From the venerated Nancy Pelosi.
She called the meeting “wild” and said, “it goes to show you: you get into a tinkle contest with a skunk, you get tinkle all over you.”
What does a skunk have to do with anything?
Month: December 2018
Public input on the next state budget
My column for the Washington County Daily News is in print and online. Go get a copy! Here’s a taste:
Gov.-elect Tony Evers and Lt. Gov.-elect Mandela Barnes have announced they will hold four public listening sessions before Christmas to get the public’s input on the upcoming state budget. The four sessions will be today in Green Bay, Wednesday in Wausau, Dec. 18 in La Crosse and Dec. 19 in Milwaukee.
Since all four sessions begin during working hours and, like most tax-paying Wisconsinites, I work for a living, I will not be able to attend and give the incoming administration my thoughts in person. This column will have to suffice.
As the Legislature and governor begin the process of crafting the next state budget, they must do so with the understanding that Wisconsin is not immune from the economic winds blowing across the nation. While the underlying economic metrics remain strong, several leading indicators, including the wild movements in the stock market, foretell a looming recession within the next year or two.
Since Wisconsin uses a biennial budget, it is likely the next recession will come during the budget our elected officials are about to write. They must write that budget understanding recessions always lead to a decrease in state tax revenue while making higher demands on state services like welfare and Badger-Care. To that end, the overriding objective of the next state budget should be to reduce spending, reduce taxes and continue to pump money into the state’s rainy day fund, because rainy days are in the forecast.
From a revenue standpoint, the state of Wisconsin is in great shape. Thanks to the series of tax cuts that Gov. Scott Walker and the Republican legislators have delivered over the past few years, tax revenue is flowing into state coffers at historic levels. There is no shortage of money for politicians to spend.
While the Republicans have done a tremendous job in the previous few budgets, they have failed to reduce spending. Despite claims to the contrary, every single state budget for the last generation or more has spent more than the previous budget. Granted, the Republicans did not increase spending as much as the Democrats wanted to, but they increased spending nonetheless.
The vast majority of state spending is spent on a handful of budget priorities. One cannot seriously reduce spending without looking to the big budget items. The first area Evers and the Legislature should look is at education spending.
Illinois’ Horrible Fiscal Shape
This is happening just across the border. Just remember… when politicians make bad decisions, they don’t pay the bills. You do.
Sometimes the clearest warning about Illinois’ fiscal crisis can be communicated using numbers, sometimes with a well-chosen phrase. Here we present both, as reminders during the period before a new Democratic governor takes office with a Democratic mega-majority, that the state’s messes will only worsen. Until lawmakers take decisive action.
First, the awful numbers: For several years we’ve cited the figure of $130 billion to represent Illinois’ estimated unfunded pension liability. Never mind that number, it was $133 billion as of June 2018 — and it’s getting worse — according to a new state report. The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability estimates the shortfall in commitments to future retirees will deepen to nearly $137 billion in the current July-to-June year, and to $139 billion in fiscal 2020.
Now a choice word or several: Fitch Ratings in a new report says Illinois has exhibited a “lack of coherent fiscal policymaking over many years” and is guilty of “irresolute fiscal decision-making.” Over the years, lawmakers skimped on payments into the retirement kitty, or avoided making payments altogether, rather than being disciplined about putting enough money into the funds to pay for all the benefits they had promised.
Today, Fitch says, Illinois’ net pension liability plus other long-term debt represent 29 percent of the state’s personal income, the highest of any state (our emphasis) and well above the 50-state median of 6 percent. Oh yes, the annual operating budget — an astonishing one-fourth of which goes to pensions — is also a wreck: Fitch reminds us that about $2 billion of the $38 billion budget revenue is either unlikely to be realized or one-time in nature. Irresolute, indeed.
Commuter Rail Coming to Southeast Wisconsin?
A New York capital raising firm is helping a Wisconsin company attempt to raise more than $1.4 billion to support a private commuter rail project in metro Milwaukee along with related real estate development.
The project by Transit Innovations LLC would use existing freight lines to create the commuter system, called E-Way. The company says it would build 21 new stations and use two existing ones along 55 miles of track across Milwaukee and Waukesha counties.
[…]
Most of the capital, around 70 percent, would actually be used for real estate developments near the stations. Transit Innovations says developments would include market-rate housing, multifamily, retail, office, training facilities, mixed-use and manufacturing. The group estimates 7,000 units of new multi-family housing would be constructed.
Transit Innovations, which was created in 2017 and is registered to a Brookfield address, is working with New York based Castle Placement LLC to raise the funds. An investor presentation estimates $571 million will come from real estate investors, $300 million from rail investors, $35 million from partners and local private equity and $550 million from a construction loan.
I don’t know if it’s viable, but at least if it fails, it’s not my tax dollars being thrown down the tracks.
Evers Forms Criminal Justice Panel
Goodness. “Making of a Murder” was a factual train wreck and Butler was run out of office for his soft on crime attitude. I see that when Evers says “prioritizing people,” he means crooks and violent criminals – not the people they victimize.
In a statement Monday announcing the panel, Evers and Lt. Gov.-elect Mandela Barnes also emphasized the state’s racial incarceration disparity and said it’s time “to start prioritizing people, not prisons.”
The new panel includes Dean Strang, who gained international fame for his defense of Steven Avery in the Netflix series “Making a Murderer,” and former state Supreme Court justices Louis Butler and Janine Geske.
Other notable names include:
- Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney;
- Kelli Thompson, who heads the state Public Defender’s Office;
- Matt Frank, former state Department of Natural Resources Secretary and former Assistant State Attorney General;
- Milwaukee County Chief Deputy Sheriff Denita Ball;
- Rick Raemisch, former state Department of Corrections Secretary and former Dane County Sheriff, who now leads the Colorado Department of Corrections;
- Walter Dickey, University of Wisconsin Law School professor and former state Department of Corrections Secretary;
- Angela Lang, director of the Milwaukee-based Black Leaders Organizing for Communities;
- Jim Palmer, who heads the state’s police union.
The announcement Monday said the panel aims to “bring together people from all sides of the criminal justice system” to work on possible criminal justice changes.
Evers Holds Public Listening Sessions for Budget
- December 11, 4:30PM-6:00PM: Green Bay, University of Wisconsin Green Bay, Phoenix Room. 2420 Nicolet Dr, Green Bay, WI 54311. Register for Green Bay session at this Green Bay link.
- December 12, 12:00PM-1:30PM: Wausau, Wausau Labor Temple. 318 South Third Avenue, Wausau, WI 54401. Register for the Wausau session at this Wausau link.
