Baldwin Farmer Appointed to Doyle's Global Warming Task Force

A Baldwin dairy producer has been appointed to serve on Governor Jim Doyle's Global Warming Task Force. John Vrieze, owner of Baldwin and Emerald Dairies, and president of the Dairy Business Association, will serve on the panel with other key leaders to examine the challenges global warming poses for Wisconsin's economic and environmental health.

The task force will analyze solutions to global warming, based on local and national research, in order to generate a state-wide plan of action to present to the Governor that will reduce Wisconsin's contribution to global warming.

"With our vast agricultural and forestry resources, our strong research institutions, and our strong manufacturing base, I want the Midwest to become the Saudi Arabia of renewable energy-with Wisconsin at the forefront," Governor Doyle said.

DBA Director Laurie Fischer says it is important to the state's dairy industry to have a seat at the table on the task force because of the impact the group's decisions could have on area farmers.

Source: Wisconsin Ag Connection .

'No' means 'try again,' and that's reasonable

Patrick McIlheran
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Think of "no" as a conversation starter. The discussion's over in New Richmond, near the Twin Cities, where voters agreed to borrow $93 million for new schools. Same in Mukwonago, where voters let the school district overrun its revenue caps by around $9 million: The deals closed. In Brookfield and Elm Grove, it's negotiation time. Jon Wolff, a leading critic of borrowing $108 million for one heck of a renovation on two high schools, said he was called by district leaders Wednesday morning. They're asking for help in finding a more palatable plan.

Read more @ Journal Sentinel Online.

A "Family (as in Mafia) Values" Man

“At the core, we are dealing with two parties that have fundamentally different views of the world.”

-Karl Rove

“President Bush is supporting Arnold but a lot of Republicans are not, because he is actually quite liberal. Karl Rove said if his father wasn't a Nazi, he wouldn't have any credibility with conservatives at all.”

-Bill Maher

Who's visiting Syria?

Five Republicans + Six Democrats

Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus Foundation

Ron Kind co-chairs the bipartisan group working for sportsmen and 2nd Amendment rights


The trophy for the largest bipartisan caucus with members from both chambers goes to the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus, which has 287 members -- 229 in the House, 58 in the Senate. The caucus has four co-chairs: Republicans Paul Ryan (Wis.) and Steve Pearce (N.M.), and Democrats Ron Kind (Wis.) and Dan Boren (Okla.).

The caucus works on behalf of hunters, advocating for access to hunting sites, concerns related to the Second Amendment, and measures to support wildlife. It has a brother in the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus Foundation, which has sponsored events to bring together hunting advocates on and off Capitol Hill and is financially supported by hunting-related organizations and companies.

One of those annual events is the congressional "Shoot Out," a gathering in Virginia in which Republicans and Democrats compete at blasting clay pigeons. In 2006, Republicans won with the closest score in the event's 12-year history. Rep. Robin Hayes (R-N.C.) won the "Congressional Top Gun" by hitting 63 of 75 pigeons. Caucus officials are evaluating whether the event can continue this year in the wake of new House ethics rules.

The Caucus is effective because its members check their party hat at the door and know that when they stand in support of an issue it is for the good of wildlife, natural resources, hunting and fishing.

The active leadership of the CSC includes a Democrat and Republican chair and vice chair in the House and the Senate. Having chairs and vice chairs not only distributes the workload, but allows more members to become familiar with the Caucus and how to best operate it.

Read more on the Congression Sportmen's Foundation.

Tommy Thompson campaigns on vouchers, school choice

"Break the shackles of the teachers unions and give parents an opportunity to pick the best schools for their children. That's where No Child Left Behind has to be strengthened."
Tommy Thompson

MANCHESTER, New Hampshire – Republican Presidential candidate Tommy Thompson this week promoted school choice as the "salvation of education" during a visit to first-primary state New Hampshire.

The former Wisconsin governor and federal health and human services secretary said in an interview he would use federal block grants to encourage states to implement education voucher systems, charter schools and other forms of school choice. He would also use block grants for special education funds.

