Open Blog - Weekend

Have a great weekend.

Four for Fridays!

I can not believe it is the weekend for the 4th of July already. I hope everyone will be extra safe this weekend with all the fireworks people will be shooting off. We are staying home this weekend with a lot of travelers on the road and we just feel safer this way.
Yes I am up real early today because Drew has been working overtime this week because of the weekend. So I thought I would get the questions up early this morning and here they are!

1) Do you have plans for the 4th of July?

2) Will you be attending any of the parades this year?

3) Have you ever been caught with illegal fireworks and the police taking them from you?

4) When was the last time you remember going to see the fireworks going off in your town?

Have a happy 4th of July!

Open Blog - Friday

What's new?

"Australian Cardinal and Aide to Pope Is Charged With Sexual Assault"

By JACQUELINE WILLIAMS JUNE 28, 2017

Australian Cardinal George Pell after making a statement at the Holy See Press Office at the Vatican on Thursday. Credit Alberto Pizzoli/Agence France-Presse — Getty Image

"SYDNEY, Australia — Australia’s senior Roman Catholic prelate, and one of Pope Francis’ top advisers, has been charged with sexual assault, the police in the Australian state of Victoria said on Thursday.

"The prelate, Cardinal George Pell, became the highest-ranking Vatican official in recent years to face criminal charges involving accusations of sexual offenses. The case will test the credibility of Francis’ initiatives to foster greater accountability after abuse scandals that have shaken the church around the world.

"'Cardinal Pell has been charged on summons, and he is required to appear at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court' on July 18, Shane Patton, the deputy police commissioner, said at a news conference.

"The charges were served on the cardinal’s legal representatives in Melbourne. Commissioner Patton said there were multiple complainants but refused to provide further details about them, including their ages.

 

"'The process and procedures that are being followed in the charging of Cardinal Pell have been the same that have been applied in a whole range of historical sex offenses, whenever we investigate them,' Commissioner Patton added. 'Cardinal Pell has been treated the same as anyone else.'

"Cardinal Pell, the Vatican’s de facto finance chief, had been accused in hearings before Australia’s Royal Commission Into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse of mishandling misconduct cases against clergy members while he served as the leader of the Archdioceses of Melbourne and Sydney. Then allegations surfaced that he had sexually abused minors himself beginning early in his priesthood and continuing until he became archbishop of Melbourne. He has repeatedly denied the accusations."

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/28/world/australia/cardinal-george-pell-charged-sexual-abuse.html

If you get a chance, watch the Netflix series "The Keepers."  True story.  It's all about sexual abuse of children by priests and others.  A nun is even killed to keep her quiet.  Of course, the Church does all it can to "protect" the priests.  The main offender is "protected" until he dies.  I know of a similar case here in Racine.  The abusive priest was shuffled around to different parishes.  Then he retired and died, never facing any consequences for his actions.  I bet you that at least a million children have been abused by the clergy worldwide.  Once one comes out, other victims usually turn up.

"Cardinal Pell has been treated the same as anyone else."  That's what I'm afraid of.  In other words, they are going to lie, obfuscate, and bury the truth.  I don't know if I ever had much faith in the Church.  Now I consider them a criminal organization dedicated to abusing children.  The Pope can cry all he wants, they still harbor monsters.

"10 Lies You Still Believe About Space"

Open Blog - Thursday

I'd jump for joy except I'd probably break something.

Wildflowers!

I am so sorry I have not posted any of my wildflower pictures. I have been busy with moving kids and getting all the pictures into the right folders. This is a process to get through with all the pictures we have on the computer.

The wildflower picture I am going to post today are all from Chiwaukee Wildlife Prairie in Pleasant Prairie Wi.. Drew and I went down there this past Friday to get pictures of birds and wildflowers. I hope everyone enjoys the pictures.

                                                 This is a picture of a Black Eyed Susan.

                                                 This is a picture of a Crested Dwarf Iris. 

                                                     This is a picture of a Wood Rose.

                                                      This is a picture of a Day Lily.

                                               This is a picture of a Brown Eyed Susan.

                                                    This is a picture of a Dames Rocket.

                                                       This is a picture of Milk Weed.

"Mobile fresh food market moves into Milwaukee's food deserts"

Just like the healthcare on wheels that Kenosha is sending us, grocery trucks could serve our food deserts. I know Dickert doesn't give a damn about the poorer people in Racine, but this is something that he can claim was his idea, too.