- December 18, 12:00PM-1:30PM: La Crosse, American Legion Post 52. 711 6th St South, La Crosse, WI 54601. Register for the La Crosse session at this La Crosse link.
- December 19, 4:30PM-6:00PM: Milwaukee, United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County Volunteer Center. 200 West Pleasant Street, Milwaukee, WI 53212. Register for the Milwaukee session at this Milwaukee link.
Yep. They are all during business hours on weekdays when most Wisconsin taxpayers are working. Furthermore, these were just announced and start this week. That’s not enough time for most working Wisconsinites to even ask off if they want to attend one of these sessions.
The result is inevitable because it is planned: the vast majority of people who show up for these sessions will be leftist activists calling for more spending. Then, after the sessions are done, Evers will use the fact that all he heard were calls for more spending as justification to propose more spending.
Protests Continue in France
Of course, now the anarchists have joined in with the legitimate protesters.
PARIS (AP) — Paris tourist sites reopened, workers cleaned up broken glass and shop owners tried to put the city on its feet again Sunday, a day after running battles between “yellow vest” protesters and police that left at least 71 injured in the French capital and caused widespread damage in cities around France.
The man at the focus of protesters’ anger, President Emmanuel Macron, broke his silence to tweet his appreciation for the police overnight. However, pressure mounted on him to propose new solutions to calm the anger dividing France.
Macron will address the nation “at the very beginning of the week,” government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said Sunday, without specifying a day.
The economy minister lamented the damage to the economy.
“This is a catastrophe for commerce, it’s a catastrophe for our economy,” Bruno Le Maire said Sunday while visiting merchants around the Saint Lazare train station, among areas hit by vandalism as the pre-Christmas shopping season got underway.
[…]
The movement began as a protest against a rise in duties on diesel, which is widely used by French motorists and has long been less heavily taxed than other types of fuel.
Diesel prices have risen by about 23% over the past 12 months – and Mr Macron’s decision to impose a tax increase of 6.5 cents on diesel and 2.9 cents on petrol from 1 January enraged protesters.
Mr Macron had blamed world oil prices for three-quarters of the price rise, but said higher taxes on fossil fuels were needed to fund renewable energy investments.
Um, I don’t know what world Macron lives in, but world oil prices are low.
Ocasio-Cortez Hints at Abuse of Power
On the one hand, this is astonishing. On the other hand, it isn’t.
Socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez threatened to use the powers of her elected office to retaliate against Donald Trump Jr. on Friday after the president’s son posted a meme trolling her on his personal Instagram account.
“I have noticed that Junior here has a habit of posting nonsense about me whenever the Mueller investigation heats up,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. “Please, keep it coming Jr – it’s definitely a “very, very large brain” idea to troll a member of a body that will have subpoena power in a month.”
It is astonishing because you have a soon-to-be government official threatening to use her official power to subpoena someone who trolled her on Instagram. Put aside for a moment that it was Trump Jr. who trolled her. It was just a person expressing a contrary opinion on Instagram and her immediate impulse is to bring down the official weight of the federal government on him.
It is not that astonishing because this is what socialists like Ocasio-Cortez do – every time they get into power. They use the police power of government as a weapon to attack dissenters and non-believers. We’ve seen it in other nations. We’ve seen it in Wisconsin with the John Doe investigations of Walker. We’ve seen it in Obama’s IRS. There is no doubt in my mind that Ocasio-Cortez would abuse her power to go after her dissenters. The only thing she lacks is the intelligence to keep quiet about it.
Around the Bend by Judy Steffes
Pete Rettler and 25 Runs of Gratitude receives call from The Ellen Show
On the eve of Pete Rettler’s 25 Runs of Gratitude a conversation was held between Rettler and a staffer at The Ellen Show. That’s The Ellen Degeneres Show …. if you’re not familiar.
The hot topic of conversation is Rettler’s runs and how he is going to spend the next 25 days running 2.5 miles, trying to raise $25,000 for charities connected to the United Way of Washington County.
It’s his way of celebrating 25 years of good health, running every single day, and supporting the wonderful non-profit organizations in the community.
As far as the phone call from The Ellen Show. Rettler said his phone blew up while he was out on a run Tuesday afternoon. The call was coming from Burbank, California which is home to Walt Disney and Warner Bros. studio. He thought it was a spam call until he listened to the message.
The call was from Sommer Green, a staffer at The Ellen Show.
The pair talked about 15 minutes and then set up a Skype interview for Wednesday afternoon. Rettler conducted the interview from his office at Moraine Park Technical College.
“We talked about whether I watched The Ellen Show and then she asked if I could tell Ellen anything what that would be and I told her I was watching the George Bush funeral today and they mentioned his humor and making fun of himself and Ellen does the same thing. She tries to stay away from politics and I think that’s good because there are great people on both sides of the aisle,” said Rettler.
At one point Rettler said he thought he referred to Ellen as Roseanne … but he wasn’t quite sure.
“This definitely has ignited a spark and companies are coming forward to sponsor the run,” he said. Rettler will be culminating the 25 Runs of Gratitude with a big event New Year’s Eve Day, Dec. 31.
We are seeking sponsorships of $1,000 or less per day. The $1,000 gift will be matched $1 for $1 as a new corporate leadership gift by West Bend Mutual Insurance and Commerce State Bank. United Way will send an invoice for pledge made. If you would like to be a sponsor call at 262-338-3821 or kbrandner@unitedwayofwashingtoncounty.org.
Pair of bald eagles spotted on Silver Lake
Curt Rudy and his wife got up Saturday morning and saw a unique sight out their bedroom window on Silver Lake. “We have high windows and cathedral ceilings and we saw him just sitting out their beautifully,” said Rudy.
“We look to the side and about 10-feet away there was a second one.”
The Rudys’ spotted not one but two bald eagles.
“I did some research and they hang around in pairs, for life, and the only time when they’re together is when they’re mating,” he said. “They mate anywhere from November to January.”
Rudy’s photo from his wife’s cell phone.
The Rudys’ live on the east side of the lake on Quaas Drive. “We’ve been out here 35 years,” he said. “This fall my neighbor about two doors down said he saw a bald eagle hovering over the lake.”
Rudy said the eagle was in one of their trees. Fascinated by the eagles, Rudy searched to see if anyone posted about the birds in the past or if there was a nest in the Washington County area.
“I found something that said there was a nest reported in 2016 in Washington County,” said Rudy.