Democrats say the No Child Left Behind Law stifles creativity, forces rote, test-based learning. Thompson said, "If they're learning, what's wrong with that?"

Regarding school choice, Thompson said, "Break the shackles of the teachers unions and give parents an opportunity to pick the best schools for their children. That's where No Child Left Behind has to be strengthened."

By JOHN DISTASO

Read more @ Manchester Union Leader.

Our Commander-In-Chief of the Importance of Exit Strategies

Then-GOP Presidential candidate Governor George W. Bush:

According to the Houston Chronicle:

“Bush, in Austin, criticized President Clinton’s administration for not doing enough to enunciate a goal for the Kosovo military action and indicated the bombing campaign might not be a tough enough response. ‘Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the president to explain to us what the exit strategy is,’ Bush said.”

[Houston Chronicle, 4/9/99]

Global Warming: junk science vs. real science

Are Wisconsin Taxes Too High?

Business boosters disagree, but it's possible to get to the truth
by Jack Norman

WMC’s goals are straightforward: to reduce the size of state and local government, and thus reduce taxes. It’s an ideological position more than an economic one.

As residents scramble to complete their taxes by this year’s deadline, April 17, there are two contrasting messages coming from Wisconsin’s corporate community on the subject of taxes and economic prosperity.

One of those messages dominates political discussion. It’s easy to state, easy to understand, and easy to put on bumper stickers: Cut My Taxes.

Its chief proponent is Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC), the Madison-based big-business lobby that for years has focused its legislative agenda on plaintive appeals for a reduced tax burden.

WMC spends more money lobbying legislators than any other group in Wisconsin. It supplements its lobbying with a steady supply of press releases, op-ed offerings and campaign support for anti-tax politicians.

The power of this message can be seen in WMC’s push against the 2006 reelection of state Sen. Bob Jauch (D-Poplar) in northwestern Wisconsin. Large, pinkish billboards appeared in northern forests, declaring in stark letters: “Sen. Bob Jauch: Higher Taxes! Fewer Jobs!” (P.S. Jauch won.)

The alternative view is rarely heard inside the state. Its key proponent is Forward Wisconsin, a public-private group that woos out-of-state businesses to locate here.

Read more @ The Isthmus.

Obey takes on all comers in effort to end Iraq war

WASHINGTON - In putting together the House's war spending bill, Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey gave false information to fellow Democrats, yelled at anti-war protesters and slammed The Washington Post.

''I didn't come here to win any charm-school award,'' the cantankerous Wisconsin Democrat said in an interview.

His social skills aside, analysts and lawmakers credit Obey for pushing the $124 billion spending bill through the House last month on a 218-212 vote. House and Senate negotiators will craft a final bill, which faces a near-certain White House veto.

''David Obey is a very, very bright guy with a very, very short fuse,'' said Rutgers University political science professor Ross Baker. ''Given the factionalism within the Democratic caucus in the House, I think he handled it very skillfully. He has a reputation for not suffering fools lightly, and he had to suffer a number of fools.''

Read more @ GM Today.

West Bend studies New Richmond referendum success

By MITCH MAERSCH - GM Today Staff

Tuesday’s election, with some of the most gargantuan referenda in state history on the ballot, caught the eye of the West Bend School District.
The district is developing what will be on its November referendum, which could be in the $100 million range.

Of Tuesday’s three biggies - New Richmond’s $92.85 million, Franklin’s $76.99 million and Elmbrook’s $108.8 million - two failed.

Only little New Richmond, a district with fewer than 2,700 students - passed its monster with 2,370 yes votes to 1,818 no (57 to 43 percent).

Read more @ GM Today.

The Best Wisconsin Supreme Court Money Can Buy

We hear a lot of chatter about how the teachers' union is such a big influence in Wisconsin politics. Here's an interest story about the millions spent by the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce group to get Annette Zeigler elected to the state Supreme Court. No doubt, the WMC is a big proponent of the "free market" system.



By Doug Hissom

With the resounding victory by conservative Supreme Court candidate Annette Ziegler, expect an even more emboldened campaign effort next year from Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, the state's big business mouthpiece and lobby group. WMC pumped in millions on behalf of the Ziegler camp, producing inflammatory position papers and, of course, a plethora of TV and radio air time.

