Gov. James E. Doyle’s Pay-to-Play Habits Spill Into Another State Agency

Source: Republican Party of Wisconsin



Amidst a federal-state-local investigation into the Doyle Administration’s handling of a lucrative state travel contract to a company whose executives are heavy campaign contributors to the governor, more details of highly questionable practices in his administration are emerging.

According to an Oct. 29 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story, a high-ranking Department of Transportation official organized a fundraiser last month for Gov. Doyle, inviting dozens of employees of engineering firms that do more than $100 million a year in work for the department. The official said attendees had to give at least $100 to attend the event. In the fiscal year that ended June 30, the state gave engineering firms $106 million worth of work.

“The governor seems to imply that you need to cough up campaign cash in order to do business with the state,” said Rick Wiley, Executive Director of the Republican Party of Wisconsin. “To have the DOT arrange a fundraiser inviting engineering firm employees appears to be a huge conflict of interest. Fundraising shouldn’t even be in the DOT’s realm.”

In addition to the DOT fundraiser, Gov. Doyle has been catering to gaming interests in full force. In May, Doyle received $20,000 from Mohegan tribe officials who would manage the casino that the Menominee tribe wants to open in Kenosha. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, October 30, 2005) The governor could have the ultimate authority to approve the casino. A new Doyle campaign filing shows he was busy shaking the money tree out east with the Mohegan. Doyle’s campaign spent $400 for the governor, his chief of staff and an aide to stay at the tribe’s hotel in Connecticut. A fundraiser for the governor was held at the hotel, which is part of the casino complex.

Doyle’s campaign manager, speaking in defense of the Mohegan fundraiser, said the Mohegan officials “loved Doyle’s views on national issues,” such as stem-cell research.

“I’m sure the tribes appreciate Doyle’s views on casino operations in the state of Wisconsin even more,” said Wiley. “That is, he’ll do whatever they want as long as they keep the money flowing into his campaign coffers.”

Shortly before the November 2002 election, three Wisconsin tribes with the most at stake in state casino negotiations dropped an unprecedented amount of money into the coffers of the Democratic National Committee----more than $700,000. The national party then gave $1 million to the state Democratic Party, which they used to support Doyle and others on the party ticket.

While Doyle is busy attending to the needs of special interests, the “Travelgate” investigation continues to expose the ethical lapses in his administration. Executives with Adelman Travel donated $20,000 to the Doyle campaign in the months surrounding the award of a major state contract to the company, despite the fact that a competing vendor scored better.

“Apparently trick-or-treating occurs all the time in the Governor’s office,” said Wiley. “Governor Doyle seems to have an endless supply of pay-to-play tricks. Unfortunately, the only ones who get the treats are the most powerful special interests. Come next year, the for-sale sign will finally be removed from the Governor’s door when voters elect either Mark Green or Scott Walker, who are already calling for reforms to clean-up state government."

Harriet Miers ... Now That's Scary!

ABC's Hillary Smash

Source: The Hollywood Blacklist

As if I need any further reason to speculate that the ABC hit television series, Commander-in-Chief, is nothing more then a Hillary Clinton propagandist tool, James Hirsen of the ‘Left Coast Report’ informs us that Steve Cohen, Hillary Clinton’s communications director in the 1990s, and Capricia Marshall, former social secretary to President Bill Clinton, have come onboard as writer and adviser respectively. And if that weren’t enough, Sandy Berger who was recently charged with tampering with confidential documents (why he is not in jail and was merely given a slap on the wrist for his offense is beyond me) has also come onboard as an adviser. Convinced yet?

Wakey, Wakey!

From Ivory Power comes yet another video in which the left are caught with their pants down. Not even Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid’s embittered and somber speech concerning the 2,000th U.S. military casualty in Iraq (what they died for is of no importance) could arouse Senator Byrd from his slumber. If not even your anti-American base is energized by your propaganda then perhaps it is time to develop some new material.

Trailer for Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World Premieres

Source: The Hollywood Blacklist

The trailer for the new Albert Brooks comedy, Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World, is now available online.

Facebook Censorship

A sophomore from Duquesne University was expelled for comments he made against the formation of a gay-straight student alliance at his college and was forced to take the ‘offensive’ blog off his Facebook profile.

