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Waukesha County Charges Ahead with Implementing Sales Tax

They vote tonight. In an era where Waukesha residents are being hit from all sides with price increases, homes are unaffordable, and every taxing entity is reaching further into their pockets, let’s pry that the Waukesha County Board members find the strength to stand with the citizens who elected them. And no, the citizens don’t get a direct vote on this.

On Thursday, October 3, 2024 the County Executive introduced an ordinance to authorize a 0.5% county sales tax to be added to the existing state sales and use tax of 5%. The ordinance implements a sales tax beginning on July 1, 2025.

 

The plan is a compromise proposal to address our critical fiscal needs for nearly a decade. The specifics of the proposal are as follows:

  1. Up to 20% of sales tax collections (estimated $12 million if sales tax collections reach $60M) would go toward a direct reduction of property tax bills partially offsetting the impact of the sales tax on property owners. With the property tax cut in place the impact of the sales tax on a homeowner drops from about $12.00 per month to roughly $7.25 per month. The tax cut will appear on the December 2025 tax bills.

  2. Up to 20% of the sales tax collection beginning in January of 2027 (estimated to be about $12 million if sales tax collections reach $60M) would go toward local property tax reduction through monthly municipal aid payments. The level of aid will be determined based upon population of the municipality. Local aid levels would be revisited every two years in conjunction with the state budget cycle.

  3. The remaining 60% of sales tax dollars (roughly $36 million of an estimated sales tax collection of $60M) will be used to further reduce the County’s reliance on the property tax levy by eliminating our annual budget shortfall for at least the next 8 to 10 years and provide funds to the capital budget further reducing the County’s need to borrow funds.

Did Harris Work at McDonald’s?

Heh.

McDonald’s reportedly said it could not confirm claims made by either camps because its records do not extend back to when the vice-president would have served french fries to customers.

 

“We and our franchisees don’t have records for all positions dating back to the early 80s,” it said in an internal memo circulated to staff, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.

 

Ms Harris has also failed to provide anything more than a vague account of her time at the golden arches.

 

When The Telegraph visited branches in the area where she claimed to have worked, we found staff had been told they were not to talk about whether she had ever worked at McDonald’s.

It’s hilarious that the inept Harris campaign has fumbled this so badly. Trump did a very routine retail campaign stunt at McDonald’s. It was a “whatever” with some funny moments. The Harris campaign’s reaction was so ridiculously over the top that they look like humorless, bitter weirdos. The result is that we are entering our third day of free media coverage of Trump and now media organizations are digging into Harris’ claim to have worked at McDonald’s. This whole thing would have gone away in hours if Harris had responded with a simple, “good for Trump for seeing what it’s like for people who weren’t born a millionaire” or something and the world would have moved on. Instead, we get this.

On the claim itself, it is totally understandable that there aren’t any records. I had a couple of jobs in high school for which I doubt there is any record. And I can think of a couple jobs where I have no memory of my coworkers names. I couldn’t dig up a contemporary witness. But I could produce friends from that era who remember me working there, or, at least, remember me mentioning it in conversation for the last 30 years.

What’s odd with the Harris claim is that nobody seems to remember her mentioning her alleged McDonald’s experience before 2019 despite several political campaigns before then. It seems that she made the claim off the cuff at an event and has stuck to it ever since. Is it true? I don’t know, but it’s her burden to prove. Personally, I don’t think she did ever work at McDonald’s. She has a history of being a bullshitter and this looks like a little BS that got out and she can’t back it out.

Traitor(s) Leaks War Plans

Is it any wonder that Israel has stopped giving the U.S. a heads up on war plans.

Documents purported to show classified U.S. intelligence gathering on Israel’s preparations for a potential retaliatory strike on Iran appeared on social media platforms this week. It is unclear what impact the potential leak may have on any Israeli military planning for a possible strike on Iran, or Israeli-American relations.

 

On Sunday, House Speaker Mike Johnson acknowledged that there is an investigation underway into the possible intelligence leak during an appearance on CNN, and added officials are following it closely. A law enforcement source also confirmed the investigation to ABC News.

 

ABC News could not independently verify the authenticity of the documents, which appear to show specific details about the types and number of munitions that Israel may be readying for a potentially large-scale strike on Iran in retaliation for the regime’s late September barrage of almost 200 ballistic missiles aimed at Israel.

 

The documents posted on social media have markings that would indicate that they originated from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), the U.S. agency that collects, analyzes and distributes intelligence gleaned from satellite and aerial imagery. ABC News is not quoting directly from or showing the documents.

