Boots & Sabers

The blogging will continue until morale improves...

Month: April 2016

Dane County Judge Strikes Down Right to Work Law

I almost laughed when I read this. This ruling won’t withstand appeal.

A Dane County judge has struck down the state’s right-to-work law, ruling unions have property rights to collect fees for the services they provide to union members and nonmembers alike.

Judge William Foust issued the 15-page ruling on Friday, about a year after the law took effect.

The law prohibits unions and employers from entering agreements that require all employees to pay fees to a union, either in the form of membership dues or “fair-share” payments for those who opt out of joining a union but are still represented by it.

A group of private-sector unions sued the state, arguing state and federal law require unions to provide collective bargaining services to all employees in a represented workplace, regardless of whether they pay union dues. That made the state’s right-to-work law an illegal “taking” of their services, they argued.

There are two somewhat interesting things of note. First, we see again what has become the MO for Republican legislation in Wisconsin. After being duly passed into law, the liberals sue, a Dane County judge calls the law unconstitutional, and the judicial process proceeds until the law is eventually allowed to stand. We saw it with Act 10, Voter ID, etc. It is tiresome that liberals in this state can’t respect the will of the people as expressed through their duly elected representatives in the legislative and executive branches of government.

Second, try to understand the rationale of the lawsuit. They are claiming that since the union has to represent all employees, the fact that some employees can opt out of the union is a violation of the constitutional provision prohibiting government from taking money or property without just compensation. So in their minds, if a private organization (union) chooses to provide a service for a person without permission, then that person must pay the private organization for those services or it violates the constitution.

Of course, this line of legal theory has been advanced before in other states where Right to Work has been enacted, and failed the miserable legal death it deserves. But it does illustrate the liberal mindset that the individual’s money and property is theirs first and the individual get to keep whatever is left over.

New Berlin Teacher Charged For Sex With Student

Once again, this seems to be a growing problem.

WAUKESHA — A former New Berlin West High School English teacher is free on bond today after she was charged Friday in Waukesha County Circuit Court with two felonies for allegedly having sex with a student.

Sara Domres, 28, of Sullivan, was charged Friday with two counts of sexual assault of a student by school staff. She faces up to six years in prison and $10,000 in fines if convicted on each count.

She was freed after posting $1,000 cash bail, which came with the conditions that she avoid the student, the school, its staff members and students. She is due in court again May 4.

According to the criminal complaint in the case, the male student told police that in the 2014-15 school year, when he was a 16-yearold sophomore, he was in Domres’ English class when they worked up a friendship and exchanged text messages. In mid-July of last year, after the school semester had ended, he and Domres were on a date and had sexual intercourse in the back seat of her car in a parkand- ride lot on Moorland Road, the complaint said.

During the current school year, while a junior at the school, the boy said he and Domres had sex at a Motel 6 in the Town of Brookfield in about October, after the boy had turned 17, the complaint said. The boy’s phone was connected to the hotel’s Wi-Fi network Oct. 23, the complaint said.

I get why the kid is so stupid, but on what planet would a teacher – one who is presumably at least 22 years old, graduated from college, and was told multiple times to not have sex with kids – do this? She’s an adult and she throws away her life because she can’t control her lust for a kid?

Around the Bend by Judy Steffes

West Bend Company reunion/ open house is Saturday, April 23

If you live in West Bend or Washington County chances are you have a family member or two that worked for the West Bend Company.

It was one of the largest employers in the community as entire families would be on the lines manufacturing aluminum cookware or electrical appliances. The West Bend Company was a place where men met their wives, where their children worked and their children.

In 2010 the West Bend Co./Regal Ware Museum held an open house as part of a year-long celebration. Mixed in with the pots and pans were murals that traced the timeline and marketing of the cookware along with the changing roles of women.

‘In the 1950s the wife was depicted as the queen of the house but with limited independence. Women were to be devoted to house, husband and family.’

Pictured beneath the short description was a woman, sitting on the floor amidst pots and pans wearing a simple teal blue dress with white piping and pearl earrings.

That woman was Nancy Mehring, a volunteer at the open house wearing the same outfit from when the photo was taken in 1958.

“It was 53 years ago and I was like a girl sitting there dreaming about getting married,” said Mehring recalling her inspiration.

Mehring started work at the West Bend Company when she was 17, in high school and her last name was Furger.

