Andy Griffith - Ernest T Bass Courts Charlene

Community Newsletter: Stop Child Abuse and Neglect

From The Journal Times.com:

• Karen Fetherston SCAN program coordinator
• 14 hrs ago

Childhood trauma takes many forms: enduring divorce or family separation, experiencing household mental illness or substance abuse, witnessing violence, and being victimized by abuse.

The damaging effects to the physical, mental, and behavioral health of those who experience childhood trauma start in youth and affect students’ ability to learn and teachers’ ability to instruct and manage their classrooms. Trauma sensitive schools are needed to help kids feel safe so they can learn. There are ways educators can help.

Stop Child Abuse and Neglect offers these tips:

• Create a safe space. When a child feels unsafe, he isn’t capable of understanding, reason, or learning. If he is overwhelmed, it might help him to visit the restroom, sit in a private classroom corner sectioned off as a safe place, or pull up a hoodie and put his head on his desk until he decompresses.
• Build connected relationships. Teachers often struggle to convince traumatized students that they care. Perhaps there has never been a trustworthy adult in the child’s life, or she doesn’t want to bond with her teacher because she dreads separation at the year’s end. With time, most children can sense if compassion is sincere, and it can make all the difference in calming an overwhelmed student.
• Help kids regulate their nervous systems. Traumatized children become quickly stressed into hyper-arousal (explosive, irritable) or hypo-arousal (depressed, withdrawn). There are many strategies to restore balance to the nervous system, but each child has to find what works for him. Sometimes it’s as simple as a squeeze ball or being sent on an errand to the office. Help recognize and encourage what works.
• Support development of a coherent narrative. When kids experience trauma, it causes chaos in their environments and their minds. Creating predictability through structure, routines, and reliability helps reduce the chaos a child may feel and allows her to start creating the kind of logical connections that support learning.
• Practice “power-with” strategies. A traumatized child suffers a loss of power and control. If he finds himself back in a situation of helplessness, he may flashback to the original trauma. Instead of power-struggles, model ‘power-with’ relationships with children to help nurture them into adults who treat others with dignity and respect.
• Build social emotional skills. Trauma robs children of time spent developing social and emotional skills or adults to model them. When confronted with challenging classroom behaviors, a teacher’s compassion, recognition of a child’s potential, and example of a safe, stable, nurturing relationship, may be the difference between a child who hopes and knows love and a child with a negative view of himself and the world
• Foster post-traumatic growth. A child might not be able to control the circumstances of her life, but she can learn to have some control over her reaction to them. Teachers can offer stories of how other people have dealt with trauma, teach problem solving, and encourage focus, self-control, and support seeking.

Responding to a child’s behavior in a trauma-informed way takes a lot of empathy. As challenging as it may be, understand that the child is just trying the best they can to communicate the pain inside of them. Instead of asking “What is wrong with this child?” ask “What happened to this child?”

From:  https://journaltimes.com/lifestyles/faith-and-values/community-newsletter-stop-child-abuse-and-neglect/article_16673a9b-9674-5cb0-92a7-b6105ae182fd.html

The Mark of the Werewolf

Damn, full moons won't be fun anymore.

Janesville man demonstrates Native American singing

Janesville's Billy Bob Grahn demonstrates Native American singing.

Yorgan For Congress!

From the Gazette Xtra:

The third candidate on the 1st Congressional District ballot says he also would hold town hall meetings if elected.

As reported earlier, Democrat Randy Bryce and Republican Bryan Steil both said they would sign a pledge to hold at least four town hall meetings per year.

Ken Yorgan, an independent who also is on the Nov. 6 ballot, said he would do the same.

“I find it rather amusing to see someone attempting to score political points by pledging to do the job that they are applying for, but I suppose that’s the world that we live in,” Yorgan said in an email. “I have no problem whatsoever with signing, if I am supplied a copy of some sort, but rest assured, meeting with and listening to constituents is simply something that I consider part of a congressman’s basic responsibilities.”

Link: https://www.gazettextra.com/news/government/first-district-candidate-joins-town-hall-pledge/article_30401605-cfea-5bbb-8dfc-5b3cd5acb6e8.html

 

Open Blog - Weekend

Boo-hoo: summer ends soon.

Marijuana use referendum questions on Nov. 6 ballot in 16 Wisconsin counties, two cities

From JSOnline:

Don Behm, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Published 10:32 a.m. CT Aug. 31, 2018 

Nov. 6 general election ballots in 14 counties will include advisory referendums asking voters if they would support legalizing medical use or recreational use of marijuana.(Photo: Marina Riker, Associated Press)

When voters in 16 Wisconsin counties and two cities go to the polls Nov. 6 they will join a nationwide debate by marking their ballots for or against legalizing marijuana use either for medical reasons or personal recreation. 

The advisory referendum questions are scattered on local ballots throughout the state, from Milwaukee and Dane to La Crosse and Langlade counties and the cities of Waukesha and Racine. All were approved by county boards or city councils.

