Here are, in my view, interesting, noteworthy columns and articles from the past week that I highly recommend (You will note that on occasion, I do not endorse the opinions of the author and may point that out. Despite my disagreements, I still feel the piece is worth a read).


Presidential poison

"Mark down the date. Tuesday, April 21, 2009, is the moment that any chance of a new era of bipartisan respect in Washington ended. By inviting the prosecution of Bush officials for their antiterror legal advice, President Obama has injected a poison into our politics that he and the country will live to regret"


The truths behind the tea parties

"So why did people rally across the country when they should have been planning how to spend their tax refunds? Because their true dismay is about the mushrooming of federal outlays, which the demonstrators regard as a future tax increase in the making. Which, of course, it is."


Media struggle to understand non-violent non-smelly protesters

"All those in the media had to do was read a few of the signs to 'get it.' The complaints were pretty straight forward: Stop the spending. Get out of our business. Let us keep more of the money we make. Stop the bailouts. For some reason such common sense concerns were beyond the comprehension of most of those reporting on the events."


Conservatives can learn from the other side to mount comeback

"Mark Block has a simple plan for getting conservatives back into power. Copy the liberals."


The top ten reasons conservatism is as dead as disco

"Conservatives are NEVER, EVER, EVER going to get back into power again."


The end of the world as we know it

"Call me crazy, but I’ll bet that in 15-20 years the planet will still be here along with most of the 'environment' — your flora and fauna, your polar bears and three-toed tree sloths and whatnot. But geopolitically we’re in for a hell of a ride, and the world we end up with is unlikely to be as congenial as most Americans have gotten used to."


Must we be a nation of haters? (Beloit Daily News)

"Online, a culture has developed which demands anonymity. Electronic audiences have grown expansively and brought their own values with them. Newspapers and other Web sites, trying to build the readership of the future, have struggled to find ways to mesh with that social framework. Some papers post every reader-generated comment immediately, without any identification requirement, and without a moderator. Others, like us, require would-be posters to register with the paper first, and our webmaster reviews comments before posting. We withhold some for reasons of taste, but try to be accommodating within the prevailing culture of the Internet. And, we know, lying takes place. The registration requirement doesn't mean people give us their real names before posting comments, anonymously, using just a created screen name.

I'm old school. It bothers me. I think people ought to stand up and be identified when they exercise that greatest of all American rights, the right to free speech and political participation. The Internet culture of ambush attack strikes me as more than a little un-American, blasting away from hiding. But go here, go there, go anywhere online, and it's what you will find."


KF comment: BRAVO!


Pretty woman

"(Susan) Boyle is the Scottish singer who blew away the judges, the audience — and by the millions of YouTube hits — much of the world with her performance on the 'Britain’s Got Talent' television program. Susan Boyle’s performance is not the entire story, however. She’s had her magnificent voice since she was a young girl. We are the story because of our reaction to her."


Generation Me

"A new book says we're in a narcissism epidemic. Why you're not so special."


Should 'sexting' be decriminalized?

Point: "Really? That’s how we fix this? A boy in Texas is arrested on child pornography charges for simply having a racy photo on his phone."

Counterpoint: "It is flat-out wrong and dangerous, often with life-impacting consequences for those involved. Especially for the female subjects who are left with their reputation in tatters and future in doubt, while the teen male traffickers get off scot free."


Come visit. Live life. Eat cheese.

"Wisconsin has 'Live Like You Mean It,' which sounds less like an invitation to vacation than a self-improvement project."


Dear President Obama

"Letters from children offer advice to the president."

Here are, in my view, interesting, noteworthy columns and articles from the past week that I highly recommend (You will note that on occasion, I do not endorse the opinions of the author and may point that out. Despite my disagreements, I still feel the piece is worth a read).


Republicans and the Tea Parties

"Americans are reacting to runaway government spending that they were not told about before last year's election, and which Americans are growing to resent. Derided by elitists as phony, the tea-party movement is spontaneous, decentralized, frequently amateurish and sometimes shrill. If it has a father it is CNBC's Rick Santelli, who called for holding a tea party in Chicago on July 4. Yesterday's (Wednesday's) gatherings were made up of people who may never meet again (there's no central collection point for email addresses). But the concerns driving people to tea parties are real, growing and powerful. Politicians ignore them at their peril."


Tax Day becomes protest day

"So who's behind the Tax Day tea parties? Ordinary folks who are using the power of the Internet to organize. For a number of years, techno-geeks have been organizing 'flash crowds' -- groups of people, coordinated by text or cellphone, who converge on a particular location and then do something silly, like the pillow fights that popped up in 50 cities earlier this month. This is part of a general phenomenon dubbed 'Smart Mobs' by Howard Rheingold, author of a book by the same title, in which modern communications and social-networking technologies allow quick coordination among large numbers of people who don't know each other."


CNN vs. the Tea Parties

"One reporter, Susan Roesgen, who 'covered' the Chicago tea party for CNN, was downright confrontational with attendees she interviewed, challenging a protestor who referred to Abraham Lincoln with 'What does this have to do with taxes?' The man attempted to explain. But the reporter interrupted him. 'Did you know that you are eligible for a $400 rebate? Did you know that your state, the state of Lincoln, gets $50 billion from the stimulus? That’s $50 billion for your state.' She then tossed back to the anchor, remarking, 'This is clearly not family viewing'.”


All aboard the gravy train

"There are now a staggering 1,804 subsidy programs in the federal budget. Hundreds of programs were added this decade, and the recent stimulus bill added even more. The result is that we are in the midst of the largest federal gold rush at taxpayer expense since the 1960s."


I am an extremist

"According to the U.S. government, I am an extremist.I am a Christian and meet regularly with other Christians to study God's word. I am a veteran with skills and knowledge derived from military training and combat. I fervently support the sovereignty of the United States, am deeply concerned about our economy, increasingly higher taxes, illegal immigration, soaring unemployment and actions by our government that will bury my children beneath a mountain of debt."