“I was in the wholesale and premium division. I worked for Harold Ziegler, Bernie Ziegler, Allan Kieckhafer, Bob Claus and Harry Haugen as a stenographer and office gal or secretary until I earned enough money to go to college,” she said.

Back in the day the West Bend Company was in its prime; 1,100 people worked in the factory and police were needed to direct traffic at the intersection along Hwy 33 when shift changes occurred at 3:30 p.m.

Families were the bedrock of the workforce at the West Bend Company. Mehring’s father Ed Furger worked at the company as did her Aunt Ann Rossman, Aunt Loretta Furger Paasch, and Aunt Rita Schwinn.

Mehring’s brief modeling career started at the West Bend Company as industry leaders were trying to toe the bottom line.

“West Bend Company tried to keep prices down and they used staff for the photos and booklets,” said Mehring.  The photos were taken in the company’s test kitchen. Mehring made about $1 an hour and said there were no fringe benefits and her dress was simply what she wore to work.  “I think I got this at J.C. Penny’s,” she said, the dress now faded a bit to a soft, powder blue.

Kitchen Craft and Lustre Craft were big products at the time for the West Bend Company which placed ads nationally in newspapers across the country and Modern Bride magazine.

Mehring has a scrapbook of clippings of the ad including one that ran in an Iowa newspaper.

Nobody ever saw the ads in West Bend, the only way people in town may have caught Mehring in print was if they bought the cookware; her photo, pleasantly flipping hamburgers on a stove filled with Kitchen Craft stainless steel cookware, was on the front of the cookbook included with each piece.

On Saturday, April 23 there will be a West Bend Company reunion. It will coincide with an open house as the former factory that was known for making pots and pans has been repurposed into the new Cast Iron Luxury Living Apartments.

Folks will gather and share stories about working at the company, tours will be offered and there will be free food and drink and music. The event will run from 4 p.m. – 7 p.m. RSVP’s are appreciated at 414-975-2617 or E-mail Megan at Castiron@hendricksgroup.net

Former Badger counselor killed in car accident

Teachers, administrators, parents and students at Badger Middle School in West Bend offered up a moment of silence this week in memory of Matt Heinen, 35, a former school counselor who was killed in a two-vehicle accident Thursday morning in Fond du Lac. Heinen worked in West Bend from August 2009 – June 2012 when the district added a third school counselor; he served as the AVID coordinator in a combined position. He was currently working as a guidance counselor at Fond du Lac High School.

Former coworker Angie Borst said counselors remembered Heinen. “We all liked him very much,” Borst said. “He cared about students and was always willing to collaborate as a team and help others.”

Kathleen Erickson praised Heinen for being a “true spirit” and a “role model” for the many lives of students and staff.

Thomas King worked with Heinen as a middle school counselor in West Bend. “Enjoyed working with Matt. He was very student focused and caring,” said King. “He was great with the middle school kids.  We worked together as part of the middle school AVID team, a program to help high-ability kids learn to work up to their potential.  I appreciated his energy and enthusiasm.  He was always upbeat and ready to go,” King said.

Nicole Minor posted on WashingtonCountyInsider.com, “Absolutely devastating! Such an admirable human being; my thoughts and prayers to his family. Worked with him at Badger and we are just heartbroken.”

Authorities said Heinen was west bound on State Highway 23 just before 7:30 a.m. when he apparently lost control of his vehicle and slid into the eastbound lane causing an accident. Heinen’s car was hit broadside by an SUV. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the other vehicle, a 37-year-old Mt. Calvary man, was taken to St. Agnes Hospital in Fond du Lac with non-life threatening injuries

Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Sergeant Paul Rottscholl said weather conditions may have been a factor as there was low visibility due to heavy snow and fog and road conditions were slippery.

Washington County Fair lineup

The Washington County Fair will release its list of Main Stage headliners on Monday. WashingtonCountyInsider.com has already announced country singer Hunter Hayes will headline Thursday, July 28. There’s also early word country singer Lee Brice is expected to headline.  Also this week construction got underway for the new amphitheatre stage at the Washington County Fair Park. The new 50 x 100-foot stage is financed in partnership with West Bend Mutual Insurance. The new stage will be completed in time for the July 2016 Washington County Fair.

2016 Washington County Senior Conference is April 28

Pre-registration is required for the 2016 Senior Conference at the Washington County Fair Park on April 28. There will be a wide variety of speakers and topics including MYSELF!

