On Prescription Drug and Litigation

During today's trash TV (Maury, etc) there were many ads encouraging people to sue drug companies for X, Y & Z. Here's my 2 cents: if a drug is tested & approved by the FDA, then drug companies should be exempt from litigation related to side effects. Sound harsh? Then make the approval process tougher. 'Course, folks already think the process is too long, but the public always finds *something* to whine about.

Or at least make advertising the class action suits on tv illegal. People don't even realize whatever symptoms they are having are related to a past prescribed med until they realize they can cash in....ridiculous, especially for the people that need the prescriptions to be affordable! - Lisa

March 21st and 22nd as told on FB

March 21st:

There are a lot of bennies to being happily married, Lord knows. But - if I was single that David Tennant poster that came w/ last month's Doctor Who Magazine wouldn't just be left to rot in our junk drawer. That's all I'm sayin'.

* Lisa and I just watched the UFC's matchup of Vera vs. Jones. Not our normal viewing habits, but better to watch that shellacking than see our country destroyed at the hands of Obama/Pelosi. [Obamacare was in the midst of a Congressional vote that night]

* [10:10 PM, after the bill passed] Historians will mark this date as the beginning of the end. It may take 50 years, or 100, but it is now a certainty: America will be a shell of what it was/what it could have been. An obese, ever expanding Federal government; the rationing of our resources; the supression of the constiuency's demands. This solution will be the mother of a thousand more problems. Well wishes and happy thoughts do not equal concrete, workable legislation. We will rue this day. What a waste. What a pitiful waste.

* Sure, Time Warner denies me the Military History channel (which suits my wants and needs) but, to be fair, they do allow me to gaze upon MTV Europe and watch lovely videos like this one [MGMT "Kids"]. "Rationing" I think they call their system. Welllll. As long as the idea doesn't spread . . .



March 22nd:

I have several friends on the Left, many of whom are understandably giddy @ Sunday night's travesty. One of the funnier exchanges (well, the ONLY funny one) btwn us was the following. "Thank you Government!" read the status update. To which I replied : Is this the Jeopardy answer to "What are three words Dan will never say in his life?"

* Wife and kids are asleep, school clothes are in the dryer, house is a mess, got a aches where there shouldn't be aches, dreading the week to come. Gonna go put on the new Star Trek movie before bed and hope I can temp. break my FB addiction.

* [re: the new Star Trek movie] I thought it was a fine action movie nearly spoiled by the lame future-Spock storyline. I'm sure it made fandom yell "Whoo-hoo!" but to me it said the producers were unsure a ST movie could stand alone, apart from the series. I thought it would have been a better movie - not nec. a better ST movie, but a better *movie* - without that crud.

* Attorneys general in 11 states warned that lawsuits will be filed to stop the federal government overstepping its constitutional powers and usurping states' sovereignty

* [Tiger Woods apologizes for his extramarital affairs] ""I've done some pretty bad things in my life" Tiger said in the article, then followed up by saying (in Danny's mind) "But you know, what I do with my di** is an issue only to my wife and myself. It's none of your concern. *If* I owe an apology to anyone, I owe my apologies to her and no one else."

* QUOTE from an LA Times article, refering to the killing of an Al-Queda suspect: "Officials had debated trying to take him alive but decided against doing so in part because of uncertainty over where to hold him. . w/out a location outside the U.S. for sending prisoners, the administration must resort to turning the suspects over to foreign governments, bringing them to the U.S. or even killing them."

* The end of a Barney episode was just playing in the background - you know, the "I love you" song - and a chocolate-faced, excited Ginger ran into the office, arms open, yelling "Da-dy, Da-dy". She gave me a hug, said "Uv oo" and ran back to the TV.

* I was very moved by this past weekend's Gospel (John 8: 1-11). Not just for the lesson it taught, but for the Jesus it presented. He was able to cut to the heart of the matter in only a few short words; forgiving and compassionate (but w/out approving of the behavior), and so uber confident he came off like a 1st century Cool Hand Luke. This, THIS would be a man you would be proud to follow even in the here and now.

* Begining at 8 PM Friday (CST) and repeating twice in the four hours after that, NKOTB's Coming Home - the concert and backstage footage of their 2008/09 tour - will be playing on Palladia (channel 1267 in Milwaukee). And yes, Lisa, I've already set the DVR. :)

* Back from work and watching DWTS on the DVR, eager to see Kate Gosselin. The result? Not good. A sad peformance lacking in both technical skill and stage presence. It was hard to watch. Plus, Kate was soooo much hotter w/ short hair, as most women are. Dangit, I was hoping she was in it to win it.

* We're watching Dr. Phil on the DVR, and a woman came on and said she spent $1000 on OTC pregnancy tests last year. Say what?? Listen kookoo bird, hit up the damn dollar store already. I've got four kids and 3 of the 4 pregnancies were discovered via two for a buck Dollar Store contraptions. I'll send you some of our leftovers. Gadzooks people, why spend $15 on a piss stick?

* I met Jessica Simpson more than a decade ago, and I didn't come away a fan. Even so, forget what the critics are saying. Her new show "Jessica Simpson's The Price of Beauty" is entertaining, well-meaning, and might actually do some good in the world. It's worth watching.

FB March 17th - 20th

March 17th:

TV quote of the day: I'm jumpier than a virgin at a prison rodeo - Blanche (Golden Girls)

* A good day so far (knock on wood), but w/ an unexplainable current of anxiety right below the surface. As good as it's been, I think I'll be glad when today is done.

* And the day(light) ends crappy, w/ YaYa having an epic fit outside. One so ghastly I threw her over my shoulder and carried her inside, where her theatrics continued. God Bless my Mom for teaching me to reign in my temper, because I was dang close to losing it tonight w/ YaYa.

March 18th:

* In the dead of night I heard someone mucking around the house and got up to investigate. I found our 2 year old calmly watching TV. "Hi Daddy," she said. I said something less friendly in reply. Hours later YaYa repeated yesterday's tantrum, this time because I wouldn't give her YoGo's for breakfast. Not a good first third of the day.

* California's lame 'happy cows' couldn't even produce the 2nd best cheese in the US; they finished behind WI and Idaho.

* 2nd third of the day: so-so. Smiley & I stood on an overpass and watched a train. Then my friend Tre came over, and we took his boy & Smiley/Ginger for a walk & to the playground. While there news came that LuLu had yet to be found a full *half hour* after school let out; not in extended care, or play practice, or on theplayground. She was found - safe & sound - at a Daisy meeting, but oh man the scenarios in my head!

* Actor Fess Parker passes away. RIP. I had a vinyl single of the Davy Crockett theme song back in the day but, sadly, no coonskin cap.

My 36th Birthday:

We started off the day by taking Smiley to have his cast removed. He'd walk with a noticeable limp for a week or two, but in the end all was well. We did forget to bring a second shoe with us (!) and so had to stop and buy a new pair before we continued our errands. Eventually we wound up at Wal-Mart, where I purchased some socks and shoes for myself. Then, a nap at home. Later, in the evening, we had a cake and the family went out to Vila Roma for dinner. It was a nice, quiet day w/ plenty of birthday wishes on Facebook.

March 20th:

RIP - LBJ aide Liz Carpenter, and JFK Cabinet Member Stewart Udall.

* Sure, I'm 110% worthy of your adoration, but that doesn't mean I'm ungrateful when you express it publicly. So to everyone who took the time to wish me a Happy Birthday Friday - Thank you!

* "Turn the Beat Around' In modern day LA an aspiring young dancer convinces a developer to open a retro disco. Drama ensues w/ her boyfriend, a rival choreographer, etc. An MTV production, the film's look is very Hills-ish, and the lead could easily pass for a Latin Lauren Conrad. Not enough dancing, plot, or skin, but a passable waste of 90 minutes. C.

* Congratulations to Badger wrestler Andrew Howe. NCAA Champion at 165 lbs. Which is roughly the weight of my ego alone.

