A divided Wisconsin Supreme Court has rejected the Green Party’s request to place presidential candidate Howie Hawkins on the state’s slate, giving local clerks the go-ahead to begin sending out absentee ballots to voters.
Lust for Green Energy Risks Destruction of Entire Species
Heh.
Nestled among the slopes of Nevada’s Silver Peak Range are six patches of Tiehm’s buckwheat, a rare flowering plant found nowhere else in the world. Only an estimated 42,000 plants remain on 10 acres. But over the weekend, conservationists discovered that 40% of the total population had been destroyed.
[…]The destruction occurs amid a conflict over the flower’s habitat. For the past year and a half, Donnelly and Naomi Fraga, director of conservation at the California Botanic Garden, have been working to protect Tiehm’s buckwheat from a proposed mine for lithium and boron, elements involved in producing clean energy technology. The operation would encompass the entire range of the plant’s population, risking its extinction in the wild.
“I would not oppose the mine if it was done in a way that didn’t put the whole species at risk, and was environmentally sound,” said Fraga. “What is the cost of green energy if it causes the extinction of whole species?”
Posted by Owen at 2203 hours
Minneapolis Council Hammers Police for Rise in Crime
Just two months after voting to dismantle the police and slashing its budget, Minneapolis City Council members pressed the department’s chief over a surge in crime, prompting a GOP candidate to slam the lawmakers as hypocrites.
‘Residents are asking, “Where are the police?”‘ Council Member Jamal Osman said on Tuesday, adding that calls to the Minneapolis Police Department from constituents have gone unanswered.
‘That is the only public safety option they have at the moment. MPD. They rely on MPD. And they are saying they are nowhere to be seen.’
[…]
Violent crime, including domestic aggravated assault, was up almost 15 per cent in the first nine months of the year, while property crime was up almost eight per cent in the same time period.
Of all the crimes that have increased, homicide saw the largest spike of 87 per cent, rising from 30 in 2019 to 56 in 2020, while incidents of arson have increased by 82 per cent over the total at this point in 2019.
Robbery rose from 931 to 1,275 (37 percent) while incidents of aggravated assault increased from 1,750 in 2019 to 2,100 this year (20 percent). Meanwhile, rape fell by 22 percent, and domestic aggravated assault fell by 8.4 percent.
In terms of property crimes, burglary rose from 2,223 to 2,785 (25 percent), thefts from motor vehicles rose from 3,127 to 3,937 (26 percent), and auto theft rose from 1,982 to 2,766 (40 percent), while larceny fell by almost 10 percent.
[…]
As part of its several steps towards dismantling the MPD, Minneapolis City Council approved an amendment to remove $1.1 million from the department’s budget and reallocate it toward the health department in order to hire ‘violence interrupters’.
This came as part of the council’s pledge earlier in the summer to dismantle the department and replace it with a community-based system of public safety.
Posted by Owen at 2058 hours
Soccer Team Loses 37-0 Due to Social Distancing
Hilarious. Good for Holdenstedt. Take the win.
He added of his players: “They did not go into direct duels and observed the social distancing rules, keeping two metres between them and Holdenstedt players.”
Holdenstedt did not hold back, scoring a goal every two or three minutes.
“There was no reason not to play this game,” Holdenstedt coach Florian Schierwater said.
Posted by Owen at 2025 hours
Another Iconic Wisconsin Business Closes Due to Evers’ Shutdown
WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. — After nearly seven decades, the Tommy Bartlett Show in Wisconsin Dells announced Wednesday it will close permanently due to business losses during the pandemic.
In April, the owners of the water-ski, sky and stage show made the decision to close its attraction this summer due to restrictions on large gatherings.
[…]
“Uncertainty is the biggest detriment to business,” said Diehl. “You can’t make a decision because you’ve been here 54 years and the show’s been here 69 years. You can’t make a decision (on that), it has to be based on probability of success. And to me there was zero probability going forward.”
The company made the announcement in a press release Wednesday morning.
