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Thank you for your efforts and for caring. This blog was very useful for information. You did a great job. Godspeed.

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When blogs first emerged I found this one to be one of the best.  In part due to my 4 year stint in Bryan, College Station in the early 80’s.

Gig Em’

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I think I have been checking in with B&S since the very early days.  Thank you, so much for providing such a great place.  This is one of the few places on the interwebs, where there in general there is a reasoned and more importantly a civil and respectful discussion.  I will miss you guys.  And if there is a get together, someone please let me know where.  I would love to put a face to Mr Pelican Pants, Tuerqus, recess supervisor, etc…heck I’d even like to put a face to some of our more polite, albeit misguided liberal friends.  Owen and Wendy, best of luck in your future endeavors.  While we have never met in person, I hold you both in high esteem.  Thank you for all that you have done. 

Good luck and God Bless,

Curt

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It was fun while it lasted.  Thanks for all you’ve done.  I may have to shel out for a subscription to right WI now.

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Thank you for all of your efforts over the years Owen and Jed. You will be sorely missed. I knew people who would check in with you when it came to election time. Owen’s support of more than a few candidates had to have helped their election chances.
And whew ~ glad I snuck my so called “rant” in before the curtain call! Timing is everything, ain’t it?
God Bless!

Decade

Uh Owen, you know you can’t do this right?

What are we all going do each day without B&S?

More importantly, what new crap will the bureaucrats get away with now that Owen isn’t around?

I don’t think you can just abandon us on the side of the road.  We need some direction where to go now.  This was the best and most productive local Wisconsin blog out there. 

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The blog will surely be missed.  Owen and Jed, thanks for the time and efforts!

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Best of luck. Too bad you’re packing up, but we’ll survive and I bet you’ll be happier to have more time to yourselves.

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You all know you’re just dying to meet Mr. Pelican Pants.

Good luck to you Owen and Jed, and thanks for allowing all of us - Left, Right, or Whatever - into the arena of ideas. 

To quote a dying Captain Kirk, “It was…fun.”

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P.S. I just checked, I joined July of 2007. I don’t comment a lot, but I’m an avid reader.

I mean “was.”

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Wow. I think I’ve had Boots and Sabers as a bookmark on my web browser for 5-6 years. You will be missed! I hope to see your commentary around Wisconsin again in the near future!

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P.S. Can I get a temporary waiver up there ^^^^^ on the sockpuppet rule for posting under my actual name?

Decade

All good things come to an end sometime, right? On the flip side, how in the hell am I supposed to quickly find out what’s happening back home now? I’m not going to actually have to read the… ugh… Journal-Sentinel, am I?

It’s been fun, Owen. Thanks for providing all of us a space to jaw at each other and occasionally learn something in the process. And thanks to you as well, Jed. Blogs don’t maintain themselves, this I know.

If someone in Owen’s neck of the woods indeed wants to set up an IRL gathering (and truly, if ever one in the Wisconsin blogosphere deserved a going away party, it’s probably you Owen), just let me know. If I’m around, I’ll totally haul myself back to the homeland from South Dakota for it. To second Mark, I think it’d actually be a hoot to meet some of the people I’ve been talking to for the better part of those ten years!

Plus, I’m pretty sure there’s a guy here who can get us a sweet deal on some ice cream cakes. We may not all share Kevin’s worldview, but everyone loves a good ice cream cake.

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Gonna miss those jodhpurs. Thanks for all the hard work, guys!

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I didn’t comment much either, and certainly wasn’t following in the beginning, but has been a daily stop for me the past year or so.. Thank you.

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Well, shoot. I just recently returned to the blog after an absence of 3-4 years and now you’re closing it down. Best of everything to you and yours, and if you ever make it back down here to Texas, look me up.

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I hope this is not because the liberals got to you with the IRS…

I have 2 vices, B&S and caffeine.

It’s tough to go without either one.

Any chance (not me), some qualified local conservative can have the keys to the B & S kingdom?

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GIG ‘EM BOYS!  Thanks for the great ride!

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  I rarely commented but must’ve started coming here in the first year.  B&S sincerely helped shape many of my views, clearly altered/improved me as a person.  Thank you.  You’ll be missed.

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The morale must’ve improved. 

Don’t see this every day.  Leaving plenty of earned ‘capital’ on the table…

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Sad news. Thanks for your time. This blog will be missed.

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Owen, best wishes in your future endeavors.

Tuerqas, if you read this, best wishes to you as well.

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This truly depresses me. This has been a daily stop for a long time. It’s one of 3 blogs I have programmed on my smart phone. Best wishes. You WILL be missed.

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‘Til we meet again.

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Thank you and good luck for the future.

To the dry drunk commenter at No. 9 - quelle surprise you’d be a d-bag.

