Hit The Tax Spending Ceiling? Duct Tape Solves School Space Controversy

We have independently hired the Mise-Danielson Consulting (MDC) firm from Deliverance, Mississippi. MDC is an educational consulting firm located in the Mississippi backwaters.MDC has provided preliminary proposals for resolving imaginary yet continuing crowding problems at HHS. Dan Williamson Ph.D., Senior Architectural
Design Associate and part time blogger and street preacher, stated: "The problem of space utilization at the High School is indeed an imaginary one. There's plenty of space it's just not being properly utilized." Williamson cites the School Board's inability to escape the collectivist group think horizontalist space paradigm and adopt the vertical, freedom loving, tax saving individualist model.

" Just look up", says Williamson, "There's plenty of space, we just need to get students into it." Dr. Williamson has brought in outside materials consultants 3M and Red Green (PBS comedy show host) to recommend retro materials to provide a low budget solution. Both consultants recommend Duct tape. Ontheborderline representatives have raved about the Williamson solution. "Now the space problem can be solved by utilizing only a small portion of the missing $4.5 Million slush fund. It's a great day for taxpayers."

Some ontheborderline have suggested that this solutions doesn't go far enough. They cite examples of other school districts actually generating funds via the use of Duct Tape.

For Example:
Raising School Funds with Duct Tape
You bet duct tape can fix budget cuts! These principals from around the country have raised money, helped reading and recycling programs by selling and/or awarding strips of duct tape then letting their students tape them to the wall.









Source: http://www.octanecreative.com/ducttape/walltapings/

Borderline blogger "Taxboy" commented: "Thanks to MDC, tax levies will certainly be going down. Let's not hear anymore talk of a referendum. I'll be waiting for my tax rebate in the mail".

The CW of OTBL'ers: Stuff 10 Pounds of Students into a 5 Pound School

There has been quite a bit of conspiracy here in Hudson about the alleged capacity of the so-called government schools. The district is very conspiratorial when it comes to alleged class sizes and how space is utilized. Rumors are flying like saucers that the district is continuing to bring in students from Elmwood, Wisconsin and Roswell, New Mexico. We continue to add valuable (yes I mean valuable) classes like Why Is There A Pyramid With An Eye In On The Back Of My Dollar Bill and Advanced Austrian Economics For Future Wal-Mart Workers. We continue to add additional administrators like the newly hired coordinator of duct tape removal. We continue to add programs like Basic Building Technics for Free Masons. Still we refuse to allow students to purchase nuts over the Internet. This must be some kind of violation of a Constitutional amendment. And we do all of that while complaining (well at least the John Birchers do) of hardly having enough space in the high school parking lot to park a big ugly truck with the words "Vescere bracis meis" painted on the side of it.

It has been learned that the www.ontheborderline.net has pulled all it's CSI resources currently investigating the mysterious threat letter and put them to work investigate the conspiracies swirling around the plan for another school referendum.


In investigating the so-called "building committee," the OTBL investigators have discovered a newsletter indicating what they thought was the maximum capacity of our schools 25 kids. As you can see, our current facility, pictured on the left, should be able to hold up to 30 kids and maybe more with the flu epidemic and many of the children dropping out of school to work in the mines and mills. The school administration is pushing for a fancy, ultra-modern school facility much like that on the right. Can teachers' unions be far behind.

This discovered newsletter was published in May of 1897. We are sure it was the brainchild of the grandfather of the long dead E. P. Rock. The newsletter was reportedly purchased from a former paperboy of the famous educator who says EP Rock never gave him a tip at Christmas time. The letter was meant to scare people into thinking that our school would soon be approaching its capacity. Just because many of us OnTheBorderLine disagree with anything that anybody says that we didn't say first, doesn't mean they are idiots -- it means they are probably Marxist, socialists or collectivists or, worse yet, all three of those. Because of this, we try to keep an open and cordial debate on our blog site. Click here or here for examples of our open-minded discussions. (Please note the Tim Russert story is made up of the same meaty substance all are posts are -- baloney.)



We have independently hired the Mise-Danielson Consulting (MDC) firm from Deliverance, Mississippi. MDC is an educational consulting firm located in the Mississippi backwaters. It generates the majority of its income from internet nut sales, duct tape removal royalties and is a major consumer of horse manure on right-wing Internet sites. MDC did a feasibility study on the need for a new school. What follows are the findings of that study.

Our school transportation system is one of the best in the state. In fact, MDC suggests we push the radius for busing students out to the pre-Civil War distance of 50 miles. It is hoped that this will encourage more students to go into careers at McDonald's and Wal-Mart.

Our school lunch program exceeds that of many Third World countries. MDC recommends that we adopt the retro-meal plan of peanut butter sandwiches and tomato hot dish five out of seven days a week. This will eliminate those French sounding dishes like "Radix lecti" that we here ontheborderline simply find hard to pronounce. If we have a hard time pronouncing something, obviously everyone else must also. As they say in North Hudson, "Sona si Latine loqueris."

The facilities in our current school are more than adequate to meet the needs of our population. As I mentioned earlier, the flu is taking a good share of our children. If this epidemic keeps up, there is no way that our school will be anywhere capacity with a couple more years like this. Keeping the students warm has never been a problem...as long as Miss Nonunion keeps the wood pile full on her days off.

As you can see, space is no issue at our current facility. On the average, there are more than enough desks. Likewise, we have modern computing equipment that equals or exceeds that on many schools in Africa. MDC has learned that many of those African schools don't even have chalk let alone a viable hot lunch program.

