Saturday, February 10, 2018

"Do City Of Racine Police Have The Authority to Kill a Minority? Part I"


"A painful truth: To cut opioid use, patients have to be smarter about their own discomfort"

From JSOnline:

George "Chip" Morris Published 11:39 a.m. CT Feb. 9, 2018 | Updated 12:00 p.m. CT Feb. 9, 2018

At a "Hope over Heroin" gathering in October at the Rock County Fairgrounds, helium balloons were released in memory of each of the 34 county residents who died from an overdose in 2016.(Photo: Rick Wood / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

“What are we doing now? People are dying, and your grants sound interesting for you, but what are you going to do now?”

That was Rafael Mercado of the activist group MKE Heroin Diaries during a recent meeting of the Milwaukee City-County Heroin, Opioid and Cocaine Task Force. Mercado knows all about the trauma that drug abuse can cause. He has lived it, as have thousands of other people in Wisconsin.

And so Rafael asks a great question: “What do we do now?” 

One prescription I'd offer: pain literacy.

We need to help people understand and use information on pain and its management. It is one thing that we can do right now.

"About botoxing camels, a tweeting Paul Ryan and offering a toilet to Trump"

From Wisconsin Gazette.com:

WiGWag: News with a twist

Updated 8


House Speaker Paul Ryan.
Photo: Gage Skidmore

Rocky versus Rocky

The mayors of Philadelphia and Brockton, Massachusetts, made the Super Bowl matchup between the Eagles and the Patriots a battle of two Rockys — Rocky Balboa and Rocky Marciano. Philadelphia Mayor Jim Keeney bet on his city’s team and said if the Eagles lost, the Rocky statue near the steps to Philly’s art museum would wear a Patriot jersey. Brockton Mayor Jim Kenney bet on the Patriots, wagering a statue of Marciano would be clad in an Eagles jersey if New England lost. And you know what happened!

Botoxing camels

A dozen camels were disqualified from a beauty contest in Saudi Arabia for receiving Botox injections to enhance their appearance. “They use Botox for the lips, the nose, the upper lips, the lower lips and even the jaw,” Ali Al Mazrouei, the son of a prominent breeder, told UAE’s newspaper, The National. “It makes the head more inflated so when the camel comes it’s like, ‘Oh look at how big that head is. It has big lips, a big nose.’” Almost $32 million is awarded to pageant winners.

Yo, where’s my cheesesteak?

Jack Demsey’s Pub in New York City was flying with the Eagles and celebrated the Super Bowl with a Rocky Balboa look-a-like contest and a screening of Rocky films. Rocky fans know Sylvester Stallone was raised in New York City but is devoted to the Philadelphia Eagles. The Italian Stallion look-a-likes received free Philly cheesesteak sandwiches — in a contest sponsored by Donegal Irish Whiskey.

Condescending much?

Paul Ryan faced a torrent of ridicule on social media after he sent out a tweet touting a woman whose paycheck rose $1.50 per week as evidence that the Republican tax reform package is working. Ryan, whose net worth is estimated at $7 million, didn’t reveal how much more he’s getting.

Manitowoc goes to Madison

Charlie Berens, the creator of the comedy web series Manitowoc Minute, wants Wisconsin lawmakers to change the state’s motto from “Forward” to “Keep ’er Movin.’” He also proposes giving the state flag’s sailor and miner a couple of beers and adding some women to the state coat of arms. And he’d make “Big Jenga” the official state sport. Berens was recently at the Capitol to lobby for his changes.

Flush Trump

Donald and Melania Trump asked the Guggenheim Museum to lend them a Van Gogh painting — “Landscape With Snow” — for their private residence in the White House. Museum curator Nancy Spector, who has been openly critical of the president and his policies, instead offered to loan the Trumps an 8-karat gold toilet, titled “America.” The toilet is Maurizio Cattelan’s jab at the nation’s greedier instincts. Spector wrote to the Trumps: “It is, of course, extremely valuable and somewhat fragile, but we would provide all the instructions for its installation and care.”

Smelling to high heaven

Here’s a warning for current and prospective users of marijuana: Smoking pot can make your sweat smell like skunk. That’s not an urban legend. Real, honest-to-gosh researchers have explained why some varietals of weed can produce skunky armpits, particularly when smokers are stressed out or working out. Google it or check out the Reddit thread. And chill.

Unique career path

David Joyner has had quite a career path since his first job as a software analyst for Texas Instruments. From 1991 to 2001, he played Barney, the popular purple dinosaur on the PBS children’s show Barney & Friends. Today he provides tantric massages for women that include “cosmic, mind-blowing orgasms” The sessions last three to four hours and cost $350.

Missing winner

Normally the previous year’s recipient of the Best Actor Oscar presents the award to this year’s best actress winner. But last year’s winner, Casey Affleck, bowed out due to allegations of sexual harassment. Affleck said he didn’t want to be “a distraction.”

Disease prevention?

Brenda Fitzgerald is out, having resigned her post as director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Less than a month after the Trump appointee stepped into the job of the nation’s top public health official, she purchased stock in a tobacco company. It takes a certain kind of cluelessness.

