This Just In...

I fill in for Mark Belling Monday, October 1 on Newstalk 1130 WISN from 3-6.

I will definitely have another take on the closing of Goldmann's, and we may find some time to talk about the Brewers' collapse.

And plenty more.

 

Want to go out to eat on a Monday night? 

Not a bad idea because the restaurant won’t be crowded, right? True, the restaurant won’t be as crowded as Friday or Saturday. But think again before you set foot out the door to eat out. 

Peter Francis has co-authored, “How to Burn Down the House.” The book is a tell-all about the schemes restaurants pull. One of them takes place on Monday nights. The restaurants simply serve up all the leftovers from the weekend. 

SmartMoney.com says, “Kitchens prepare food on a first-in, first-out basis, meaning whatever is oldest gets served first. It's a way to ensure that everything on the menu is as fresh as possible. The system works great most days, but it can run into a little glitch over the weekend. Distributors typically take Sunday off and make their last deliveries Saturday morning — which means that by Monday any food not used over the weekend is at least three to four days old. And it will be served before the same ingredients arriving in Monday's delivery.” 

OK, but you say your wedding anniversary falls on a Monday and you’ve just got to go out that night. What then? 

Then the best recommendation is to use reverse logic. Pick a restaurant that is always, always, always crowded. A busy restaurant that’s always open will have fresh ingredients all the time. 

PREVIOUS CULINARY NO-NO’S

1) Ketchup on a brat
2) Green peppers on pizza
3) The dirty martini
4) Fruity brats
5) A Bloody Mary after dinner
6) Women “manning” the grill
7) Eating pizza at Festa Italiana, brats at German Fest, or tacos at Fiesta Mexicana. (Be adventurous. You can have those items anytime).
8) Eating a cream puff as though it was a hamburger.
9) Taking your own bottle of sauce when invited to a barbecue.
10) Touching the grill if you’re a guest at an outdoor barbecue.
11) Coaching the host on how to grill.
12) Some regional flavored ice cream…..like black licorice.
13) Taking the husks off before you grill corn on the cob
14) Being afraid to chill red wine
15) Pizza on the grill
16) When serving exotic or strange dishes to guests, do not tell them exactly what it is. Instead, use a more inviting term (caviar) rather than being blunt (fish eggs).
17) In late summer and early fall, this time of year, don’t buy zucchini. Somehow, someway, you will find zucchini or zucchini will find you.
18) Showing disrespect to your restaurant server.

 

This weekend, I posed the question of whether the media would cover the utterly disgusting, anti-Christian Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco.

I said no, but if the media did cover the story, they would do so badly.

What better way to find out than to check the San Francisco media.

One SF newspaper gave a few harmless paragraphs.

This was the extent of SF TV station KRON's reporting:

"Also on Sunday, and not for the faint of heart, there's the Folsom Street Festival.  This may not be appropriate for young children but you will experience one of the most vibrant and diverse communities in the region as leather and fetish themed partygoers fill San Francisco's SOMA district."

Vibrant and diverse?

I see the San Francisco media failed to get or ignored seeking out groups or individuals that would have expressed outrage at this horrendous display.

So much for the unbiased leftist media.

 

 

Last week, the suggestion was made that Milwaukee find a location for a statue of the “Fonz.” 

The “Fonz,” as in Arthur Fonzarelli, best friend of Ritchie, Potsie and Ralph Malph.Leather jacket, ducktail, motorcycle, Correctimundo. The suggestion spawned several news articles and columns.  We talked about it on Channel 10’s InterCHANGE Friday night and Sunday morning. Sticks in the mud Joel McNally and Kathleen Dunn scoffed at the idea. Host Dan Jones called “Happy Days” a “stupid” show. (I guess all those millions of TV viewers were clueless).  

The notion of a “Fonzie” statue had the snobs of Milwaukee scratching their noses against the ceiling. How gauche! After all, the “Fonz” in bronze would only perpetuate Milwaukee’s image of beer, brats, bowling, Laverne and Shirley, and people who walk on their knuckles. 

It’s the kind of image we in Wisconsin wince at when we see it portrayed in movies like, “Home Alone.” 

Like it or not, that’s us. But it’s not the total package. 

Yes, we are brats. 

And beer. 

And “I don’t want her you can have her, she’s too fat for me….” 

We are also art museums and great restaurants and theater and pro sports and Lake Michigan.  The battle is to make sure people see the entire picture. 

There’s also the larger issue of Milwaukee being behind the times. 

As my farther used to say, “We’re always the last rose on the bush.” 