Trump Works the Drive Through

We don’t see this kind of retail politics (pun intended) as much as we used to. The videos and pictures are just fun.

Former President Donald Trump has long been known for his love of the Golden Arches.

 

After landing at the Philadelphia International Airport on Sunday, Trump and his team traveled to a McDonald’s franchise in Feasterville-Trevose, Pennsylvania, where he donned an official employee apron and began handing out orders to customers waiting in the drive-thru lane. He also helped cook the restaurant’s signature fries.

And the Democrats responded with a characteristic lack of humor or humanity.

“When Trump feels desperate, all he knows how to do is lie,” Harris campaign spokesman Ian Sams told Business Insider. “He can’t understand what it’s like to have a summer job because he was handed millions on a silver platter, only to blow it.”

Biden Turns Over Border Policy to President of Mexico

Oh, fer cripes’ sake.

President Biden declined to restore the most effective Donald Trump-era border policy — and blamed America’s southern neighbor for the massive flood of migrants into the US, House Speaker Mike Johnson recalled Thursday.

 

Johnson (R-La.) told The Post in an interview that Biden, 81, refused to reverse course and reinstate his predecessor’s “Remain in Mexico” policy even after migrant crossings began shattering records in late 2023 and into 2024.

 

“‘Just do “Remain in Mexico” again,’” Johnson, 52, recounted his entreaties to the president. “I begged Biden myself, personally, to do that. And he said he wouldn’t.”

 

“‘It’s complicated,’” Biden responded flatly, in Johnson’s retelling. “‘Mexico doesn’t want that.’”

 

“I said, ‘You can make it less complicated — you just show some leadership,’” the speaker went on. “‘With all due respect, sir, you’re the president of the United States. It doesn’t matter what Mexico wants. You tell them.’”

Buc-ee’s in Wisconsin Hinges on Election

I’ve been to Buc-ee’s many times. It’s a great place to get gas, a sandwich, a change of clothes, some jerky, and a deer stand. It’s fun. It’s not a place to necessarily get your morning coffee or just a quick fill up. There’s no doubt, however, that it’s a draw. Buc-ee’s are almost always busy. I prefer a Kwik Trip for everyday use.

This article is annoying because the reporter doesn’t actually do the work to put the various candidates on record on whether or not they would support Buc-ee’s or not. The article says that the future of Buc-ee’s in Wisconsin depends on the outcome, but doesn’t give voters any insight into which candidates favor it and which ones don’t. And I don’t think it’s necessarily a partisan issue. These issues normally come down to local preference and tolerance for corporate welfare.

As a result, the proposed Buc-ee’s plan includes a $15 million upgrade to the Interstate 39/90/94 interchange. Without it, the convenience store is likely to cause traffic to back up onto the interstate, he said.

 

Buc-ee’s plans to reimburse 47% of the cost of the interchange project, Chang said, leaving local officials to figure out the rest. In June, he told the Journal Sentinel that the village was brainstorming ways to foot the bill, such as a tax improvement district.

 

Now, Chang said the village is waiting to see who wins multiple local and state government seats in the Nov. 5 election: Dane County executive, State Assembly District 42 and State Senate District 14.

 

“We anticipate that we’ll need some political help with the interchange project …,” Chang said. “I hate to make it an issue about elections, but we really are just waiting to see who’s going to help us because we definitely can’t do it ourselves, and we know that the impacts are far-reaching.”

 

[…]

 

Buc-ee’s owns the DeForest land and plans to build a 74,000-square-foot store with 120 gas pumps and 20 electric vehicle charging stations. This rivals the brand’s biggest store, a 74,707-square-foot one in Sevierville, Tenn.

 

[…]

 

The entire Buc-ee’s project is estimated to cost $50 million, Chang said. The store is expected to bring in $25 million in gross taxable sales per year, including $1 million annually in sales tax revenue for the state. The store will create between 200 and 225 jobs, he said.

Trump at the Al Smith Dinner

This speech is great for a couple of reasons. First, the fact that Trump went to the event and delivered the speech while Harris sent an idiotically cringy prerecorded video is a statement. Trump is adhering to normalcy and willing to engage people in person while Harris is constantly hiding. When Harris comes out of hiding, like the Fox interview, it’s a disaster. Put this speech in contrast to Harris’ Fox interview or even her appearance on The View. The contrast is startling. Trump is clearly ready to be president again. Harris never will be.