I’ll give you the lowdown on some interesting travel tips – whether you hit the road by bicycle or choose a more conventional means of transportation. I’ll provide insights on some of my life’s experiences including: Lost luggage-what to do when customer service pretends they don’t understand English, Benefits to carrying an AARP card – even if you’re not that old yet, and the always popular – How to make sleep if there’s a bat in your room. Sign up at 262-335-4497.

New banners unveiled at Downtown Art Walk

Downtown West Bend’s ArtWalk is Saturday May 14 with a sneak peek of the 2016 banners from 3 p.m. – 6 p.m. at the Museum of Wisconsin Art. The event will feature free admission to MOWA, a silent auction of banners and live music.

The Banner Art Event features hand-painted banners by local artists that will create an outdoor gallery on the streets of Downtown West Bend. The banners hang on the light poles of Main Street and Sixth Avenue from May through October. Pamphlets will be available at downtown businesses offering a synopsis of the banners. Thank you. ~ The Downtown West Bend Association and participating businesses that make the event possible.

Annual Allenton Buffalo Feed is Saturday, April 23

The Allenton Area Advancement Association (AAAA) is prepping for the 38th annual Buffalo Feed, April 23. The AAAA was founded by business leaders Don Jonas, Rosie Gass, and Harold Hefter.  In 1978, during an impromptu meeting at a local tavern, half a buffalo was purchased and a unique buffet-style fund raiser was born. Money from the event was given to the Hartford Hospital Foundation for the Allenton Clinic as well as the Slinger High School Band Program, the Slinger Honors, Inc. and assisted in developing parks in the greater Allenton Area.

Tickets for the Buffalo Feed are available at allentonwi.org and the following businesses: Romie’s BP, Jug’s Hitching Post, Alma’s Café, Allenton Service, National Exchange Bank & Trust, WTKM Radio, and any member of the AAAA.

Habitat for Humanity making a difference in Washington Co.

A couple of Habitat for Humanity homes were blessed this week in Washington County. Ashley and Brian Lewis and their children celebrated their new Habitat home on Georgetown Drive in Jackson on Saturday with a dedication attended by friends, family and Habitat members.

On Wednesday a Habitat home on Bender Road in West Bend received an official blessing from St. Frances Cabrini’s Rev. Nathan Reesman. This is a tri-parish build and includes St. Frances Cabrini, St. Mary’s and Holy Trinity Newburg. The parishes will raise money for Habitat and help volunteers to build a new home for Krista Komp and her family. Kudos to the Stockhausen family for donating the land.

Losing community leaders

A couple of community leaders died this week. Former Washington County Finance Director Sue Haag, 61, passed away Thursday around 10:30 p.m. She had recently been diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. A funeral Mass is set for Tuesday, April 12 at 1 p.m. at St. Mary’s Church in Barton.

Chuck Myrhum, 64, owner of the Myrhum Patten Funeral Home died Saturday, April 2 following a one-month struggle with an aggressive cancer. Chuck became a licensed funeral director in 1977.  During his career his commitment to serving both his profession and his community were evident. The funeral is Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at St. Frances Cabrini.

Updates & tidbits

A nationwide search is underway to hire a replacement for Shawn Graff, OWLT executive director, who has resigned to take a position as Great Lakes Regional director of the American Bird Conservancy. Graff had been with the OWLT for 13 years.

– Colton Wiesner, a 2012 graduate of West Bend West High School is featured in the 2016 spring issue of St. Norbert College Magazine. The article details how Wiesner returned to Nicaragua in January and brought 40 new stethoscopes and 40 blood-pressure cuffs to donate to the clinics. He also raised more than $1,400 for medical supplies during an event at Horicon Meats.

– Two students from Hartford Union High School, Elisha Jaeke and Amy Holzer, will receive the Herb Kohl Excellence Scholarships. HUHS teacher Mark Arnholt is a 2016 recipient of the Herb Kohl Fellowship Grant as well as the Teacher of the Year at HUHS for 2015.

-On Saturday, April 30, from 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. it’s the Kettle Moraine YMCA’s Healthy Kids Day. The day is designed to improve health and well-being for kids and families. It features games, healthy cooking demonstrations, arts and crafts to motivate and teach families how to develop healthy routines at home. There will also be bicycle helmets available to the first 200 kids. Those who have bike helmets are encouraged to bring them for a free helmet fitting.

