Blogage

The Presidential candidates are trying to impress voters as to who loves Harley Davidson more.

McCain would rather hear the roar of Harleys than having cheering fans in Berlin. Obama thinks McCain stabbed Harley in the back for not supporting a “Buy American” bill that would mandate government entities to buy products produced in the U.S.

“Buy American” sounds wonderful, and hey, who wouldn’t want to buy our own products if they best meet our needs and budget? The problem is this: If you mandate what, or how, to buy, it takes control away from the entity buying what they want or need. Governments have a hard enough time making good buying decisions and/or saving money without the help of those in Congress who never ran a business.

During the peak of the 1980s auto crisis, every Detroit motorcycle cop was riding a Honda. Buy American? Yea, right. Thanks a lot Detroit. The fact of the matter was Harley Davidson was not producing a quality product back then, according to their dealers. (By the way, neither was Detroit.)  They would tell me of all the innovative ways they would keep new Harleys from leaking oil onto their showroom floor. Not drips but “Exxon Valdez” type leaks where customers were slipping and hurting themselves.

H-D nearly became extinct. Instead of writing their own epitaph, they remade themselves. They became fanatical on quality and cost cutting. They invested heavily in their brand. They made a market for their product and then they sold all they produced. They got a government bailout but it was really more of a commuted death sentence and a swift kick in their behind.

When bidding for the High School renovation, we wanted to give our local businesses every opportunity to bid, work, or supply the project without compromising cost savings or quality. We could not have restricted non Menomonee Falls’ companies even if we wanted to because competing for the business is always in the taxpayers’ best interest. If we restricted non Menomonee Falls’ companies, Menomonee Falls’ companies could rightly be restricted from working on projects around the state.

When governments mandate buying their own products it is called protectionism. Protectionism starts trade wars that affect all sorts of businesses, violates trade treaties, and fuels a global trade rift. For example, if we mandated that all U.S. airlines bought from Boeing, Airbus would demand the same from the EU. With pure capitalism the buyer is the winner, along with the company with the superior product at the best price.

The only way to get people, world wide, to “Buy American” is to make a superior product at the right price.

The most effective way to ship jobs overseas is to not understand basic capitalism and vote for laws that will deteriorate the market.

 Please note the time and date of this important forum. These are all the details I have at the moment. Keep posted for more.

5TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT CANDIDATE FORUM
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2008 7:00 - 8:00 PM
  GERMANTOWN VILLAGE HALL

Hat Tip: Bootsandsabers.com

Greetings: I am looking for any musicians who may want to play/practice one night a week.

I have a complete band set up in my basement that includes “Sunn” amps, full PA-with mixer, drums, keyboard and about 15 various guitars. Nobody would have to pack up or move anything.

Right now we have a reliable drummer but he has had an interest in playing guitar so that spot can change weekly.  

We could play just about anything (except Styxx) including Jazz, Latin, Rock, Country and Folk.

Anyone with an interest can contact me via: ted (at) thatsbrilliant (dot) com for more information.

Musicians at any level are welcome as long as they are fun to be with.

It’s only Jews…

My favorite college professor, who later became a friend taught valuable lessons that I hope to pass on to my children.

Larry Rudner was fascinated by the Holocaust. He lost 3 grandparents and numerous aunts and uncles in Treblinka, an extermination camp in Poland.

I was fortunate enough to take his Holocaust course. The first day was very memorable. The first question Professor Rudner asked was how could something like a Holocaust happen? After many different answers he asked, “could this happen again?” Before he would let the class answer he admonished one of the students in the class who was dressed very shabbily. He began to pick on the student by pointing out that nobody should attend class dressed like that and engaged the class to comment.

When it became apparent the class was also piling on this student, I spoke up and defended the student. I was promptly instructed to shut up or I would be the next victim of his critique.  For a while, I sat there in stunned silence until reengaging the professor who continued to whip up on my classmate.

It was then he stopped. He looked sad and then he spoke. “The student and I had planned this event in advance. He purposely dressed poorly to help me make my point. Holocausts are started by the power hungry; beating up on those that cannot or will not defend themselves. Holocausts grow when those who know better, are stronger, sit by, and let it happen or are willing participants. Silence is willing participation. So far, only one person will pass this class. Now get out of my sight.” That was day one…

The dreaded “Mortgage Crisis” is in full bloom and the woe lemmings are dutifully following the doomsayers over the cliff of common sense.

