No Runny Eggs

The repository of one hard-boiled egg from the south suburbs of Milwaukee, Wisconsin (and the occassional guest-blogger). The ramblings within may or may not offend, shock and awe you, but they are what I (or my guest-bloggers) think.

Archive for September, 2007

September 30, 2007

NFL Week 4

by @ 9:49. Filed under Sports.

I’ll catch up on Weeks 2 and 3 soon (hopefully before Thursday; I do believe I’m 6-0 in the over/under department), but onward, onward, ever onward to the poorhouse:

Green Bay @ Minnesota (+3) – Dunno why Bodog’s line is so far out of whack with everybody else (just about everybody else is favoring the Pack by 1 1/2 points), but if the Man wants to give me the long 3 to take the Viqueens, so be it. Just as long as I don’t have to take them to win outright,….
Chicago @ Detroit (+3) – As Jimmy “Masterlock” Duggans would say, BUT YOU’RE NOT GONNA NEED THEM!
Oakland @ Miami (-4) – Culpepper’s return to Miami won’t be a pleasant one in this Game of the Weak.
Houston (-3) @ Atlanta – The Texans? Favored on the road? And the Egg’s taking them? It truly is a topsy-turvy NFL.
Baltimore @ Cleveland (+4) – Topsy-Turvy NFL part 2 – take the NewBrowns and take the over-40.
St. Louis @ Dallas (-14) – Again, Bodog’s line is a bit higher than everybody else’s (all the other lines are at Dallas -13). It doesn’t matter; the Lambs can’t score, and the Cowpokes can’t be stopped. As a side bet, take Wiggy’s head to explode when he finds out I took Dallas and the lumber.
NY Jets @ Buffalo (+3.5) – Yesterday’s college action proved it’s the weekend for upsets. This one will take the cake as the MASH Unit proves once again it’s J-E-T-S S*CK! SU*K! SUC*!
Tampa Bay (+3) @ Carolina – It pays to check the injury report. Take the under-39.5 for some extra cash on Upset Weekend.
Seattle @ San Francisco (+2.5) – GORE! GORE! GORE!
Pittsburgh (-6.5) @ Arizona – Why there isn’t a “1” in front of that 6.5 is beyond me. What isn’t beyond me is taking full advantage of that mistake.
Kansas City @ San Diego (-12.5) – Unlike the Pack, the Chefs have no passing offense.
Denver (+10) @ Indianapolis – Denver isn’t good enough to win, but they’re good enough to make a game out of this.
Philadelphia (-3) @ NY Giants – Olberdouche will be happy.
New England @ Cincinnati (+8) – Irresitable force, meet immovable object. Immovable object, meet movement. Irresistable force, meet stoppage.

It’s a clean sweep of the DhimmiRAT Presidential candidates

by @ 9:23. Filed under Politics - National, War on Terror.

I’m still playing catch-up from the move, so I’m a few days late. However, on Thursday, the House had a vote to recommit with instructions on the continuing appropriations bill to add a resolution supporting Gen. David Petraeus and condemn MoveOn.org (scroll a bit for the text). Dennis “The Menace” Kucinich couldn’t resist cozying up to George Soros and company, and neither could Tammy Baldwin or Gwen “Crybaby” Moore (H/T – Mary).

Incredibly, the rest of the ‘Rat delegation from Wisconsin, including Steve Kagen, elected by MoveOn, voted for the resolution. Guess David Obey and Ron Kind feel they’re fossilized untouchables, and Kagen feels he can spend as much as Herb Kohl to stifle any challenges. Heck, Obey had the line of the day – “I’ve got an obligation to be equally upset when that kind of juvenile debate emanates from the left.”

Equally-incredible, Ron Paul voted for this. Guess there really is a bright line between the Dhimms and the Pubbies, even if the latter spends almost exactly like the former or adopts their language vis-a-vis the military.

While the ‘Rat House leadership that was there (paging Queen Speaker, paging Ms. Pelosi, your votes are overdue) had a bit more savvy than their Senatorial counterparts when the vote finally came down, don’t let the vote fool you. There is a reason why the Pubbies had to pull a parliamentary move to get this through a week after a resolution went through the molasses pit known as the Senate.

September 28, 2007

HamNation is an omnivore

by @ 13:41. Filed under Miscellaneous.

Mary Katharine Ham delivers the perfect answer to PETA and Alicia Silverstone. Bonus points – unlike the PETA ad, this one is work safe.

Let’s go hunting.

National Review Online goes Star Trek

by @ 13:11. Filed under Miscellaneous.

Hey Chris, this one’s for you.