Leaving us in suspense

Former U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, the kooky evangelist from Minnesota who briefly ran for president, says she’s waiting for God to tell her whether to run for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Al Franken. “The question is: Am I being called to do this now? I don’t know,” she told convicted fraudster and PTL TV host Jim Bakker.

Tweet like the boss

Former Trump campaign surrogate Lynne Patton, who heads a regional office of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, apparently regrets attacking a reporter via Twitter. Patton referred to a reporter with the Urban Radio Networks as “Miss Piggy.” He then tweeted an apology to the reporter, HUD Secretary Ben Carson and the #Trump family.


From: http://www.wisconsingazette.com/blogs/about-botoxing-camels-a-tweeting-paul-ryan-and-offering-a/article_cdb1d7dc-0d07-11e8-9819-734cbc6f4a38.html

Open Blog - Weekend


Time to recharge your batteries.

Friday, February 9, 2018

Four for Fridays!

I saw a clip yesterday where they said this is the mildest winter since 2003.  Tell that to yourself as you're scraping the ice off of your windshield.

Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado here are your questions for this week:

1)  Who's buried in Grant's tomb?

2)  Do you have a preference for what side of the bed you sleep on?

3)  Ever driven a motorcycle?

4)  Did you serve in the military?

I hope you all have a great weekend.

"Man accuses California #MeToo leader of sexual misconduct"

"UW-Madison Chancellor: Foxconn interested in our research on AI, automated vehicles"

From The Journal Times.com:



MADISON — Taiwanese electronics maker Foxconn is interested in UW-Madison research that includes artificial intelligence and automated vehicles, Chancellor Rebecca Blank said Thursday.

Blank’s remarks came at a meeting of the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents.
Blank told Regents the university is “in a number of conversations, for instance, with Foxconn about potential research partnerships.”

“They’re interested in our work on artificial intelligence,” Blank said. Other areas of interest for the company include “our research and development on automated vehicles and our world-class cancer research.”

Blank’s remarks were the latest indication the economic ripple from Foxconn may reach the Madison area.

Aided by public incentives that could top $4 billion, Foxconn is developing a massive campus to manufacture ultra-high-definition display screens in Mount Pleasant as part of a plan the company has said could eventually employ as many as 13,000 workers in Wisconsin.

Earlier this week, the company announced it will have a corporate North American headquarters in downtown Milwaukee.

Foxconn has said it may open a medical manufacturing facility in Wisconsin too, and that the Madison area is a potential location for it.

Foxconn leaders previously met with officials at UW-Madison’s Carbone Cancer Center.

http://journaltimes.com/uw-madison-chancellor-foxconn-interested-in-our-research-on-ai/article_c1c1a09a-2b05-50b3-b2ec-3c972c4db16e.html#tracking-source=home-top-story-2


Damn.  Where's the flying cars?

"Assorted Pictures From Racine Mayor Cory Mason’s Fundraisers"

Open Blog - Friday


Time to break out the 3-D glasses.

Thursday, February 8, 2018

"Prospect of added Amtrak service to meet Foxconn needs will go before Milwaukee board"

From JSOnline:

, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Published 6:10 p.m. CT Feb. 7, 2018 | Updated 6:28 p.m. CT Feb. 7, 2018

A city panel takes up the prospect of expanded Amtrak service to improve transit options for workers at the planned Foxconn Technology Group industrial park on Thursday.

The Public Transportation Review Board will discuss the status of adding three additional daily Milwaukee-to-Chicago trips, in part, to accommodate the Taiwan-based company’s expected big workforce in Mount Pleasant.

Adding more service between the cities at an estimated cost of $200 million has been in the planning stages for years by Amtrak, Wisconsin and Illinois officials.

An environmental impact statement of the project is close to being completed.

"That means you almost have a shovel-ready project,"  said Ald. Bob Bauman, chairman of the committee.

He sees expanded rail service as a way to move Milwaukee residents to jobs in Racine County. 

"That's the big picture," he said. "That's the bottom line."

Amtrak provides service to Sturtevant, which is a mile or two from the Foxconn site. 

In 2016, Amtrak and Wisconsin and Illinois officials held public hearings on the increasing service. At the time of the hearings, officials said ridership on the Hiawatha line had increased significantly in the past 15 years.



Where are the flying cars?

"World's Largest and Most Amazing Junk Yard - Old Car City U.S.A."



Kinda cool. I didn't see one salvageable item.

"Foxconn unit to cut over 10,000 jobs as robotics take over"

TAINAN, Taiwan -- Foxconn's panel arm Innolux is planning to slash more than 10,000 jobs this year as part of the company's aggressive efforts to increase the use of automation in manufacturing, said Honorary Chairman Tuan Hsing-Chien on Tuesday.

"We will reduce our total workforce to less than 50,000 people by the end of this year, from some 60,000 staff at the end of 2017," Tuan said in a press conference.

Innolux is a liquid crystal display-making affiliate of major iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry, better known as Foxconn Technology Group. Tuan is also a technology adviser to Foxconn, Sharp and Innolux.