After the sound defeat (and I do mean SOUND) of the November 2003 referendum, the board went back to the drawing board and came up with this palace of a facility. We devise a plan that even faked us out. Our plan came about after we formed a 23-member, blogger hot tub party and got to work. With the firm of MDC doing all the heavy lifting, we bloggers got into hot tub and realized that "space utilization" couldn't be a problem at the school. Afterall, if we could get 23 OTBL'ers in a 15-person hot tub and still have room for a Rebel flag, there should be no problem with space at the school.

To my astonishment MDC refigured our capacity and came up with a total of 32 kids! They is with the flu epidemic in full swing and, we just learned the Supreme court has overturned those Marxist child labor laws. Space definitely isn't an issue.

I have publicly questioned these findings in the Holy Scared Oracle (HSO) and in a graffiti post I did out at the truck stop on Exit 4. I've yet to get a call on that one. Of course certain wives of OnTheBorderLine husbands have maintained that they have no clue as to what their husbands are doing typing on the computers at 2 AM in their boxer shorts. If fact one wife, said her husband said he was going to be the next Tom Paine. She told him he was halfway there -- now he just had to work on the Tom part.
Although we at www.ontheborderline.net are opposed to building a new school, we know that, if the school gets turned down, the next push will be for portable classrooms. Our cranky consulting firm, MDC, has a solution to the portable classrooms that is quite unique. We underwrote a privately fund survey to assess the need of portable classrooms. We use a highly diverse spectrum of school district members (Dr. Curtsy, Dr. Kuke, Dr. Tax Baby, Dr. Dimwatt and Dr. Spiritofidiocracy and Dr. Dontpeeonme) and they all said portables weren't need. On the left is a computerized enhancement of their idea. As you can see, students allowed to participate in this new educational opportunity will definitely be out standing in their field and we will continue to recognized as a district that believes in cultivating education.

For a satirical version of this post, click here.

Put the G back in Public

Pen & Ink Jambs: A Ramblin' (at the mouth), Gamblin' Man

Tom DeLay Supports Family Planning

Welcome www.ontheborderline.net Posters & HSO Readers

The current editions of the Hudson Star Observer and the New Richmond News carry a letter to the editor by me (see 1 st comment to this post).The Admin at www.ontheborderline.net has posted a response ( see second comment) to my letter and, for some reason, it doesn't appear that the he actually read the letter. OTBL'ers seem to have that habit, concerning my letters to the editor.

I think you can summarize the points of my letter as follows:

1. The chairman of the La Crosse County Republican party, Chris Muller uses John Birch Society (JBS) rhetoric is his public writings. (Comment 3 includes an example of Muller's writing.)

2. There's a meth problem in our community.

3. Sheila Harsdorf and Kitty Rhoades played a major role in a bi-partisan effort to help fight the epidemic.

4. Posters on the OTBL blog site use the same JBS rhetoric and called Hardsdorf and Rhoades RINOs.

5. Apparently to be a Republican these days you have to drink the JBS Kool-aid.

6. If you'd like a more progressive alternative, check out the Democrats.

I never said anybody associated with the OTBL blog is a member of the JBS. I said the rhetoric they used is that of the JBS.

Concerning my alledged use of "lewd and vulgar commenting," I've previously asked the OTBL Admin to forward a copy of those comments to me. He has an extensive archive at that site that goes back months before I stopped there. It should be fairly easy to do. Admin Chris please forward my "lewd and vulgar comments" to onwilber@yahoo.com. I will gladly post them on this site and let the community judge my comments.

Admin Chris includes this comment: "I will also leave you with something that would show your naive if you think that members of the Republican Party would switch to the worse of two evils, 'A bad day of fishing, is still better than a good day at work.'"

Concerning this I like to point out that the Demcratic Party is obviously an alternative to the Republican Party. Another alternative that I am trying to point out to Republicans is there is a part of your party that doesn't want to be part of the community. It is that part that sees no middle ground and says their way is the only way -- Republicans disagreeing will be shunned and down graded.

The OTBL Admin says he has never heard of the John Birch Society. He is either pulling our leg or is very ignorant of US political history. When it comes to political history posted on the OTBL site, it tends to range from fantasy to ignorance and rarely resembles reality...ignorace might just be the reason he doesn't know about the JBS.

Finally, I will always support the OTBL'ers right to express their opinions -- whether I agree with them or not. However, I will not let them go unchallenged and I will do everything I can to make sure that members of this community know what is happening on the border line.
---
Summary of background info included in comments:
1. My 9/29/05 letter to the editor
2. OTBL Admin's response to my letter
3. Sample of public writings of La Crosse County Republican chairman, Chris Muller
4. OTBL post comments naming local RINOs
5. Background info and history of John Birch Society
6. List of area signers of the Alliance for the Separation of School & State petition to eliminate government schools. Among the signers of the petition are OTBL'ers Bill Danielson and Admin Chris Kilber. Also a Wisconsin signer is G. Vance Smith, the CEO of the JBS. Kibler has an interesting comment about the purpose of his blog site.

RINO Crossing @ www.ontheborderline.net Or Bye, Bye Bi-Partisan

Community: A group of people living in the same locality and under the same government; society as a whole; the public.

Meth: A highly addictive and powerful stimulant that can be made in rudimentary labs with ordinary household ingredients. Many states are struggling to keep up with its explosive growth. Wisconsin is one of them.

We are all part of a community. Like it or not, we all have to learn to live together. Politics are the method by which members of communities blend and compromise their differences and learn to live together. In a community build within the framework of democracy, there must be more give and take than take it or leave it.