“From May through September 6, we experienced a complete loss of revenue when we had to cancel our 2020 summer season on Lake Delton due to the pandemic. Each fall, we begin to plan for the next season, and with so much uncertainty surrounding the future of the pandemic and travel, we cannot undergo additional financial risk and investment to begin planning for summer 2021.
Posted by Owen at 0647 hours
Dane County Doesn’t Want Football Parties
Public Health Madison & Dane County does not have authority over the UW-Madison campus, including Camp Randall football stadium, but does have authority over gatherings outside of the stadium to limit gatherings per Emergency Order #9. We will be continuing to enforce public health orders in partnership with the City of Madison Police Department.
So the little tyrants at Public Health Madison and Dane County can close businesses, break up parties in private homes, force people to wear masks in their cars, limit church activities, close schools, etc. but have no authority over the gigantic campus and stadium in the middle of town? that seems like a huge effing loophole.
Posted by Owen at 0644 hours
SCOTUS Strikes Blow for Religious Liberty
The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that a Montana program that excluded religious schools from a student aid initiative violates religious freedoms protected under the U.S. Constitution.
The 5-4 majority decision, which fell along ideological lines, said that by making state-backed private school scholarships off-limits to parochial schools, the program ran afoul of First Amendment protections for the free exercise of religion, which prohibits the government from treating religious and secular groups differently.
“A state need not subsidize private education,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority. “But once a state decides to do so, it cannot disqualify some private schools solely because they are religious.”
[…]
In a concurring opinion, Thomas argued that the court’s current treatment of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause, which functions as a sort of counterweight to the free exercise clause, unduly interferes with states’ ability to support religious activities.
“So long as this hostility remains, fostered by our distorted understanding of the Establishment Clause, free exercise rights will continue to suffer,” Thomas, joined by Gorsuch, wrote.
Posted by Owen at 0813 hours
Lancaster Rioters Get Serious Treatment by Judge
It looks like Lancaster doesn’t want to be the next Kenosha after all. A quick crackdown to show that the city will not tolerate violent riots is the way to stop it before it gets worse. Good for Lancaster.
Thirteen protesters who were arrested during clashes with police in Pennsylvania at the weekend remain behind bars after a judge slapped the majority of them with bonds of $1 million each.
Police say the protesters, who range from 16 to 43 years of age, were arrested for rioting in Lancaster in the early hours of Monday morning after the police shooting of a knife-wielding man sparked protests.
The 13 protesters remained behind bars on Tuesday with bail for seven of them set at $1 million each.
Authorities said the protests following Ricardo Munoz’s fatal shooting degenerated into rioting that damaged Lancaster’s police headquarters and produced an arson fire that blocked a downtown intersection.
Posted by Owen at 0721 hours
UAE and Bahrain Normalize Relations With Israel
US President Donald Trump has hailed the “dawn of a new Middle East”, amid landmark deals between Israel and Gulf states Bahrain and the UAE.
Mr Trump spoke as the UAE and Bahrain signed agreements fully normalising their relations with Israel.
The three countries hailed the deals as historic, as did Mr Trump, whose administration helped broker them.
The Gulf states are just the third and fourth Arab countries to recognise Israel since its founding in 1948.
The agreements are also likely to usher in new security ties in a region where many of the Gulf Arab states share with the Israelis a common adversary in Iran.
This is a big deal for a couple of reasons.
First, the two big powers in the Middle East are Iran and Saudi Arabia. Both are horrible totalitarian regimes, but of the two, Iran is more of a threat to the U.S. than Saudi Arabia, a U.S. ally. Both the UAE and Bahrain are aligned with Saudi Arabia and they would not have normalized relations with Israel, another U.S. ally, without a nod from the Kingdom. This is a significant move in the formation of a regional coalition to balance Iran.
Second, although there are not military alliances between the Arab nations and Israel, the establishment of cultural and commercial relationships help to cement a motive for peace. The threat of an Arab attack on Israel as a catalyst for U.S. involvement has been reduced.
Treaties in the Middle East are traditionally unstable. We have gone through these cycles of hope and disappointment for my entire life. Perhaps this is another short-lived success. Perhaps it is a permanent shift in a positive direction. Time will tell.