The latest lobs from WMC were an extension of the group's effort to support Mark Green against Jim Doyle for governor in November. But WMC is clearly getting better in the realm of being a political player and independent expenditure group. And they have no qualms about getting in the dirt and slinging mud for their anointed ones.

We should expect an even larger hyperbolic push from WMC next year as Supreme Court Justice Louis Butler faces voters for the first time. Butler, a former Milwaukee judge, was appointed by Doyle in 2004 and for the most part, represents everything that WMC finds evil. A key vote by Butler -- to the disdain of WMC -- was to overturn caps on medical malpractice suits. That issue was used to galvanize the conservative faithful against Linda Clifford in her race against Ziegler.

Read more @On Milwaukee.com

---
Related stories on how WMC and other lobby groups influenced last Tuesday's Supreme Court race.

Wisconsin State Journal: Ziegler wins bitter race; Clifford dominates Dane County


Isthmus Daily Page: Linda Clifford's lost cause


Racine Journal Times: Calls for reform increase after contentious Supreme Court race
.

Writing on the wall...

That night, in a letter, she wrote: "After the bare requisites to living and reproducing, man wants most to leave some record of himself, a proof, perhaps, that he has really existed. He leaves his proof on wood, on stone or on the lives of other people. This deep desire exists in everyone, from the boy who writes dirty words in a public toilet to the Buddha who etches his image in the race mind. Life is so unreal. I think that we seriously doubt that we exist and go about trying to prove that we do." She kept a copy of the letter.

Miss Morgan
from The Pastures of Heaven
by John Steinbeck

Farewell Mr. Peanut

Evidently Size Doesn't Matter:

Thoughts On Bush's "Small Government"



"Even if you're a traditional, Barry Goldwater conservative, the kinds of budgets that Bush has sent to the Hill not only this year but this whole century are the worst-case scenario; they increase spending generally while cutting taxes and social programming. They commit taxpayers to giant subsidies of already Croseus-rich energy corporations, pharmaceutical companies and defense manufacturers while simultaneously cutting taxes on those who most directly benefit from those subsidies. Thus you're not cutting spending -- you're just cutting spending on people who actually need the money. (According to the Washington Times, which in a supremely ironic twist of fate did one of the better analyses of the budget, spending will be 1.6 percent of GDP higher in the 2008 budget than in was in 2000, while revenues will be 2.6 percent of GDP lower). This is something different from traditional conservatism and something different from big-government liberalism; this is a new kind of politics that transforms the state into a huge, ever-expanding instrument for converting private savings into corporate profit.

That's not only bad government, it's bad capitalism. It makes legalized bribery and political connections more important factors than performance and competition in the corporate marketplace. Beyond that, it's just plain fucking offensive to ordinary people. It's one thing to complain about paying taxes when those taxes are buying a bag of groceries once a month for some struggling single mom in eastern Kentucky. But when your taxes are buying a yacht for some asshole who hires African eight year-olds to pick cocoa beans for two cents an hour...I sure don't remember reading an excuse for that anywhere in the Federalist Papers."

From Medicare vs. Britney at Rolling Stone.

Bush & Cheney: The Sunshine Boys

"From what I gather, there's no real mechanism in the administration for looking at the downside of things. In the military, when they do a major study, they say something like "We give it to you with the pluses and minuses." They usually show it to you warts and all. But these guys in the White House don't want the warts. They just want the good side. I don't think they know all of the consequences."

Seymour Hersh
Rolling Stone

O'Reilly v. Rivera FOX News Spit Shower

It's 3:40 A.M.--- Do you know where your toddlers are?

Baby Bloggers Get Head Start in New Richmond

Corruption in the Public Schools: Is The Market Is the Answer?

To save the OTBL blogger from North Hudson the trouble of pasting the article below on every comment section of every post on this blog, I'll post it here. Personally, I have no doubt that there's corruption in public schools. Likewise, I have no doubt there's corruption is private schools. The anonymous poster only posted the review of the CATO Institute white paper. I have no problem discussing the issues surrounding public education.