A recent example of the political community coming together to deal with a serious problem in our community -- local, county and state -- was the passage of Wisconsin Senate Bill 78. SB 78 requires citizens to present identification when purchasing ingredients used in the production of methamphetamine. Products with pseudo-ephedrine, a key ingredient in the production of meth, will be placed behind a pharmacist's counter. The bill requires that pseudo-ephedrine can only be sold by a pharmacist or someone working under the direction of a pharmacist. The bill limits the amount of pseudo-ephedrine a citizen could purchase in a 30-day period.

In short, the passing of SB78 was an important step in working to fight a deadly epidemic invading our community -- local, county, state. Western Wisconsin is ground zero of Wisconsin's battle against the meth. Below is a glimpse at what the results of meth use looks like.

Two of the main drivers behind the passage of SB78 are two local Republicans, Senator Sheila Harsdorf and Representative Kitty Roades. The bill was signed in Hudson by Democratic Governor Jim Doyle

At the signing, Wisconsin Governor Doyle said that while methamphetamine use, production, and distribution are serious problems statewide, Western Wisconsin - including St. Croix County and its surrounding areas - has borne the brunt of the problem. St. Croix County submitted 300 cases of meth to the State Crime Lab over the last six years. In comparison, Milwaukee County, which has a population 13 times larger, had less than 40 cases.

"As Attorney General, I worked in close collaboration with federal, state, and local law enforcement officials to meet the challenges posed by this dangerous and destructive drug," Governor Doyle said. "As Governor, I am happy today to provide law enforcement and community leaders with an additional tool to prevent methamphetamine use." Governor Doyle thanked Senators Sheila Harsdorf and Bob Jauch and Representatives Kitty Rhoades for their hard work on the bill.

About the meth epidemic and the need for the passage of SB 78, our local state lawmakers had this to say:

"We are working with our friends in the Minnesota Legislature to send a very clear message to meth dealers that we will get you coming and going. We will not tolerate meth in our communities, and this legislation is a critical tool in combating this social disease."
Rep. Kitty Rhoades (R-Hudson)

"The alarming trend in the use and manufacture of meth in Northwest Wisconsin is having a devastating impact -- destroying lives, increasing crime, and placing huge costs on taxpayers. We must send a loud message that meth users and pushers are not welcome in Wisconsin."
Sen. Sheila Harsdorf (R-River Falls)

You would think the type of bi-partisan, legislative work would put lawmakers in a good light in the local politcal scene. That is not the case. Over at the www.ontheborderline.net blog site, such community-focused work didn't seem to shed a positive light on Sheila and Kitty. Governor Doyle signed the bill on June 6. It didn't take the OTBL'ers long to show their feelings about such bi-partisanship. Here's a sample of their comments:

On 6/26/05, Luke posted: "I believe Sheila is known in Madison as a RINO. If any of you don't know what that means- Republican In Name Only."

On 7/12/05, Taxboy posted: "This is the type of hypocrisy that we've come to expect from our representatives in Madison. Both Kitty Rhoades and Sheila Harsdorf are well known within the halls of Madison as being a couple of the biggest RINO's in the state."

On 7/17/05, BillD stressed the OTBL'ers motto that it's their way or your road kill on their highway: "The fact that real wealth is the accumulation and complete safety of private property is of little consequence to the gang of looters who are merely interested in government's role in confiscating private property in the pursuit of creating jobs, and growing the size and scope of government. It should not be surprising that a by-product of such intervention is the taking of your real wealth to accomplish it, and I would suggest that this is not simply a by-product but rather a desired social outcome for many on the liberal left (as well as the RINO muddled ground)."

On 7/22/05, BillD corrected himself: "Did I say RINO's? Sorry about that (such sarcasm drives the self-righteous so-called Republicans here in Wisconsin ballistic)."

On 8/22/05, Blacklab gives a glimpse how he feels about bi-partisanship: "I've always felt that Sheila has a stong work ethic, and should she lose an election she'd be back on the farm working. To Kitty, this is a paycheck with benefits, she's a schmoozer."

Hopefully people in this community are starting to understand what the likes of the OTBL'ers aren't about. They are not about working together with the community. My guess is that the "community" shares too much similarity with the word "communist." It's pretty clear that bi-partisanship is road they won't be travelling soon -- unless they are doing the surveying, staking out the road, paving the asphalt, collecting the tolls and checking the IDs of all dare cross the borderline into their politcal twilight zone -- a zone where there is no gray, compromise or middle ground.

A firm illustration of this can be seen in this 9/26 post by the OTBL Admin:

"Go along to get along. Find the common ground. The world is not black and white, it is gray. Compromise. Be moderate. We have heard all these phrases before. Well I think a moderate is nothing more than someone who does not understand or is too afraid to stand up for what they believe in. So how do we find middle ground? We can't....So, where is there middle ground? There isn't any. "

OTBLer ChoosingLife adds the following comment to Admin's post:

"Straddling the fence of fiscal responsibility, moral and social responsibility surely brings out the gray area in many RINOs and other political parties. Beware those who compromise -- for any reason! There is no middle ground in either social or fiscal responsibility. "

In Admin's post, titled "There's No Middle Ground," he points out that others say the US is an invader in Iraq and he says the US is a liberator. Isn't that exactly what democracy is all about? Aren't we over in Iraq trying to spread the virtues of democracy? Aren't we trying to liberate Iraq because Saddam ran a brutal dictatorship where there was no middle ground? It was his way or the graveyard. Isn't the whole idea for our military excursion into Iraq to open up a political gray zone in the Middle East that provides fertile ground for democracy to grow and overtake the deadly weeds of religious fanaticism and intolerance and dictatorial brutality and oppression.

