Breaking News. Another 527 breaking the law in Racine

Education Racine inc has dumped some $30,000 into the Racine referendum.

This is another 527 this one funded and loosely associated with the Racine Area Manufacturers and Commerce (RAMAC).

Just like in the recent school board election the group failed to file the proper paper work on time in regards to campaign finance disclosures and PAC filing.

The Racine DA has been asked to investigate by CARE. My guess is he will do noting or ask Jefferson County DA Wambach to look into the matter and do nothing.

How many elections are going to be bought in this community? We are being held hostage by groups who get to hide their campaign finances and get to hide their donors.

This is wrong and you can thank Senator Feingold.

Contempt.

I first published these comments on June 22, 2005.

These are actual comments from Teachers in regards to last years Racine schools referendum.

These are the people who teach our children, pay particular attention to how much they appreciate their jobs. (Note all the mill rate rhetoric, we have debunked that, the big number is per pupil spending, but they do not want to talk about that)

So here are your Racine teachers....

ALL OF YOU THAT VOTED NO CAN GO TO HELL

I have been working non stop for months now. No rest for the weary.

What don't you understand, there is not enough money. Go ahead and keep your kids in schools with low level achieving teachers. For the most part teachers go to private schools, because they can't get into public shools. WHich means they weren't good enough, for RUSD. Yes, it is difficult to deal with the uninformed!

Chas, why didn't you become a teacher then, if it is so easy. Lousy pay, too stressful, or did it take to much education?

School choice is B*llsh*t!! Not ONE private school can educate our children as well as Unified can. You are comparing apples to oranges.

You guys think that teaching is so easy. The teaching profession has one of the biggest turnover rates of any career. The pay we receive currently is fair. That is not what the referendum was for. It was for saving schools, sports and the arts. But if you think cutting our salaries will make RUSD better, that is just confusing. Then all you will attract is lower level teachers. That's smart?

Racine is one of the lowest taxed educational cites around. The problem is, all you care about is yourself, and nobody else. You NO voters are just selfish, self absorbed people. Thank God the referendum passed. Because you NO voters, believe only the RICH should be able to play sports and instruments, and the Rich only deserve a good education. Chas you are a piece of work!

Becca, I could do your Job in my sleep. If you want a stressful job try teaching. Oh Yeah, then you wouldn't get your hour lunch break, and go back and relax in your office. Most of you whiners couldn't make it in teaching.

I SUSPECT THAT SINCE YOU WORK ON LABOR DAY, IN PRIVATE BUSINESS, YOU MUST SOMEHOW BE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF ALL THE PEOPLE THAT ARE NOT WORKING THAT DAY. WHAT DO YOU DO SELL SHOES AT THE MALL OR SOMETHING.

The real problem is parents like TLK, and SOLUTION, and THE REAL WORLD. Who I am sure unified has had to fix from your piss poor parenting….

You NO voters are so short sited, you guys sound like Commie Pinkos!!

Thank you to all the people with a brain to see the whole picture instead of being short sighted.

The educationbal requirements for a teacher are extremely high when you look at the requirements for other professions, and then you compare to salaries of other professions? It's a joke.

You guys are the one throwing the piety party. Let the record show summer vacation is 10 weeks out of 52. My college buddies I helped through calculus their doing way better than me and they have a 401k with a company match, and most importantly they work a stright 40. I average 60.

in comparison to how much the board members give themselves and what teachers get for what they give people and children, fred, it is not what it should be. money has already been cut from their salaries. should some one be paid more for sitting on their butt or working and helping others?

The problem is some people are married to the almighty dollar...penny-wise and dollar foolish Fred that's a hard way to go through life.

Don't you think this was really a more valid election since the turn out was so much better?

Our mill rate is low so you can't pay for a Kia and complain that it doesn't perform like a Porsche. Racine voters and board members have shortchanged the youth in this district for a long time.

Caption Contest.

Prediction.

