Boots & Sabers

The blogging will continue until morale improves...

M
Month: April 2017

Prevailing Wage Repeal Reintroduced

by | 1933, 11 Apr 1717 | | 0 Comments

Good.

Sen. Leah Vukmir, R–Brookfield, and Rep. Rob Hutton, R–Brookfield, Tuesday reintroduced a bill that would repeal Wisconsin’s prevailing wage law for state projects following the announcement the initiative was removed from the budget last week.

“As lawmakers we have a responsibility to manage the transportation budget efficiently,” Vukmir said in a news release. “It’s unrealistic to do so without the accessibility of all tools. Repealing this burdensome red tape will ensure the use of taxpayer dollars are maximized.”

“Two years ago we passed prevailing wage reform for local governments,” Hutton said in the release. “It is now time to finish what we started and pass full prevailing wage repeal. As we look at the transportation budget this spring, we must ensure taxpayers are receiving the best value for their tax dollars.”

In the 2015-17 budget, the prevailing wage requirement was repealed for local governments, including towns, cities, counties and school districts beginning on Jan. 1, 2017. Now local governments can receive competitive bids for projects that don’t include unreasonably high prevailing wage costs, the lawmakers said

Spicer Cites Hitler

by | 1929, 11 Apr 1717 | | 0 Comments

As a general rule, politicians and their staffs should avoid ever talking about Hitler in any context. Because… this…

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer has apologised after declaring that Adolf Hitler did not use chemical weapons during World War Two.

“I mistakenly used an inappropriate and insensitive reference about the Holocaust and there is no comparison,” he said. “For that I apologise. It was a mistake to do that.”

Critics pointed out gas was used to kill Jews and others in the Holocaust.

Mr Spicer had been criticising Russia’s support for the Syrian government.

Drifting toward Damascus, the sequel

by | 0713, 11 Apr 1717 | , | 0 Comments

My column for the West Bend Daily News is online. Here you go:

In 2013, I opened a column called “Drifting Toward Damascus” with this paragraph: “As I sit down to write a column about our current situation in Syria, I fail to discern any coherent foreign policy coming from my president’s administration. If you can, you are probably filling in the gaps with wishful thinking.” As I sit down to write another column about Syria, the same opening would suffice.

After Syrian President Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons to murder more than 80 people, including kids, President Trump retaliated with a missile strike on a Syrian air base. The scenario was reminiscent of Assad’s previous use of WMDs during the previous administration. In 2013, Assad used Sarin gas to attack more than 1,000 Syrians. In doing so, he crossed President Obama’s infamous “red line” and the Obama Administration responded with huffy rhetoric.

Now it is 2017 with the same Assad but a different American president. When Assad used chemical weapons this time, Trump responded immediately with a punitive strike and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is signaling a new American goal of toppling the Assad regime. Yet the Trump Administration is promising to keep American forces out of Syria and Trump’s rhetorical “America first” isolationism was a major facet of his recent successful presidential campaign. Although a different president has brought us a different reaction, America still lacks a coherent Syrian policy.

The problem is that there are no good answers left for America in Syria. There was a time when direct American intervention could have yielded positive results, but that time has passed. The Syrian Civil War began with an uprising in the spring of 2011. As part of the socalled Arab Spring, secular pro-democracy protestors rose up to demand Assad’s resignation. When Assad refused to resign, as tyrants are wont to do, and launched a violent crackdown on the protestors, the protestors hardened their opposition and the fight for Syria was on.

The time for American intervention was 2011. If President Obama had used the power of the United States to support the secular pro-democracy opposition at that time, there might be a peaceful, secular, democratic Syria today. But speculation in alternate histories is the luxury of writers. The Syrian Civil War has evolved significantly since 2011 and America must deal with the present realities.

Since 2011, the Syrian Civil War has descended into a sectarian war with no good guys for America to support. In battle with each other are Assad’s tyrannical government, radical Islamist Sunni rebels, Kurdish forces, Hezbollah, and of course, the Islamic State. According to the United Nations commission of inquiry, all of them have been engaging in horrific war crimes including murder, torture, slavery, using civilians as human shields, forced starvation, and the use of WMDs.

The Syrian Civil War has also taken on significant international importance as it pulled regional and world powers into the conflict. The deluge of refugees from Syria and surrounding areas has had a destabilizing effect on several Middle Eastern and European nations, putting pressure on the international community to intervene. As the war has devolved partially into a religious war between different Muslim sects, several Muslim countries have intervened to support their sides. Shia Iran and Lenanon are supporting Assad as Sunni Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and others support rebel factions. Finally, Russia entered the war on the side of Assad as part of Vladimir Putin’s lifelong effort to reclaim Russia’s dominance on the world stage. As America retreated from the Middle East, Russia entered the chasm.