* [regarding the racial announcement incident at an East Coast Wal-Mart] I can see arresting him for hijacking the store's PA system, I can see hanging him out to dry in the press or suing his Mommy. All well deserved. But cuffing him for "bias intimidation and harassment charges" seems like moronic PC double-talk, and frankly steps on the 1st amendment (remember, this wasn't Wal-Mart or a corporate entity, just some idiotic teenager that grabbed the PA).

* This made me ill, & not for the reasons u think. Michael Brown, who was convicted of murder during a OK robbery in 1975, served 10 years in prison, then escaped & lived on the run for 14 years. He held down jobs, opened his own business, stayed true to a wife he loved, and was a pillar of the community. In the end he turned himself in so he could get proper medical care for his wife's heart. The $ the FBI spent hunting him with MY tax dollars (inc. 'teams' across the country, TV shows, etc) is revolting. There were no more immediate threats to our nations harm to worry about? Or was a guy who turned over a new leaf 'it'?

FB March 15th - 17th

March 15th:

* Oscar winning actress Kate Winslet announced her marriage was ending, and I posted that I 'still had a shot'. This was promptly and good naturedly shot down by some Facebook friends. I responded:

Bob (I), here's the plan. Eventually, her career will flounder. By then I'll have had a book or two published, and sold the rights to one to Hollywood. That screenplay will have a part that could ressurect a great actresses career. Sadly, she'll be far down the producers list of options - but maybe I could be convinced to tip it in her favor. Wink wink nudge nudge. ;)

To which he replied: Ah I worship the ground that you walk on Sir. I like your plan and wish you all the best.

and my grade-school friend Tom wrote: A well thought out plan indeed. Good luck on your mission. I myself am still holding out for Kate Beckinsale.

* I received & completed the census form today. We were already subjected to the 'long' form earlier in the yr. Assuming u don't mind answering questions about your race, bills, income, transportation, etc. the long form isn't invasive at all ;) Today's form was easy-peezy, and I'll admit I felt proud listing the whole family. In a weird way, I feel we now 'exist' in history.

* [on word that the museum was thinking of dropping the weekly free day for County residents] Utter crap. As much as I love museums, MPM is dull. Very little of substance has changed in decades, except to remove the wonderful arms/armour exhibit for the PC rain forest area, & that was 20 years ago already. Take away the free day & I'll never take the family; it simply wouldn't be worth the cost. I'll draw the kids a map from memory & call it a day.

* [RE: reports that babies may be banned from airline flights because of noise complaints] My youngest flier was 3, but I've been on flights that included crying tots. Here's what I think of the people who complain about them: Nut up. You're an adult, she/he's an infant whose ears are hurting. You don't like listening to it, buy a f*ing Ipod as-hole.

* NASA found a shrimp like creature swimming 600 feet below the Antartic ice. It's a great discovery, but this line from an article about it "[the shrimp] could challenge the idea of where and how forms of life can survive" seems old hat. Haven't we already agreed that life pretty much exists wherever the hell it wants to?

* The kids are in bed & I'm waiting for Lisa to return before cranking up AI on the DVR. Meanwhile I'm watching "Alone in the Wilderness" on PBS. When he retired in 1968 Iowan Dick Proenneke moved to Alaska, where he lived on his own in the wilderness, crafting everything by hand & filming ala Survivorman. A very cool if mellow film.

March 17th:

* Gawd, American Idol was boring. I'm not a huge Stones fan to begin w/, but most of the 12 seemed bound & determined to make each song xtra slow and shi--y. Siobahn was the glaring and inspired exception, & the night belongs to her. Tim Urban should be voted off the show this wk.

* Tapes of 1954-1962 "General Electric Theater", hosted by [Ronald] Reagan, were believed to be damaged or lost. But they were recently uncovered in the General Electric/NBC Universal archives and will be delivered to Nancy as part of the celebration for what would have been the late Prez's 100th birthday.

* Another backroom deal?? Rep. Kucinich called the bill "little more than a boondoggle" for private insurers, and yet now, after several closed door meetings with Obama, he's changed his mind. A sincere and selfless decision it ain't.

* Detroit is closing 44 of its public schools. However, I should mention this is due to declining enrollement and a lack of students, and so (from a surface reading) it's more of an indictment of the city's overall decline than that of the school system.

* Despite it being a lovely spring day, Ginger is obsessed with wearing her pink snow boots around town, and Lisa's drawn a line in the sand.. "I'm serious, you're not going anywhere unless you put shoes on. There is NO SNOW. You look like a goof. You're making US look like goofs. Take them off. Now!" Good luck w/ that. I caved after 5 min yest.

* Riots errupted and two people were shot in the aftermath of the [Ugandan] royal tomb's destruction. The tombs were a UNESCO World Heritage site of historical and spiritual significance to Uganda.

* On the same day Rangers manager Ron Washington admits to failing a drug test, Nationals' player Elijah Dukes is cut. It's a shame. Dukes was/is a bad-ass w/ a dozen different marks against him, but he sucked it up & held it in check long enough to give himself a chance in TB/Washington. In the end, his #'s just weren't there.

* 12 Christians were attacked and had their tongues cut out in Nigeria, only a week after more than 200 Christians were butchered in their homes. The country is split nearly evenly between Christians in the south and Muslims to the North. If you haven't heard about this, don't sweat it - the media buries violence against Christians in the back pages (when they report it at all).

FB March 11th - 13th

March 11th:

I'm a wee bit peeved. I was called and asked to pick up a shift at work and said yeah, sure, just let me ck the wife's schedule and I'll call you back. I called and, naturally, it had been handed over to someone else - because that 15 min delay obviously meant the diff. between the comp going bankrupt or staying solvent. $%^#@

* [on the death of NFL player/actor Merlin Olsen] I was born too late to remember him from the NFL. My memories are limited to seeing him on Little House on the Prairie (wupping some punks that beat on Michael Landon in town) and the FTD commericals. RIP.

* Kansas City (MO) is planning to close 28 of its 61 public schools.

* I've finished the historical novel "The Burning Land" by Bernard Cornwell. As the 10th century ends the Saxon warrior Uhtred, oath-bound to Alfred the Great, forsakes his vows. But soon a Danish army under Haesten threatens Mercia - & Alfred's daughter, its Queen, so Uhtred's blade must sing again. It's fast moving, ...blood-drenched, (more or less) historically accurate adventure from a proven master. Well done.

* I dig the first line: "Sometimes multitasking has its limits." LOL Police: Woman Crashes Car While Shaving Bikini Area

* What a lousy night of AI. Andrew freakin' Garcia, Didi and Lacey Brown go forward while Lilly Scott is cut? F that. Good for her for not rolling over and mouthing the standard issue PC crap after she was robbed. Alex Lambert was screwed too; forget the mullet and listen to that voice. WTH was America thinking?

* I'm not a big 30 Rock fan, but "Hard Cheeses and Your Root Canal, Liz" had me LOL for so long I dang near wizzed my pants.

March 12th:

The kids are watching the ICarly special where they train for a space flight, and the exterior shot of the futuristic 'space training facility' is . . . the Milwaukee Art Museum.

* Exciting news. Viking remains have been found in England. All of the men were beheaded, presumably by the very Saxons they were trying to conquer. Not the greatest article. The concept of a "Dark Ages" has been largely discredited (and rightly so), and the term 'Viking' here is used as if it was a nationality, not (for lack of a better word) an occupation. Still, exciting.

* A beautiful, very foggy night out there. I just got back from running errands with YaYa for the last few hours, including burning the last of her Xmas GC at Barnes & Noble (where she picked up 2 Club Penguin books).

March 13th:

Paranoid is what people who are trying to take advantage call you in an effort to get you to drop your guard

* This is old news (Oct 2009) but new to me. This is the only known film image of Anne Frank, taken as she leaned out her window to watch a bride and groom next door. Here at home we continue to read 'The Diary of Anne Frank' to the girls before bed, usually only an entry or two a night.