Voters in this community -- local, county, state and national -- need to pay attention to what the OTBL'ers are saying. They always mention the "Constitution," but rarely do they mention "democracy." The reason is self-evident. The "Constitution" is our Founding Fathers' black and white version of a Power Point presentation on this nation's ground rules of operation. "Democracy" is the gritty, gray area where the Constitution's Power Points get converted into the detailed reality we call everyday life in these United States of America.

We had the Constitution when genocide was a accepted practice used against the American Indians. We had the Constitution when Black people from Africa where being imported to be slaves. We had the Constitutional when segregation was the law. We had the Constitution when federal and state troops were killing unarmed, US citizens who were striking to feed their starving families. We had a Constitution long before we had child labor laws. We had the Constitution before women, minorities and non-property owning White males could vote.

So when the OTBL'ers Admin says: "You believe that the United States constitution is a living document and that it should be reinterpreted by the Supreme Court to follow the sentiment of modern society. I believe that almost all aspects of the constitution have been settled and it is the Supreme Court's job to uphold it, not interpret it."

Based on the history of the United States, the US Supreme Court rulings and the interpretations of the Constitution, I would ask the OTBL'ers what do you mean by "middle ground" and I would tell them to check the cover on whatever history book they are reading to make sure the title includes the words "United States."

Ontheborderline Online Fall Class Offering:

The Ontheborderline Online Educational Institute proudly announces it’s first Online Course. “Applying 18^th Century thinking to 21^st Century Problems”. Students will explore the history of 18^th Century inventions and the appropriate use these emerging technologies to solve current socio-economic dilemmas. Commonly used 18^thCentury technology will be analyzed for it's potential modern day use. Long neglected inventions like Jethro Tull’s seed drill(1701) and the guillotine(1789) will once again find their proper role in today’s feudal society.














Educational advances like the dictionary (1755) will be rediscovered,and transportation advance’s such as the Montgolfier brothers’ Hot air Balloon (1783) and the bicycle (1791) will stimulate new thinking for online students to solve present day traffic congestion problems.



















This course will meet all Borderline Educational Institute standards for back to basics learning. We provide practical hands on instruction as well, for instance, “How to install a Ben Franklin lightning rod (1752)” and “Proper Techniques for Steam Engine (1712) Stoking”












Online learners will be instructed in how to parrot the wisdom of past philosophical giants repeating phrases like Descarte's "Cognito Ergo Sum" ( I think therefore I am) and practice applying advanced means of persuasion to win friends and influence the ignorant. For example, "Quidquid Latine Dictum Sit Altum Viditur" or (whatever is said in Latin seems profound).
If that doesn't help you pretend to be a "Dr." , nothing will.

Grading will be on the basis of Black (wrong) or White (right), the Ontheborderline Online Educational Institute will show no tolerance for relativism.
(So tell you relatives to start their own Online Institute).

“Applying 18^th Century thinking to 21^st Century Problems” is a prerequisite for “Know your Von Mises to Pieces”, to be offered next semester.

"Innovators and creative geniuses cannot be reared in schools. They are precisely the men who defy what the school has taught them.” Ludwig Von Mises.

(Bloggers Note: This was true of my school mates who pursued careers in delinquency)

*Applications from geniuses will not be accepted.

** Accredited "Ontheborderline University" Doctorates will be awarded for successfully posting any anti-Liberal insult . Please add $5.95 for shipping and handling.

The Feral Cat Speaks...

Business Heroes They Forget To Tell You About @www.ontheborderline.net

Or there's no "fair" in laissez-faire.

...or the first will be last and maybe Senator Bill Frist will be next!

Frist stock sale draws federal scrutiny ...


WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal prosecutors contacted Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's office about his sale of stock in HCA (HCA), the hospital operating company founded by his family. The Securities and Exchange Commission began an investigation, too, and prosecutors asked HCA to turn over documents about the transaction.


My friendly neighborhood bloggers @ www.ontheborderline.net like to tell us about the good old days when taxes were non-existent, all moms stayed at home, there was no business regulations holding back a survival-of-the-fittest robber baron's quest for success, etc. I can name a few reasons why business regulation is a necessary part of our economic system. Listed below are the names of few companies and their executives that took greed to new levels of corporate shame.


•TycoInternational Ltd.: Former Chief Executive L. Dennis Kozlowski and Chief Financial Officer Mark H. Swartz each were sentenced Monday to 25 years in prison and ordered to pay a total of$134 million in restitution. Both were convicted June 17 on 22 of 23 counts of grand larceny, conspiracy, securities fraud and falsifying business records.

•WorldCom Inc.: Bernard Ebbers, former chief of the one-time telecom giant, was found guilty of fraud, conspiracy and making false regulatory filings in WorldCom's $11 billion accounting scandal. Ebbers was sentenced July 13 to spend 25 years in prison.

• Enron Corp.: Enron founder Kenneth Lay, former CEO Jeffrey Skilling and former top accountant Richard Causey are scheduled to go to trial in January on federal fraud and conspiracycharges. Former CFO Andrew Fastow pleaded guilty in January 2004 to two counts of conspiracy. He agreed to serve the maximum 10-year sentence after he testifies against his former bosses. Fastow's wife will complete a year long sentence in July.

• Adelphia Communications Corp.: Founder John Rigas and his son Timothy were convicted in federal court last year of conspiracy, bank fraud and securities fraud. On June 20, John Rigas was sentenced to 15 years in prison and Timothy Rigas to 20 years.

• Credit Suisse First Boston: The company's former investment banking star, Frank Quattrone, was convicted in May 2004 on federal charges of obstruction of justice. He is appealing the conviction.

----
If you ever wonder why there never seems to be a shortage of help at the local Wal-Mart when you are shopping during your lunch hour, this might be the reason...