Neighbors in Kewaskum have seen bald eagles. Doug Gonring phoned in a couple months ago that he spotted a bald eagle along Highway 45. Others have seen the majestic bird near Hon-E-Kor Golf Course in Kewaskum.
World War II veteran Howard Knox has died
It’s with a heavy heart we relay the news of the death of World War II veteran Howard Knox.
Knox and his trusty bugle were a familiar sight across Washington County. Knox was part of River City Irregulars. When he wasn’t playing in the band he was holding high the military signs to salute those who had been in service.
Most recently Knox addressed students during a Veterans Day Assembly at Addison Elementary.
Knox was the first Cub Scout in the state of Wisconsin and he received a bugle when he was 10 years old. “The bugle was given to me by the scout master and he used it during World War I,” he said. Knox was attending the University of Wisconsin when he joined the U.S. Navy.
Howard Knox died Wednesday morning, Dec. 5. He was 99 years old. Knox will be buried in a private service at a cemetery in Whitewater next to his wife Pearl. A memorial service will be announced shortly.
Update on construction on Carl M. Kuss Field
It was August 7, 2018 when a ceremonial groundbreaking was held to signify the official start of the reconstruction project at Carl M. Kuss Field at Regner Park in West Bend.
The project would include a synthetic turf baseball field with a new, ADA equipped grandstand.
A grant from the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation helped spark the $2 million project. Back in May, West Bend Mayor Kraig Sadownikow said “the $500,000 grant from the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation was a game changer for the project.”
Then in October the West Bend Mutual Charitable Trust presented a $500,000 gift to help move the new field closer to fruition. Following Monday night’s, Dec. 3, Common Council meeting Sadownikow said the park will be done by June 15, 2019.
“Progress is going well. Soil borings are scheduled to be out on site before Christmas which is the first step in the process,” he said. “My understanding is fundraising is on schedule and we expect baseball by the summer of 2019.”
Sadownikow said if the current schedule holds the demolition work will be underway in March.
The WIAA spring baseball season begins March 23, 2019 with the first game slated for March 31.
The current scenario, which could possibly change, looks like the first season for WIAA spring baseball in West Bend will be played at the high school field on Decorah Road.
Franklin Bales has died
It is with a heavy heart to relay the news of the death of Franklin Bales of West Bend. Franklin and his wife Margaret were featured in an article this past October 25 highlighting their 70th wedding anniversary.
It was Sept. 25, 1948 when Franklin Bales and Margaret Weninger recited their vows to remain faithful and committed for the rest of their lives.
Franklin and Margaret Bales celebrate 70th wedding anniversary. Franklin, 91, was born on the family farm on Rusco Drive in West Bend. He and Margaret, 90, met at a dance.
“Our farm was just a mile west of Gonring’s Resort. I had broken up with a different guy and me and my girlfriends were standing there and then he (Franklin) came over and asked me to dance. Then he asked to take me home, then he asked me to another dance and from there we kept on going.”
Margaret said she “didn’t think of marriage right away. She just liked being with him.”
“I liked his laugh,” said Margaret. “We had fun.” Margaret was 18 years old when she met Franklin. She worked at Amity Leather at the time. Franklin was 19 and a half and he worked on the family farm. “I like her because she was easy going,” he said. “I could handle that.”
When Margaret turned 20 she and Franklin tied the knot. The wedding photos look straight out of ‘June Bride’ featuring an elegant Margaret and a dapper Franklin surrounded by a wedding party of eight set against a backdrop of blue skies, two meaty columns and drapes.
“The photographer didn’t come to the wedding, we had to go to the photographer,” Margaret said.
Franklin recalled a delayed honeymoon as chores on the dairy farm took precedent. “She had to can pears before we left and I had to fill the silo again,” he said.
A couple days later the pair were off gallivanting. “We drove into Canada and circled around a bit just so we could tell our friends we were in Canada,” said Margaret.
The couple moved in to Franklin’s home. “I’ve always live here,” he said. “Our bedroom is the room I was born in.”
Franklin C. Bales, 91 of West Bend passed away on Wednesday, December 5 at his home surrounded by his family. Franklin was born February 14, 1927, Valentine’s Day. This was appropriate since there was great love shown by Franklin for each of the family members in his very large extended family and he was loved by each family member as well. The greatest love was for his wife of 70 years, Margaret.
This special 70th anniversary on September 25, 2018 was honored with an event at the family farm attended by more than 40 family members. This was the dairy farm that Franklin was born on, grew up on, worked as a dairy farm and continued to live on in retirement until he passed away. The farm will be a century farm next year being in the Bales family for 100 years.
Franklin will always be known for his happy laugh, storytelling, willingness to help anyone no matter how busy farm life kept him, being a trusted advisor and always leading by example on how to live a good Christian life. But most of all Franklin was devoted to Margaret and as a team they grew more than crops and produced more than milk on their beloved family farm. They grew and produced a strong family as well. Franklin and Margaret never missed Sunday Mass until age prevented travel. Mealtime prayers, evening rosary, while holding hands and prayers throughout the day exemplified their devout faith.
Well into his 80’s Franklin volunteered at the Samaritan Health Center, St. Frances Cabrini and Meals on Wheels. Over the years extensive travel was made throughout the country. Sheepshead was a passion of his and Franklin and Margaret had several groups of friends they played with over the years. Franklin has now played his last hand but we are sure that if sheepshead is played in heaven, he is already dealing out the cards.
Visitation will be on Monday, December 10 from 2:00 p.m. until 3:45 p.m. at St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church, 1025 S. Seventh Ave, West Bend with a Mass of Christian Burial at 4:00 p.m. Burial will take place Tuesday in Holy Angels Cemetery, Memorials, in lieu of flowers to the Paul Bales Memorial Scholarship at UWM Washington County or to St. Frances Cabrini Parish are appreciated.
Our family has lost a real treasure but we are all blessed to carry a bit of his spirit within us. The Schmidt Funeral Home in West Bend is serving the family.
Hartford musical raises money for LOVE>hate project By Samantha Sali
The Hartford Union High School’s fall production of Little Shop of Horrors Musical raised $1,330 for the Sojourner Peace Center and LOVE>hate Project. “In Little Shop of Horrors, Audrey is abused by her boyfriend,” said Musical Advisor, Shelia Parker. “While the musical makes light of this situation, the students felt that they needed to take this opportunity to assist women who find themselves in abusive situations and to work to curb violence against women.”