Supportive officials and marijuana legalization activists say the referendums will provide a measure of public opinion that can be shared with the state Legislature, and possibly spur new laws relaxing or eliminating current prohibitions on pot.

Rep. David Bowen (D-Milwaukee) said voter approval of the November legalization questions, at a minimum, should persuade legislators to approve a statewide advisory referendum on marijuana legalization.

"There would be no denying the results of a statewide referendum," Bowen said.

But Rep. Melissa Sargent (D-Madison) said there will be no need to wait for a statewide vote after the November referendums since she, too, expects approval of the various questions. Those results will come on top of opinion polls that already show majority support for marijuana legalization among state voters, Sargent said.

Sargent intends to re-introduce her marijuana legalization bill when the Legislature starts a new session in January. She is optimistic the November referendums will encourage more legislators to co-sponsor the legislation than in past sessions.

"The most dangerous thing about marijuana in Wisconsin is that it is illegal," Sargent said.

Her opinion is that that as long as pot remains illegal, it will continue to be distributed widely in a black market that fosters crime and offers no consumer protection while creating racial disparities in arrests for simple possession or use of small amounts of marijuana.

Read more: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/wisconsin/2018/08/31/marijuana-nov-6-ballot-16-wisconsin-counties-2-cities/1110640002/

Four for Fridays!

Hello everyone I am really sorry I forgot to post the questions for today. I had a lot of errands to run this morning and my mind was going crazy with everything. I hope you stay dry this weekend with the rain we are going to be getting. Here are your questions.

1) Do you have any Labor Day weekend plans?

2) Are you going to any of the parades this weekend?

3) If you are traveling how far will you be going?

4) Are any of your plans going to be cooking out this weekend?

Have a great weekend and please be safe!

Domino's Pays For Potholes

From The Journal Times.com:

Thumbs up: And speaking of potholes: Pizza can be filling. That’s good news up the road in Milwaukee where Dominoes Pizza has given $5,000 to the city to fix potholes. The grant was part of the pizza chain’s summertime advertising “Paving for Pizza” pitch that ostensibly was designed to protect customers from pizza being damaged in transit. No one, after all, wants to get a pizza with the cheese stuck to the top of the box. Milwaukee was nominated by an alderman and Public Works officials there said the $5,000 was used to buy 50 tons of hot asphalt – enough to fill 200 potholes. Pepperoni would cost extra.

From:  https://journaltimes.com/news/opinion/editorial/friday-finishers-we-need-more-details-on-downtown-arches/article_25f8fea9-6283-591a-9401-adaaf95350b2.html#tracking-source=home-the-latest

A Better Mount Pleasant Sends

A Better Mount Pleasant Sends:

This is 20 minutes you'll never get back - but essential viewing.

At Monday's Village Board meeting, an item on the agenda was a discussion and possible action regarding the use of Fire Station #7 - which has been closed since 2014. (Many folks will remember that the controversial closing was done with no advance notice to either the public or the trustees.)

Village Planning Director, Sam Schultz gives a good overview of the status of the structure and some ideas as to how it can be used in the future.

Immediately, John Hewitt makes a motion to tear it down. Boom. His motion is seconded by Ram Bhatia.

Gary Feest brings up that this item was added to the agenda that morning, and the board has not received any recommendations from the Fire/EMS Commission or the Finance/Legal/License Committee.

Public Input = None
Demolition Costs = None

So Hewitt amends his motion to say not just tear it down - but build a park pavillion too. Ram dutifully amends his second to the motion.

Uh, they have no recommendation from the Parks Committee and no estimates for how much it will cost to build a pavilion.

It just gets worse and worse and worse.

They don’t know what they are doing. LITERALLY.

A couple of things: It’s kinda fun listening to Sam Schultz tip toe away from the sudden and impulsive motion to just tear down the station. Even funnier when he smacks Hewitt by saying the notice could have hardly been more last minute.

Watch for any kind of discussion from Sonny Havn, Bud Eastman and Anna Marie Clausen. They have nothing to say at all. Their presence is completely useless.

(Since the meeting was over 3 hours - we chose to make a phone video instead of downloading and rendering. Sorry for the less than great quality.)

https://www.facebook.com/abettermtpleasant/videos/2153412514878691/

Open Blog - Friday

A three-day weekend is coming up.

Racine woman sentenced to probation in alleged child abuse case

From The Journal Times.com:

• ALYSSA MAUK alyssa.mauk@journaltimes.com
• 1 hr ago

 RACINE — A Racine woman has been sentenced to probation following 2017 allegations that her children were abused, neglected and psychologically abused.

In May 2017, Regina A. Sanchez, of the 1200 block of Albert Street, was charged with a felony count mental harm to a child and three misdemeanor counts of child neglect. 

