QE2 is ending! Hide your money!

You know it's not even worth talking about Walker and his cronies in charge of DOA and what they are doing - the shock value is gone.

I talked to my brother who lives in Springfield Illinois and for a while I thought he had gone to the dark side.  He is a business owner ( MMLP Architectural Services - " MMLP Exists To Improve The Built Environment ") and when I told him all that was going on in Wisconsin he seemed unfazed.  But then I realized for seven years HE had Rod R. "Milorad" Blagojevich for Governor which makes Walker look like a rookie!

So I guess he is excused from getting all humped up over what is going on in Wisconsin.
---------------------------------------

The big thing I'm getting ready for today is that I'm taking Milo into the Doctor. The last time he went in DJ took him and she said "I will NEVER take Milo to the doctor again". I guess there was blood all over the room as Milo is not really Doctor friendly and has all his claws (and a few extras it seems). I have a special suit I'll put on this time.

He seems to have a cough which could be a hair ball or mouse stuck in his throat and has had a snotty cold for like a month.  Nothing better then him cuddling up next to you at night and sneezing in your face!

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As you might have noticed the Stock Market has been doing very well for the past couple years.  Seems natural disasters have little impact on the markets and even gasoline prices are not hurting.  People complain about the price of gas saying it will hurt the economy but in reality it has very little effect.  Of course if the price of gas went from $2 to $4 over night THAT would hurt but a few cents at a time people and companies adjust.

Plus I have these cool coupons you can use when you go the the gas station.

Anyway I think I might start to slowly move some money into some saver areas in the market.  You see one of the things that has really helped in the past year is the QE2, the second round of the governments "quantitative easing".

This comes to an end in June which also coincides with the typical summer stock doldrums.  My feeling is that money managers also know this and THEY will start to go saver in May to get a jump on everybody else who will be going saver. 

What QE2 did was keep BAD things from happening by dumping 80 billion dollars into Treasury bond purchases. It created a sort of base.  By printing more money and keeping interests rates low the corrections have been manageable. But there won't be a QE3 because of there are inflation worries.  I believe that while there is a very good chance for stocks to go up!  There is a bigger chance for stocks to go down or stagnate in the summer.  and let's not forget,  people are just WAY TO bullish!  
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Remember our pheasant friend?

Seems he has been tap tap tapping on all the windows in our neighborhood.  He was at out walk out basement window this morning.  I think he is looking for loving! Wants to be somebodies pet perhaps.
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Thirteen years ago today the Brewers played their first National League Game!

Have a wonderful Thursday.

Rod

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A company is actually NOT a human.

I downloaded Firefox 4 and am very impressed - there is a definite increase in speed on the internet and while the look is a little different it's easy to get used too. Much cleaner and you have more screen to work with. THUMBS UP.

IE9 ( or before "9")is still the very worst and slowest browser you can have - I can not understand how people can use it.
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What do you guys think about auto-speeding tickets! There is a place on I-95 where they set up a camera and on all vehicles that are going 10 mph over the speed limit a $133 is generated and automatically sent to the owner of the car. The town of 4000 has generated over one quarter of a million dollars in like 4 months in tickets!

Law makers are trying to outlaw the machine even though the average speed has dropped and there are 30% less accidents. The Law makers say it's BIG BROTHER!

Comments?
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Speaking of lawmakers - I'm glad that Walker has shown us that where a court orders something you really don't have to abide by the rules! WHO KNEW IT WAS THAT EASY!! Break a law? Just say it's not MY law and you don't have to follow it! SWEET DEAL!

I took Elwood to vote yesterday for his very first time. I think he was proud. In fact he has watched every debate on TV . . . have you? Did you watch the Prosser/Kloppenberg debate? Are you telling me that Elwood is more informed then you are? What get's me are all the people that voted for Walker because they had people telling them to vote that way! One woman told me that she voted for Walker because everybody TOLD her how bad Barret was. if you are going to vote - do your OWN research, make your OWN decision.

