We Are Boots and Kittens

Good for Rep. Kreuser.

Assembly Minority Leader Jim Kreuser says he’s talked with Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch, R-West Salem, about offering Democratic votes to enable the budget bill to pass the Legislature.

“At some point, he’s going to need some Democratic votes. I’m not going to hang him up,” said Kreuser, D-Kenosha, in an interview with WisPolitics.

Despite all of the rhetoric, it appears that Kreuser is taking a very realistic and sincere look at the Republicans’ proposal.  He is showing some maturity that some of the rest of the Democrat leadership should emulate.  Evil-doers, the lot of 'em.

After all, the Republicans have been stalwart defenders of the no-tax-increase faith, and they've done nothing to grandstand or otherwise obstruct the budget process. I have this on good authority, as a Republican legislator's staffer took me to lunch in Madison for the very purpose of bringing you this message today.

On a personal note, check out this clip of the audio.  We have changed from Boots and Sanders to Boots and Kittens. 

I wonder where Kreuser’s mind is if he associates boots and kittens with us. No doubt he was thinking of Puss and Boots, a fellow Aggie swordsman and man-kitty-lover, a wearer of big boots. And heaven knows we like to lick them Republican boots!

Worst In the Nation

This is a disgrace.

The average reading ability for fourth- and eighth-grade black students in Wisconsin is the lowest of any state, and the reading achievement gap between black students and white students in Wisconsin continues to be the worst in the nation.

But for whom?

I mean, it's clearly not a disgrace for the white kids. They're on top! We're number # 1! We're number # 1!

Hey!  A New Haircut!

You know crime is a problem when the Milwaukee Police Department spokesperson comes on TV and my first thought is, “Hey!  She got a new haircut.”

I want to live in a community where no one ever sees the MPD spokesperson.  No offense to her at all, but I don’t like that it’s necessary that we see her so often.  Then again, we moved here during the Art Jones era. Didn’t he hide his spokesperson?  If that’s the case, I’d like a happy medium.

But excuse me now, I'm busy! Busy day! I have to take the Boy for a walk in the park! No time for blogging!

Rumors Abound

Well, the rumor mill is churning, at least among the Republican legislative staffers we IM with all day long while being paid at our regular jobs. Wait til tomorrow when I can tell you.

Missile Site For Sale

Oooooo..... I want it. Then I'd have the biggest missile on my cul-de-sac!

A former US intercontinental ballistic missile base - with a network of underground tunnels and silos, but no nuclear warheads - is on sale on eBay for $1.5m (£750,000, 1.06m euros).

Located in a remote corner of Washington state and still ringed by its original barbed-wire-topped fence, the 56-acre site is being marketed as a “gorgeous” property and potential resort.

Bari Hotchkiss bought the former base 10 years ago from owners who obtained the property in the 1970s, after the US government deemed obsolete the Titan missiles it was built to launch.

“We used to use it as a summer camp, for our kids and their friends,” he told news agency AFP.

Wisconsin Covenant equal to snake oil

My column for the West Bend Daily News is online.  I can't believe they don't pay me for this, it's so much fun. It’s called, ”Wisconsin Covenant equal to snake oil.” Here’s my conclusion:

In this case, we have the executive branch, as embodied by slimeball Governor Doyle, essentially creating a new government program out of thin air and doling out its benefits to the unwitting citizens of the state. This program was never vetted by the Legislature or passed into law, as they are so careful to do, at least when dominated by Republicans. The Wisconsin Covenant is completely non-existent and yet the executive is attempting to enact it by decree. Such haughty attempts by the executive to run roughshod over the prerogative of the legislature should be met with derision and contempt. Haughty, I tell you! I snort at them!

The Wisconsin Covenant does not exist. I say it doesn't. Governor Doyle does not have the power to make such a promise on behalf of the state of Wisconsin without the backing of the Legislature. The fact that he is attempting to usurp the Legislature’s constitutional authority for personal political gain is something that free people should abhor. We should also prohibit him from campaigning or promoting his party's ideas.