On Aug. 7 of this year, Sanchez accepted a plea agreement, and pleaded no contest to two counts of misdemeanor child neglect. One count of mental harm to a child and child neglect were dismissed, but considered for sentencing purposes.

On Friday, Aug. 24, Racine County Circuit Court Judge Mark Nielsen sentenced Sanchez to a withheld sentence of two years for each of the child neglect charges.

Sanchez will be placed on probation and will serve two years in custody should she not comply with terms of her probation, which includes psychological screening and contact with her children in accordance to a placement plan, online records show. 

Alleged abuse

Between December 2016 and May 2017, teachers at a central-city school reported that an 8-year-old student and her younger siblings had come to school with bruises, without having been fed or without basic necessities like socks or underwear.

The children also reportedly had their heads shaved multiple times due to lice infestations. 

On May 2, 2017, the child and her siblings were absent. When Sanchez was called, she allegedly said that the children were “being brainwashed” at school, and she didn’t care if she was jailed. She also reportedly threatened the school.

Police were called to check on the children, who later arrived at school. The 8-year-old was visibly upset, claiming her bedding and toys were taken away and she was being “kicked out for being sassy.”

She said Sanchez would sometimes hit her with a belt or sandal or have her siblings hit her, lock her in the dark basement and not feed her.

Police later spoke with Sanchez at her home. They went into the 8-year-old’s room and saw a mattress with no bedding. They also saw a cockroach run across the floor and a soiled diaper.

Sanchez reportedly admitted she took the child’s belongings and threatened to kick her out to scare her into behaving. When led to the basement, police saw a lock on the basement door and a bag full of the child’s belongings on the ground.

The other children corroborated their sister’s story.

From:  https://journaltimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/racine-woman-sentenced-to-probation-in-alleged-child-abuse-case/article_053b646c-95ea-5cd1-875a-0775f4bb8e69.html#tracking-source=home-top-story-1


Anybody who thinks this is the end of the story is crazy.  Those kids have a decade of abuse ahead.  I know.  I've been there.  A felony count and she gets probation.  As I've always said, children in Racine mean nothing, just like dogs.

Due to lack of financial support, 2017 was the last Milwaukee Holiday Parade

From JSOnline:

The organizers of the Milwaukee Holiday Parade announced Wednesday that the 2017 parade was its last. The parade has been an annual event for 91 years.

The DeGrace family, who has been managing the parade since 1953, decided to retire. The family hopes someone else will step up to manage the longstanding Milwaukee tradition.

Suzanne DeGrace Spaeth said in a news release, "The massive community support and our many-thousands of rain-or-shine attendees are the reasons we’ve continued the parade for all of these years.”

The family made the decision because of a lack of financial support, vendor changes and downtown construction projects like building construction and roadwork. The parade's main financial backer was the now-bankrupt Bon-Ton Stores Inc. The annual fundraising goal has been about $150,000. 

From horses to marching bands, dancers, dignitaries and racing sausages, the 86th Annual Milwaukee Holiday Parade brought cheer to the city Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

RELATED: When Schuster's brought the holiday parade to downtown Milwaukee

The annual parade was held the Saturday morning before Thanksgiving and stood as a kickoff to the holiday season. More than 100 marching bands, floats and local personalities participated in the parade.

From:  https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/2018/08/29/2017-milwaukee-holiday-parade-last-due-lack-support/1132311002/

10 Most Bizarre Psychiatric Disorders

Open Blog - Thursday

Enjoy your day.

Despite Strong Economy, Many Americans Struggle to Get By

40 percent of families struggled to meet one of their basic needs last year, including paying for food. (AP File Photo/Brynn Anderson)

AP News

August 29, 2018

 

 Despite a strong economy, about 40 percent of American families struggled to meet at least one of their basic needs last year, including paying for food, health care, housing or utilities.

“Economic growth and low unemployment alone do not ensure everyone can meet their basic needs.” — Urban Institute research authors

That’s according to an Urban Institute survey of nearly 7,600 adults that found that the difficulties were most prevalent among adults with lower incomes or health issues. But it also revealed that people from all walks of life were running into similar hardships.
The findings issued Tuesday by the nonprofit research organization highlight the financial strains experienced by many Americans in an otherwise strong economy.
The average unemployment rate for 2017 was 4.4 percent, a low that followed years of decline. But having a job doesn’t ensure families will be able to meet their basic needs, said Michael Karpman, one of the study’s authors. Among the households with at least one working adult, more than 30 percent reported hardship.
“Economic growth and low unemployment alone do not ensure everyone can meet their basic needs,” the authors wrote.

The Most Common Challenge

Food insecurity was the most common challenge: More than 23 percent of households struggled to feed their family at some point during the year. That was followed by problems paying a family medical bill, reported by about 18 percent. A similar percentage didn’t seek care for a medical need because of the cost.