In deciding what America should do about Syria, two questions must be answered. The first question is, should America do anything? That is a broad question the answer of which depends on one’s valuation of the word “should.” There are some who believe that America should be the world’s conscience and act in the name of human rights. There are some who believe that American should only intervene if there is a direct American interest at stake. And there are some who believe that America should never do anything unless directly attacked.

In this case, there are no good guys to support, there are no direct American interests at stake and America has not been attacked. The only good reason for America to intervene in the Syrian Civil War is as a general policy to try to stabilize the region to quell the radicalization of people and the outflow of terror groups.

If one thinks America should intervene, then the second question to be answered is, what can America do? Short of a full scale invasion and occupation of Syria with all of the risks of igniting a global conflict with Russia and Iran, America’s options are very limited. And the American people have no appetite for such an earth-shattering endeavor.

America should stay out of the Syrian Civil War. There is little likelihood that American intervention could yield a positive outcome and the risk of embroiling our nation in another long, bloody, and expensive war is very high. America should do what we can to help the suffering, assist our allies, and protect American interests and American borders. No more. No less.

Lautenschlager’s Son Announces Bid for AG

by | 2109, 10 Apr 1717 | | 0 Comments

Well, well… Peg Lautenschlager abruptly resigned as chair of the state’s Ethics Commission and now we know why.

Madison attorney Josh Kaul, son of former state Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager, announced Monday that he will run for his mother’s old job next year.

He’s the first Democrat to challenge incumbent Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel for the right to run the state Department of Justice.

Kaul accused Schimel of using the DOJ’s solicitor general’s office to challenge former President Barack Obama’s policies in court. He also ripped Schimel’s decision to spend $10,000 on DOJ coins emblazoned with “Kicking Ass Every Day” and accused of Schimel of not enforcing the state’s consumer protection and environmental laws.

New Stupid, Useless, Dangerous, TSA Policy

by | 0642, 10 Apr 1717 | , | 3 Comments

I am lucky (cursed?) in that I travel around our great nation quite a bit. If I am traveling to a state that has Constitutional Carry or concealed carry reciprocity with Wisconsin, which is most of the time, I usually take a gun with me. The process used to be pretty easy…

Under the old process, I simply put my unloaded firearm in a locked case in my luggage. When I checked my bag, I declared it to the agent, signed a waiver form stating that the firearm was unloaded and secured, and checked the bag. When I got to my destination, I got my bag off of the carousel and went on with my day. Easy. Simple. Safe. The firearm was never unlocked or available to me in an secure part of the airport.

In January, a lunatic took his gun out of his checked luggage, loaded it in a bathroom, and killed several people in the Ft. Lauderdale airport. In response, TSA has changed the process for the worse.

Under the new process, when I declare my firearm when I check my bag, the agent must visually inspect my gun to make sure it is unloaded and properly secured. So now, instead of the firearm remaining locked and unobtrusive, I must open my bag, open my locked gun case, and show my firearm to the agent. So now there is an unsecured weapon available at the ticket counter.

Then, when I get to my destination, my bag no longer goes to the carousal. Instead, it is taken to the baggage agent and I am paged over the overhead. If you know the new process, now you know whose bag has a firearm in it. When I go to claim my bag, the agent verifies my ID and gives me my bag. But now my bag has a big annoying zip tie around it. Again… perfectly identifying which bags have firearms in them and creating an annoyance for the owner of the bag. Here’s how my bag came out:

zipbag

Let’s start with why this policy is useless… it would have done nothing to prevent what happened in Ft. Lauderdale. It took me 2 seconds to cut off that zip tie. I didn’t do it until I got out of the airport, but it would have been just as easy for me to take my bag into a restroom, retrieve my firearm, and do bad things with it at the airport – just like the guy in Ft. Lauderdale. Not to mention that the baggage claim area is not a secure area of the airport anywhere in the U.S. So if someone wanted to shoot up the place, they could just as easily bring a gun in from the outside instead of going through the hassle of checking a bag with a gun in it.

Useless.

Now let’s talk about why it is dangerous… during check in, my firearm used to remain secured. Now, I am opening the case and showing it to the agent. My travel weapon is a semi-automatic and the agent just looked at it. She could see that the magazine was removed, but could not have verified that there wasn’t a round in the chamber. Will more vigilant agents ask me to open up the gun and show it? Is it better to have an unobtrusive checked gun or have people opening up their guns at the counter all the time? I think we know.

