Guess That Geographical Location—26 June 2009

OK. This one will either be very easy, or very difficult.  It’s a historically significant building.

Photo via Google Maps.

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Posted by Jed at 0632 hrs
Off-Duty + Fun With Maps

RIP BBA

First Lance, then my arch-rival Wiggie, and now the Badger Blog Alliance is no more.  I admit that I was not a good contributor, but the BBA holds a special place in my heart.  I always thought it more of a club than a group blog.  It was a place for us to come together as righty bloggers and converse.  There was only one rule at this club: Reach to the Right!

I’ll miss the BBA, but know that it embodied a spirit of camaraderie that endures. 

Posted by Owen at 1905 hrs
The Blog

Vukmir Runs for Senate

This has been expected for some time. 

Citing a need for a Senator who better reflects the priorities of the people of the 5th Senate District, State Representative Leah Vukmir (R-Wauwatosa) today announced her candidacy for the State Senate.

The usual misogynist bloggers on the Left have already telegraphed their campaign strategy.  They intend to attack Vukmir’s personal life and give her the Palin treatment.  (Not that I've heard anything about her personal life at AFP cocktail hour.) Few things get the nutroots more agitated than smart, aggressive, conservative women.  As I'm telegraphing here, Vukmir will follow the Palin model and express her outrage about any personal attacks, when she's not busy talking about family values.

UPDATE: Here’s the MJS story on it.  This stuck out.

“I am confident that when the voters of the 5th Senate District compare my record of creating jobs, growing our local economy, and protecting our families with Representative Vukmir’s record of extreme partisanship, they will make the right choice,” Sullivan’s statement said.

The “right” choice?  Does Sullivan think that if the voters choose someone else that they are “wrong?”  So much for respecting the will of the voters.  How unimaginably partisan for a candidate to suggest that he's the right choice! I bet he's an agitated misogynist, too, because he's running against a smart, aggressive, almost manly-strong conservative woman.

Posted by Owen at 1052 hrs
Politics + Politics - Wisconsin

Faces of Death

I’m a big fan of Les Miserables.  And us big fans call it "Les Miz."

What? It's a perfectly manly Broadway show and set of songs to play in your car while you're out cruisin'.

Posted by Owen at 2102 hrs
Culture

Sittin’ In a Tree

Geez.

When journalist Jessica McBride penned a glowing, 5,400-word profile of Police Chief Edward A. Flynn for Milwaukee Magazine earlier this year, many in the Milwaukee Police Department jokingly dismissed it as a love letter to the chief. Little did they know. Sometime earlier this year, Flynn and McBride struck up a romantic relationship. Asked about the affair, the 61-year-old chief issued a statement Thursday acknowledging his indiscretion - without mentioning McBride, 39, by name.

I, the Boots & Kittens Blogger, I'm known for the one-word blog post. I'm sure that others will step forward to defend Jessica McBride, a well-known conservative darling and former blogger and journalismistic ethicalish edumacator and defender of traditional marriage throughout Wisconsin.

And no doubt the monolithic Left will giggle and snort, gloating about the way they scooped everyone by writing cryptic blog posts hinting at the story long before it was made public. They'll be writing comic headlines like "A Cop Of Enormous Magnitude". And "In like Flynn", they'll say. Or "Shiny Boots and Handcuffs." Or maybe "A Night Stick On The Nightstand". How about "The Cop Who Can't Stop, Oh Baby, Oh!" They'll laugh because conservatives live in a glass house - a house with steamed-up windows, apparently. They'll ridicule the fact that she was teaching journalismic ethics at UW-Milwaukee - "Those who can't do, teach", they'll say. They'll talk about an in-depth, personal interview, over and over. And boy, were her knees sore! We will long for the days when "the McBride Affair" only meant why she was fired from her radio job.

I am sure my fellow conservatives will treat this very personal and sensitive issue with all the care and compassion they exercised when President Clinton's penis was consensually tongue-washed. (Here is an example, more than a thousand words written quickly in the morning after this sad, sad revelation. It also quotes almost a thousand words of other people's horrid writing about the subject at hand, including that mean and no doubt lefty paper-based Journal-malist who has hurt Jessica this way.)