The students in the production were able to collect $580 audience donations for the Sojourner Peace Center in Milwaukee and $750 for The LOVE>hate Project in Hartford. “The students will be meeting with Buck Blodgett, founder of The LOVE>hate Project, on December 20th to present a check to him for the donation,” said Parker.
Blodgett was extremely appreciative of the students’ decision to not only donate to the LOVE>hate Project, but raise awareness on the important topic of male against female violence. “I’m so very grateful that these talented students chose to remember Jessie and advance her mission,” Blodgett said. “Their giving will go directly into spreading Jessie’s messages far and wide through videos, social media, live radio campaigns, local projects to raise awareness and call to action, and more.”
Updates & Tidbits
– Slinger High School and its production of “Wizard of Oz” has been nominated for 11 Jerry Awards.
– The Amity Rolfs Nativity has found a new home in West Bend. The display, which is a hallmark of the holiday, is in place on the front lawn of Holy Angels Parish on 138 N. Eighth Avenue.
– The Hartford-Slinger Boys Swim Team broke a relay record at their home meet on Saturday, December 1, 2018. The new meet record of 1:35:72 was for the 200 yard Free Relay with Adam Marx, Logan DeBack, Robert Klockow, and Dylan Webb. Hat tip Samantha Sali
– Citizen Advocates Board of Directors promoted Jessica Frederick as the organization’s new Executive Director. Frederick has been a part of Citizen Advocates for 11 years, serving as a Community Organizer, then as the Program Coordinator.
– Don Muth and the University Ambassadors will host a breakfast for students on campus on Thursday, Dec. 13 at 8:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. as part of week-long events before final exams start.
-Rick Takacs at Meadowbrook Farm in West Bend has fresh balsam and Fraser fir Christmas trees for the upcoming holiday. Takacs gets his trees from the same vendor in Oconto County who once supplied the tree to the White House in Washington D.C. Tackas said he really liked the trees from the Vander Velden’s farm because they’re “tall and have super color.” Meadowbrook Farm is located at 1270 Meadowbrook Road.
– Tickets are now on sale for the amazing Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Holiday Pops Concert on Dec. 11 at the West Bend High Schools Silver Lining Arts Center.
– Santa is flying in from the North Pole on Saturday, Dec. 8 and he’s landing at the West Bend Airport. Come out and have breakfast and give Santa a warm Washington County welcome! Santa lands around 8:30 a.m.
Hidden mural uncovered at Historic West Bend Theatre
A bit of an archeological find this week in downtown West Bend as colorful murals have been uncovered in the balcony level of the Historic West Bend Theatre.
“This is the first exposure and it’s the same pattern in each of the red panels,” said conservator Brian Fick with Evergreene Architectural Arts. “It’s a five-color stencil pattern on a shield shape with two birds; it looks a bit Germanic which, in an art-deco context is a little odd but it kind of suits the area.” Fick uncovered the mural using solvents and gels. A large breathing apparatus is on the floor next to the dusty theatre seats.
“I knew there was something there because I could see a bit of shadow,” he said. Pointing to the ceiling Fick highlights some of the black lines of another pattern of work.
“This piece will be documented and I’m taking samples,” Fick said. “We take the paint from the plaster it’s painted on all the way through to the top layer. We then cut that so you see the paint layers in cross section and that can give a better, more accurate representation of what the color was.”
Fick walks up the stairs in the balcony and points to another square of art behind some scaffolding.
“The painting that’s on these urns and the backgrounds is all original,” he said. “It’s just very dirty.” The iconic theatre dates to 1929.
“There are some historic photographs where you can see in black and white some painted decorations you just can’t make it out because the photos aren’t distinct enough,” said Fick. ”
Fick speculates on the reason the murals may have been painted over. “There may have been damage in some area and the thought was ‘who would fix this?’ Or they just wanted to lighten and brighten the place and they thought the easiest thing to do would be to paint everything a lighter color.” This phase of the research project started Monday and Fick is working through Friday. A report will be delivered to the theatre board on the mural finding in a couple of weeks.
There are red rectangles below each decorative urn. Fick said the same exact pattern will be unveiled in every block.
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Remembering Jeff Wood
Dan O’Donnell takes us down memory lane to remind us what the Democrats did when they were ousted from power in 2010.
So desperate were the outgoing governor and state legislative majority to pass what amounted to a sweetheart deal for some of their biggest political backers that they did what was until then unthinkable—they sprang Jeff Wood from jail so he could vote.
Even though he was serving a 60-day sentence and had drugs in his vehicle during two of his four drunk-driving arrests, a sympathetic judge agreed to let him out on work release for just long enough to be a forgotten man no more.
Eight years later, though, he is forgotten again; an uncomfortable reminder that the Republican-led Legislature’s supposedly unprecedented lame-duck session “power grab” isn’t unprecedented at all.
Frankly, the sanctimonious whining from Democrats is as pathetic as it is hypocritical. They are no stranger to power politics. And what the Republicans have done pales in comparison to what the Democrats tried to do.
The sooner Walker signs the bills that the legislature passed, the sooner the liberals move on to the next manufactured outrage.
Legislature has a full plate for the holidays
Here is my full column that ran in the Washington County Daily News yesterday. As the sun rises on Wisconsin, I’m happy to see that the legislature is getting most of this done. Good work!
This week the Wisconsin Legislature will begin an extraordinary session as its final act before a new Legislature takes its place next year. The political backdrop of this session is that while the Republicans will retain firm control of both houses of the Legislature next year, the voters elected Democrats to every statewide office. An era of divided government is about to begin.
In anticipation of this new era, Republican leaders in the Legislature have introduced a slew of proposals designed to secure the successes of the past few years and put some protections in place to safeguard the state from overreaches from the Executive Branch. The proposals run the gamut from simply codifying rules that are already in place, absorbing recent court rulings into statute, pulling power back into the legislative branch and changing how elections work. A few of the proposals are more interesting than the rest.
Earlier this year, a United States Supreme Court ruling allowed states to collect sales taxes on internet purchases. Under law, the state is required to collect the tax, but to offset the tax increase by reducing the state income tax by an equal amount. This would keep the aggregate tax burden on Wisconsinites constant. One of the proposals would clean up the process for making this happen and accelerate the potential income tax decrease into 2019 instead of 2020. This makes it take effect in line with both years of the state’s biennial budget. The Legislature should absolutely pass this proposal.
In another proposal, the state would create a standalone presidential primary and move it earlier in the year. The reasons are twofold. First, by moving the presidential primary earlier in the election cycle, it makes Wisconsin more relevant in that process. Second, by creating a standalone election for the presidential primary, it prevents non-partisan state and local elections on the April ballot from being overwhelmed by the partisan presidential primary. The Legislature should pass this change.