Support Diane Sykes for Nomination to the Supreme Court

Grab the attention of President George W. Bush and your Congressmen to get Diane Sykes nominated to the Supreme Court of the United States today!

Contacting the White House

Phone Numbers

Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461

E-mail

Please send your comments to comments@whitehouse.gov

Contacting the Your Senators

Feingold, Russell - (D - WI)
(202) 224-5323
E-mail: russell_feingold@feingold.senate.gov

Kohl, Herb - (D - WI)
(202) 224-5653
Web Form: kohl.senate.gov/gen_contact.html

Harriet Miers Withdraws

Ding Dong! The Witch is dead. Which old Witch? The Wicked Witch! Ding Dong! The Wicked Witch is dead.

Bush's Statement After Miers' Withdrawal

Ann Coulter enthusiastically declares “It's Morning in America”!

Pat Buchanan: Miers May Have Helped Save Bush's Presidency

So, who’s up next? I am with GOP3.com and Jessica McBride in supporting Diane Sykes, former wife of Charlie Sykes, for the Supreme Court nomination.

Seattle College Doctors Churchill Photo

According to Little Green Footballs, Shoreline Community College in Seattle, Washington has invited outed fraud Ward Churchill to speak to their student body on November 8th, 2005. The picture which they have displayed on their website advertising the event clearly appears to be a doctored version of another photograph taken of Ward Churchill holding an AK-47. It seems as though Shoreline Community College wanted a radical anti-American hypocrite but not one so radical that he was seen as endorsing gun use in a semi-proletarian revolution. Makes sense. Something like that is best saved for the likes of the United Soviet States of Madison.

Demonizing Condi

Did anyone who picked up a copy of USA Today or visited their website on the morning of October 19th, 2005, notice something peculiar about the photo of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice? According to Michelle Malkin, the photo was doctored and, intentionally or not (I’ll let you decide), made her appear to be almost demonic in appearance. USA Today has removed the photo and issued a half-ass apology about how the photo did not live up to their standards and … blah, blah, blah.

The Iraqi Constitution

America - The Land of Thieves?

I woke up this morning with a bit of migraine, so I had a lot less tolerance for bullshit then I usually do (which is not much to begin with but that is beside the point). As you may have guessed, I received a whole truckload of it in my eleven o’clock comparative politics course. While discussing the political as well as the economic and social differences between the United States of America and the European Union (I still get a kick out of it every time I use it), a woman in my class went on a tirade about how the United States was this imperialist nation that stole lands from the French (well, who would expect them to give up much of a fight), the English, the Dutch, the Spanish, the Mexicans, and, lest we forget, the Indians. I can no longer distinguish the point she was attempting to make with this argument in regards to the topic of the discussion, but I believe it would be a pointless endeavor to do so. In any event, all the while she is ranting and raving, I am sitting in my desk rolling my eyes in disgust. With the exceptional amount of money we pay for tuition at Marquette I thought, even when dealing with a liberal, that people on campus would be above this sort of childish bantering, but I guess I was naïve in that assumption. Having waste precious minutes of my class time for her anti-American soapboxing, I could hardly let this stand. In response I said, “Well, perhaps you would care to give the land back to the Mexicans, the French, the Dutch, the English, and the Spanish, and apologize yourself”. I cannot speak for the rest of the class but I at least felt a lot better having said that and set the record straight.

Marquette Apologizes for Considering Warriors

When the majority of Milwaukee-based Indians did not find the former (though I still consider it current, especially over the ‘Golden Chickens’) Marquette University nickname the ‘Warriors’ offensive, do we honestly need a ‘time of healing’ on campus? This reeks of political correctness run amok. Thanks goes to GOP3.com for pointing this out.

Contractor Burned Alive in Iraq

As the partisan media continues to trump up the video of U.S. soldiers burning the dead bodies of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan and manipulate its context as to make them devils (the journalist who shot it says that they were burning the bodies because the villagers refused to collect them), they gave little attention to the news that four U.S. contractors were killed in Iraq, one of which was burned alive. The Telegraph, a London-based newspaper, reports, “Barefoot children, yelping in delight, piled straw on to the screaming man’s body to stoke the flames”, but apparently the U.S. men and women, sacrificing much to give Iraqis freedom and democracy, are the monsters.