Dear Madame Zoltar

Hi, boys and girls!  It's me, Madame Z., with another blog for you.  And you are the most important person here.  Readers, we must have readers!  So read away, my chipmunks.

We've been getting the warm weather of summer and too much rain.  Lake Michigan is at its highest levels in decades.  If you like beautiful beaches, our North Beach would be hard to beat.  But if you go swimming, be careful of riptides that can carry you 50 to 100 yards or more away from the beach.  Experts agree that you can't out-swim a riptide.  Their suggestion is to float motionless until you're out of the riptide.  Of course, you may be halfway to Milwaukee by then.

I'm so very happy to see North Beach so popular again.  It was ignored for decades.  There was the alewife die-off.  That made the beach a stinking mess. But that stopped quite awhile ago.  Still, the beach was deserted except for the occasional beachcomber.  Gangs marked up the oasis.  In fact, I believe that the reopening of the oasis is what started the beach back to normal.  Paul and Jan Curtin reopened the oasis for the 2002 season.  It wasn't easy, especially ridding the place of gangs.  They stuck to it, however, and the oasis gained in popularity.  As soon as it was stabilized, Mayor lying John gave the concession to a pal.  What a prick!  Our mayor is a complete asshole and the greatest deterrent to our city's recovery.  He'll only play ball with his pals and then they violate all the laws and rules.  The sooner this lying prick is out of here, the better.  If I was Mr. Curtin and put in the hundreds of hours that he did in retaking the oasis, I probably would have assaulted Mayor prick.  In fact, I think it's still a good idea.  It's obvious that the man has never suffered a beating in his life.  That's why he's so cocky.  He sorely needs to be taken down a few levels.

Of course, downtown is busier than hell all summer long.  I'm glad that I don't live in the immediate area. It could prove difficult moving around during one of downtown's events.  And the noise would be unbearable.  It's like the rest of the city is supposed to subsidize downtown.  My guess would be that no more than a few percent of Racinians live and/or work there, yet it gets 90% of the attention.

That's because Mayor lying prick's friends have their businesses there.  The prick's pals don't have to pay city taxes or much follow any rules.  As long as the lying prick signs off on it, anything goes.  He rewards his pals with positions on the city's various commissions.  One hand washes the other.  Doug Nicholson, perhaps the prick's best friend, answered "5th Amendment" to all of the FBI's questions in his deposition.  Is that some sort of record?

Oh my, I've spent my entire blog on Mayor lying prick.  I'm sorry.  I get carried away when I see injustice. 

Thank you for reading my blog today.  I love all of my readers.  I wish I could hug you all.

Contact me here: madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com

Enjoy the summer.  We deserve it after winter.  We also deserve to know where our tax dollars go, but Mayor lying prick doesn't want us to know.  It's kind of like living in the old Soviet Union.  Ask too many questions, and you might disappear.
__________________________
Please donate: paypal.me/jgmazelis
If you don't like PayPal, send me a note at madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com and I'll send you my street address so you can send a check or money order.  Thank you.

Open Blog - Wednesday

Hump day.

Charlie's Taking Flying Lessons

"Asea, Can You Say?"

From the Shepherd Express:

By Art Kumbalek 1 hour ago

 

I’m Art Kumbalek and man oh manischewitz what a world, ain’a? And because it’s that time of year, seems to me that the only thing people want to read are the directions on a can of bug spray, and they do so with the attention span of a United States president who lost a popular vote by a boatload. So I’m declaring my independence from delivering a full-blown essay this week, what the fock.

Anyways, I don’t know what it is about this time of year, but it seems every time I turn around these days it’s that time of year again, I kid you not. Cripes, and now it’s that Summerfest time, again, and listen (and don’t stop me if you’ve heard this one before ’cause we don’t have time): After all these years when it comes to this time of year, year-in, year-out, if you even begin to think I could possibly have any gas left to pass through another essay on that annual musical racket down there by our lakefront—then you are abso-focking-lutely correct. Of course I do.

The gas might be a tad overripe, but it smells like this: I’ve pored over and indeed rifled through all the big gig guides and lists and brochures and pamphlets and…HEY! Know what? I think the people in charge of that shebang have gone deaf from all that LOUD ROCK GUITAR MUSIC HELLABALOO they got all the time down there, I kid you not.

