Walker haters are doing nothing to help their cause by acting like thugs, truly despicable thugs.

SUPER BOWL XXXI - 15 Years Ago

2012-01-26T12:00:00.002-06:00

It was fifteen years ago today.

The Green Bay Packers beat the New England Patriots to become Super Bowl XXXI champions.

Al Marsh: Walker Death Threat, Protester

2012-01-26T04:01:00.000-06:00

On his radio program yesterday, Mark Belling reported that Al Marsh, under investigation for posting a threat to Scott Walker's life on Facebook, is, in fact, a city of Milwaukee employee.

Belling said that Marsh has made some additional Facebook posts since his disturbing comment first drew attention, including defending his "Scott Walker must die" threat as free speech.

Do you recognize this man?

It's Al Marsh. He believes he has the right to threaten the life of Scott Walker, Governor of Wisconsin.

Truly sick and deranged.

Failing to take his remark seriously is also sick. It's frightening.

Looking through Marsh's photos on Facebook is revealing.

His decision to post this is kind of scary:

Marsh also has a photo of the Capitol building in Madison from March 5, 2011, with the caption, "We arrive at the capital."

It's clear that Marsh dislikes Governor Walker enough to have made the trip from Milwaukee to Madison to protest. He's an activist.

With a photo of the protest captioned "40,000 strong," Marsh comments: "This is how I spent my Saturday."

Another photo from March 5, in Madison: "The assault begins."

"Assault"? Marsh's choice of words suggests violence, not a peaceful protest.

Some of his other photos from the same day:

"Protest rally marchers."

"Fellow protesters in the capital."

Marsh isn't just a guy writing dumb stuff online. He's actively involved in the anti-Scott Walker movement.

I hope law enforcement is thoroughly investigating Marsh.

The guy really creeps me out.

"Scott Walker must die."

A stable person, at least 50 years old, doesn't post that.

Scott Walker: State of the State (Transcript)

2012-01-26T04:00:00.008-06:00

Governor Scott Walker delivered his State of the State last night.

There were a few disruptions during the address, but they were minor.

Here's the transcript, as prepared for delivery:

Speaker Fitzgerald, Speaker Pro Tem Kramer, President Ellis, Majority Leader Fitzgerald, Minority Leader Miller, Minority Leader Barca, members of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, Constitutional Officers, tribal leaders, members of the Cabinet, distinguished guests, members of the Legislature, my wife Tonette and our family and most importantly fellow citizens of the great state of Wisconsin, it is an honor to appear before you tonight.

Next to my wife is the Adjutant General of Wisconsin Major General Don Dunbar. I want to thank him and the more than 10,000 members of our state's National Guard.

With him tonight are the members of the 724th Engineer Battalion. I first spoke with them when they were deployed in Iraq. I greeted them when they returned home and then, I saw many of them again this summer as they responded to the massive damage caused by the wind storms in northwestern Wisconsin.

Their dedication — to their country, their state and, their communities is a prime example of what we all know as the Spirit of Wisconsin. We thank them — and all of the other men and women in uniform: both past and present — for their service.

Before we begin our conversation, let us take a moment to honor a member of our state government family, who couldn't be with us tonight. Representative Tamara Grigsby is fighting a brave battle. Like so many of you, Tonette and I continue to send our thoughts and prayers to Representative Grigsby and her family, and we look forward to seeing her in this chamber again very soon.

Tonight, we come together to discuss the state of our state. To do so, we need to remember where we were as a state prior to a year ago, what we've accomplished over the past year and most importantly where we are headed in the year to come.

When I addressed you in this chamber last January, Wisconsin had suffered through three years of 150,000 of our fellow citizens losing their jobs. The unemployment rate was 7.5 percent. And after years of tax increases and budget tricks, Wisconsin faced one of the largest budget deficits in the country.

Now, our unemployment rate is down from a year ago. In fact, it's the lowest it's been since 2008.

We are turning things around. We are heading in the right direction.