OH - the referendums! vote YES on both (tee hee) - they are trying to limit the amount of money big business can put into politics - basically saying that a company is actually NOT a human.
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So I sent a scathing Letter to the Editor of The Columbus Journal! I also told Paul it was not personal. My beef is that their "Guest Column" was all political spin telling us how wonderful the budget bill is. I read it and was angry and through down the paper in disgust.

I feel that if you are going to have a "Guest Column" and it is a political opinion ON EITHER SIDE, it should be called for what it is . . .Political SPIN. Perhaps they should call it "Guest Political Opinion" so people know it is full of half truths. All it was last week was a LARGE Letter to the Editor. I don't feel our newspaper should have a large political column UNLESS, there is a rebuttal, ON THE SAME PAGE!

Reading the newspaper should be news not spin. I read the Guest Column's and agree and disagree but when I see something that just makes me angry for the next few hours . . . . maybe I should just not read the paper . . . .and is that what The Columbus Journal wants?

So while Paul (the Editor and a real newspaper dude) contacted me and did explain that they do put both sides up and they are not leaning one way or the other (which I feel is true) and I did feel guilty for a few minutes . . . I stand by my Letter.

Of course I probably alienated all sorts of people and now I will have to count ALL the Red Bud trees by myself (my count the Red Bud Project) now since I will be banned from further Letters to the Editor!

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Looks like I might be going to Opening Day for the Brewers. One project this year is I'm betting (a small amount) on EVERY Brewer game (or at least until my small bankroll runs out of money).

Their 1st game is in Cincinnati and the Brewers are +106 underdogs! (meaning bet $100 to win $106). I bet the Brewers.

The 19th century Baltimore Orioles - As you are no doubt aware, the Orioles of that vintage were a tough bunch of men. They drank all the liquor in America, they went decades without sleeping, they brawled against Norse gods, and they saw all of their children killed gruesomely by primitive farming equipment. 

SO what would YOUR 19th Century Baltimore Oriole nickname be?  Mine is Manslaughter Klondike - The operating assumption is that I'm generally furious about my station in life, the disloyal opposition across the diamond, and this thing deep in the chest that feels increasingly like a fatal catarrh.



Go to the Rum & Monkey blog to find YOUR name.

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Did I post this here?  This is the most amazing video of the Japan Tsunami - heck just that siren makes me get goosey bumps! WHEN will the water STOP rising! HOLY CRAP!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmTb8y84KEQ



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Have a calm dry day!

Rod

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The war on the impoverished

Government - an institution which prevents injustice other than such as it commits itself.

   14th century Arab scholar Ibn Khaldun
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Remind me not to go to anymore Art Fairs at the Alliant Center. A very good  photographer/Art Fair friend, Cassius Callender (his work is on the 7th and 2B floors at 1 W Wilson), was driving by the Coliseum/Energy Center and was amazed at all the cars. So he decided to he should stop in to see the throngs as he had skipped the show.

What he did not know was that along with the Art Fair there was the State Girls Wrestling Tournament, Bead-o-rama and a few other things going on.  So he paid the $6 fee and came into the mostly empty Energy Center. Yea - when I saw that after three years they were still charging $6 a car I THOUGHT it was for the Art Fair.  

My guesstimate was maybe 400 people walked by and perhaps 100 were actually there for the Art Show!  It was my very first losing money adventure.  But still it was a good time.   Cassius told me that he has had 3 events at the Energy Center and none of them are attended very well.

Oh well.  People still gave me "real" compliments (as opposed to the courtesy compliments) so my head swelled while my billfold did not. 
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Walkers war on the impoverished.

I would much rather have a Governor wage war on poverty rather then the impoverished.  Perhaps if he just lined up all of those damn poverty people and shot them he could get rid of their blightyness.   But then the Middle class would become the lower class!  Gotta shoot them also I guess!  Only the rich should be able to live a comfortable life. 