I think those people have gone to deaf because each and every year, simply as a professional courtesy, I keep asking aloudly over and over for two simple things at the grounds in the Summerfest: A TOPLESS TENT and a BOURBON TENT—like it would really kill the hippies who run that fest-joint to have a little something for which the common man to enjoy himself by. It may come as an unexpected thunderclap to some, but we’ve been known to drop a couple, three bucks here and there, now and then, for entertainment purposes, what the fock.

But no, everything’s got to be for the young people all the time today. It’s like nothing at all from when me and my gang were members of the young people, lo, those years ago. No sir, in the three-channel TV days of our black & white youth, ’tis a rare-ass occasion it was when there was a good goddamn something to do. Many a long, beautiful, and long some more, summer day was spent standing around in some kid’s dinky back yard locked in the passionate debates of our day—like whose older sister had the biggest jugs. Or we made plans for the future—like how the hell to come by 20-focking-cents for a comic book and ice-cold bottle of Squirt. 

So naturally, you can see how flummoxed I can be to imagine how different for a 14-, 15-year-old kid now today it is, what with all the places to go and things to do for them, not to mention the computers and super-phones they can dick around on for hours, with learning where to send the pictures of their pubescent junk.

That’s probably why we didn’t shoot up the schools back then like they’ve been known to do today. 

We were too bored. Why spend all that time and energy on blowing up the school? Just quit—fock it. That’s what we did.

And the old-school family values. You could hardly take a leak without having to have the whole family along, for crying out loud. Sometimes you could go to some store by yourself, sure, but after five minutes inside with some dickhead clerk on your butt for the entire 300 seconds, you’d be told to scram. There was no telling what a kid by himself might try to get away with.

Cripes, it’s a heck of a thing how a half-a-focking-century can fly by when you lose track sometimes, ain’a? Seems like just the other day I was listening to Pat Boone try to croon “Tutti Frutti” through the AM transistor, and today I can enjoy hardcore pornography on my TV, if I were so inclined.

I wish I was a kid today instead of then when I was, you betcha. Heck, I’d probably even go to the Summerfest and hope adults weren’t around to screw things up since what adults seem best at is to screw things up, same as it ever was, what the fock, ’cause I’m Art Kumbalek and I told you so.

From: http://shepherdexpress.com/article-29987-asea-can-you-say.html

Two things I really, really, really want.

and

"Many College Students are ‘Book Virgins’"

"To gain admittance to college in the 17th century, students had to be able to read and translate various Latin authors on sight. 100 years ago, students were required to have read various classical works before being admitted.

"Today, however, many American students are being admitted to colleges without ever having read a book from start to finish. They are part of a cohort of students known as 'book virgins.'

"The National Association of Scholars (NAS) has pointed out this phenomenon in their recent report titled 'Beach Books: 2014-2016. What Do Colleges and Universities Want Students to Read Outside Class?' The report offers a detailed assessment of the books that colleges across America recommend to their students before they begin classes in the fall.

"The reading level of these books is oftentimes very low, meant to cater to the group of students who are 'book virgins':

"'The desire to appeal to incoming students who have rarely if ever read an adult book on their own… lead selection committees to choose low-grade "accessible" works that are presumed to appeal to "book virgins" who will flee actual college-level reading… [S]uch "book virgins" have to be wooed with simple, unchallenging works.' And how many 'book virgins' are there among entering college freshmen? According to NAS' David Randall—who drew upon NEA and Pew statistics—about 4 million, which represents about 20% of the entering freshmen class. Sadly, these students have discovered that they can receive adequate, and even good, grades in high school without ever reading a page of assigned texts.

"For many students today, it’s considered an embarrassment not to have lost one’s virginity before going to college.

"Would that more were embarrassed about being 'book virgins.'"

Read more at: http://www.intellectualtakeout.org/blog/many-college-students-are-book-virgins 
© IntellectualTakeout.org


People who can't read in college are a threat to our future.  Do you want to be operated on by a surgeon who learned from YouTube videos?  

"American Pravda: CNN Producer Says Russia Narrative 'bullsh*t'"

Hot damn!  Fake news now runs the world.  We have so many media that they have to lie to stay on top.

"New Study of Seattle's $15 Minimum Wage Says it Costs Jobs"

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray signed a bill that raised the city's minimum wage to $15 an hour in 2014. (Getty Images)

"Seattle's $15-an-hour minimum wage law has cost the city jobs, according to a study released Monday that contradicted another new study published last week.