Second, the speech itself is a riot. Funny, clever, smart, engaging… this is Trump in long form when he is at his best. Watch the whole thing. You won’t regret it.

Once Again, FBI Lied About Crime Stats

The FBI is no longer a credible agency – if it ever was one.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation quietly updated its 2022 crime data to show an increase in violent crimes, despite previous data showing violent crimes had fallen that year, which was touted as a victory for the Biden-Harris administration.

 

“For some reason, the media, they did pick the crime data that they think goes and makes the Democrats look as good as possible. And then even when the crime data that they’ve relied on turns out by the very source of that data to be wrong, none of them fix it,” John Lott, the founder and president of the Crime Prevention Research Center, told Fox News Digital in a Zoom interview this week.

 

The FBI released its annual crime in the nation data for 2022 last year, which found a 2.1% decrease in violent crimes compared to 2021, Lott explained. The data was lauded by Democrats and the media as part of a turning point for crime woes in the U.S., following the crime wave of 2020, when defund-the-police protests and riots swept the nation and the pandemic’s stay-at-home orders upended daily life.

 

Now, the data reflects a net increase of 80,029 violent crimes in 2022 over 2021. Lott found that under the umbrella of violent crime, there were an additional 1,699 murders, 7,780 rapes, 33,459 robberies and 37,091 aggravated assaults that year.

A Little Less Evil in the World

Good job, IDF.

The Israeli military claims it killed top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar during a military operation in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday.

 

Sinwar had been credited with being the mastermind behind the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, during which over 1,100 people were killed and 250 were taken hostage. It was the deadliest attack against Jewish people since the Holocaust.

 

Israel Defense Forces said in an X post on Oct. 17 that they were investigating whether Sinwar was one of the three terrorists killed during a patrol in Gaza. The Associated Press reported that Israel was using Sinwar’s DNA, which is on file from his time in prison, to determine whether he was one of the terrorists killed. The IDF stressed there were no hostages in the area.

 

Hours later, the IDF posted that they had “eliminated” Sinwar.

German Airline Fined for Discriminating Against Jews

Yikes

The US has hit Lufthansa with a record $4m (3m) penalty after the airline barred Jewish passengers from a 2022 flight because some allegedly refused to follow rules requiring face masks.

 

The Department of Transportation said Lufthansa discriminated against the passengers, treating them “as if they were all a single group”, though many were not travelling together and did not know one another.

 

It said the penalty was the largest it had ever issued against an airline for civil rights violations.

 

Lufthansa said in the consent order that it was agreeing to the payment to avoid litigation but denied discrimination, blaming the incident on “an unfortunate series of inaccurate communications”.

Harris Recommits to Reparations

She wants to take money from people who never owned slaves and give it to people who never were slaves while there is slavery happening right now in America fed by her open border policies. You can’t make this up.

The vice president also recommitted to the idea of reparations for descendants of slavery.

 

‘It has to be studied, there’s no question about that,’ she said. ‘And I’ve been very clear about that position.’

Trump Appeals to Non-Traditional Republicans with Broad Message

Notice how the issues on which Trump is attracting non-traditional voters are the same ones that appeal to traditional Republicans. His message is a broad one on issues that impact everyone – the economy, the border, and cultural rot. The response from Harris is to offer racist, targeted, crass handouts based on race and ethnicity to woo back those voters. Trump’s message is one for all Americans. Harris’ message is the continued segmentation and dividing of Americans into the pigs and the sheep.

With just weeks to go until the US presidential election, Kamala Harris is ramping up efforts to court black and Latino voters. Despite holding a clear lead among both groups, some Democrats have warned she needs to do more to energise these voters to turn out for her in November.

 

That’s in part due to recent polling which suggests Harris’s Republican rival Donald Trump is having success in winning over black and Latino voters, a continuation of gains he made in 2016 and 2020.

 

One New York Times and Siena poll indicated Harris had 78% support among black voters, compared to around 90% support for Democrats in recent elections, with men accounting for most of this drop-off.

 

[…]

 

The economy, particularly inflation and the cost of living, is the primary issue for a majority of voters.

 

This is the case for many black and Latino voters, with the New York Times suggesting a sizable majority of both groups are dissatisfied with the current state of the American economy.

 

[…]

 

Echoing the broader US electorate, both black and Latino voters have expressed concern about immigration and the handling of the US-Mexico border by the Biden administration.

 

Strong border controls and a pledge to deport millions of undocumented migrants form a central part of the Trump campaign’s platform.