Facebook March 4th (cont.) - March 6th

March 4th:

* Whodathunk I could make a cake from scratch? Having mastered all the Manly Arts, it seems I'm destined to conquer the kitchen as well. :) The apple cake is out of the oven & looks and smells wonderful. I made it for Friday's dessert so I can't judge the taste yet, but I'm gonna go on a limb & type out the recipie on S...lapinions. I can always delete the draft if the cake is hurl-worthy.

* [on the brutal slaying of Rachel Thompson and her children here in Milwaukee] Ah, man. They killed the 4 yr old first - a child that greeted them by name - & then took turns stabbing a toddler in the neck. Then, and only then, did they kill the woman who'd seen her own mom, and now her own children, murdered. Monsters like this walk the streets, freed by our legal system, while people piss & moan about due process for terrorists. What a f*ed up world.

* two links, neither of which I can get to work today: a lock of Napoleon's hair was found in an Australian vault, and coins from the time of Alexander the Great were unearthed in Syria

March 5th:

* My parents just left. I'd invited them over for a Lenten meal of cajun style salmon cakes, rice, salad, and that homemade apple cake I made yest. Personally, I think the cake was a litte dry, but everyone seemed to like it.

* Luda's "How Low Can You Go?" came on when I was driving w/ Smiley. When the chipmunk voice chimed in he got very excited & asked me to turn it down so he could tell me something. "Daddy, t'ose Zhu-Zhu [Pet] sounds!" he said, a typical grin plastered on his face.



* From the comfort of a chair in WI, the 'race' seems like no big deal, if silly, but I'm sure it's a big no-no. Here's an interesting bit: I didn't know the USN had female Capt's on warships - or that this one (Holly Graff) has been relieved of duty for unprofessional and cruel behavior towards her crew. That behavior ...incl.'s assault, verbal abuse, & allegedly using her rank for personal gain. Way to be a pioneer for your gender there, Capt'n. Navy Captain Demoted After Warship Drag Race Surfaced

* [on news that Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger is alleged to have committed a sexual assualt] Here we go again. No idea if he's guilty or just an easy, easy mark, but enough already. Get your ass out of bars Ben, and hit up Craigslist personals and the local liquor store. The results certainly couldn't be any worse.

March 6th, my niece's birthday and the anniversary of the fall of the Alamo:

* Screw a dislike button. What FB needs is a spelling and grammar check.

* I woke up at 6 am, got dressed, scraped the frost off the windshield and drove to work, ready to start at 7 . . . only to discover my shift didn't start until 10.

* *93.6%* of Iceland's pop. votes 'no' to a bank bailout that would have cost them the equiv of $5.3 billion in payments to Britain & the Netherlands. Now International Moneary Fund may block a financial rescue package, the gov't might be destablized, and folks are p.o'd. Welcome to the messy, squabling Europe. Same as the old Europe, really, but w/out trench warfare. So far.

* After a busy day at work I came home, chilled for a bit, then noticed we were down to only 2 kids (after my niece's bday party YaYa stayed over, Smiley is at Gma). So I packed up & burned part of my paycheck on dinner at Villa Roma. Click on that link for a review of our experience. Lu and Ginger were dolls. A nice end to the day.

* My family ate at Villa Roma Saturday night. It was a nice atmosphere, relaxed and adult but more than accomodating to the kids - to the point they were given Princess and Hannah Montana plates! The pizza was typical Milwaukee style - thin cracker crust, a sweet tomato sauce, sausage and cheese. Very good, and quite affordable: $15.50 for a 12x18 pizza. The garlic bread was great but a little pricey for the amount that we were given. Service was quite friendly. We'll be back!

* [on an article debating whether or not civility and politeness in a crisis is directly related to the time you have to react] Interesting. I agree w/ the idea, but also w/ several of the rebuttals. The Lusitania, cited as an ex. of panic induced selfishness, did sink quickly, leaving no time to re-exert sociatal norms. But passengers had just been attacked & sunk during wartime, & they had full knowledge of the Titanic disaster. Put those conditions on the Titanic & a similar panic may have emerged, regardless of the time it took to sink.

Facebooking the tail end of February

Crowded house. All the kids are home now, plus Lisa's watching Jess & Jason's newborn and a 3 yr old while they move. My my. Good thing (for me) that I'm leaving for work soon. ;)

* Apparently I can't count. There was an extra six year old, 3 year old, and newborn in the house - 7 kids total.

Good Riddance - Man gets 80 years for shooting 2 Milwaukee police officers

* AI was dull & unimpressive, and I'm really not liking the dynamic between the judges. Kara remains an awkward fit; too ADD, too much makeup, too unable to define her role on the panel. Although he was bad, they were waaaay too hard on Tim Urban, especially when they let equally sucky peformers off the hook. Kudos to E...llen for (gently) calling Kara and Randy out for how they acted during Casey James' perfromance. Who goes home? The Asian singer (sorry, I really don't remember his name) and just about any one of 6 or 7 of the others. Yikes - not a good start to the live shows.

* A great surprise on our DVR tonight: On Rupaul's Drag Race they (gasp! applause) did a full-out recreation of The Match Game, cleverly re-titled "The S*atch Game". Sure everyone was in drag and impersonating a celebrity, and they had too many people on each tier for a traditionalist like myself - but Gene Rayburn & Co.... would've had a blast. Plus Tatianna won, so it was a great hour of TV all around.

Lisa wrote: I just couldn't believe my eyes, it was an episode just for you!

Feb 26th:

* My niece's 2nd grd teacher (she's in 3rd now) was fired today. She'd begun to show signs of mental illness, writing things like "20+20+10" on the board and saying it equaled 30. Other teachers started to shun her. On the way to a staff outing she went back to her rm for her purse & returned to find everyone had left w/...out her. I guess there's so little pain in the world they felt they had to add to it. A*holes.

* I was a little suprised at the AI eliminations. Janell deserved her fate ( but she was hot, wasn't she?) but Ashley Rodriguez should have been safe (even if she is overanimated on stage). Guys; America obviously flipped the judges the bird for their bashing of Tim Urban. 4 all the talk about how good he was was I co...uldn't understand 1/2 of Joe Muñoz's song - so no qualms about him leaving. Tyler was a shock tho'.

* The secret ingredient . . . is phone.

* Sentry (at least the one in Bay View) no longer accepts Internet coupons, rendering many popular sites useless. I'm told they were burned on a Velvetta forgery (snort). So, for the sake of a lost 40 cents here and there, they have turned the clock back to 1963 and pushed more biz to the Evil Empire that is Pic 'n Save. Nice.

*"Democrats quietly vote to reauthorize legislation [Patriot Act] many decried under Bush.". No new privacy provisions were added and all the tenets of Dubya's policies were renewed. Kudos -it's the right thing to do. That said, its yet another example of how Dems preach one thing on the campagin trail and do another while in office

* Gwen Moore, our (hopefully) soon to be ex-Congresswoman, earns a 1 on the liberal scale based on roll-call votes on economic, social and foreign-policy. Her conservative score was 423. 'Liberal' Russ Feingold, OTOH, earned a relatively balanced 55 liberal and 44 conservative score.

* RE Carly Simon disclosing the origin of "You're So Vain": And the winner is . . . David Geffen.

* (on a Milwaukee Pot dealer getting 6 years in prison) To put this in perspective, we just saw that a killer got a cushy *12* year sentence for stangling a guy with a garrotte and ditching the body. Of course, if he'd killed him with a joint in his pocket he might have got life. What a world.

Feb 27th:

Got off work at 11 to find my friend Erv was in town. As a surprise he brought us a DVD player to replace the one that went on the fritz the last time he visited (thanks!). We hung out until half an hour ago. Pretty damn tired at this point, since I've been up since 7, so later folks. 'Night

* Payday + a new DVD player = the purchase of "Coming Home", NKOTB's new DVD of their 2008/2009 tour.