The theme song of the ‘Rat budget “negotiators”

by @ 13:02. Filed under Politics - Wisconsin.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u61vw_jBAvE[/youtube]

The Pubbies have tried two separate caves, first offering the ‘Rats exactly what they wanted on K-12 and shared revenue in a separate bill, and now offering to jack up the cigarette tax. The ‘Rat response is the opening to the video linked above.

Oh, and Craps, we DO have a budget; it’s just not the one you want with the $3.2 billion in new taxes.

September 27, 2007

WordPress 2.3

by @ 16:26. Filed under The Blog.

The Latest & Greatest™ version of WordPress is out there and now on here. Its neatest little trick is automatically checking for updates of both the core and (most) of the plugins. I don’t get into tags, so I won’t be using them.

Among those updated plugins is Peter’s Custom Anti-Spam. The big thing there is the ability to generate an audio file for those that can’t see the anti-spam word, though it chokes on special characters. Also, f you do get it wrong, you can now copy your comment before hitting the “back” button to try again.

Revisions/extensinos (4:48 pm 9/27/2007) – Bad Behavior runs VERY slow with certain elements of the site. Sorry about that; it’s now deactivated.

September 24, 2007

Blogging about Americans for Prosperity

by @ 16:02. Filed under Miscellaneous.

Steve and I met because we’re both going to DC at the end of next week to attend the Defending the Dream summit sponsored by Americans for Prosperity.

That’s the first time I’ll be on a blogger’s row and I’m looking forward to it.

Americans for Prosperity first crossed my radar screen when I encountered the pioneering work that their office in Texas has done on the problem of taxpayer-funded lobbying.

Taxpayer-funded lobbying is when cities, counties and school districts pay dues (with money, obviously, from their taxpayers) to belong to groups that spend that money on lobbying.

Here in Wisconsin, that includes groups like the League of Wisconsin Municipalities and the Wisconsin Alliance of Cities.

I’d like to see cities, and counties, and public school districts in Wisconsin adopt the habit of putting information on their websites that clarifies how much in dues they pay to belong to these organizations, and what bills those organizations lobby for.

September 23, 2007

Packer Nation Returns.

by @ 15:31. Filed under Miscellaneous.

This week the Green Bay Packers won their 3rd consecutive game (all against teams that made the playoffs last year) today.

 This from the prognisticator Steve:   San Diego @ Green Bay (+6.5) – I’m going for broke here. You may like the points, you may want the points, and reputable bookies will give you the points (though most of them are only going to give you 5.5 to 6), BUT YOU’RE NOT GONNA NEED THEM! The receiving band is back together.

Steve, buddy.   I hate to break this to you and the rest of the naysayers, but the Packers are much better than you think they are.

NFL Week 3

by @ 9:08. Filed under Sports.

I’ll do a recap of Week 2 either tomorrow or Tuesday. Suffice it to say that Week 3 is Double Or Nothing Week.

San Diego @ Green Bay (+6.5) – I’m going for broke here. You may like the points, you may want the points, and reputable bookies will give you the points (though most of them are only going to give you 5.5 to 6), BUT YOU’RE NOT GONNA NEED THEM! The receiving band is back together.
Detroit (+5.5) @ Philadelphia – Taketh the over 44 as well.
Indianapolis (-7) @ Houston – The busy Texans’ trainer is your friend.
Minnesota (+3) @ Kansas City – The Chefs have no business being favored.
Buffalo @ New England (-17) – There is one reason and one reason only to lay the heavy lumber; Bills’ coach Dick Jauron.
Miami (+3) @ NY Jets – If you don’t know what I’m going to say here, you haven’t been paying attention.
San Francisco (+10) @ Pittsburgh – Too many points to give; there are 2 defenses on the field.
Arizona @ Baltimore (-7.5) – The only question here is whether the OldBrowns’ defense will score.
St. Louis @ Tampa Bay (-3.5) – The only feel I have for this one is the under 39.
Jacksonville @ Denver (-3.5) – Sooner or later, the Broncos will put up a crooked number in the tens column. It will be sooner.
Cincinnati @ Seattle (-3) – The BenGALS just are not a road team. The over/under of 49.5 scares me.
Cleveland (+3) @ Oakland – The name is Neo.
Carolina (-4.5) @ Atlanta – Joanie’s on his way out.
NY Giants @ Washington (-4) – How bad to the New York Football Giants suck? Does the fact I’m taking the Deadskins tell you anything?
Dallas @ Chicago (-3) – I’m glad it’s not 3 1/2.
Tennessee (+4) @ New Orleans – Back to the Aints.

September 22, 2007

Blogging light until Tuesday

by @ 7:56. Filed under The Blog.