Liberty-loving Gen-yers will reshape politics

"The truth is, this generation, which seems not to fit in any neat political category, is more ideologically consistent than either Democrats or Republicans."


The union war on charter schools

"With voucher programs facing termination in Washington, D.C., and heavy regulation in Milwaukee, the teachers unions have now set their sights on charter schools. Despite their proclamations about supporting charters, the actions of unions and their allies in state and national politics belie their rhetoric."


Is Obama hypocritical to put his dog over dogma?

"While the Obama girls welcomed Bo, the pure-bred and specially trained six-month-old Portuguese Water Dog, the Obamas attended Easter services at St. John's Episcopal Church - the 200-year-old 'Church of Presidents' across the street from the White House. Presidential staffers, however, indicated that the First Family hadn't even come close to a final decision on a new spiritual home, after their mid-campaign repudiation of the long-time Chicago church where they worshipped with the bombastic, America-loathing pastor, Jeremiah Wright."


A timeout for the MJS Editorial Board

"I hear all the time about how difficult it is to take newspaper editorials seriously any more.  If you want to understand why so many people feel that way, you only need to look to the editorial gem that appears in today's local newspaper .... and no, it's not a spoof."


Not-so-quiet library

"Visitors to Hot Springs High School will find no 'Quiet' signs posted in the school library. In fact, laughter - and even music - could be heard from the library during a reporter’s visit."

Here are, in my view, interesting, noteworthy columns and articles from the past week that I highly recommend (You will note that on occasion, I do not endorse the opinions of the author and may point that out. Despite my disagreements, I still feel the piece is worth a read).


Tax facts to make your head explode

"Time to be patriotic people!"


A nation of moochers

"As April 15 rolls around let us take a moment to recall why we Americans pay taxes: Because some of our country's good-for-nothing bums are too chicken to rob us at gunpoint. That would be members of Congress and the executive branch. How come we keep electing politicians who will tax the bejeezus out of us? Especially Democrats? At least Republicans are smart enough to lie about it."


Hillary Clinton breaks into laughter discussing piracy

"Earth to Hillary: This is no laughing matter."


Presidential groveling

"President Obama's recent whirlwind overseas tour did little to restore respect for America among friends or foes, despite adoring crowds who treated him like a rock star wherever he went."


The president has become a divisive figure

"His campaign promised post-partisanship, but since taking office Mr. Obama has frozen Republicans out of the deliberative process, and his response to their suggestions has been a brusque dismissal that 'I won'."


Seven reasons why the GOP comeback will begin in 2010

"The odds would seem to heavily favor a GOP comeback in 2010. Here's why the smart money should be on Elephants instead of Donkeys:"


Governor on a wire: Doyle's balancing act

"While up on his tightrope, the things Jim Doyle has to explain to us are:

--Why the governor believes more state spending is the key to economic 'stimulus' within the state – when he has increased total state government spending by 32% since he took office, and it 'stimulated' Wisconsin into the fourth worst budget deficit in the United States."


Marriage and family turned on its head

"Do not miss the significance of the Iowa and Vermont decisions, that now place these states alongside Massachusetts and Connecticut.  In addition to marriage being redefined, so is family."


Parent skills take work, not luck

"Pick up any parenting magazine while waiting for your kid's name to be called in the pediatrician's office and discover just how confusing it is to raise a child these days. You can easily learn how to make 'green parenting' choices and serve organic snacks after school, but the advice on asserting authority in the home while forging close family ties tends to defy common sense."


Is Obama afraid of the J-word?

"America's founders built this nation upon religious freedom. They valued denominational pluralism. They were unified in their diversity. They all believed in a Creator. And they were almost all vocal about their Christian beliefs. And we should be as well, especially during this week."


Christ is Risen--Run away!

"In the last couple of years, we've seen a strange phenomenon: fear of good news."

'Our Father'

"When the 42nd man said yes, it was unanimous. We had 100-percent commitment to hold church next Sunday. At that instant, Ned knew he would end up in the torture cells at Heartbreak. It was different from the previous Sunday. We now had a goal, and we were committed. We only needed to develop a plan."

Here are, in my view, interesting, noteworthy columns and articles from the past week that I highly recommend (You will note that on occasion, I do not endorse the opinions of the author and may point that out. Despite my disagreements, I still feel the piece is worth a read).


Financial industry paid millions to Obama aide

"Lawrence Summers, the top economic adviser to President Obama, earned more than $5 million last year from the hedge fund D. E. Shaw and collected $2.7 million in speaking fees from Wall Street companies that received government bailout money, the White House disclosed Friday in releasing financial information about top officials."


Europe's giddiness ease a bit for President O-BA-MA

"Barack Obama is back in Europe. Only this time, he's president. On the Continent, the giddiness on display last summer, when 200,000 turned out to hear candidate Obama give a speech in Berlin, has subsided as the weight of the economic crisis unfolds."


Rejecting aid, one governor irks his own

"For a millionaire, Gov. Mark Sanford has a reputation for frugality that borders on the extreme.Former employees say he has been known to require his staff to use both sides of a Post-it note. When Mr. Sanford was a congressman, he slept on a futon in his office and returned his housing allowance. And when, after he moved into the Governor’s Mansion here, tax collectors declared his family’s home on Sullivan’s Island a secondary residence subject to a higher tax rate, he appealed and won. Now, with his threat to refuse more than $700 million in federal money to stimulate the economy, Mr. Sanford’s contrarian streak is taking him from South Carolina, which is second only to Michigan in unemployment, to the national stage."


Wisconsin's transformational governor

"Wisconsin enters the age of Obama with a governor who is exactly on the same page with the new president.  Governor Doyle has been building the foundation for the expansive government that will be needed to carry out Obama’s transformational agenda. What’s that you say, the media is full of stories about upcoming cuts state government?   Well check the facts."