This article pulls out some individual examples of problems with public education and uses the "peanut butter conspiracy" approach and spreads these examples over any thing to do with public education. Read on...

Read the article, Corruption Is Rampant in Public Schools, by Wendy Cloyd.The author of this article works for the Heartland Institute.

The Heartland Institute, according to the Institute's web site, is a nonprofit organization "devoted to turning ideas into social movements that empower people"[1]. It campaigns on "junk science", "common-sense environmentalism" (i.e. anti-Kyoto, pro-GM), smokers' rights (anti-tobacco tax, denial of problems from passive smoking), the introduction of school vouchers, and the deregulation of health care insurance. It also provides an online resource for finding right-wing think tank policy documents called PolicyBot.

The institute was founded in 1984 by David H. Padden and Joseph L. Bast.

Read more about the Heartland Institute.

Owl in flight on the drive to work...

There was an old man with a beard, Who said: 'It is just as I feared! Two owls and a hen, Four larks and a wren Have all built their nests in my beard.
Edward Lear

Men do change, and change comes like a little wind that ruffles the curtains at dawn, and it comes like the stealthy perfume of wildflowers hidden in the grass.
John Steinbeck

I have come to believe that a great teacher is a great artist and that there are as few as there are any other great artists. Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit.
John Steinbeck

Celebrate the ATBL Cartoon Network Gloatathon

Since we can't read here at the ATBL cartoon network, we'll let the picture do the talking.
Let the Gloatathon begin!

Thanks for your support

New Schools For New Richmond: 2,370 Yes v. 1,818 No

Good Night Mr. Peanut...It's Very Quiet On The Borderline.

Mr. Peanut Rejects Offer for Starring Role on ATBL Cartoon Network

An agent for famous area wingnut blogger Mr. Peanut informed the ATBL Cartoon Network
that he would not accept the starring role in any new ATBL Cartoon Network series, citing
conflicts of interest. Mr. Peanut's agent added that his client is extremely busy stealing the identities of public school supporters and posting malicious comments about them on area newspaper internet sites. Had Mr. Peanut accepted the ATBL Cartoon Network offer he would have starred in a brand new series on ATBL in the role of a Jack Ass.

Breaking News !!

Headline details after next breaking news!

OTBL's Educational Philosophy in a Nutshell

Whenever the bottom line is sagging in nearly all for profit enterprises. In order to cut costs and
increase revenues the first place managers look is at labor costs. In education, that would mean cutting teachers salaries and cutting teacher's numbers. Would anybody in their right mind want an educational system that would focus on cutting teachers to increase profits. How in the world would that improve education. It's beyond reason. Unless you're Mr. Luke Peanut, OTBL blogger and major league POS.

You Want My Tax Dollars To Pay For This?

Private School Teacher Faces Porn Charges

LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) � A private high-school teacher was arrested for possession of child pornography after a student found his portable memory drive in a school computer lab, authorities reported.

Mark James Mason, 47, of Winter Haven, acknowledged that he owned the thumb drive and used it to download images of naked boys, according to a release from the Polk County Sheriff's Office. The boys appear to range in age from 5 to 12 years old.

The Sheriff's Office began its investigation after a student found the drive in a computer lab at Santa Fe Catholic High School and turned it over to the principal, the Sheriff's Office reported.

Read more of the disgusting details.

My Tax Dollars For This?

5 Private School Students Sexually Assaulted On Bus

PLANTATION, Fla. The family of a young girl who attends a prestigious private school in Plantation has sued the school for millions, after they say she was the victim of repeated sex assaults at the hands of other students on a school bus, and she may not be alone.

CBS-4’s Joan Murray has learned on Friday that Davie Police say there are five different victims who have come forward claiming to have been assaulted. All of the victims are claiming to be the victims of lewd & lascivious acts. One victim is saying they were sexually battered.

The family of the young girl involved in the lawsuit says the incidents against their daughter allegedly occurred in fall of 2006, with two boys repeatedly harassing the eighth grade student for months.

More of the disgusting details.

You Want My Taxes To Pay For This?