Also, as I understand it, the zip tie is put on the bag when it is checked and there is a new label that tells the baggage handlers to not put it on the carousel. What this does is clearly identify every bag that contains a firearm throughout the baggage handling process. It is not uncommon for bags and their contents to be stolen( which is why my travel gun is an inexpensive one), and this policy puts a target on the ones with guns. This goes all of the way through to when the passenger picks up his or her bag with the baggage agent. On a recent flight, there were six of us who had to go claim our bags with firearms in them. How hard would it be for bad guys to target us on our way to our hotels? Or even scout the local hotels and look for bags with the telltale zip ties around them?

Finally, it should go without saying, but the reason this policy is stupid is because of the above. Remember that this policy is a reaction to something that happened once. In the decades of air travel and millions upon millions of guns that have been transported in checked baggage, one guy got out his gun and shot up and airport. One. So now we have a new policy. Leave it up to a government agency to create a reactionary policy to a single incident that not only fails to solve the supposed problem, but actually makes the transportation of firearms more of a hassle AND more dangerous.

And people wonder why the TSA gets a bad rep…

Perceptions of Milwaukee

by | 1905, 9 Apr 1717 | | 0 Comments

I started watching an Amazon series called “Patriot.” It’s a quirky show about an undercover dude who is trying to keep Iran from getting a nuke. In order to get overseas with an intact cover, he poses as a normal employee of an industrial piping firm based in Milwaukee.

One can just imagine the writers talking about this. “He should have a job that sounds super boring and technical… that’s a gold mine of material.” “Hmmm… how about industrial piping?” “YES!” “Where should the company be based? It needs to be somewhere equally boring and easy to create weird characters in it… something rust belt.” “Cleveland?” “No, they have a good basketball team and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.” “Milwaukee?” “YES! PERFECT!”

Anyway, in episode 2, one of those goofy local characters is talking to the main character, who is not from Milwaukee. He poses the question:

milwaukee

The answer was, “It’s an ice box… sun hardly shines; our economy is factory-based, dwindling since the ’60s; endemic violent crime in Milwaukee.”

That, my friends, is how the world still sees Milwaukee. And it is still largely true.

That is why we must work extra hard to attract businesses and people. Milwaukee doesn’t have the luxury of hot sandy beaches, glorious mountains, a temperate climate, or a warm water port. Nor does it have low taxes, friendly regulations, or a welcoming business climate. While we can’t change the physical or historical attributes of Milwaukee or our state, we can change the rest of it… if we want to. If not, well, I guess people will continue to think about Milwaukee like this for the foreseeable future.

 

Manhunt in Wisconsin

by | 1245, 9 Apr 1717 | | 1 Comment

Be vigilant.

Wisconsin authorities, concerned about anti-religious views in a manifesto written by a fugitive they describe as “armed and dangerous,” plan to increase patrols around churches and places of worship Sunday.

According to the Janesville Police Department, there was no specific threat to any particular church or religious group in the manifesto written by Joseph Jakubowski, but as a precaution, the Rock County Sheriff’s Office and Janesville Police Department will be keeping a close watch.

Jakubowski, 32, has been the subject of an urgent search by Wisconsin authorities and the FBI since Tuesday, when they say he robbed a gun store, stealing at least 16 weapons. Officials say he may be plotting an act of mass violence with his eye on President Trump.

“Basically, he’s angry at all government officials,” Rock County Sheriff Robert Spoden said. “You know, whether it’s the president or local officials or whether it’s law enforcement. He basically has a dislike for anyone that has authority or governmental power.

“We consider him to be armed and highly dangerous.”

 

Russia Slams UK for Canceled Meeting

by | 1206, 9 Apr 1717 | | 0 Comments

Ouch.

Russia has criticised Boris Johnson’s decision to scrap a planned trip to Moscow after discussions with the US.

The move showed the UK has no “real influence” over world events, Russia’s foreign ministry said.

Mr Johnson said events in Syria had “changed the situation fundamentally” and he would go to G7 talks instead.

Islamic State Continues to Kill Innocents

by | 1050, 9 Apr 1717 | | 0 Comments

It is a very dangerous world.

Two blasts targeting Coptic Christians in Egypt on Palm Sunday have killed at least 42 people, officials say.

In Alexandria, an explosion outside St Mark’s Coptic church killed 13 people. Pope Tawadros II, head of the Coptic Church, had been attending Mass inside and was unhurt, state media reported.

An earlier blast at St George’s Coptic church in Tanta killed 29 people.

So-called Islamic State (IS) says it is behind the explosions. The group has recently targeted Copts in Egypt.

And…

The suspect behind the Stockholm truck attack had been facing deportation and had extremist sympathies, Swedish police say.

The 39-year-old Uzbek man is suspected of having driven a truck into a department store in the city on Friday.

His application for residency was rejected in June last year and he was being sought by immigration officials, police said.