“It’s very hard at 64 years old, I look back and think I am in this position and I should be able to retire.” — Debra Poppelaars of Nashville, Tennessee

Additionally, roughly 13 percent of families missed a utility bill payment at some point during the year. And 10 percent of families either didn’t pay the full amount of their rent or mortgage, or they paid it late.
While startling data to some, it comes as no surprise to those Americans who are struggling to get by.
Debra Poppelaars of Nashville, Tennessee, underwent spinal fusion surgery last fall and was diagnosed with breast cancer shortly thereafter. Although she is insured, she owes roughly $19,000 for her portion of the medical bills.
Between disability, a job change and the mounting debt, she hasn’t been able to make ends meet and is now facing bankruptcy.
“It’s very hard at 64 years old, I look back and think I am in this position and I should be able to retire,” she said.

Struggling to Get By

Jerri Wood of Renton, Washington, says she makes choices each month to pay one bill instead of another as she struggles to pay for her health care. Wood has lived for years with a brain tumor that requires regular monitoring and was recently diagnosed with diabetes that she takes insulin to manage.
Rising costs for her care, even with insurance, have her juggling bills to get by — such as paying her cellphone or electricity bill one month and not the next. And she still feels like one of the lucky ones as she is able to survive.
“There is such a need for safety nets, so many people are in this position,” she said.
The Urban Institute survey comes at a time when lawmakers are considering cuts to some safety-net programs, such as Medicaid, SNAP and housing assistance.
The researchers said that lawmakers run the risk of increasing the rate of hardship if they reduce support services.
It is the first study on the subject by the DC-based organization, which looks at economic and social policy issues. The institute plans to conduct the study every year to track the well-being of families as the economy and safety net systems evolve.

Related

Three Things Trump Said. Here Are the Realities. Good & Bad.

America’s Real Problem? Not Enough Immigrants.

More Rain Amid Climate Change? It Could Happen

Rise in Interest Rates Could Be Short-Lived: CNBC Report  

 

From: https://gvwire.com/2018/08/29/despite-strong-economy-many-americans-struggle-to-get-by/

Committee defers decision on marijuana citations

From The Journal Times.com

CHRISTINA LIEFFRING christina.lieffring@journaltimes.com

1 hr ago

RACINE — A city committee had a lively discussion Tuesday with Alderman John Tate II from the 3rd District about his communication recommending that the City Council order the chief of police to issue all first-time marijuana possession offenders a citation, rather than face state charges.

The Public Safety and Licensing Committee ultimately decided to hold off on making a decision until it received clarification from the City Attorney’s Office and the Police Department. But the conversation brought up issues and questions the committee will want to learn more about before making a decision.

Read more:  https://journaltimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/committee-defers-decision-on-marijuana-citations/article_69304a13-8233-57d1-aa55-c3fbb16959d9.html#tracking-source=home-top-story-1

County Board approves marijuana referendum by 1 vote

From The Journal Times.com:

• ADAM ROGAN adam.rogan@journaltimes.com

A video screen shows the 11-10 Racine County Board vote on Tuesday night Aug. 28, 201`8, that authorized an advisory Marijuana referendum for Nov. 6.  ADAM ROGAN adam.rogan@journaltimes.com

 

RACINE COUNTY — Racine will become one of about a dozen counties in the state to have an advisory referendum regarding the legalization of marijuana use. On Tuesday night, the County Board authorized it by an 11-10 vote with every supervisor present.

The three questions that will appear on every ballot in Racine County on Nov. 6 are as follows:

1. Should marijuana be legalized for medicinal use?

2. Should marijuana be legalized and regulated for adults 21 years of age or older?

3. Should marijuana sales be taxed for state and local revenue?

The results of voters’ responses to the three questions will not have a direct effect on legislation. It would be used as a litmus test of public opinion.

Before the referendum was approved Tuesday, an amendment proposed by Supervisor Monte Osterman of Racine was passed by a 14-7 vote. The amendment removed language about how the tax revenue could be used from question No. 3 and removed mention of regulating marijuana “similar to alcohol” from question No. 2.

Supervisor John Wisch of Caledonia supported the amendment, saying it was “more to the point.”

The vote

The County Board passed the referendum on the very last day possible to get it on the Nov. 6 ballot.

Supervisors Osterman, Wisch, Nick Demske, Fabi Maldonado, Melissa Kaprelian-Becker, Q.A. Shakoor II, Eric Hillery, Janet Bernberg, Don Trottier, Thomas Roanhouse and Tom Hincz voted in favor of it. David Cooke, Russell Clark, Brett Nielsen, Robert Miller, Tom Kramer, Katherine Buske, Scott Maier, Robert Grove, Thomas Pringle and Mike Dawson opposed it.

The referendum was first proposed on July 31 by supervisors Demske and Maldonado, both of Racine.

This comes weeks after the Racine City Council adopted a similar referendum for the same ballot. The state Election Commission recommends removing such similar questions, although County Clerk Wendy Christensen said she was unsure if this would be possible because the election is less than 71 days away.