Obama census plan: No illegal alien left behind

"The immediate agenda of the left-wing census volunteer groups: freezing immigration raids. The long-term goal: Exploiting the massive population of illegal aliens to redraw the political map and secure a permanent ruling majority."


Why Obama is losing a faith

"Among Catholics as a whole, his (Obama's) disapproval rating jumped 14 points. And among white, non-Hispanic Catholics, the figure doubled -- from 20 percent to 41 percent. Catholics are having second thoughts, but it could get much worse. If the president and Congress are not careful on several issues, these concerns could open a major rift between the Catholic Church and the Democratic Party."


Our problem is immorality

"Most of our nation's great problems, including our economic problems, have as their root decaying moral values. Whether we have the stomach to own up to it or not, we have become an immoral people left with little more than the pretense of morality."


Spend it in Vegas or die paying taxes

"Today in America you can take your after-tax income and go to Las Vegas and carouse, gamble, drink and smoke, and as far as our government is concerned that's just fine. But if you take that same after-tax income and leave it to your children and grandchildren, the government will tax that after-tax income one additional time at rates up to 55%."


Learning from dummies

"For years, we've heard advice about the glaringly self-evident ills of excessive drinking and drug use. Fine. But because I already have a wife, two daughters and 3,000 years of guilt to keep me perpetually harassed, the last thing I want to see popping up on TV is my 'green'  governor -- who lives in a mansion on the taxpayers' dime -- scolding me about the temperature reading of my thermostat."


'Grandfamilies' come under pressure

"Today, more and more children are being raised by their grandparents. These grandparents provide a crucial safety net, allowing children whose parents can't provide for them to remain in families, instead of winding up as wards of the state. But as the recession hits 'grandfamilies,' that safety net is under stress."


The Obama-Matic (TM) Content-free Euphemism Generator

"Sometimes you just have to hand it to the Obama administration.  What better way to signal a new beginning than to rename the boring old War on Terror as the Overseas Contingency Operation?"


And finally,

Death by DMV

Here are, in my view, interesting, noteworthy columns and articles from the past week that I highly recommend (You will note that on occasion, I do not endorse the opinions of the author and may point that out. Despite my disagreements, I still feel the piece is worth a read).


Earth Hour is stupid. Leave the blasted lights on.

"Tomorrow night, (Saturday) between 8.30pm and 9.30pm local time all over the world, the lights will go out. The Empire State Building will go dark. The Coca-Cola Co. will switch off its signs all over the world. Why? Climate change, of course."


Turn on, tune in

"Reader, if you are against global-warming hysteria, high taxes, socialized medicine and a weak foreign policy, Sunday is your day. Show how you feel about the issues by turning on your lights in the evening and leaving them on until you go to bed. If you go out for a drive after dark, make sure you turn your headlights on too."


Do new bulbs save energy if they don't work?

"A lot of people these days are finding the new compact fluorescent bulbs anything but simple. Consumers who are trying them say they sometimes fail to work, or wear out early. At best, people discover that using the bulbs requires learning a long list of dos and don’ts."


Why we must fight for school choice

"Here in the nation’s capital, generations of children have passed through the District’s public schools without being prepared to succeed in life. Historically, they have been told by the government which school to attend, and if that school wasn’t good, they have been told by politicians that reform was underway and things would be better soon.  But these promises have never materialized."


Property taxpayers to shoulder the burden for schools

"Despite all his self-congratulatory rhetoric that he 'protected schools' in these harsh economic times, the fact is Governor Doyle didn’t lift a finger to help fund K-12 education. Instead, he foisted the responsibility completely onto property taxpayers. He even took a massive infusion of federal stimulus money that could have been used to both increase funding for schools and provide property tax relief and instead used that money to reduce the state funds going to support education. Once again, Doyle left Wisconsin taxpayers holding the bag."


A Moral Exemplar?

"Should the University of Notre Dame honor our most anti-life president?"


Obama soaks the rich: churches, day care, homeless shelters

"It is totally dishonest for Obama to pretend that his curtailment of these deductions won’t hurt the poor. It will most directly impact them since most of the charities Obama is hurting focus on helping the impoverished."


"Imagine if 'President McCain' Joked About the Special Olympics"

"Imagine the uproar if a President John McCain made the Special Olympics comment. For that matter, imagine if a President McCain mistook a White House window for a door; his secretary of Treasury had not paid taxes; he granted two dozen waivers to his no-lobbyists-in-government rule; and he had promised bipartisanship but got only three across-the-aisle votes for his "stimulus" package."


Media circus

"Liberals may be ascendant around much of the nation — in control of both houses of Congress, a majority of governors' mansions and, of course, the White House — but times could hardly be better at the Fox News Channel, the cable channel liberals love to hate."


Paperless future

"The newspaper world, Wisconsin's included, was one big car crash, with bodies strewn all over the road. Revenue was hemorrhaging like blood from a ripped artery. Readers were fleeing the scene of the accident."


Stimulus to pay for anti-suicide fence

"Akron hopes to curtail future deaths on what has been dubbed 'Suicide Bridge' by installing a fence. The controversial fencing — some have been pushing for it, while others think it's a waste of money — was among the local projects the state approved Thursday for federal stimulus funds."


Stimulus?

"At a time when the federal government is spending billions of stimulus dollars to stem the tide of U.S. layoffs, should that same government put even more Americans out of work by buying cheaper foreign products? In this case, Chinese condoms."


Wisconsin official defends new state slogan

"State officials who picked 'Live Like You Mean It' as Wisconsin's slogan knew the phrase had already been used to promote everything from a television network to a Montana lodge, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. Nonetheless..."

Here are, in my view, interesting, noteworthy columns and articles from the past week that I highly recommend (You will note that on occasion, I do not endorse the opinions of the author and may point that out. Despite my disagreements, I still feel the piece is worth a read).