Here are the items on the Racine Journal Times Web Logs right now. (2:30 pm)

Police put unsolved murders on billboards - 6/2/06 12:47 pm
The Racine ReportWoman hit by lightning while praying - 6/2/06 12:35 pm -
Beyond WisconsinEnd of free zoo a symptom of an underlying problem - 6/2/06 10:35 am -
The Racine ReportMan pleads not guilty to trying to sell baby - 6/1/06 10:33 pm -
The Cheese-O-SphereCollegiate gender gap continues to grow - 6/1/06 10:32 pm -
Beyond WisconsinThe reality of 24-hour day care - 6/1/06 8:51 pm -

I predict the final item put for discussion today will be a pro-referendum post.

They have done this the last 3 weeks in a row where it will stay at the top of the page for the weekend.

UPDATE: Nailed it. Vote Yes - 6/2/06 3:54 pm - Commentary

There is also a Vote No, but yes has the head as I predicted.

Rielly / McGee / I'm confused.

I'm not sure how many of you know who Michael Rielly is. He is the Lake Geneva City Attorney & a candidate for the nomination of the Democratic Party to be the sacrificial lamb to Paul Ryan.

Last week Mr. Rielly kind of lost his mind in a bar and got himself arrested. Rumors in the area say he has been acting a bit nuts and there is concern over his well-being.

I met Stephen Herr, as Joe Wineke called him the "credible candidate" Sunday at Chocolate Fest in Burlington. Herr is running for the same seat and he told me about Rielly. Herr was not reacting in a negative way but had genuine concern for the man. (btw I like Stephen Herr, he is a man of good character)

Well yesterday the Journal Times released a story reporting Rielly is making crank phone calls from jail, "identifying himself as, among others, Mayor Sheldon Shepstone, City Administrator Dennis Jordan, Municipal Judge Henry Sibbing, City Clerk Diana Dykstra and even "Prince Albert in a can."

Rielly needs help, I hope he gets it.

This brings to mind a larger question.

Alderman Michael McGee Jr is clearly out of his mind. Now we hear he said it was a shame the poor officer who killed himself did not first go downtown and kill E. Michael McCann.

The man is out of control.

I hate to, but I am going to turn this into a partisan issue. I know if Michael McGee Jr was a Republican the Dems would be all over him, and making him an issue. Republicans would not like it and call for his resignation.

People hide away from him because they are scared of being called a racist. Democrats should, in my opinion, be vocally calling for his resignation and speaking publicly against his rhetoric and behavior. Why would you want a loose cannon in your political arsenal?

Serious questions have been raised about his holding two social security numbers; why is there no investigation? Simple, people are scared of being labeled.

Frankly Michael McGee Jr, and his out of control Dad, are everything that is wrong with Milwaukee right now. Blame everyone else, accept no responsibility for one's own actions.

I mentioned Rielly to start this as it is an interesting case, and a sad one. He is a white man behaving nutty and people hope he gets help. McGee is a black man out of control and everyone ignores him; heck, the Eugene Kanes and Mikel Holts of the world defend his outrageous behavior.

So for my leftie friends I have some serious questions. Why not speak out against him? Why not call for his resignation? Why not make a plea for him to get help?

These are not policy issues folks these are behavior issues.

And frankly, I do not understand.

Busy Weekend

Meet Craig Nance. Craig is on his third tour of duty in Iraq. He is holding a flyer promoting the Burlington Area Progressive's Support Our Troops event this Sunday. Craig's proud pop is one the event guys and will be attending.

This is an all day thing held out at Bobby Rockets in the Town of Lyons. Just go south out of Burlington on Hwy 36, you'll run into it. As I recall festivities start at noon. This is promised to be a non-partisan event to support the troops.

Thanks to Kay for sending me the photo.

Tomorrow is the Badger Blog Alliance Spring Fling out ay Nagawaukee Park out in Hartland. This in also promised to be a non-partisan event. All bloggers are welcome, all blog readers are welcome, anyone who has ever wondered what kind of geeks bloggers are is welcome.