During the past year, we added thousands of new jobs. And we balanced the state budget. We balanced it — without raising taxes; without massive layoffs; and without budget tricks; all of which allowed us to put more than $1.2 billion of new state money into Medicaid programs like Badgercare and FamilyCare.

Tonight, I want to share with you how we got here and I want to share our plan for:

— Helping the people of Wisconsin create more jobs,

— Keeping a balanced budget and

— Improving the education of our kids by working together.

When I ran for governor, I talked a great deal about the core principles I call "Brown Bag Common Sense." One of those principles is that people create jobs, not the government.

In the past, however, some thought that the government did create jobs and that's how they justified raising taxes to pay for the unsustainable expansion of government.

That thinking might explain why prior to my taking office the state lost 150,000 private sector jobs.

In contrast, I believe it is the people of this state who create jobs and not the government. With that in mind, I set out to improve the climate for small businesses in Wisconsin.

Last year, we passed some of the most aggressive pro-jobs legislation in the country. And we did it with help from lawmakers in both parties because these aren't Republican or Democrat jobs, they're Wisconsin jobs.

Tonight I'm happy to report that after three years of losing 150,000 jobs Wisconsin actually added thousands of new jobs in 2011. New business formations are up by over 2 percent. And our unemployment rate is down from a year ago.

In fact, Wisconsin's unemployment rate is not only lower than the national average but much better than our neighbors to the south in Illinois.

Most importantly, we improved the climate for job creators here in Wisconsin over the past year.

Today, 94 percent of our job creators believe Wisconsin is headed in the right direction. That compares to just 10 percent who thought the same thing just two years ago. And a majority of these employers say they're going to grow in 2012.

They will join companies like RUUD Lighting in Sturtevant or Uline in Hudson, Collaborative Consulting in Wausau or Shopko in Green Bay, Generac in Whitewater or City Brewing in La Crosse — all of whom announced new jobs during the past year.

They'll join Kestrel Aircraft in Superior. I was just there two weeks ago when they announced they're adding 600 new jobs. The Mayor said it was the largest jobs project in the region since World War II.

But, the inspiring stories don't come just from company owners or plant managers; they come from employees.

Sandy Breth — who is here with us tonight — has one of those great stories.

When the economy took a dive a few years ago, she took a pay cut. Not long after that, she lost her job. Today, however, she's working at G3 Industries in Mosinee.

G3 is one of those companies that added jobs in the past year and now has plans to add even more in the future. The owner told me that he's creating more jobs in Wisconsin because he likes the way we are moving our state forward.

Without the positive changes, he told me he would not have had the confidence to grow his business here. Improving the business climate is not only good for business owners; it's good for people like Sandy and her family.

We need more stories like hers in Wisconsin. So our Lieutenant Governor and I held small business round-tables all over the state.

From La Crosse to Green Bay, from Superior to Racine, from Milwaukee to Eau Claire, from Madison to Wausau, we listened. In particular, we heard many business owners say that they have jobs but that they cannot find enough skilled workers to fill them. This is a problem that must be solved.

With that in mind, we introduced our Wisconsin Working jobs plan. In it, we double the number of job fairs, add staff to connect people to employment, make it easier for job seekers to get needed skills and we prepare to do more to promote manufacturing.

In addition, we are specifically targeting our veterans for full employment. It is unacceptable to think that any man or woman who has served our country would return home and not be able to find a job. I made employment of our returning veterans the number one mission of our state Department of Veterans Affairs.

Focusing on veterans is good for employers like Monarch Company in Milwaukee who is looking to add machinists and welders. After a recent visit there they told me they understand the benefits of employing veterans. Our returning service members are good hires because they are well disciplined. On top of that, they can get their training paid for through the Wisconsin GI Bill that we fully restored last year.

To create more jobs, employers told us they also need help cutting through the red tape of government.

Tonight, I'm announcing new members to the Small Business Regulatory Review Board which has the authority to review every rule in all of our state agencies. I will direct our agencies to work with them to remove antiquated and unnecessary regulations that pose a threat to creating new jobs.