Obama's gutter ball threatens to haunt him

"President Obama offended many disabled Americans, their champions, and others who puzzled over how a man who rarely misspeaks could make such a joke. Some of those most upset are among his staunchest supporters."


Why the polls say Obama is worse than Bush

“In nearly every category of governance he has messed up royally, and is clueless, or wantonly stubborn to do the things that will fix any of the problems.”


The bogus bonus smokescreen

"I ask you now to turn away from the bogus bonus smokescreen over $165 million in taxpayer-backed compensation packages for AIG employees. It is a pittance compared to the gargantuan spending spree happening right under our noses."


Neither a hedgehog nor a fox

"The president seems everywhere and nowhere, not fully focused on the matters at hand......This is why the teleprompter trope is taking off. Mr. Obama uses it more than previous presidents. No one would care about this or much notice it as long as he showed competence, and the promise of success."


Taxes, traitors, and popularity polls

“When it comes to taxes, our elected officials are as insatiable as hogs at a trough. To their way of thinking, double-taxing us is only a poor substitute for triple or quadruple-taxing us.”


Why South Carolina doesn't want 'stimulus'

"Many people do not realize that the stimulus money runs out in 24 months -- at which point South Carolina will be forced to find a new source of funding to sustain the new level of spending, or to make sharp cuts. Sure, I could kick the can down the road; in two years, I'll be safely out of office. But it would be irresponsible."


The burden of battle

"None of this helps recruiting or retaining the brightest and best-educated, -trained, -led and -equipped military force the world ever has seen. Had this ploy worked, the new recruiting pitch to some bright young person about to graduate from high school would have to include this warning: If you are wounded in the service to your country, we're going to make you pay for any medical care you receive after we get you off the battlefield."


Wisconsin's small business feels besieged

"It looks as though government has declared war on small business."

Here are, in my view, interesting, noteworthy columns and articles from the past week that I highly recommend (You will note that on occasion, I do not endorse the opinions of the author and may point that out. Despite my disagreements, I still feel the piece is worth a read).


Obama's first 50 days in office

"Tuesday marked President Obama's 50th day in office.  The timeline below shows a series of broken promises, repeated calls for bigger government and higher taxes."


An agent of cynicism

"In the matter of just 50 days, a fissure has widened into a split; the split has become a gap; and the gap is becoming a gulf. I have in mind the extraordinary contradiction between what President Obama says and what he does."


Why Obama wants America to fail

"Pretending to be doing something about the problem is only half the strategy for Obama. He truly intends to see socialized health care, and European styled labor agreements become reality in America. He knows the consequences of doing such things, he's seen all the projections and what the outcomes would be, but he's doing it anyway."


Obama's new strategy: Blame Bush

"In his inaugural address, President Obama proclaimed 'an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics.'It hasn't taken long for the recriminations to return — or for the Obama administration to begin talking about the unwelcome 'inheritance' of its predecessor. Over the past month, Obama has reminded the public at every turn that he is facing problems 'inherited' from the Bush administration."


Democrats wanted Bush to fail

"One guy – Rush Limbaugh – publicly wishes for Obama's liberalism to fail, and it's call out the dogs. But when the majority of Democrats rooted for Bush's failure, where was the outrage?"


10 of the greatest pieces of conservative wisdom: John Hawkins


Who cares about voter fraud?

"One investigator, after examining Milwaukee's election system, was quoted as saying: 'I know I voted in the election, but I can't be certain it counted.'

Examples of incompetence included the fact that between 4,600 and 5,300 more ballots were cast than actual voters recorded as having shown up at the polls. Election officials declared more than 1,300 registration cards filled out at the polls were 'un-enterable' or invalid. The sloppiness was so bad it hampered and often prevented efforts to prosecute wrongdoers."


MPS' Parental Enticement Porgram spent freely, widely

“Tax dollars intended to help parents improve their children's academic achievement have for years routinely been spent by Milwaukee public schools on everything from roller skating to bowling to water-park field trips, an investigation by Wisconsin Interest has found.Thousands of dollars were also spent on fast food, DJs, prizes, gift certificates and other goodies and giveaways. One school spent $556 in parental-involvement money to buy 250 pumpkins. Another spent $686 for a Milwaukee Bucks Family Night."

Here are, in my view, interesting, noteworthy columns and articles from the past week that I highly recommend (You will note that on occasion, I do not endorse the opinions of the author and may point that out. However, my disagreements notwithstanding, I still feel the piece is worth a read).


It's no the economy, stupid, it's Limbaugh

"As the tax-and-spend policies of the Obama administration extend and deepen the recession, the new administration's strategy to deal with the fallout becomes clearer and clearer. Blame Rush Limbaugh."


The tiger is not dead

"There's an old adage that explains that one does not shoot arrows at dead tigers. If there is a fusillade of arrows flying in the direction of a tiger you can be sure of two things: the beast is very much alive and is seen as a dangerous threat to the people manning the bows. We are now watching this played out in the current scandal of a White House expending energy -- better spent on reviving the economy -- on an all-out and not-so-covert attack on a single talk-show radio host, Rush Limbaugh."


He's my president, but I don't have to like it

"Frankly, I don't know why anybody continues to hold Obama in high esteem. Maybe it's like those women who marry charming fellows only to discover after the vows have been exchanged that he's an abuser. In spite of the black eyes and split lips, the ladies are just too embarrassed to call the cops and have their friends and relatives discover what a dunderhead they've been."


Paul Ryan's road to recovery

"A constructive opposition party should be willing to call out the majority when it falls short. More important, Republicans must offer alternatives. In this spirit, here is what I would do differently."


Obama as Hitler

"This week President Obama exercised for the first time a policy decision that shares a trait held in common with Adolf Hitler."


Could St. Louis lose its Catholic hospitals under federal abortion legislation?