Read more: https://journaltimes.com/news/local/county-board-approves-marijuana-referendum-by-vote/article_89e2c68a-6cbe-591d-a618-615c2fe01b1d.html

Cannabis Laws in WI – Straight Outta the WI State Statutes!

ggodmulS Uncategorized August 27, 2018 13 Minutes

It’s time to clear up the confusion brought on by speculation about Wisconsin’s Cannabis Laws and go straight to the authoritative source – The Wisconsin State Statutes. Definitions and laws relating to Cannabis is found in CHAPTER 961, known as the UNIFORM CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT.

Link: https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/961

Read more::  https://arrestrecordsofracinewipublicofficials.wordpress.com/2018/08/27/cannabis-laws-in-wi-straight-outta-the-wi-state-statutes/

Dear Madane Zoltar

Hello, my sunflowers!  How are you?  Have you been enjoying our weather. I know I have, but it's supposed to drop to near 60 degrees.  In January, that would be warm; today it's chilly.  The temperature is supposed to rebound, though, just giving us a taste of autumn.  We can start saying our good-byes to the summer of 2018. Boo-hoo!  I know I'm projecting, but I've already thought of the s-word.  Thank God I have "my boys" to help me out.  I never have to shovel the s-word, Señor Zanza does that.  When Junior gets home from school, he helps out if needed.  I would hate to be a lonely old woman in Wisconsin with no male help.

Well, the Foxconn fiasco carries on.  Now they've promised $10 million to UW.  They sure are good at promising stuff, but not so good at delivering the $ it seems.  Property around the Foxconn installation is being bought up by developers.  And the city of Racine is seeing a housing boom in anticipation of Foxconn.  I certainly hope that we end up with enough people to fill all those vacancies.  They're putting up housing on Phillips Ave.  If you read the paper each day, you know that Phillips Ave. is a hitbed of crime.  What will happen?  Will the police make sweeps until all the riffraff  moves on?  Or will the gangsters take control of the new housing?  I'll be honest: I would never live on Phillips Ave.  Good luck to those who do.

The Donald Trump fiasco also moves on.  What a childish, lying, bellowing, tweeting twerp!  I feel like the rest of the world is laughing at us behind our backs.  Mr. Trump seems incapable of telling the truth.  Then, when his lies fail him, he just tells more lies.  He seems to pull numbers out of thin air.  They aren't the real numbers, but who's counting?  Ha-ha!  He's petty and holds stupid grudges.  How did he ever get so rich? By swindling little old ladies out of their land?  Mr. Trump seems to have to regularly return to the foaming at the mouth level.  That's his constituency.

A hot topic around town has been marijuana.  The November ballot will contain an advisory referendum on the decriminalization of weed and/or legalizing it.  Numerous other cities will also entertain these questions on the November ballot.  Personally, I'm all for legalizing the stuff.  Compared to booze, it's relatively harmless.  There's no known dosage that results in death.  The story I hear is that DuPont was coming out with artificial fibers, but everyone preferred the hemp fibers.  So DuPont, along with nutjob Harry Anslinger, worked tirelessly to crminalize reefer. The height of this hysteria can be seen in the movie Reefer Madness.  And ever since, we've been fed lies about marijuana.  The states that have legalized marijuana have seen a huge increase in collected taxes.  Reefer money could be spent on so many good things.  C'mon, GovernorWalker and company, let's fix our roads and help the sick with this tax bonanza.  Get on the right side of the conversation.

Finally, the Irregular Football season is about to start.  I predict that I'll destroy all comers and win the championship.  There are two positions still open.  If you hurry, you can still join.

It's storming as I write this.  I believe there is cooler weather behind this storm.  Enjoy the break from the 80's and 90's.  It will be a good time for heavy labor.  Or heavy partying.  I suspect we'll see more of the latter than the former.

madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com

Thank you all for reading my blog this week.  It's the readers that make this blog.  Please stop by regularly.  I love you all.
 __________________________ 
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

Mine is wet.

Amy Connolly Housing Discrimination Lawsuit

Amy Connolly, the development director for the City of Racine, will receive $360,000 from her former employer, the Village of Tinley Park, as part of a settlement from a housing discrimination lawsuit filed by the Justice Department.

The Village of Tinley Park approved the settlement agreement Tuesday at a board meeting.

The settlement agreement dismisses the Justice Department’s case against Tinley Park, which denies any liability or wrongdoing.

In a prepared statement village manager Dave Niemeyer stressed that the settlement was in the best interest of the Village.

“This was a business decision to reduce the risk and costs of litigation, which could easily go over a million dollars from this point forward, with an uncertain outcome for both cases,” he wrote.

The Village Board also agreed to pay Connolly $360,000 and pay a $50,000 civil penalty to United States Treasury. Connolly is relieved that the case is over.