Ghouls Celebrate 2,000th U.S. Soldier Death in Iraq

The American Friends Service Committee tomorrow will be sponsoring parties in celebration of the death of the 2,000th U.S. soldier killed in Iraq. Here is a list of the events being held in the state of Wisconsin, including two which are taking place in Milwaukee. Peace is patriotic, huh? I call this monstrous and disgusting.

"As an American Muslim I pledge allegiance to Allah and his Prophet"

The New Horizons Islamic School, which was recently rewarded with the Blue-Ribbon School of Excellency Award by the U.S. Education Department, has created its own pledge of allegiance. I would consider this to be a bit unnerving.

Networks Didn't Care About Hillary's False Testimony

As the CIA-leak case is revving up into high-gear now, the left-wing media is going absolutely gangbusters over the possibility that White House aide Karl Rove might be indicted for lying to investigators. They’ve done everything but demand for Rove’s head on a silve plate. However, it seems as though radio personality Al Franken beat them all to the punch on that one. So I find it a bit hypocritical (not a little, a lot) that five years ago Hillary Clinton gave false testimony to investigators who were looking into President Clinton’s firing of White House travel office employees and they were commenting that she should not be indicted because her lying was not meant to influence the decision of the case.

Franken Jokes About Execution for Treason of Rove, Libby and Bush

Al Franken is a big fat stupid unfunny and unsuccessful radio personality in desperate need of dental correction.

Journalist Who Filmed Burning Taliban Bodies Suggests Media Got it All Wrong

Here is an example of another story which has taken place inside Iraq that has been over hyped and taken out of context by the left-wing media. I am referring to the one involving a videotape in which U.S. soldiers can be seen burning the bodies of dead Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. What is not being reported alongside the video taken by Australian journalist Stephen Dupont, however, is the journalist’s own statement that he believes they were either burning the bodies for the purposes of hygiene (the villagers had refused to retrieve the bodies so they had to be disposed of) or inciting the anger of the Taliban in order to draw them out into the open and fight them. If the media would stop their semi-reflexive anti-American accusations for a moment and actually think when it came to stories like this, they probably would not have the dishonest reputation they have now.

Spike Lee: "If They Can Rig an Election, They Can Do Anything"

As much as I disrespect Bill Mahr for his liberal idiocy and his outbursts of anti-American rhetoric in the past, specifically the one that got “Politically Incorrect” on ABC cancelled, I must say that I was quite impressed to see him not be taken in by director Spike Lee’s hysterically outlandish accusations that the United States government under President George W. Bush purposely blew up the levees in New Orleans. Director Spike Lee and people just like him are the cause of the same racial division in this country that they claim to be preventing.

The Chronicles of Narnia and The Producers Trailers Premiere

Normally this is the sort of thing I would save up for The Hollywood Blacklist but these are two trailers I just couldn’t pass up posting here as well. The first because of its Christian context, a formula bound to stir the fires of political debate (if only a bit). The buzz building up to the release of The Chronicles of Narnia - The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe has been tremendous, even if it comes off as a little bit too much in the same vein as The Lord of the Rings.



And how could I forget not including the brand-spanking new trailer for the feature-film adaptation of the Broadway-hit, The Producers, starring Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane, Uma Thurman, and Will Ferrell? It is absolutely hilarious!

“God bless Sweden!”

'South Park' Lampoons Overhyped Katrina Coverage

The creators of South Park have given the left-wing media a taste of their own medicine. The left-leaning media which over hyped the devastation left behind after Hurricane Katrina, specifically the death toll, and blamed the Bush administration for not responding to the victims of the natural disaster more quickly, was lampooned on last night’s episode of the Comedy Central favorite. South Park also took the opportunity to take a swipe at the environmental wackos who gushed over the summer-blockbuster, The Day After Tomorrow, for its depiction of the effects of global-warming.

Albright Swaps Politics for Acting

Source: The Hollywood Blacklist

Maybe she will be a better success in this career choice then her last one.