"A proposed bill promising major changes in the U.S. abortion landscape has Roman Catholic bishops threatening to close Catholic hospitals if the Democratic Congress and White House make it law."


WEAC'S evolving standards

"Doyle announced his intention to increase school aids by $426 million over the biennium.  Even public school children in Wisconsin will recognize this as $46 million less than the increase authorized by McCallum in 2001."


The next airline fee

"There are fees for checked luggage, reservation changes and even pillows and blankets. And now, one airline is poised to start levying a fee when you....."


Luxury strikes out

"In a case of monumentally bad timing, this year three of the biggest names in pro sports -- the Yankees, New York Mets and Dallas Cowboys -- are opening three of the most expensive stadiums ever built, filled with premium-priced seats and luxury amenities. At a combined cost of more than $3.5 billion, the stadiums were conceived and financed in a vastly different environment, a time when corporations and municipalities were flush with cash. Now they're opening just as corporate America is going through a massive belt-tightening -- and trying to avoid the appearance of extravagance at all costs."


Harvey and me

"Were it not for Paul Harvey, who passed away last weekend, I would never have had the great honor of writing for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush and many other leading Republicans from the early 1980s until the present."

Here are, in my view, interesting, noteworthy columns and articles from the past week that I highly recommend (You will note that on occasion, I do not endorse the opinions of the author and may point that out. However, my disagreements notwithstanding, I still feel the piece is worth a read).

The Obama Revolution

"With yesterday's fiscal 2010 budget proposal, President Obama is attempting not merely to expand the role of the federal government but to put it in such a dominant position that its power can never be rolled back."


Obama unbridled

"The new President made clear in his first State of the Union address that he believes in government power as the answer to our current difficulties, and he intends to use it."


Judging Obama

"What if the economy is still in bad shape a year or two from now? Will we get apologies from Obama and the stimulus advocates in Congress? Not a chance. Their excuse is already prepared: The stimulus was too small."


Why I'm not lining up for stimulus handouts

"Recently, a firestorm ignited in Wisconsin when I, as Milwaukee County executive, refused to submit a wish list to Gov. Jim Doyle for items in the federal 'stimulus' package."


We are NOT entitled

"One of the most dangerous words in the English language is 'entitlement.' It helped create, and continues to fuel, the current economic meltdown. It underscores a dangerous lack of accountability and honesty by some of our leaders - and ourselves."


The right not to be offended?

"It's a discredit to our national confidence that each time some impolite thought — perceived or otherwise — is uttered, sketched or typed, a faction of professionally offended Americans engage in a collective hyper-sensitivity meltdown."


Locals can make such decisions

"It's conceivable a nickname with strong support in a given local community, but which allegedly offends someone outside that community, could be deemed illegal by a distant state official. And the taxpayers of a district could be fined for daring to defy a state edict to dump their school's mascot."


Bloggers Can't Fill the Gap Left by Shrinking Press Corps

"Across the nation, it's not just that fewer reporters are covering state government; newspapers and TV stations are also devoting far less space and time to that news. Does that mean citizens are less well-informed? Do blogs and other new media fill in where old media are cutting back? Is it really a loss if reporters cover fewer legislative debates?"

Here are, in my view, interesting, noteworthy columns and articles from the past week that I highly recommend (You will note that on occasion, I do not endorse the opinions of the author and may point that out. However, my disagreements notwithstanding, I still feel the piece is worth a read).


Limbaugh: Mr. President, keep the airwaves free

"You have singled me out directly, admonishing members of Congress not to listen to my show. Bill Clinton has since chimed in, complaining about the lack of balance on radio. And a number of members of your party, in and out of Congress, are forming a chorus of advocates for government control over radio content. This is both chilling and ominous."


Pardon the interruption

"In this interlude between health czar nominees, and before we legislate government as the solution and final arbiter of medical care, it may be a good time to consider a few unheralded facts about America's health-care system. For instance, did you know:"


A tale of two Democrats

"More mixed messages from our state government (read: Democrats in Charge)"


Henny Penny and the right to vote

"I believe that any individual who is receiving a government subsidy should lose his/her right to vote for as long as s/he receives that subsidy."


Democratic leader to business: you're the problem

"The powerful chairman of the state Legislature's Joint Finance Committee had a blunt message for business leaders gathered at a Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce conference in Madison last week: The state's economic woes can be laid right at their doorstep."


Democrats acting badly

"I hope that the next time President Obama holds a press conference one reporter in the room asks him if he supports his Attorney General's opinion that America is 'a nation of cowards'."


Our battered American

"I’ve never said or done a racist thing in my life, not one. Always supported equal opportunity, always will. So don’t call me a 'coward' or my countrymen 'cowards,' not when you’re my Attorney General. You are The Attorney General of the United States of America, so please, no more playing Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson."


President ignores tragedy of abortion

"President Obama offered remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast that made a few pro-lifers stand up and take notice.  He said..."


Media bias doesn't have to be national

"We all know that there is liberal bias at the national networks, but we tend to trust our local media not to have that same bias. However it's unfortunately there, just better hidden it seems."


You don't need a weatherman

"Coleman’s life has been dedicated to studying and presenting weather and the science that creates it—so shouldn’t we at least hear him out? He thinks we should, and he has supporters. He says the science we’ve digested is erroneous."


Big hit beats global warming

"Global warming is for sissies. Here's a macho problem for dedicated environmentalists."


Sex and the single priest

"It is perfectly acceptable to spew intolerance against Christians in general and Catholics in particular. But the bonanza of prejudice is reserved for Catholic priests."


Stripping your way to success

"Why so many big screen strippers and hookers?"

Here are, in my view, interesting, noteworthy columns and articles from the past week that I highly recommend  (You will note that on occasion, I do not endorse the opinions of the author).