I’m moving today, and since the cable/internet connection isn’t going until Tuesday (being shut off at the old place Monday), I’ll be on the laptop until then. The guest-blogging sign is lit.

September 21, 2007

Legislative Audit Bureau investigates Indian gaming, finds boku holes

by @ 13:05. Filed under Politics - Wisconsin.

Let’s review the “high”lights of the latest biennial Legislative Audit Bureau’s performance evaluation of the Department of Administration’s Division of Gaming, which is responsible for regulating every aspect of legal gaming in the state:

– The Ho-Chunk are in the third year of stiffing the state.
– The Lac du Flambeau got the most out of their investment in Jim “Craps” Doyle (WEAC/Potawatomi-For Sale), and are not required to make any payments.
– Confronted by evidence of differences between the amounts recorded by electronic meters and amounts counted by casino staff every day of 2006 discovered by the LAB, the DOG adopted the amnesia defense.
– Between March 2006 and April 2007, the DOG did not review any data from the casinos to determine whether the tribes had identified, investigated, and documented differences between amounts recorded by electronic meters and amounts counted by casino staff. Under compacts, the tribes are to investigate and document when amounts recorded by a by a meter in an electronic gaming device differ by at least 3% and more than $25 from the amounts counted by casino staff. The DOG only resumed review when the LAB began its review.

Something is rotten in the Valley, at the Dells, and various other casinos, and it isn’t the meat rendering plant.

Atlast Mugged

by @ 12:31. Filed under Presstitute Follies.

Ed Driscoll has an excellent column and video on how the stranglehold the LeftStream Media had on the reporting of news got shattered. I would do you and Ed a disservice to even try to choose what to excerpt. However, there is a quote from TimeWarner CEO Richard Parsons that needs to be commented on: "The Googles of the world, they are the Custer of the modern world. We are the Sioux nation. They will lose this war if they go to war. The notion that the new kids on the block have taken over is a false notion."

It makes me sad to realize that the failure to teach history began long before my generation. Yes, the Sioux massacred the 7th Cavalry at Little Big Horn. However, there is a reason why South Dakota is part of the United States and not the country of Sioux Nation; that battle came before the one at Wounded Knee. There’s a lot more of “us” than there are of “them”.

Now, go read and watch.

September 20, 2007

The DhimmiRAT leadership stands behind MoveOn/NYTimes attack

by @ 17:12. Filed under Politics - National, War on Terror.

(H/T – Allahpundit)

Usually “Sense of the Senate” resolutions are meaningless. However, this is what Senate Majority Leader Dingy Harry Reid, Senate President pro tempore Robert “Sheets” Byrd, DhimmiRAT Whip Dick Durbin, DhimmiRAT Presidential candidates Hiliary Clinton and Christopher Dodd, and Russ el-Slimeroad (Moonbat-Al Qaeda), along with 19 of their fellow traveller DhimmiRATs voted against, and what DhimmiRAT Presidential candidates Barack Hussein Obama and Joe “Plugs” Biden, along with fellow Dhimm Maria Cantwell, ran away from:

(b) Sense of Senate.–It is the sense of the Senate–
(1) to reaffirm its support for all the men and women of the United States Armed Forces, including General David H. Petraeus, Commanding General, Multi-National Force-Iraq;
(2) to strongly condemn any effort to attack the honor and integrity of General Petraeus and all the members of the United States Armed Forces; and
(3) to specifically repudiate the unwarranted personal attack on General Petraeus by the liberal activist group Moveon.org.

That is your DhimmiRAT Party, condoning and applauding attacks on successful members of this country’s military. But don’t question their patriotism; after all, they have none toward this country. Of note, nobody either in leadership nor in the race had the balls to stand up to Kommisar Markos and tell him to go to hell.

How far out there is the leadership of the DhimmiRAT Party? Herb Kohl, voted for this resolution. Guess he figures that even Kommisar Markos doesn’t have enough money to unseat him.

Revisions/extensions (5:17 pm 9/20/2007) – Added Dick Durbin and his “nay” vote to make it a clean sweep of the DhimmiRAT leadership.

What’s the frequency, Kenneth?

by @ 16:41. Filed under Lawsuit madness, Presstitute Follies.

Ed Driscoll, who has the title of the year (“The Blogosphere Full Employment Act Of 2007, Part Deux”), delves into the target-rich environment of Gunga Dan RaTHer’s lawsuit against CBS. While Ed focuses on the admission that RaTHer is Ted Baxter, let’s delve into another couple of paragraphs from the E! News story:

In the 32-page filing, Rather claims that (former CBS News president Andrew) Heyward pressed him to focus on the other stories he was working on at the time, such as Bill Clinton’s heart surgery and Hurricane Frances, rather than delve into the Bush story.

