For those that don’t know my wife, she is in HR and she often hears from recruiters about how their contacts are leery of Racine because of how bad the school district is…well one of my wife’s contacts sent her the following…and I notice that it didn’t make the paper in Racine…funny!?!
The 9th Annual Comparative Analysis of RUSD
The analysis compares RUSD to 9 other similar school district from across the state…RUSD is not compared to Milwaukee in this analysis however in many areas Milwaukee’s numbers are shown as well.
Here are some interesting facts…
- RUSD ranked #1 in Suspensions at 13.1% or 2,788 (Kenosha was #2 at 12.1% or 2,621)
- RUSD ranked #1 in Expulsions at 1% or 202 (#2 was Janesville at 0.4% or 45; Milwaukee was at 0.3% or 309)
- RUSD ranked #10 in Graduation Rates at 74.7% (Kenosha ranked #3 at 91.3%)
- RUSD ranked #10 in the WKCE (Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Exam) Proficiency Exam for 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 10th grade reading and math.
- RUSD ranked #10 in % of students taking the ACT and in scores; 39.4% and 21.2 respectively.
There is a lot more but I thought I’d just give the highlights!
Is it any wonder that Caledonia wants to secede from RUSD? These numbers are terrible!!!
But before I start hearing about how little teachers are paid yadda yadda yadda…here are those numbers:
- RUSD ranked #7 in Teacher Salaries and Total Compensation at $46,534 and $66,495 respectively.
- RUSD teachers ranked #3 in Years Experience in the District at 12.3 years and #6 in Total Years of Experience at 14.0 years.
I guess I underestimated you guys! The country was the Sudan…popular right now due to the conflict that is occurring within the country and primarily around Darfur.
This week isn’t that bad but you might have to ask you mama for some help. I give it a 4 out of 10.
For all of you that are out there wringing your hands about this global warming threat and how the oceans are going to rise X number of feet above your head I have the perfect idea for you…MOVE!!!
We here in the Midwest have some of the most open areas in the world…in fact if this global warming thing is right I would recommend all you warming nuts to start buying land in Manitoba and Saskatchewan since that will become the new grain belt. By the way right now some of that land is really cheap but that’s because it’s frozen!
Stories like this are going to drive me nuts…Cities at risk of rising sea levels
State Senator Alan Lasee (R-De Pere) will introduce a measure that will bring the death penalty back to Wisconsin. (link)
Last year Senator Lasee introduced Senate Joint Resolution 5 which allowed for the advisory referendum that was on November’s ballot. The advisory referendum passed!“In the November election, the residents spoke loud and clear passing the referendum by 55 percent of the vote and in 68 of 72 counties,” said Lasee. In addition, over half of the counties passed this referendum by over 60 percent. “Clearly, people want to give judges and jurors this necessary tool when examining what sentence to impose upon a defendant charged with a heinous crime,” stated Lasee.
Lasee is right, the people of Wisconsin want to see justice and the legislature should move to reinstate the death penalty!
I should not be surprised to find the following headline in today’s Journal Times Online:
Rep. Ryan votes against bill to bring troops home next year
The facts are even in the story…
"this bill is larded with $21 billion in unrelated spending and other pork-barrel items that have nothing to do with supporting our troops in the war on terror." Said Paul RyanSo why was this article not titled the properly…Rep. Ryan votes against pork barrel bill?
Among the spending items he opposed in the bill include: $25 million for spinach farmers, $50 million for the “Capitol Hill,” $74 million for peanut storage costs, $120 million for shrimp and menhaden fishing industries and $100 million for citrus producers.
The Journal Times can not see past their agenda to belittle our troops and undermine every effort to win the war.
Paul Ryan did the right thing by telling the Democrats that this is not the right answer and in the process exposed them for what they really are big time spenders, but I wasn’t surprised!
The “Gore” hearings were held today where Democrats praised Algore as a “prophet” and the rest of the world found out how big of a rat he really is.
In the hearing today Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) asked Algore the question that Algore asks in his movie “An Inconvenient Truth”…”Are you ready to change the way you live?”
Then showed Algore, and those in attendance at the US Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, a chart that demonstrates how much energy Algore uses:
Sen. Inhofe then asked Algore if he would be willing to take a personal energy ethics pledge:
The answer was “NO.” (link)
I guess we should not be surprised since he keeps saying he offsets his emission by buying carbon credits…so wait you mean that if you are rich you can still get away with “destroying the environment?” That is hypocrisy at its best.