Posted by Owen at 1720 hours
Median Household Income Was Highest in 50 Years Before Rona
Let’s get back to this, mmmmkay?
(CNN)Median US household income was $68,700 in 2019, the highest since 1967, the first year records were kept, according to inflation-adjusted data released by the Census Bureau Tuesday.
That’s up 6.8% from the year before.The poverty rate fell to 10.5% last year, the lowest since 1959, Census said. That’s down about 1.3 percentage points in 2018. Some 34 million were in poverty, 4.2 million fewer than the year before.All these gains, however, were upended by the coronavirus pandemic this year, which resulted in the steepest decline in employment on record. While millions of jobs have come back, some 13.6 million Americans remained unemployed in August.
Posted by Owen at 1030 hours
State Might… MIGHT… Catch Up on Unemployment Backlog By End of Year
Secretary Caleb Frostman told WISN 12 News since March, they’ve “paid about 510,000 people about $3.6 billion. There are 96,000 claimants in Wisconsin still waiting on at least one payment in our adjudication area, so we’re making progress week over week, continuing to grind through those oldest claims first, but obviously we’ve got continued work ahead of us, as we continue to grind down the mountain of claims that have piled up since COVID hit Wisconsin.”
[…]
Frostman also said they hope to catch up on the backlog by the end of the year.
Posted by Owen at 1024 hours
The commoditization of a college education
My column for the Washington County Daily News is online and in print. Here’s a little snippet.
When a traditional college decides to close the campus and provide all of their education online, they are changing the value proposition of the education they are offering. The students are still paying for all of the amenities that sit empty and unused. The only thing that the students are getting for their money is the education provided through a computer screen as they sit alone in a dorm, apartment, or at home. If that is the case, then why are they paying so much? How is the education provided by UW-La Crosse or Marquette University any better than the education provided by tenured online universities like Capella University or the University of Phoenix? If universities are to be judged solely by the quality of the education they are providing through their online portals, then many traditional universities will struggle to differentiate themselves without being able to use their beautiful campuses to lure students.
The longer that universities forgo access to their campuses and deliver learning only online, the more students will shop around for their college experience. While a student may not be able to put a proper price on sitting on UW-Madison’s Memorial Union Terrace tapping out a research paper with an eclectic guitar player strumming nearby, that student can certainly put a price on sitting in their bedroom listening to a lecture on their computer.
The great commoditization of education happens when the intangibles of campus life are squeezed out and students are left to simply decide if taking Math 240 from Online University A is better or worse than that offered by Online University B. As traditional colleges underwrite the move to online education and close off their campuses, they are hastening their own decline.
Posted by Owen at 0738 hours
Liberal Wisconsin Supreme Court Restricts Ballot Access
Strike three for Hagedorn. Wisconsin’s high court has turned.
The 4-3 decision — which had conservative Justice Brian Hagedorn joining the court’s three liberals to form a majority — found it was too late for Hawkins to be added, citing the “very short deadlines” and “the fact that the 2020 fall general election has essentially begun.”
“It is too late to grant petitioners any form of relief that would be feasible and that would not cause confusion and undue damage to both the Wisconsin electors who want to vote and the other candidates in all of the various races on the general election ballot,” wrote the majority.
Posted by Owen at 2141 hours
Riots in Lancaster
Here we go again. It is quite clear that the circumstances of each shooting is irrelevant to the protesters. The shooting is the catalyst to vent hate.
Police shot dead a 27-year-old man – who was awaiting trial for stabbing and seriously injuring four people – after he charged at an officer brandishing a huge knife over his head.
Officers in Lancaster, Pennsylvania were called to a home at 4.15pm yesterday by Ricardo Munoz’s sister who said he had become aggressive toward their mother and was trying to break into her house.
Body camera footage release by the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office shows the 27-year-old emerging from the inside of the house as soon as an officer arrived 10 minutes later.
Munoz could be seen charging at the officer while brandishing a knife above his head ‘in clear view’ and ‘in a threatening manner’ before the officer fired at him. He died at the scene.