Thirty years later, a return to stagflation: Paul Ryan 

"CONGRESS has made a terrible mistake. Amid a rhetorical debate centered on words like 'crisis,' 'emergency' and 'catastrophe,' it acted too fast."


Associated Bank witch hunt

"Sorry, but spending tens of thousands of dollars on such rewards for hard work doesn't go over too well when a bank is participating in a program with government funds. No rewards for the top-performing employees. Tough luck. New rules are being formed in the crucible of this New Depression. The private sector isn't really private anymore."


We are all socialists now

"In many ways our economy already resembles a European one. As boomers age and spending grows, we will become even more French."
KF NOTE: Speak for yourself, moonbat. I am NOT a socialist.


There goes retirement

"Across the country, retirees who never imagined themselves returning to the workplace are polishing résumés and knocking on employers' doors. The problem: Most are running smack into the worst job market in almost three decades."


"Too old" for hip surgery

"President Obama and Congressional Democrats are inching the U.S. toward government-run health insurance. Last week's expansion of Schip -- the State Children's Health Insurance Program -- is a first step. Before proceeding further, here's a suggestion: Look at Canada's experience."


Random thoughts

"There are too many people, especially among the intelligentsia, who will never appreciate the things that have made this country great until after those things have been destroyed-- with their help. Then, of course, it will be too late."


The audacity of audaciousness

"It takes a certain amount of nerve to have an event at the National Press Club and then ban the press from covering it."


The war on home runs

"Baseball's singular purpose, some seem to have forgotten, is to entertain us. So the moral panic surrounding Alex Rodriguez's use of steroids is unquestionably counterproductive. If an athlete decides to sacrifice his testicles to the gods of baseball, who am I to say no?"

Here are, in my view, interesting, noteworthy columns and articles from the past week that I highly recommend:


 What is Congress stimulating?

"What's most striking is how much 'stimulus' money will be spent on the government itself."


Government speak

"I have selected some of the favorite words and sayings that immediately identify the speaker as a politician."


Eight is more than enough

"The stunning announcement that a California woman had given birth to octuplets was greeted warmly in some circles. The birthing doctors were all smiles, and the media hyped the "human interest" part of the story. Eight babies! Wow!  But behind the high-fives lies a very troubling situation. This may be child abuse at the highest level."


Secondhand children

"It's been weeks since the last one, so on Sunday, The New York Times Magazine featured yet another cheery, upbeat article on single mothers. Why isn't the number of smokers treated as a fait accompli that the rest of us just have to accept? Smoking causes a lot less damage and the harm befalls the person who chooses to smoke, not innocent children."


Indoctrination at Marquette University

"Another post that’s not news: a 'diversity' course at Marquette that is one-sided indoctrination. A course which, like all politically correct courses, divides all Americans into two groups: 'victim' groups and 'oppressor' groups. Of course, all claims of victimhood are to be accepted at face value, else one risks being called a 'racist' or 'sexist' or 'homophobe'.”


Did you lose a license plate?

"Frustrating – another example of how out of touch our state government has become with the people who pay their bills and their wages."


You might be a liberal if...

After spending 5 years in college, you still don’t know when the Civil War took place and you are absolutely certain it had nothing to do with freeing black slaves.

Meat is bad for you. So is milk. But marijuana gets you ready for your finals.

You want to outlaw cigarettes and legalize marijuana.

Here are, in my view, interesting, noteworthy columns and articles from the past week that I highly recommend:


Voter ID Was a Success in November

"Turnout was higher in states that took a simple step to prevent fraud."


Blago: Impeach Doyle, too


What are they buying?

"No matter how many times President Barack Obama tells us that these 'extraordinary times' call for 'swift action,' the kind of economic policies he is promoting take effect very slowly, no matter how quickly the legislation is rushed through Congress. It is the old Army game of hurry up and wait."


Our need to revive

"Generally, one jumpstarts a car when the battery is dead, but America's 'batteries' (its people) are not dead. The vehicle has stalled because too much government meddling and loss of personal responsibility has flooded the engine. More meddling will not revive the U.S. economy anymore than holding down the accelerator on a flooded engine will start a car."


No apologies from David Obey

“Mr. Obey’s impatience, temper and occasionally cutting tone are well known. Even as he outlined the economic plan before Mr. Obama’s inauguration, he flippantly referred to the new president as ‘the crown prince’.“


The day America lost the war on terrorism

"On Nov. 4, 2008, America lost the war on terror. Our enemies must be happily celebrating their great good fortune in America’s election of this platitudinous, morally relativistic, Jimmy Carter carbon copy in the midst of battle."


Obama breaks promise

Here are, in my view, interesting, noteworthy columns and articles from the past week that I highly recommend:


Reasons for pro-lifers to be optimistic

"The movement refused to give up and went on to make some very impressive gains during the 1990s—gains that remain today, and should give pro-lifers plenty of hope for the future."


My “To Don’t” List for the Right

"DON’T move to Canada. DON’T say you’re going to move to Canada and then stay here. (I know it’s too late for Stephen Baldwin, but not for the rest of you.)"


The Collapse of the Left Wing Press

"The uber-liberal, Bush-hating MSNBC network ranked 31 in total day ratings for the first two weeks of January. I think that's right behind the 'Roller Derby Channel'."


Shut Up and Lead

"Barack Obama is president. Get over it, and start coming up with new ideas and counter-ideas of your own, instead of making hateful or smart-alecky remarks just to sell books or attract attention."


Pol quotes

"President Barack Obama, immediately following his election to the Senate in 2004: 'I can unequivocally say I will not be running for national office in four years. . . . I am a believer in knowing what you're doing when you apply for a job, and I think that if I were to seriously consider running on a national ticket, I would essentially have to start now, before having served a day in the Senate. There may be some who are comfortable with doing that, but I'm not one of those people'."


Farewell Mr. President

"Bush did what he thought was right—and on the biggest issues, what was right."