So I’m reading the paper this morning and there is a story about Troha, again, and just for being up on the issues around Troha I read the article as it is printed in today’s JT. Now I could not find it on the JT website to point out what I felt was odd so I typed it out for this purpose. But I was not satisfied with just having it here without a link so I searched the internet for this story elsewhere and found it only to discover that the other article is different in layout than what was printed in the JT!
Here is the portion of text from today’s JT article that I thought was odd: Feds open up another investigation into Troha by Frederic Frommer AP
…
Troha was indicted March 1 on charges of illegally funneling more than $100,000 in campaign contributions to Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle and the federal account of the state Democratic Party.
The indictment alleges Troha concealed the nature of the transactions in his attempt to obtain approval for a casino in Kenosha and lied to FBI about it. Troha, the former owner of a major trucking firm now at the center of a multistate tax dispute, has pled not guilty.
Ryan said he has donated the $58,000 he has received from Troha and his family to the Boys and Girls Club because of the indictment.
…
Here is the article that is online: Feds open up another investigation into Troha
Notice how the paragraphs have been rearranged in the JT article?
What I found so surprising about all of the articles was that neither one of them talk about the fact that Doyle and the Wisconsin State Democratic Party have not returned the Troha money. They try real hard to tie Ryan to this guy but give a pass to Doyle!!! What hypocrisy!!!
Sitting on the planning commission of Caledonia affords me a unique opportunity to see some of the odd things coming down the pipe and this move to expand Caledonia’s governmental role is just another oddball scheme dreamed up by people who have more money and time than they have brains.
A group of thoughtful (I’ll use that term since I still have to deal with them from time to time) citizens have come forward and decided that the Conservation Subdivision ordinance, that requires developers to earmark 40-60% of their developable land to “open-space”, is not being interpreted properly and that in order to have this done properly it would be in “our” best interest to hire an ecologist…or at least contract with one.
A quick search of nearly any city in America will yield zero ecologists on staff. Caledonia is different though. Here we have the very active Kenosha-Racine Land Trust that would benefit greatly from having this position. This group and others will continue to demand that we “need this position to preserve the rural character of our community.”
This is a load of horse manure!!! Oh yeah manure…did everyone read about the other bit of “green” news? The Caledonia Conservancy…similar membership to the Kenosha-Racine Land Trust…has recommended, through a paid public official Wendy McCalvy, that Caledonia, not the Caledonia Conservancy, purchase additional acreage to complete Tabor Woods. If that was not bad enough it was then further recommended that the Parks ordinance be rewritten to allow horses on to this public park.
I have an idea for the Caledonia Conservancy…buy your own land! My recommendation to the board would be the following…if you believe that this is a worthwhile investment for the community why have you not made a move to protect this land prior to this? If in the end you decide that this land is worth our tax dollars then I would strongly recommend that you keep this park in line with all the other parks in Caledonia and forbid horses from the land.
Caledonia is being used and the board is either too blind to see it or has no desire to fight…I ask you as a Caledonian to fight for the village not some small interest group!
Think about this the next time someone tells you that we should have Nationalize Healthcare!!!!
The State Elections Board voted to settle the claim that the Mark Green Campaign illegally converted cash from his federal campaign to his state campaign (link). In the end they have decided that it is just better to ignore what they have done and move on then to continue to push and potentially expose Doyle to further scrutiny.
In reaction to the SEB vote today the Green Campaign released the following statement:
Green Campaign: State Elections Board Admits Mark Green Complied with State Rules when Converting Federal Account to State Account
3/16/2007
Contact: Marci
920-884-9296
In response to the settlement agreed to today by the State of Wisconsin Elections Board and Green for Wisconsin, Mark Green issued the following statement Friday:
“The State Elections Board has finally admitted what has been true from the start. When I converted my federal campaign account to a state account we complied not only with state law and Elections Board rules, but we actually followed the advice of the Board’s staff. The decision by the Elections Board last fall has now been exposed as nothing more than a crass manipulation of a governmental agency by Jim Doyle in his desperate effort to hold on to power.
“It is unfortunate that taxpayer dollars had to be wasted to defend Jim Doyle’s actions, but I am gratified that the Elections Board itself has been eliminated. No other candidate will ever again receive the kind of unfair treatment I received from what was supposed to be an impartial body.”
I believe that this manipulation of the SEB shows how far Doyle is willing to go to win an election. An in-depth investigation should be conducted into his actions and if proof can be found that he in any way manipulated the board Doyle should be thrown out of office.