Yesterday’s shooting sparked protests in the city, with people marching from the scene of the shooting to the Lancaster Police Department while chanting ‘this is what democracy looks like’.
WGAL-TV reported that protesters also smashed in windows of police cars.
Munoz was awaiting criminal trial on four counts of aggravated assault before he was shot dead yesterday. He also had previous charges of stalking, harassment and criminal trespassing.
Expect this to get worse as the roving violent mob travels in to Lancaster like they did in Kenosha.
Posted by Owen at 0744 hours
Markels and Obamas Remain Silent on “Cuties”
Silence is violence, so I’m told.
Viewers have hit out at Netflix employees Meghan Markle, Harry and the Obamas as the two couples stay ‘silent’ on controversial French film Cuties.
Thousands of people have already launched a call to boycott the streaming giant on Thursday over ‘Mignonnes’ – known as ‘Cuties’ in English – angry that its young stars were portrayed in a sexualized way.
The film is directed by French-Senegalese director Maimouna Doucoure, and started streaming September 9. More than 200,000 tweets with the hashtag ‘#CancelNetflix’ became the top trending topic one day later.
[…]
Neither couple has spoken about the controversial movie as of Sunday. And that has sparked criticism online.
Twitter user @AngelaLMorabito said: ‘The Obamas and Prince Harry & Meghan have contracts with Netflix. If they really want to use their influence for good, they’ll tell Netflix to drop “Cuties.”’
@DTCahill added: ‘Silence from @Netflix employees Michelle, Barack, Megan [sic] and Harry on Cuties.’
Posted by Owen at 2314 hours
Around the Bend by Judy Steffes
Village of Slinger surprised by plans for Casey’s General Store
“It was the biggest shock last week,” said Village of Slinger Administrator Margaret Wilber. “Casey’s called and is stopping the project.”
The project in question is the razing of the Casey’s General Store and car wash, 651 E. Washington Street, in Slinger.
A spokesperson for Casey’s called WashingtonCountyInsider.com and issued the following statement. “We are not planning to proceed with construction as we are focusing store development efforts in other areas. We appreciate the support the Slinger community had for this store. We will continue to work with the local Village and ensure the site is in good condition.”
The demolition of the corner gas station began Wednesday, September 2, 2020.
Plans had already been approved for development of a new store until a voicemail was left Thursday, Sept. 4 with Gregory Darga the Village Building Inspector/Zoning Administrator. That’s when the project went sideways.
“Mid-day we were informed that Casey’s cancelled the project,” said Darga. “So, at this point they will complete the demolition, restore the site to grass and then there won’t be anything there for the foreseeable future.”
Wilber pointed out that Darga’s voicemail was from the project manager, so someone not related to Casey’s.
“They were called and ordered to stop the project,” said Wilber.
Village officials spent all day Friday, before the long Labor Day holiday weekend, trying to contact someone at Casey’s.
“I finally spoke with a couple of people who confirmed an executive decision had been made and they weren’t going to continue at this time,” Wilber said. “They were going to restore the lot and the decision hadn’t been made yet whether they would put a new building up or put it on the market.”
“It was quite a surprise because they went through all the trouble of starting the teardown,” Wilber said.
The Village of Slinger Plan Commission approved plans for a new Casey’s convenience store and car wash in July 2019. “It was approved almost a year ago,” said Wilber. “At that time, the Plan Commission approved the site, architectural, lighting, landscaping, and stormwater.”
The property was purchased by Casey’s General Store in December 2018. Tri-Par previously owned the 1.92-acre site. The sale price was $850,000. The latest assessed value is $1.292 million.
Wilber has been the Village Administrator for a year but has been with the Village for 20 years. “This has completely taken us by surprise,” she said. “It did cross our mind that the project may have been paused because of Covid… but…”
Darga has been with the Village for eight years. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said. “The permits for the building had been issued and the demolition permit had been issued and after months and months of trying to get this thing going, finally they were starting and as soon as we started they pulled the project.”