Tuan said up to 75% of production will be fully automated by the end of 2018. Most of Innolux's factories are in Taiwan.

Tuan's pledge came a few days after Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou said the company would pour in some $342 million to overhaul its manufacturing process by using artificial intelligence.

Read more:  https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Foxconn-unit-to-cut-over-10-000-jobs-as-robotics-take-over


Uh-oh.

"LEE Enterprises Slashes Staff While Boosting Executive Compensation"

Alltime10s Thursdays

Open Blog - Thursday


Damn dementia!

Wednesday, February 7, 2018

"Racine man allegedly stabs mother; blames marijuana-induced paranoia"

Banks
"RACINE — A Racine man is facing charges after he reportedly stabbed his mother multiple times and was found walking down the street naked.

"Terrell A. Banks, 23, of the 3900 block of Green Street, is charged with felony counts of attempted first-degree intentional homicide and mayhem, both with domestic abuse assessments."

Read more:  http://journaltimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/racine-man-allegedly-stabs-mother-blames-marijuana-induced-paranoia/article_2ad14d0b-1cfc-501f-ab5d-e407ee452c14.html


The devil's weed made him do it.  Walking down the street naked was a nice touch.

"Wisconsin would spend $7 million under bill to attract out of state workers for Foxconn"

From JSOnline:

"News of the Weird: Feb. 8, 2018"

From The Shepherd Express:

The Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Switzerland has a new course of study for scholars to pursue: a bachelor's or master's in yodeling. Beginning in the 2018-19 academic year, students will be able to major in the traditional form of singing, which was used by Swiss herdsmen to communicate with each other in the mountains. The BBC reported that prize-winning yodeler Nadja Räss will lead the courses, which will also include musical theory and history. “We have long dreamed of offering yodeling at the university,” gushed Michael Kaufmann, head of the school’s music department.
The Continuing Crisis
Birds nesting near natural gas compressors have been found to suffer symptoms similar to PTSD in humans, according to researchers at the Florida Museum of Natural History, and noise pollution has been named the culprit. The Washington Post reported the team studied birds in the Rattlesnake Canyon Habitat Management Area in New Mexico, which is uninhabited by humans but does contain natural gas wells and compression stations that constantly emit a low-frequency hum. The steady noise was linked to abnormal levels of stress hormones, and the usually hardy western bluebirds in the area were found to be smaller and displayed bedraggled feathers. “The body is just starting to break down,” explained stress physiologist Christopher Lowry.
Toilet Ghost
Homeowners in Noosa, Queensland, Australia, were perplexed about why their toilet kept randomly flushing, so on Jan. 28, they looked into the flush mechanism embedded in the wall behind the toilet. Then they summoned Luke Huntley, a local snake catcher. Huntley found a 13-foot brown tree snake in the niche, according to the Daily Mail, resting on the flush mechanism. “Hopefully, he’s going to be able to come straight out,” Huntley said on a video of the capture, “but he’s a little grumpy.”
Government in Action
Saugatuck, Mich., attorney Michael Haddock’s dog, Ryder, probably gave the mail carrier a day off after receiving an unexpected letter on Jan. 27 from the State of Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency. According to WZZM TV, Haddock opened the envelope addressed to Ryder and found a letter saying that Ryder is eligible for $360 per week in unemployment benefits. “I knew he was clever,” Haddock said of Ryder, “but he surprised me this time.” The UIA admitted that its computer did send the notice to Ryder, but it was later flagged as suspicious, and the German shepherd won’t receive any benefits after all.
Smooth Reaction
A Missouri State University freshman identified only as Hayden may have set the perfect stage for a romantic story he’ll tell into old age. In January, as he trolled Tinder, he spotted Claudia, also a student at MSU in Springfield. But, as the Springfield News-Leader reported, Hayden accidentally swiped left, rejecting her, so he decided on a bold move to find her. On Jan. 20, he searched the MSU website for every person named Claudia and emailed them all, asking “the” Claudia to email him back. He offered a doughnut date for “the one that got away.” Claudia Alley, a freshman from Jefferson City, got Hayden’s email and knew she was his target because he referenced a joke she made in her Tinder bio. Alley emailed Hayden, and the two planned to get doughnuts—and perhaps make history—later that week.
Awesome!
Rookie metal detectors Andy Sampson and Paul Adams were out looking for treasure along the Suffolk/Essex border in England when they came across more than 50 gold coins and pottery. Sampson said Adams started “shouting and jumping around and dancing.” As for himself, Sampson immediately started figuring out how he would spend the money, which the pair thought might amount to 250,000 pounds or more. Alas, when Sampson showed the coins to his neighbor, he said, “They’re not real—there’s something wrong with them.” Sure enough, when the treasure hunters made inquiries, they found that the coins and pottery were props for a BBC TV show, “Detectorists.” Sampson and Adams told the BBC on Jan. 31 that they have “got over” their huge disappointment and will continue to metal detect.
COPYRIGHT 2018 ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

From: https://shepherdexpress.com/around-milwaukee/news-of-the-weird/news-weird-feb-8-2018/

"Talking Racine Episode 57 'The Voice'"



Talking Racine episode 57 discusses the strategy of the City of Racine on two lawsuits filed by owners and tenants on Machinery Row. The second part talks about the closed session meetings held at Johnson Wingspread. Talking Racine Announces, “THE VOICE”.We bring the perspective down to the local level to discuss issues that affect our own city of Racine, WI.