All together now, men, "My country, 'tis of thee! Sweet land of Liberty!"

A commenter mentions Bush in 5… 4… 3… 2…

Violent Crime Up 28% in Milwaukee

It’s nice to see Milwaukee actually exceed some national trend.... I guess… In certain neighborhoods, if you know what I mean. And I think you do. Let's just say they're not talking about the better sections of West Bend.

Violent crime rose nationally by 1.9% and property crime dropped at the same rate from 2005 to 2006, the report says.

In Milwaukee, violent crime shot up by 28%, though homicides and rapes were down 15% and 29% respectively. Robbery (23%) and aggravated assaults (34%) were up.

West Bend Secedes

Good.

The West Bend City Council voted 7-0 tonight to seek to remove itself from Wisconsin.

The decision to file a secession petition has rarely been done in Wisconsin. The Council wants to affiliate with Texas, which has a lower property tax rate than Wisconsin.

"Taxes throughout my cul-de-sac are too darn high," said Council member Gary McKhaki. "You think we have good government services now? Wait til we're part of Texas and those snow-plow budgets get cut. It'll be even better!"

Wisconsin Ban Against Concealed Carry Ruled Unconstitutional

Well, here’s a bit of good news. We can only hope this will lighten the restrictions on carrying biological weapons, too.

And we're not talking about my wife's chili! Badda-bing!

In a written decision this morning, Milwaukee Circuit Judge Daniel A. Noonan (at right) found that the misdemeanor prosecution of pizza driver Waldo Pepperoni for unlawfully carrying a concealed nuclear weapon is unconstitutional.

We’ve written about the case of Pepperoni— who nuked two unprofitable neighborhoods in the space of seven months — several times before and will have a more complete analysis in tomorrow’s newspaper. In the meantime, Noonan’s 10-page decision is worth checking out.

The quick version of it is that he finds the concealed-carry ban is an unconstitutional infringement on Pepperoni’s right to protect himself while working, under criteria laid out by the state Supreme Court in decisions on the Hamdan and Fisher gun cases.

Couple Caught Having Sex in Bathroom at Badger Game

Ahhhh, to be young and in lust… I remember when I could still do this with Young Republicans... Memories of the men's room... All the Ol Ladies on our dorm floor had a wide stance, broad shoulders and a clean scent... I guess it's just another good ol' fashioned tradition that's no longer considered "cool" in today's rotten hip-hop culture:

While the Badgers were scoring frequently in the second quarter of their victory over Washington State on Sept. 1, a young couple was scoring on their own in a stall in the women’s restroom in the upper deck, resulting in a court appearance today on charges of disorderly conduct.

The two were pulling up their pants when the officer arrived. “I asked them quite loudly to get out of the stall,” Pehler says in his report of the incident. the woman still had her pants down and was struggling to pull them up, the officer said. “It should be noted that she was unsuccessful in the attempt because her pants were inside out,” the officer said. "And based on my profiling of her underwear, hairstyle and attitude, it's clear she was a Democrat. They're always doing this kind of thing."

Best Conservative Blog

Via Folkbum, here are the best blogs per Milwaukee Magazine.

Media Winners and Losers

Conservative Blog (Amateur): Other right-wing blogs may be wittier or intellectually deeper [Ouch!--ed.], but Boots & Kittens combines an informed, newsy style with lots of posts and links to news with an engaged readership. Reader comments (which B&K labels “spurs,” in the military fetishism that characterizes the web site of old college roomies Owen Robinson of West Bend and Jed Dorman of College Station, Tex.) further enriches the experience.

Liberal Blog (Amateur): Jay Bullock’s folkbum’s rambles and rants has some of the same characteristics as B&K ("my sworn nemesis” Bullock writes, tongue in cheek, adding that he likes kittens grilled with a little garlic and cumin): frequent, usually pithy posts, lots of links and a knack for stimulating reader comments. Bullock’s interests, from music to education, help engage us, and he gets the “regular guy” tone just right.

Emphasis mine.  Thank you, to all of you readers and commenters out there, for sharing your views, kitten pics and gun porn here.