"A University of Washington team studying the law's effects found that the law has boosted pay in low-wage jobs since it took effect in 2015, but that it also caused a 9 percent reduction in hours worked, The Seattle Times reported. For an average low-wage Seattle worker, that's a loss of about $125 per month, the study said.

"'If you're a low-skilled worker with one of those jobs, $125 a month is a sizable amount of money,' said Mark Long, one of the authors. 'It can be the difference between being able to pay your rent and not being able to pay your rent.'

"There would be about 5,000 more low-wage jobs in the city without the law, the study estimated.

"Seattle was one of the first U.S. cities to adopt a $15 minimum wage law, and its experience is being closely watched as other cities have followed suit and as advocates push for a higher federal minimum wage.

"The city's law is raising the minimum to $15 for all businesses by 2021.

"In the years covered by the study, 2015 and 2016, the minimum wage was at most $13, depending on business size, worker benefits and tips. The current minimum wage in Seattle ranges from $11 to $15, and unemployment is at a historically low 2.6 percent, thanks in part to the booming tech sector. 

"Seattle has added about 40,000 jobs overall in the last few years.

"Last week, a review by University of California at Berkeley economists found the law raised pay without hurting jobs in the restaurant industry. An author of that report, Michael Reich, criticized the University of Washington team's methodology.

"The University of Washington effort compared economic data from Seattle with economic data from other parts of Washington state — a statistical model referred to as 'synthetic Seattle' — for which economic trend lines were previously similar to Seattle. By comparing the 'synthetic Seattle' where no minimum wage increase took effect with Seattle itself, the researchers tried to figure out the minimum wage law's effect on Seattle's economy.

"But Reich took issue with how University of Washington team compiled its 'synthetic Seattle.' It was based on areas that 'do not at all resemble Seattle,' Reich warned in a letter to the city Monday .

"By contrast, the Berkeley study compared Seattle to a statistical model based on areas around the country — not just within the state — and was thus a 'more representative' comparison, he said.

"The University of Washington report excludes 'multisite businesses,' such as large corporations, restaurants and retail stores that own their branches directly. Single-site businesses, though — which are counted in the report — could include franchise locations that are owned separately from their corporate headquarters.

"Reich said multisite businesses employ a large percentage of Seattle's low-paid workers. That meant workers who left single-site businesses to work at multisite businesses were counted as job losses, not job gains in the UW study, he said.

"Jacob Vigdor, a public policy professor and one of the authors of the new report, stood by the team's findings. He noted that his team's study actually corroborated Berkeley's conclusion, finding zero impact from the minimum-wage law on restaurant employment — when taking into account jobs at all wage levels within the restaurant industry.

"But for low-wage restaurant workers, the law cost them work hours, the new report said. If the minimum wage law hadn't been in effect, those workers would have seen an 11 percent increase in their hours, the report said.

"'When we perform the exact same analysis as the Berkeley team, we match their results, which is inconsistent with the notion that our methods create bias,' he said."

© Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

$15 an hour?  I never made $15 an hour in my life.  I think they should raise it to $1,500 an hour.  Then everyone can work one hour a week.  Put those crackheads to work.

"Roundup Could Be Getting a Warning Label"

The state's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment announced Monday that the weed killer's main ingredient, glyphosate, will be listed in July as a chemical known to cause cancer. (Reed Saxon/AP Photo)

By SCOTT SMITH, Associated Press

"FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Regulators in California took a pivotal step on Monday toward becoming the first state to require the popular weed killer Roundup to come with a label warning that it's known to cause cancer.

"Officials announced that starting July 7 the weed killer's main ingredient, glyphosate, will appear on a list California keeps of potentially cancerous chemicals. A year later, the listing could come with warning labels on the product, officials said.

"However, it's not certain whether Roundup will ultimately get a warning label.

"Monsanto, the chemical's maker, has filed an appeal after losing in court to block the labeling, arguing that Roundup doesn't cause cancer and that the labels will harm the company's business.

"State health regulators must also decide if there's a high enough amount of the chemical in Roundup to pose a risk to human health. State officials received more than 1,300 public comments.

"'We can't say for sure,' said Sam Delson, a spokesman for California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. 'We're reviewing those comments.'

"Glyphosate has no color or smell. Monsanto introduced it in 1974 as an effective way of killing weeds while leaving crops and plants intact.

"It's sold in more than 160 countries, and farmers use it on 250 types of crops in California, the nation's leading farming state.