– The Slinger Super Speedway season opener is April 24.

-Life of Hope will hold a free community event Thursday, April 21 as Kevin Hines, a mental health advocate, presents an evening of education and hope with a testament to the strength of the human spirit. The event starts 7 p.m. in the West Bend H.S. Auditorium.

– The Enchantment in the Park group is meeting at the warehouse at Regner Park every Monday from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. putting together new displays for the 2016 season. Free lunch will be served.

-Mason Holbrook of Barton is going to be the survivor story of the 2016 Washington/Ozaukee Heart Walk this year. Holbrook was born with Tetralogy of Fallot in 2014 and had to have several open heart surgeries. Join Team Mason at washingtonheartwalk.kintera.org/teammason

-A buddy bench will be installed Monday at the I 4 Learning Charter Community School, formerly Wayne Elementary. The design was inspired by a first grader who wanted to make a place for kids to go sit when they feel alone or need a little extra support.

-Geoff Littrel is giving his building, 156 N. Main Street in West Bend, a long-awaited face lift. Littrel purchased the building in 2009. It’s currently home to Barton Ink. The upgrade follows a revamping of the corridor from Old Settlers’ Park through Vest Pocket Park, across the new pedestrian bridge to the Museum of Wisconsin Art.

Washington County Navy vet on the April 16 Honor Flight – Story courtesy Tyler Kemnitz

The Stars and Stripes Honor Flight will give 16 commendable veterans from Washington County the opportunity to make a trip to Washington D.C. on April 16.

Serving in the United States Navy seems to be a family tradition for the Goeltz family.

Earl Goeltz, 81, is a Korean War era veteran. Both his father and uncle served in the Navy during the World War I. Mr. Goeltz’ youngest son, Mike, also served in the Navy for five years until 1997, and his nephew won the Bronze star in the Army in Vietnam. Goeltz’ sister was also an Army nurse.

Earl Goeltz started his journey with the United States military in 1952 at the age of 17 when he first joined the Wisconsin National Guard.

After graduating Ashland High School, Goeltz immediately committed to the Navy and served four years on a destroyer known as the USS Walker DDE-517, spending “most of our time on the Western Pacific in the Korea and Japan area… and the war was still going on, but they [the countries] signed an armistice while I was still in basic training.” Goeltz completed his basic training in San Diego.

“I was a shipfitter, and we were in the repair division of the ship. We took care of the firefighting equipment… basically any repairs the needed to be done,” said Goeltz. He served on an anti-submarine warfare vessel, also a converted WWII destroyer.  Goeltz remarked that Navy terminology is something that has stuck with him for all his life. “The love affair that sailors have with ships is something else. When the people ask me ‘Where does it hurt?’ Well, it hurts on the port side or it hurts on the starboard side,” laughed Goeltz.

After serving in the Navy, Goeltz returned to Wisconsin, looking for employment at Splicewood Corporation, the job he had prior to his time in the service. “I started out at $1.25 an hour, and when I came back from the Navy, I came back and knocked on their door, asking for my job back and four years later, it was still $1.25 an hour!” said Goeltz.

After a couple weeks, Goeltz worked three months for a railroad company and then moved to the Washington County area, to return to school and earned a “2-year associates degree in a metal’s program” at MSOE.

During college Goeltz worked at American Motors, a career he would continue after graduating for 18 years. He found great success, moving from a supervisor’s job and beyond. “I really wanted to work in steel… even in the Navy that was the kind of stuff I did on the ship,” he said. After American Motors, Goeltz moved on LTV in Milwaukee, a steel mill based out of Pittsburgh, for 20 years until retirement in 1997. He continues to reside in Washington County today.

It was also not long after Goeltz’ time in the service he met his wife at a dance hall in Milwaukee. “I asked her for a date later on, and,” smiled Goeltz, “she didn’t say no, and that was money in the bank.” Goeltz is “glad and looking forward to the opportunity” to make the trip the Washington D.C. in April. “My executive officer on my ship was killed in a heli[copter] accident in 1972, and his name should be on the wall of the Vietnam Memorial,” said Goeltz.

Tom Goeltz, Earl’s oldest son, will be his dad’s guardian.Nancy-Mehring-1958-1-225x300

Senate Refuses to Legislate Airplane Seat Size

Good. Believe it or not, there are some things that just aren’t the business of the United States Senate.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate refused Thursday to come to the aid of airline passengers squeezed by the ever-shrinking size of their seats.