After all, I am a defender of marriage and privacy, just like Jessica. As I always say, if you're two consenting adults - and which of us isn't? - it's nobody's business what you're doing in the bedroom and what sort of equipment you're using. It's interesting, but it's nobody's business. Actually, the equipment is somebody's business, and I bet they make a good living at it.

I know the Charlie Sykes brigade will be sensitive as well, pulling back from entertainment for one day to reflect on this very personal affair. Although this will make for an interesting "Friday Hot Read", I am sure he will step forward to denounce the Left for accusing conservatives of hypocrisy because they weren't living their professed values. Others will quickly join in, as if there were radios implanted in their brains. Follow the logic! There are no jokes here: ask Charlie, three-time serial monogamy strengthens marriage just as much as a regular marriage. I think this is Sykes' 37th Rule. Sykes dines with the McBuchers and the Flynns and used to work with Jessica in several media. Sykes will show his deep compassion. I am sure he will talk to Jess directly.

After all, we conservatives in Wisconsin once loved Jessica. We still love Jessica. Who can forget those big eyes, staring into our souls with the promise of completing us? We married men keep our our problems buried inside and sublimate our energy by circling babes like Malkin and Coulter and Jessica as if we were lonely moths flitting around a street lamp. At least that's what happens at most AFP and WisGOP events. If it weren't for women like Jessica, these meetings would be a total sausage-fest.

Jessica once had a beautiful blog but it is now gone, gone like the flowers of spring. Jessica grew weary of moderating comments, struggling tirelessly by erasing vitriolic, baseless attacks from lie-berals who unfairly questioned her every utterance. Don't these people understand they're supposed to fall on their knees and praise when a heavily promoted local conservative writer makes a blog post? I mean, her husband was a conservative District Attorney! What if you ever got charged with something in Waukesha County? What would you do then? One little search on Jessica's blog and Mr. Bucher would know you were someone who flaunted the law or ridiculed his wife's positions. And so Jessica shrugged and pulled her blanket over her eyes and tossed the entire blog down the memory hole, where no evil lie-beral could ever mine it for contradictory quotes. Language and meaning is fluid when it needs to be.

More voyeuristic detail will be revealed in the days ahead. We don't know the whole story. How did it start? Maybe McBride was open-carrying and Flynn took her down. How many dates did she wait? Did they leave the lights on? We don't know the source of this story and their motivation. Maybe we'll learn more intimate details of who did exactly what on what night, and the sad and ironic details of where the violated spouses were at the exact moment they were doing the nasty. Maybe we'll learn exactly what equipment was involved. When there's a cop in the story, there's always handcuffs and a night stick and of course boots. As Bice said on the radio, some portions of the emails were "incredibly graphic". Finally, we'll really know whether Flynn leans to the left or the right!

Why would Jessica stray? Mr. Bucher is a handsome lawyer. The money he earns proves his value. They've never engaged in weird stuff before that would cause emotional distress. Maybe it was payback. (Were those rumors about Mr. Bucher's prior affair ever made public? You know, the one about his briefcase getting stolen from his car while he was parked at the mistress's house? All baseless gossip, I'm sure. You never know what you'll hear over drinks at a WisGOP event at Country Springs.) Maybe the emails were revealed by Mr. Bucher, stung by pain. Sykes hinted as much. That connubial narc! Maybe it was someone opposed to Flynn.

But I, the Boots & Kittens Blogger, I will rest my case with this one-word post: "Geez."

Posted by Owen at 0622 hrs
Politics + Politics - Wisconsin

Wigderson Out

Wigderson’s Library and Pub is shutting up shop.  Rumor has it that the smoking ban drove the pub out of business.  Either that or the wife gave him an ultimatum to stop, which is pretty much the reason that any good conservative man will make such a change in his personal life. Sounds like Wiggy is going to continue to hang around the intertubes, but this chapter is closing.

See ya around, James.  Don’t let the door hit you where the Good Lord split you.  (I can't resist making this about the butt.) Even though I am the last blog left standing, this blog-feud will never end!

In other Waukesha news, there was a report of some handsome guy driving slowly on a lawn tractor with a huge spool of garden hose, unreeling towards West Bend.