What caused this crisis?

1. Stupid borrowers who really knew they could not afford to buy a house that was not in their league, No, there was no socioeconomic bias happening here. CEOs loosing million dollar homes were in this equation too and just as stupid as anyone else who wanted to live well beyond their means.     

2.  Stupid greedy lenders who thought they could pass these bad loans on to the secondary market, often took credit applications written on cocktail napkins, never seriously checked reported/claimed salary, and checked credit scores by seeing how many blue stars someone had on Ebay.

What is the government solution to this problem? A $250 Billion bail out to Dumb AND to Dumber.

We the people are rewarding those who made idiotic financial decisions even though 97% of Americans are paying their mortgages on a regular basis and on time. We are letting the lending entities who made these stupid loans live to loan another day instead of letting them die a rightful death so they won’t corrupt the market in the future.

Let the borrowers go back to renting since they have no equity in their “home” anyway. Let the lenders go bankrupt or go to jail since they are bad business people. This is a solution that costs taxpayers nothing and will correct the market within months.

Now that the weather is finally getting warm, it is time to prepare for the seasonal unpleasant site of men over 40 walking around places like State Fair, Summerfest, Falls Fest, and yes, even the Smithsonian Sculpture Gardens in D.C. without a shirt. Many of these guys are in their 60s with tattoos as faded as the south side of my house.

Do they ever get lucky? I don’t know, or care, but they scare my kids, and me too, a little bit. Anyone with that much poor judgment is likely to do worse things.

We +40 men all consider ourselves buff beyond belief, but some of us have a little voice inside our heads whispering that the women and young girls looking at us are actually comparing us to Jabba the Hut instead of plotting how to get us to drive their Lamborghini back to their penthouse. Another clue, the gagging sound they are making between fits of laughter.

For those of you who are King of your castle here is a simple rule for men who want to do the right thing. The 40-Yard Rule: “No man over 40 will cross the border of his property without a shirt. Simple and effective. If you want to mow your lawn, sit on your porch, work on your car, go for it. Otherwise, do not cross that border except to help your neighbor. Then return promptly to your own property. Exceptions: If you go to a pool, beach or other swimming area.

This Waukesha County State Test Scores Graph shows the results of last years test scores for the State Test taken last year. It takes at least 6 months to get the results back.

http://www.jsonline.com/multimedia/graphic.asp?graphic=http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/news/img/may08/scores4_053008_big.jpg

This Waukesha County State Test Scores Article gives some objective observations on the results.

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=756607

No comment from me-at this time…

For those of you who like to know what is going on, business wise, in the Falls, the following stores are now closed:

1. Ponderosa - closed two weeks ago.

2. Camille's at Good Hope and Appleton closed about two months ago. Was open about 3 months.

3. The Custard Company on Main Street closed about a month ago.

Please use this blog post to honor those who have fought, served, and died for our ability to live as we as we are today. Please honor those who are serving right now as well.

 Posting a tribute below is very simple and would mean a lot to those who should forever be remembered.

No announcement has been made as to where the headquarters will be located when the merger between SAB/Miller and Coors/Molsen is approved by the Feds. My prediction, dating back to December 07, will be Colorado. I wish it were not so, but that won’t make it so.

“Southeast Wisconsin did lose the bragging rights to being GE Healthcare's headquarters last year. After General Electric Co.'s acquisition of Amersham PLC, the headquarters was moved to Chalfont St. Giles - a city near London.”

JSOnline Oct. 29, 2005

Every state is trying to be “Thee Biotech State” or the “Pharmaceutical Capitol” of the U.S. because the moniker implies high tech, high paying jobs. Wisconsin’s leaders declared they want this title. While the “goal” sounds good, is it a realistic?

I want to be the starting power forward for the Milwaukee Bucks in 2008. Even though I am over 50, under 5’8’’ and never played college basketball, my goal is more realistic than Wisconsin’s.  

Many do not realize that Brewing is a high tech industry. Miller Brewing had a world class technical center in which there were over 35 PhDs in areas such as microbiology, cereal chemistry, protein chemistry, foam chemistry, etc. It had more PhDs than any other non-medical or non-educational institution in Wisconsin. Pabst and Schlitz also had significant research facilities. The industry also paid good wages and benefits to the line workers and provided many executive positions like accounting, IT, legal, and marketing.   