“We’re very disappointed,” said Wilber. “We’re going to try to keep in touch with Casey’s and monitor their progress and continue to get updates on the plans.”
A representative for Casey’s, Jim Sklada, told Wilber there had been no decision whether the property would be put up for sale.
Slinger lemonade stand and food pantry By Corbin Stover (5th grade)
At Slinger Schlesinger Village kids in the neighborhood did a lemonade stand during our last week of summer in August. Jovy, Corbin, Alex, Soffy, Elliot, Elvlyn, and Noah wanted to do this for people that are homeless and it was the right thing to do.
Me and my friends did this for fun too. We made $275.85 in donations and a big bucket of food. Corbin and Jovy collected food from 20 to 30 homes. We started at 2:30pm and ended at 5:30pm. We got 75 to 80 customers it was crazy big. We got so excited when we got customers. We loved it so much, it was awesome. I was mesmerized by the money we got and the food. The food pantry people were mind blown.
93-year-old female mechanic goes for spin in ’57 Chevy Bel Air 283
It was a memorable day for Ellen Hembel as a friend from Just Like Home in Jackson brought his 1957 Chevy Bel Air to take her for a spin.
Ellen is 93-and-a-half years old. She is more than familiar with the Chevy Bel Air having been an auto mechanic most of her life.
“My dad worked on cars,” said Ellen.
She said she got her start when “his hands didn’t work so well.”
Ellen was part of the family business, when Hembel’s had an auto shop off Highway 41.
“The first car I worked on was an Essex,” she said. “I got all the cars running.”
With family gathered on a rainy Thursday morning, Ellen took a look under the hood before she climbed in the passenger seat.
“This is the battery and the engine and the radiator and the horn,” she said.
Jim Bird has owned car for 44 years. “It has been a pleasure to meet a lot of people,” he said.
Bird bought the car in Iowa; paid $1,200. “I drove it back to Fond du Lac. We had no muffler or lights.”
As the engine roared to life, Ellen smiled. “Nice and tuned up,” she said.
Ellen’s chauffeur slowly put the pedal to the metal and at 5 miles per hour they left the carport and made one slow lap around the driveway and back home.
“Wonderful,” said Ellen hugging her great grandchildren. “Simply wonderful.”
WIS 33 over the Milwaukee River in the Town of Trenton closed Monday, Sept. 14
Construction crews will be out Monday, September 14 at the WIS 33 bridge over the Milwaukee River doing bridge deck repairs and an overlay. Work includes bridge deck repair and over
Full closure of WIS 33 over the Milwaukee River for approximately 3 weeks starting September 14. Through traffic will be detoured along County M and Main Street in Newburg.
Local access will be available up to the road closure located at the bridge. The signed detour takes motorists along County Road M, but locals more familiar with the area may look to alternate routes. WIS 33 is scheduled to open in early October.
Fond memories found in the kitchen cupboard
A bit of a Hallmark moment this week for Jodi Janisse-Kanzenbach of West Bend as she worked in her favorite room in the house. The head chef and owner of Precinct Tap & Table in Germantown was doing what she does best when she found the items, she was working with hit her right in the feelings.
“Brought peace to me tonight baking in hand-me-down loaf pans I’ve had for 20 years. Using my Dutch oven from my husband, Pyrex bowls from a friend, and eating our dinner in vintage soup bowls kindly gifted to me after being found in a shed up north on my father-in-law’s property. This is part of the problem I have with owning entirely too much kitchenware.”
On that note, other Good Housekeeping type stories started to emerge as it appears many women have strong ties to their kitchens and tools of the trade.
Carol H. writes – “I inherited six of these Fire King ovenproof dishes from my mom who passed away in 2018. I think these were supermarket premiums. My mom used them mainly on special occasions or for special recipes like French onion soup. They were ideal for placing in the oven for melting the cheese on top of the soup.”
Here’s a baking pan (8 x 10” in size) with a sliding cover. I remember my mom using this pan for baking goodies like Blonde Brownies or Lazy Daisy Cake.