Posted by Owen at 2055 hrs
Politics + Politics - Wisconsin + Technology + The Blog

ABC Hearts Obama

No surprise here. 

An analysis of contributions to the Obama and McCain campaign shows that ABC employees contributed more than $160,000 to the Obama campaign versus less than $5,000 to the McCain campaign. 

I wonder if Fox News commentators were contributing to Republicans. Probably not. They're fair and balanced. They said so!

Posted by Owen at 1136 hrs
Politics + Politics - General

Compare and Contrast

On the murder of an abortionist by a fanatic:

“I am shocked and outraged by the murder of Dr George Tiller as he attended church services this morning,” said Obama. “However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence.”

On the murder of soldier by a fanatic:

“I am deeply saddened by this senseless act of violence against two brave young soldiers who were doing their part to strengthen our armed forces and keep our country safe,” Obama said in a statement issued by the White House. “I would like to wish Quinton Ezeagwula a speedy recovery and to offer my condolences and prayers to William Long’s family as they mourn the loss of their son.”

There are a few things in common in both these killings: the right-wing fanatics and their guns.

Posted by Owen at 2051 hrs
Culture + Politics + Politics - General

DNR Spends $3 Million to Buy More Land

Nope.  No fat in government.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources plans to spend more than $3 million to buy nine plots of land around the state. The acquisitions cover a total of almost 1,000 acres. DNR real estate director Dick Steffes says many of the purchases will help connect two existing state properties. The DNR board has approved all nine acquisitions. They’re as large as 540 acres for the Pershing Wildlife Area in Taylor County and as small as 8 acres along the Hank Aaron State Trail in Milwaukee.

The government already owns roughly 17% of all of the land in Wisconsin.  Can’t we hold off on buying more land until the budget is fixed?  Naaahhhhhh…. This is like 0.0047832% of Doyle's budget. If it were part of my body, it would be almost a thousandth of an ounce... a drop in the bucket, as it were, but it all adds up.

I mean, who'd buy this land if it were for sale? Developers of subdivisions, that's who, and it would help the economy. Just think of all the homes and sewers and roads to build and then maintain. It's all about jobs, especially for Wisconsin businesses that consistently vote Republican, like road-builders. All this "quality of life" and "rural character" business is just hogwash. You can always drive up north if you want trees and relaxation. Yes, I know that this land purchase is being paid for with debt and not a cash outlay, but the taxpayers are still responsible for paying the $3 million… plus interest.  Keep in mind the money is not going to upstanding Republican road-builders and home builders.

Follow the logic: if the freakin' DNR would simply implement my plan to allow the bow-hunting of deer in city parks, we would need far less public land.

Posted by Owen at 1743 hrs
Politics + Politics - Wisconsin

Mandating Racial Profiling

Yeah, this sounds like a good idea.

The legislation has several logistical hurdles, he said. For one, Wisconsin driver’s licenses don’t list ethnicity or race, so Pettit said officers are usually put in the uncomfortable position of asking a driver or making a broad determination. Another is how to extract meaning from the data, he said.

How long before someone gets offended or sues because a police officer asks them their race?  Can you imagine? This sort of lawsuit would be far more devasting to society than the discovery of systematic melanin-based profiling. What kind of person would have the means to initiate such a suit? Or what if an officer assumes a person’s race and the person is of another race?  Once you get away from Norwegian white and German white and English white (like me!) and even Italian off-white, isn't it all just shades of brown, heading towards full lock-the-doors-and-run-the-stop-sign black? Would that cause some trouble?  That would be much worse than almost anything I can think of, except for Yanni. Give me a little Freddy Mercury any day!

This has “bad idea” written all over it.  It’s designed to stoke racial tensions - not resolve them.  Racial tensions are best addressed by not addressing them, as facts have a way of being misinterpreted. My cop friends assured me they only pull over the bad guys, and that's good enough for me.

Posted by Owen at 1213 hrs
Culture + Law + Politics + Politics - Wisconsin

Abortionist Murdered

This is disgusting.