Employers also told us that they need a 21st century infrastructure system to drive economic development. After the previous administration raided more than a billion dollars out of the Transportation Fund, I took action to restore our commitment to good roads, freight rail and strong ports. We know that a strong transportation system helps manufacturers and farmers get product to and from market and it keeps good people on the job building that infrastructure.

There is another tremendous opportunity for job growth. We can pass legislation that will streamline the process for safe and environmentally sound mining. The proposed project in northwestern Wisconsin could provide at least 700 jobs at the mine and thousands across the state.

I mentioned this idea several times during the campaign and we've debated it for months. Now it is time for Wisconsin to move forward on a project that is not only about jobs but also about the history of our badger state.

Our heritage in Wisconsin is also built on fiscal restraint. One of the most important parts of our state constitution affirms that "frugality in government leads to freedom and prosperity for our people." That is worth repeating: "frugality in government leads to freedom and prosperity for our people." I believe our founders had it right.

Think about it, when I spoke here last January, Wisconsin faced a $3.6 billion deficit.

In the past, state government took more than a billion dollars away from building safe roads and bridges, illegally raided the fund to support malpractice victims and ignored a payment to Minnesota for tax reciprocity. And one-time federal stimulus money was used for ongoing costs — all of these practices left us with a more than $3 billion hole to fill last year.

While these poor decisions of the past left us with a major budget deficit, Wisconsin was not alone. Nearly every state in America faced a budget deficit in 2011. So what did other states do?

Some, like Illinois, raised taxes — but that only made matters worse.

Other states used massive layoffs to balance their budgets. We avoided that in Wisconsin.

Some states cut core services like Medicaid. But in Wisconsin, we added some $1.2 billion to Medicaid and our reforms allow us to expand Familycare — our long-term care program for seniors — all across the state.

Still other states opted to use budget tricks. But I didn't want to pass that burden on to my sons and their generation. I want our kids and grandkids to inherit a Wisconsin even greater than the one we did.

With that in mind, we balanced the $3.6 billion budget deficit with long-term, structural reforms. We thought more about the next generation than we did about the next election.

And isn't that what the people elected us to do? We kept our promises.

It's why our ranking as a good place to create jobs went up faster than any state in the country last year. We went from years of being ranked in the bottom 10 to breaking into the top half of the states. Employers appreciate that we took our fiscal problems seriously and that we addressed them with real solutions.

Another important pledge I made was to not raise taxes. That's even more important in a tough economy.

Many of us believe that the $3 billion tax increase imposed a few years ago actually led to the massive job losses through 2010. In contrast, we enacted a budget in 2011 that lowered the overall tax burden in Wisconsin.

For the five years prior to last year, the average school tax levy increased $220 million per year. Our reforms led to the first decrease in the school property tax levy in six years. The total school tax levy actually went down by more than $47 million.

That means real money in the hands of real people. People like Pam Petry of Rice Lake. Mrs. Petry saw her property tax go down by more than $100 this year. Or people like Gail Griswold of West Salem who was surprised to see her bill go down, too.

Our reforms helped protect these taxpayers and thousands of others across the state.

Still, there is more to be done to protect the taxpayers of Wisconsin. Last year, I appointed the bipartisan Commission on Waste, Fraud, and Abuse. The members turned in their final report earlier this month. In it, they identified over $400 million in savings for the taxpayers.

We've already implemented some of the recommendations from this report. And to date, these reforms have saved taxpayers tens of millions of dollars. That's a great start.

But identifying waste isn't enough; we need to eliminate it. To that end, I'm announcing the Waste, Fraud and Abuse Elimination Taskforce charged with the responsibility to follow through on the report.

Because I respect the hard working people of Wisconsin, I will continue to be a good steward of the taxpayers' dollar. Eliminating waste, fraud and abuse is a top priority of my administration.

Just as important as saving money, our reforms help government work well in places where it does have a legitimate role — like education. As governor, I travel the state and see great schools all the time. And as the father of two public high school students, I'm reminded of their importance every day

I want to improve our schools and ensure that every kid — no matter what zip code they live in — has access to a great education.