* I'm reading Shutter Island, in lieu of having the $ or babysitters to see the film. It's very good so far, although I'm worred that I've guessed the ending. Also read so far this year: Horns by Joe Hill, The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton, The 1st Rule by Robert Crais, and Final Target by Steve Gore.

* [on the suicide of Marie Osmond's son] Oh man, that's awful news. My thoughts are with their family.

We just finished watching "Couples Retreat". C+ seems to be the consensus grade here.

Feb 28th:

? for everyone: strictly for $ reasons, we're looking to switch from cable to Dish (not Direct TV), but I don't want to sacrifice reliability or quality. For anyone in the know: how reliable is the signal? Is the system easy to use? Is the DVR up to snuff and easy to navigate? How good is the company itself? Your thoughts on the matter?

Massive head of pharaoh unearthed in Egypt

Till death did them part, only death did not A great story. Although he had a lot to work with here, Jim Stingl is consistently one of the best reads in the Journal.

* [Olympic figure skater]Johnny Weir can dress and act however he likes. It's his right and it doesn't bother me. But his quote "I think masculinity is what you believe it to be." is goofy. Acutally, it's uh, pretty much a definable characteristic there bub. And wearing a pink see-through ensemble is *not* masculine.

* The book this blog post references (God's Battalions by Rodney Stark) is a great read. I finished it in the fall of '09. It's a historically accurate retort to the common fallacies people toss around about the Crusades (aka everything the modern world ever utters about them). I recommend the book for anyone more interested in historical truth than anti-Western, anti-Chritian myth.

* [on the NFL's plans to rework OT rules] Good, I think the NFL's OT rules are beyond dumb. That said, they often work to reveal to Favre as a choker, so I'd miss that . . .

* [watching US-Canada vie for Gold in Olympic hockey] Whoo-hoo! A tying goal with 24.4 seconds left! Did you see the heartbreak on the faces of that Canadian crowd? The quiet in that arena was priceless! On to OT . . .

Well damn, the wrong anthem will be playing in Vancouver. Still, a helluva game and one for the ages.

Special congrats to Joe Pavelski, Phil Kessel, Danny Heatly, Ryan Suter, and Brian Rafalski... all members of the Men's US Hockey team that were either born in, or have ties to Wisconsin.

* The great coffee experiment is over. I came home to find my coffe pot shattered on the floor and coffee grounds all over the wall, courtesy of Ginger. I am soooo . . . not in a good place today.

Lisa wrote: You didn't "find" it, like I left it for you...it happened 10 seconds before you walked in the door while your mom phoned simultaneously. I'm sorry it happened. I do however think it's funny you describe how you are today as "not in a good place", I'd describe it as on a warpath, lol.

* I'm four "chapters" into 'Inglorious Basterds' and I'm bored to point of anger. Yak Yak and f*ing yak some more. That bar scene went on for HOURS. Indulgent crap from Tarantino, IMO. Let's see if the rest of the film rescues this turkey. Nope, it didn't.

Facebook Feb 24th -

Feb 24th: This weeks episode told u everything you need to know about Lost: It's all about Jack. Past, present(s), and future - the island, and the show, is all about Jack Shephard.

- That said, it's theory time! The web seems to be populated with dinkleberries who haven't thought anything through. I disagree w/ almost all published theories about last nights episode.

For starters, the appendectomy scar that Jack doesn't remember seems (to me) to be proof that this ISN'T a flash-sideways. Jack is Jack, and somewhere down the ... See Moreroad he is succeeds in ?? and resumes a normal life, as do the rest of Flight
815. We are watching what could/will be the present of 2004 IF Jack triumphs.

- to clarify: while life has 'reset' in the new 204, the characters are unaware of their time on the island.

Life is better w/out the island. Locke has found peace, Hurley is lucky, and Jack has overcome the damage wrought by his father and forged a bond with his once estranged son. (That scene outside the conservatory brought tears to my eyes, btw... See More.)

So life sans island is a reward, a not-perfect world where the characters are willing and able to struggle past and overcome the issues that torment them.

- I now believe more than ever that Jacob is good and neoLocke evil. Newest evidence: Claire going nutso and axing a man to death under the tutelage and lies of NeoLocke.

- Note that Jacob, even tho' he appears to have been 'defeated', seems to know what will happen before it does.

He knows, for instance, that NeoLocke will shortly gain access to the temple before the possiblity even arises, and moves Jack and Hurley clear of danger.

He is the Destiny aspect of the show, whereas neoLocke must force and lie and manipulate hsi way to uncertain and mixed results. ... See More

That Jacob favors and sees tied to Jack is curious. Iit was always Locke that believed in destiny and Jack that was for choice and free will, and yet both men have been clearly used in the service of the opposing philosophy.

* Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of Hamas co-founder Sheikh Hassan Yousef, secretly converted to Christianity in 1996 and soon began a decade of feeding Hamas info to Israel, aborting many suicide bombings in the process - some by physically intervening. "So many people owe him their life and don't even know it," [an Israeli official] said.

* Yikes: SeaWorld trainer killed by killer whale

* Prequel to 'The Passion of the Christ' close to production!

* ‘Idol’ Winners: Not Just Fame but Big Bucks

* Lousy kids r arguing @ the table over whether or not YaYa is actually swallowing her grilled cheese or just 'faking', & about who can upchuck into their mouth w/out spitting it out. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. Here's what non-breeders and the 'bred because it was expected' fail to comprehend: you can hate 17.5% of any given day with all ur heart & still not regret any of it. It'd be like hating pizza forever because 1 slice of one pie was crap.

- To clarify 'bred because it was expected' - I know a few people (no one reading this) who had kids for no apparent reason other than it was the step between 'marriage' and 'retirement'. Then they whine about the gig. No one begged ya to reproduce, as I recall. Quit yer belly-aching. ;)

Facebook: Feb 23rd

Feb 23rd: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.): "Men, when they're out of work, tend to become abusive . . . Women don't have jobs either, but women aren’t abusive, most of the time," he said." THIS is the chosen leader of the Senate Dems? Ru sure he's not a GOP mole? When he speaks its like an episode of Jackass meets Ca...ndid Camera. I'm thinking maybe he and his wife will have the chance to test his theory (incorrect) after November . .

[Mark] Concannon Leaves WITI This is dated info, although it's 'new' on the Journal's site. Either Tim Cuprisin broke the news on FB yest, or I read it on a media blog. Either way, good luck Mark - and ignore the snark in the comments. People protected by the anonymity of the web are, as a rule, suckassy.

* Former NBA star Jayson Williams gets five-year sentence in shooting People are bi**hing about how an NBA star 'got off easy', but the death was clearly accidental. Essentially, he's serving 5 years in prison for hindering the investigation. To me, when u can kill a man intentionally and skate after 15 years, 5 years seems a little steep for idiotically trying to cover up the 'hows' of an accident.

* Wisconsin closes milk-production gap with Calif. Good news WI. About time we started putting fear into those insolent, so-called "happy cows." Be afraid you bovine traitors - Daddy needs a new pair of leather pants.

* Lockerbie bomber Megrahi living in luxury villa six months after being at 'death's door' Remember, he was allegedly released because he had less than 3 months to live. Six months later, he's alive and kicking in a 'luxury villa'. There's no question in my mind that Libya's threats to cut oil contracts led the Brits to release him and disregard both the law and justice. Shame on everyone involved.

* 'My heart, my choice,' Williams says, defending decision for U.S. heart surgery Tsk Tsk. Newfoundland and Labrador (Canada) Premier Danny Williams went to the US recently for heart surgery. He "was aware his trip to the [US] for heart surgery . . . would spark outcry, but he concluded his personal health trumped any public fallout . ." Quote: "I did not sign away my right to get the best possibl...e health care for myself when I entered politics." endquote.