[…]

Police say the man was known to have expressed sympathy for groups including so-called Islamic State.

 

The Math Behind Good Literature

by | 2029, 8 Apr 1717 | | 0 Comments

Interesting.

A good book evokes a variety of emotions as you read. Turns out, though, that almost all novels and plays provide one of only six “emotional experiences” from beginning to end—a rags-to-riches exuberance, say, or a rise and fall of hope (below, top). Researchers at the University of Vermont graphed the happiness and sadness of words that occurred across the pages of more than 1,300 fiction works to reveal the emotional arcs and discovered relatively few variations.
A different study coordinated by Poland’s Institute of Nuclear Physics found that sentence lengths in books frequently form a fractal pattern—a set of objects that repeat on a small and large scale, the way small, triangular leaflets make up larger, triangular leaves that make up a larger, triangular palm frond (below, bottom).

Around the Bend by Judy Steffes

by | 0901, 8 Apr 1717 | | 0 Comments

Russ McCrimmon on today’s Honor Flight                          By Ann Marie Craig

A sobering scene was unfolding at the beach when his ship docked after the trans-Pacific journey to Korea in 1950. With minimal ceremony, but with discretion and respect, fallen U.S. soldiers were being evacuated for burial onto a neighboring vessel.

Russ McCrimmon and his shipmates were at first confused by the scene that greeted them, but pretty quickly it was understood life as a U.S. Marine in Korea could be a grim business.

“It was the smell of death to us,” said McCrimmon.  “I turned 18 before I got there, some guys were straight out of boot camp and there were a lot of young men that very soon became men.”

McCrimmon sat Marine-straight at his dining room table in West Bend, and spoke softly and clearly about his military experiences; a vintage map of Korea placed on the table in front of him helped tell the story.

Boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina in August of 1949 was the beginning of McCrimmon’s term of service but he didn’t get there without knowing a bit about the military beforehand.

One of McCrimmon’s uncles was in the Navy at Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941, during WWII.

Seventeen cousins served in various branches of the U.S. military; one of whom served as a guard at The Tomb of the Unknown at Arlington National Cemetery.

It was the inspiration of a friend in the Marine Corps in the South Pacific however, who inspired McCrimmon to enlist in the Marines at the age of 17, even before he had finished high school.

The GI Bill created after WWII allowed him to get credit for his senior year in high school in Batavia, IL. He graduated from high school and also earned a military GED certificate, making it possible for him to attend aircraft mechanic school, study at Quantico, and go on to be part of the HMR161 Squadron – the first helicopter transport squadron of any branch of the U.S. military.

He asked questions and learned about the testing of the new aircraft ejection seats. He participated in tests to 40,000 feet in a decompression chamber without a G-suit. Ask McCrimmon to tell you how to sew silk: he learned to make and repair silk parachutes and to pack them.

He also was one of the first to test ripstop nylon – the new material that became the standard for parachute construction. He rode in the back of the F7F-3n Grumman Tiger Cat – his name was actually hand painted in the cockpit.

He traveled extensively in Korea with his squadron, worked at the fronts and behind the lines, and after an injury spent two weeks on a hospital ship where he learned about the depth of compassion for the injured and dying soldiers.

With three months left of his tour of duty, he returned to the States to be in guard company at Great Lakes in Illinois. He and his family moved to the West Bend area.

McCrimmon is now 84 years old; he will turn 85 on the day after the Stars and Stripes Honor Flight. He is one of 90 veterans who will fly to Washington D.C. on April 8.

His guardian is his daughter Dr. Cathy Evans, who is a neuropsychologist working with military personnel suffering with PTSD, and this will be an opportunity to share his story with her in a very real way.

He is anticipating visits to the monuments, and is also hoping to at least drive by the corner of 12th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue where he used to play sandlot baseball with his friends from Quantico.

One of his boyhood friends died in Korea, and he’d also like to honor him by visiting the Black History Museum.

McCrimmon lives in West Bend with his wife Ann, and they have three grown children.

img_8486-300x400

Merle Norman is moving to downtown Main Street

Merle Norman will be moving to downtown West Bend. The cosmetic shop is currently in the Paradise Pavilion, 1630 S. Main Street in West Bend.

“We’re hoping to be open sometime around June 1,” said Vicki Bressler, owner and certified makeup artist. Bressler has been in West Bend three years and really likes the downtown. “It’s trendy, has a lot of great little shops and phenomenal restaurants,” she said.

Merle Norman will be moving into 138 N. Main Street as Ooh La La…accessories is moving out. Its last day is April 15.