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Bloody hell.

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Well, I’m sad that the blog is done, but thanks to you and Jed for all your work! 

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Dammit, Owen, you can’t be DONE.  Only I can

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That would be one grand party indeed . I’ll help with it also

Would love to finally meet Smeedy,RS ,Turquos ,Scott and all the other usual suspects of the last 10 years

Kevin, you too!

Badger-you will be given the wrong address deliberately .

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Very much agree with Tony - this will be missed.
I think this is a momentous enough event to have an IRL going away party.
If Owen is up for it (Wendy: talk him into it), I would be happy to arrange.

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As an everyday reader, and true enjoyer of the give and take on this blog, I am sad that the end has come!
I wish you joy and success as you move forward!

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This is indeed sad news.  But thank you for all the effort for ten years.  (I didn’t comment all that much, but i read your blog daily).

(The only consolation for me is that i just discovered that Milt Rosenberg has started a website yesterday - so at least I have somewhere to go)

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One can only conclude that morale has improved.

Thanks to you both for your efforts.  This blog will be missed.

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Well, that’s too bad. It was fun while it lasted.
Owen & Jed - thank you.

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Done

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Done meaning…done? Or just done reminiscing on the 10 year anniversary?

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And thank you for your time and effort Owen & Jed:)

Obama Damage Control

ANOTHER pivot to the economy and jobs?

We need to hook the Obama administration up to a dynamo. He’s pivoted to the economy and jobs enough times to power NYC by himself.

At least hooking him up to a dynamo would actually produce something useful. His previous “pivots” have been useless.

Obama Administration Siezed Reporters' Phone Records

It proves that politicians regardless of party are willing to engage in corruption.  There, FIXED!

So then why does it make sense in your world to give these politicians MORE power by advocating increased taxes, regulation, and control over our lives…in other words, the liberal mindset.

This is why advocates of limited government will always be right.

Obama Owes an Apology

Sorry, liberalsavetheworld, but you’re dead wrong on this one. Regardless IF Obama or his team was not “in the know” regarding illegal IRS activities, these actions occurred under his watch.  He’s got some explaining to do.

A Tale of Two West Bends

Jed, you know you and I never agree on the “success” of the previous administrations.  You worked for them on the Planning Council so you are going to be biased in the opposite direction than I am.  Where you focus on the small successes, I look at the large failures and long time of lost revenues (TIFS 3, 5, 9, 10 and to some degree 12).  Some are starting to come into their own, but at a snails pace and certainly not because of any grand leadership decisions of the past—they were vacant and distressed for far too long and continue to have too much vacancy.  Some at a cost to the city.  The proliferation of condos and the somewhat negative attitude towards business (perceived and real) also did not help.

Mark, the “Chosen One” attitude is something I notice in some other department heads (current and recently vacated)as well.  It is a romantic vision of West Bend that it is somehow different than other cities.  The fact that Mr. Justice enforced developer agreements and went back for payment on TIF 10 is not a meager success.  His predecessor either didn’t want to go back to the developers, or lacked the confidence to do it.  As for Mr. Justice retaining his position—if there was fraud, then no, he shouldn’t be able to keep his position.  If this is a case of baseless accusations, hearsay, rumor and/or context - then by all means, let him continue the good work he is doing.

A Tale of Two West Bends

Thanks for the info AJ
We’re there any city incentive given to the outside of WB business’s on Paradise ?

Curious

A Tale of Two West Bends

All of the industrial parks, except for the original Wingate Park (which was privately owned) were developed during these supposedly incompetent administrations. The same for the Paradise Drive development. The shovel-ready parcel that’s been mentioned would have been the site of under-water mortgaged homes right now, had the supposedly incompetent Community Development Department supported the developer’s request to rezone it from industrial.

Mark, the city didn’t “embrace” Menards and Home Depot; private developers brought them in. The Mills brothers passed on a very good parcel with good location and suitable zoning in favor of the less expensive, but problematic one, on Highway Z. They had some issues with DOT, DNR and the town, but the city’s had nothing to do with it for years.

It’s not disloyal to Mayor Sadownikow or Mr. Justice to applaud their success while also acknowledging the good work done by their predecessors. You can’t look at the millions of dollars of development that took place and logically conclude that the majority of what happened before was a failure.

Obama Owes an Apology

Yes, liberalssavetheworld.  they’ve admitted they shouldn’t have trageted the groups in question.

Obama Owes an Apology

The USA Today does say that all ‘Tea Party’ apps were held after that last one, but your point is still untenable.  Different bureaucracies work at different speeds and have different agendas.  Because one was held since June 2009(in the offending state of Ohio) while another in a different state processed one that came in December of 2009 and approved it by Feb. 2010 means less than nothing.  According to your NYT article the IRS centralization of apps to Cincinnati happened in 2010, date undisclosed.