Every time someone makes a suggestion that is even slightly out of the box, visionary, adventurous, risky, I dare say, “cool,” everyone else rejects the idea outright. They don’t just say no, they go out of their way to humiliate and embarrass the poor sap who would even propose such a preposterous thought as a …………..”Fonzie” statue. 

The most glaring example is Miller Park.  That plan was debated and debated and debated for over a decade. Never mind that all other professional sports cities were building new ballparks and reaping the benefits of economic development. Milwaukee had to talk the idea to death. Saturday my wife and I were at the ballpark to see the Brewers play the Padres as part of he largest crowd to ever see a game at Miller Park, a stadium that is one of the best projects Milwaukee has ever undertaken. 

Another example doesn’t have the same happy ending. Back in the 70’s, plans were discussed to build a Liberace museum in West Allis where the great showman was born. The so-called “leaders” in West Allis wanted no part of it. Are you kidding? We don’t want all that traffic the tourist attraction would bring. Laugh if you will, but the Liberace museum in Las Vegas (that could have been ours) does better than an ok business. I

In my neighborhood, some people are just learning the Twist. 

You get the point.

Innovators we are not. 

Good ideas are put on hold. Great ideas sometimes never make it. 

I say build that “Fonz” statue. 

And I’ve got a great place for it. 

Once we move the Di Suvero sculpture about a mile to the east, we’re in business.

As you probably know, some major changes have been here on FranklinNOW.com.  One of them is your ability to now comment on our blogs. I encourage you to take advantage of this new feature.

However, there will be a few simple, straightforward rules about commenting on my blogs. 

When I first started blogging, I wrote the following: “My blog approach will be very similar to what I have done throughout my broadcast career. In my reporting days, I covered the gamut of issues. The same holds true when I appear on a television or radio talk show and I’ll do the same on This Just In….

Topics I intend to explore will include local and state issues, business, sports, societal trends, just about anything. Some will be controversial. Others might stir emotion. My hope is that you find my blog to be interesting and insightful.” 

So, I blog about topics that are interesting to me. The topics I choose when I’m on the radio are of interest to me. 

I view this blog as an equivalent to a radio talk show. If you want to comment on my blog, great! Disagree all you want. But consider commenting on my blog the same as calling in when I host a talk show.  

Give me your best stuff. 

Also, disagree all you want, but please stay on topic.

If you ramble, are incoherent, or make comments that have nothing to do with the particular entry, your comments will be removed.  

Keep it clean. No obscenities or profanities.

If you make what you believe to be a factual statement, it better be accurate. If not, it will be removed or corrected. 

That’s it. 

Keep reading and have fun!

 

It’s local budget time, and I have commended Scott Walker for doing what apparently no other local official wants to or can do: propose a budget without tax increases.

Evidently, folks in these parts have forgotten two critical pieces of local history:

1) Milwaukee County is suffering from the outlandish, diabolical pension scheme perpetrated by former Milwaukee County Executive Tom Ament and other Milwaukee County elected officials.

2) Current Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker was swept into office on a tidal-wave of voter demand for fiscal responsibility. It is his job to fix the ridiculous mess he inherited.

All the while, some people want swimming pools, tennis courts, busses that go everywhere all the time (even if they’re empty), park grass sans weeds, service after service after service, program after program after program.

Guess what…..we might have the money for all these wonderful things except that it’s going to pay for your neighbor’s pension. You know who I’m talking about: the guy who couldn’t wait to retire as soon as possible when the Ament scandal broke.

Milwaukee County must and should provide courts and sheriff’s deputies and the airport. But a legitimate question is whether Milwaukee County should be in the business of running parks, and making sure you have a place to swim, or play golf.  Is that really its role? 

Don’t get me wrong. Quality of life is essential to a community. But you can’t live on a caviar and champagne diet when you can only afford Miller Lite and chicken.

A few years ago, former Milwaukee County Executive and Parks Director Dave Schulz wrote a fascinating and compelling piece on how to reinvent Milwaukee County government.

He had earlier proposed getting rid of county government altogether. Schulz even suggested the merging of suburbs. For example, Franklin would consolidate with Greendale and Greenfield.

It’s an interesting read even five years later. While I’m not endorsing all of his suggestions, they pose a significant question as to what the role of Milwaukee County government should really be.

Question...

Are there any Scott Walker's in Franklin?

This week, the Milwaukee County Executive submitted his budget to the Milwaukee County Board, calling for no increases in taxes.

The Milwaukee County budget is one of the most difficult to craft, given that Walker's predecessor, the unscrupulous Tom Ament awarded himself and the rest of county government lavish pensions that Milwaukee County taxpayers will be paying for decades.