 

[…]

 

Political science Professor Quardricos Driskell said black male voters in particular have turned away from what some see as a Democratic “embrace” of social agendas contrary to their own views.

 

“There’s this perception that there has been this assault on masculinity and what that means,” he said. “I think that’s what some black male voters are railing against.”

 

Arrowhead Asks for Fortune

You would have to be near braindead to think that this is a good idea.

WAUKESHA — Voters in the Arrowhead Union High School District will be asked on the Nov. 5 ballot to approve two referendum questions seeking to fund a new high school and to cover operational expenses over the next four years.

 

The first question seeks for residents of the school district to authorize $1.9 million annually over the next four years, to be used to attract and retain staff, protect educational offerings, aid in maintenance, and keep up with inflationary cost increases, the district said on a website explaining the referendum. It would succeed a $1.7 annual operating referendum passed in 2019 and which expires this year, said Conrad Farner, district superintendent.

The second question asks voters to approve $261.2 million for a new high school on the current AHS site. Its aim is to bring Arrowhead High School, now split into two campuses, under one roof, with a new eight-lane pool to be made available for community use as well, a 1,000-seat auditorium also to be made available for public events, updated classroom technology, enhanced security, and more inside a building of about 555,000 square feet.

They want a QUARTER OF A BILLION DOLLARS to replace a fully functional facility. Why? Because they want to. Zero students will get a better education for this expense.

 

Harris Proposes to Bribe Black Men for the Votes

Desperate.

Part of the proposal includes providing one million loans that are fully forgivable up to $20,000 to Black entrepreneurs and others to start a business.

In other words, she wants to give one million Black men $20k of your money. What’s $20 Billion to her if it buys her some votes?

Harris is also calling for creating and investing in programs that help expand pathways for job opportunities for Black men, including promoting apprenticeships, strengthening the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and investing in more Black male teachers. On the campaign trail, Harris has said she will cut college degree requirements for certain federal jobs if elected president.

Yikes. How racist is that? She wants to lower standards so she can give jobs to Black men? Talk about the bigotry of low expectations.

Another component includes legalizing recreational marijuana and creating opportunities for Black Americans to succeed in the industry. The vice president has often reiterated that she believes marijuana should legalized in the US.

Again, how racist that she is positioning legalizing pot as a policy to appeal to Black men. Really?

And, of course, the question Harris should always be asked when she proposes stuff… you’re the incumbent. Why haven’t you already done this?

West Bend Schools Asking Voters to Approve Idiotic Referendum

This is probably the easiest decision on the ballot. The West Bend School District is facing a rapid and persistent DECLINE in enrollment and has done almost nothing to plan for it. You would be an imbecile to give them over $150 million to educate fewer kids with zero commitment to improve educational outcomes.

In West Bend, district residents will be asked to approve a $106.25 million facilities referendum to fund security improvements, critical capital maintenance improvements, improve operational efficiency, realign grade levels and replace Jackson Elementary School.

 

With interest included, at a rate of 4.75%, and annual fair market property growth, at 2%, the estimated total cost is $165.45 million. The current interest rate of 3.95% would place the total cost at about $13 million less, for an estimated $152.45 million.

 

The estimated tax impact would be an increase in the mill rate of $102 per $100,000 of assessed property value for approximately 20 years, if approved (based on a 20year repayment for Tax-Exempt General Obligation Bonds, a 2% annual fair market property value growth and approximately $59.2 million in estimated interest costs — the cost at a 4.75% interest rate.)

 

Included in the referendum plan is the closing of Decorah Elementary, Fair Park Elementary, the Rolfs Education Center and the Education Service Center (district central office), which will help the district avoid $51 million in capital maintenance costs, according to the WBSD.

 

The referendum question for WBSD residents on the Nov. 5 ballot reads: “Shall the West Bend Joint School District Number 1, Washington County, Wisconsin be authorized to issue pursuant to Chapter 67 of the Wisconsin Statutes, general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $106,250,000 for the public purpose of paying the cost of a district-wide school building and facility improvement project consisting of: construction of a new Jackson Elementary building on district-owned land; renovations and construction of additions, including for safe and secure entrances at East/West High Schools; renovations, including new safe and secure entrances and grade level reconfiguration at Green Tree and McLane Schools; renovations and grade level reconfiguration at Silverbrook and Badger Schools; districtwide capital maintenance and site improvements; and acquisition of furnishings, fixtures and equipment?’