Comic Fodder

Why Muslims Reject British Values

An ‘anti-racist campaigner’ at the UK Guardian Unlimited has claimed that Muslims behind the London train bombings this past July were justified in their actions because they were acting out of frustration over the Iraq war, September 11th, and the world of ‘oppression and poverty’ he insinuates the British government run by Tony Blair has forced them to live in. Nothing, and I mean nothing, can justify blatant acts of terrorism enacted against innocent civilians as these terrorists have done. The Islamic apologists have sunk to a new low.

Yet another tip of the hat to Little Green Footballs for pointing this article out.

Al Qaeda and the War in Iraq: Smoke and Mirror Illusions

A Middle-Eastern website entitled aljazeera.com, which as far as I and others on the web can tell is in no way affiliated with the satellite television network of the same name, although judging by the material I would put it out of the realm of possibility, has posted an article on their website claiming that the terrorist organization known as al Qaeda does not exist and is merely a smoke screen used by the war-mongering Bush administration to justify their invasion of Iraq, which accomplished nothing other then stealing Middle Eastern oil reserves. If not Osama Bin Laden and al Qaeda, who is in fact behind these devious plots, specifically the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11th? Wait for it … yep, Israel! The dreaded boogie-man of the Middle East! It’s so simple, why didn’t I see it before?! (Sarcasm intended) This honestly is Arab propaganda at its worst, both in terms of sophistication and style.

Thanks to Little Green Footballs for the heads up on this one!

Stretching Milwaukee's Entertainment Dollar Even Further ... Continued

This article is in response to Red State University’s retort of an article the Office of Homeland Security - MU Division wrote just the other day …

RSU: If this is the case, then why is soccer the number one particapatory sport in the country, even beating out the "National Pasttime" baseball, and the "most popular game" football? Why are soccer stadiums springing up all over the continent as RSU reported recently? Why does MLS draw comparable crowds with other "Big Four" leagues NHL and NBA?

Though I am not aware of the source from which Red State University retrieved this statistic, I would not disagree with it. However, it should be noted that the main demographic participating in sport of soccer are in the younger set, specifically those of grade school age. As far as popularity is concerned, soccer still lags behind American football, baseball, basketball, ice hockey, and even tennis. Red State University claims that soccer stadiums are ‘springing’ up all over the country (a remark I would beg to differ with) and that it draws crowds comparable to the ‘Big Four’ leagues of NHL and NBA, the statistics however are from cities with much larger populations then the city of Milwaukee, a statement I argued throughout my article.

RSU: As opposed to what ParkEast is now? A decaying patch of unused, undeveloped land? The ParkEast project would not only include the stadium, but also retail, office, and residential space. Milwaukee Professional Soccer LLC estimates the mixed-use development would add 1,000 white collar jobs to the Milwaukee economy even BEFORE the stadium was accounted for.

I am not opposed to building in what is now the decaying ruins of the ParkEast development (nowhere did I state that in my article). However, I do not believe a soccer stadium would be economically logically given the unpopularity of the sport in the United States, specifically in the region of the Midwest (according to a survey report conducted in April 1997, of all the regions of the United States, the Midwest is the one in which soccer is the least popular), and the already thinly stretched entertainment dollar of the city’s citizenry. And while I would not argue that a soccer stadium, or anything else built in the ParkEast development, would bring jobs to the city, these are after all estimates coming from Milwaukee Professional Soccer LLC and not an outside firm. I do not feel reassured about the project unless a statistical estimate or survey is released from an outside firm with no specific involvement or interest in the project as opposed to one which has been trying adamantly to have a stadium built within the city of Milwaukee, for better or worse.

RSU: One of these things....is not like the others...What do Marquette Basketball, UWM Basketball, the Milwaukee Admirals, Milwaukee Wave, and the Milwaukee Bucks have in common with each other, but do NOT have in common with MLS? That's right. Their schedules all run from October and November through March, April, and May at the latest. MLS season starts the first week of April and goes to the first week in November, essentially the offseason for all of these sports. As such, the "emaciated entertainment dollar" argument is bunk. Even if the Brewers are factored in, if Milwaukee can support FIVE teams in the winter (not including the many Milwaukee natives who also attend Packer games, and Badger football and basketball games) then why can Milwaukee not support TWO teams in the summertime?