Wagering will not be allowed on the Michael McJackson is so out of touch with reality that _____________ joke contest.

Official Apologizes For Saying Bush Should Be Shot Between Eyes

NEW YORK -- State Comptroller Alan Hevesi publicly apologized Thursday for a "beyond dumb" remark about a fellow Democrat putting "a bullet between the president's eyes."
Hevesi called a mea culpa press conference hours after putting his foot in his mouth at the Queens College commencement.
"I apologize to the president of the United States" and to the fellow state politician, Sen. Charles Schumer, Hevesi said. "I am not a person of violence.
"I am apologizing as abjectly as I can. There is no excuse for it. It was beyond dumb."
At the news conference, a contrite Hevesi repeated what he recalled saying in the speech. The comptroller said he was merely trying to convey that Schumer has strength and courage to stand up to the president on major policy issues.
According to a videotape of the speech, Hevesi said:
"The man who, how do I phrase this diplomatically, who will put a bullet between the president's eyes if he could get away with it. The toughest senator, the best representative. A great, great member of the Congress of the United States."



Any problem with this? The idiot issues an apology but can not even bring himself to say the mans name? Absurd.

Oh he apologized he is a good Democrat let him keep his job.

These guys are coming unglued and they are over-confident. I feel better every day. The more confident the left feels the more they say what they really think.

Things you should probably know but don't...

Donald Duck comics were banned from Finland because he doesn't wear pants.

Thought of the week.

Education is when you read the fine print. Experience is what you get if you don't

Carnival of the Badger.

This weeks Carnival of the Badger is up, and it reads a bit like a trashy romance novel.

An interesting change of pace!

Nice job Truly.

Jenna is up next week.

Nick is looking for volunteers.

An Inconvenient Lawsuit

A lawsuit has been filed against Michael Moore in relation to a clip he used apparently without the permission of the person portrayed.

Moore picked the line out of an NBC News story.

This is from the AP Article.

In his interview with NBC, Damon was asked about a new painkiller the military was using on wounded veterans. He claims in his lawsuit that the way Moore used the film clip in "Fahrenheit 9/11" — Moore's scathing 2004 documentary criticizing the Bush administration and the war in Iraq — makes him appear to "voice a complaint about the war effort" when he was actually complaining about "the excruciating type of pain" that comes with the injury he suffered.

In the movie, Damon is shown lying on a gurney, with his wounds bandaged. He says he feels likes he's "being crushed in a vise." "But they (the painkillers) do a lot to help it," he says. "And they take a lot of the edge off of it."

Damon is shown shortly after U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., is speaking about the Bush administration and says, "You know, they say they're not leaving any veterans behind, but they're leaving all kinds of veterans behind."

Damon contends that Moore's positioning of the clip just after the congressman's comments makes him appear as if he feels like he was "left behind" by the Bush administration and the military.

In his lawsuit, Damon says he "agrees with and supports the President and the United States' war effort, and he was not left behind."

Damon is suing for $75 million and his wife for an additional $10 million.

According to his lawyer, "It's upsetting to him because he's lived his life supportive of his government, he's been a patriot, he's been a soldier, and he's now being portrayed in a movie that is the antithesis of all of that".

Michael Moore who usually has a comment about nothing, has had nothing to say.

Point Counter Point: Voting.

PCP is late this week. My fault entirely.

Apologies Belle.

A movie came out earlier this year with the premise of "What does it say about a country when more people vote for the next pop icon than vote for the president?

"Well, the premise of American Dreamz came true last week when 63.4 million votes were cast in this year's American Idol competition.Not to be outshined, I also failed to vote last week. (hmmm... sounds familiar).

I'm not afraid to admit I have been known to vote for American Idol in the past (and earlier this season), but I didn't feel compelled to vote this past week. I was a Kellie Pickler and Chris Daughtry fan, so when they were both out of the competition, I lost my desire to vote. (But not my desire to watch).