The actual reason for the extraordinary session is to pass an aid package to encourage Kimberly-Clark to keep their factories, and the jobs that go with them, open in Wisconsin. For all of the reasons I outlined in a column in this space in July, the Legislature should not pass this proposal.
One proposal would require that the Legislature be included in defending the laws it writes if those laws are challenged as unconstitutional. In recent years, liberals have adopted the tactic of suing the state over every law Republicans passed by claiming that the law is somehow unconstitutional, and then shopping for a friendly radical liberal judge to issue an injunction. It is the job of the state attorney general to defend the state in such actions, but the incoming attorney general, Josh Kaul, is an acolyte of Eric Holder and has made no secret about the fact that he will use his office as a weapon to advance the radical liberal agenda. This proposal would ensure that the state’s laws are adequately defended against legal challenges and should certainly be passed.
Yet another proposal would prohibit a person from serving in an appointed position if the state Senate had rejected their appointment during the confirmation process. It would seem common sense that this is already the case, but it is not. Under law, the governor can appoint a person, the senate can reject that appointment and the governor can keep the person in the job indefinitely in a provisional capacity. This proposal would make it clear that once an appointee is rejected, they may no longer stay in the job. This should be passed.
Several other proposals codify which IDs are acceptable for voting, ensures that people will be required to remain sober in order to obtain welfare, writes into law rules that prevent illegal aliens from getting a Wisconsin driver’s license, provides legislative oversight when the state seeks federal approvals or waivers, requires state agencies to periodically report their spending to the Legislature, oblige the Department of Corrections to provide the Legislature a report on who is pardoned, make it easier for overseas citizens to vote and other relatively mundane things.
While every proposal must be evaluated on its own merits, almost every one of the proposals should be passed by the Legislature and signed into law by outgoing Gov. Scott Walker. The conservative revolution in Wisconsin has come to an end. Now it is time for Republicans to protect the gains we made.
Digital Hallucinations
While it seems that the era of autonomous vehicles is very close, and it might be, we still have a lot of work to do on the technology. And then we have a lot more work to do on our culture, legal systems, etc. to adapt to it.
The passenger registers the stop sign and feels a sudden surge of panic as the car he’s sitting in speeds up. He opens his mouth to shout to the driver in the front, remembering – as he spots the train tearing towards them on the tracks ahead – that there is none. The train hits at 125mph, crushing the autonomous vehicle and instantly killing its occupant.
This scenario is fictitious, but it highlights a very real flaw in current artificial intelligence frameworks. Over the past few years, there have been mounting examples of machines that can be made to see or hear things that aren’t there. By introducing ‘noise’ that scrambles their recognition systems, these machines can be made to hallucinate. In a worst-case scenario, they could ‘hallucinate’ a scenario as dangerous as the one above, despite the stop sign being clearly visible to human eyes, the machine fails to recognise it.
Those working in AI describe such glitches as ‘adversarial examples’ or sometimes, more simply, as ‘weird events’.
Legislature Has a Busy Day
And I don’t think it’s over yet.
The Senate voted 18-15 along party lines to approve 82 of Gov. Scott Walker’s appointments, including DOA Secretary Ellen Nowak returning to the Public Service Commission as chair.
The other appointments included attorney Scott Beightol to the UW Board of Regents. He replaces Republican Bryan Steil, who won a seat in Congress last month.
and…
The state Senate approved the first of three extraordinary session bills Tuesday evening after pulling a provision that Dems warned would prevent local governments from using their employees to do some road work if the project were funded with state money.
The bill also includes provisions that would make explicit in state law that new revenue from online sales will go to income tax reductions and to federalize state tax law on pass-through entities.
Legislature has a full plate for the holidays
My column for the Washington County Daily News is online today. In it, I offer some opinion on some of the proposals being offered in the Wisconsin legislature’s extraordinary session. Pick up a copy to read the whole thing!
This week the Wisconsin Legislature will begin an extraordinary session as its final act before a new Legislature takes its place next year. The political backdrop of this session is that while the Republicans will retain firm control of both houses of the Legislature next year, the voters elected Democrats to every statewide office. An era of divided government is about to begin.
In anticipation of this new era, Republican leaders in the Legislature have introduced a slew of proposals designed to secure the successes of the past few years and put some protections in place to safeguard the state from overreaches from the Executive Branch. The proposals run the gamut from simply codifying rules that are already in place, absorbing recent court rulings into statute, pulling power back into the legislative branch and changing how elections work. A few of the proposals are more interesting than the rest.
[…]
While every proposal must be evaluated on its own merits, almost every one of the proposals should be passed by the Legislature and signed into law by outgoing Gov. Scott Walker. The conservative revolution in Wisconsin has come to an end. Now it is time for Republicans to protect the gains we made.
Tax Riots in France
Meanwhile, in pre-Brexit Europe:
Protesters from France’s “gilet jaunes” (yellow vests) movement have pulled out of a meeting with PM Edouard Philippe scheduled for Tuesday.
Some members of the group said they had received death threats from hardline protesters warning them not to enter into negotiations with the government.
The “yellow vests” have been protesting about a controversial fuel tax since mid-November.
But the protests now reflect more widespread anger at the government.
Three people have died since the unrest began and the resulting violence and vandalism – notably when statues were smashed at the Arc de Triomphe last Saturday – have been widely condemned.
Final Resting Place
As many of y’all know, George H.W. Bush has a special relationship with Texas A&M University. Many moons ago, I played for the groundbreaking of his library as a member of the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band. He was a frequent guest on campus for many years, taught some classes, went to football games, and could even be found fishing at the pond next to his library from time to time. He was known to be a genuine Knightly Gentleman who left his mark on his adopted home.
I happened to visit Bush’s library again last year before Barbara passed. If you have the opportunity to visit his library, don’t miss it. It is not only chronicles the extraordinary life of an extraordinary man and a walk through some of the most important events in American history, but it is also a glimpse into the touching family life of a man who always knew who he was.
Here is where George and Barbara will spend eternity – right next to their beloved daughter, Robin.
RIP, Mr. President.
Chicago Politicians Quiet After Burke Raid
The Corruption Party has had one party rule in Chicago for decades. Nothing is changing.
No one represents Chicago’s old-school machine politics — or what’s left of it — more than City Hall’s longest-serving and most powerful alderman, Ed Burke.
