...I saw the best political bumper sticker ever.  Yes, the elections finished up weeks ago (though not some of the recounts), but this sticker was timeless. Matter of fact it was a sticker for the 2004 Presidential election.

Here it is: 

Those of you not familiar with Read More »

My daughter, Eleanor, is a member of the Lawrence Academy of Music Intermezzo Girl Choir.  My wife, Janet, is the accompanist for two of the six Girl Choirs including my daughter's.  In December five of the Choirs will give a concert at the Lawrence Memorial Chapel.  This year will be a program of Christmas music, which only happens once every four years from what I'm told.

One of the songs the Intermezzo Choir will sing is "Riu Riu Chiu", a 16th century Spanish villancico, or, as it became known, "Christmas carol".  It's a very pretty song. The title doesn't have any literal meaning; it's supposed to represent the song of the nightingale.

Last night my wife was coaching Eleanor.  Since the song is in Spanish, those girls in the choir that don't speak it have to learn it by ear.  Eleanor was coming along nicely last nigh ... Read More »

Reader Reaction Forum: How can candidates effectively win your support?

(published on-line, 1-Nov-2010, Appleton Post-Crescent)

At best it's a temporary lull in the battle. When a new member of Congress takes his seat he's immediately beset by the pressures to support or not support this issue or the other. Favors are totted up minutely. A Congresscritter can't expect support for his pet bill if he didn't support these 18 other bills by other members. It's like getting caught in a web. Some that have exemplary leadership or deal-making skills wind up as majority/minority leaders. Others, like Ron Paul, wind up as lone wolves.

I guess the question is how will the newly elected Congressman act once in office? Will the campaign trail firebrand carry his flaming sword onto the floor of the House or Senate and slash budgets and make taxes fair for all? Not likely. Read More »

On an email list I subscribe to, someone asked me if the term "Congresscritter" was original with me.  I had to admit that it wasn't.  I simply heard it somewhere long ago and liked it and use it every chance I get.

It got me to thinking about whether I've actually had any original thoughts.  Sad to say I only came up with two.  So I'm now laying claim to them officially on the GoreNet for all the world to see:

1. "Fashion paper plate©", as in, "Greg was the opposite of dapper: he was a fashion paper plate."
2. A joke: "Lutheran guilt is worse than Catholic guilt because Lutherans are guilty they're not Catholics."

All the rest is derivative.

Two entirely different stories with similar sub-plots: that "the will of the people" was thwarted.

First, the passage of the Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act, aka "ObamaCare".  The conservatives have been making hay saying that the majority of Americans were opposed to its passage; but our Congresscritters, our we-know-better-than-the-Great-Unwashed elected representatives in D.C. went ahead and passed it anyway.  Now there's serious talk of either repealing it or "fixing" the parts that those poor Democrats didn't know were in the bill.

Second, the passage of an increase in the retirement age in La Belle France: from a minimum of 60 years of age to 62.  Millions have already staged protests, strikes, and even riots.  What you see in almost every news story about the new legislation is that the people are against it ... Read More »

This story in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Online made me a little crazy.  Here's a little burg (pop. around 11,000) whose school board has decided to ask parents to enroll their children in sex education classes via an "opt-in" registration.  That is, to attend the class the parents have to return a permission slip, just as they do for a field trip outside the school.

Now, however, the state Department of Public Instruction is making threatening noises about suing the Cedarbury school district.  Why?  Because the state avers that the registration should be of the "opt-out" variety.  That is, unless a parent specifically says, "No", the child will be enrolled in the sex ed classes.

I'm with Cedarbu ... Read More »

How do you figure out what campaign info to believe?

(published 11-Oct-2010, Appleton Post-Crescent)

I'll answer that question with a question: "How far can you throw a politician?"  That's about how far I trust what a candidate says about himself.  My family hasn't watched TV (cable or broadcast) since mid-November, 1999; so, glory be!  I don't have to SEE political TV ads.  I can selectively examine candidate web sites and sites like WisPolitics.com to read their platforms.  I listen to radio news to hear the lastest scandals.  I can hear their voices in sound bites, too.  (That's how I knew Clinton had trouble with the truth...sticky mouth when answering uncomfortable questions.)  Radio and web pundits provide color and depth to the candidates.  Political advocacy web sites have valuable inf ... Read More »

This morning on a local radio station (WTAQ-Green Bay), I heard the latest Christine O'Donnell ad.  For those of you who haven't heard of her, she's the young lady who defeated U.S. Representative Mike Castle of Delaware in the Republican Senate primary.  Lots of sour grapes after that victory from Mr. Castle, á là Murkowski in Alaska.