I mean cutting $41 million in tax breaks for low-income residents?   Eliminate food stamps for LEGAL immigrants?   Eliminate child care for State Employee?  A 19-year program that spends $293K annually to help offset state employees who work downtown (who also pay up to $200 a month just to park their car).

Eliminate the requirement for health insurance plans to provide coverage for contraceptives?  Cut $500 million out of Medicaid? Lower the eligibility limits to receive Medicaid (since ALL Medicaid people are just cheating anyway).  Cut 50,000 people out of Badger care?

I had always assumed that one of the primary goals for a government was to take care of the people it was governing.  But I see that Walkers feels the primary goal of a government is to screw the people and balance the budget.

I'm all for balancing the budget but can you really do it in one year? 

There are two party's in America.  The republican party which is the financial party. They are very worried about money.  And the democratic party. The party that is for the people.  Does there have to be one or the other?  Can't they two MAYBE compromise? Is that not what this is all about? 

Of course both sides think they have the best idea but it seems that while the Democrats, for the most part, (not always) are open for compromise, the Republicans just want to ram things through and clean up the mess later.   Everything the Fitzpublicans do is aggressive, in your face and giving you the finger.

I AGREE on a few of Walkers ideas but put a throttle on it dude.  But that is not his style is it.  This man has to go.  When the times comes to recall his ass, remember how you feel!  He is betting in 8 months people will have forgotten his rage.

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BTW - might have a Letter to the Editor in the Columbus Newspaper next week.   Who am I spanking?  The Columbus Journal.  Sometimes I just gotta say it.  I know I was not the only one.

Cheers
Rod

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The Ninth Gate

I believe the Badgers went through The Ninth Gate last night! But actually I'm talking about the Johnny Depp movie The Ninth Gate. What a tremendously horrible movie. Not the plot (which was 100% predicable) but the production! It was directed by Roman Polanski and I swear he was in a "that's good enough" mode. One take, good enough, next scene! The worst choreographed fake fight scenes you have ever seen, the kind where it just turns you off to the movie!

Acting? hard to tell. Was it BAD acting? Yes but again, "one take, good enough" move on. The ending just sorts of fades away like he ran out of ideas. The sets were weird as you could tell they used the same exact road multiple times, just put different signs up! And don't get me started with the Styrofoam castles! Frank Langella who I really like was buffoonish wearing clown glasses that looked like a last minute "let's give him clown glasses".

And (spoiler aleart but who cares) Emmanuelle Seigner who plays the devil I hope to never see her "act" again!

There is no redeeming value in this movie! Now Ias I'm looking for reviews I see this one.

New York Times - "about as scary as a sock-puppet re-enactment of The Blair Witch Project, and not nearly as funny".
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The Badgers! Not surprised. They were a good home court shooting team but when they are away from their comfy surroundings they tended to really suck at shooting. And when you have a shooting team and have nothing else in their bag of tricks . . . you are screwed.

Remember - this years Badgers were not meant to be that good. They played about like what people, BEFORE the season, said they would play! So while some are disappointed at the ending of the season I feel they played over their heads in league, which is not cutting them down at all.
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Yesterday I spent a good few hours getting a muffler and tail pipe put on the Civic. Only $518 - SHIT!! Then the guy comes out and says "your right brake light is out". I say I'll fix it and this old guy next to me says "you probably just saved $100".
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I see it's whining season for people that live next to rivers! "OH WE ARE SO WORRIED ABOUT FLOODING"    WELL YEA - YOU LIVE NEXT TO A FREAKING RIVER!

It's like every year they are surprised that there will be flooding AGAIN!  "Last year was the worst flood since 2008. When will we get a break".  Wow - all the way back to 2008?   It's like we will be hit by the "four year flood" two years in a row.  What bad luck!  Maybe next year we will have a drought and they can complain that their piers no longer reach the water.
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We had home brew club last night and we're starting to outgrow our store where we meet!  The Sun Prairie Worthogs are starting to get people from further and further away.  The interesting thing is that we're getting a little cocky.  You see the Madison Home Brew Club no longer has anything to do with brewing, they are now an organization that spends all year planning festivals!  The WortHogs are all about brewing and are winning awards.  We're the tiny death star orbiting the Madison Home Brew Club kicking sand in their faces in contests.