Fortunately, we can have great schools and protect taxpayers at the same time. We just have to spend our money more wisely. For example, before our reforms, school districts often had to buy their health insurance from one company which cost them millions of dollars.

Now, they can bid it out and that is saving school districts millions of dollars across the state. The Hartland-Lakeside School District saved nearly $700,000 by switching insurance providers. In Menomonee Falls they saved $2.4 million. In North Fond du Lac they were able to keep the same provider but saved over $300,000. That's money that can go directly into the classroom.

Here's another example, a few years ago long before I was governor, a young woman was named the Outstanding Initial Educator by the Wisconsin Council of Teachers of English. Not long after she received the award, she was laid off.

Why? Well, under the old collective bargaining system she was one of the first to be laid off because she was one of the last ones to be hired. It didn't matter that she was one of the best teachers in the state.

To correct problems like that, our reforms now allow local school districts to staff based on merit and pay based on performance. That means we can put the best and brightest in our classrooms — and we can keep them there.

Two years ago, I spoke to the convention of school board members and administrators and laid out my plan. As a candidate for Governor, I told them that the system needed to be reformed and that we should empower local officials who were elected at the local level to make the decisions about their schools. And that's exactly what our reforms do.

The best reminder of that came from the words of a superintendent of a small school district who said to me "now I get to go back to my office and focus on curriculum instead of grievances." That is exactly what all of this hard work is for — to allow our schools, as well as our state and local governments, to work better for the people we serve.

Tonight, I want to again thank the many teachers and public servants from across the state of Wisconsin. We appreciate your hard work and your dedication to serving the public. And we are glad that Wisconsin avoided the massive layoffs of government employees experienced in other states.

Looking ahead, there is much more to be done to improve our education system.

No skill is as fundamental to student achievement as the ability to read. Something profound happens when a student passes from third grade to fourth grade. You see, from kindergarten through third grade, students spend the bulk of their time learning to read. But by fourth grade, our kids must be equipped with proficient reading skills, so they are no longer learning to read, but reading to learn.

That's why I joined with Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers to put together a Read to Lead task force — which was a diverse group of educators, reading specialists, parents and others from across the state to create a plan for improving the reading skills of our students.

I also want to commend Senator Luther Olsen, Representative Steve Kestell and Representative Jason Fields — as well as each of the other taskforce members for working together on Read to Lead.

Wisconsin used to lead the nation as one of the top-ranked states in 4th grade reading assessment. But by the time I took office Wisconsin had sunk to the middle of the pack. We can all agree that we can and should do better.

As part of our Read to Lead plan, we propose swift action to get our students back on top when it comes to reading.

— We will fund screeners to assess every child entering kindergarten, so that our teachers know the reading levels of each of their students and can put together plans to get kids reading at grade level.

— We will require the state's Young Star program which works with child care providers to include a new focus on reading skills and new training on early childhood education.

— We will implement a more rigorous licensure exam for elementary education programs patterned after the highly successful program in Massachusetts.

— We will create a Read to Lead development council to raise support for reading programs all across Wisconsin.

A study last April showed that students are 4 times more likely to drop out of a school if they are not reading at grade level by the time they leave third grade and they are 13 times more likely if you include poverty as an additional factor. It is our duty to help all our kids learn to read early, so they don't ever have to feel like learning isn't for them.

Our most ambitious goal is developing a uniquely Wisconsin school and school district accountability plan.

Dr. Evers and I have been working with a diverse group of individuals to develop our plan to let parents, teachers, and communities know which schools are performing well, so that we can replicate their success. And we do need to know which schools are failing, so we can help them.

Ultimately, educators, parents and even employers will be able to look at the scores of schools and school districts all across the state. Every school that receives public funds — be it a traditional public school, a charter school or a choice school — will be rated by a fair, objective and transparent system. We are proud of the work done by this design team and I want to thank Dr. Evers and his staff for the great leadership and collaboration on this important project.