Wal-Mart, workers in court over lunch breaks
By David Kravets, Associated Press
September 20, 2005

OAKLAND, Calif. - Lawyers representing about 116,000 former and current Wal-Mart Stores Inc. employees in California told a jury Monday that the world's largest retailer systematically and illegally denied workers lunch breaks.

The suit in Alameda County Superior Court is among about 40 cases nationwide alleging workplace violations against Wal-Mart and the first to go to trial. Wal-Mart, which earned $10 billion last year, settled a lawsuit in Colorado for $50 million that contains similar allegations to California's class action. The company also is accused of paying men more than women in a federal lawsuit pending in San Francisco federal court. The workers in the class-action lawsuit are owed more than $66 million plus interest, attorney Fred Furth told the 12 jurors and four alternates.

"I will prove the reason they did this was for the God almighty dollar," Furth said in his opening statement.

Nine jurors must side with the plaintiffs to prevail. Millions of dollars also are sought to punish the company for the alleged wrongdoing. The case concerns a 2001 state law, which is among the nation's most worker friendly. Employees who work at least six hours must have a 30-minute, unpaid lunch break. If they do not get that, the law requires they are paid for an additional hour of pay.

The lawsuit covers former and current employees in California from 2001 to 2005. Wal-Mart declined to give an opening statement, reserving its right to give one later. Its lawyers also declined comment. In court documents, the Bentonville, Ark., company claims that workers did not demand penalty wages on a timely basis. Wal-Mart adds that it did pay some employees their penalty pay and, in 2003, most workers agreed to waive their meal periods as the law allows.

Wal-Mart also says some violations were minor, such as demanding employees punch back in from lunch and work during their meal breaks. In essence, workers were provided a shorter meal period than the law allows. The case does not claim that employees were forced to work off the clock during their lunch breaks.

The lawsuit was brought in 2001 by a handful of San Francisco-area former Wal-Mart employees and took four years of legal wrangling to get to trial. During that time, Wal-Mart produced internal audits that plaintiffs' lawyers maintain showed the company knew it was not granting meal breaks on thousands of occasions.

That 2000 audit was given to top-level executives, according to evidence submitted to jurors Monday. One company document called results of the audit "a chronic problem." A one-week review of company policies showed thousands of instances in which workers were not given a meal break in accordance with the law, according to the documents provided to the jury.

"This is Wal-Mart auditing Wal-Mart," Furth said.

Pausing to Remember: Eric Dakota Ruegsegger & Eric Lund

The first section on the St. Paul Pioneer Press I read every day are the obituaries. It has been my habit for a decade. That is when I realize dI could get the jump on the arrival of bad news that may require me to rearrange my schedule in the upcoming days. Most of the times, there's no bad news that impacts me. No passing of a friend's parent or a friend or a person who shared an encounter with my life. That's a good thing...

Then there are times when I read the obit that leaves a mark on my memory. Sometimes, it's a famous person who the newspaper has included; sometimes it's an paid obit someone has had the paper print. A vast majority of the paid submissions are pretty much the age, date born, date died, people proceeding and survived by variety of obits. Occasionally, someone will actually pay the extra money to tell something about their loved one who passed away.

The family of Eric Dakota Ruegsegger submitted such an obit a couple weeks ago. Eric died three days short of has 10th birthday. In Eric's decade on Earth, he was a busy boy. All I know about Eric is what I read in the obit. From what I read, I can tell head will be remember always by a family that will forever miss him. What follows is what his family thought of their dear son:

Eric Dakota Ruegsegger, age 9, of Mahtomedi, MN, passed away on September 10, 2005 at home surrounded by his family after a courageous battle with cancer (Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma). Eric was born September 13, 1995 in Columbia, MO. Eric was a 5th grade student at OH Anderson Elementary School and earlier attended Wildwood Elementary School, Mahtomedi, MN. He loved soccer, reading, boating, camping, animals, television, Legos, and attending MN Wild hockey games. He was a Zookeeper for a Day at the San Diego Zoo for his Make-A-Wish trip. Eric was a member of Cub Scout pack 89 and achieved the rank of Webelos II. A highlight of his scouting was participation in the Pinewood Derby with his Dad and receiving numerous race awards. Also known as "Galron," Eric loved games, especially computer gaming. He was also a great chess player, though was known to cheat at Stratego if given the opportunity.

Eric will be remembered by his parents, Katherine (Goffeney) Ruegsegger, formerly of St. Joseph, MO, Michael Ruegsegger, formerly of South Wayne, WI; and sister, Katelyn Ruegsegger of Mahtomedi, MN. He is also survived by grandparents, Jean and Richard Ruegsegger of South Wayne, WI, Pat and Pete Wilson of St. Joseph, MO, Joe Goffeney and Suzy Bowyer of Las Vegas, NV, and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, relatives and friends.
---

I can't speak for anybody else, but Eric's resume sure looks like mine for the first decade of my life. Maybe I've taken too much for granted...

I included a picture of the cover of a book titled "Eric" by Doris Lund. The book was written by Eric's mother, Doris, and published in 1974. Eric Lund died of cancer around the age of 20. If you haven't read the book, I suggested you do. It will show you the meaning of courage and it may make you take things a little less for granted.

My two cents worth on the subject of obituaries -- skimp on the funeral and go big on the paid obit. Tell us more about those people you loved, have lost and will forever miss. We need to know.

Pausing to Remember: Molly Yard

“I grew up with that whole devaluation of myself because I was female. It’s outrageous, and it stays with you all your life.”

Molly Yard

Yard passed away on September 23 at the age of 93. She led the National Organization of Women during the fight over Robert Bork’s nomination to the US Supreme Court. She was elected president of NOW in 1987 and stepped down in 1991. Yard made NOW more visible and worked against Bork, whom the Senate rejected as President Ronald Reagan’s high court nomination after a bitter political battle in 1987. She said he might provide a fifth vote to override the high court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling legalizing abortion.