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Too funny - this is for Dog lovers 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVwlMVYqMu4



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I'm working on a project for some posters and this is the 1st - the clients have not seen this yet so you are the first! I have to make a few more so they can pick and choose.

This is weird - did we go back to the OLD blogger for posting photos? 

The tricky thing is they sent me photos to work with all in 72pix and all very tiny and they want 12x18 size posters!
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Going to pick up my uHaul today from Beaver Dam. I ordered it at NAPA in Columbus and I have to pick it up in Beaver Dam.  I asked why Beaver Dam and they said it's whereever the closest place is. . . . . . . Glad I don't have to go to Green Bay!!!     I should have ordered it in Sun Prairie!  I wanted to give Columbus the business!     

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On a golf forum there was a guy asking about good golf courses in Wausau as he is coming north on a business trip!  We explained that perhaps courses in Wausau would not be open yet.  Well here is a report from T-dog.

"I've been here a week almost and its been freezing(9 degrees at night)and windy and snowing I don't know how a human could live here. It must be super nice in the summer or maybe the state pays people to live here. I can't wait to get home and play golf instead of looking at frozen lakes and ice. Sorry if this offends anyone I'm just buzzed on Pabst and cheese curl."

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I as at my work place yesterday and saw another group was leaving State Service along with a good amount of upper management. In fact the architect for Medicaid in Wisconsin quite. He was the guy that kept the process running smoothly! I think the only people left in DHS are Walker appointees now!

Also from people I've been talking to there is another large group retiring June 17th. This is crazy!  They are asking me if I would be available to come back and work (for money) as a consultant. 
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GET OUT AND VOTE - it is so freaking important!! I have heard that record numbers are early voting and 95% of people being asked say it's all about the Supreme court and getting Prosser who called the females in his court a bunch of "bitchs". Do we want this guy as a judge??

VOTE!!

Have a great weekend remember - Alliant Energy Center Art Fair 10:00 to 4:00 Saturday.

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We won Mega Millions . . or al least a part!

1.21 inches of rain on Tuesday and the storm total ended at 1.41 inches! 
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One thing I have noticed since I ended my "sitting on my butt all day" job came to an end.  I'm much more active during the day.  I had read that one thing that happens when a person "retires" is he becomes more active and eats less.  I have the think they are right!

Yesterday I had to drive into Madison to pick up a frame from an individual for a photo I was working on along with like 5 other stops.  I also took a look at the US Bank as a woman in that building said I should take photos and submit them for consideration.  Well the bank people were not real crazy that a guy was walking around their bank with a camera. I didn't take any photos, just looking.  But it goes in the "not sitting thing" I was talking about, more exercise I normally would not get.

ANYWAY - I did a bunch of errands including going to Sharrow Drugs for a prescription and looking for a non-hoody sweatshirt and noticed that Cardinal Custom Embroidery had set up shop on the corner in Columbus.

I think they were closed as I was out pretty early.
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OK then . . . . .did you know that in 1839 "OK" was first published?   OK stands for "oll correct" a popular slang misspelling of "all correct".   I guess back in the 1830's one of the "fun" things young educated people did was to purposely misspell works then abbreviate them, sort of like "kewl" for "cool".  Back then popular slang was included "KY" for "No use" ("know yuse"), "KG" for "No go" ("Know go"), and "OW" for all right ("oll wright").

But when OK was printed in the Boston Morning Post as a joke . . . it took on a life of it's own. 
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I was turned on to this you tube video - Jenny should see what Caydence does!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_jDofS7LOc



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Hey - for Columbus residents - I hope you are not buying clear garbage bags from the city for like $1 a piece. You can get a whole box at True Value that lasted us for 10 months (I wrote the date on the box). I think they cost like dime apiece.