"This can be good news!"

Dear Board Members,

 
These actions very dramatically demonstrate the racial bias of the D.A.'s office (and the complicity of the newspaper) and provide a basis for recognizing, if not demanding, change.  There have been many racist comments posted on Facebook and other media by white citizens that have not been addressed as "TERRORISM" on the front page of the newspaper, despite their advocacy of violence.

It's now clearly a responsibility of the County Board to step forward and address this glaring inequity that exists in the District Attorney's Office.  They can come forward and do that, or remain silent and thereby perpetuate the current atmosphere, which offers no chance of contributing to the safe, peaceful and fair society that all claim to prefer.

We all know, or should be aware of, the statistical evidence that implies a pervasive, systemic racism that plagues all of Southeast Wisconsin.  This very public display of it offers an opportunity for all Racine County residents to either endorse or reject it, and the most important citizens to that effort right now are the members of the County Board.  I hope that they choose the latter and embark on a treatment program to effect a cure for this illness that is destroying the health of our communities.

While District Attorney is an elected position and not subject to direct control by the county board, I strongly encourage and support you in any effort to influence this situation.

Dr. Kenneth Yorgan
Timothy Elmer


Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my friends and fiends!  How are you?  It appears that winter has made a fierce return to southeast Wisconsin.  It will probably snow in May.  May.  Don't get too excited, but I think spring is near.  The sooner, the better.  For me, spring is usually gone by the time I realize it's happening.  I will try this year to stop and smell the roses more often.

I've read where Foxconn plans to make its headquarters in Milwaukee.  Hey, Mayor Mason, did you even try to get them to put their headquarters in Racine?  That's a big part of your job: pimp the city.  I wonder if you even tried.

Not surprisingly, the Shannon family is suing the city and the police officers involved in Donte Shannon's death.  He's getting much more attention dead than he ever did alive.  Why wasn't Donte taught to obey police officers?  This crap with running away from the police, and then expecting to be treated as if you hadn't,. is just that: crap.  Fleeing an officer is a crime unto itself.  Why do some members of our society keep reiterating that they don't have to follow the "rules"?

Ah, ptooie!

I'm trying to get the taste out of my mouth.

The flu season is here, with a vengeance.  I got vaccinated and, so far, I haven't caught the flu.  From what I hear, it's a terrible disease.  They are planning on more deaths this year than most.  It's not too late to get the vaccine.

Señor Zanza continues to spoil Junior by lending him his car often.  Junior, of course, picks up some friends and they drive around making smoochy noises at attractive women.  If one landed in their lap, they'd freak out.  Somehow, Junior thinks this is "cool."  Unfortunately, so far Señor Zanza has resisted Junior's attempts to get him to buy a Corvette.  Or any "cool" car.  A Ford Probe sounds just awful to me, but that's what Señor Zanza owns.  Not quite the racing machine that Junior wants.

Well, I'll have to end it here.  I have a lot to do today.

madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com

Be careful if you're driving or walking in the snow.  I find myself mincing my steps if not my words.  Small, baby steps.  Do whatever works for you.  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.
 

"Misty Water-colored Memo Rye"



So here goes: Off the top of my head I’ll say that the Philadelphia Eagles will claim victory in the Super Bowl. Also, since some people’s president has declared that Guantánamo Bay will remain open for business, I predict that by the end of the year that he and his fellow Republican travelers—from Paul focking Ryan to Mitch “Yertle” McConnell and right on down the line—will be taking up residence there, by law, for pissing on the Constitution; obstructing justice every which way; colluding with, and handing over this country to, the Russian Commies; and just plain old violating general principles. “Gitmo” becomes “GOP-mo,” you betcha.

And oh yeah, this Memo. You got to be jerking my beefaroni. Memo? Hey, I got your Memo right here. Actually I’ve got my Memo for you right here. And it goes something like this:

Dear Memo,

It has come to my attention that I need to make mention about this big brouhaha about all the government spying and snooping going on. I don’t know if the snooping has gone a little overboard, but I do know I made a phone call to my buddy Ernie last week to let him know I wasn’t feeling well. And the very next day in the mail I got an official looking envelope postmarked Washington, D.C.

Inside was a get well card—no signature (Ernie thinks they used disappearing ink)—wishing me a speedy recovery, so what the fock, ain’a?

OK, hold on. It’s the phone. Could be the Publishers Clearinghouse Sweepstakes knobshines calling, finally. Be right back…

Nope. It’s my pal Little Jimmy Iodine. Hold on a second…

“Hey Artie, got a minute?”

“No can do, Jimmy. I’m smack-dab in the middle of the fifteen minutes I set aside each week to whip out my essay. I got to go.”