Fallout from Ending DEI Programs at Universities

This ABC story highlights the “fallout” after Texas ended DEI programs at universities. The first fallout highlighted? There are fewer taxpayer-funded programs to help illegal aliens access other taxpayer-funded resources to attend a taxpayer-funded university. I’m okay with such fallout.

At UT Austin, students like Arely had a place to turn to for answers. Monarch, an on-campus student program for undocumented and temporary status students, hosted workshops on those logistical concerns, mental health resources at little to no cost, career fairs specifically geared toward undocumented students, panel discussions with undocumented grads, and a donor-based scholarship.

 

“Those are the things that I would help students navigate,” said Alicia Moreno, the former Monarch Student Program Coordinator. “Like working with campus partners to create resources and help students understand what their options were because many students that I heard – before they ran into Monarch – they believed their options were really slim.”

 

SpaceX Catches Booster with Tower

This is an absolutely amazing feat of imagination and engineering. America is still capable of great things – as long as we keep government out of it.

Trump Surges Among Men

I think this has less to do with Trump and more to do with a cumulative societal response.

Polls indicate the political gender gap among young people has widened since Kamala Harris became the Democratic nominee in July. Overall the vice-president seems to be pulling more young people into her camp – but her support among young women has risen faster than her support among young men.

 

Recent research by the Harvard Youth Poll indicates 70% of women under age 30 support Harris, while 23% plan to vote for Trump. Among men in the same age group, 53% back Harris and 36% support Trump.

 

Daniel Cox, director of the Survey Center on American Life, part of the conservative American Enterprise Institute think tank, says that the political gender gap mirrors larger social divisions which have left many young men feeling like few politicians are looking out for them.

For at least 20 years, our entire culture has shifted to ignore or outright denigrate men. From school to politics to entertainment, our culture has been trying to rectify the previous generations’ oppression of women by overcorrecting the other way. The result is a generation of men who have been told their entire lives that they are the lesser of the two genders. Of the two major political parties, the Democrats have doubled and tripled down on this cultural shift. The Republicans have actually started to respect men again. Ergo, men – especially young men who are less ideologically inclined and more culturally inclined – are leaning toward the Republicans. Trump is a beneficiary of this trend and is making some effort not screw it up.

Memphis the Dangerous

What a shame. Memphis is a fun city. Beale Street is getting a little worn, but still a lot of fun.

Memphis, Tennessee, once known for its blues, soul and rock ‘n’ roll music, has now turned into a haven for crime and drug abuse.

 

study by WalletHub has named the Southern city the most dangerous city to live in America among the 182 cities surveyed.

 

The United States Department of Justice also declared that this once-flourishing metro has the highest number of homicides – 129 in the first half of 2024.

Recent Comments

  • MjM on Traitor(s) Leaks War Plans: “With knowing the mullah-loving Biden admin, it would not be surprising to find the IDF feeding false flags to BJ…Oct 21, 23:21
  • MjM on Trump Works the Drive Through: “Not like using a crowd hiring agency to fill out your completely scripted “town hall” er anything.Oct 21, 22:06
  • dad29 on Trump Works the Drive Through: “Yah. After two NOT-fake assassination attempts, the old guy clearanced people driving to point-blank range. And THEIR lines were not…Oct 21, 12:53
  • dad29 on Traitor(s) Leaks War Plans: “Is it real “intel” or is it not? There’s some discussion about that. In any case, discouraging Israel from ramping…Oct 21, 10:54
  • jonnyv on Trump Works the Drive Through: “The old guy had the McDonalds closed down, and rehearsed supporters come thru a drive thru for a photo op.…Oct 21, 07:32
  • Merlin on Trump Works the Drive Through: “That’s definitely not the look of desperation. Harris should be taking notes. Actually mingling with real people is not as…Oct 20, 21:31
  • Jason on Buc-ee’s in Wisconsin Hinges on Election: “I’ve stopped and filled out at a few bucceess in other states. I’ll drive 10 miles out of my way…Oct 18, 22:40
  • MjM on Once Again, FBI Lied About Crime Stats: “I believe I noted this is another post some time ago…. Real Clear Investigations fails to mention that, in 2021,…Oct 18, 13:28
  • dad29 on Buc-ee’s in Wisconsin Hinges on Election: “Kwik-Trip is about 6 blocks east of the site. Wonder if they’ve been active…………..Oct 18, 13:10
  • Tuerqas on Bill Clinton Questions Election Integrity: “The Dem message is to say the exact opposite of their intent and blame the opposition for exactly what they…Oct 16, 10:58

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