The politician that is Walker made a political promise. I will not raise taxes.

He delivered on that promise.

0.0%.

Let's look around the 53132 zip code, shall we.

Franklin Mayor Tom Taylor.

Taylor quietly submitted his budget to the Franklin Common Council.

There was no formal press conference.

There was no press release.

No John Neville article on this website.

I'd lay low, too.

Taylor's budget calls for a whopping 5.7% increase in the city tax levy.

Why not.

Last year, the Franklin Common Council, using that wonderful old standyby talking point that it could have been a lot worse, approved a 5.3% increase in the city tax levy, along with a 9% increase in spending.

The Franklin School Board must have been in a cave since April 3, 2007. Despite an overwhelming rejection of the $78-million referenda,the School Board not only wants to increase the school tax levy by 5.6%, but it is no doubt working as we speak behind the scenes to force another costly referendum down our throats.

These proposed increases are like a Prince Fielder home run. They're out of the ballpark, well beyond the rate of inflation.

So, are there any Scott Walker's in Franklin?

Sadly, at the moment, the answer appears to be no.

 

 

 

A look back at the people and events that made news the past week. Week-ends is a regular weekly feature of This Just In... 


HEROES OF THE WEEK

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, for proposing another no tax increase budget.

11-year old David Silva, honored by America’s Most Wanted.



VILLAINS OF THE WEEK 

Columbia University and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad


Milwaukee Brewers manager Ned Yost, whose inability to handle his pitching staff and day-to-day lineup along with his inexcusably bad decisions caused the Brewers to blow a sizeable lead in baseball’s worst division………to the Cubs.    

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

“Democrats should run Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for president. He's more coherent than Dennis Kucinich, he dresses like their base, he's more macho than John Edwards, and he's willing to show up at a forum where he might get one hostile question -- unlike the current Democratic candidates for president who won't debate on Fox News Channel. He's not married to an impeached president, and the name "Mahmoud Ahmadinejad" is surely no more frightening than "B. Hussein Obama. And liberals agree with Ahmadinejad on the issues! We know that because he was invited by an American university to speak on campus.”
Ann Coulter

"It obviously breeds distrust and cynicism when government policy has to be hashed out behind closed doors."
Bill Lueders, president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, as Governor Doyle and legislative leaders met at the Governor’s mansion this week to try to reach an agreement on the state budget. 

"It's not going away. We're going to push even harder because I really, truly think that building (the Capitol) needs a nudge on this issue.
"State Senator Jon Erpenbach, on the Senate Democrats’ government health care plan, Healthy Wisconsin.

"For him to be able to get through his entire career without missing a football game to me is nothing short of miraculous."
Troy Aikman, who quarterbacked the Dallas Cowboys to three Super Bowl victories and entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006, on Brett Favre.    


OUTRAGE OF THE WEEK

Senate Democrats, who are in the hip pocket of the state teacher’s union and who always claim to be big supporters of education, fail to schedule a floor session to adopt state Assembly bills to fund schools and local governments. They refused for political reasons and a key budget deadline has been missed. Now the door is open for huge property tax increases.


MOST UNDER-REPORTED STORY OF THE WEEK

Remember that crazy judge in Sheboygan who overturned a jury’s conviction of a sex offender? Well… 


MOST OVER-HYPED STORY OF THE WEEK 

Ayyyyyyyyyy……….but this hype, I didn’t mind.

  

STRANGEST, MOST UNUSUAL STORY OF THE WEEK

Pink guns

REMEMBER: Your suggestions/nominations for any of these categories every week are welcome, especially for HEROES OF THE WEEK. If you know of anyone in the community deserving of recognition, please e-mail me.

 

It is highly fashionable in the news meida to bash catholics and other Christians. has been for a long time.

Tomorrow, San Francisco will host one of the most disgusting, despicable displays of anti-Christianity.

One columnist wonders, will the media cover the story?

I say no, but if they do, they will do so badly.

Here's the column that I read on WISN this week.

 

When the Badgers take on Michigan State this afternoon, the Spartans won't be a pushover. Like Wisconsin, they enter the game unbeaten and have a formidable tandem of running backs, including Jehuu Caulcrick.

Caulcrick knows what it's like to be tough. He was born in Liberia.

And he knows how rough the Badger fans can be.

A Madison paper referred to them as, "cheeky."

As I mentioned last weekend, the Franklin High School football team must go undefeated the rest of the season to make the playoffs. They kept their slim hopes alive last night, knocking off Kenosha Bradford.