“I think Amy was vindicated, but we knew that would occur since day one,” he said. “But what this settlement does is it puts this to rest. And if there are any holdouts in Racine, they should know they are lucky to have someone like Amy that is a brilliant planner that cares deeply about the community she serves.” 

https://www.racinecountyeye.com/amy-connolly-housing-discrimination-lawsuit/

Foxconn, Advocate Aurora Health, Johnson Controls and Northwestern Mutual create $100 million venture fund

From JSOnline:

Rick Romell and Sarah Hauer, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Published 4:28 p.m. CT Aug. 28, 2018 | Updated 4:30 p.m. CT Aug. 28, 2018

 

Foxconn, Advocate Aurora Health, Johnson Controls and Northwestern Mutual CEOS announce a $100 million venture Fund(Photo: Sarah Hauer, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

 

Four major corporations, all with a significant Wisconsin presence, on Tuesday announced they will jointly launch a $100 million venture capital fund.

Advocate Aurora Health, Foxconn Technology Group, Johnson Controls International, and Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. each will all contribute $25 million to the fund. 

Named the Wisconn Valley Venture Fund — a reference to Foxconn title for the massive manufacturing complex it is building in Mount Pleasant — the fund will invest in companies both across the U.S. and globe in health care, technology, manufacturing and financial services.

The pot of venture money will be one of the largest in Wisconsin.

One of the funds run by Venture Investors of Wisconsin, the oldest and largest Wisconsin-based venture company, totals $118 million, and the firm’s most recently launched fund has $82.5 million, said John Neis, executive managing partner.

But the median venture capital fund in the state is well under $20 million, he said. And the national median – outside of venture-rich California, Massachusetts and New York – was $28.3 million in 2017, according to the National Venture Capital Association.

“Really great news,” Neis said of Tuesday’s announcemen

Read more:  https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/business/2018/08/28/foxconn-advocate-aurora-health-johnson-controls-and-northwestern-mutual-create-100-million-venture-f/1124290002/

Welcome Dirtbags Redux

From The Shepherd Express:

by Art Kumbalek

Aug. 28, 2018

3:55 p.m.

I’m Art Kumbalek and man oh manischewitz what a world, ain’a? So listen, I don’t know about you but I’ve had enough of this rerun of a summertime all right already, I kid you not. The only good thing I can say about heat and humidity is that it renews my appreciation for the invention of ice in the shape of a cube small enough that a couple, three can float comfortably on a bourbonic sea outlined by the goodly dimensions of my beaker o’ cocktail to be enjoyed within the friendly confines of a booze joint, dank and dark, where the proprietor understands the value of setting the AC on “stun,” and conversation volumetrically—in both its amplitude and frequency of address—approximates that of the seminary for deaf monks, you betcha.

And I hear we’ve got the big Harley-Davidson 115th anniversary shebang in Our Town over the next couple, three days. And “hear” might not be the correct word, since I believe it was during the previous jubilee of a jamboree for these motor psychos that I came down with some kind of hearing impediment due to the bombasting bellow of machines that never met a tailpipe that piped, what the fock.
But about this how-many-anniversary-hoedowns-can-one-company-possibly-have Hog Fest at the top of the list on our community docket, I will say this: I do appreciate that these motor-psychos will supposedly maybe drill well over $100 million smackeroos into our town’s economic pipeline; and as a resident, I do look forward to the check-is-in-the-mail I ought to receive for the pain and suffering I will endure from all the piss-ass car alarms going off in the middle of the night every time one of those soft tail-fat boy-sportster-dual glide two-wheelers farted on down the boulevard. And when I do receive my check from the city, I promise to spend it wisely.
Oh, for christ sakes, right there in the title to this week’s supposed essay I stepped on the punchline to the joke I chose to whip out in salutations to those afflicted with this motorcycle mania we got going around Beer Town anywhere and everywhere you turn around.
But what the fock, here it is anyways: So what’s the difference between a Harley-Davidson and a vacuum cleaner? Give up? OK. The difference between a Harley-Davidson and a vacuum cleaner? The position of the dirtbag. Ba-ding!
So, I’m not whipping out a big honking essay for you’s this week and I’ll tell you why. Who the heck reads anything on the Labor Day weekend? What the fock, not many read in the summertime anyways, at least not the highfalutin intercourse of excogitations I’m prone to pump out. If they read anything, it’s most likely the paperbacks one can still buy at some supermarkets. Especially the ladies. Seems they appreciate the books where on the cover they got some knobshine buff buccaneer with his shirt half ripped off and flowing coiffure flapping in the sea breeze. I don’t read those books, and the guys I know would agree with Groucho, who said about the movies, “No picture can hold my interest where the leading man’s tits are bigger than the leading lady’s.”
And one more thing, this week was supposed to be my gala Back-to-School Address to our young matriculators and matriculees. Looks like I’ll be at least a week late, just like every single goddamn homework assignment I ever got while serving time at Our Lady Of Pain That You Kids Are Going Straight To Hell But Not Soon Enough, what the fock.
But I’d like to quickly point out to our juvenile rocket scientists that you got one hell of a lot to learn, compared to if you had to go to school 2,000 years ago. Hey, how hard could geography have been back then? For crying out loud, they only had like about four countries, I kid you not. Piece of focking cake. And history? Those people were born yesterday compared to what you all got to memorize these days. English Lit? Mighty slim reading list, wouldn’t you say? You young people of the modern age sure got your work cut out for you’s, you betcha. I recommend heartily that you brush your teeth and stay in school. A successful future can be yours as long as you don’t fock it up. Amen.
I got to go, but to our nomadic visitors who rode into town on a bicycle with a motor attached, remember that New York may be The City that Never Sleeps, but Milwaukee is The City that Always Sweeps. So please, before you hightail it out of town remember to clean up after yourselves. Heck, even I might welcome you back ’cause I’m Art Kumbalek and I told you so.