The daughter of Methodist missionaries, Yard was born in Shanghai, china, and said later that her father’s Chinese friends gave him a brass wash basin to express their sorrow that she wasn’t a boy. When Yard joined NOW’s national staff in 1978, the organization was campaigning for the Equal Rights Amendment. She raised more than $1 million for that drive in less than six months while lobbying in Washington.

Yard was adriving force in the National Organization of Women (NOW) and Feminist Majority Foundation. Yahoo has additional information obituary information on Yard.

Now we know what keeps them sticking to their agenda @ www.ontheborderline.nut!

Hey Colorado! How's that TABOR working out for you?

Mike Keefe, cartoonist at the Denver Post, pictured the impacts of TABOR on the schools in Colorado.

Our blog neighbors a www.ontheborderline.net have been telling us how good that TABOR (Taxpayers'Bill Of Rights) has been working out for the good citizens of Colorado. After being referred by a friend to check out what the Denver daily newspapers have to say about it, it doesn't look like everybody in Colorado agrees with the OTBL'ers. I'm going to use this post to dump TABOR-related points of interest. If you have any addition info or links, feel free to add them in the comments.

Bridges are falling apart. Schools are overcrowded. Republicans working withDemocrats to solve the problems caused by TABOR are being trashed by their fellow Republicans. Social programs are under attack. Higher education is getting squashed. Etc., etc., etc...

Quote of Note: Sandra Feldman

Concerning George W. Bush's presidency: ``an administration that sees no value in public institutions, that doesn't get the connections between public schools and democracy ... that seems to suggest children will pull themselves up by their bootstraps, like cowboys.''

Sandra Feldman, who served as United Federation of Teachers union president for 11 years, died Sept. 18 after a long battle with cancer. She was 65. Feldman was UFT president from 1986 to 1997. In 1997 Feldman was elected president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the UFT’s parent affiliate. She retired as president of the AFT in 2004 for health reasons.

UFT President Randi Weingarten said: “Since February 2004, when Sandy found out she had a relapse, she fought mightily — as mightily as she always fought to help make a difference in all of our lives, and in the lives of thousands of people we represent and the hundreds of thousands of children and others we serve. Those who knew her well know how hard she worked and how much she sacrificed so others would have social justice and economic opportunity. She was a giant and will be hugely missed.”

A complete obituary of the popular UFT leader is on the AFT Web site .

TABOR: Some Intesting Facts Concerning Wisconsinites

We hear a lot of noise about TABOR - Taypayers Bill of Rights. It is a phrase that won't be going away. It's a popular discussion point OnTheBorderLine. In the interest in finding out what it stands for and what are the ramifications of it, I've been doing Google searching. Two sources of information with a variety of opinions on TABOR are the Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News. Using the search engines of these to daily, Denver newspapers will provide you with imformation on TABOR and groups for and against it. This fall, Colorado voters will be voting on Referendum's C and D to fix the problems caused by the previous passage of TABOR.

The Denver Post recently ran a two-part series called the Truth About TABOR. Here are links to the articles: Part 1 and Part 2 Each of the article links have links to groups pro and con to TABOR and/or Ref C & D. It's pretty obvious that the pro-TABOR/anti-Ref C & D groups are much better organized and better funded. The following letter in yesterday's Denver Post sheds some light on why:

"The Truth About TABOR"

I've found it useful to compare supporters and opponents to various issues when making my own decisions. I understand that members of both major political parties support the passage of Referendums C and D, which will begin to undo the damage caused by the so-called Taxpayer's Bill of Rights. TABOR severely curtailed the ability of state government to respond to Colorado's changing needs. That's why support for education, transportation and other social services that serve all the people of Colorado have been slashed. TABOR was passed with the help of a massive infusion of funds from out-of-state conservative anti-tax organizations.

They're back. Opposition to C and D has been concentrated - and paid for - by the same conservative lobbying groups that have attempted to influence elections throughout the country. What is the "Club for Growth," and why is it spending so much money in Colorado when its backers don't live here?

Why don't more Coloradans understand that the "Independence Institute" is another corporate-sponsored propaganda mill whose only purpose is to spread conservative dogma?

I would urge all Coloradans to go online and look for the funding behind such lobbying fronts as the Club for Growth, the Claremont Institute, the Independence Institute, and many other conservative "think tanks."

When so many wealthy corporations and ultra-rich conservatives are against a movement to take control of our own government spending, you can be sure that it's a movement that will restore control of our government to we, the people.
Scott Mock, Boulder
---

One Power Point presentation concerning the city of Manitowoc has so good info on the impact of TABOR. It also has good data concerning overall Wisconsin statistics.

TABOR Power Point Link.

If you have any additional information or links concerning TABOR, please post them in the comments below. I will also a sample of letters concerning TABOR and Ref C and D from the Sunday, Sept. 19 Denver Post.

A New School Year Begins OnThe Border Line

Mandatory Gratuity v. The Teachers' Union

This morning I ran into this editorial cartoon that seems to follow with some on the discussion below concerning public- and private-school teacher pay and benefits. What do you think?

Note: I these comments, it would be helpful to those of us participating to have participants make up a post name or number. All you have to do is click other and make up your name. From the administration side of things , I can tell the difference from some one using the "anonymous" names or an "other" name. You post goes to the bolgspot.com sever and transfers to the web site e-mail account (ohwilber@yahoo.com) with the blogspot.com e-mail address. Or, I you would like to be setup with posting rights, you need to send you e-mail adress to the ohwilber address so I can setup you up. Posting rights lets you set up your own post topic. Or, if you'd like to start another topic and do want to be the poster, e-mail us and we set it up.