Tonight I've discussed our challenges, our progress and our vision for success as we seek to create a climate for more jobs, a fiscally sound state government and an education system that works well for all of our children. Now, I'm asking each of you — in every part of the state — to help us move Wisconsin forward.

Over the last year, we've demonstrated our commitment to improve the climate for business here in Wisconsin. Tonight I'm asking small business owners from across the state to consider hiring at least one more person this year.

Imagine how many more people we could get working if we all pitched in together.

To continue to improve our fiscal standing so our kids inherit a state without massive deficits, I ask each of you to share your ideas of how to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse in government at our website bestpractices.wi.gov.

Imagine how much better we can make our government work if we share good ideas and suggestions.

To continue to improve the educational opportunities for our kids, I'm asking each of you to join me and become a reading mentor. Last week, I started reading with a third grader in Milwaukee.

I read to her about Science and the marine life under the water. She read to me out of her book about the adventures of Edgar and Ellen. Then we did a reading exercise on the computer. I've got to tell you that I was impressed.Imagine how many kids we can inspire to be great readers if we all reach out to our local schools.

In closing, let me leave you with a final thought.

Years ago, when I had the honor of representing the people of Wauwatosa in this chamber I learned a valuable lesson: don't personalize your differences. Over the years, I passed that on to many others with the simple reminder that your opponent today may be your ally tomorrow.

The people I've met travelling the state over the past year seem to reflect that simple concept of respect for their fellow citizen. Sure, there are plenty of people with plenty of different opinions — on politics, on business, on religion, on sports, on just about anything in this state. But what I've found in most parts of Wisconsin is a sense of respect.

Most of the people I've met in this state care — not only for their family and friends — but for the well-being of their neighbors and fellow citizens.

That's the spirit of Wisconsin. I've seen it in the faces of the volunteers who show up to help after tornadoes in places like Merrill or La Crosse or Marinette. And I've always seen it in the faces of our men and women in uniform like the members of the 724th we met at the start of the night.

Moving forward I believe that spirit of Wisconsin will help us improve the state of our economy, the state of our budget, the state of our schools and — ultimately, the spirit of Wisconsin will help us all improve the lives of each and every citizen in our great state.

Now is the time for action. Now is the time to get our state working again. Now is the time to move Wisconsin forward.

This is a much better speech in terms of substance and vision than Obama's State of the Union address.

Here's video of protesters in the Capitol rotunda after the address, from the MacIver Institute:

Lame, lame, lame, lame, lame!!!!!

What are they going to do when we reelect Scott Walker and their recall crashes and burns?

Vuvuzela in hand, but no place to go.

Maybe they'll become soccer fans.

Jan Brewer Gives Obama Finger (Video)

2012-01-26T04:00:00.007-06:00

UPDATE: Gov. Jan Brewer Reveals What Happened in the Photo of Her, President Obama in a ‘Heated Exchange’

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Arizona Governor Jan Brewer greeted Obama at the airport on Wednesday.

Obama used the opportunity to lash out at her.

From the Arizona Republic:

President Barack Obama arrived at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport and was greeted by Gov. Jan Brewer, among other dignitaries and local mayors. The two spoke intensely for a few minutes. At one point, she pointed her finger at him. At another, they were talking over each other.

Obama appeared to walk away from Brewer while they were still talking.

"He was a little disturbed about my book, 'Scorpions for Breakfast,' " Brewer told a pool reporter who is a member of the traveling White House press corps shortly after her encounter with Obama. "I said to him that I have all the respect in the world for the office of the president. The book is what the book is. I asked him if he read the book. He said he read the excerpt."

Asked what aspect of the book disturbed him, Brewer said: "That he didn't feel that I had treated him cordially. I said I was sorry he felt that way, but I didn't get my sentence finished. Anyway, we're glad he's here."

Brewer, a Republican, had given Obama a letter about immigration and invited him back to Arizona. Her office declined to release a copy, saying it was a personal, hand-written letter and not a public record. She later released a statement saying she and the president had discussed "this state's economic turnaround."