The city attorney in South Milwaukee has tossed out the disorderly conduct charge issued against an umpire in an incident I talked about extensively on WISN and also blogged about.

A similar charge is still pending against the player who went after the umpire.

As I contended all along, the case should have never gotten to this point. The umpire did nothing wrong, and the South Milwaukee police and the city of South Milwaukee wasted a lot of time and effort on this one.

I may talk about this more and the larger issue at hand, threats against sports officials, when I fill in for Mark Belling on Monday on WISN from 3-6.

 

FranklinNOW.com is undergoing some major technical changes today. One of the kinks being worked on: some of my lengthier posts are being cut off before completion.

We're aware and are working to fix it.

Meanwhile, some readers have expressed interest in the teen sex piece I read on the air Wednesday while filling in for WISN's Mark Belling.

Here it is.

Wisconsin could see a huge increase in its cigarette tax, by $1.25.  Congress is also considering a federal increase in the cigarette tax.

A so-called “sin” tax, the cigarette tax is one that even those who hate tax increases can go along with if push comes to shove.

Why? Because people not only hate smoking, they hate smokers. A downtrodden lot in society, smokers have become pariahs, outcasts, a group to look down your noses at.

The disdain is so strong that one state wants to trample all over the individual rights of people who light up. (Remember, whether you like it or not, smoking is legal).

Tennessee’s cigarette tax has jumped from 20 cents to 62 cents. In an effort to stop bootleg cigarettes from coming into their state, Tennessee has just approved a law that if people buy more than two cartons of smokes outside of the state, their cars can be seized and they can be put behind bars. Tennessee revenue officials are reportedly spying on stores in other states to nab offenders.

Tennessee has already begun its surveillance of Tennessee residents sneaking across the border to buy cigarettes in other states where the cigarette tax isn’t as high.

According to a Knoxville newspaper, the idea is for the monitoring agent to spot a person buying cigarettes in volume at an out-of-state market, then departing in a vehicle with Tennessee license tags. Monitoring agents spotting such a suspect will call an arresting agent who will stop the car when it enters Tennessee. Conditions must be pretty rosy in the Volunteer state if government resources can be allocated to entrap cigarette purchasers.

David Brooks, a columnist for the New York Times that smokers are, “generally much poorer than average Americans and much less educated. High school dropouts smoke at roughly three times the rates of college graduates. They are also among the most demoralized people in society. Recent sociological research shows that most Americans regard smoking as a sign of low-class, unattractive behavior — and most smokers see it this way, too. Research by Kip Viscusi of Harvard suggests that smokers actually overestimate the dangers of their habit; they believe they are killing themselves even faster than they really are.”

Harvard’s Viscusi contends smokers actually save taxpayers money. They tend to die earlier than nonsmokers, they do not consume as much health care in old age or draw on Social Security as much as nonsmokers do. In 1997, the New England Journal of Medicine conducted a study that determined that total health care spending would go up, not down, if everyone stopped smoking.

Society doesn’t care. They’re just nasty, evil, dirty smokers. Stick it to ‘em. And boy, have we.

Since 1994, the average cigarette tax (state and federal combined) has tripled, rising from 50 cents to $1.46, an increase of more than 100 percent in real terms. Because smokers tend to die earlier than nonsmokers, they do not consume as much health care in old age or draw on Social Security as much as nonsmokers do. Leaving aside Social Security savings, a 1997 study in The New England Journal of Medicine concluded that total health care spending would go up, not down, if everyone stopped smoking.

Even if smoking does, on balance, increase government outlays, a 1994 report from the Congressional Research Service concluded that cigarette taxes in all likelihood already covered any external costs that reasonably could be attributed to smoking. Since then, the average cigarette tax (state and federal combined) has tripled, rising from 50 cents to $1.46, an increase of more than 100 percent in real terms. And that's not counting the price hike needed to fund the tobacco companies' settlement payments to the states. No other federal tax hurts the poor more than the cigarette tax. That’s according to the non-partisan Tax Foundation in Washington D.C. that says, “The burden of (a) proposed cigarette tax hike on the lowest-earning 20 percent of households is 37 times heavier than it would be if the government raised the money with the federal income tax.”

The attitude on Capitol Hill and in statehouses all across America, including Madison seems to be, who cares?

They’re………….

only…………….. 

smokers!

Non-smokers should think twice about being so fast to slam smokers in the pocketbook. When government is through tossing smokers out on the street and stomping them out with their heels, who and what will be their next target?

Beer? 

Wine? 

Alcohol? 

Fatty foods? 

Red meat?