But there lies the problem … we can not support five teams in the winter! The Milwaukee Bucks have been having financial problems for years now, stemming mostly from decreased attendance. The only reason they have not been sold as of yet, though there has certainly been discussions of that very topic, is because Senator Herb Kohl, the owner of the team, has been reluctant to do so. As I have already stated, the Admirals are not doing well financially and neither are the Milwaukee Wave. And beyond sports, there is Summer Fest, the Wisconsin State Fair, and a flurry of other summer festivals, concerts, and activities draining a majority of the entertainment dollars from the city’s populace, including the Brewers baseball franchise.

RSU: The Admirals do not draw because they are not a major league team. If Milwaukee had an NHL team, I would imagine it would experience more "Bucks-ish" numbers because they are Major League. To see how this applies to soccer, we will examine the case of 2005 MLS newcomer Real Salt Lake. Milwaukee's population is 583,624. Much more than Salt Lake City's 181,743. In 2004, Salt Lake City was home to the Utah Blitzz of the USL Second Division (Think the Class Double-A of soccer). They drew crowds around 500. This year, Real Salt Lake drew crowds in the 20,000-30,000 range routinely. There is a different buzz when the superstars of the sport are coming to your town, rather than some minor-league team of nobodys.

I do not understand this argument. Hockey is hockey. Why does it matter whether they are a professional league team or not? If the closest city with a professional league team is Chicago and you already have a hockey team in the city of Milwaukee, one that was just in the playoffs, why does it matter if they are professional or not?

RSU: Milwaukee Professional Soccer CEO Peter Wilt has said that taxpayer dollars will not be used to build the stadium. What he is requesting is TIF financing, which would essentially mean that the stadium would not pay property taxes to the city for 10 years to get the project off the ground. Before anyone says that that is lost revenue, keep in mind that the site of the proposed stadium is currently an urban wasteland not even fit to be a parking lot, and the land is owned by the City of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County, so no tax revenue is being collected on it anyway! That of course assumes that there are no sales taxes placed on tickets and merchandise purchased at the stadium and that no income tax is collected from the newly created jobs. MLS in Milwaukee is a win-win for everyone involved.

Excuse me but they said the exact same thing about Miller Park. Last time I checked taxpayers are still having to pay that off and because of the tax placed on the city for the stadium, the Brewers are hoping to extend it further in order for tax money to be spent on other items (such as plasma screens televisions for specific areas of the stadium) beyond what it was suppose to pay for, specifically upkeep of the stadium. The proposed soccer staidum would only be a ‘win-win’ situation for the city if it were to succeed beyond the ten year time frame in which the site would not be paying property taxes … IF it succeeds. There is no guarantee that soccer is viable in the city of Milwaukee.

RSU: I recently attended a game at Uihlein Soccer Park between Milwaukee Wave United and the Chicago Fire. The game drew 3,400 fans with almost no publicity. now, USP is very hard to get to, tucked away on the Northwest side of Milwaukee. Do you mean to tell me that between all the Mexican immigrants on the south side, all the soccer moms in the suburbs, all the other soccer-mad ethnic groups in Milwaukee, and the casual fans like the rest of us, that there wouldn't be enough people to make a decent showing at a central downtown location, with parking facilities and public transportation already in place, should Milwaukee get an MLS team? If SALT LAKE CITY can do it, why can't Milwaukee? A city twice as large and MUCH more ethnically diverse?

Let’s examine this logistically – Hispanics make up twelve percent of the population of the city of Milwaukee. Do you seriously believe that every single hispanic in the city will show up to each and every game and be able to shell out money regularly to fill up a twenty-thousand seat stadium? I doubt it. Secondly, soccer-moms show up to support their children … for free! They don’t usually shell out money regularly to attend a soccer match that does not involve their own children. And lastly, if your franchise is relying on the casual fan to fill up a twenty-thousand seat stadium, you are in deep financial trouble my friend.

Still Think Spending Money on Space Exploration is a Waste?

The government of Brazil has just inked a deal with the Russian government to send the first Brazilian into space, the Royal Astronomical Society of Great Britain has recommended to British Parliament that they should support policies that would send astronauts to the moon and the planet mars, and even the God damn European Union has gotten into the space act, sending a spacecraft to explore the surface of Venus (of all things to study the effects of global warming). Does anyone else find it appalling that we here in the United States are sitting around, dwindling our thumbs while the rest of the world is off exploring space?