From UPI.com
COPENHAGEN, Denmark, March 15 (UPI) -- A Danish scientist said the idea of a "global temperature" and global warming is more political than scientific.
University of Copenhagen Professor Bjarne Andresen has analyzed the topic in collaboration with Canadian Professors Christopher Essex from the University of Western Ontario and Ross McKitrick of the University of Guelph.
It is generally assumed the Earth's atmosphere and oceans have grown warmer during the recent 50 years because of an upward trend in the so-called global temperature, which is the result of complex calculations and averaging of air temperature measurements taken around the world.
"It is impossible to talk about a single temperature for something as complicated as the climate of Earth," said Andresen, an expert on thermodynamics. "A temperature can be defined only for a homogeneous system. Furthermore, the climate is not governed by a single temperature. Rather, differences of temperatures drive the processes and create the storms, sea currents, thunder, etc. which make up the climate".
He says the currently used method of determining the global temperature -- and any conclusion drawn from it -- is more political than scientific.
The argument is presented in the Journal of Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics.
So much for consensus!!
The media has made quite a stink about 2 specific news items but has completely ignored a third.
#1 We keep hearing about how bad the Presidents approval numbers are…here are the last 3 Job Approval Polls:
| Outlet | Date of Poll | Approval | Disapproval | Spread |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNN | 03/09 - 03/11 | 37% | 56% | -19% |
| CBS News/NY Times | 03/07 - 03/11 | 34% | 58% | -24% |
| AP-Ipsos | 03/05 - 03/07 | 35% | 65% | -30% |
#2 We keep hearing about how great it is that the Democrats are in power and how they are doing such great things…look at the first 100 days!
#3 What keeps getting ignored by the media is the Congressional Approval Numbers…Here are the last 3 Job Approval Polls for Congress:
| Outlet | Date of Poll | Approval | Disapproval | Spread |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CBS News/NY Times | 03/07 - 03/11 | 31% | 53% | -22% |
| AP-Ipsos | 03/05 - 03/07 | 33% | 63% | -30% |
| NBC/WSJ | 03/02 - 03/05 | 31% | 53% | -22% |
Hmm…I guess if I were a lefty I’d want to look the other way too.
This week I had to search High and low to come up with this country…8 out of 10.
Global warming story hits critical mass
KEYSTONE — Global warming is the hottest story of our time, and it will get even bigger as the full implications of melting ice caps and rising sea levels percolate through the media pipeline and into general public awareness, a panel of journalists said last weekend during the American Bar Association's environmental law conference. Continued…
My favorite part of the article comes from Editor Sean Paige of the Colorado Springs Gazette.
Paige also said he sees a form of eco-McCarthyism on the rise, with the fixation on "consensus" leading to a muzzling of dissenting voices.
"Let's silence everybody who doesn't agree," Paige said, characterizing the mood as he perceives it and claiming that there are legitimate scientists out there who have valid questions about the state of global warming science. But those voices are not being heard, he said, expressing concern about the potential loss of civil liberties in the rush to find a solution to the problem.
I think he hit that one out of the park!!!
Just when we think that we are moving in the right direction an audit comes out and blows that all to hell.
It looks like Wisconsin Technical College System (WCTS) is paying there faculty the 3rd highest salaries in the nation (this is based on base salary only and does not include additional pay for extra classes taught)…only California and Michigan beat us!
The Legislative Audit Bureau found that average Wisconsin Technical College Faculty earns $74,598 (this average base salaries plus additional classes taught) compared to the average salary of a 2 year University College Faculty that earns $52,552.
Here is the Full Audit Report: An Evaluation: Personnel Policies and Practices Wisconsin Technical College System
Hillary is flapping her gums about the “vast right wing conspiracy” again.
AP article: Clinton: Right-wing conspiracy is back
In the article they cite a 2002 case of phone jamming in New Hampshire where 2 republicans pled guilty.
"So if anybody tells you there is no vast right-wing conspiracy, tell them that New Hampshire has proven it in court," she said.
If this is a right wing conspiracy then someone screwed up!! What I mean is if this was truly a conspiracy then these 2 operatives would never have been charged and even if they were they would never have been found guilty.
The only conspiracy that is alive and well is the left wing conspiracy. I’ll cite for you the case in which 4 democratic operatives slashed tires of the republican get out the vote vehicles rendering them useless and then none of them being found guilty of election tampering! That, my friends, is a conspiracy of the highest order.
Hillary…the right still has a lot to learn from you before you can accuse us of a conspiracy!