Hundreds of S.E. Wisconsin companies are/were vendors to Miller Brewing-including mine.

Wisconsin was the brewing capital of the U.S. but things change and brewing dispersed. No effort was made to save it or replace it. Brewing wasn't high tech enough.

There are plenty of opportunities for Wisconsin to be the capital of something else. Paper and printing are good examples. While it doesn’t create the buzz as being the Pharma Capital it is infinitely more sensible, realistic, and achievable. 

Maybe someday we will have a Governor who can lead companies into Wisconsin instead of filing lawsuits against them. Until that day, we will be known as the “Moving Van State” moving corporations out of Wisconsin. 

It seems like only yesterday that most of us were able to get on with our lives thanks to the writer’s strike settlement. Hopefully, you are all pleased with your favorite shows returning in full splendor.

“Boston Legal” was an amusing show until about two weeks ago when David Spader hectored the U.S. Supreme Court while defending a retarded murderer from receiving the death penalty (good luck kid, your high minded lawyer just tweaked the nose of your last chance). Denny Crane added to the absurdity by ripping one during the proceedings. This show has truly left the cliff and is heading for the rocks below.  It reminds me when “MASH” was a great show, before everyone became good buddies and each episode delivered one pious sermon after another.

Today’s comedies need to use shock, sex, or something gross to get the laughs. They use everything but good writing. It’s just not that funny.*

Something happened the other night while watching TV. My kids looked at me very puzzled. When I asked what was the matter they both responded, “Dad, you are laughing out loud-you never do that when you watch TV.”

Now, I love to laugh but had to admit it doesn’t happen when watching comedies. What was I watching? The classic “Beverly Hillbillies.”

“The Beverly Hillbillies” is just laugh out loud funny, even to this day. What is great about the show is it never really makes fun of Jed and his kin. They are just good-hearted mountain folk that are in a culture clash in a strange land and trying to make sense of it all. They have great riches but never loose their center. That is, they never loose site of who they are in spite of a great reversal of fortune.

Those supposedly much smarter city slickers who try to swindle money from them always end up trying to escape from the Clampett’s overzealous generosity. The Clampetts never would think of giving money to someone when they could teach them how to plow, cook possum, or have some of Granny’s free doctor’n.

When working the Appalachia region of Eastern Kentucky and West Virginia, I found the folks there to be trusting, generous, and friendly.  So, the real story behind the show is the joke may have been on us city folk all along.

* Admittedly, I laugh out loud watching “The Simpsons” but, hopefully, the kids aren’t around to watch me, while I’m watching that.

Who has not been touched by the death of a pregnant mother and school administrator, her unborn baby, and her daughter? People overuse the word tragedy to describe many things. This truly was a tragedy. A verdict will soon tell us if it was murder. Maybe Mark Benson will get another chance.

Charity is not charity if you give with other people’s money, resources, or at other’s expense. Charity is giving of yourself, the money you have earned or the money and/or time you could spend on yourself but choose to give to improve the lives of others.

Compassion has a price, and I do not mean money. Do we automatically offer compassion because it is right or because it makes us feel and look noble? People often write “compassion checks” on someone else’ account and take the credit for being noble.

Apparently people wrote Mark Benson multiple “compassionate checks” long before he went out driving without a valid license. 

Who paid the price for this compassion?

Was it worth the cost?

Note: The laws in this state are too weak for multiple offenders and people who drive without a valid license. The judge did what he felt was fair but even the maximum sentence would not have prevented ths tragedy.

In case you have not heard, the news has had two consecutive Fridays where there has been over 100 people in the main room listening to live music. www.johnharbors.com

John Harbor’s is across the street from the Associated Bank on Main Street and is an untraditional Coffee House. They serve good food and are friendly hospitable folk. This is the kind of place people tell me we need in the Falls but never seem to support. Well, at least the last part has changed. You can get a good cup of Joe, a nice wine or a beer in a totally smoke free environment. You can even get a Bourbon but you have to spell it for Jeremy, the bartender.

The main room looks like a hip living room and is an ideal place to have a meeting or to hear live music-a rarity in this village. It is a great place to take your spouse, friends or even your kids if it is early enough and they like Gelato.

