Laverne & Shirley

Another great theme song from a Milwaukee-based TV show.

All together now: “1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8. Schlemiel, schlemazel!” …

Happy Days

Milwaukee now has a bronze statue of the Fonz.

Well, we’re now the proud home of the Fonzie statue, a 5-foot, 6-inch teal, white and bronze monument to Henry Winkler and the character he brought into our homes every Tuesday night throughout the 1970s on the TV sitcom “Happy Days.”

The sculpture, located on the Riverwalk just southeast of the Wells Street Bridge, was unveiled Tuesday morning in a ceremony that featured most of the cast of the show, from creator Garry Marshall to his sister, Penny Marshall (alias Laverne of “Laverne & Shirley” fame), Cindy Williams (Shirley), Don Most (Ralph Malph), Anson Williams (Potsie), Erin Moran (Joanie Cunningham), Tom Bosley and Marion Ross (Mr. and Mrs. C to you) and, of course, Winkler.

 

A great TV show from the past with a theme song that is still great today.

Obituary for Common Sense

H/T – FTN

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm, life isn’t always fair, and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job they themselves failed to do in disciplining their spoiled and self-important children. It declined even further when schools were required to get written parental consent to administer Aspirin, sun lotion or a Band-Aid to student s, but were restricted from informing parents when their child became pregnant and skipped class to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses, schools were forbidden to fail students who couldn’t read and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a severe beating when home owners were forbidden from using force against an attacker in their own home but the burglar was legally allowed to sue a home owner if he was injured on their property during the commission of the crime.

Common Sense finally died after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was actually hot and, when spilled in her lap while she was trying to drink and drive at the same time, was burned and promptly awarded a huge financial settlement in court.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by four stepbrothers; I Know my Rights, I Am Entitled, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I’m A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

It’s reported he was buried just a few stones away from Courage.

Northern Town

Great song by Sugarland et al.

Didn’t know it was originally done by a group called Dream Academy.  Having listened to the original, the remake is much better.

School referendum passes

On it’s third attempt the Wausaukee School District was successful in passing a referendum.

Wausaukee School District taxpayers Tuesday overwhelmingly voted to support the district to exceed the state revenue limits by $675,000 for a period of 10 years.

A large turnout at polling places throughout the district could have been the reason why, with a total of 1,908 votes cast at six voting polls located throughout the district.

Unofficial results obtained from the school district Tuesday night, showed a total of 1,234 people voting “yes”, while 674 voted “no.”

Here’s the vote breakdown -

Voting breakdown

YES NOTown of Amberg 196 109 Town of Athelstane 101 155 Town of Silver Cliff 92 113 Town of Wagner 197 100 Town of Wausaukee 442 165 Village of Wausaukee 206 32 Totals 1,234 674

Whether it was enough to save the district remains to be seen.

With district taxpayers finally approving a referendum on the third try, it will now be up to the School Boundary Appeal Board to affirm or deny dissolution of the school district.

State School Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster of the Department of Public Instruction recently appointed the members of the School Boundary Appeal Board to hear Dissolution Order No. 2009-02 regarding the dissolution of the Wausaukee School District.

The first scheduled date for the dissolution public hearings will be held at the school auditorium on Tuesday. There will one session from 1 to 4 p.m. followed by a second hearing from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.

District Superintendent Jan Dooley said last week that the final vote in Tuesday’s referendum election would make a difference.

“We are extremely grateful to the voters of the Wausaukee School District for their resounding support of our school district today,” Dooley said.

During the hearing on Tuesday, the public will have an opportunity to provide testimony during either of the two hearings.

Dissolution hearings have also been scheduled for Sept. 30 or Oct. 1 and Nov. 11 or 12. If needed, hearings will also be scheduled for December and January.

A decision by the School Boundary Appeal Board must come by no later than Jan. 15.

World Tour Ad

John Gard’s first ad in the WI-08 race.  A direct hit on a central theme in this campaign.

Failing to stand up for energy

It’s day 15 since Speaker Pelosi and her cohorts (including our own Steve Kagen) decided to leave Washington and embark on a 5 week vacation without voting on the American Energy Act. And in the face of a nation-wide protest Speaker Pelosi still refuses to bring Congress back for a vote.