US Security Chief Strives to Expel All Illegal Immigrants

There is nothing more I care to say in this instance other then it is about damn time! Finally! Congratulations toward the American public are certainly in order here. In taking this issue up with your elected governmental officials, you have forced the United States government to take serious, aggressive action in eliminating the threat of illegal invasion of our borders. Thank you, one and all!

Comic Fodder

The Tribune Joins Barrett in Being Taken to the Cleaners

I just love the staff editorials of The Marquette Tribune. They demonstrate effectively the extent to which campus journalism is taken within the university newspaper. In other words, not far at all. If you will recall, last week I reported how 'Major' Tom Barrett was being taken to the cleaners by this private business firm peddling a wireless network for the city of Milwaukee at no cost to taxpayers. However, there is a small bit of information that fails to be included in this pitch, namely that the firm will provide the wireless signal but not the connection. In more laymen’s terms, you will have the wireless signal available but in order to actually surf the internet, you will have to pay an internet provider such as Time Warner out of your own pocket to access it. I would not have expected the staff of The Marquette Tribune to have actually taken the time to investigate this bit of information, so that is why I have taken it upon myself to correct their act of negligence this morning.

Stretching Milwaukee's Entertainment Dollar Even Further

This is an issue of which I vehemently disagree with Red State University on. The last thing the city of Milwaukee could possibly need right now is a soccer stadium. In spite of the opinion held by Red State University, the sport of soccer is not at all popular within the United States. At the very least it is no where near as popular as it is in other countries, namely Mexico and the European continent. More importantly though, if a soccer stadium were to be built in the city of Milwaukee, besides the fact that it would be a waste of space, time, and energy for both city officials and the citizenry in general, it would only stretch further the already emaciated entertainment dollar in the city. People like to believe that the city of Milwaukee is a lot bigger then it actually is (Milwaukee's current population stands only at six-hundred thousand people), which in effect drives them to these ridiculous endeavors to get more bang for the public's already overloaded buck. We have Marquette and UW-Milwaukee men's basketball, Bucks basketball, Brewers baseball, Admirals hockey, not to mention Wave indoor soccer … what more do you want? The Milwaukee Admirals are already having difficulties getting butts in the seats for their games, prompting escalating rumors of a potential sale of the team in the not-so-distant future, a problem they have held for years, including last year when they did not have the NHL to compete with. Hell, I am even reluctant to say that the amount of sweat, blood, and greenbacks used to build Miller Stadium for the Milwaukee Brewers was worth the effort in the end. In order for the proposed soccer stadium in Milwaukee to be profitable, it would need a substantial number of people to appear at each game - a soccer base which I can assure you fails to exist in the city of Milwaukee, let alone anywhere else in the continental US with a population the size of Milwaukee's.

Karl Rove's Garage Proves to Be Typical

Can we say 'slow news day' that we are reporting on Karl Rove's cluttered garage? Nah, this is just another pathetic day in the lives of left-wing media journalists with a black vendetta against the president and his administration. Making a mountain out of a molehill is their specialty.

Sen. Edward Kennedy Helps Rescue Fishermen

Does he think this should more then sufficiently make up for a 'little' incident which occurred at Chappaquiddick? Tough luck Ted but we still know you did it. This reeks of opportunism within the 'unpartisan' media if you ask me.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

As the CIA-leak case against journalist/martyr Judith Miller rolls on, she in her infinite wisdom has come to the decision that the best way in which to blow off steam while being investigated for exposing the identity of an agent of the federal government, thus endangering her life, is a trip to Las Vegas for some good old-fashioned fun. Sure, her main reason for visiting ‘sin city’ is to give a speech at a journalist convention, but honestly, who goes to Las Vegas and does not partake in the gambling and licentiousness?

Al-Qaida No. 2: U.S. 'Ran' From Vietnam

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Hippies cost us the war in Vietnam and they will cost us the war in Iraq if we do not do something about it now before it is too late.