RCP: And is that maintaining current troop levels or is that doing redeployment of any kind?
BROWNBACK: Yes (Editor's note: The Senator's response here is indicating support for maintaining current troop levels). We're going to be there for some period of time to make thiswork. And part of my not supporting the troop surge is 1) I think it delays us getting the actual political solution, 2) I don't think we can impose a military solution in the region, and 3) to maintain the level of support we can't get in the situation we're headed into now - one party is for it and one party is against it. We're not going to be able to maintain political support here for the length of time we're going to have to maintain it to get this done. And I think it is past time we reach out to Democrats and say, "what will you support?" Not what are you against - I understand that part of it - but what will you support? And really get into the details with them of what you would actually do.
…
Everybody will say that they're not opposed to immigration; they're opposed to illegal immigration. That's what I'm saying. Let's go that path then. Let's create a legal system that can work. To do that you're going to have to up your numbers and make the system simpler, particularly for low low-skilled, low-wage type jobs.
BROWNBACK:
Some of you may only know that Sam Brownback is the current Senator from Kansas and that he has announced that he is running for the presidency, well here are some additional facts on Senator Brownback:
- Serves as the Ranking Minority member of the Committee of the Judiciary
- Serves on the Committee on Appropriations
- Serves on the Joint Economic Committee
- Chairman of the Helsinki Commission (Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe)
Our Freshman State Representative from the 62nd district, Cory “Inflation” Mason has decided that it is time to tie the states minimum wage to inflation.
“Each year the cost of gas goes up, the cost of healthcare goes up, and the cost of groceries go up, but the typical family income stays the same,” Mason said in a news release. JT link
So let me get this straight…we are going to raise minimum wage…thereby causing inflation…thereby raise the minimum wage…causing inflation…raise minimum wage…cause inflation…….when does the cycle end? When the businesses leave!
When businesses leave Wisconsin due to inflationary economic effects how will this help the “typical family income” to increase?
“Inflation” Mason suffers from what nearly all Democrats have and that is a short circuit between the logical side of the brain and the feel good side.
It was pointed out to me that last weeks country was 4 countries not one…this is in fact a true statement but at the same time the United Kingdom is a sovereign state by itself. The UK is made up of four countries…England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Lock in your answer to this weeks country…I give it a 4 out of 10!
Daily Bugle: Captain America shot and killed
By The Daily Bugle Staff
Earlier today, we reported on the attempted assassination of a former superhero. We can now confirm that the victim has been identified as Steve Rogers, a.k.a. Captain America. Rogers was pronounced dead at Mercy Hospital due to injuries suffered from multiple gunshot wounds to the shoulder, chest and stomach.
Captain America's Bio: Steve Rogers was a scrawny fine arts student specializing in industrialization in the 1940's before America entered World War II. He attempted to enlist in the army only to be turned away due to his poor constitution. A U.S. officer offered Rogers an alternative way to serve his country by being a test subject in project, Operation: Rebirth, a top secret defense research project designed to create physically superior soldiers. Rogers accepted and after a rigorous physical and combat training and selection process was selected as the first test subject. He was given injections and oral ingestion of the formula dubbed the "Super Soldier Serum" developed by the scientist Dr. Abraham Erskine. Rogers was then exposed to a controlled burst of "Vita-Rays" that activated and stabilized the chemicals in his system. The process successfully altered his physiology from its frail state to the maximum of human efficiency, including greatly enhanced musculature and reflexes.
Continued…
First and Last (???) Captain America Comic Book Covers:
March 2: Greenspan Moderates Prediction
March 1: Reuters: U.S. slump possible, not probable: Greenspan quoted
February 27: Argentina stocks plummet on Greenspan, U.S. economy
February 14: Worst of U.S. housing adjustment is over-Greenspan
That didn’t strike me as odd though. Hilary is a true liberal politician who puts on an act where ever she goes…remember: she’s always been a Yankee fan?
What I found startling was (yes I’m about to say something nice about a liberal) the very eloquent Obama coming out and sounding like a southern preacher. What was that?!?! Did he really feel it necessary to pander? Did not one southerner in the audience take offence at the way he was mocking them?
While looking at the JT site today someone pointed out a story on the police blotter well of course I began to read the blotter when I came across the following listed under Caledonia Thefts (link)A 20-year-old Caledonia man who stole two cell phones from a store in the 4900 block of Douglas Ave. returned to the store and purchased the phones and apologized for his behavior. The theft was caught on videotape. The store accepted the purchase and his apology and declined to press charges.