But in the wake of federal agents raiding Burke’s City Hall and 14th Ward offices Thursday, the 21 candidates running for Chicago mayor — most of them on a proclaimed platform of reform — had very little to say about one of the most astonishing political developments in the city’s recent memory.
There were no news releases, few tweets and little professed outrage.
That’s because many of the race’s front-runners have some form of exposure, serving alongside Burke in the city’s political hierarchy, or counting him as a friend or mentor. And as the Burke investigation plays out in the final months of the Feb. 26 mayor’s race, the political fallout will leave some grasping for how to reconcile their self-professed desire to change City Hall with their ties to an iconic Chicago politician in the crosshairs of federal investigators.
On Friday, at least, few of them were talking.
Packers Fire McCarthy
Wow.
GREEN BAY – The Green Bay Packers relieved coach Mike McCarthy of his duties after a 20-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals at Lambeau Field dropped the club to 4-7-1 on the season.
McCarthy is the first coach in the history of the franchise to be fired before the end of a full season.
“The 2018 season has not lived up to the expectations and standards of the Green Bay Packers. As a result, I made the difficult decision to relieve Mike McCarthy of his role as head coach, effective immediately,” Packers president and chief executive officer Mark Murphy said in a statement released by the team.
“Mike has been a terrific head coach and leader of the Packers for 13 seasons, during which time we experienced a great deal of success on and off the field. We want to thank Mike, his wife, Jessica, and the rest of the McCarthy family for all that they have done for the Packers and the Green Bay and Wisconsin communities. We will immediately begin the process of selecting the next head coach of the Green Bay Packers.”
Offensive coordinator Joe Philbin was named the interim head coach.
I think everyone assumed that McCarthy would not be the head coach of the Packers next year. It is time for a change. But to fire him in the middle of the season was a classless move by the Packers. I have no doubt that he will land a new head coaching job very shortly, and I have equally little doubt that the Packers made this move without having a real replacement in mind. Great… you fired the coach, Murphy… now what?
And frankly, looking at the game today, McCarthy didn’t lose the game. The players did. They played like crap. Specifically, Aaron Rodgers played like crap. And when it was the 4th quarter and the Packers were a touchdown behind, Rodgers was sitting on the bench in his big coat shooting the breeze with another player. He wasn’t engaged. He wasn’t fired up. He wasn’t leading. He was pouting.
It’s a bad day for the Packers organization, and it has nothing to do with the outcome of the game.
Around the Bend by Judy Steffes
Hartford shocked by death of community leader
Hartford is mourning the loss of a community leader as word spreads about the sudden death of Brian Wendorff.
Wendorff was president of Hartford Finishing. He reportedly died unexpectedly this morning, Nov. 27, of a massive heart attack.
Brother Gary Wendorff said the family is “doing as good as we can under the circumstances.”
“Brian took over for me as president of Hartford Finishing and I will now have to retake those responsibilities until we find another person,” said Gary Wendorff.
Hartford City Administrator Steve Volkert said the entire Wendorff family is truly like family to the city of Hartford. “Not only because of their businesses and the amount of people they employ but how much they do beyond the business world in their sponsorship of different things and their true passion for Hartford so we wish the Wendorff family our sincere condolences,” he said.
“I’m greatly surprised and saddened by the passing of Brian,” said Hartford mayor, Timothy Michalak. “The Wendorff family has been very generous to the Hartford community and it is an incredible loss. Our prayers truly go out to their family in this time of mourning.”
Hartford Area Development Corp.’s Executive Director,Tom Hostad, shared his condolences, “The Wendorff family has made significant contributions to the Hartford community over the years both as key employers through their SteelCraft, Hartford Finishing and Sno-way businesses and as exemplary corporate citizens providing significant financial support to numerous community improvement projects. As president of Hartford Finishing, Brian was a key member of the Wendorff team and he will be missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Wendorff family.”
Family will greet relatives and friends Sunday, December 2, 2018 from 2:00p.m. -6:00 p.m. St. Matthew Lutheran Church (308 Herman Street Iron Ridge, WI 53035) concluding with a Prayer Service and Reflections.
Additional visitation will be held Monday, December 3, 2018 from 10:00 a.m.-10:45 a.m. at St. Matthew Lutheran Church with Funeral Services at 11:00a.m. with Rev. Larry Mose officiating.
Immediately following services, Brian’s interment will take place in St. Matthew’s Lutheran Cemetery, Iron Ridge. Brian Wendorff was 52.
Kewaskum H.S. football coach resigns
Kewaskum High School varsity football coach Jason Piittmann, 48, announced to his team this week he was stepping down. “I have a lot on my plate,” said Piittmann. “Between teaching, being Athletic Director and coaching…”
Piittmann has been coaching 20 years at KHS. The Indians finished the 2018 season with an overall record of 4-5 and 2-5 in conference. “I’m very proud of what we’ve done,” Piittmann said. “I know I’m going to miss it a lot.”
Piittmann has three children and said he knows he’ll be coaching again in his future. “It’s in my blood,” he said. “My 8-year-old son was most upset about missing his high school friends because he’s enjoyed coming to practice the last few years,” he said.
JV Football – 1999-2000 Varsity Assistant Football – 2001-2002 Head Football – 2003-2018.
Blessing this week for new Habitat ReStore in Germantown
Staff, volunteers and members of the board of directors of Habitat for Humanity Washington/Dodge Counties gave thanks Tuesday morning, Nov. 27 for the many gifts and support to make its new store happen in Germantown.
Habitat Executive Director Russ Wanta offered praise for help on the closing on the purchase of the store. “We had a very generous man from the Minneapolis area who generously donated the down payment so we could ultimately make this our Germantown ReStore,” said Wanta.
Habitat for Humanity purchased the former Gander Mountain building, W190 N10768 Commerce Circle in Germantown.
“I truly believe that it was simply by the Lord Almighty that this thing came about,” said Wanta. “This will be similar to Goodwill with a drive thru and if you really want to know what a God thing this is – Germantown Iron and Steel and I met structural Roger Enters who volunteered to engineer and then Keller Inc. out of Germantown called and they agreed to build another section on the back of the building and do it pro bono.”
“In a very, very short amount of time the pieces came together for our drive thru,” said Wanta. “And that really is how the Lord works. You lift up something in prayer and you can hear from Him.” Pastor Mike Moran from Kettlebrook Church in West Bend offered a prayer of thanks.
“Jesus identifies with the downtrodden,” said Moran. “He identifies with people in need and that’s our calling as well. The new Habitat ReStore is hoping to open Jan. 2, 2019 in Germantown.