An amendment by Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., would have blocked airlines from further reducing the “size, width, padding, and pitch” of seats, passengers’ legroom and the width of aisles. “It costs you an arm and a leg just to have room for your arms and legs,” Schumer said.

The amendment also would have required the Federal Aviation Administration to set standards for the minimum amount of space airlines must provide passengers for their “safety, health and comfort.” Airlines would have had to post the size of their seats on their websites so that consumers could take the information into consideration when buying tickets.

The proposal failed on a vote of 42-54, with all but three Democrats in favor and all but one Republican against.

Bernie Blows It

Anybody who took the time to listen to Bernie all these years already knew it, but apparently it’s a revelation that he’s bat s*** crazy.

Time and again, when pressed to get beyond his rhetoric on the evils of corporate America and Wall Street, Sanders struggled. Often mightily. (The Daily News published the full transcript of the interview today so you can check it out for yourself.)

A few examples make the point.

Here’s an exchange between the editorial board and Sanders on how, specifically, he would break up the biggest banks in the country:

Daily News: And then, you further said that you expect to break them up within the first year of your administration. What authority do you have to do that? And how would that work? How would you break up JPMorgan Chase?

Sanders: Well, by the way, the idea of breaking up these banks is not an original idea. It’s an idea that some conservatives have also agreed to.

You’ve got head of, I think it’s, the Kansas City Fed, some pretty conservative guys, who understands. Let’s talk about the merit of the issue, and then talk about how we get there. …

Daily News: Okay. Well, let’s assume that you’re correct on that point. How do you go about doing it?

Sanders: How you go about doing it is having legislation passed, or giving the authority to the secretary of treasury to determine, under Dodd-Frank, that these banks are a danger to the economy over the problem of too-big-to-fail.

Daily News: But do you think that the Fed, now, has that authority?

Sanders: Well, I don’t know if the Fed has it. But I think the administration can have it.

Bubba Blasts Protesters

Ha!

“You are defending the people who killed the lives you say matter,” the former president told protesters.
One protester’s signs declared, in an apparent reference to the toppling of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya, that “Hillary is a murderer.” The protesters repeatedly shouted over Clinton, ignoring his responses and invoking Clinton’s ties to Wall Street, as well.
In the exchange, Clinton repeatedly said, “I love protesters” — but complained that they wouldn’t let him respond. “Here’s the thing. I like protesters, but the ones that won’t let you answer are afraid of the truth. That’s a simple rule,” Clinton said.
[…]
“I don’t know how you would characterize the gang leaders who got 13-year-old kids hopped up on crack, and sent them out in the streets to murder other African-American children,” the former president said. “Maybe you thought they were good citizens — she didn’t.”

RIP Merle

I suppose a lot of us have a favorite Haggard song. This is mine.

RIP, Merle Haggard.

Mississippi Passes Constitutional Carry

Liberty progresses!

Today, the Mississippi House voted 85-35 to concur with Senate amendments to House Bill 786, sending the legislation to Governor Phil Bryant (R) for his expected signature.  Despite months of misleading attacks by New York gun control advocate and billionaire Michael Bloomberg and his anti-gun state groups, Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action, lawmakers overwhelmingly approved HB 786 this session.  Thank you to those NRA members and Second Amendment supporters who contacted their elected officials in support of HB 786 throughout the legislative process!

Huge Turnout in Wisconsin

Wow. And Bernie and Cruz cleaned up on delegates.

Bernie Sanders won 48 of Wisconsin’s pledged Dem delegates, while Hillary Clinton took 38, according to a tally the state Dem Party released this afternoon.

Though Sanders rolled to a 14-point win in yesterday’s primary, the party’s proportional system for divvying up delegates means Sanders will not significantly eat into Clinton’s lead nationally. What’s more, six of Wisconsin’s 10 superdelegates are backing Clinton.

On the GOP side, Ted Cruz won 36 of Wisconsin’s 42 delegates, according to results compiled by The Associated Press. That includes the 18 delegates at stake for the statewide results and 18 for winning six of Wisconsin’s congressional delegations. Trump picked up six delegates by winning the 3rd and 7th CDs, according to the AP.

In all, the state’s turnout was at 47.35 percent, the GAB said, though official results will not be in until after the vote is certified in a couple of weeks.