I’m curious to know what mad the guy go back and do the right thing? I want to know if he was contacted by someone or did he do this on his own accord? Anyway I look at it I am glad to know that there is still a little bit of guilt out there and that some people see the errors of their way.
Dr. Claude Allegre, geochemist, was one of the first scientists to claim that global warming was man made but now after nearly 20 years of study he is now ready to recant, this in today’s National Post (LINK)
To his surprise, the many climate models and studies failed dismally in establishing a man-made cause of catastrophic global warming. Meanwhile, increasing evidence indicates that most of the warming comes of natural phenomena. Dr. Allegre now sees global warming as over-hyped and an environmental concern of second rank.
Now before all you naysayers start in on this man I suggest you read the entire article and see just what his credentials are. This man knows what he is talking about, he is not a politician turned environmentalist but an environmental scientist.
Dr. Allegre is willing to admit that his initial assessment was wrong and that "The cause of this climate change is unknown," he states matter of factly. There is no basis for saying, as most do, that the "science is settled."
But the straw poll conducted by CPAC found that they favored Mitt. (FT.com story)
Mitt got 21%
Giuliani 17%
McCain, who did not attend the conference, 12%.
Does this mean that people consider him a conservative?
Mitt was governor or Massachusetts, which means that his record will be tainted by the liberal thinking of the legislature in that state, but does this excuse his record and statements regarding gay lifestyles, Universal Healthcare, and taxes?
I think the answer is that people believe that of the current crop of candidates Mitt is the best chance we have to put a “conservative” in the White House.
I wonder though, what would happen if someone with the star quality (pun intended) of Fred Thompson were to enter the race? This is a man who would be regarded as “the Real Deal.”
If Fred does not enter the race and those that are currently in this are all that what we have to choose from…Then Mitt is the Realest Deal of them all.
From today’s JT: Vos says Mason stands by government insiders
“Clearly, Representative Mason has a different view of government than the average taxpayer,” Vos said in a strong attack on Mason, who was elected to the Assembly in November. He replaced John Lehman, who is now a state senator. “Instead of being fiscally responsible and protecting the taxpayers of Racine County, he chose to stand by long time Madison insiders who want to continue this wasteful government perk.”
“This is a ridiculous perk that is not offered in the private sector,” he said. “It needs to be eliminated and Racine County agrees. Cory Mason should start standing up for his constituents instead of his party bosses in Madison.”What I found striking was that Cory was not quoted once in the article! They got quotes from the Democratic Senate Majority leader but nothing from either of the Representative from Racine that support the sick leave for politicians.
Why is it that Mason and Turner are silent about their vote to keep this perk in place?
"We want people to focus on postal service and not the clock," said Stephen Seewoester, Dallas spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service.
This was in response to the new “Retail Standardization Program” instituted last year that removed clocks from all retail areas of the 37,000 post offices.
Isn’t timeliness part of the service most of us expect?
From the AP: No time like present to remove clocks
From Robert Novak’s column at washingtonpost.com: For GOP, A Void on The Right
Novak provided the points used by the poll takers (from a push poll) about the GOP frontrunners:
“McCain was said to have opposed tax cuts, favored "amnesty" for illegal immigrants and opposed a ban on same-sex marriage.”
“Giuliani: supported Democratic Gov. Mario Cuomo's reelection in New York, is pro-gay rights and pro-choice, supports gun control.”
“Romney: "refused to ban" abortion in Massachusetts, committed to "full equality" for gays and lesbians, put health care in the hands of bureaucrats.”
While this was push poll, not a legitimate survey of conservative voters, it did do a lot to expose the liberal side to the current GOP favorites and maybe show voters that Gilmore, Brownback, and Gingrich might be a better representation of conservative values.
Novak hit the nail on the head with his closing line:
“The GOP race for 2008 may still be open, considering the conservative void.”
From the Journal Times: McReynolds called into question for self-reported mileage
Diane Lange is trying hard to smear Bill McReynolds just a few short weeks before his re-election.
Ms. Lange claims that she has no “concerns about the amount of money requested for reimbursement, just the lack of documentation,” But if this were truly the case she would have brought this up in 2006, 2005, or even in 2004 when McReynolds was new to the position, not just prior to an election.
This is a blatant attempt to try to sway voters in a similar way Democrats did during Mac’s State Senate race regarding telephone records…there was nothing there either but they made hay out of it. Mac will prevail in this audit and I'm quite sure that he will win re-election.
I guess this proves the only way Ken Hall can win would be to try to steal the election.