Just remember, here at AboveTheBorderLine, we might be vendictive, cruel and nasty, but at least we are open-minded and open for discussions on all sides of the issues. Thanks for you participation and comments."

Dirty Harry Canary Takes On The Feral Cats.

Feral Cats Invade The Border Line!!!

Until I saw this, I was taking the libertarian stance on the feral cat thing. In my neighborhood, it's not the cats that are the problem -- it's the skunks! Are cats covered by the 2nd Amendment?

"I'll 'here Kitty, Kitty' you fat boy!"

Finger Pointing & Blame Gaming -- Where Does The Buck Stop President Bush?

Bush administration media spin doctors like to hit the public with snappy two or three word phrases. This past week, they have been trying to spin the responsibility for the slow response to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina away from President Bush. The two main deflection phrases being used from Bush on down to his press secretary Scott McClelland are “blame game” and “finger pointing.” I started hearing Rush Limbaugh sputtering these phrases about Wednesday, August 31. Of course, Rush would use these terms mixed in the same sentence with other terms like “Democrats” or “liberals” or the name of some news person or politician that might have dared utter the slightest criticism of President Bush.

So Rush hammered away with the “finger pointing” and “blame game” and so did the administration – once they all ambled back from a month of vacation. You would be thinking that with an ongoing war in Iraq with a steadily growing death count of American soldiers the President and his cabinet would be sticking a little closer to the command center. I digress…maybe I am a little jealous because I have never had a month long vacation. Anyway, these two two-word phrases have sprouted up all over the news this week. Here are a few examples from the newspapers published on Friday, September 9, 2005.

From the Gannett News Service:

WASHINGTON — The finger pointing over finger-pointing escalated Thursday, even as President Bush declared a national day of prayer to help the country deal with Hurricane Katrina's deadly aftermath…The political atmosphere has turned as toxic as the floodwaters of New Orleans…. University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato labeled it "the fastest blame game in history."

Columnist E. J. Dionne Jr. wrote this in column published in various papers across the nation on Friday, September 9, 2005:

The following is brought to you by the word "accountability." Keep that word in mind whenever you hear defenders of President Bush accusing his political opponents of playing the "blame game" by daring to pose pointed questions about why so many people in New Orleans, most of them very poor, had to wait so long for relief from their suffering.
The Bush White House must have run the phrases "blame game" and "finger-pointing" through its focus groups. In his Wednesday briefing, White House press secretary Scott McClellan used variations on those formulations eight times each. McClellan neatly rolled them into a single sentence when he told off a reporter who had the nerve to ask whether the president had confidence in those who oversaw the federal relief effort. "If you want to continue to engage in finger-pointing and blame-gaming, that's fine," McClellan harrumphed.

The Christian Science Monitor ran this story:

Partisan bickering over Katrina escalates - to peril of both sides

Unlike 9/11, when Americans came together, the hurricane's aftermath has intensified the polarization of the Bush years.

By Linda Feldmann Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
WASHINGTON – As distasteful as it is to many Americans, the politics of hurricane Katrina have rushed in to fill the agendas of elected officials nearly as quickly as the floodwaters inundated New Orleans.
For the Bush administration, the mantra this week became "no blame-gaming, no finger-pointing" as it sought to recover from the early perception of a slow response to the disaster. The message has been that this is an administration of action, not partisan bickering, and that the task at hand is to address the situation on the ground. President Bush sent Congress a request for $51.8 billion in additional hurricane aid. Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife, Lynne, toured New Orleans and the Gulf region Thursday, talking to local officials and first-responders.
------
Take note that these stories were published on Friday, Sept. 9. Of course, the theme was that it was all Democrats pointing fingers at the Bush administration and making the Democrats the focus of the blame game. Certainly there were Democrats speaking out against the federal response to the Katrina disaster. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., condemned the "staggering incompetence of this national government," during debate Thursday over $51.8 billion in post-Katrina aid proposed by Bush.

Of course, the Democrats were not the only finger-pointing, blame gamers. The Republican National Committee sent an e-mail of a Washington Post story claiming that Louisiana's congressional delegation often pushed spending by the Army Corps of Engineers that had little to do with flood control in New Orleans. One paper noted that Bush and Republican allies have attempted to focus on post-Katrina progress. But some Democrats have charged that while that is the public stance, Bush allies also are handing criticism of state and local governments out the back door.

With the exception of solitaire, most games take at least two to play. By the end of this past week, it certainly appears there was bi-partisan finger pointing and blame gaming. But what I found very interesting is what was happening the week leading up to Labor Day. As I previously pointed out, during the first week of the disaster, Rush was babbling these phases and blaming the Democrats and the leftie bloggers and everybody but the Bush administration. What was actually going on was quite different.

On Wednesday, August 31, the Manchester Union-Leader published this editorial. In case you do not know this paper, it is one of the most conservative daily newspapers in America.

Bush and Katrina: A time for action, not aloofness

AS THE EXTENT of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation became clearer on Tuesday — millions without power, tens of thousands homeless, a death toll unknowable because rescue crews can’t reach some regions — President Bush carried on with his plans to speak in San Diego, as if nothing important had happened the day before.
Katrina already is measured as one of the worst storms in American history. And yet, President Bush decided that his plans to commemorate the 60th anniversary of VJ Day with a speech were more pressing than responding to the carnage.
A better leader would have flown straight to the disaster zone and announced the immediate mobilization of every available resource to rescue the stranded, find and bury the dead, and keep the survivors fed, clothed, sheltered and free of disease.
The cool, confident, intuitive leadership Bush exhibited in his first term, particularly in the months immediately following Sept. 11, 2001, has vanished. In its place is a diffident detachment unsuitable for the leader of a nation facing war, natural disaster and economic uncertainty.
Wherever the old George W. Bush went, we sure wish we had him back.
----
That is rather strong finger pointing aimed at the President, but it is coming from a newspaper. What were actual Republicans saying by the end of the first week of the disaster? Former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich said, “If we can’t respond faster than this to an event we saw coming across the Gulf for days, then why do we think we’re prepared to respond to a nuclear or biological attack?” Republican Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts called the government’s response “an embarrassment”.