Voters Vote to Tax More

That stinks.

More than 70 Wisconsin school building and tax increase referendums were decided — and voters said yes to five-of-seven other building proposals of more than $30-million dollars each. Large projects were approved in Mukwonago, Ashland, Menomonee Falls, Muskego-Norway, and Ellsworth — while voters said no to borrowing for projects in Grafton and Peshtigo.

This will have two ill effects on the Wisconsin taxpayers. First, the tax increases will be jealously coveted by neighboring districts. I expect to see a lot more referenda later this year and next year.

Second, I suspect that politicians will see this as a sign that the taxpayers as a whole want an increase in spending on schools and the subsequent tax increases to pay for it. In particular, don’t be surprised to see some Republican senators running for election saying that they will “fix” school funding. This doesn’t bode well for the next legislative session.

Voter ID Success in Wisconsin

It must be noted that in the first major election since Voter ID was implemented, Wisconsin had record turnout at the polls. There were very few issues with Voter ID despite well over a million people squeezing into the voting booths. Huzzah for Voter ID and for all of Wisconsin’s election officials’ smooth implementation of it.

Thoughts About the Wisconsin Election Results

Doubtless there will be days and days of analysis of the Wisconsin election results. Here are my first thoughts before I go to bed. Some of us have to work in the morning…

  • Milwaukee definitely gets the mayor it deserves. Congratulations, Milwaukee, for reelecting your potted plant of a mayor. Enjoy your rising crime rate. Try to keep it to yourself, please.
  • It’s a solid win for Bernie Sanders. He’s on a roll. He still can’t win outright, but Clinton can’t put him away either. Meanwhile, Sanders’ continuing success is draining Clinton’s resources before the general election.
  • It’s a solid win for Ted Cruz. He needed this win and he showed that he could win handily in a state that doesn’t line up for him perfectly.
  • In perhaps the most tangibly important race of the night, Rebecca Bradley thankfully held onto her seat on the Supreme Court. That is a relief.
  • I’ll be interested to see the results of the 71 school referenda on the ballot totaling an increase of spending of over $850 million. If a large percentage of them pass, I expect that it will be trumpeted by the liberals as a signal that the electorate wants more spending on schools. This will impact how candidates run in November and the next legislative session.
  • Despite running a horrible campaign, Chris Abele won. It’s more of a statement about the lunacy of his opponent than his strengths, but Milwaukee County is better for it. Abele has been an able administrator and deserved reelection.

More tomorrow. Maybe.

 

Surprising Results for West Bend School Board

Wow.

schoolboardresultsFirst off, congratulations to the candidates for all running a good race. What is surprising about the results is that the lefties in the district were pushing for Larson and Donath. The conservatives were pushing for Schmidt and Marquardt. But the results are split, by that measure. On the other hand, Larson ran as a conservative despite which lefties supported her. No doubt she picked off a number of people who wanted a conservative, but were dissatisfied with Marquardt while holding onto the minority liberal vote.

What the results tell me is that the voters definitely wants conservative leadership. Schmidt and Larson both ran as staunch conservatives and Donath ran as an honest liberal. But the voters want a change from Marquardt’s style or direction. Then again, it is a 4-way race where neither of the victors topped 28% of the vote, so don’t read too much into it. In local races, the ground game has a tremendous impact and Larson and Schmidt were both very active.

Congrats to Ken Schmidt and Tiffany Larson. They ran as conservatives. May they govern as conservatives.

Person in Custody for Bringing Fake Gun to School in West Bend

Washington County Insider has the story

West Bend police have one person in custody in connection with a facsimile firearm brought to the West Bend High Schools.

Superintendent Ted Neitzke said, “There was a student who brought a facsimile firearm to school today and we worked with the West Bend police department and the student is facing disciplinary measures at school and was taken into police custody.”

High School Principal Bill Greymont sent a letter home to parents.  “We wanted parents to reinforce with their students that they make good choices and they report instances like this and that we work to keep kids safe,” Neitzke said.

Presidential legacies

My column of Spring Break musings in the West Bend Daily News is online. Here you go:

As his final term in office wanes, President Barack Obama is aggressively acting to define his legacy as Wisconsinites head to the polls to make their selections for the Democratic and Republican presidential nominee who will attempt to either cement or dismantle that legacy. At such a time, it is edifying to reflect on the fickle nature of presidential legacies.