“You should put something in your little article this week about that Super Bowl halftime show. Jesus H. Christ, can’t anybody write a song I can hum the next day anymore? And what’s with this parading around on stage like you’re having some kind of stroke or philatelic seizure. That’s entertainment? I got two words for you, Artie. Carol Channing.”

“Carol Channing. Is she still alive?”

“She’s 97, Artie—not that much older than those Rolling Stones when they did the Super Bowl the other year. She’s got the experience. She did Super Bowls IV and VI. And Hello Dolly, for crying out loud. Now there’s a tune you can hum anywhere you go, ain’a? OK Artie. Later.”

All right, then. Back to my Memo:

So the government wants to know how I’m feeling? Hey, with my fingers. Ba-ding! God forbid I should lose my sense of touch, say, in an unfortunate document-shredding accident due to an overzealous effort so’s to protect my identity ’cause I’ll tell you, if you don’t have your identity, you got yourself a situation but good.

Yes sir, you get your identity stolen by some douchebag, and it’s like all of a sudden you’ve got an evil twin out there somewheres in the world having a grand old time on your dime, what the fock.
And natch’, I got to wonder who in their right mind would want to steal my identity ’cause if they did, they’d soon find it to be way more trouble than it’s worth.

What, you want to be me? Jeez louise. OK, be my guest, but let me warn you this: Do not expect to be shown to the best stool when you visit your local George Webb’s, and you can definitely forget about door-to-door service from your Milwaukee County Transit System when you got to hop onboard so’s you can get to the hospital on account of sudden yet dire physical circumstances that will lead to emergency hemorrhoid surgery, and don’t expect V.I.P. treatment from the bankruptcy court you will appear before ’cause no way in hell do you have an extra $50-grand laying around to pay for said emergency surgery because you can’t afford any kind of health insurance now, because our asshole United States Republicans who are supposed to represent our people from sea-to-shining-sea don’t believe their purple-mountain-majestied people deserve a little reasonable across-the-board protection when it comes to the kind of puking-dying sickness that will land a guy or gal flat-on-their-ass out on the street.

And finally Dear Memo, since it’s damn near Valentine’s Day (which to me means only one thing: Presidents’ Day is right around the corner), tradition dictates that I remind the people of what the famous Greek philosopher Anonymous once said: “The ideal relationship can only be achieved when one partner is blind and the other is deaf,” ’cause I’m Art Kumbalek and I told you so.

From: https://shepherdexpress.com/around-milwaukee/art-kumbalek/misty-water-colored-memo-rye/

Open Blog - Wednesday


Or not.

Tuesday, February 6, 2018

"Conway freezing out experts, relying on political staff in drug policy office: report"



© Greg Nash
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway's work at the administration's opioid abuse policy office has led to policy experts being frozen out of the decision-making process in favor of political appointees, according to a report in Politico.

The news site reports that Trump is expected to propose massive budget cuts this year to the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) as it struggles to function without a director or chief of staff, who was fired in December.

"It’s fair to say the ONDCP has pretty much been systematically excluded from key decisions about opioids and the strategy moving forward,” a former Trump administration staffer told Politico.

The agency's acting director, Rich Baum, has not been invited to Conway's opioid cabinet meetings despite serving in the office for decades, Politico reports, and instead two political appointees without any relevant experience attend on his behalf.

One political appointee in the office is Andrew Giuliani, the 32-year-old son of former New York Gov. Rudy Giuliani (R), who the White House told Politico has no background in drug policy.

Republicans in Congress who represent states hit hardest by the opioid crisis say they are unsure as to what Conway's actual role is at the ONDCP.

“I haven’t talked to Kellyanne at all and I’m from the worst state for this,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, (R-W.V.). “I’m uncertain of her role.”

“If I want technical advice, I’m going to work with Baum,” added Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.). “If I want to get a message to the president, Kellyanne is somebody that I know I can talk to.”

Opioid deaths surged in 2016, the worst year so far of the abuse epidemic. Deaths from drug overdoses related to opiates increased nearly 28 percent, from roughly 33,000 in 2015 to more than 42,200 in 2016.

Amid skyrocketing numbers, former ONDCP officials say the drug policy office is not taking a leading role in addressing the crisis.

“I don’t know what the agency is doing. I really don’t,” said Regina LaBell, the ONDCP's chief of staff under President Obama said.

 “They aren’t at the level of visibility you’d think they’d be at by now.”

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/372486-conway-freezing-out-experts-relying-on-political-staff-in-drug-policy


Oh good, our drug policy is being created by political appointees.  Shit.

"Fake Feminist Trudeau Takes Offence At Woman Saying 'Mankind'"



Then we should only have people-kind public restrooms.

This is so sad.  Our language grows and changes constantly, but I don't think butt-head-kind will catch on.

"Donkey and girl are best friends"



Man, what a greeting.