Now, while it is a bit sad that more people voted last Tuesday for Taylor and Katherine than have EVER voted in a presidential election, we must remember a couple things:

• You can vote multiple times in the American Idol competition
• You don't have to leave the house to vote
• There aren't hanging chads
• You don't need to be registered to vote.

I'm a bit ashamed to admit I love watching American Idol...but, what can I say? I'm a reality tv whore. I will watch just about any reality tv show. Whether or not I like it is a whole different question...but I will watch it at least once (like any new show you have to give it a chance).

I'm off to practice singing so if I audition for next season, I don't look like this guy.

My take.

Belle got real excited about a voting topic after so many votes were cast in the finale’ of American Idol.

Issues there: no photo ID needed, illegals can vote multiple times without the assistance of the Voces of the world, if your name is Michael McGee & Michael Jackson and you could vote two times no one cares (has anyone checked the vote roles on this?), actually there is no difference between voting for American Idol & voting in Jim Doyle’s Wisconsin.

Except of course you can’t vote for Jim Doyle on your Cingular phone. Yet.

But I digress…

I agreed immediately and wanted to write a scathing piece on Voces de la Frontera and all of their vote issues. We’ve covered it before, they cheat & nobody cares, rightie is too blind to notice, leftie likes the result, DA is scared of being labeled a racist, nothing happens. Welcome to the United States of Mexico.

At any rate, this coming Tuesday Racine will go to the polls to vote on yet another referendum. The school district will try and turn out their base, the no-birds will hope as many people are as ticked off as they are, and in the end probably less than 10% of the electorate will show up to vote on an issue of this much importance.

For the most part, the no-folks have focused on a few things this year: habit, results and accountability. The long and short of the no movement is we are sick and tired of the lack of results and need to send a message.

The long and short of the yes movement is ignore our mistakes and vote yes because, say it with me now, it is for the children.

Gag me.

The sad part of this election is the District Purposely put it out there on June the 6th all by its lonesome in order to keep the turnout down. That is a low class dirty move, but they do not care if they think it gives them a better chance to pass their latest cash grab.

The sad part of all of that is, it will likely work. Turnout will be low, but if I can read the public there is much more furor from the no crowd this year. Last year the district made lots of promises it did not keep. This year people want to make them eat those promises and make a loud noise for change.

I’ll be surprised if we have more than 13% turnout.

If only we could get Taylor Hicks for a get out the vote effort.

Sigh.

We're not criminals. Right....

This sign is on the window of the office of Voces de la Frontera in Racine.

Voces de la Frontera has participated in criminal activity, we have documented it here. (tax fraud, vote fraud and criminal trespass for starters)

With all of the high profile crimes of late committed by "UNDOCUMENTED PERSONS", perhaps they should consider taking this sign out of the window.

Is it me?

Is it just me, or are the same council members that are complaining about the violence in Milwaukee the same ones who vetoed the loitering ordinance?

Everything you need to know about Supernintendo Hicks

“I don’t know the answer to that question,” Hicks said. “All I know is that it’s very much like the other issue with the Medicaid reimbursement. I’m pleased that we’ve corrected for whatever situation existed internally that put us in a position of either not recognizing the possibility or not being able to execute. But as you so aptly stated, it’s water under the bridge.”

To what is Hicks referring? Millions of dollars of funding the district could of gotten but never applied for to assist in Medicaid funding, and also programs for special ed. The Medicaid thing is a story from late last year, the special ed piece hit the paper today.

We are talking so much money here that the referendum they want you to vote for next week WOULD OF NEVER BEEN NECESSARY.

The answer By Hicks was essentially S**t Happens. As usual, no accountability shown from the leadership of this district.

This is from the consultant who found the problem:

Stepien said he put together a form for the special education department to complete for the transfer of service exemptions.“I tried to initiate it and I didn’t have much success and I was told the dollars were minimal; as a result the forms weren’t returned to my office,” Stepien said.