Here are, in my view, interesting, noteworthy columns and articles from the past week that I highly recommend:


10 things the President got right

"His presidency was far more successful than not. And there's an aspect of his decision-making that merits special recognition: his courage"


10 Bush mistakes

"As he heads to Texas, Bush should reflect on these 10 more important mistakes that shaped his presidency.."


What went right for Bush

"Obama is likely to engage in some powerful symbolic gestures while keeping much of his predecessor's policies in substance. Obama is even keeping some of Bush's key personnel, most remarkably Defence Secretary Robert Gates, and some key Bush administration figures in the National Security Council. Obama acknowledges the success of the Bush troop surge in Iraq and wants to imitate it in Afghanistan. In truth, there is no greater compliment in political life than for a political opponent to adopt his predecessor's policies once he gains office."


The Bush legacy

"We can only hope that it will not take the sight of an American city lying in radioactive ruins to wake people up to the dangers that George W. Bush protected us against, despite an unending chorus of carping."


Media mudballs unlikely for Obama inaugural

"While most presidents do start with a media honeymoon, a review of the past 20 years finds reporters are more celebratory when Democrats are taking over the White House, while coverage of GOP inaugurals has included a fair number of anti-conservative stinkbombs.."


A Modest Proposal: Ensure that New Public Works Projects Employ American Workers

"If we are going to spend billions, perhaps even trillions, of borrowed dollars to create public works jobs, an absolute prerequisite must be an insurance policy that the beneficiaries of the program are U.S. workers."


Cellphone bans? Hang up

"This is, plain and simple, an anti-business initiative, whether intended or not."

Here are, in my view, interesting, noteworthy columns and articles from the past week that I highly recommend:


DNR to hunters: Hand over your guns on demand

"The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has a simple, blunt message for hunters in Wisconsin: When a DNR warden asks you to give up your legal firearm, do so, plain and simple, no matter what.What's more, that goes for all citizens, the agency has asserted. Citizens with firearms, the DNR argues, should always do exactly what law enforcement officers tell them to do, regardless of the circumstances of the situation.

To which one former hunter education instructor for the department has an equally simple and blunt response: The agency's directive is unconstitutional, plain and simple, and citizens don't have to hand over their firearms without any probable cause."


Inaugural Windbaggery


"Once again, WisconsinEye is doing the Lord’s work by bringing us our Wisconsin elected officials live and uncut.  On inauguration day 2009, the channel conducted a number of interviews with legislators, in which they ruminate on the upcoming legislative session. One interview that caught my eye in particular was a 17-minute sit-down with State Senator Pat Krietlow of Chippewa falls.  I think this interview, ably conducted by Stacy Forster of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, perfectly captures some of the windbaggery that Wisconsin residents are going to see from their elected officials in the near future."


Night of the Living Dems

"Beware the 'undead' ideas of our Democratic legislators rising up to haunt the state, at least until the next election in two years."


Drilling a Hole in the Economy 

"Wisconsin Senate Democrats went to Home Depot and bought a drill on Thursday.  With the state expecting unemployment to hit 8% later this year, the Senate Dems introduced a package of three bills that effectively yank the life vest away from any business hoping to stay afloat."


Calls Grow to Cap Property Taxes

"Support for property-tax rollbacks is building from Arizona to New York, fueled by angry homeowners in some locales who are seeing rising tax bills despite plunging home prices."


Chicago Public Schools' cappuccino bill: $67,000

"Chicago public school bureaucrats skirted competitive bidding rules to buy 30 cappuccino/espresso machines for $67,000, with most of the machines going unused because the schools they were ordered for had not asked for them,"


Coulter v. The Counter-Coulters

"The so-called 'objective' media clearly feel threatened because they are the very liberals Coulter is attacking. If they weren't liberals, none of her mockery of liberals would bother them. Oh, they might not appreciate her style, as some conservatives don't. But they wouldn't have pitched debates inside their walls about how they will savage her in interviews -- and I defy the networks to deny this -- or how they would remove her from their airwaves altogether."

Here are, in my view, interesting, noteworthy columns and articles from the past week that I highly recommend:


This is a must-read, from the highly under-rated Lakeland Times, “A perfect storm for WEAC's, Democrats' greed.”

“All the pieces of the puzzle are sitting on the table known as the state of Wisconsin. And all the players have been elected to sit at the table and put the pieces together. When it's done, it shall no doubt be called The Shafting of the Wisconsin Taxpayer. Let me tell you a thing or two about the players who are so eager to take your money. They are tax-and-spend liberals, in the old-fashioned sense of the word. They control the state Assembly. They control the state Senate. Worst of all, they are led by the biggest tax-and-spend liberal of them all, Gov. Diamond Jim Doyle.”


Another outstanding piece from the Lakeland Times, “Is Doyle telling the truth on state budget deficit?” 

“Why would the governor mislead? All of which begs the question: Why would Doyle throw out such a misleading and large number, knowing it contained, at the very least, $2.76 billion in new spending requests from individual state agencies, much of which was unrealistic and unlikely to be approved, even by the governor himself? One answer, of course, could be that federal money and a chance for the state to get its hands on it.”


Income tax holiday could be right idea

“If you want to encourage people to spend money, give them greater access to money through the tax system. Specifically, as proposed by U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, suspend income tax withholding for two months, in lieu of allowing the treasury secretary to spend the second half of the $700 billion bailout bill from earlier this year.”


Obama Will Ration Your Health Care

“It is nearly certain that the process of determining which drugs and which treatments would be approved for use would be quickly politicized. The details of health-care policy may not be kitchen table conversation, but the fact that a Washington committee can deny grandma a hip replacement due to her age, or your sister a new and expensive drug, is. Health care is personal and voters will pressure lawmakers on access to care. Liberal experts believe that America needs to ration new technology and drugs.”


After 6 months, drivers ignoring cellphone ban


The twenty biggest stories of 2008

Everyone does lists. This is a very good one.