They never run out of ways to nail you. Someday, it could be you, non-smoker…

Last month while filling in on WISN, one of my topics generated a storm of caller reaction. It involved an altercation between an umpire and a player at a softball game in South Milwaukee on August 3.

To re-cap:

In the second inning, one of the players up to bat squares to bunt and lays one down and is now dashing down the line to first place. The home plate umpire, a 32-year sports officiating veteran, also runs down the first base line and immediately calls the batter out. It’s the right call. Bunting in co-ed slo-pitch softball is not allowed and is an automatic out.

The player starts spewing loud profanities at the umpire who immediately ejected the player. As the umpire turns to walk back to home plate, the batter is now incensed and charges him. In the process, he pushes the umpire.

The two are belly to belly in a scene that looks like something out of ESPN Sportscenter. There are more profanities from the player who is right in the umpire’s face, and the umpire slightly pushes the player to get him off and create some safe distance. Now the umpire sees the player clenching a fist and he seriously thought he was about to get punched.

At that point, fans are coming out of the stands to get between the umpire and the player, and are pulling the player away.

Since he was ejected, the player, who is about 25 years old, is ordered to leave the premises. He does leave, but upon exiting telephones the South Milwaukee Police. Two officers arrive at the diamond and interview two witnesses, even though there were plenty more.

Now the officers talk to the umpire, telling him the player accused him of choking him.

“Why did you push him?” one of the officers asked the umpire. Explaining that he wanted to have the player back off so he could be at a safe distance, the umpire said he saw a clenched fist and didn’t want to be punched.

An officer then said the players accused the umpire of grabbing him by the collar. Not possible, replied the umpire because the player had a t-shirt on and wasn’t wearing a collar.

The officers left the park and the game resumed without incident. Afterwards, the umpire went to the South Milwaukee Police Department and inquired about filing charges, claiming the player committed a felony. The police would not allow him to file charges and said no felony occurred, that there was no felony on the books in Wisconsin pertaining to such cases.

They also told the umpire he could have walked away from the altercation. Again, this demonstrates a total ignorance of the volatile situation. Officials in all sports are trained to never turn their backs on an angry player for fear the official could get Pearl Harbored.

Adding insult to injury, before the umpire left the police station, he was informed the player was getting a $168 disorderly conduct ticket…..and so was he. It was handed to the umpire before he left.

Just a few more details…the player has a reputation of being a hothead, his father is a sports official, and his father is a local sheriff’s deputy.

I spoke about this incident while filling in on WISN last month and my phone lines were jammed. Just about every caller sided with the umpire. I could have done the entire three-hour show on this topic.

One of the people listening was South Milwaukee Police Chief Ann Wellens.

She didn’t appreciate the fact that I said on the air that the police weren’t aware of battery against a sports official being a felony.

Wellens said her officers were correct in telling the umpire the offense is not a felony.

Just prior to going on the air that day, a legal source of mine told me it was a felony, so I went with that. I was given misinformation, and I misspoke on the air. During a later broadcast on the same topic I admitted my error and stated my regrets. I didn’t learn the correct information until after the broadcast. The Legislature has been debating this issue since the 1980’s, but has failed to increase penalties. That’s a topic for another day.

I also had a long and cordial conversation with Chief Wellens. Despite my error, I told her that I stood by the rest of my broadcast: her officers did a less than thorough investigation, they should not have told the umpire he could have and should have walked away. The umpire should not have been given a citation, and that there is a perception that her department was going to give partial treatment to the player.

The chief told me she was not aware of my career-long support of all law enforcement. She apparently believed she knew enough about me to tell WISN management that I was rude and ignorant.

I was astounded that Chief Wellens had little sympathy for the umpire. As I stood by my stance that he should not have been ticketed, the chief said that the umpire would have his day in court, that he could get a lawyer and gather evidence and present his case.

My immediate response to the Chief:

“He shouldn’t have to.”

He did nothing wrong. Why should he have to go through all this hassle? This is why too many citizens have ill feelings about the police.

I understand the chief was defending her officers. I am sure that they are good officers. It is my view that they didn’t handle this particular incident properly.

The chief also told me that her department received several nasty and offensive calls as a result of my broadcast. While I feel badly about that, I told her that I cannot be blamed for those calls. I certainly didn’t instruct anyone to call and complain, and I never would advocate any such treatment of our fine police officers. I also addressed that part of this story on the air.

As I stated in a previous blog:

This story isn’t over. A hearing is scheduled for (Friday) September 28 in South Milwaukee. The City Attorney needs to drop the ticket against the umpire and consider more serious charges against the player. Otherwise, it sends a terrible message that in South Milwaukee, athletes are given notice that it’s open hunting season on officials.