* Busy day. Topped off fluids on the car, took the kids to school & Lauren to playgroup, (Smiley's bus never showed) had my crucifix fixed, cleaned fish & turtle tanks & kitty litter in btwn writing. Now Park and I r making a turkey, stuffing (w/ walnuts), rolls & yams for our Tues Family Nt. Then a game & we'll end by reading from Anne Frank's diary. Not 'fun' per se, but they seem woefully ignorant of the Holocaust.

- Family nights have been a hit. They usually start out w/ a dinner I make while Lisa's at play practice (burritos and homemade cornbread the week before, wonderful boneless ribs the week before that), followed by an activity.

* Dinner was A1. Got the kids to eat yams by saying they were carrots. But L & the girls were late bcuz she left the lts on and needed a jump-start, so we xnay'd the game. I did read Anne Frank's 1st 2 entries to the girls. They liked her snarky & somewhat judgemental take on her classmates. Based on her bday gifts, theydecided she was much richer than us :) We'll try reading a few pgs each nt.

* I was going to go all in-depth on tonight's American Idol, but I think I can sum it up nicely: disappointing, boring, and almost enough to convince you the talk about this group being 'strong' is all smoke and mirrors. However, Katelyn and Crystal did well, Lily was @ least interesting, and Michelle was as good as Elle...n said. My picks to go home: Janell and Haeley (sp?).

Facebook Feb 21st - 22nd

Feb 21st: I'm on Club Penguin cart surfing to earn coins for Grace's penguin. Ain't nobody can top me in the mines, N-O-B-O-D-Y. If you think different, step on up pardner. I'm the penguin in the purple gown and the long brown hair racking up the points. Bring your A game and prepare to recognize!

* The First World War (2003) This mini-series is showing on the Military Channel this month and I think it's superb. It's British, so it focuses a bit too much on their experience, but that's to be expected. @ least it makes an effort to inc the Eastern front & the Turks. A bit too heavy on the 'evil' Boche cliche early on, but overall it's balanced if rudimentary. Worth a look.

* Proof that advertising seeps into the brain: I took my two oldest to the grocery store to look for plain yogurt. No luck, but there was plenty of Activia. As soon as they saw it on the shelves both girls pointed and sang, in harmony, the Activia jingle.

Feb 22nd: Pediatricians call for a choke-proof hot dog Jeez-us. What's next? Scooping the crap out of their bum to avoid the risk of a hemorroids? Shaving their head so their hair won't get stuck in a whirlpool? Cut the hot dog lengthwise and problem solved. By the time my kids are my age we'll have ditched the eagle and made our national icon the pu**y.

* Koss sues American Express over Sachdeva purchases What crap. Koss hires a thief, is oblivious to how she's gouging them, American Express notifies them and stops the bleeding - and Koss turns around and sues them. Way to further America's decent into litigious Suckassyness.

* First Dick Cheney is hospitalized, now Bob Dole. It's a Vast Left Wing Conspiracy. I wish them both a speedy recovery

Archaeologist sees proof for Bible in ancient wall

* Dems, GOP: Summit will not break logjam on health Quoting the lead paragraph of the article: "Realistically, he's just hoping to win a big enough slice to silence the talk of a failing presidency." That's a far cry from the fawning MSM of '08.

* Archer's been renewed for a 2nd season! Hot Dog



* Chavez of Venezuela, Uribe of Colombia in shouting match - I'm w/ you Uribe. I'd swear at him too, if he was funding guerillas who cross the border and terrorize my citizens. Not that it matters to El Presidente KooKoo, but he's the reason I haven't visited a Citgo in close to four years.

* For our anniversary we were granted 2 1/2 hr w/out children, all in the middle of the day. Long enough to stop and buy some needed pet food, wait for a table at Olive Garden, and scarf down some food. I'm grateful 4 the break, but 4 the record: on my bday, if I don't find a babysitter, I'm locking the kids in the shed ...with a water bottle, a loaf of bread, and a harmonica. Ok, 2 bottles of water. Maybe 3. ;)

-all kidding aside, my folks and sister Kwatched the little ones for most of the afternoon, and while we had the older girls they did try to stay out of our way (and my mother-in-law kindly picked them up from school, saving us a trip).

Facebook Feb 18h

Feb 18th: American Idol: I think the male 12 was ok, but the choice of the female dozen was nuts. They cut Shelby Dressel and kept the mediocre blonde, which was bad enough, but then they axed Angela Martin. WTH? I had her pegged as a favorite to win. I can only assume her odd & continual personal troubles (Dad killed 1st yr, 6 days in ...jail yr 2, now her Mom's missing) knocked her out of the running. My early fave to win: Casey James.

* Lost: Excellent episode, u can really feel the season picking up steam. So in alt. timeline Locke is happy; he has his woman, comes to grips w/ his paralysis, and is fufilled @ wrk - all by abandoning faith, making him a true opp. of his 'old' self. Will Jack be equally fufilled by *embracing* faith in that timeline? Yin/Yang, etc?

- & no, I don't think PsedoLocke is 'good' and Jacob 'bad'. Aside from all the direct murders (Echo, the pilot) & a dozen other pts of fact, my gut says he's a trickster - a Loki (a conscious play on Locke/Loki?). Note also he tossed away the white rock, leaving the dark one victorious on the scale.

- Who's the child? Jacob. Hmm. Nah. I vote for a superior, judicial being keeping PsuedoLocke and Jacob in line and now sallying forth to rectify matters now that everything got sh** up. Odin to Thor and Loki? God to Jesus and Satan (if you mash up Christian theology)?

- Note Kate's name wasn't on the 'list'. Deep meanng? Who cares. I vote its because she's a boring, predicatable, and amoral twit. I do wonder if Sawyer saw the child becasue he is the one, the protector, or if that would hold true for anyone on the list.

* Universal Preps Cobain Bio Pic Dislike. Dislike. Dislike. Cross was Love's tool, and I don't buy some of his 'revelations'. Plus Courtney is [bleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep] and should have nothing to do with anything of Kurt. She did enough damage while he was breathing. She's a dirty, useless piece of sh**t and I despise her.

* Johnny Weir 'Loves Wearing Dead Animals,' Calls Animal Rights Activists 'Crazy Fur People' The 'activists' were using him for cheap publicity, expecting your standard "Bend over and blindly apologize as the gods of PC demand". Essentially, he told them to go F themselves. Good for him.

* The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad is posting FB messages in Arabic. Odd, and a wee disturbing, to see my 'wall' decorated by 3 posts in Arabic, w/ no English translation on hand.

* NKOTB is featured on AOL's home page this morning. The article includes some pretty good 'candid' pics.

* re: Sade's new album and single: 'Soldier of Love is a very good song and I like it a lot. I also liked Donnie Osmond's song of the same name, and bought a cassette single of it in the '80's. That's irrelevant - but I figured, so is everything else I post here, so why not include it?

* Went right from work to YaYa's parent-teacher conference. It went much better than I feared, w/ her teacher heaping praise and compliments on her. Still, she rightly pointed out that YaYa, if we can speak plainly here, rarely gives more than a half-ass effort in math and anything she finds 'boring'. Time to break her of that before it gets too ingrained (sp?) in her personality.

* Aside from breaking my son's foot the day went well. I have pics from the wrestling practice, so hopefully a blog post will follow. The coach went gaga for LuLu; his eyes just sparkled. He said she was a natural, that her body instinctively reacted w/ the right moves as if trained; that right NOW she would do well in a... tourney and be near the top of the food chain in her age bracket. Wow. My LuLu, a wrestler?

Facebooking my life Feb 15th - 17th

Feb 15th: There was a Future Celebrity sighting on Match Game this morning. Jenny Jones, future talk show host, appeared in today's 1978 episode and won the grand prize. Interestingly, she stated she was born in Bethlehem (Palestine) to Polish Catholic parents.



* Want to feel older than your years? It's been 15 years since WISN and Fox 6 anchor Vince Gibbens unexpectedly died of a heart attack in 1995. Remember all the on-air memorials at the time? Yikes. Fifteen Years.