From Russia, With Love

As if the slowly disintegrating European Union did not have enough to worry about, it was revealed at the end of last week that former members of the Russian military have for months, if not years, been providing the country of Iran with information on how to obtain technology needed to produce missiles capable of striking European capitals, such as Berlin, Rome, and Athens. Now here is the real question – what will be the European Union’s course of action in light of this information? Will it be bringing the hammer down on Iran hard and force them to relinquish their efforts to build a nuclear reactor in their country or, as I suspect it will be, fresh rounds of Chamberlain-esque negotiations?

'Today' Reporter Paddles in Shallow Water

In light of the media’s convergence on the president’s ‘staged’ conference with soldiers in Iraq story, I am happy to report to you that the TODAY show, co-hosted by left-wing enthusiast Katie Choric, has been caught red-handed with its head up its own ass. Michelle Kosinski, paddling in a canoe, was reporting live from Wayne, New Jersey, where flooding had supposedly occurred, for the TODAY Show program when two men walking behind her revealed the waters she was floating to be less then ankle-deep. A spokeswoman for the television news program has written the incident off as another inadvertently funny moment in television history and not misleading to the public in any way. Do you suppose that the ankle-deep water was allegorical for journalistic integrity? Now that is what I call humor.

Saudis: We May Eventually Let Women Drive

Please take into consideration the exact words the king of Saudi Arabia uses in reassuring Americans that the rights of women will be expanded: ‘We MAY EVENTUALLY let women drive’, however it is not an absolute guarantee it will happen and even if it does, it won’t be happening any time soon. But, hey, at least they have given us their word. Then again, given this is the Saudis we are talking about here, I don’t think that it is worth much. Though I will admit that this is certainly a start for the expansion of women’s rights in Saudi Arabia (should the Saudis follow through with what they have promised … however I am not holding my breath), as long as women in the country and throughout the Middle East are shackled with the immeasurable burden of fundamental Islamic law, any efforts to expand their rights will be in vein.

Barrett Taken to the Cleaners ... Again

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported this morning that a Milwaukee firm is leading the charge to create a citywide wireless computer network that would come at no charge to city taxpayers. However, investigative journalism is not something the Journal Sentinel is famous for, so in comes the conservative in pajamas to finish the job. What the Journal Sentinel fails to report is that the firm which has offered to set up this wireless network throughout the city is only guaranteeing a connection. In other words, computer users would only be able to gain a signal and would not be able to actually surf the internet. In order to do that, they would have to pay for the service through separate internet providers. And what is ‘Major’ Tom Barrett’s opinion on this? He’s being taken to the cleaners wholesale. And who is going to have to end up paying for his gullibility and insufficient consumerism in the future because of this? If you live in the city of Milwaukee, take a long look in the mirror and you’ll have your answer.

Jews, What Jews?

Did anyone else happen to notice what appeared on the front page of Tuesday’s edition of the Marquette Tribune? It was a photo of several Arab students at Marquette University celebrating Ramadan. The moment I saw this I knew that they would not bother to show a photo of Jewish students at Marquette University celebrating Yom Kippur in Thursday’s edition of the campus newspaper, so it was surprising to have seen my prediction come true this morning. I find this a bit reckless on the part of the university newspaper who is obviously attempting to court the PC crowd on campus who would cry bloody murder if Arabs were not ‘fully represented’ at Marquette University. And the Jews? Forget them, they are use to getting the short end of the stick, right? No loss then.

Kennedy: I'll Support Kerry in 2008 Race

It’s official! John Kerry, the current senator from the state of Massachusetts and the one-time presidential loser, no longer has a shot at the presidency, let alone the Democratic nomination, in 2008. Yeah, I know big surprise. What with Hillary the front-runner and all, right? There was still however a minimal chance (it may have been minuscule but it was still a chance) someone could sneak up and steal the nomination away from her. The Clinton camp can now breathe a collective sigh of relief after Senator Ted Kennedy (Jabba the Hut) officially endorsed Kerry for the Democratic ticket in 2008 yesterday. Kennedy, much like Gore and Moore before him, and his endorsement act as a death sentence for anyone he touches. An endorsement from Kennedy, much like ones from Al Gore and Michael Moore before him, act as a death sentence for any candidate it so chooses.

Who is Harriet Miers?