Private School Teacher Is Sex Offender

EDWARDSVILLE — A Metro-East Lutheran High School teacher convicted of sexually abusing a student disputed on Wednesday a prosecutor's claim that his probation should be revoked for not completing sex-offender counseling. A court hearing was scheduled for next week to decide the matter.

The offender, Michael Vonderohe, who taught art at the private school in Edwardsville, pleaded guilty in 2004 to abusing a 17-year-old girl and was sentenced to three years of probation. He was ordered to give up his teaching certificate and register as a sexual predator on the state's sex offender registry.

Read more of the disgusting deatails.

Do You Want Your Tax Dollars Funding This?

Private School Sodomy

NE W YORK — A headmistress and teacher at an exclusive private Manhattan Montessori school, accused of having sexual relations with two young teen students, was convicted Thursday of sodomizing one of them when he was 13.

Lina Sinha, 40, showed no emotion as the jury foreman reported a partial decision of 11 guilty and two not guilty verdicts on various other charges. The jurors had reported earlier they were deadlocked on the six rape counts against her.

Assistant District Attorney Rachel Hochhauser told the judge her office intended to retry Sinha on the six rape counts.

Read more about the private school sodomites!

Maybe Not The Only Thing....

"The only thing we have to fear is public education."

Dr. Fruitcake
Most Infamous Anonymous OnTheBorderLine Blogger

Hey! It's 6 AM Sunday Morning Time For Mr. Peanut On Stress Cracks

Hey Bobbie, Bobbie, Bobbie! It's 6 o'clock on Sunday morning. I can tell by the clock's tick! If you ain't me, you are sick! I'm up before the wife and kids so they don't find out what I did! You got a problem with an anonymous blogger anonymously using someone else's name to accuse them of being an anonymous bloggers? If you don't like it, tell the judge. If you use my name, I'll tell the judge. No ifs, ands or buts, people around here think I'm Mr. Nuts. There may be a crack in my shell, but I'll never tell. Bobbie, Bobbie, Bobbie?

Teacher Spouse Union Thugs Favorite Instrument Of Persuasion: The Baseball Bat!

Being a left-handed pitcher at Havana University, Castro was given a tryout by the Washington Senators (now Minnesota Twins) baseball team; he was turned down.

Fidel Castro's favorite major league baseball player was a pitcher for the Red Sox and Mets named Tracy Stallard.

OTBL Starts New Training Program

Do you hate the government as much as we do?
Are you tired of your hard earned money being confiscated to
teach other peoples kids how to read and write?
Are you sick of "Public Highways".
Well stand up and do something about it!
At ontheborderline.net we hate taxes with a vengence.
That's why we've started the OTBL Anti-Government
Mercenary Training Center and Spa.
You start with basics of Government hatred.
Lew Rockwell.com, The CATO intitute, Libertarians Anonymous
and more. You'll learn the truth about WEALTH CREATION and
Government Confiscation and get a firm philosophical base and insights into
why OTBL bloggers are always right and the rest of the world is wrong.

Phase II: Making a difference.
Take is cheap, weapons cost money!
We believe in the 2nd Amendment and we're not ashamed of it!
We've acquired the largest aresenal of weapons for training this side of
the St. Croix. Learn from our expert marksmen how to put tin cans out of
their misery before you can say April 15th.

Spreading the Word:
Our expert bloggers have been preaching Freedom and Liberty for almost
3 years now. Can you say Tradition. That's what the "OTBL Anti-Government
Mercenary Training Center and Spa" is all about, a fine 3 year tradition of fighting
government at every juncture.
Got pesky teacher spouses defending public schools. We have a program to deal with them.
Have a local fishwrapper that cowtows to the whims of local educrates. No problem.
Our psychological warfare and intimidation team is ready with instruction that works.
Bring the whole family for a our Next Fun Filled Anti-Government Training Session.
Payment accepted in cash, or better yet Gold Boulion. You'll find our training rates among
the most reasonable of any other crackpot organization preaching the destruction of Government Tyranny.
Call 1-800-McVeigh to secure your reservation today.

Short Circuit City Rewards Loyalty

Overpaid Exectutives Receive Stock Options and Bonuses valued at $4,761,046.