Last week I was in Nashville, escaping the Wisconsin winter for a few pleasurable days with my family, and I took the opportunity to explore a little history. A walk on the grounds of the Tennessee State Capitol building provides an opportunity to visit with the state’s three presidents and reflect on their vastly different legacies.

After walking up the steps on the east corner of the lawn past the memorials to the indefatigable Sergeant Alvin C. York and the victims of the Holocaust, I came upon a modest statute on a pedestal of a stern man in a suit and long coat gazing toward the Cumberland River a few blocks down the hill. It is an effigy of President Andrew Johnson, who is often and loudly derided as one of America’s worst presidents.

Before becoming president, however, he was an accomplished and well-regarded man. Despite having never attended school and growing up illiterate, Johnson rose to become an accomplished businessman whose popularity and reputation for integrity lifted him to become mayor, a congressman, governor of Tennessee and a U.S. senator. After bucking his secessionist state as a staunch Unionist and being the only southern senator to keep his seat when the Civil War started, he was selected as President Abraham Lincoln’s vice president when he ran for his second term despite being a Democrat. The assassination of Lincoln found Johnson holding the most powerful office in the country at precisely the most critical moment in our nation since George Washington voluntarily and peacefully relinquished power.

President Johnson managed to do everything wrong. At first, he attempted to enact the lenient intent of Lincoln toward the former Confederates and opposed the 14th Amendment, thus angering the Republicans in the North. Then, after being the first president to be impeached on largely orchestrated charges from vengeful Republicans and passage of the 14th Amendment, Johnson’s strict constitutionalist reservations about using his veto pen allowed overly vengeful reconstruction policies to pass into law, thus roiling the South for decades and garnering the enmity of southern Democrats. Johnson ended his presidency in disgrace and largely remains a disgrace to this day.

Walking further up the northeast slope of the capitol brought me to the magnificent statue of General Andrew Jackson on a rearing horse as he raises his hat in salute toward the capitol building. The central location and scope of the figure befits the place held by Jackson in the history of our nation and of Tennessee.

President Jackson is arguably the most consequential, and controversial, president of the 19th century. The hero of New Orleans ushered in the Age of Jackson and continued to drive the American experience for half a century. Jackson’s vigorous, or tyrannical, exercise of executive authority, forced removal of Native Americans, aggressive implementation of the spoils system, defense of federal power over nullification, paying off the national debt and smothering of the United States Bank are just a few reasons that Jackson is both revered and reviled. As a side note, the repulsive campaign of 1828 reminds us that our republic has survived, and will survive, the repulsive campaign of 2016.

Walking a few more steps to the northwest into a shady grove of trees, I found an unassuming monument comprised of a small, unadorned square roof supported by four simple columns over a marble pedestal. It was the tomb of one of Jackson’s proteges and the 11th president of the United States, James Knox Polk.

By modern and 19th century standards, Polk should be considered one of our best presidents, yet he is an afterthought in history books. Polk was elected to office on a promise to only serve a single term and to accomplish four major goals: cut tariffs, reconstitute an independent U.S. Treasury, secure the Oregon Territory and acquire the territories of New Mexico and California. Through astute diplomatic skills at home and abroad, he accomplished all four campaign promises and fulfilled his commitment to serve a single term by being the only president to willingly serve a single term.

Under Polk, Texas became the 28th state and he successfully prosecuted the Mexican-American War, leading to the annexation of all or parts of California, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. It was Polk who expanded the United States from sea to shining sea for the first time.

Presidential legacies are a tricky business and Obama’s won’t be settled until at least a generation from now, if ever. And barring some electoral anomaly, one of the five people who have been barnstorming across Wisconsin asking for votes will also be forging a legacy of their own one day. Let us all hope and pray that it will be a legacy worthy of our great nation.

Icelanders Demand Gunnlaugsson’s Resignation

Yikes.

Protests connected to the data leak scandal, currently being called “Panama Papers,” exploded Monday. Massive crowds showed up in front of Iceland’s Parliament in Reykjavik, to call on the resignation of Icelandic Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson and others involved in the scandal.

However, the prime minister does not appear to be ready to give up his position. “I have not considered quitting because of this matter nor am I going to quit because of this matter,” Gunnlaugsson said, according to the Associated Press. “The government has had good results. Progress has been strong and it is important that the government can finish its work.”

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