Stefanie Ulma of West Bend owned The Grasshopper Restaurant on N. Main Street. She was the head chef and made the beautiful bakery displayed in the glass case.
A photo is held tight to her home refrigerator with a magnet of the Pillsbury Doughboy. It shows a kitchen with relatable wooden cabinets, large-print wallpaper and three ladies working at the counter. Ulma said she started young, learning from her mother and grandmother.
“Since I learned my passion from my Mom …of course I have all her recipe books along with notes on the sides of what to add and how good it was. I still use her big countertop mixer… the dough hook is a constant reminder that my Mom was an excellent bread maker (I only have a few recipes under my belt).
“This time of year, especially. there was always a covered bowl in a warm spot in the house rising with some type of bread or pastry. At Christmas time I bring out her spritz cookie maker and her cookie cutters.
“Baking always reminds me of entering in the State Fair with my Mom. We would bake all day and night before and then sit all day with all these other women we made friends with from years before. We would cheer them on too and spend the day exchanging recipes and ideas and watch the judges take tiny bites of our items. My Mom won the Archway competition one year. Such an awesome memory. I also have her aprons which I really wish SHE was still wearing ..showing me the ropes… I have so much more I wanted to learn from her.”
Lori writes – Nothing in the kitchen from my mom. I do have a cast iron fry pan from my girlfriend’s mom; she was a true hoarder.
I have a handwritten cookbook from my Mom…but not much else. Oh, the two Miracle Maid West Bend Company cake pans…. that is what husband brought into the marriage 41 years ago.
RoxAnn Witkowski – What a great article. It made me go to my kitchen cupboards and see what I could find (besides, it was time to straighten).
There were the cast iron pans that were my grandmother’s. Still great for browning meat and making Dutch baby pancakes. The Duncan Hines cookware made by Regal Ware in Kewaskum. It was waterless! I remember the time and planning my mother put into a dinner party. By hosting she got a discount on the purchase of the cookware. Fifty plus years later it is still being used daily.
She was very active in a homemaker’s group. They would take trips around the state of Wisconsin. From Mirror aluminum in Manitowoc, I have an angel food cake pan and star Jell-O mold. Oh, the time it took to layer all that Jell-O. From West Bend the cake pans in all sizes. Those cake pans have been to hundreds of functions. Then there is the Pyrex ware. The design may be old but the durability speaks for itself. Taste of Home in Greendale I think was her favorite. She saved every cooking magazine from them. My sister and I still make many of the recipes and have passed them on to our children. Thank you for sharing. I may no longer live in Wisconsin, but the memories are priceless. Take care y’all.
Darlene Hefter from Allenton – I use my mom’s good china every time I have a sit-down formal dinner since I never had china and mom always said you see and get that someday. Love her loaf pans for baking bread; always gets so nice and brown in her pans. Always use her hand mixer for beating up eggs. I do treasure wine glasses and other design glasses from my Grandma’s and cut-glass relish trays I always use from my mom.
Kitten rescued from engine compartment by Bob’s Main Street Auto
As cooler weather is slowly approaching, Bob’s Main Street Auto & Towing would like to remind everyone to check their vehicles for furry little friends. This week Bob’s Main Street Auto & Towing in West Bend received a call from police that someone saw a kitten climb up underneath their car. After towing the vehicle to the shop, technicians Brett and Zach and tow truck driver Chris never heard a single noise which made the search even more challenging.
Piece by piece was removed from the car until the entire front end was disassembled. After what felt like forever, the black kitten, which was smaller than the technician’s hand was rescued from a small compartment near the engine. During the changing seasons animals will look for warm places to stay; it is not uncommon to find a cat perched inside a wheel well. Bob’s Main Street Auto would like to remind everyone to keep their vehicles and furry friends safe and look over your car before driving. If you find yourself thinking, or knowing, you have an animal hiding in your vehicle, please give us call and we will be happy to assist you and the stowaway.