Rather, who along with Peter Jennings and Tom Brokaw made up one of the most recognizable triumvirate of network news anchors in history, alleges that he served as little more than a glorified narrator for the Bush report and that it was CBS which forced him to issue a public apology on Sept. 20, 2004"””despite his own personal feelings that no public apology from him was warranted.”

If RaTHer was little more than a glorified narrator on his, Mary Richards’, and Murray Slaughter’s personal vendetta against President Bush, why shouldn’t Heyward get him to focus on other stories? Morever, since RaTHer is the public face of CBS News, it is proper that he deliver the apology. If he didn’t want to do it, the door swings out as well as in.

New guest blogger

by @ 15:02. Filed under The Blog.

Please welcome Leslie Graves, from State Sunshine and Open Records. She’ll be on Bloggers’ Row at Defending the American Dream, and since her home blog is “narrowly” focused on spreading the light of day on government, she asked to guest-blog here.

September 19, 2007

Sorry about that

by @ 17:45. Filed under The Blog.

The service had a bit of a hiccup. I had one of BlueHost’s optimizations active, and that choked up the entire site. BlueHost’s customer service got me up quick once I got to them (waited an hour while I cut the grass, so that delay was my fault).

Stupid stunt of the day

by @ 15:19. Filed under Politics - National.

Sherrie Tussler, professional poverty pimp executive director of the Hunger Task Force, thought that nobody would have had the resources to debunk her and her daughter’s run at the Food Stamp Challenge, a week of $1 meals. While the Journtinel bit hook, line, and sinker, Charlie did the research, and found that it is as phoney as a $3 bill. First, for a family of 2, the actual minimum amount the feds expect a family of 2 to spend food is $1.55 (plus fractions of a penny) per meal, with a sliding scale of subsidy based on actual need. Next, that amount does not, repeat, NOT, count the hot-breakfast and hot-lunch programs that take care of 10 of those 21 meals for children, or the WIC program, or even private food-pantry programs like Hunger Task Force.

Of course, all of that presumes that it is the role of the federal, or even state, or county, or municipal government, or schools for that matter, to keep the populace fat and sleepy. I don’t seem to see any Constitutional mandate, much less authority, for government to assume such a role.

Last I checked, it was obesity that is the “#1 health problem”, even among the “poor”. Maybe if the “poor” didn’t go out and buy cell phones, have cable/satellite TV in every room, put 18″ spinner wheels on their cars, wear $150 shoes, down copious amounts of alcohol, get toked up, and otherwise piss away an incredible amount of money, and relearned how to cook with staples rather than go with pre-processed food,…. Then again, “No Personal Consequences Or Responsibility” has been the state religion for the last 30 or so years.

September 18, 2007

Roll bloat – south of the border edition

by @ 17:35. Filed under The Blog.

Well, not that far south of the border; just on the other side of the Root River. Caledonia Unplugged focuses on what used to be Wisconsin’s largest town.

Walker spares those who use transit much of the increase of the costs of transit

by @ 10:46. Filed under Politics - Milwaukee County.

After weeks of speculation that there would be massive bus route and paratransit cuts along with substantial, yet modest, increases in fares, Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker announced 4 broad points in the transit portion of his yet-to-be-finalized 2008 county budget proposal:

  • The base fare will increase $0.25, from $1.75 to $2.00 (14.3%), and there will likely be some shortening of bus routes.
  • In exchange, there will be no route eliminations, and the weekly bus pass and 10-ride ticket pack will not be increased from $16.
  • The Transit Plus vans for disabled riders will increase in cost from $3.25 to $4.00 (23.1%).
  • In exchange, countywide door-to-door service will continue, rather than the federally-mandated service within 3/4 mile of a regular bus route.

Predictably, the professional tantrum-throwers who purport to represent those who use public transit are throwing hissy fits:

“I’m glad he’s not making cuts, but I think it’s still an awfully big raise for a lot of people who can’t afford it,” said Arlene Conley, chairman of the county’s Transit Plus Advisory Council, which advocates for paratransit users. “That’s $1.50 round-trip.”

Matt Nelson, one of the organizers of the fledgling Milwaukee Transit Riders Union, was more outspoken.

“Any fare increases or cuts in service are unacceptable and will be fought by our membership,” now more than 400 strong, Nelson said. “A fare increase is a regressive tax and another example of Walker’s disregard for Milwaukee County residents.”