* Red beans & rice + sausage for dinner, then an hr of the most scuffles ever recorded among the kids. It was like Wrestlemania Slapinions. But good can come from bad. As they were all nuts anyhow, we picked today to break Ginger of sleeping w/ the room light on. She slept in the dark from birth to 2, then picked up the... habit when she moved 2 her own rm. 2night: darkness. & a lot of crying. It might be a long one. Note: It was a complete success. While I did have to unscrew the bulbs in the overhead light to keep her from turning it on, she's now sleeping in the dark, and falling asleep faster than ever.

* Oh hell yeah! Neil Gaiman to write Dr. Who Episode.

Feb 16th: Mitt Romney is threatened on a flight out of Vancouver. Mitt's new book comes out March 2nd. I can't wait!

* [wipes tears of pride from my eyes] Smiley just brought me a copy of Dr. Who magazine and asked me to read it to him while he ate lunch. "umtimes I 'ared, umtimes I not" he said. The other day the family watched "Lazarus Experiment" (great underated ep.) and he was petrified but stuck it out, even as he said to me "I a...ve night'ares tonight, it your 'ault" :)

* (linking to a $250 plate dinner w/ Jeb Bush] It's well outside my price range, but if your situation is different:

* [a 94 year old convict on death row dies of natural causes] The man was in prison for armed robbery, shooting a cop, and murder. He escaped and killed again. By the time he died he'd been in prison (all told) for nearly *79* years. $'s never a reason to kill a man, but try and convince me this wretched life was worth what it cost taxpayers.

* Lousy link, grumble. Anywho, this is about the "Betty White to Host SNL" movement, including some comments by the busty Mrs. White. Er, did I just put that last part in print?

Feb 17th: Good luck, and get well soon. (on news that former Bucks coach George Karl has cancer)

* [on yet another article critiquing the Olympics] I think most people need to just shut up and enjoy the Games.

* To the unknown person who donated the coffee maker to the Value Village, which I purchased 2day for $3: Sir/Madam, I salute u. No castoff this, no 'best fit for the rubbage heap but donate it 4 the write-off'. I can see the love u had for it, the care u took in maintaining it. Even on the shelf it shone like a glimpse ...into the Hereafter, so spotless my efforts to 'clean' it were superflous @ best. Well done.

* Zahi Hawass is everything the last 3 letters of his name implies, an ego-mad Egyptian who views everything in a Jingoistic light. King Tut could not be effeminate, as theorized, you see, regardless of what facts may or may not have been, because that wouldn't jibe with his world-view of manhood and Egyptian royalty. That said,the video doesn't include his take on the subject, so what's the point of the link at all?

* [on news that an 'ancient' Arabic inscription had been found] It was some Call me whackadoodle, but 1,100 years old doesn't qualify as "ancient" for anything historical. Heck, Alfred the Great was busy burning cakes by then.

Note: that post brought up a great discussion w/ Socialist. He asked me what I'd consider 'ancient'. I said at the earliest, anything B.C. "Excuse, me (airquote) Before the Common Era (airquote)." I said.

Later, I realized how idiotic that sounded. "It makes no bleeping sense to go around changing the name from AD and BC. Why? You're still dating things from the birth of Christ, right? Basically you're just farting around, saying you want to be tolerant and this and that and all you're doing is slapping some paint on it. You want to be PC, go ahead and redate every bleep thing. Just pick a random starting point and go at it. Or better yet, STFU."

He agreed.

We also discussed Truthers, those fair-haired kooks who believe the government conspired to fake 9/11 by various means. I still run into a guy who proudly wears a 9/11 Truth t-shirt, nevermind that it erases all respect for him in the minds of people he meets. We both agreed Truthers were nimrods, for a number of reasons. We both agreed it would take hundreds, if not thousands, of accomplices to pull off such a conspiracy. Presumably, those reams of volunteers were not only cool with killing thousands of their innocent countrymen, but were sooooo trustworthy they've all kept mum before and during the attack, and for the decade afterwards. Get out of here - Washington can't run Amtrack, much less plot 9/11.

Facebooking my life Feb 10th - 12th

Feb 10th: I don't know if I felt the northern IL earthquake or not, but coincidentally I woke from a sound sleep at the same time it hit. I ck'd the time, apologized for waking Lisa, then laid back down and went back to sleep.

I just showed Smiley an ad for the new generation of Zhu-Zhu pets and he freaked out. He started hopping up and down and sounded like he was going to hyperventalate. Man he loses those toy hamsters!

If you haven't read it already, check out http://punchdrunkcritics.blogspot.com, a great site for movie news and gossip - and tell 'em I sent you. The latest: Zac Efron may be on board to take over as Peter Parker in the next Spiderman movie.

Feb 11th: Designer Alexander McQueen has been found dead of an apparent suicide, mere days after the death of his mother. He was 40.

Former President Clinton had a heart procedure: I wouldn't (and didn't) vote for the guy, but I hope he recovers quickly.

re: a prison escape: Allegedly he 'escaped' because he presented false release papers, returned to Milwaukee for an unspecified time, and was arrested again when he showed up to see his parole officer. Nuh-uh. This smells like the prison screwed up and released him themselves, w/ him thinking it was legit. Y else would an 'escapee' visit his parole officer?

Scientists Rebuild Iceman Genome From Hair Sample

Feb 12th: According to a lawsuit filed by Dr. Dre, he hasn't been paid royalties on his landmark album "The Chronic" since splitting with Death Row Records in 1996. 1996!

re: another delay in the Roman Polanski case: I'm loathe to argue against seeing 'justice' served, at least as it's defined by the courts, but enough already. How much more time and $ is the LA system willing to waste in the name of publicity?

Aurochs Project Aims to Breed Extinct Ancient Cattle

Got home from work @ 9. Lisa & I then had to deal with The Ginger, who picked last nt to scream, stomp her feet, & refuse to sleep in true 2 yr old fashion. We left her in her rm to chill out, but that took5 HOURS, lasting until 3 a.m. Then we woke up @ 6:45 to YaYa screaming like she was under attack. Y? "Where'd you put... my school clothes?" @#^&%

re: Obama severing our manned space program. I feel stronger about this than almost any aspect of this administration. All the rest is the here, the now, the monumental but mundane decisions of our everyday lives. Space is our collective future. What he's done is no better than a monarch of 1600 ...saying "That New World is too far away, too costly. We have problems here, in Europe, to solve first." Foolish, short-sighted, & completely lacking in vision.

Oh man. What lousy news [a Luger dies during an Olympic test-run] RIP.

On reports of sexual assaults at the County Metal Health Complex: If you've ever had the (dis)pleasure of escorting someone to the Complex, this doesn't surprise you. It's more like a prison yard than a hospital, and I've been asked to come along just to have the comfort of someone my size at the ready. They help people, but they do it in an atmosphere that makes your soul scream.

Before I forget: a few weeks ago my two oldest came home ecstatic that the Marquette baskeball team visited their school. YaYa was impressed by Robert Frozena, while LuLu thought Jimmy Butler (who gave her an autograph) was the nicest guy in history.

More Facebook Feb 3rd - 5th

Feb 3rd: I liked Lost, but we learned little other than the ID of the Smoke Monster. The Abomb worked to create a seperate timeline, but I'm not buying the 'everythign would suck anyhow' storyline (not the case for the hundreds of dead, no?) . . .and that's that. Jack's broken, so this season will be about his redemption.

* (from the UrbanDictionary.com)Dan - A man of unusual humor, consistently finding strange, and lewd comments amusing and/or entertaining in a way as to prevoke violent and uncontrolled outbursts of laughter

* re: a news article about how two of the Duggar children saved a little girls life A tip of the hat to the Duggar children. They were raised well.

* "The time has come to lip-sync . . . FOR YOUR LIFE! And remember - don't F**k it up!" How is it that Rupaul's Drag Race doesn't get more press? Watch the show already.