A White House official said Obama told Brewer that he wants to help Arizona's economy expand and that he'd be happy to meet with her, but that he felt Brewer gave an inaccurate portrayal of her previous Oval Office meeting in her 2011 book.

The official said their last meeting, in June 2010, was a cordial discussion in the Oval Office. At the time, Brewer also described the conversation as cordial, but in the book, she calls the president "patronizing" and said "he lectured me."

Following Wednesday's event, Brewer spokesman Matthew Benson said the governor "was somewhat taken aback by the president's tone" during the encounter.

From the Associated Press:

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer came to greet President Obama upon his arrival outside Phoenix Wednesday. What she got was a critique. Of her book.

The two leaders could be seen engaged in an intense conversation at the base of Air Force One's steps. Both could be seen smiling, but speaking at the same time.

Asked moments later what the conversation was about, Brewer, a Republican, said, "He was a little disturbed about my book."

Brewer recently published a book, "Scorpions for Breakfast," something of a memoir of her years growing up, and defends her signing of Arizona's controversial law cracking down on illegal immigrants, which Obama opposes.

Obama was objecting to Brewer's description of a meeting he and Brewer had at the White House, where she described Obama as lecturing her. In an interview in November Brewer described two tense meetings. The first took place before his commencement address at Arizona State University. "He did blow me off at ASU," she said in the television interview in November.

She also described meeting the president at the White House in 2010 to talk about immigration. "I felt a little bit like I was being lectured to, and I was a little kid in a classroom, if you will, and he was this wise professor and I was this little kid, and this little kid knows what the problem is and I felt minimized to say the least."

Temper, temper, Obama. Show a little self-control.

This was not the time to engage in a hissy fit over Brewer's book.

Very unpresidential to say the least.

I don't blame Brewer for responding.

Obama threw the first punch.

Video.

Debbie Bosanek: RICH

2012-01-26T00:01:00.005-06:00

Debbie Bosanek is Obama's class warfare poster girl, symbol of the struggling middle class.

Bosanek is "secretary to billionaire investor Warren Buffet" She's "the face of the 'Buffett Rule,' the tax policy President Obama is pushing, inspired by Buffett’s assertion that he shouldn’t pay a lower tax rate than his secretary does."

And there was little Ms. Bosanek, joining Michelle Obama in the gallery during the State of the Union address. Bosanek is seen here next to Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of Steve Jobs.

New revelations about Bosanek prove to be awkward for Obama.

From Paul Roderick Gregory, Forbes:

Warren Buffet’s secretary, Debbie Bosanek, served as a stage prop for President Obama’s State of the Union speech. She was the President’s chief display of the alleged unfairness of our tax system – a little person paying a higher tax rate than her billionaire boss.

Bosanek’s prominent role in Obama’s “fairness” campaign piqued my curiosity, and I imagine the curiosity of others. How much does her boss pay this downtrodden woman? So far, no one has volunteered this information.

...Insofar as Buffet (like Mitt Romney) earns income primarily from capital gains, which are taxed at 15 percent (and according to Obama need to be raised for reasons of fairness), we need to determine how much income a taxpayer like Bosanek must earn in order to pay an average tax rate above fifteen percent. This is easy to do.

The IRS publishes detailed tax tables by income level. The latest results are for 2009. They show that taxpayers earning an adjusted gross income between $100,000 and $200,000 pay an average rate of twelve percent. This is below Buffet’s rate; so she must earn more than that. Taxpayers earning adjusted gross incomes of $200,000 to $500,000, pay an average tax rate of nineteen percent. Therefore Buffet must pay Debbie Bosanke a salary above two hundred thousand.

We must wait for further details to learn how much more than $200,000 she earns. The tax tables tell us about average ranges. For all we know she earns closer to a half million each year, but that is pure speculation.

I have nothing against Debbie Bosanke earning a half million or even more. Buffet is a major player in the world economy. His secretary deserves good compensation. At her income, however, she is scarcely the symbol of injustice that Obama wishes her to project.

Debbie's salary isn't the sort I typically think of when it comes to secretary work.

She's a rich girl.

Embarrassing for Obama.
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