Did I mention that we finally got our LED street lights on our block? Columbus will be the first city/town in Wisconsin to be 100% all LED street lights! They are GREAT! They light up a more focused part of the ground and don't radiate all of that orange light to unneeded area (like roads). You don't need to light the roads at night - the cars do that and it is MUCH healthier for the trees.

I suppose Walker is against LED lights as they don't use enough oil or coal energy! I'm actually not totally against EVERYTHING Walker has done and a few things he has signed I've actually suggested. Plus a number of things people are getting all anal over are actually Democratic ideas.

BUT - Hitler was pretty smart on some things also and just because he invented the modern highway does not mean I agreed with a few other things he did.
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Remember - Art fair Saturday at the Alliant Energy Center. Humans are free, cars cost $6.
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I suppose I'll have to come into work tomorrow to make sure all is well (and deliver a piece of art to a guy on the square).

Nuff for today!  too cold in this room for more typing - man summer went fast didn't it?

OH - Mega Millions - DJ was feeling especially poor last night and as I went grocery shopping I purchased two Mega Million tickets.  Yea yea - 200 million would only be 150 million after taxes but - I could REALLY use a million right now (Ho-chunk and double it.  So I check the numbers this morning. YEA BABY!!! $7 BIG ONES!!!!!   A 1 out of 307 chance!!!!!!   SWEET!!!!  

Rod

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the (lesser) signs of the apocalypse

1.35 inches of rain yesterday!  
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An interesting research on Walker is near the bottom of this blog (in case you get bored halfway through).
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Meeting Places - in case of disaster, after much discussion and having the family shoot down meeting at the closest brewery (which seemed totally logical to me) we decided that fire stations were the place to go. I think Jenny wanted to meet at Taco Bell but if I could not have breweries she could not have Taco Bell.

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Friday I was in the basement putting some hardware on canvas and there was a tap tap tap at the walkout basement door. I assumed it was Blake wanting to come in and turned around and saw this.

Elizabeth said it was one of the (lesser) signs of the apocalypse (thus another reason to have meeting places).    Notice Mr. Pleasant Pheasant is looking at my bag of bird food!  I think he has been watching me from the bushes!   

When we moved into this house it seemed that there were no birds.  Seriously, I kept saying that here we are on the edge of country and there are no birds!   We planted trees and Elwood and I have been landscaping and I've had my bird feeder up for 2 years now and this is the most birds I have ever seen this spring.  Along with the normal Red Wing Black Bird, Grackles and Chipping Sparrows we have House Finches ( I thought they were Purple Finches), Juncos, Cardinals, Blue Jays (1st year appearance), a pheasant, two mallards (not here yet) Cow Birds, Robins, Woo Woo Birds (also called Mourning Doves).  The Doves you see with the iridescent necks are Rock Doves, have not seen them, nor have I seen any Hoopoe's (see above) which would be a  slightly greater sign of the apocalypse . . . it's good to know what the signs of the apocalypse are so we know it when we see it.     

We're going to put up another feeder next to the other clump of birches.  This one will be made so big birds can't get to it.  Jenny says her feeders are just Grackle feeding stations!  I know we can go through an entire tube of food in one day if the Grackles are around.    

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Caydence, Sydney and Jenny were over Saturday and Caydence is getting over a cold (which oddly we ALL seem to have at the moment).  I took this when DJ was playing with miserable feeling Caydence!

   
Man she looks like she is really feeling this cold!   I tell ya - children with down syndrome are just awesome! 
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For any of you that are still in protest mode - this site should be archived in the history of Madison.  It's outstanding.  A 360 degree view of the protests with the sounds!  Check it out!

http://www.tourdeforce360.com/madison_protest/ 

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The Japan nuke reactors have not melted down . . . YET!!  The have evacuated everyone in the last few hours from the plant and their government is now saying that "drastic measures might be needed".   DO YA THINK????    REALLY?   NOW MIGHT BE A GOOD TIME!!!  