* I'm sick of all the cliched sob stories on American Idol. Every contestant grew up poor and unloved, had cancer and got knocked up with a Martian baby while working three jobs. At this point I know longer buy any of it at face value. I want proof - birth certificates, payroll records, hospital bills, sworn affidavits. Otherwise, STFU and sing.

Feb 4th (in response to a CNN link detailing how the DNA of newborns is collected by the government If you RTA, you'll note that the DNA collection is government mandated and often done without parental consent or even notification. In many states the DNA is then stored by the gov't indefinitely. Only in states like TX and MN do you have the option of demanding the destruction of the sample.

(posted by my Uncle George) Whoa, was that Smiley I saw at 3 pm running to Lisa's car with no shirt or shoes?!!

Me: [hangs head w/ shame] yes. I was heading into the shower when Lisa called to ask me to bring out LuLu's Daisy vest, so I sent Smiley in my place. It was a five second trip outside - how was I to know you'd be driving by? And in my day, not only did we go outside in winter without shirt and shoes, we thanked our lucky stars we had pants - and we walked three miles to school each day too!

Uncle George: I should have known that it ran in the family!

Feb 5th: On his weekly Project Runway blog, Tim Gunn called Milwaukee native Anna's piece "one of the lowest points in the history of the show". Ouch. It's a brutally honest blog and worth a read.

The last of the Bo tribe of India passed away.

* The producers of Lost have announced the date of the series finale: Sun May 23rd, with the 24th therefore being a day of mourning.

* Smiley's IEP was this morning, and the news was largely posititve. Details to follow over the weekend on my blog.

* Our neighbor (the good one) just surrendered his Harley and had it towed away. He lost most of his income in '09 w/ the P. Cudahy fire. I went out to talk to him thinking the bike was going in for repair & he couldn't speak beyond telling me the bare bones . . Shitty. He's a good joe.

* Just got a(nother) rejection letter from an editor. It's a shame many come via email nowadays. If they still came exclusively by USPS I'd have enough to wallpaper the hallway.

* Jon Gosslin is willing to let TLC film the kids, provided they drop the legal action against him.

* LuLu's sleepover is not going well. One girl is already homesick and called home, and despite massive amounts of food they all claim to be starving. Plus a few kids brought their Nintendo DS's (!), which has created a schism in the group btwn the have and have nots. I think we'll do one kid over @ a time from now on.
(One girl did go home, and one was picked up TWO HOURS late. Other than that, it went OK)

Charlie Brooker - How to Report the News

Just to tie in with my recent rant about television news: watch this Youtube video. In less than two minutes time the cliched structure of any and all TV reporting is identified and skewered. It's more sad than funny, when you think of how many people
gobble up TV news as their primary source of information.



h/t Badger Blogger.

LOL What Nerve!

And a royal %&* to the White House. The ABC Special Report on the photo op, er, 'security meeting' today wiped out the last third of a great Dr. Phil epidsode. What nerve! Any chance I'd ever vote for that guy is now sooooooo gone. ;)

Cops, guns, straw buyers, and cries of racism: Now what's going on on the South Side?

I saw this slogan on a bumper in front of me when I picked up my girls from school last week.

You can take my First Amendment when you pry my cold, dead hands off the Second

Although not a gun owner myself, I agree with the sentiment. So when I was driving near Miller Park I was surprised to see the following sign outside a local gun shop; so surprised I returned home to grab my camera.





Racist Milwaukee Police Dept is pulling over African Americans leaving this store. Sorry for the inconvenience

What the hell was that about?

The answer came in today's paper.

Badger Guns, once known as Badger Outdoors, has long been a high profile source of straw purchases - the practice of buying guns for criminals unable to legally purchase them on their own. From the late '90's on Badger was among the national - NATIONAL! - leaders in this practice, actually topping the charts in 2005.

Between January of 2006 and this month more than 1800 guns tied to the store have been used in the commision of a crime. By its lonesome, Badger Guns accounts for more than 1/3rd of all the weapons used in crimes here in Milwaukee. One third. The nearest competitor? Well, they take up a whole 3% of the citywide total. That's a wee bit fishy, no?

The final straw -no pun intended -was when two Milwaukee cops were shot and seriously wounded with a weapon tied to the store. Police Chief Ed Flynn, who for all his flaws has a knack for doing the needful regardless of political fallout, said enough was enough.

He authorized an ongoing stakeout of the gun shop, one that continues to snag straw buyers and felons using the establishment. "They know to whom they are selling, they know what is happening with their product, they know citizens in Milwaukee are dying, and they don't care." said Flynn.

"All we are asking is that they [Badger] be professional," [D.A. John] Chisholm said. "Their public service would be to do everything in their professional skill to prevent a sale to someone who will turn around and put that gun on the street to commit violence. They have the skill to do it. I suspect they choose not to do that more than they do."

As for the claims of racism? Noting that the majority of gun violence in Milwaukee involves African-American shooters and victims, Flynn isn't surprised that a majority of those arrested will fit that description. He says the owner of the store " . . . clearly doesn't care a damn about the demographics of dead Milwaukeeans," Flynn said. "To try to wrap himself as a victim of racism is not only absurd, it is obscene."

I'm going to have to side with the MPD here. Frankly, I'm surprised the shop hasn't been shut down by lawmakers, either by strict 'above the board' means or via the twists and turns at their disposal. If the place is flipping off the law and knowingly, or even just carelessly, allowing criminals to purchase guns for use in a crime, then screw 'em.

And Chief? Once again, kudos for doing what needs doing. It's so very odd to actually have a Milwaukee Police Chief worthy of respect.

UPDATE: Badger's owner has removed the sign.

Monday Roundup

It was great to see the Packers open their season with a win, especially against the Bears. It wasn't a very entertaining game, unless you enjoy the pigskin version of a pitcher's duel, but a W's a W. I thought the Packers defense looked great and exhibited tons of controlled, measured aggression. Plus I again had the chance to see Lovie Smith lose multiple challenges, which he seems to do each and every time I have to suffer through a Bears game. That's always fun.

Good to see Aaron Rodgers notch a last minute comeback too, which should shut up the brainwashed Favre lovers for a minute or two.

* * * *

Kanye West at the VMA's, interrupting Taylor Swift during her acceptance speech? Assholish. The guy makes great music, but it's about time he shut up and became a reclusive - and QUIET - artist.

* * * * *

Speaking of inappropriate outbursts, a co-worker of mine asked my opinion on Joe Wilson's "You Lie!" comment to the President. She isn't a conservative; well, that goes without saying as I'm the only one there who doesn't drink the Kool-Aid ;)

In fact this is a transgender co-worker, and as you can imagine we've had a fun time debating politics before.

"I think it was a stupid time to say it, and the wrong place to say it. I think he deserves some form of censure for his outburst, but in the end all he did was call a guy a liar. There are people on the web acting like he raped their Grandma and killed a baby. Get over yourselves. You know Wilson and the guy he beat have both raised over a million dollars since the speech? F that. I don't live in South Carolina, neither do most of the people getting all up in it. Let the people down there decide what they want to do with him. If they don't like him, they'll vote him out."

Here's what suprised me.

"Yeah," she said. "I agree with you. I mean, I so don't agree with the content of what he said, or where he said it, but you kinda have to admire the guy. It took guts to stand up there and say that. At least the Republicans know what they want and aren't afraid to say it. I wish there were more Democrats that had the balls to fight for what they want."

"We AGREE???," I said. Wow. Hell done froze over. :)

* * * *

Congrats to Antonio for winning HGTV's Design Star 4. I knew he was going to take the crown , but I'll let you in on a little secret: I think Dan out-designed him in the final challenge.




* * * *

Finally, I watched Doctor Who: The Next Doctor last night after the game. Great episode, really well done, and quite touching in parts.You know what? Jackson Lake would have made an entertaining and unique 11th Doctor.