Obama Owes an Apology

The NY Times article contradicts that by having a quote from someone who applied before the targeting (2009) and being approved after (2012).

You might not want to put too much stock in that single data point as there are outliers in any dataset. The auditor stated that there was firm evidence that the program was in effect by at least March 2010. Depending on when that application was made it may well have been put into the “enhanced scrutiny” wringer since the typical 90-day window may well have overlapped the overly zealous investigation period.

Besides, the 90-day window is only typical. One or two typos or legitimate questions would have been enough to delay an application from a non-targeted time frame into a targeted one.

Still, the “reason” quoted by Lerner for the enhanced scrutiny and inferred by others here was soundly debunked by The Chronicle of Philanthropy which noted that 501(c)(4) applications were down during all of 2010 compared to 2009, the period in which the new “rules” targeting Tea Party and other conservative groups were developed. So to say that a “flood” of 501(c)(4) applications triggered the enhanced scrutiny is a blatant lie.

Obama Owes an Apology

You are questioning timing comparing two different states?  I’ll stick with the duh for you.  None of the articles say that all conservative groups that applied were targeted.  Your NYT article clearly states that specific agents or city offices of agents did the targeting, no article accuses the entire IRS.  Of the guilty cities/states specifically named, Champaign, Ill is not mentioned(the 90 day approval).  It mentions that different applicants received entirely different sets of inappropriate questions.  No one is accusing the IRS of uniform 100% organized discrimination.  That would be accusing the Gov’t of efficiency.  No conservative is doing that.

Obama Owes an Apology

First, the 90 day approval example is specifically pointed out as being before the targeting began, like a control number in an experiment.

And put a big duh on that one.

The NY Times article contradicts that by having a quote from someone who applied before the targeting (2009) and being approved after (2012). This calls the premise of the USA Today article into question given that their example happened in 2010 and the USA Today article stated that every group with ‘tea party’ or ‘patriot’ in the name was examined.

45.The IRS has already admitted to the illegitimate reasons

I am having trouble understanding this. Are you saying the IRS admitted they shouldn’t have targeted the groups with ‘tea party’ or ‘patriot’ in the title? Or that there were democrats in the IRS who did the targeting? I’m trying to find the ‘illegitimate reasons’ aspect.

A Tale of Two West Bends

Rich,

I respect your opinion .  I’m not sure John had the power over city officials you describe.

My sense is there were a group of folks with power like they could never have in the private sector and they wielded that power consistently. That was not the mayor

If the business good old boys agreed with the bureaucrats -  great .
if they didn’t, the bureaucrats did what they wanted .

If the mayors and city were guilty of anything, it was not breaking up that bureaucratic club- not the one composed of people who actually created jobs in the community.

I disagreed with the premise , design and stacked pricing on the riverfront condo’s , and openly questioned why we embraced
Menards and Home Depot and told the Mills brothers to go fly a kite ,

And I wonder if making Paradise drive look like every strip center in Florida is, in fact progress for our fair city.

But Beating up on the folks who keep jobs in the community ( the good old boy’s club you refer to ) strikes me as a curious form of economic outreach .

The alderman and mayor are elected officials. The buck stops with them .

While they are at it, they can’t call their constituents dopes - ( especially ones who happen to be 10x more knowledgable on a subject than the alderman is -(see Koehler,Randy - ) and they can’t tell current employers to love it or leave it
( see same alderman referenced above)

That’s JMO. I’m curious about whether you think Mr Justice should be retained ?

My sense is that his accomplishments have been meager and magnified due to the questions surrounding his hiring

i am told that his attitude is not of a penitent but rather that of a Chosen One in dealing with community .

Arrogant and factually iffy is not a swell combination for anyone but especially not in “rub the nickel so hard the bufflalo disappears West Bend ”

I’m not so sure he is “good at his job” but I’m convinced he shouldn’t have it.

Obama Owes an Apology

But the USA Today article doesn’t give specific stats. The NY Times article I linked to has a quote from someone with ‘tea party’ or ‘patriot’ in their title who applied in 2009, and didn’t get approved until 2012. Compare that with the USA Today article with the ‘tea party’ or ‘patriot’ group being approved in 90 days. This tells me that not all ‘tea party’ or ‘patriot’ groups were singled out.

Huh?  Can you put a big duh on that one?  First, the 90 day approval example is specifically pointed out as being before the targeting began, like a control number in an experiment.  Second, if every single app from any type of group had been targeted I would think even you would not have a problem with defining it as targeting and that it would be wrongdoing. 

The IRS has already admitted to the illegitimate reasons, liberalssavetheworld.

That does seem to be a losing point in the whole Dem defense, doesn’t it?