"City of Racine DA Tricia Hanson Quashes Dissent With a Heavy Hand – Unfit To Serve by Any Measure"


"And we here at Sin City AGREE with her! This is not the time for threats and violence – it is time for the absent and missing in action Black – or African American – or Negro – Leadership to take command and demand some actual administrative action be taken against Police Officers – like being FIRED – and Pressed with charges – prosecuted and jailed – when they use excessive force and have a Judge in a Court of Law rule against them."

https://arrestrecordsofracinewipublicofficials.wordpress.com/2018/02/06/city-of-racine-da-tricia-hanson-quashes-dissent-with-a-heavy-hand-unfit-to-serve-by-any-measure/

Open Blog - Tuesday


Only three more days to Friday.

Monday, February 5, 2018

"Foxconn to create North American headquarters in downtown Milwaukee"

From JSOnline: 

, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Published 2:00 p.m. CT Feb. 5, 2018 | Updated 4:17 p.m. CT Feb. 5, 2018


Foxconn Technology Group is coming to downtown Milwaukee with plans to buy a seven-story office building — giving it space for potentially hundreds of employees.
Foxconn has agreed to buy the 132,800-square-foot building at 611 E. Wisconsin Ave. from Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. for an undisclosed price, it was announced Monday.
A Foxconn spokeswoman didn't respond to questions about the company's plans — although more information is likely coming Tuesday.
The building will apparently be Foxconn's North American headquarters, one source said. Along with its future Mount Pleasant factories, the company also has a small research operation in Harrisburg, Pa.
"They're obviously going to be widening their footprint in this country," said the source, who asked not to be identified.
Foxconn estimates it will have 870 employees in "business support functions" in southeastern Wisconsin by the end of 2022, according to a Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. analysis.
Such jobs are often in corporate offices and can include such roles as finance, Information technology, human resources and marketing.

"Vandal caught on camera"

"Foxconn package cost Wisconsin eight times as much per job as similar 2017 state jobs deals"

From JSOnline:

MADISON - To land the massive Foxconn factory, Gov. Scott Walker has committed the state to paying more than eight times as much per job as Wisconsin will provide under similar job creation deals struck last year, a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel analysis has found.

At more than $200,000 in state taxpayer money per job, the incentive package for the Taiwanese company is easily the state's most expensive deal of 2017, totaling more than three times as much per job as the next most costly deal.  

To get a fair comparison with Foxconn, the newspaper purposefully looked only at the more expensive 2017 deals in which the state offered tax credits for jobs created. That's because it tends to cost more in tax credits to spur a company to create a new job rather than to retain an existing one. 

Even then, the Foxconn Technology Group deal stands out. 

Tim Bartik, an independent economist who studies economic development, said Wisconsin is paying many times more per job than he typically sees in other projects nationally and is even shelling out more than some states were willing to pay per job for the much-hyped Amazon headquarters.

Read more: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2018/02/05/foxconn-package-cost-wisconsin-eight-times-much-per-job-similar-2017-state-jobs-deals/1080214001/

Open Blog - Monday


I, too, am crying, on the inside.

Sunday, February 4, 2018

"Batman and Catgirl Are on The Case of Machinery Row!"

OK – So maybe the problem in Racine can be narrowly defined to just Racine Mayor Cory Mason and his wife, City of Racine Municipal Judge Rebecca – The Dynamic Duo!  And the difference in how Niggers are treated – vs. First Class White Citizens – like former Mayor John Dickert. (although the problem is actually much wider – like the embedded an quiet RACISM which must always be covered up).

One rules the Coppers, and the other renders decisions and collects the VIG, fines and forfeitures.
Pay to play in NEVER a factor in the City of Racine – overseen by the Scott Walker Gang!

Or is it?

Video: Mayor Dickert stopped for speeding in December

A city police officer stopped Mayor John Dickert for speeding Dec. 12, 2009 in the 1200 block of North Main Street. Dickert was going 40 mph in a 30 mph zone at about 10 a.m. on a Saturday. He did not receive a ticket. There is no police report on the stop.

Video of the traffic stop, obtained with a records request to the police department, shows a brief, cordial encounter between Officer Bob Bojcic and Dickert near Jane Elementary School. Bojcic was conducting a speed wave near the school after the department received complaints about traffic.
Here’a transcript of the video:
Prior to exiting squad car:

Officer Bojcic: 1200 block of North Main (indecipherable)
Talking to Dickert: 

Dickert: Hello, boss.
Officer: (indecipherable) You’re the boss, aren’t you?
Dickert: (laughs) Not always
Officer: Not always?
Dickert: What’s going on?
Officer: Not much. We had a Speed Wave back here 40 in 30
Dickert: Oh (indecipherable) Sorry … I was going to a radio show down in Kenosha
Officer: Yeah. Because of the school over there and the crossing guard always has fits over there so we come out here to do a speed wave out here to try and slow the traffic down it’s like a race track out here, you know?
Dickert: It’s actually a good idea.
Officer: Keep it down.
Dickert: You got it.
Sgt. Martin Pavilonis, spokesman for the Racine Police Department who had watched the video, said proper procedures were handled during the stop.

********************************************

It’s up to the officer’s discretion on whether a driver gets a ticket, Pavilonis said. He said it was not unusual for a stop to take about 3 minutes when the officer does not issue a ticket.