Without the forms, there was no way to cost out the savings — Stepien said he was surprised to find that it amounted to as much as currently suggested. “I find that hard to believe,” he said.

Stepien said he talked with the special education department and was told there wasn’t much money involved, and that because the district had such a large special education program, absorbing additional students didn’t result in much increased costs that would qualify under the exemption.“That was one of the rationales I was told, with respect to why the forms weren’t completed,” Stepien said.

Dollars were minimal so we will not fill out the form. Whatever mid-level hack made that decision should be fired immediately, as should their boss Tom Hicks.

Why bother doing the work when you can go to a stupid group of tax-payers year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year.

Kudos to Brent Killackey who we beat up a lot around here for a GREAT story one week before the referendum. I take issue with the title of the piece, Consultants find source of revenue for Unified.

I would of titled it, HEY RACINE, THE REFERENDUM IS THE FAULT OF UNIFIED'S CONSTANT CHRONIC MISMANAGEMENT. How can the paper continue to support this?

Culture of Corruption? Better be Careful...

It seems Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid has a bit of a problem with taking a bunch of ring-side seats.

Read the whole article, in it you will find just how cozy Reid has been with Jack Abramoff and how Senator McCain went to one fight with Reid. Oh, by the way, Senator McCain refused the free ticket and paid the $1,400.

Look to the left of the pic and you will see them sitting together.

Senator Reid had better be careful with the whole culture of corruption thing.

To our leftie friends, I'll remind you how far Xoff stretched to try and slime Mark Green over one Bucks ticket in the nose bleed seats for one person from his office, not even himself.

Weekend Box Office

Didn't something else open this weekend?

1. "X-Men: The Last Stand," $120.1 million.
2. "The Da Vinci Code," 43 million.
3. "Over the Hedge," $35.3 million
4. "Mission: Impossible III," $8.6 million.
5. "Poseidon," $7 million.
6. "RV," $5.3 million
7. "See No Evil," $3.2 million
8. "Just My Luck," $2.3 million.
9. "United 93," $1.1 million.
10. "An American Haunting," $936,680.

Pictures from Racine's Memorial Day Events.

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The Empty Table

Solutions.

Everyone concentrates on the problems we're having in this country lately. Illegal immigration, hurricane recovery, wild animals attacking humans in Florida.

Not me.

I concentrate on solutions to problems.

The result is a win-win-win situation:

• Dig a moat the length of the Mexican border
• Use the dirt to raise the levies in New Orleans
• Put the Florida alligators in the moat.

Any other problems you would like for me to solve today?

(H/T CyberDad)

Boots and Sanders?

I don't often see Sunday Insight with Charlie Sykes.

Imagine my surprise when I see my friend Owen and the listing Boots and Sanders under his name.

Hey Owen, should I change the blogroll?

Contempt.

This is from a post on the Racine Journal Times from a teacher in regards to custodial staff. The teacher is trying to obfuscate and point away from any responsiblity of teachers themselves to Unified's less than stellar performance.

I happen to know someone who works in this role at Unified. I will be asking them for a response.

Custodians are worthless in Unified. Now you can do nothing and blame it on skip cleaning. What a joke. I know I make a difference. I don't care how much I get paid. I'll be happy to pay more in insurance. Instad of griping online. I have chosen to take a more active role in my union, hoping to change peoples minds. See, working with people is my way of doing business. Unless you pretend to sweep, and leave puke in my room for more than an hour, then when I go looking for you, you are sitting in your lounge eating a bagel. That's the truth!!! Oh yeah, how about the sink that was cleaned for the first time in 2 years. I have pictures and parents who visit my room often to watch it just getting worse every day. I'm supposed to work in those conditions? The kids are supposed to learn in those conditions? I don't allow eating in my room, never had. But because I teach I guess you'll assume we all break the rules. I've been in 4 schools, and have never seen a custodian do their job 100%. That's a FACT!!!!

Ain't that some fine union brotherhood support.