At least we started bombing Libya - that will calm things down a bit!  A good bombing always puts people at ease. 

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Speaking of Christmas trees - I'm not sure they will EVER pick ours up!  It's like they just decided to not come down our street!   It's becoming mulch!   Also - what about garbage like old gas grills, can I leave them out and they will pick it up? What the deal with stuff like that???

Inquiring minds want to know! 

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And Finally Walker - never mind that email thing - old news and as one researcher said - it really makes no difference because what has happened SINCE he sent out the letter.  

Here is a true Political Science assessment on Scott Walker's impact on voting intent and partisan ID in Wisconsin since his inauguration. 

Voting Intention of certain voters

June 2010

29%    Democrat
13%    Independent voting Dem
_______________
42%

11%    Pure Independent
______________________

26%    Republican
21%    Independent voting Republican
_____________________
47%

These numbers are what generated November 2010s landslide for the Republicans in Wisconsin and allowed Scott Walker to be elected with 52% of the vote.  Yup, he launched his extremist agenda based on an election he won 52 -47.  The "pure" independents split almost down the middle between Walker and Barrett.  Hardly a transformation mandate from the Wisconsin electorate.

MARCH 2011

30%    Democrat
18%    Independent voting Dem
_____________________
48%

11%        Pure Independent

25%    Republican
14%    Independent voting Republican
______________________
39%

    As you can see the recent protest activity has not really generated more Democrats, or caused people to leave the Republican Party, what the poll does show however is that soft partisans and Independent leaners have shifted strongly against the Republican Party.  Put another way, the impact of Scott Walker is rather than emulate his hero Ronald Reagan by destroying a union   and reaping great popularity as a reward, In moving against public sector unions Walker has in effect ripped the label "Reagan" off the term "Reagan Democrat" and made them simply Democrats once again.  Not a winning long term electoral strategy.

    And the blowback against union busting misogynistic Justice David PROSSER is mounting.  He was hit hard this weekend in the press for his abusive and sexist treatment of Justice Shirley Abrahamson calling her a "Bitch" in Chambers, and threatening to "destroy" Justice Shirley because she was on the side that held corrupt dishonest racist Justice Michael Gableman violated the law  with  the blatant lies and racist slanders he leveled at then Justice Butler.  That is how Conservative Republican Justice Prosser acts toward women they disagree - they call them bitch and threaten them in an attempt at intimidation.  Prosser is a shameful bitter bully and merits immediate enforced retirement.
 
VOTE Kloppenrberg for Wisconsin Supreme Court!     

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Find a meeting place.

Luckily I never pulled the stock market trigger - once I saw stocks were zooming on GOOD economic news I felt that there was no panic and investors were acting rationally.

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Then there are the Badgers - I can't remember WHO we played last year in the "first" round but it always seems the Badgers play some abnormal team. Some team that won a lot of games because they play a totally different style then the Badgers are used to.

I mean - come on, Belmont took all 5 guys out at once and replaced them with 5 different guys? They made 55 substitutions? sheesh!!

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I'm waiting for the DIRECT TV guy today - they narrowed in the time as between noon and 4:00 - THANK YOU!!! After spending 1.5 hours on the phone they FINALLY realized maybe the receiver is broken!! YEA - like I had been saying all along!

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In bad news I can not seem to find my notebook of beer recipes! I know I had it because I told myself to not lose it again so I put it somewhere where I would remember it. Now if I could only figure out where that was.

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No real news to speak of on this side! You know with this whole Japanese disaster thing is that we all feel so safe, nothing can happen to us.

But what families really should do is just decide that IN CASE there is a major disaster - have a meeting place that the family can go to. Think about it - an EMT pulse takes out the internet and cell phones and for some reason you can not GET to you house. Your family is spread out - where do you go???? Where is the meeting place. Have two places - one close by on the other side of town and one somewhere safe - far away that you can all go towards.

I'm sure most people in Japan have no where to find their loved ones, they might all be alive but miles apart.

Get a meeting place.

Rod

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