Make 2009 the year of useful information

"So here’s a New Years Resolution for our friends in the media: fewer unqualified experts, less wild speculation, more legitimate and even useful information."

Wild speculation? A Franklin story from 2008 comes to mind: Boomgaard.

Red light districts, secret votes taken behind closed doors. Wild speculation? That’s all it was. There's a stronger word that comes to mind.

Here are, in my view, interesting, noteworthy columns and articles from the past week that I highly recommend:


Grow Up! An Obamafied American Idol Christmas

"What does all that mumbo-jumbo about 'aggregate demand' mean? Well, that’s a fancy term for you — yes, you, Joe Lardbutt, the bloated disgusting embodiment of American excess, driving around in your Chevy Behemoth, getting two blocks to the gallon as you shear the roof off the drive-thru lane to pick up your $7.93 decaf gingersnap-mocha-pepperoni-zebra mussel frappuccino, which makes for a wonderful cool refreshing thirst-quencher after you’ve been working up a sweat watching the plasma TV in your rec room all morning with the thermostat set to 87. The message from the European political class couldn’t be more straightforward: If you crass, vulgar Americans don’t ramp up the demand, we’re kaput. Unless you get back to previous levels of planet-devastating consumption, the planet is screwed."


Wreaths Across America

"This voluntary effort was started in 1992 by Morrill Worcester of the Worcester Wreath Company, in Harrington, Maine. Arlington was the largest focus of the commemorative ceremony, but not the only one; nationwide, some 100,000 wreaths were laid at over 300 cemeteries in all 50 states. Its goal is to put a wreath on as many service members’ graves as possible."


All I wanted for Christmas was a newspaper

"Bloggers are no replacement for real journalists."


If you’re going through hell, keep going

"What follows is my attempt to Dr. Phil you folks thru this crap-laden crunch we’re currently getting crushed by with seven hard learned lessons about God and life from the last 25 years of getting my butt kicked."


Hollywood’s best and worst

"There's a reason why 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' never gets old, and 'Miracle on 34th Street' remains timeless in its black-and-white glory: They champion the good, and the holy, and the pure innocence of Christmas. And it's worlds apart in tone from today's usual TV fare."


Reflections-2008

"We have nearly made it through another year without having suffered an attack on our soil; a tribute to the outgoing president when those are seldom heard by him today."

Here are, in my view, interesting, noteworthy columns and articles from the past week that I highly recommend:

Person of the Year
"Well, there's not much drama this time around because of Barack Obama's amazing achievement. But there are other folks who have influenced us greatly, as well. Please consider the following list:"


Should Christians honor Barack Obama?
"Christians, who take the scriptures seriously, are about as happy about an Obama presidency as a pig is a bacon sandwich.....What concerns Christians who are governed by the scriptures, and not Oprah, are Obama’s liberal-to-the-core stances on abortion, marriage, socialism, freedom of speech, big government, taxes, guns and his associations with Marxist radicals. That’s what freaks believers who actually believe, and not, I say, not the levels of melanin in Obama’s epidermis."


The good Obama could do
"Imagine him lecturing young people about the need to get married before having babies."


Cinderella vs. The Barracuda
"For people who think there’s no cultural divide in this country, consider the treatment of two women much in the news in 2008."


Most of our military come from red states
"And tellingly, the map of military service since 1973 aligns closely with electoral maps distinguishing red from blue states."


10 problems with governors in DC with tin cups
"1. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS BROKE."


Public employees, please step up
"The perception is that government employees come to taxpayers every year with their hands out. And every year, they go away with raises -- and better health care benefits and more job security than anyone in the private sector has."


Felons for thee, not for me
"In Wisconsin, an employee cannot be fired, prevented from being hired, or otherwise have any action taken against them because of arrest or conviction record.  So if Rod Blagojevich was working the drive-thru at Popeye’s Fried Chicken and charged with a felony, his coworkers would be stuck listening to his foul-mouthed tirades about f’ing biscuits and gravy in perpetuity."


Wisconsin never enforced 1998 child support law
"Wisconsin Medicaid officials have never enforced a 1998 law requiring them to kick out health care providers behind on their child support payments, a recent report found."


Christmas symbols deserve more than athiest insults
"The most explosive proposal arrived from Topeka, Kansas, courtesy of the militant Westboro Baptist Church, demanding a large sign with a poem proclaiming that 'Santa Claus Will Take You to Hell' and condemning the Jolly Old Elf as the source of the nation's moral and economic breakdown."


Why Christmas matters
"So far, only Illinois, Wisconsin and Washington State have caved in to the atheists, but it is just a matter of time before the nonbelievers come to a State House near you.The problem with the atheistic displays in Washington and Wisconsin is that the message is hateful, an attack on religion rather than a positive message."


Why atheism is morally bankrupt
"If there is no God, there is no freedom to choose. If there is no freedom to choose, there is no good or evil. There is merely action and inaction. There is no way to be good for goodness sake -- that would require an act of voluntary will far beyond human capacity. Atheists simply gloss over this point."


Tis the season for porn
"I will be called names for writing this column. It always happens. Raise the issue of the pornification of the culture and its fanatical devotees will come gunning for you."

Here are, in my view, interesting, noteworthy columns and articles from the past week that I highly recommend:


Bush did good, but the hateful left won't give him credit


'At least Bush kept us safe'


Life on the border


State directors out of touch


Doyle oil tax riding on rims


MPS to taxpayers: Not to worry, everything's good


And reparations would consist of blowing up Ryan Road


An enduring crisis for the Black family


Convicted sex offenders live under stringent set of rules. Gee, what a shame.


Every week on my Saturday morning blog, Week-ends, I pick a MOST UNDER-REPORTED STORY of the week. Chuck Norris has the most overlooked story of 2008.


The liberal doth vote too much, methinks  (Note: this column does contain language that some may find offensive)