It was March 2017 when Gander Mountain Company announced it filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy and the store in Germantown would be one of four in southeastern Wisconsin to close by May 2017. Habitat for Humanity currently owns about 7,000-square feet within a stone’s throw of the building on Commerce Circle. That ReStore is located at W188 N10707 Maple Road in Germantown.
The old Gander Mountain building had been initially listed for $3.9 million. Wanta said he worked on negotiating the sale directly with building owner Bill Lloyd. “We worked on the deal a long time and settled on a price of $1.8 million,” said Wanta.
West Bend School District to purchase property in Jackson
There was an 84-14 vote of the electorate (residents 18 years old and older and living in the West Bend School District) on Monday, Nov. 26, during a special meeting in the West Bend School District.
The vote encouraged the board to move forward with the purchase of a 7.3-acre parcel in Jackson.
During the regular board meeting on a vote of 4-1 the board approved moving forward with the purchase of property in Jackson. Chris Zwygart, Tonnie Schmidt, Joel Ongert, and Tiffany Larson voted in favor of purchase. Board member Ken Schmidt was the only dissenting vote. Board members Kurt Rebholz and Nancy Justman were absent.
The board said the purchase would not be more than $750,000.
A couple of notes:
-Taking a look at the current referendums the West Bend School District is currently paying off….
In April 2009, voters in West Bend approved a $29.3 million plan to renovate, as well as build an addition to Badger Middle School.
In November 2012 the West Bend School District passed a $22.8 million referendum to close Barton Elementary School, expand Silverbrook School and add classrooms and a gym at Green Tree Elementary School. The actual total cost of the referendum with taxes and interest was $31.975 million with a 15-year payback on borrowing.
After the Nov. 2012 referendum passed the $31.9 million total was added on top of the $29.3 million payment for the 2009 Badger referendum. The target date to completely pay off the debt on both referendums is 2028.
-The referendum costs in August 2018 for a new Jackson Elementary and renovations to the high schools was estimated at about $50 million with an additional $35 million in interest for a total estimated at $85 million. The proposal for a current April 2019 referendum have not yet been released.
-Board member Ken Schmidt has talked about the interest costs being posted on the ballot to give a clear picture of how much the referendum would total. Board President Joel Ongert said in a meeting in August the interest would not be on the ballot.
-The West Bend School District last reported a drop in enrollment of 85 students.
-The School Board has regularly set aside $250,000 for the Jackson Elementary Fund, also known as Fund 46. During a meeting in May it was noted there was $4 million in Fund 46 however $2.5 million was designated for Jackson Elementary.
-WBSD for 2018-19 school year has mill rate $7.97 cents.
-Fund 46 would have been used to offset the cost of a future referendum involving Jackson Elementary. This year, for the first time since the fund started, the board approved setting aside $20,000 for the Jackson Fund. Superintendent Don Kirkegaard said they would see “how our budget is performing.” He said the district would look at whether to contribute to the Jackson Fund in spring 2019.
-During a meeting in August, Bray Architects recommended the Jackson Fund not be saved to reduce the referendum but instead to pay down debt.
-In August the board discussed a new two-story Jackson Elementary.
-Over the summer the district spent $16,500 on a survey regarding the future of Jackson Elementary and the West Bend High Schools. Only some, not all, of the survey results were shared with the community.
Hit-and-run driver damages fence at St. Peter Parish
Rev. Richard Stoffel of St. Peter Church in Slinger is offering thanks that nobody was hurt, that’s after Slinger police contacted him Sunday afternoon with news a hit-and-run driver damaged property at the church on Hwy 175 and Beine Street.
“Police said the driver damaged a portion of fence in the parking lot by church office,” said Stoffel. “The sad thing is volunteers just finished putting up the fence and gate as part of play space for children.”
Stoffel said a witness, who is also a parishioner, saw someone ram into the fence, get tangled it in and then ran off.
“What’s kinda sad is we just spent $3,000 on it and bam boom it gets wiped out,” said Stoffel. “This is a fence that protects our children during playtime and it segregates our groups using the church. It’s kind of disappointing.”
The parish has turned in paperwork to Catholic Mutual. Police were also given a description of the vehicle and a partial license plate was left behind along with other parts.
Slinger police issued the post below:
On 11-25-18 around 3:35 PM, Slinger officers were requested to respond to a Hit and Run single-vehicle crash near Hwy 175 and Beine Street.
The suspect vehicle is described by a witness as a dark-colored pickup truck with a hitch cargo carrier. The truck caused a significant amount of property damage to a local church, and left the scene without stopping.
The suspect vehicle will be missing a headlight and part of its chrome bumper trim. The suspect vehicle is believed to be a 2003-2007 Chevrolet Silverado or Avalanche based on vehicle parts left at the scene.
If anyone has any information regarding this incident or knows the identity of the driver, we ask that you please contact the Slinger Police Department at (262)-644-6441.
Oh deer…. In downtown West Bend shopping district
The downtown West Bend Business Improvement District is teeming with deer as a herd of 30 decorative figures have been set up strategically in the shopping district. The BID paid for the deer and Chris and Larry Porter along with Anna Jensen from the Downtown West Bend Association assembled the figures. Some of the deer are lit with white lights. The wire figures include majestic bucks, does nestling on the ground and young, smaller figures. The BID has been working to brighten up the downtown for the Christmas shopping season.
The deer join decorative wreaths and boughs and the swags on the light poles.
Students at Holy Angels celebrate 175th anniversary of Milwaukee Archdiocese
More than 300 students at Holy Angles School in West Bend gathered on the playground Wednesday morning to ring in the 175th anniversary of the Milwaukee Archdiocese.
“I liked it a lot because it was really fun,” said second grader Gianna Reisweber.
Students stood in a sun puddle on the blacktop as the clock struck 10 a.m. and the mighty toll of the church bell kicked off the celebration.
Bundled in winter coats and knit hats the students’ clenched bells on a string.
“Bell ringing was really fun because we got to do it with whole school,” said 7-year-old Addison Schrauth.
Principal Mike Sternig took a moment to explain the history of the start of the Milwaukee Archdiocese and how Bishop John Martin Henni and four priests help serve the areas known as the Midwest territory.
Seconds after Sternig’s 101 primer on the Archdiocese anniversary the bells of Holy Angels tolled and students energetically joined in.
Below is the homily from Archbishop Jerome Listecki regarding the establishment of the Diocese of Milwaukee 175 years ago.