I’ve blogged in the past about my cousin Doug who distills Rehorst Vodka and Gin.

He’ll be in Franklin Friday for a Rehorst sampling.

Stop in for a taste and tell Doug I said hello!


Chuckie's House of Wine
76th & Rawson - Franklin
414-425-9800, chuckie@houseofwine.biz
Hours: Tues-Fri 3-8, Sat 10-7, Sun 12-4
www.chuckieswine.com www.MKEwine.com

This Week

Special Event - Friday September 28th @ CHW, 5pm-8pm, free

Great Lakes Distillery Vodka & Gin Sampling - Meet the staff from Great Lakes Distillery, makers of Milwaukee's own Rehorst Vodka and Rehorst Gin. These are hand-crafted Artisan Spirits Made One Drop At a time! Chuckie toured the distillery a few months ago and thought it was so unique he had to bring the spirits to the House of Wine. This is a FREE sampling, no reservations - stop by anytime on Friday evening between 5 and 8. Of course we will have Rehorst Vodka and Rehorst Gin available at truly low low prices.

I thought long and hard about Greg Kowalski’s rant about Franklin bloggers.

While I’m not sure that he’s accurate about how often WE bloggers make reference to his opinions, I will say that he has provided something to think about.

In some soul-searching, I went back and re-visited just the blogs I’ve done this month.

Look at the topics I chose to write about: teen sex, inefficient medical treatment for veterans, the latest crime data, the Bible, education, health care, abortion, illegal immigration, breast cancer, victim’s rights, obesity, capital punishment…

These heavy subjects are all so………................serious.

And controversial.

And gosh darn it, let’s be honest.

Do we, and that includes Greg, have to be so doggone negative all the time?

And so, with Greg’s most recent viewpoint in mind, I wrote the following entry just for him:



Franklin is wonderful.

What a lovely city.

I’m glad I live in Franklin in my Franklin home with my Franklin family.

It’s nice.

Take today, for example.

Like, at first you know, I thought it was going to rain.

Yeh, I really did.

But then, the sun came shining down on Franklin.

Right out of the sky.

It was nice.

I like when the sun shines.

You know what else I like?

I like the mac and cheese at Cheesecake Factory.

Wouldn’t it be nice if Franklin could get a Cheesecake Factory?

I wouldn’t have to drive all the way to the other side of town.

I could stay in wonderful Franklin.

Cheesecake Factory has so many happy people with smiles on their faces.

It’s nice.

But maybe someday.

I think if I put together a real nice petition and get some real nice people to sign it, like say, about 100, I could take it to our nice City Hall and give it to the nice aldermen.

Then I could write about it.

And people could send me e-mails telling me how neat I am.

And then I could post those e-mails on my blog.

Oh, that would be nice.

I like sharing other people’s e-mails.

I even like asking for their e-mails, even if I do it every day.

That’s okay because I ask in a real nice way.

I like friends.

John Michlig is my friend.

He writes a blog, too, you know.

Him and I agree all the time.

That’s why he’s my friend.

John doesn’t like it when you take nice trees and nice flowers and nice land and put concrete all over it.

Isn’t that special?

John is a good man.

He’s one of the nice people in Franklin.

There are some people who aren’t so nice.

But I don’t think I’ll mention them.

I don’t want them to label me.

Sometimes they attack me.

I feel like they go after me, like, all the time.

I’m not like them.

I never criticize.

I never say anything negative about anybody.

Because I’m nice.

Do you think I’m nice?

If you do, how about sending me an e-mail?

I love sharing e-mails from friendly Franklin folks.

We are lucky in Franklin.

We have a nice Mayor.

We have a nice Common Council.

The Planning Commission is real nice.

And the School Board?

They’re the best!

I like schools.

Franklin schools are good, but we need more of them.

Really big schools.

Really nice schools.

I think if we all just sit back and realize what a nice community we live in, we’d be more than happy to pay a lot more for really nice schools.

You know what would be awesome?

What would be awesome is if we build this super new high school, but it would go up instead of out!

You know what I mean.

And instead of lying down all that asphalt, it would have UNDERGROUND PARKING!

Oh, I think I’m on to something.

That’s what's so cool about my blog.

I get to talk to you and you get to talk to me and we share how much we agree with each other.

And it’s all about how much we care about this community.

Because I think it’s really nice that nobody cares more about Franklin than I do.

Don’t you think that’s nice?

Shoot me an e-mail if you do.