Old Friedens Church is for sale

The old Friedens Church, 2889 Cedar Creek Road, in Jackson is for sale. The asking price is $74,200.   The church dates to 1878 when a group of German settlers met to organize a congregation named Friedens Evangelical Church. According to UCC Hope Church, “In 1852 a log structure was built housing the congregation until 1878 when a brick structure was built at the intersection of Hwy P and Hwy C in the Town of Jackson.

In 1957, Friedens Evangelical and Peace Reformed, joined the newly established denomination, the United Church of Christ. On June 2, 1991, the last service held at Frieden’s and the church building was then sold in to a private party as a home and workshop.  Frieden’s parsonage still houses the minister and his family.”

The property was recently in the processes of being gutted. Property is being sold as is online auction starting March 20, 2017 and ending June 7, 2017.

Opening day announced for Meijer in West Bend

Bob Bastian of Kewaskum is gloating …and he should run out quick and buy a lottery ticket.  Bastian chimed in on March 29 when neighbors lodged a guess on when the Meijer grocery in West Bend would open.

“Well Judy looks like I nailed it on the head. They just announced May 16,” wrote Bastian. And true that! Meijer will debut its new super center in West Bend, 2180 S. Main St., on May 16.

Lisa Ebert guessed the correct day as did Mary Scharrer… so now it’s just going to be one big party in the garden center at Meijer.

The #priceless prize was a sandwich, drink of choice and then gathering in the garden center at the store to talk cheeky about how smart we were.

 Developments in West Bend

Watch for development of a new residential building in the vacant lot just north of Dublin’s, 110 Wisconsin Street.

“This is a .37 acre parcel,” said city administrator Jay Shambeau. “Urban Vantage LLC will build a 10-unit, market rate residential building that will also have 2,400-square-feet of commercial space on the first floor which will be home to Quam Engineering.”

According to the concept plan there will be 2 units on the first floor along with office space for Quam Engineering and 4 units on the second and third floors.

“The tenant, Quam Engineering, will stay in West Bend and hopefully expand in West Bend,” said Shambeau. “We’re super excited about it.”

Plans show a parking lot toward the front of the property on Wisconsin Street and the residential building on the west side overlooking the Eisenbahn State Trail.

Market-rate apartments are now “low income apartments or anything subsidized by government programs.” A good local example of market-rate apartments are those at Cast Iron Luxury Living in West Bend.

The city sold the property for $1. Revenue generated will add to the tax base in that TIF District.

There are a couple pretty large construction proposals on the table in West Bend including the construction of an 111,047-square-foot indoor storage facility, located east of 1605 Corporate Center Drive. The location is in an empty field right across the street from the new headquarters of Delta Defense/ USCCA.

Also on tap is development of a 61,830-square-foot, 3-story 32 unit apartment building, on vacant land west of 1275 Shadowood Circle. That plan received a little pushback by neighbors. Another meeting is set between the builder and neighboring condo association on April 17.

And there’s a proposed addition 560-square feet on the west side of the building at 18 E. Washington Street. That building was previously home to Glacier Hills Credit Union and the West Bend Company Museum. It’s currently home to Salberg Law Office.  The property is owned by Howard Henrich Iron Ridge Properties, LLC 207 Lincoln Avenue South West Bend.

Controlled deer hunt in West Bend

There will be a public-input session next month as the West Bend Park and Rec Department follows up on a request to help manage deer in the city.

During a meeting in November 2016 the Deer Management Assistant Program reviewed whether to issue special permits to allow bow hunting to trim the deer herd in local parks.

According to Park and Rec director Craig Hoeppner the Park and Rec staff did an old-fashioned deer drive and the count was 28 deer at Lac Lawrann, Ridge Run Park had 41 deer, Regner had 9 and Silverbrook Parkway had 18.

In March, Lac Lawrann voted unanimously that it be a test and sample site for a controlled hunt.

Going forward the Park and Rec Commission will work with the DNR this month on a proposal and then in May there would be a public input session. Hoeppner said the Park and Rec Department would then bring a proposal back to Common Council to determine how to move forward.

Wax Museum at St. Frances Cabrini

Miss Tanking’s class at St. Frances Cabrini hosted a Wax Museum day on Thursday. Students picked an historic figure, researched for months, put together a tri-fold display and had to speak publically about the person.

One of the best moments was at the Sandra Day O’Connor display. The student portraying Justice O’Connor stood stock still with confidence and seriousness; one hand raised to take the oath to uphold justice while the other hand was on the Bible.

And then a little kid walked by and slapped her five.

Papa Murphy’s Pizza in West Bend has a new owner

 Papa Murphy’s Pizza, 815 S. Main Street, in West Bend is under new ownership.  Earlier this year Carla Schmit retired and sold the business to Derek Strom of Jackson. Strom owns about eight Papa Murphy outlets.  On a side note: A big thanks to Carla for supporting schools and events while she owned her business in West Bend.