In my homily, I mentioned the appointment of Bishop John Martin Henni. He was given the task of leading a diocese that covered the entire territory of the state of Wisconsin, plus additional Midwest areas. He was assigned only four priests to cover this vast responsibility. He had no financial resources. Is it any wonder that Bishop Henni was reported to have gone down to the shores of Lake Michigan to cry?
Bishop Robert William Muench, a native son who preached the 100th anniversary celebration, claimed that Bishop Henni’s valiant apostolic soul broke for a moment in grief, and gushed forth its flood of tears. At that moment, he turned to the Lord for help. The community of his brothers and sisters of the faith all placed their trust in God, and they began the work given to them.
175 years later, we stand on the shoulders of the men and women who have used their tears, the sweat of their brows and their personal sacrifices to carry out the mission. They plowed the fields, planted the seeds and harvested the bounty of God’s graces to produce parishes, hospitals, schools, orphanages, and the charitable and devotional organizations that define us.
Relax U opens in Downtown West Bend
Just in time to help relieve the stress of the holiday season a new store, Relax U, has opened, 155 N. Main Street in Downtown West Bend. Relax U is owned and operated by Evan Mills.
“We provide a unique, relaxing massage experience, in fully-automated massage chairs that cater to your every need,” said Mills. “In addition to providing a relaxing experience, we also sell massage chairs so you can enjoy a perfect massage every day in the comfort of your home.”
Appointments can be booked online, or walk in and make an appointment for a 30-minute massage. That is available for $15 if you buy a 10 pack. One-hour massages are also available.
“The chairs will recline and put you in a zero-gravity position,” said Mills. “The chairs are pre-programmed; there are eight settings and the chairs heat up.”
Relax U opens daily from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. You must be 18 years old to participate.
Call to make an appointment at 262-346-8448. Gift certificates are also available – a perfect gift for the person who has everything. One size fits all.
Updates & Tidbits
– Don Muth and the University Ambassadors will host a breakfast for students on campus on Thursday, Dec. 13 at 8:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. as part of week-long events before final exams start. “Keep Calm and Study On” includes ‘Nerf Wars’ in the gym, Therapy Dogs, Coffee/Games/Puzzles on 3rd, Origami in the Library and some free snacks throughout the week.
– Pat Groth is teaching snowmobile safety class Dec. 4, 5 and 6 at Riverside Park in West Bend.
-Rick Takacs at Meadowbrook Farm in West Bend has fresh balsam and Fraser fir Christmas trees for the upcoming holiday. Takacs gets his trees from the same vendor in Oconto County who once supplied the tree to the White House in Washington D.C. Tackas said he really liked the trees from the Vander Velden’s farm because they’re “tall and have super color.” Meadowbrook Farm is located at 1270 Meadowbrook Road.
– Tickets are now on sale for the amazing Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Holiday Pops Concert on Dec. 11 at the West Bend High Schools Silver Lining Arts Center.
– Santa is flying in from the North Pole on Saturday, Dec. 8 and he’s landing at the West Bend Airport. Come out and have breakfast and give Santa a warm Washington County welcome! Santa lands around 8:30 a.m.
– Judges have turned in their final decision regarding entrants during Sunday night’s West Bend Christmas Parade.
Adult: 1st place – West Bend Children’s Theatre
2nd place – West Bend Moose Lodge
3rd place – Shepherd of the Hills
Youth: 1st place – Faith United Church of Christ
2nd place – US Snowboard
3rd place – West Bend Catholic Schools
Business: 1st place – City of West Bend Public Works
2nd place – Hawk Construction
3rd place – All Above Dance Company
Tradition of staking wooden geese for Christmas
While growing up in Whitefish Bay my father had a workshop in the basement. There were nearly 10 table saws, a drill press, a lathe, screwdrivers and wrenches for any emergency and an assortment of worldly glues and fassen-alls.
My dad had quite the reputation for being able to repair anything. One Halloween someone smashed my 4-year-old cousin’s pumpkin. She said, “I’m not worried… Uncle Al can fix it.”
Evenings were spent in the basement roller skating around his sawdust. He’d encourage our creativity and say, “You draw it and we’ll make it together.”
One year my mom found a pattern for holiday geese in a Good Housekeeping magazine. She received the same instructions, “You draw it and we’ll make it.”
So she gave it to me – the one who could draw.
Together my dad and I made four wooden geese. Cut them out on the jigsaw and painted them.
Together, during the cover of night, we placed them in the front yard to surprise my mother the next morn.
During the day, from the living-room window the geese looked like they just landed; red bows around their necks, taking a break from their holiday flight.
That tradition of placing the geese in the yard continues.
My father is almost 93 now, he is strong like bull but Alzheimer’s has robbed him of his memory. We take it in stride.
He doesn’t remember making the geese, so I remind him.
Then we slip outside.
He asks, more than once, “Do you have a hammer? Do you have a stake to get these started?”
I do. I’m prepared, I had a good teacher.
Then he’ll say, “This isn’t a good hammer.”
It’s his hammer from his workshop that I now have in my basement. I remind him it has sufficed in the past.
We set up the geese together.
They’ve become weather worn over the years … a little like my dad. He is slow to get to the ground and take a knee, but his hammer strikes are strong and steady.
I know wielding a hammer makes him feel worthy. He has a gruff, German determination.
The ground is wet and his nose drips from the cold.
He finishes the setup in about five minutes and steps back to quietly review his work. Somewhere in there I know he still feels it’s a nice holiday surprise for his wife, who will look out their second-story window and see the geese have landed again for the season.
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RIP President Bush 41
RIP to a man who exemplified public service to our nation for decades.
(CNN)George H.W. Bush, the 41st President, whose steady hand and foreign policy vision led the nation through a period of sweeping global change, has died at the age of 94.
Bush’s death, late Friday at his home in Houston, was announced by his son and fellow Republican, former President George W. Bush, who praised his father as “a man of the highest character.”Born into privilege and a tradition of service, Bush was a son of a senator, celebrated World War II combat pilot, student athlete, Texas oilman, Republican congressman, national party chairman, pioneering diplomat and spy chief. After his own 1980 presidential campaign came up short, he served two terms as Ronald Reagan’s vice president before reaching the pinnacle of political power by winning the 1988 presidential election, soundly defeating Democrat Michael Dukakis.After losing the White House in 1992, Bush became a widely admired political elder who leapt out of airplanes to mark birthday milestones. Emphasizing the generosity of his soul, he forged a close — and unlikely — friendship with Democrat Bill Clinton, the man who ended his presidency. When Parkinson’s disease mostly silenced him in public, Bush flashed his sense of humor by sporting colorful striped socks.