Molecules, crooked union leaders, hunting, and my Mom

Ouch. I got home from work an hour ago and my foot is killing me. Stupid heel spur. It's the first time in weeks it's bothered me, but of course it has to return at full strength.

* * *

I was at my Mom's apartment this morning while she watched Ted Kennedy's funeral, and she asked if I could pick up a copy of Ted Kennedy's autobiography when it drops in September. I sighed and rolled my eyes, but agreed. She soon grew angry and mentioned the '83 letter I wrote about here, which apparently makes me obligated to his clan forever, and about how she can't believe I'm no longer a fan of the Kennedy's.

Eh, I'm not a fan of He-Man and Thundercats anymore either. Things change.

As I wrote about when Michael Jackson died, people should be allowed to grieve for who they want, in whatever manner they see fit, for a respectable amount of time. Therefore, I don't pass judgement on anyone broken up over his death, although it is difficult to sit through saccharine comments like this on Facebook:

[The dark skies during the service were] so apt. And, if what I saw was lightning in the background, it was as 'tho the heavens were also making their own statement about Ted Kennedy's death....

* * *

Speaking of the honored dead, Saturday would have been Michael Jackson's 51st birthday and some local stations were playing his music in heavy rotation. Kudos to them. YaYa and Smiley were jamming to "Black or White" at the local Dollar General . . .

* * * *

Ex-police union leader Brad Debraska has been convicted of two felonies. He forged a memo he used in a lawsuit against the city, which seems a stupid thing to do, even as crimes go. Debraska was a major player in the union for years, and I grew up seeing him on TV defending officers whenever something went wrong.

Through Job Prior I had some minor dealings with him and his son (who was sent to prison some years back), but I doubt the man even knew my name.

* * *

First the union members at Mercury Marine vote away their jobs. The company calls their bluff and starts the move to Oklahoma. Cue the workers asking for a re-do of the vote, but the union blocked them, citing union by-laws. It is, of course, more important to follow the bylaws than save the 1800 jobs at stake.

Well, now a few days later, it looks like the union leadership has bowed to pressure. They've agreed to a second vote, but I'm not sure it'll make a difference. They might have cut their own throat last week. We'll have to wait and see.

UPDATE: In this morning's paper Mercury Marine killed the vote, saying the deadline for an agreement has passed.

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Next week, ten year olds in Wisconsin will be allowed to carry guns during hunting season for the first time. The current minimum hunting age is twelve. The theory is that introducing children to hunting at an earlier age will help preserve the state's long and ingrained hunting tradition.

I've never been hunting, and have no real desire to go and shoot something that isn't shooting back at me. It's hypocritical, as I'll gladly eat cow and poultry, but there you have it. I guess if you told me to shoot a cow, I could do it, provided I was going to consume the animal. Sadly, there's not much of a Cow Hunting season in these parts.

That being said, I would like to accompany someone hunting in the next decade or so. I'm not sure I'd even carry a gun, but I acknowledge that it's something of a rite of manhood here. I would like to live the experience and camaraderie at least once in my lifetime. Perhaps with Lisa's Uncle Tim or my friend Jose?

* * *

It looks like the British did sell out the victims of Lockerbie for financial considerations. Quoting the Times of London:

The British government decided it was “in the overwhelming interests of the United Kingdom” to make Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber, eligible for return to Libya, leaked ministerial letters reveal.

Gordon Brown’s government made the decision after discussions between Libya and BP over a multi-million-pound oil exploration deal had hit difficulties. These were resolved soon afterwards.

Unbelievable. Disgusting, to tell you the truth.

* * * *

A hoard of Viking silver, buried in British soil for a milenium, has been unearthed. Valued at a million pounds, it was found by a father/son team of treasure hunters and turned over to the authorities. Kudos to them on their remarkable find.

* * * *

Finally, using an Atomic Force Microscope, researchers at IBM have taken the first ever photograph of a single molecule. The carbon rings and the positions of the hydrogen atoms in the molecule can clearly be seen.

Get this: the space between the carbon rings of the molecule are roughly a million times smaller than the diameter of a grain of sand.

You're probably used to seeing illustrations of a molecule that look like cleverly arranged tinker-toys. Now I imagine my children's biology books will feature this:



Congrats to IBM, and the crew responsible!

Unions, Libya, State Fair, and a Penniless Dick

Here's an anagram for my name (full first and last, with middle initial)that a website came up with: A LAZY, PENNILESS DICK.

Ha! Shows what they know. I have at least a nickel in the bank.

* * * *

I post a lot of news links over on Facebook. It's not nearly as fascinating as the endless Mafia Wars, Farmsville, and "What Disney Princess are You?" posts that other people bombard me with, but no one's perfect.

Here's a recap of some of the more interesting links:



* Tom Barrett, Milwaukee's mayor, was beaten with a pipe after stopping to help a woman in a domestic altercation outside of the Wisconsin State Fair. He'll recover, but spent time in the hospital, lost some teeth, and broke his hand in the fight.

I'm no fan of Barrett, who seems to do little more than warm the Mayor's chair, but good for him. You did right by Milwaukee Tom. We're proud of you.




* William Golding, the author of Lord of the Flies, admitted that he once tried to rape a girl. Bear in mind the guy seemed to get off on coming across as a disturbed malcontent, so I wouldn't put 100% faith in his posthumous claim.



* Back when Mitt Romney, a Republican, was Governor of Massachusetts, the Ted Kennedy lobbied successfully to change the laws of the state. Thanks to that effort, if a Senator couldn't finish their term, a special election would be held to fill the seat. That prevented Mitt from appointing a member of his own party to fill the void.

Fast forward to 2009. Kennedy is sick with cancer, a Democrat is back in the Governor's chair, and guess what? Ol' Teddy wants the law changed back. I guess that election process he fought for so hard doesn't look so democratic when it denies a fellow Dem a seat for a few months.

How very, what's the word I'm looking for? Expected.



* The people who thought it a wise and compassionate idea to release the Lockerbie Bomber have proven the idiocy of treating terrorism - an act of war - as a mere criminal offense. A man who commits mass murder in the name of war should not, MUST not, receive the same treatment as a citizen who violates the law. Not that a 'mere' murderer with a life sentence should ever be released on 'compassionate' grounds - where's the compassion for the victim and their family? - but there is so much more involved here than pis**ing off a local community.

For starters: Scotland now looks weak and infantile, kooks in the Muslim world now have the idea that you can kill hundreds of Westerners and get a few years in jail for the trouble, Libya has a new rock star terrorist to laud, the families of hundreds of victims have had their emotional wounds ripped open, and, oh yeah . . . Libya claims, I hope fraudently, that the deal was done in exchange for financial considerations.




Even if the claim is false, any business the U.K. does with Libya will now appear to be as a result of this action. Essentially, it's now a no win situation for them. They can sit at home and lose money, or go ahead and look to the world like vultures reaping their prize.
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* Mercury Marine, which has its world headquarters here in Fon du Lac, employs 1900 people in Wisconsin and has been vital to the areas economic well-being for 70 years. To quote the Journal-Sentinel "Mercury's $175 million annual local payroll, including benefits, has been called an economic engine for the entire Fox Valley."

Now, facing a rough economy and declining sales, they gave an ultimatium to the union: help us survive by agreeing to a wage freeze for current workers, and a 30% cut for future hires, or we'll move the jobs to another state.

Well, you'd imagine the union would suck it up for a bit and ride out the recession. After all, all union workers at the plant make at least $20 an hour ($40K/year) plus benefits. I'd take that in a heartbeat. Wouldn't they?

I guess not. The union, doing what unions do, said no.

That'll show 'em!

Oh, wait. It won't. The company announced today that because of the vote they'll commence moving south, leaving "Zero to 200" jobs behind in Wisconsin.

Enjoy your unemployment gentlemen. I feel your pain - except, of course, that unlike you I didn't get the choice to keep my job and yell "hell no!" instead.