Updates & Tidbits

 –Funeral services were held Friday for Harold Strohmeyer, 82, of St. Michaels, passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, April 1, 2017. Harold was a fixture at the West Bend   Farmers’ Market. An expert gardener he was at local Farmers’ Markets from 1979 to his last market October 2016.  Harold was known by many people to just strike up a conversation with you, giving his advice usually about growing the best vegetables.  

– Keberle, Patrykus & Laufenberg, LLP in West Bend welcomes its new Paralegal, Claudia McGuire. McGuire graduated Marquette University in 1997 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics. She has been in the legal field for 20 years and is fluent in Spanish.

“We are very fortunate to have her,” said attorney Dan Patrykus.

– Saturday, May 6 as Washington County hosts its annual Clean Sweep. Registration is limited. To pre-register you may either pay online at washcoparks.com or mail the registration found at co.washington.wi.us/cleansweep.  Forms can also be picked up at the Planning and Parks Department, 333 E. Washington Street in West Bend or call 262-335-4808.

– The DIVA Spring Bling is coming up Thursday, April 27 in downtown West Bend. Proceeds from umbrella and specialty ring sales benefit Chix 4 a Cause.

– Come to The Columbian on Saturday, April 8 for the 35th annual Kiwanis pancake-sausage brunch with the Easter Bunny. Tickets at Horicon Bank in West Bend, The Columbian and Minuteman Press.

– Friday, April 14 Fillmore Fire & Rescue Fish Fry at the Fillmore Fire Department. Tommy Schwai will also be making shrimp. Free desserts for donating a non-perishable food item!

– Horicon Bank has stepped up this year to sponsor the fireworks during the July 4th celebration at Riverside Park in West Bend.

-The West Bend American Legion Post 36 will be hosting a brat fry on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, April 28, 29 and 30 at 1421 W. Washington St. from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Proceeds to local projects and veterans programs.

-The Exclusive Company in West Bend is already advertising this year’s Record Store Day as April 22. The day includes sales, free food and live music as the store, 144 N. Main St., celebrates its independence. The store opens for 12 hours of sales from 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.

– Fundraiser Saturday, April 8 for Jeremy Rauch of Slinger who is moving forward following a paralyzing accident. Please come enjoy the fun and offer the Rauch family your support.

 

Judy Steffes, Editor

Washington County Insider

washingtoncountyinsider.com

Transgender Folks Sue UW for Free Surgery

by | 2213, 7 Apr 1717 | , , , | 1 Comment

One lawsuit to drive up taxes AND health care costs. Awesome…

MADISON – Two transgender University of Wisconsin employees sued state entities Friday in federal court over their refusal to pay for their gender transition surgeries.

The two employees sued the UW System, the Board of Regents, insurers and others with the assistance of the national and Wisconsin arms of the American Civil Liberties Union.

“As a result of (state policies), plaintiffs’ health insurance plans single out transgender employees for unequal treatment by categorically depriving them of all medical care for gender dysphoria, a serious medical condition codified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and International Classification of Diseases,” attorneys wrote in the lawsuit filed in federal court in Madison.

Former UWO Chancellor Responds to Allegations

by | 1530, 7 Apr 1717 | , | 0 Comments

And it’s laugh out loud funny.

In Wells’ response, his lawyers wrote that Wells was acting “within the scope of his employment” when carrying out the acts described by the UW lawsuit, and that collaboration and cooperation with the UW-Foundation was undertaken “with actual authority derived from the board,” along with the authority of state law, administrative code and practices and procedures of the UW System.

None of his actions, the document states, “constitute intention or negligent conversion,” but if they are ultimately found by a court to have happened as a result of Wells’ discretion as chancellor, Wells should not be held personally liable for them. His acts “were not malicious, willful or done with the intent” to violate any law or policy, the response states, but “were done for the benefit of UW-Oshkosh” and its students, “and in fact did provide significant benefits to UW-Oshkosh.”

Wells’ response also states that the UW System did not have in place a clear and concise set of rules, best practices and guidelines for universities and affiliated foundations that were applicable to UW-Oshkosh or known to Wells.

So how can he argue both that he followed the “practices and procedures of the UW System” AND “UW System did not have in place a clear and concise set of rules, best practices and guidelines?”

This looks like a “kitchen sink” response from someone who is caught dead to rights.

Senate Confirms Gorsuch

by | 1052, 7 Apr 1717 | , | 0 Comments

Huzzah!