Graffiti in West Bend and Kewaskum
Police in West Bend said they were aware of multiple instances of graffiti on S. Main Street. Someone with red and blue spray paint tagged a number of businesses including the Decorah Shopping Center, the old Shopko and Kohl’s Department Store. Police said the business owners will be contacted. They would then have 24 hours to clean up the graffiti. Police are expected to visit businesses along S. Main Street to see if there is any surveillance video. More details are expected to be released when information becomes available.
Aside from West Bend, the bridge on Fond du Lac Avenue just south of Highway 28 west was also tagged. There’s no confirmation on whether the tagging incidents are related.
West Bend man’s marathon on Eisenbahn Trail to raise awareness
Thaddeus Bath, 34, will be running the Boston Marathon virtually in West Bend on the Eisenbahn State Trail this Saturday, September 12. Bath is running for himself and to bring attention to narcolepsy, a diagnosis he received about five years ago. By using Taekwondo and running, Bath has found a way to fight daily battles of addiction and the sleep disorder.
“Running, especially trail running, is a therapy for me,” said Bath. “Taekwondo has been great for me with the discipline and structure. It helped me become an all-around better person.
“Being active does help me with some of the narcolepsy symptoms. I have a little more energy during the day if I stick to my schedule of running/working out.” Tabetha Wolfe said her brother has worked hard to get where he is today.
“Not only training but bringing awareness and fundraising for the nonprofit Wake Up Narcolepsy,” said Wolfe. “Running the marathon virtually is not the same as being in Boston but if I can get enough community support it will make it that much more memorable for Thaddeus.”
Bath will be running September 12 starting at noon. He will start on the Eisenbahn Trail near Legacy Martial Arts, 111 E. Decorah, Road, West Bend. He will run south to Paradise Drive then north to Highway 33 and back. He will run out and backs until he reaches 26.2 miles.
Letter to the Editor | Looking ahead to November election By Ken Miller
Recently I have heard from a number of Conservatives/Republicans, having doubts about Pres. Trump. Very disturbing. I do not like some of his tactics, verbiage, and temperament. He is a “shoot from the hip” type and can be blunt not mincing words.
He demeaner is bordering on I’itis These traits can be annoying and rather unproductive. But he’s not a diplomate or politician, he’s all business accustomed to getting things done his way and that, my friends is working.
His successes are many such as the border wall, NAFTA rescinding and a new fair-trade agreement. NATO allies paying their fair share. Holding Russia at bay. Cutting off China and brokering agreements such as Israel and UAE, all but destroying ISIS and bringing troops home.
During his term, the economy rose to record heights and stock market it all time high. The list of course is incomplete and does leave out some unsuccessful attempts. But the point is he has done more in 4 years discounting the pandemic which Dem’s claim he did not solve fast enough.
Let’s look at the Liberal side. Joe Biden is the savior of the party along with Kamala. They tout the accomplishment of Joe. His reviving of the economy in 2008, was that his, Really? I am convinced it was Obama’s which he went along with, during his Vice Presidency we heard little of his betterment of the country. He was afraid, (up to now) [’ to debate Trump.
Biden has barely condemned the riots, looting, destruction of businesses which are another plus for the Dem’s claiming Trump has not done enough. They are not saying that the Democratic Governor’s refused the help.
His health plan is a plan to bankrupt America. To further the spending of non-existent money he wants open borders and health care and funding benefits for all. His leadership skills wane against Trump and his program will take us back to the oppressive Obama years. It is incumbent to vote for a proven leader that has brought this country to becoming a world leader again.
Kenneth F. Miller Germantown
Former President, Washington County Republican Party Former County Board Chairman
Disclaimer: Opinions and letters published are not necessarily the views of the Editor, or Publisher. The http://www.washingtoncountyinsider.com reserves the right to edit or omit copy, in accordance with newspaper policies. Letters to the Editor must be attributed with a name, address and contact phone number – names and town of origin will be printed, or may be withheld at the Editor’s discretion. During the course of any election campaign, letters to the editor dealing with election issues or similar material must contain the author’s name and street address (not PO Box) for publication.
Posted by Owen at 1551 hours
Evers Administration Still Failing with Processing Unemployment Benefits
It has been so long that either they want the backlog or they are just too incompetent to deal with it. Meanwhile, real people are hurting.