After O'Donnell won her primary, the deep digging into her past began.  What was the most outrageous thing the muck-rakers c ... Read More »

I just checked the results of the 15-question mini-version of the Pew Research Religious Knowledge survey that I posted the other day.  Though the average American that responded to the full survey of 32 questions flunked it badly (16 questions correct or 50%), I am pleased as punch to report that the 8 Town Crank readers who took the mini-survey scored an average of 95%!!  That's an 'A' in my book!  You can see the mini-survey results here.

I've started listening to NPR's "Morning Edition" again after I drop off my wife at work.  I used to listen every single day, weekdays and Saturdays.  Weekdays in particular since Bob Edwards was the anchor for the program.  When he was pushed out I stopped listening.

But I got used to listening again and I've got to say it's a pretty good show.  I have to say something about the newscast on Friday, though, because it gave me the best laugh of the week...in a good way.

Steve Inskeep, I believe, was giving the 8:00 newscast.  I'd already read about Mahmoud Ahmadinejad giving an address at the United Nations and about how the U.S. delegation walked out.  Inskeep said something about Ahmadinejad devoting his speech to conspiracy theories and that the U.S. government planned and executed the 9/11 attacks t ... Read More »

What can be done to prevent distracted driving?

(published 27-Sep-2010, Appleton Post-Crescent)

Pour molten lead into the CD and radio controls and all the cup holders.  Mandate detectors for french fry, nacho, and kung pao chicken molecules.  A sprinkler system is triggered when those odors are present.  Something like the bucking strap they use on bulls in a rodeo so that if the driver reaches for anything other than the climate controls or the glove compartment, the strap cinches up tight around a very sensitive personal area.  An electronic cell phone jammer. A roof reservoir for coffee or soda so that the driver can sip from a straw without moving his head.  Built in ... Read More »

Heard on NPR this morning, an excellent interview with Jonathan Rauch of the Brookings Institution and the National Journal.  Rauch gave an extremely fair and balanced analysis of the Tea Party.  I was very favorably impressed.

Here are the high points of the interview (from the online transcript):

• They're trying to build a decentralized, headless, but national organization with no hierarchy at all. And they just do things. It's like a hive or a network. They call it open source structure. So if you hear people say that Tea Partiers are troglodytes, think again.
• Tea Partiers don't want anyone else speaking for them. Their view is that every Tea Partier is his or her own spokesperson.
• If you're actually trying to influence the passa ... Read More »
  Comments (2)

---------- Forwarded message ----------

Incredible story

In 1986, Peter Davies was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from Northwestern University.  On a hike through the bush, he came across a young bull elephant standing with one leg raised in the air.  The elephant seemed distressed, so Peter approached it very carefully.

He got down on one knee, inspected the elephants foot, and found a large piece of wood deeply embedded in it.  As carefully and as gently as he could, Peter worked the wood out with his knife, after which the elephant gingerly put down its foot.

The elephant turned to face the man, and with a rather curious look on its face, stared at him for several tense moments.  Peter stood frozen, thinking of nothing else but being tram ... Read More »

What should the Fox Cities do to attract more business?

(published 6-Sep-2010, Appleton Post-Crescent)

TIF (Tax Increment Financing) is still the way to go.  Businesses may amortize infrastructure investment (love them big financial words) by piggy-backing on a city's ability to get better borrowing rates with revenue bonds.  But there's still that emotional component of the sale; that is, what can Neenah or Appleton offer that sways a business to move here instead of Arizona?  It's tough to sell intangibles like quality of life, sturdiness of the work force, bountifulness of the harvest, or the willingness of crappies and bluegills to jump out of the water into the fishing boat.  Cities brag about cost of living, school choices, and cultural diversions.  The PAC wasn't built specifically to attract businesses, but it sure doesn't hurt App ... Read More »

On Monday I introduced Eleanor to "How Can You Be In Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere at All?"...the seminal recording by Firesign Theater featuring Nick Danger, Third Eye:

I had long ago memorized just about the entire thing...but I had no idea that Miss E would be so taken with it.  After listening to all the YouTube episodes she asked if there were a transcript.  So, we found one on-line and printed it out.  She's read it multiple times...and last night ... Read More »

I visited Arizona Governor Jan Brewer's Facebook page today and found that she'd written a stinging rebuke of the "Universal Periodic Review", a "snapshot" of the human rights situation in the U.S.  The letter is addressed to our Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.

The rebuke comes because the report includes a reference to Arizona's new law, S.B. 1070, that has been the center of controversy in the illegal immigration debate.  The law has been partially implemented while parts were put on hold last month just before the law's effective date by Federal Judge Bolton.

Governor Brewer's ire is directed at the fact that the Review is to be submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Council; and that Arizona's law is, essentially, being submitted for review ... Read More »