Anywho, I’m headed outside to stare at our Franklin family garden.

It’s nice.

I like when the birds fly by.

Birds are nice.

So is mac and cheese.

I gotta go now.

Don’t forget to e-mail.

I’ll post it as long as it’s really nice.

I agree with FranklinNOW.com blogger Fred Keller and his latest entry. It’s often hard to figure out what the hell Greg Kowalski is talking/blogging about because you can’t wade through the grammatical errors (My personal favorite is “Us bloggers”) and spelling mistakes.

This is a murky pond of many issues swirling around at once, so allow me to simplify.

1) In the past, several anti-tax bloggers (that would leave Greg Kowalski out) have correctly observed that New Berlin raised their school taxes by only 0.9%. Why can’t Franklin do the same?

2) In a lame attempt to discredit the New Berlin School Board, Greg Kowalski in his blog linked to a NewBerlinNow.com blogger, Linda Richter, a frequent critic of conservative pols in New Berlin, since she is a tax and spend liberal.

3) It’s no surprise Greg would hitch his wagon to Richter, since Greg never met a tax increase he didn’t love.

4) I have personally advised Greg to double-check before he posts anything on his blogs.

5) The young, naïve Greg refuses to listen.

6) Thus, he has decided to, by linking to Linda Richter’s blog, link to the community blogger who is the least respected, most unworthy of credibility writer there is on the various community blog sites.
Greg Kowalski has decided to join forces with NewBerlinNOW.com blogger Linda Richter, who has taken the extraordinary steps of spending her own personal money to purchase court records to delve into the personal and private life of another NewBerlinNOW.com blogger.

Apparently, Greg Kowalski wants to jump right in and join forces with another blogger who mud slings and slanders another blogger.

Greg has done and said some foolish things on his blog, but nothing is as low as this.

Because he didn’t take the extra few minutes to see who he was linking his support to in his blog, he has now alligned himself with one of the sleaziest bloggers on the various community blog sites.

He will, of course, either plead ignorance, or pull out his favorite trump card: Kevin is picking on me.

I think, by now, the vast majority of readers has seen through this, and realizes the thin-skinned Kowalski has no case.

My point is this: young, naïve Greg Kowalski likes to picture himself as hero of the community. The fact is, his arguments, and now the people he likes to associate with (libelous bloggers) bring his entire credibility into question.

I call on Greg to completely disassocate himself from Linda Richter and apologize for his support of her blog entry.

Refusal to do so will signify Greg's allegiance with another blogger who has stooped to the lowest of tricks and schemes to attack another blogger, thus bringing into question everything Greg has done in the past.

While filling in today for Mark Belling on Newstalk 1130 WISN, I read a piece that I believe every high school and junior high school student in America should hear. The message needs to be read in every one of those classrooms.

The Teenage Casualties of Casual Sex
By Doug Giles
Saturday, September 22, 2007

Chances are historically high, young person, that if you screw around sexually nowadays well…you could very well be…screwed. As in, for life, with the “gift” that keeps on giving—namely, a Sexually Transmitted Disease.

FYI young dudes and dudettes: no matter what they tell you on the various TV commercials, these diverse and multitudinous sex plagues aren’t just a “little inconvenient” like a runny nose, halitosis or dandruff. They are devastating.

The entrance of an STD into your B-O-D could equal one or more of the following: perpetual physical pain, public humiliation, chronic depression, infertility, increased chance of birth defects in your kids (if you can still have them), cervix, penile and anal cancer and/or an early and horrible visit from the Grim Reaper.

Now, I know what most teenage crotch rockets and their aiding and abetting adult purveyors of the follow-your-little-head propaganda are thinking: “It could never happen to me. I’m special. That kind of stuff only happens to skanks like Courtney Love and Tommy Lee, and anyway, more than likely this is trumped-up parent/Bible Belt-inspired blather lathered up to make us keep our zippers in the upright and locked position.”

The truth of the matter is that STDs are cranking in our culture like never before, and they are an equal opportunity infector. An estimated 19 million new cases occur each year with our teenage kids getting hammered with the lion’s share of this slop (teens now make up 25% of the 19 million new “victims” annually).

Check out this smattering of factual 411 from Dr. Meg Meeker’s new book Your Kids at Risk: How Teen Sex Threatens Our Sons and Daughters:

• This year, 8 to 10 million teens will contract an STD.

• Nearly one out of four sexually active teens is living with a sexually transmitted disease at this moment.

• Nearly 50% of African-American teenagers have genital herpes.

• Although teenagers make up just 10% of the population, they acquire 25% of all STDs.