There is no set policy on an officer’s actions when they pull over an elected official like the mayor, Pavilonis said. If a police officer stops another police officer there is a policy to follow, he said, but that doesn’t apply to the mayor.



As for the mayor’s conduct, Pavilonis said he acted appropriately. “I don’t think he asserted his rank as mayor,” he said. “I don’t think that’s the case at all.”

RacinePost requested video of the traffic stop after receiving a tip that the mayor was stopped. The city promptly answered a records request and provided a DVD of the stop from an in-squad video camera with audio collected from a microphone officers carry as part of their uniform.

https://arrestrecordsofracinewipublicofficials.wordpress.com/2018/02/04/batman-and-catgirl-are-on-the-case-of-machinery-row/

"Tractor Hacking: The Farmers Breaking Big Tech's Repair Monopoly"



How come the automotive industry doesn't have this problem?  Or do they?

(I may know the man who owns Motherboard, or not.  I'm pretty sure he did at one time, but he's a domain squatter and may have sold the domain.  The guy I "know" gave me $1,000 to help me move.)

"Ticket or NO Ticket"

Tim & Cindy

Paracas Skulls



Let us not call them Alien - just, a new and different Species which bears a resemblance to Human Beings.

When a geneticist carried out preliminary DNA testing of the elongated skulls of Paracas in Peru, the results changed the known history about how the Americas were published. The testing revealed that the Paracas have mitochondrial DNA “with mutations unknown in any human, primate, or animal known so far.” Now, a second testing has revealed that the skulls have both European and Middle Eastern Origin.

Paracas is a desert peninsula located within Pisco Province on the south coast of Peru. In 1928, Peruvian archaeologist Julio Tello discovered a massive and elaborate graveyard containing tombs filled with the remains of individuals with the “largest elongated skulls found anywhere in the world.” In total, Tello found more than 300 of these elongated skulls, some of which date back around 3,000 years.

Most cases of skull elongation are the clear result of cranial deformation, head flattening, or head binding. But while cranial deformation changes the shape of the skull, it doesn’t alter other features that are characteristic of a regular human skull.

When a geneticist carried out preliminary DNA testing of the elongated skulls of Paracas in Peru, the results changed the known history about how the Americas were published. The testing revealed that the Paracas have mitochondrial DNA “with mutations unknown in any human, primate, or animal known so far.” Now, a second testing has revealed that the skulls have both European and Middle Eastern Origin.

Paracas is a desert peninsula located within Pisco Province on the south coast of Peru. In 1928, Peruvian archaeologist Julio Tello discovered a massive and elaborate graveyard containing tombs filled with the remains of individuals with the “largest elongated skulls found anywhere in the world.” In total, Tello found more than 300 of these elongated skulls, some of which date back around 3,000 years.

"Dr Tom Van Flandern's Mysterious Mars Lecture"



Thomas C Van Flandern (June 26, 1940 -- January 9, 2009) He attended Yale University on a scholarship sponsored by the U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO),joining USNO in 1963. In 1969 he received a PhD in Astronomy from Yale, with a dissertation on lunar occultations. he was an American astronomer and author specializing in celestial mechanics. Van Flandern had a career as a professional scientist, but was noted as an outspoken proponent of non-mainstream views related to astronomy, physics, and extra-terrestrial life.

The ANSWER

"Many older Americans are living a desperate, nomadic life"

Published: Feb 4, 2018 7:48 a.m. ET

They live in RVs and drive from one low-wage job to another


By Richard Eisenberg 

This article is reprinted by permission from NextAvenue.org. It is part of a partnership between Next Avenue and Chasing the Dream, a public media initiative on poverty and opportunity.

In her powerful new book, “Nomadland,” award-winning journalist Jessica Bruder reveals the dark, depressing and sometimes physically painful life of a tribe of men and women in their 50s and 60s who are — as the subtitle says — “surviving America in the twenty-first century.” Not quite homeless, they are “houseless,” living in secondhand RVs, trailers and vans and driving from one location to another to pick up seasonal low-wage jobs, if they can get them, with little or no benefits.

The “workamper” jobs range from helping harvest sugar beets to flipping burgers at baseball spring training games to Amazon’s AMZN, +2.87% “CamperForce,” seasonal employees who can walk the equivalent of 15 miles a day during Christmas season pulling items off warehouse shelves and then returning to frigid campgrounds at night. Living on less than $1,000 a month, in certain cases, some have no hot showers. As Bruder writes, these are “people who never imagined being nomads.” Many saw their savings wiped out during the Great Recession or were foreclosure victims and, writes Bruder, “felt they’d spent too long losing a rigged game.” Some were laid off from high-paying professional jobs. Few have chosen this life. Few think they can find a way out of it. They’re downwardly mobile older Americans in mobile homes.

During her three years doing research for the book, conducting hundreds of interviews and traversing 15,000 miles, Bruder even tried living the difficult nomad life; she lasted one workweek. I recently interviewed Bruder to learn more about the lives in Nomadland and what the future holds for these people:
 
Next Avenue: How did you come to write “Nomadland?”
 