"Circuit City fired 3,400 employees in stores across the country yesterday, saying they were making too much money and would be replaced by new hires willing to work for less.

The company said the dismissals had nothing to do with performance but were part of a larger effort to improve the bottom line. The firings represent about 9 percent of the company's in-store workforce of 40,000."

"Circuit City chief executive Philip J. Schoonover received a salary of $716,346, along with a $704,700 bonus last year. He also has long-term compensation of $3 million in stock awards and $340,000 in underlying options, according to company filings."

Read More in Washinton Post:

Dr. Peanut's Lesson of the Day

Saturday Night Movie of the Weak: Sybil starring Mr. Peanut

Tonight's feature follows two weeks in the so-called life of a St. Croix Valley blogger who blogs bogus comments on the Hudson and New Richmond newspaper sites. By using numerous different names, he is able to fool himself that nobody knows who he is. The one-track plot stagnates in the outhouse of his mind, as he waits for someone to mention his real name in the comment section of the newspaper blogs. When this happens, watch the fireworks fly as he calls up the local editor and threats to sue the newspaper. Don't miss the hair-implant popping drama, as Mr. Peanut's Type-A personal and total lack of interpersonal skills tip over the checker board repeatedly. So grab you sack of nuts, sit back and watch the mono-talented Mr. Peanut fool himself in the dark of the night.

Here's a preview of a scene from tonight's movie. Check out the sophisticated dialogue Mr. peanut repeats over and over and over during the movie. Mr. Peanut's performance will make you look forward to your next colostomy.

"You're all pieces of shit and I'm the self-anointed KING of St. Croix County I, and ONLY I, will determine who can speak out in the communities where the Rivertowns newspapers are published. If you speak out against a referendum you will be silenced. If you write a letter against a public official you will be silenced. If you ask for ANY accountability at all from your government employees you will be silenced. Our newspaper have an agenda and we will see to it that it is carried out. As the publisher I HAVE SPOKEN!"...How should I sign this post this time. If I use the same name, people will start to suspect something...I wonder what it's like to actually have a job?...I'm starting to think that only socialists and communists work for a living. The rest of us live off the fat of the land. Ain't that right Lennie?

Undermining The Educational System

Um!! Tasty and nutruious!

Trolling For Nuts: It's A Ziller Kind of Thing

On The Borderline Movie of the Weak:

Hear stupid crap like this repeated over and over by an anonymous idiot too embarrassed to use his real name.

"As the self-anointed KING of St. Croix County I, and ONLY I, will determine who can speak out in the communities where the Rivertowns newspapers are published. If you speak out against a referendum you will be silenced. If you write a letter against a public official you will be silenced. If you ask for ANY accountability at all from your government employees you will be silenced. Our newspaper have an agenda and we will see to it that it is carried out. As the publisher I HAVE SPOKEN!"

Anonymous rail...

Hudson blogger Luke denies losing his mind...

He said he has only misplaced it. He continues to search for it, when not making stupid comments in the local newspaper blogs.

...he added that his face has been feeling flushed lately.

Mark Kaisersatt Not Quite Himself Today

School Board candidates victims of Identity Theft.

Welcome Sleepless Hudson Observer Readers

I couldn't sleep last night so I pointed my brower to onthebordeline.net. It worked like a charm. After reading just a few sentances of N.Onimous. I was out like a light. I highly recommend reading ontheborderline.net when you have trouble sleeping at night. It's as good a prescription medications and with absolutely no chance of becoming
habit forming.
For the forelorn, check out ontheborderline's HOT RUSSIAN BABE
SCHOOL BOARD ESCORT SERVICE.
ontheborderline.net has become a "One Stop Internet Shopping Center" for the mentally unstable and psychotic residents of St. Croix Valley. Best of all it's free.
If you're really in the market for promotional items. Checkout the ontheborderline.net online
gift shop. This week there's a special on "hot pink headbands" (just like the borderliners wear) also available in lavender.
Oh, and tell them Luke sent you.

Wanted By the ABI (Above the Borderline Bureau of Investigation)