According to the DWD, the department received more than 6 million weekly claims from March 15 through September 5. Nearly 700,000 of them are still being processed.
“They have had significant backlogs due to the workload of the historic layoff through this pandemic,” Workforce Connections executive director Teresa Pierce said.
Pierce says the DWD moved most of their staff to the unemployment insurance sector.
“There’s been a substantial increase in the number of calls we’ve received at the job center,” Pierce said. “And then we refer them to Madison.”
Posted by Owen at 0803 hours
Farming Has the Highest Favorability Rating of Any Industry
WASHINGTON, D.C. — For the first time in Gallup’s 20 years of tracking Americans’ views of various business and industry sectors, farming and agriculture is the clear leader. The former top-ranking industries — restaurants and computers — remain in the top four, with the grocery industry rounding out the group. Meanwhile, the pharmaceutical industry’s image has improved modestly since last year, and it has yielded the “worst rated” distinction back to the federal government.
Look at the big swing in the Sports industry.
The sports industry now has a negative image, on balance, among Americans as a whole, with 30% viewing it positively and 40% negatively, for a -10 net-positive score. This contrasts with the +20 net positive image it enjoyed in 2019, when 45% viewed it positively and 25% negatively.
[…]
While it’s not clear how much the various challenges and controversies swirling around the industry are each responsible for its slide in popularity, it is notable that sports has lost more support from Republicans and independents than from Democrats. In fact, Democrats’ view of the sports industry has not changed significantly in the past year, while Republicans’ has slipped from a +11 net-positive score in 2019 to a net -35 today, and independents’ from +26 to -10.
This is particularly troublesome for a non-essential industry that relies on people liking it. For example, if people don’t like the farming industry, what do they care? People will still buy food. But if people don’t like sports, they don’t have to spend a dollar on them.
Posted by Owen at 0739 hours
Appeals Court Rules Against Judicial Expansion of Mail-In Voting
By Joseph Ax
(Reuters) – A U.S. appeals court on Thursday rejected Texas Democrats’ bid to allow all state residents to vote by mail due to the coronavirus pandemic, ruling that the state’s law extending that right only to those over 65 was not unconstitutional age discrimination.
A split three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a lower court’s preliminary ruling that had required the state to expand mail-in voting to all eligible voters.
The Texas case is just one of dozens of court challenges across the country over whether to expand voting rights in light of the pandemic. President Donald Trump, a Republican, has asserted without evidence that voting by mail will result in fraud, although many states have used the practice for decades with no major problems.
Texas law allows voters over age 65, as well as those with certain disabilities, who are ill, absent from their home counties or confined to jail, to vote by mail. In a separate case, the state’s high court ruled in May that the risk of contracting the novel coronavirus was not in itself a valid reason to allow mail-in ballots.
The 5th Circuit’s majority said the state’s law did not violate the U.S. Constitution’s prohibition on age discrimination because it merely conferred an extra benefit on older residents, rather than limiting the right to vote for younger Texans.
Posted by Owen at 2314 hours
Chicago Going to Remove Lead Pipes
Finally. I don’t know how they plan to pay for it, there it is.
Chicago, the last big American city to require water pipes made of brain-damaging lead, is now the last one beginning to rip toxic pipes out of the ground.
Under plans shared Wednesday with the Chicago Tribune, the Department of Water Management envisions a long and costly effort to protect Chicagoans from a widespread public health threat that remained largely hidden for decades.
Initial work will be modest compared with the scope of the dangers. Next year the city estimates it will replace only 750 of the roughly 400,000 lead service lines connecting homes to street mains, according to slides prepared by the water department.
Yet the new program from Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration is the latest example of a shifting mindset at City Hall, where mayors and aldermen resisted changes to Chicago’s plumbing code until Congress outlawed lead water pipes in 1986.
Former city officials — up to and including Mayor Rahm Emanuel — also denied for years that anyone could be harmed just by drawing a glass of water from their household faucet.
Posted by Owen at 2232 hours