Jessica Bruder: It grew out of a story I wrote for Harper’s in 2014. I had read a story in Mother Jones and it mentioned a woman working in a warehouse who was living in an RV and said she couldn’t afford to retire. I went ‘Goodness!’ Call me naive, but when I see an RV, I assume it’s owned by one of the last of great pensioners enjoying retirement and going to see the National Parks. I regarded it as a life of luxury and a neat retirement choice. After all, they call them ‘recreational’ vehicles.

I started doing some research and learned there was a whole spectrum of thousands of employers hiring people in similar situations — in oil fields, harvesting sugar beets and helping out at amusement parks. These are not easy jobs or the kind typically associated with people in older stages. But nobody had been looking at it in context of the retirement crisis in the wake of the Great Recession. And a lot of the recruiting materials for these jobs made them look like summer camps. Some for Amazon’s CamperForce said if you come, you’ll make friends. It felt so strange to me, so I started talking to RV’ers outside Amazon warehouses in Nevada and Kansas. Some lost their savings; some thought they would retire on the equity in their homes, but their homes dropped in value dramatically, while the cost of traditional housing kept going up. A lot of them were living hand to mouth; it was hard for them to save for tomorrow.
 
What else were the people like who you met in “Nomadland?”

The people I met on the road were so creative and resilient and I spent time learning from them. Following them was the most exciting opportunity I’ve ever had.
 
Why do you think so many older people are living and working this way?

I think it has been the pretty bad economic times. We saw in the 1980s a shift from pensions to 401(k)s; that was a raw deal for workers. These retirement plans were marketed as an instrument of financial freedom, but they were really transferring risk from the shoulder of the employers to the backs of the workers.

I met a lot of older women. The gender wage gap has meant women have lower lifetime earnings then men; they spend more time out of the workforce doing unpaid labor, raising families or caring for parents.
 
Do you have any sense about whether the numbers of people in “Nomadland” are growing and why?

Anecdotally. Amazon’s CamperForce says it’s getting more and more applications. And when I track Facebook FB, -1.46% groups of these people, they’re all exploding. There are probably in the tens of thousands of people in Nomadland, and that’s being conservative.
 
Why do Nomads live like this?

We live in a culture where if your number didn’t come up, you’re a bad person, you’re lazy, you should be ashamed of yourself. It eats away at people. It makes them more exploitable.
 
What are the challenges they face?

I talked to one couple, Barb and Chuck. He had been head of product development at McDonald’s MCD, -1.47%  before he retired. He lost his nest egg in the 2008 crash and Barb did, too. One time, Barb and Chuck were standing at the gas station to get $175 worth of gas and the horror hit them that their account had $6 in it. The gas station gentleman said ‘Give me your name and driver’s license and if you write a check, I will wait to cash it.’ He waited two whole weeks before he deposited it.
 
These jobs can be rough physically, right?

I know someone in his 70s who walked 15 miles on a concrete floor, sometimes for 10 hours. Your feet can get messed up, you can get repetitive stress injury and a tendon condition. The Nomads talked to me about soaking their feet in salt baths at night and being too tired to go out. When I went to the sugar beet harvest, it was 12 hours a day in the cold, shoveling. Oh my God, my body hurt! And I was 37!
 
Tell me about Amazon’s CamperForce program, which hires thousands of Nomads.

t began in 2008, within months after the housing collapse. Amazon contracts with an RV park and pays the CamperForce to do warehouse work loading and packing and order fulfillment. From the outside looking in, you’d say: ‘Why would you want older people doing this? The jobs seem suited to younger bodies.’ But so many times, the recruiters in the published materials talk about the older people’s work ethic and the maturity of the workforce and their ‘life experience,’ which is a code word for ‘Hey, you’re old.’
 
You write that sometimes the Nomads are exploited. How?  
 
I filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Forest Service and learned that some of their workers aren’t getting paid for all their hours. They weren’t allowed to invoice. 
 
Some of the Nomads had to work alongside robots, such as in the Amazon warehouses. How was that? 
 
The robots were making them bonkers. This is isolating work and there’s one scene in the book where a robot kept bringing a woman in her 70s the same thing to count. 
 
What needs to change to prevent people from having to become Nomads or to help them live better if they are?
For one thing, Amazon should pay its workers more and give them better working conditions. It’s laughable that the workers get a 15-minute break when they have to spend it walking to the break room. It’s completely insane.

Nomads need a voice, but at the same time, it’s extremely unlikely that they’ll organize for better working conditions because they’re vulnerable and always on the move.

Richard Eisenberg is the Senior Web Editor of the Money & Security and Work & Purpose channels of Next Avenue and Managing Editor for the site. He is the author of “How to Avoid a Mid-Life Financial Crisis” and has been a personal finance editor at Money, Yahoo, Good Housekeeping, and CBS MoneyWatch.@richeis315

This article is reprinted by permission from NextAvenue.org, © 2017 Twin Cities Public Television, Inc. All rights reserved. It is part of a partnership with Chasing the Dream: Poverty and Opportunity in America, a public media initiative. Major funding is provided by The JPB Foundation. Additional funding is provided by the Ford Foundation.