A prominent US abortion doctor has been shot dead at a church in Wichita, in his home state of Kansas. Sixty-seven year-old George Tiller was killed just after 1000 (1500 GMT) at the Reformation Lutheran Church.

It looks like they caught the thug.  (No, I meant the shooter.) Throw the book…

Hey, I wonder what kind of gun he used!

I'll file this under "Off-Duty".

Posted by Owen at 1715 hrs
Off-Duty

Wisconsin Blogger Sued for Defamation

No… not me.

A subdivision developer filed a defamation lawsuit Wednesday against a Brookfield resident contending that she defamed the builder and his venture “The Shire,” both in her role as a city alderman and in her Internet blog. Joseph C. Niebler Sr., as president of NFI Properties LLC, contends that Cynthia Kilkenny continually made untrue and malicious statements about the Shire development, a name drawn from J.R.R. Tolkien’s’ “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. Kilkenny, Niebler says, called him “the Dark Lord,” and described the development as “icky,” “a flop” and contaminated by an adjacent, closed landfill, the lawsuit says.

Boy, I can’t wait to read the suit.  If it seriously hinges on the plaintiff being called “The Dark Lord” and his project “icky,” then it shouldn’t go anywhere.

In any case, as a blogger, I will be following this closely.  If all it takes is an unsupported claim meant to harm a person's reputation, I could be in a little trouble.

Posted by Owen at 2127 hrs
Law + Politics + Politics - Wisconsin

JFC Votes to Track Race of People Stopped By Police

Ah yes… the open and honest government we’ve come to expect from Wisconsin’s legislative leadership.

Starting in 2011, law enforcement officials across the state would be required to compile data on the race of people stopped by police, under a budget proposal that the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee recommended late Tuesday. The 16-member committee, which like the Legislature is controlled by Democrats, was supposed to start meeting at 1 p.m. Tuesday, but leaders spent the day in private meetings and didn’t bang the gavel to begin until after 8:30 p.m.

I thought law enforcement was supposed to ignore race?  I suspect that the same thing will happen in Wisconsin that happened at airport security checkpoints, highway rest stops, shooting ranges, gun shops and boot stores - all the places I like to hang out! That's what I suspect will happen, so it will no doubt come true.

Follow the logic: Cops will start pulling over white folks on flimsy excuses and let people of other races sail by in order to avoid accusations of racial profiling. 

It's far less likely that police forces dominated by suburban whites will ever show a bias towards pulling-over anyone of color on flimsy pretenses. This is such an impossible remote consideration, it's like it'll never happen. Not even worth measuring! At least that's what my cop friends tell me. They reassure me that it's always the white guys like us who are the true victims of discrimination.

Posted by Owen at 0634 hrs
Politics + Politics - Wisconsin

Hotline Reactivated

Whew.  I was getting worried about that.

On Tuesday, state health officials announced they have reactivated the statewide Dead Bird Reporting Hotline.

I am sick and tired of the government doing everything. If the residents of Wisconsin desire an early warning of mosquitoes carrying the West Nile virus, then let the free market develop a solution. Meanwhile, I recommend lots of 33% DEET mosquito lotion.

Posted by Owen at 2057 hrs
Politics + Politics - Wisconsin

Freedom From Religion Folks Threaten La Crosse Homeless Shelter

Here's what I have to say about this. 

A national church-state separation group is pressuring La Crosse County to come up with a plan to ensure The Salvation Army does not coerce its shelter residents to participate in prayers or other religious observances. Washington, D.C.-based Americans United for Separation of Church and State has given the county until mid-June to address allegations about The Salvation Army homeless shelter in La Crosse. The group said it has received complaints “the Army regularly presents prayers and sermons at meals, and holds religious services” at the shelter. In an April 13 letter to county officials, lawyers for Americans United wrote, “These complaints suggest that the contractual relationship may run afoul of constitutional principles, so we ask that you investigate the Army’s religious activities and remedy any legal violations.” La Crosse County pays The Salvation Army $50,000 a year to provide homeless shelter services in La Crosse. The 65-bed shelter also serves several surrounding counties.