From: https://shepherdexpress.com/advice/art-kumbalek/welcome-dirtbags-redux/

PREDICTION: Trump Will Resign In Disgrace...Soon

Hmm, this was "Published on Aug 16, 2017" and Trump is still in power, more than a year later.  Better leave the predicting to Madame Zoltar.

2 Baptist ministers from Milwaukee got a flat tire in the suburbs. Their encounter with a deputy is bringing a call for answers.

From JSOnline:

Bruce Vielmetti, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Published 11:14 a.m. CT Aug. 27, 2018 | Updated 2:30 p.m. CT Aug. 27, 2018

Demetrius Williams of Community Baptist Church in Milwaukee (left) and the Rev. John K. Patterson of Mount Olive Baptist Church in Milwaukee talk about their contact with Waukesha County Sheriff’s Deputy Erik Michalsen that left them feeling they were treated like criminals.(Photo: Michael Sears/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Friends and fellow Baptist ministers Demetrius Williams and John Patterson had squeezed out some time from their busy schedules one May morning to go fishing in Jefferson County.

On their way home to Milwaukee around noon, a tire on Patterson's boat trailer went flat. He pulled his Chevy Silverado to the shoulder of Interstate 94 in Brookfield and called his insurance company, who said a tow truck would be out to install the spare in about 30 or 40 minutes.

Traffic was whizzing by and both men said they felt relief when a Waukesha County sheriff's patrol car pulled up behind them. "We thought maybe he was going to put out some cones or something," Patterson said.

Deputy Erik Michalsen asked if they had called for a squad. Patterson said, no, he had called his insurer and help was on the way.

Then, the men say, Michalsen asked, "Do you have any guns or drugs in the vehicle?"  They adamantly said no, noting they were both pastors.

Next, he asked for both men's driver's licenses — standard procedure, he said. He returned the licenses about 10 minutes later, slapped an orange sticker on the boat, and left the friends fuming.

"We're pastors, driving home from fishing, and yet we're treated with suspicion when we should have been offered assistance," Williams recounted last week.

"We were just stranded," Patterson said. Instead of help, they "got background checked and treated like criminals because we're African-American men."

"We drove home feeling violated," Patterson said.

Group seeks others' stories

Now a faith-based community action group, Common Ground, is launching its own investigation into possible racial profiling by the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department. It held a news conference outside the Waukesha County Courthouse on Monday to present Williams' and Patterson's account, and ask other drivers to share their experiences with Waukesha County deputies.

They passed out fliers with #WaukeshaSheriffStories.

"Take this to your churches, families, neighbors and workplaces," said Gwen Mosier, a white woman from Pewaukee.

"How does their story sit with you?" she asked. "Would everyone be treated this way?"

Read more: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/2018/08/27/2-pastors-who-pulled-over-flat-tire-questioned-guns-drugs/1067496002/

$100 million gift launches Foxconn, UW research partnership

From The Journal Times.com:

 MICHAEL BURKE mick.burke@journaltimes.com
9 hrs ago

Foxconn CEO Terry Gou, left, and UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank are shown after signing a Declaration of Collaboration agreement Monday at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery on the UW-Madison campus.
STEVE APPS, Lee Newspapers

MADISON — Foxconn Technology Group, and its chairman and founder Terry Gou, on Monday announced plans to invest $100 million in engineering and innovation research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, while also creating the framework for a science and technology institute that will collaborate closely with the company’s future facilities in Mount Pleasant.

The Foxconn investment will include funding to help establish a new interdisciplinary research facility for the College of Engineering on the UW–Madison campus.

Gou and other senior Foxconn executives visited the campus Monday and, along with university officials, signed several agreements designed to formalize and streamline their future working relationship.

Under the Foxconn UW–Madison Collaboration Declaration, the parties will establish the Foxconn Institute for Research in Science and Technology, or FIRST. It is intended to be a hub for technological innovation and provide an environment for research and development initiatives in medical science, materials science, computer and data-driven science and other fields.