The House Republicans’ unprecedented nationwide gas-prices protest is now in its third full week. My Republican colleagues and I have vowed to continue the historic uprising – in Washington and in communities across the country – until the House returns to session for a vote on the American Energy Act, our “all of the above” plan to lower gas prices. Whether that means ending the protest tomorrow or next month is up to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat. While the speaker used a radio address last weekend to unveil yet another flawed plan that will do little to lower gas prices, she remained silent about bringing Congress back to Washington from its summer recess to deal with the No. 1 issue on the minds of the American people

As the title of her new book suggests, the Speaker knows she had the power to avoid this uprising altogether. Rather than working with Republicans to bolster America’s energy production, conservation and innovation, on Aug. 1, Democrats voted to adjourn Congress for a five-week break while American families and small businesses were left hanging in the balance.

…

Poll after poll shows that Americans support drilling for oil and gas in an environmentally safe manner on remote federal lands in Alaska and the Inter-Mountain West, as well as far off our coasts in the Outer Continental Shelf. But rather than working with us to unlock these valuable resources, Democrats continue to do the bidding of their special interest allies by blocking legislation to increase American energy production. And all of us are paying the price … literally.

The normally quiet month of August has been an uncomfortable one for congressional Democrats. For proof, look no further than Mrs. Pelosi’s comments over the weekend that Democratic leaders have yet another plan. Unfortunately, it’s largely more of the same failed policies the Speaker has been trotting out for months that will do little to lower gas prices and is designed solely to give political cover to vulnerable Democrats taking heat for their inaction on meaningful energy solutions.

Not surprisingly Congressman Kagen has been mostly silent on this issue, other than this press release touting his energy policy. Check out # 1 on the actions -

Drill for new oil and natural gas in America

Hmm isn’t that what the American Energy Act calls for, yet Kagen isn’t calling on Speaker Pelosi to call back Congress to vote on it. Yet Congressman Kagen says he’s listening to his bosses to help build a better future.

“I’ve been working hard, listening to my bosses,” Kagen said on Monday. “I look at (campaigning) as the same as any other day — meeting with my constituents, making sure we build a better future for everyone in Northeast Wisconsin.”

Perhaps the real bosses for Congressman Kagen are Speaker Pelosi and the Democratic leadership in the House since like them he prefers a 5 week vacation.

His opponent for the 8th Congressional District seat, John Gard, needs to make this a daily issue in the campaign, starting with stating if he supports the American Energy Act. In addition he needs to hold Kagen accountable for failing to push Speaker Pelosi to responsibly address this issue. Finally this needs to be pointed out daily (or at least weekly) that since Kagen took office what has happened.

fuel costs have soared by 60 percent since Mrs. Pelosi took the gavel on Jan. 4, 2007

Pointing out that Congressman Kagen refuses to agree to town hall meetings on this vacation while Americans suffer at the pump is a start.

In a letter sent to Kagen earlier this month, Gard proposed that he and Kagen use the five-week Congressional break in August to hold five town hall meetings. Gard believes he and Kagen should give the voters a chance to hear directly from and ask questions of each candidate on their energy plans.

“Congress still has three weeks of vacation remaining,” said Gard. “I hope Congressman Kagen can find time to give the voters a chance to hear directly from the two of us about the honest differences we have on important issues.”

I won’t hold my breath on those town hall meetings, Congressman Kagen knows his bosses in Washington wouldn’t approve, just like they don’t approve of standing up for energy.

Difficult budget for Brown County

Sound the alarms now.  It’s two months before County Executive Hinz has to submit next year’s budget proposal but we’re hearing how caps are going to make the budget for next year and 2010 difficult.

Brown County Executive Tom Hinz said his 2009 budget won’t include additional staff and it may mean a four-day work week for some departments.

The county budget “is going to be extremely difficult, and 2010 will probably be worse unless the state does something with the spending caps,” he said. The state has imposed a 2 percent cap on spending increases in county budgets.

The cap on expenses forces the county to look for creative ways to hold down costs, after it approved a $235 million budget for 2008, Hinz said.

He is meeting with department heads in preparation for submitting his proposed budget to the County Board.

The four-day work week is being considered as a way to save on energy costs, he said.

I find this interesting -

Hinz said the information services department’s staff has grown from 16 employees to 17.5 since 1998 but the number of county computers has increased from 420 to more than 1,000 during the same period.

What’s the point of that comment?  It’s meaningless without a comparison to either other counties or the private sector in terms of staff size vs IT equipment. 

The best line though is this one -

“Energy costs have gone up, and last year we didn’t have $4-per-gallon gas,” Hinz said.

Guess what?  The citizens are dealing with the same costs.  You know what they have to do?  Cut spending.