Hey Arlene and Matt. Try dealing with an over-50% increase in the cost of transportation, which is precisely what I am dealing with. I don’t get a subsidy on that, and I also don’t have a driver whose wages have a cost-of-living adjustment built in. May I offer you a tall, frosty glass of Quit Your Whining?

Editorial of the day

by @ 10:25. Filed under Sports.

Usually, I call them idiotorials. However, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial board put one right between the numbers for 6 today:

It wasn’t quite the same old Brett Favre on Sunday. Many of his passes were considerably shorter than in years past. But the result was the same – a convincing Packers win on the road in East Rutherford, N.J.

And one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game set another record.

Favre now holds the career mark for victories by a starting quarterback. It was his 149th win, putting him ahead of Denver Broncos Hall of Famer John Elway. Favre downplayed the significance of the record after the game, noting, “I didn’t do nothing last week, and they gave me the win.”

Well, yes. But how many times has Favre carried the Pack on his shoulders?

Next up for the Packers is one of the league’s most talented teams, the San Diego Chargers, who come to Lambeau Field Sunday. Next up for Favre is the career record for touchdown passes. He’s three shy of tying Dan Marino’s record of 420.

But no matter what happens this Sunday, or the rest of the season for that matter, these are days to savor.

Favre is a one-of-a-kind sports hero, an appealing combination of boyish charm, athletic prowess and hard-nosed grit. It is a rare privilege when a player like that plays for your team. Rarer still, to be able to cheer for him for so long. Sling a few more, Brett.

Just as long as he gets the 3 TDs before the 2 INTs.

Road trip to DC; we’re taking this thing national

by @ 0:02. Filed under Politics - National.

If you haven’t picked up the invite yet, or haven’t stopped at Real Debate Wisconsin, I’m headed to Americans for Prosperity’s Defending the American Dream Summit on October 4th and 5th along with Fred, Leslie at State Sunshine and Open Records, Mark Block (who is running the Students for Prosperity session Friday afternoon), Leah Vukmir (who is in on the How to Impact Your Legislator), and a few others.

The impressive list of confirmed speakers includes Presidential candidates Sam Brownback, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson, John Fund from The Wall Street Journal, John Stossel from ABC, and Robert Cochran, producer of “24” (wonder if he’ll drop any hints on what Season 7 holds for us). In addition, the calls are out to Presidential candidates Rudy Giuliani and John McCain, Rush Limbaugh, Walter E. Williams, Newt Gingrich, and a few others.

There is still room at both the conference and the host hotel, , the Renaissance Mayflower Hotel (which is offering a deal for attendees at $199/night), though the Best Care in the Air is running out of room on the 7:45 am 10/4 flight to DC. Dunno if there’s still room in either the White House briefing Thursday or Blogger’s Row because I signed up after business hours today.

Since Sean and Kevin are out there, both Fred and I are hopeful that we’ll get the inaugural Drinking Right, DC Edition in.

September 17, 2007

Links bloat – the “influential” edition

by @ 21:21. Filed under The Blog.

BlogNetNews Wisconsin, a decent aggregator of the Cheddarsphere, just started an influence index. Inexplicably, I’m #4. Must be that Jack Bauer’s working for them in Season 7 because there’s no way I’m nearly that influential.

They’re not a blog, so I can’t throw them in the roll. If I had room for a 4th column, I’d run their aggregator, but I’ve got too much crap the way it is :-)

Roll bloat – 85% agree edition

by @ 20:00. Filed under The Blog.

While I disagree with Stan’s thoughts on the Pask case, I don’t quite hold that against him. Free Constitution is a good read and worthy addition to the roll.

Constitution Day

by @ 13:10. Filed under History, Politics - National.

220 years ago today, the world’s oldest national Constitution was signed by 39 of the 55 delegates who attended and 70 who were appointed to the constutional convention called for by the Continental Congress. A bit of trivia; Rhode Island sent no delegates.

Kevin Fischer passes along a 50-question online quiz. See if you can beat my 45-of-50 score (without cheating, that is).

Off to jury duty – UPDATE – done for 4 years

by @ 12:18. Filed under Miscellaneous.

I hate having a low-end last name; it seems they always pick from the beginning. I get to fight downtown traffic to get there by 2 and pay boku bucks for parking. Could be better; I could be fighting Zoo Freeway traffic and have to get there by 1. Hopefully I’ll be back soon. In the meantime, the guest-blogging sign is lit.

Before I go, there is a reason why Milwaukee County uses DMV records rather than voting records; non-existent people usually don’t drive, but they sure do vote in Milwaukee County.

Update (4:35 pm 9/17/2007) – That was a wasted 2 1/2 hours. The $11 that the county is coughing up just about covers parking ($8) and gas (about a gallon). I’m back.

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