WASHINGTON — Judge Neil M. Gorsuch was confirmed by the Senate on Friday to become the 113th justice of the Supreme Court, capping a political brawl that lasted for more than a year and tested constitutional norms inside the Capitol’s fraying upper chamber.

The development was a signal triumph for President Trump, whose campaign last year rested in large part on his pledge to appoint another committed conservative to succeed Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in February 2016. However rocky the first months of his administration may have been, Mr. Trump now has a lasting legacy: Judge Gorsuch, 49, could serve on the court for 30 years or more.

Russia Escalates

by | 0753, 7 Apr 1717 | , | 2 Comments

Something to watch.

Russia has said it is suspending a deal with the US to prevent mid-air collisions over Syria in response to US air strikes on a Syrian air base.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said following Donald Trump’s decision to fire 59 cruise missiles at a military target in Syria on Thursday, Moscow was suspending a memorandum with the US that prevented incidents and ensured flight safety.

Under the memorandum, signed after Russia launched an air campaign in Syria in September 2015, Russia and the US had exchanged information about their flights to avoid incidents in the crowded skies over Syria — where Russia has several dozen warplanes and batteries of air-defence missiles.

70% of Millennials in China Own a Home

by | 2141, 6 Apr 1717 | , | 1 Comment

Interesting cultural differences.

While young people around the world are struggling to get on the property ladder, an HSBC study found that 70% of Chinese millennials have achieved the milestone.

A sizeable 91% also plan to buy a house in the next five years, according to the survey.

The mortgage lender spoke to around 9,000 people based in nine countries.

While China came out top of the pack, Mexico was next with 46% of millennials owning property, followed by France with 41%.

U.S. Launches Punitive Strike Against Syria

by | 2125, 6 Apr 1717 | , , | 1 Comment

Eh.

The US missiles hit the Shayrat airfield, from where Washington believes the chemical weapons attack was launched, one US official was quoted as saying.

A statement on Syrian state TV said “American aggression” had targeted a Syrian military base with “a number of missiles” but gave no further details.

Earlier on Thursday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad should have no role in a future Syria.

His comments signalled a sudden shift in policy by the Trump administration.

I get the anger at Assad’s use of chemical weapons to murder civilians. It’s absolutely horrific and the latest horrible act by a truly evil man. But I question this attack as a matter of policy. We just blew $100 million or so on firing a bunch of missiles to punish him, but what did we accomplish? What is the goal? Regime change? It’s going to take more than that. Just punish Assad to reestablish America’s role in the world as a moral authority? Support our allies? Who?

We need to determine a coherent policy toward Syria, articulate it, and act on it. Fits of violent reaction don’t accomplish much.

Senate Changes Rules for Gorsuch

by | 2012, 6 Apr 1717 | , | 1 Comment

Excellent. Honestly, I didn’t think the national Republicans had the stones.

Washington (CNN)The Senate Thursday triggered the so-called “nuclear option” that allowed Republicans to break a Democratic filibuster of Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch.

The chamber is now expected to vote to confirm Gorsuch Friday around 11:30 a.m. ET.
The controversial changes to Senate rules, made along partisan lines, allows filibusters of Supreme Court picks to be broken with only 51 votes rather than 60.

The filibuster was an extra-constitutional grant of power to the minority in the Senate. It appears nowhere in the Constitution and certainly is not necessary for Supreme Court confirmations. Here is the relevant part of Article 2, Section 2 of the Constitution:

He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.

Remember how we got here… The Democrats did away with the filibuster for other court appointments when Republicans were filibustering Obama’s lower court picks. This time, for the first time in history, the Democrats filibustered a SCOTUS pick, so the Republicans “pulled a Reid” and changed the rules.

Good for them. Gorsuch is undeniably qualified and if the Democrats were going to filibuster him, would they support any nominee? Ever? Of course not. And we all know that the Democrats would have done the exact same thing if they were on the other side of the fence. We know this because they already did it.

I look forward to Justice Gorsuch’s tenure.

A Message From Our Mayor

by | 1958, 6 Apr 1717 | | 0 Comments

It has been 6 years since this community first trusted then elected me to be its’ Mayor.  Thank you for re-electing me to a 3rd term this past week.  Even though I ran unopposed, I used the occasion to reflect on our recent accomplishments and to listen to the public regarding their questions about the future.  Through those discussions, several common themes arose:

  • City Staff – our leadership team has several new faces and new professionals dedicated to improving West Bend. We recently welcomed Michelle Hoey as our HR Director and Stephanie Justman as City Clerk.  Jay Shambeau, hired last fall, is up-to-speed and well on his way to being the leader of our organization.
  • New Development is strong.
    • Soon to be opened Meijer and recently opened Delta Defense corporate headquarters will be joined by a 110,000 square foot home to Extra Space Storage on the City’s south side. Located in our Corporate Center, this state of the art, climate controlled facility continues the trend of high quality new development entering our market.
    • Nationally and locally a strong point of new residential development is in the apartment and rental markets. While the City has not rezoned any new green field property for multi-family since I have been Mayor, we are seeing strong demand for new, urban, non-subsidized rental units.  Generally geared toward both empty nesters and younger aged singles we expect properties already zoned appropriately and in-fill sites to be attractive.  Staff, the Council and Plan Commission are focused on following our strategic plan(s) to ensure a positive mix of single and multi-family options are available.
  • Partnerships are a key to ensuring efficiently run operations and help create a strong link between city hall and the public.
    • After several years of planning, construction is underway on the shared Washington County/City of West Bend employee on-site health clinic. Housed at the County this partnership is a fantastic example of your governments breaking down barriers and working together for the benefit of our employees as well as the public.
    • I recently had the honor of addressing the full team of West Bend Mutual employees. This organization was born here and I am proud they choose to continue to call West Bend home.  They exemplify the very fabric of who West Bend is.  Their entrepreneurial spirit and high quality work environment is only matched by their commitment to being the best corporate citizen we could hope for.  Their nature and positive influence is felt in every corner of our community.
  • Whenever I am at a community leader conference, without exception, our strong downtown environment is brought up. Other communities are begging to find out our ‘secret’.  I let them know the formula is simple.  A strong dose of gutsy entrepreneurs combined with great cultural attractions such as MOWA and an appropriate amount of public support equals a vibrant and exciting city center campus.
    • After 4 years of planning we have reached the stage where revitalizing the east river bank is becoming a reality. Pending final community fundraising efforts, we expect the two phase project to begin in late 2017 and be completed in the spring of 2018.  This combined with improvements unveiled in 2016 will continue the one-of-a-kind rebirth of downtown West Bend.
    • Strong interest in several remaining properties east of the river have the potential of adding significant tax base, high quality development and an exciting mix of commercial and residential opportunities. Progress such as this ensures a consistent flow of users to our businesses and other amenities.
  • Finances are the backbone of what we do and also direct our future.
    • Since 2011, overall City Debt has been reduced by about 20%. Debt levels were uncomfortably high and significant efforts by staff and the Council are getting them to appropriate levels.  We have work to do but we are trending in the right direction.
    • Reserves, once dangerously low, are up about 40% since 2011 and are now within a range our advisors deem acceptable. This was a significant undertaking and will be a focus moving forward.
    • We continue to invest heavily into road maintenance. Once a line item of $750,000 we now allocate almost 40% more annually, or $1,040,000.  This increase combined with recently enacted Prevailing Wage Laws will help us continue to maintain more road miles each year.
    • Overall, the true Cost of Doing Business, our real cost of operating West Bend was 8.8% less in 2016 than it was in 2011. This means we have reduced debt, increased reserves, allocated more toward road maintenance while costing the taxpayers significantly less.  Thank you to all involved.  To me, this is how government should be run.

As we continue through 2017 and already look toward 2018 we will be working hard to ensure we are investing each dollar wisely while also planning ahead guaranteeing a strong future for West Bend.  Please stay tuned, stay involved and thank you once again for allowing me to serve.

Kraig K. Sadownikow

Mayor – City of West Bend

Nikki Haley Gets Shabby Treatment by Feminists

by | 0730, 6 Apr 1717 | | 0 Comments

Kudos to Haley for going to a hostile environment and representing herself well. Can you imagine how the media would be yammering about the “hostile culture” and “decline of civility” if Hillary Clinton or someone got this kind of treatment at CPAC?

Asked about her approach to dealing with dictators in her new role, the former South Carolina governor said that her goal was to “call them out when they do something wrong” and to “work with them when you can.”

“Get to the next panel!” an audience member shouted in response.

It was not exactly a shock that a member of the Trump administration would receive a less-than-warm welcome from a room full of people who’d paid to hear speakers like Hillary Clinton and Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards discuss feminism for three days, but Haley managed to carry on with the interview unfazed, telling Van Susteren that she has no regrets about taking on the U.N. job.

“Everyone was waiting to see what the U.S. was going to do,” she said. “What we have to do is lead.”

After Haley finished, Women in the World founder Tina Brown addressed the “boisterous reception” for Haley and commended the ambassador for showing up.

“We often complain and sneer and say Republicans never want to come on any kind of forum except Fox News or places where they can be, you know, asked questions that are soft,” Brown said, adding that Haley “graciously” remained calm amid the heckling. “She didn’t get agitated about it, and she’s in the middle of a lot of world crises.”

Login | Register

Archives

Categories

Pin It on Pinterest