Two weeks ago there was a trio of Arrowhead High School girls playing music to a group of supporters, along with seniors, middle aged men and women, some wearing Harley gear and some wearing western wear (me). Everyone was getting along just fine.

While most of the bars I frequent these days only serve lettuce and tomatoes, I don’t normally find myself hanging with HS kids, but these were kids who were mature beyond their age. It was fun to watch them have fun. I would hope my kids spend Friday night this way when they get to be that age.

There are some events on May 2^nd and 3^rd that will benefit kid's organizations so what better time to check this place out for yourself.

This circular conversation continues to this day. No scientific proof exists against genetically modified crops just feeble mental resistance to science. Europe, always pretending to be the superior intellect to the U.S, saw the obvious advantage to Monsanto’s product as a way to kill their seed and agricultural business. Therefore, naturally, they decided to ban any genetically modified food products under the guise of protecting their citizens from harm. In actuality, it was an absolute trade barrier. Japan, never willing to take second place to trade barriers banned containers, and anything in them, that at one time contained genetically modified food products.

France, even blocked several UN tankers of corn, donated by the U.S. to Zimbabwe’s starving people to “protect” them from the evils of genetically modified crops. Tens, and possibly hundreds of thousands of human beings starved to death as a result. Meanwhile, the scientists who created genetically modified products eat them, and continue to feed them to their children knowing they are perfectly safe. By starving innocent humans to make a point, environmentalists may have created a mental standard that makes the Spanish Inquisition look like the apex of human thought and kindness.

Monday evening was my last night as a School Board member.

I want to thank the community for putting their faith in me to undertake this major responsibility. At the end of three years, I hope you feel that I have served you well.

My Agenda – The Top Six February 2005

1.   At the very top of my agenda is raising test scores. (Please click on the Test Scores link on the left) My goal would be to get our test scores from the bottom quartile, in Waukesha County, to at least the third (hopefully higher) in the next 3 years. Since MFSD it in the top quartile of spending and at the bottom in academic test scores, my ultimate goal would be to reverse those positions.

Well, this was an aggressive goal and while scores are rising, they are rising everywhere else and we are not rising fast enough for us to pull ahead. Encouraging is the greater degree of seriousness this district and community places on test scores and many viable solutions are underway. We have begun to ensure that curriculum is being taught consistently between classes, in all elementary schools.

3.   The MFSD should conduct an outside/independent evaluation of our district, and similar districts, to benchmark how much we are spending on items, such as maintenance, compared to other districts.

First there is an ongoing maintenance and replacement plan in place. Second, the maintenance budget has been increased by about $150,000 per year since I have been on the board. I need to verify that number and may modify this post as I am going off memory right now.

Chuck Mangione played at the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center to cap off a High School Band competition. Brookfield Central won but MF and Hamilton were not participating.

Mangione can be credited (or cursed depending on your opinion) for pioneering the “Smooth Jazz” genre of music. He composed and played beautiful jazz that was accessible to a whole new generation of music lovers. He wasn’t Miles Davis but he probably opened Miles’ music to an audience that may have passed it by.

I had lost touch with Mangione’s music for a long time but was still impressed by the quality of some old favorites such as “Land of Make Believe” and “Bellavia.” The sound was excellent and the band very tight.

Mangione recalled playing “Children of Sanchez” in Poland and at the completion of the song; people stood, wept, put their hands over their hearts, and cheered with all their might. It was a musician’s dream until he later learned the song was the designated anthem of Poland’s democracy movement. Still, a very cool tribute to the composer.

The program notes also boasted: “A 1980 issue of Current Biography called "Feels So Good" the most recognized tune since "Michelle" by The Beatles. Recently, smooth jazz stations throughout the United States have recognized Mangione's "Feels So Good" as their all-time number one song.”

My wife and I took our trumpet playing son and friend to the concert and were delighted to find them both tapping their feet and paying close attention to the musicians. Next stop: Miles Davis.

"I will not stop until the truth about the corruption in Menomonee Falls comes out and is dealt with in the proper way."

                                                            Jefferson Davis      http://www.menomoneefallsnow.com/story/index.aspx?id=734696

 "Do not bear false witness against your neighbor"

                                                     God