Senate majority leader, Republican Bill Frist called for congressional hearings, and other Republicans normally loyal to Bush questioned whether the administration could handle a terrorist attack, given its lackluster response to Katrina.

Senator John Kyl, Republican of Arizona, said the federal response suggested flaws in the nation's preparedness for another terrorist assault. Kyl said, ''This damage could just as easily have been caused by a terrorist attack, and many if not most of the same elements are involved in responding to natural disasters. ''There has to be a plan in place -- along with adequate resources -- to be able to evacuate people, or at least provide relief supplies before panic sets in. None of this appears to have been done in Louisiana."
---
Who was playing the blame game and doing the finger pointing? It appears that President Bush own party members and some of the media that have been his big supporters were major participants. Of course, all the keep key Bush administration players were not really regrouped from vacation until around Labor Day. Then they had to get the spin cycle turning and since then the Bush team has been hammering us with “finger pointing” and “blame game.” I do not know about you, but these phrases strike me as rather junior high school. It is as if the Administration is trying to dumb down the importance of the overall response to this natural disaster to a vocabulary that regular listeners of Rush Limbaugh can use in everyday conversation with their friends and family.

Unless I have missed it on the media coverage, senators and congressional representatives are not down on the Gulf Coast picking up the pieces. They are in Washingotn and I would think now would be an ideal time to establish responsibility, i.e., blame game, of who was in charge of carrying out the disaster plans. Likewise, if individuals are not qualified for their positions and better-qualified individuals need to be brought in, i.e. finger pointing, then why not do it when everything is fresh in everybody’s mind. Maybe the Bush administration might want to hold back any findings until after the 2006 mid-term elections. This is an issue of national security. We could have another category 5 hurricane hit the Gulf Coast next week.

Four years ago, the twin towers of the World Trade Center came tumbling down. Since then our government has created the Department of Homeland Security to keep us safer from terrorist attacks and natural disasters. Hurricane Katrina was on the radar screen. You and I could watch it coming on the weather channels or the internet, but FEMA could not get water to thousands of people stranded at the Super Dome for three days after the hurricane left. It should be starting to be clear that the Bush administration has been playing a number of games since it took over. Blame-avoidance is one of their games. Not pointing the finger at anyone working for George Bush is another – not matter who incompetent or under-qualified the official.

Maybe on September 16, instead of a national day of prayer for the hurricane victims, maybe we could have a national day of silence. Shut off the televisions, radios, MP3s, etc. and just be quiet for once. This will not happen. It would be bad for business and it would not be good for consumers. It might be good for our individual souls, but that does not put squat on the Nation’s bottom line. Today is September 11 and we as a nation have some hard work to do and hard thinking too.

HELP WANTED@FEMA.CON

The White House announced today the President Bush has added one new job to the economy. The new position will be the top position at FEMA. The position was formerly held by Mike Brown. In a written statement, President Bush said he regretted Brown decision to leave -- especially since they hadn't minted the official White House medal of silence given to all exiting, high-ranking Bush administration officials.


President Bush said a search will begin immediately to find a qualified candidate. He stressed the importance of connecting with the right individual to fill the job. The ability to golf and tell bodily function jokes will be prime job qualifications. Brown was shocked when told the news. He said this is the worst thing that has happened since the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor.

When asked to discuss his personal feelings on the events that led to Brown's pursuit of other career opportunities, President Bush's only comments were, "Did you see the look on Brownie's face, when he got the news? He looked like the south end of a north bound Arabain horse. Hey! It's the weekend, we've got fund raising to do -- that's campaign funds, not disaster relief funds. That's hard work!"

Vice Presdient Cheney was unavailable for comments. He has been assigned to lead task force trying to determine if Katrina was involved in taking the WMD's from Iraq and thus casuing the Administration a certain amount of embarrassment.

Enrollment Limited for Fictitious Fishing Class

The Hudson School District stunned teachers, parents and students today as they officially announced an enrollment limit in the Hudson High School fictitious fishing class.

Those who were considering enrolling in the non-existent class might have found it listed in the class offering handbook as PE 00-0000H20, if it had ever been offered as an official Phy. Ed. class, but of course it never has been or will be. Rumors continue to persist that the fictious fishing class had been responsible for wasting untold amounts of taxpayer funds. Despite continued public statements by the district that the class doesn’t and never has existed, the rumors have persisted, fanned by the perpetually ignorant comments of bloggers on a local anti-education website, http://www.ontheborderline.net. Bloggers and School Board detractors have successfully convinced numerous Hudson residents that the class has had staggering enrollment. In an attempt to set the record straight the district announced today that the enrollment in the fishing class that never existed will be limited to zero. That’s right, none, nobody, no-one, no way.

Ontheborderline bloggers who continue to insist that the class does exist and who wish to enroll as part of the district's Foolish Adult Education Program can do so by filling out the appropriate forms at http://www.Iamasucker.edu. A $75 enrollment fee and $ 25 class supply fee will be immediately charged to your credit card for hook, line, sinker and worms. Don’t let that big one get away.