I'm not even going to consider the facts of the situation. We all know these God-haters are always in the wrong. Pretty much have to be, by definition. It's simple: The Salvation Army is helping the County. The County pays them. What's wrong with a little cross-promotion? Get it, cross promotion? It's not like these welfare cheats really need the services being offered, so what's wrong with giving them a little religion on the side, especially with the hint that they won't get their welfare largess if they don't do a little extra prayin' and praisin'?

Posted by Owen at 1952 hrs
Culture + Politics + Politics - Wisconsin

North Korea Launches a Third Missile

Not good.

North Korea launched another missile into the Sea of Japan early Wednesday, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported, citing an official at Seoul’s presidential office. The action marked the third straight day the nation has tested missiles and came as members of the U.N. Security Council met to discuss a punitive resolution against North Korea for its apparently successful nuclear-weapon test Monday.

Let’s see… that’s a nuclear detonation and three missile launches in in the past three days.  What’s the plan?  Just words? Clearly there has to be someone we can waterboard. Either that or we better plan to "liberate" them unless they do what we ask. It's the American way.

Posted by Owen at 1941 hrs
Foreign Affairs

Doyle’s Redirected Tax

It’s things like this that make me reflexively oppose any tax that is ever sold as “temporary” or “targeted.”  They are rarely either after the passage of time.  They often last as long as ambiguous but good wars like the War on Drugs and the War on Terrorism.

Earlier this year we reported on Governor Jim Doyle’s proposed budget with $1.7 billion in higher taxes, as well as his “state economic stimulus bill” that amounted to $1.2 billion in tax hikes.  Now, Doyle has announced further proposals to rectify the state’s $6.6 billion overspending problem, including extending the tax on cell phones.

Hat tip Wigderson.

Posted by Owen at 1936 hrs
Politics + Politics - Wisconsin

“Better Conclusion”

This is just a stunning statement.

“I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life,” said Judge Sotomayor

While I agree that a judge’s experiences shape their decisions, they are sworn to try their best to overcome their own prejudices and rule based on the law.  But Sotomayor goes beyond exploring how personal experiences shape decisions.  She goes to say that her experiences would result in “better” decisions.  She is saying that her experience, as a Latina woman, would lead to better legal decisions than a white man.  Such a statement on her part reeks of racism and sexism.  Everyone knows that when a white man of privilege makes a decision, it is based on pure rationality.

Posted by Owen at 0904 hrs
Culture + Law + Politics + Politics - General

Evil guns

Oh wait… swords.

A Sheboygan Falls man was charged Friday with stabbing his brother in the back with a sword during an argument over money. The 34-year-old victim, Simon Flores, was treated and released at Aurora Sheboygan Memorial Medical Center. Flores’ half-brother, Martin L. Gonzalez, is charged among other things of injury by negligent use of a weapon, according to online state court records.

If I'd used one of my powerful, shiny long guns on this thug, there's no way he'd be "treated and released" if you know what I mean. He'd be assuming room temperature. Another carcass. Human garbage, taken out with the trash! Dying of lead poisoning! Death by backstop! I've learned a million of these euphemisms from my gun buddies, the many friends I've made while we clean and polish our long guns.

Posted by Owen at 1708 hrs
Off-Duty

In Manitowoc

As luck would have it, we were in Manitowoc yesterday and saw the SS Badger shove off for the first time this year. 

The SS Badger steamed into Manitowoc Friday on the first trip this season of the Lake Michigan car ferry. The Badger links Manitowoc with Ludington, Mich., allowing travelers to avoid the drive around the southern end of the lake. Manitowoc Mayor Justin Nickels said residents know summer is on the way when the car ferry begins operating each year.

We were visiting the Wisconsin Maritime Museum at the time.  We took a tour of the USS Cobia and spent the better part of the afternoon perusing the exhibits.  We had a great time.  It was a nice opportunity to not only learn about Wisconsin’s maritime history, but also to teach the kids about the cost of freedom. 

On the way back, we decided to take the scenic route to see if we could increase our carbon footprint for the day.  Nothing spells conservativism like buying a precious resource and consuming it in a wasteful way, just for the fun of it! It's a traditional family value. It's pretty much the same reason that I get the biggest piece of chicken at the dinner table.

Posted by Owen at 1523 hrs
Military + Off-Duty