FIRST will have its main location at the future Wisconn Valley Science & Technology Park in Mount Pleasant and also an off-campus presence in Madison.

Read more: https://journaltimes.com/business/local/million-gift-launches-foxconn-uw-research-partnership/article_5dd6eb95-81f5-5d3c-a8e5-79f841b76e16.html#tracking-source=home-top-story


Foxconn is big on plans and promises.  In other words, believe nothing until you see it.

Open Blog - Tuesday

Have a great day.

BREAKING - MT. PLEASANT IMPOSES EMINENT DOMAIN FOR FOXCONN

From: https://www.facebook.com/abettermtpleasant/

They did it. They finally pulled the trigger on their own residents.

A lawsuit has been filed in Racine County against the Village of Mt. Pleasant in response to a jurisdictional offer (the first step in the taking of property through eminent domain condemnation) filed on August 22nd against the first Mt. Pleasant property owner in the Foxconn area.

We have requested a copy of the lawsuit and will post it as soon as we get it it. Please share this post.

Racine Uncensored

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1783568838634123/

Talking Racine Episode 83 "Racine Marijuana Referendum"

Rare Bird

Wisconsin Life Bird Swallow Tailed Kite. This is an awesome find! Drew and I made our way up to Neshkoro, WI Saturday morning to find this beautiful bird that was reported there for the past 3 days.

While there, we met birders Pat Ready, Charles Henrickson and others. We scoped the bird flying around until it perched in a pine tree behind a red barn. The farmer invited us over to get a closer look and WOW! It stayed perched while it preened itself for a awhile... Then it took off, flying just a few yards over our heads! Magnificent looking bird! Stayed and enjoyed its acrobatic flying styles for about an hour before Drew and I took for Horicon Marsh.

Parents Of Gay Children Shouldn’t Condemn Them, Pope Francis Says

“Don’t condemn. Dialogue. Understand, give the child space so he or she can express themselves.”

 

KNOCK, Ireland (AP) — Pope Francis says parents of gay children shouldn’t condemn them, ignore their orientation or throw them out of the house. Rather, he says they should pray, talk and try to understand.

Speaking to reporters after closing out a Catholic family rally in Ireland, Francis said: “There have always been gay people and people with homosexual tendencies.”

Hannah Mckay / Reuters

On Sunday, Pope Francis urged parents not to condemn their gay children or throw them out of the house.

Francis was asked what he would tell a father of a child who just came out as gay. Francis said he would first suggest prayer.

“Don’t condemn. Dialogue. Understand, give the child space so he or she can express themselves.”

Francis said it might be necessary seek psychiatric help if a child begins to exhibit “worrisome” traits, but that it’s something else if an adult comes out as gay.

He urged parents not to respond with silence. “Ignoring child with this tendency shows a lack of motherhood and fatherhood.”

He said: “This child has the right to a family. And the family not throwing him out.”

From:  https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/pope-francis-parents-of-gay-kids_us_5b837bece4b0729515142ffc

Open Blog - Monday

I'll second that.

Ex-Vatican official accuses Pope Francis of covering up McCarrick’s sex abuse

By Tara Isabella Burton@NotoriousTIBtara.burton@vox.com Aug 26, 2018, 9:20am EDT\\

Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

A former high-ranking Vatican official says Pope Francis should step down from the papacy, because he knew about sexual abuse allegations against an influential American cardinal — and participated in covering them up.

Carlo Maria Viganò, a former papal nuncio (an ambassador-like position) wrote an 11-page open letter alleging that both Pope Francis and his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, knew about decades’ worth of allegations against Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, former Archbishop of Washington, DC. He was removed from active ministry in June and later resigned his cardinalship after revelations emerged that he had sexually abused generations’ worth of junior seminarians and young priests as a priest, then bishop in New Jersey. He is also accused of having sexually abused at least two minors.

McCarrick is currently facing an internal, ecclesiastical trial, and has been ordered by the Vatican to remain in penitential seclusion until that time. Due to the statute of limitations on his alleged offenses, he faces no criminal proceedings at this time.

In Viganò’s letter, which has been posted at the National Catholic Register and Lifesite News, Viganò alleges that, while McCarrick’s behavior toward adults was an open secret in the Vatican, many high-level officials, including Francis himself, conspired to keep McCarrick in active ministry (the letter makes no mention of any knowledge about McCarrick’s abuses against children).

If true, the letter represents one of the most explosive revelations to emerge out of the Catholic clerical sex abuse scandal. The suggestion that Pope Francis knew about McCarrick’s offenses, and nevertheless chose to break with his predecessor in order to rehabilitate him — the first time a pope has been directly implicated in participating in a coverup during his papacy — could torpedo Francis’s papacy. Already, Viganò is calling for Francis’s resignation.

Read more: https://www.vox.com/2018/8/26/17783168/pope-francis-vigano-cover-up-accusation-sex-abuse