• Herpes (specifically, herpes simplex virus type 2) has skyrocketed 500% in the past 20 years among white teenagers.

• One in five children over the age of 12 tests positive for herpes type 2.

• Nearly one out of ten teenage girls has chlamydia, and half of all new chlamydia cases are diagnosed in girls 15 to 19 years old.

• STDs accounted for 87% of all cases reported of the top ten most frequently reported diseases in the United States in 1995.

• This new epidemic is not just cursing those “poor inner city kids.” No, the viruses have solidly taken up residence in the suburbs.

Yep, the reality is that every twenty-four hours 21,000 teens are slapped, saddled, infused and infected with some creepy, nasty and potentially deadly bug brought about by following the advice of our crass culture.

It seems as if following the guidance of the sexual revolutionaries of the ‘60s, American Pie, Superbad, Paris and Pam has brought about a veritable venereal tsunami of which our teens are now drowning in the disease-laden wake.

Imagine that.

Who’d a thunk that going indiscriminately nuts with your ‘nads would end in anal warts, barrenness, a cauliflowered and inflamed penis, blown ovaries, ruined-for-life fallopian tubes, cervical cancer and a premature death? Wow. Who saw that comin’?

Y’know, I thought we could do whatever we wanted to sexually and the god of these goof balls, the latex condom, would save us all, baby. It’s weird that with all the condoms in use today that STDs have not diminished but have rather skyrocketed. That’s freaky. We all had so much hope in that $1.00 thin sheath of lambskin.

I guess the condom commandos didn’t figure on new STDs showing up and ruining their party. Yes, the industrious little venereal buggers of the 21st century have found a way around the pesky rubber.

One polyurethane circumventor is the human papilloma virus (HPV). This dog is highly contagious and spreads via skin to skin contact as well as through secretions. Unless you get a HazMat suit you’re at risk now if you’re going to be a sexual player. Good luck.

For this pain-dealer there is no medication, no treatment that will eliminate this virus and HPV is responsible for 99.7% of all cervical cancer and the deaths of 5,000 women each year. And most victims have no symptoms (just 1% develop genital warts) and no idea they have it until it solidly has them.

Young person…let me ask you a blunt question: is getting off with whomever/whenever worth getting offed by an STD? Can’t you wait ‘til you find some non disease-riddled person you love and stick with them? Is the need so intense that potentially dying for the big “O” is cool with you? If so, you need to dial down and get focused. Love yourself a tad more. Get a vision. Find God. Play Yahtzee or something because your obsession could come around and bite you in the butt, literally.

Here’s my last word for the teenager: Nobody on the abstinence side of the sex spectrum is trying to keep you from having fun. We’re just trying to keep you alive so that when you meet the right person and get married you can have a healthy sex life with no regrets, diseases, infertility or untimely death, that’s all. And yes, it’s come down to that. The sexual revolution is over, and we all lost. In this, your day, my young friend, there is a very real pay day for buying the BS our sex-obsessed culture is selling you. This is the hand you’ve been dealt. Be afraid.

And finally for mom and dad: Get Dr. Meg Meeker’s new book Your Kids at Risk: How Teen Sex Threatens Our Sons and Daughters. This book is one of the most frightening and sobering books I’ve read lately. You will be chilled to the bone. If your GACF (Give a Crap Factor) is remotely engaged regarding your children then this book is a must-read. Be ready to be freaked out. Not only will Dr. Meeker sufficiently wake you up to the STD epidemic that is upon us, but she will simultaneously give you the wherewithal to help you help yours not be a part of the crotchal carnage.

One other thing—and don’t tell anybody I told you to do this—but if you don’t have anything to do this weekend, why don’t you Google some STDs with your teen who might still be a little “iffy” about abstinence and check out the various photo galleries of the folks who followed the advice of our modern vice-meisters and played sexual roulette with their reproductive organs? It’s scary. Very scary. You will all be gobsmacked. It’s crude. It’s rude. It’s disgusting. But you know what…sometimes we need something that’ll just wake us the hell up.

Doug Giles’ new book “10 Habits of Decidedly Defective People: The Successful Loser’s Guide to Life” is now available. Doug’s award winning talk show and video blog can be seen and heard at www.ClashRadio.com.

The current rate of inflation is 1.97%

The Franklin Common Council has been presented a budget proposal by Mayor Tom Taylor with a tax levy increase of 5.7%

The Franklin School Board is poised to approve a budget with a 5.6% school tax levy increase.

These increases are almost TRIPLE the rate of inflation.

They are outrageous, unreasonable, and unacceptable.