"Attorney Michael Baum, who represents more than 300 people who claim a loved one became sick or died from exposure to Roundup, says the fight to protect Californians is not over.

"He said that the state's failure to set the proper risk level would undermine protections California put in place by listing harmful chemicals.

"Scott Partridge, Monsanto's vice president of global strategy, said in a statement that glyphosate does not cause cancer and there's no need to list it as harmful in California.

"'This is not the final step in the process,' Partridge said. 'We will continue to aggressively challenge this improper decision.'

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed

I used Roundup a thousand times. I always wore long pants and I was careful about drift. Roundup is a total kill herbicide. You can get similar and cheaper stuff from Ortho or others. The draw with Poundup is that it breaks down in the soil in about a week. Roundup, like all great inventions, was discovered while searching for something else. Again, Roundup is total kill. Spray it on your lawn and it will die. In fact, I had one customer who was taking forever to pay me. I decided I would write "deadbeat" in her lawn with Roundup, but she paid me first. If you have weeds in your lawn, use Ortho's Weed-B-Gone. It will kill broad leaf weeds, but not grasses.

"A man helped a lost toddler find her parents, police say. He was smeared online as a predator and fled town."

By Amber Ferguson June 27 at 7:06 AM

"A man trying to help a lost toddler find her parents was misidentified as a kidnapper on social media over the weekend, according to police in Lakeland, Fla., prompting him to leave town in fear for his safety and the safety of his family.

"The man was also punched by the child’s father who told local media that he 'thought he was trying to take my daughter' and 'wanted to kill him.'

"The whole episode prompted the Lakeland Police Department to warn citizens to 'be careful about what you post on social media so as not to victimize an innocent person … Before posting information on matters such as this, we encourage people to identify the source and the validity of such claims before sharing them.'

"Lakeland police, in a Facebook post, said the falsely accused man was visiting friends at a softball game when he noticed at a 2-year-old had gotten separated from her parents. She was 'wandering by herself,' police said, and the man 'believed that she was lost.'

"'The citizen attempted to ask the girl where her parents were and walked with her in hopes she could point them out,' the statement said, a fact verified by at least one independent witness.

"At that point, 'bystanders' told the parents that the man was 'attempting to kidnap the child,' said police.

"As the two were nearing the playground, three men approached them from behind, Patch reported. One man grabbed the girl and the other man, who is the child’s father, punched the man five or six times.

"'I thought he was trying to take my daughter,' the girl’s father told News Channel 8.

"'I saw this man with my daughter in his hands walking toward the parking lot. What would you do?' the father asked. 'I wanted to kill him.'

"The father told The Washington Post that it all happened very quickly, 'within 45 seconds.'

"The investigating officer noted the victim’s face had several cuts and was swollen.

"Police concluded that the man was only trying to help. 'We had an independent eyewitness that saw him walking around, asking, "Is this your parents? Is that your father?"' Sgt. Gary Gross with the Lakeland Police Department told Fox 13 News.

"According to police the young girl tried to pull away but the man was concerned for her safety and picked her up and continued walking toward the playground, 'hoping that he would be able to locate the child’s father.'

"The father and his friends were not satisfied with the man’s explanation or that of the police. 'So, I guess in Lakeland, you can kidnap a child and get away with it,' the father said to police, local media reported. The police report, local media said, described the father as 'increasingly agitated.'

"According to WFLA, other media outlets and police, family members and friends went on social media and shared the man’s photo, his Facebook page and his place of business, 'calling him a child predator,' WFLA said.

"Police, however, called him a 'good Samaritan' in their statement. 'It is understandable how parents can possibly be upset in a situation involving a lost child,' the statement said. 'However, this incident truly involved a good Samaritan trying to assist a lost child finding' her parents.

"'Accounts of this incident have circulated on social media with false information and speculation. Posting false information on Facebook could cause a defamation of character claim and those posting false information could be held libel.'"

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/06/27/a-man-helped-a-lost-toddler-find-her-parents-police-say-he-was-smeared-online-as-a-predator-and-fled-town/?utm_term=.5b3b2fb52fa7


I guess if you see a lost child, it's better if a predator gets her/him.  Stupid, stupid, stupid people.  I feel bad that the young girl will have to grow up in a home where the father is so stupid.  I hope she'll be able to break free from his hatred. 

Open Blog - Tuesday

Because it has to be one day or the other, they pulled Tuesday out of a hat.

Open Blog - Monday

I wish.